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New Releases, Dec. 5: RATM, Neil Young, Alice in Chains, more
Rage Against the Machine drops “Renegades” (Epic) this week, an album of cover songs recorded just before frontman Zack de la Rocha’s departure from the group in October. The band originally set out to record a couple of covers for inclusion on a planned live album, but ultimately recorded the 12 tracks found on “Renegades” and shelved the live disc indefinitely.
“Renegades” includes tracks originally recorded by the Rolling Stones ("Street Fighting Man"), Cypress Hill ("How I Could Just Kill a Man"), MC5 ("Kick Out the Jams”) and Bob Dylan ("Maggie's Farm"). The disc also features the group's previously released version of Bruce Springsteen's "The Ghost of Tom Joad."
First pressings of the album will also include live versions of “How I Could Just Kill a Man” and “Kick Out the Jams” in addition to the studio versions of both songs.
To mark the release of “Renegades,” RATM plans to debut the new album in its entirety via a streaming Internet broadcast, according to the group’s website, with an online chat with guitarist Tom Morello to follow.
In mid-October, de la Rocha announced that he was leaving RATM to pursue a solo project. The remaining members have since vowed to continue on without him, but have not revealed any specific plans.
Fresh off of his tour in support of “Silver & Gold” (Reprise), Neil Young is set to release “Road Rock Volume 1” (Reprise) this week. The album features eight live tracks recorded during the recent outing, and includes a new song titled “Fool for Your Love.”
Other tracks on “Road Rock” include “Walk On,” “Peace of Mind,” “Words” and “Cowgirl in the Sand,” the latter of which is 18 minutes long, according to a Rolling Stone review of the album. Chrissie Hynde--whose Pretenders were the opening act on Young’s tour--pops up for a duet with the veteran rocker on Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower.”
Though Alice in Chains hasn’t released an album of new material in five years, the group’s label continues to turn out music from the group. The latest installment is “Live” (Columbia), a 12-track album containing songs recorded at performances spanning from 1990 to 1996, according to the group’s website. The disc is the follow-up to the group’s 1999 “Music Box” box set and companion sampler disc, “Nothing Safe - The Best of the Box.”
According to the band’s website, “Live” is the “first legitimate collection of Alice In Chains concert performances and the group's first live electric offering.” The album contains live versions of songs such as “Bleed the Freak,” “Man in the Box,” “Rooster” and more.
In step with this week’s live offerings, Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters releases “In the Flesh” (Columbia). The 2-CD set was recorded during Waters’ recent U.S. tour, his first in 12 years, according to his official website.
The disc includes performances of Pink Floyd classics from “The Wall” and “Dark Side of the Moon,” a new song titled “Each Small Candle” and more.
Hollywood Records unveils Queen frontman Freddie Mercury’s posthumous box set “Solo” this week, a three-disc collection of the singer’s solo material. The release includes remastered versions of Mercury’s 1985 release “Mr. Bad Guy” and 1987 release “Barcelona,” as well as a third disc containing hits and rarities, according to the collection's official website.
Other new releases:
