Rock and Roll Hall of Fame releases massive DVD set including all-star jams

In December 2007, Jimmy Page played on the stage of the O2 arena in London, leading a Led Zeppelin reunion. Almost two years later, Jeff Beck said Page was "too chicken" to join him onstage at the O2's smaller venue, the IndigO2.

Of course, Beck was kidding.

And he also called out Ron Wood. Both Page and Wood were attending Beck's IndigO2 gig, but they were up in the balcony. (Thanks to reporter Simon Hays for the above details.)

Page and Wood weren't too chicken this April when they jammed with Beck and others in Cleveland on the occasion of his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Their onstage collaboration on "Train Kept A-Rollin'," also with Joe Perry and members of Metallica, is a fine example of the caliber of jamming the Rock Hall draws year in and year out.

And now, finally, as if it's never been a good idea before, there's now a giant box set release courtesy of Time Life that compiles many of those induction ceremony jams. One edition of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame LIVE includes nine DVDs, and another includes 14 DVDs plus a booklet.

In either set, a disc called "Feelin' Alright" includes Beck and Page jamming on "Beck's Bolero" with an "Immigrant Song" interlude from this April, and a disc called "Whole Lotta Shakin'" includes the "Train Kept A-Rollin'" electric guitar blitz!

Beck's also included on another disc called "Come Together," where he jammed with Jonny Lang on Gene Vincen't "Be-Bop-a-Lula" in 1999, and also played the Curtis Mayfield track "People Get Ready" in 1994 as a tribute to Rod Stewart.

See, this archive really does go back a while! It also includes the Concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which took place in September 1995, upon the Cleveland museum's opening.

Alas, the DVD set does not include any of Led Zeppelin's reunited performances on the night of the induction in 1995, but that may be a matter of the performance being vetoed for release. That's why the Page-Plant-Jones performance at Live Aid in 1985 wasn't included on the official DVD release of those concerts either.

But what this new set does include is pretty amazing!

Robert Plant-affiliated record label wins award

Congratulations to Kevyn Gammond and the record label he founded, Mighty Atom Smasher, on receiving an award last night in London. The Kidderminster College-based M.A.S. Records, of which Robert Plant is a patron, has brought home the Access to Music award as presented by Rockschool. The record label was set up to support young acts in the local area.

Gammond was often known under the name Carlisle Egypt during his career as a guitarist, particularly during the days he and Plant were bandmates, first as members of the Band of Joy, which also featured John Bonham, prior to the formation of Led Zeppelin. Prior to his founding of the record label, the Kidderminster College lecturer again teamed up with Plant in 1999 and 2000 for a covers act that played a limited run of low-key concerts under the name Priory of Brion.

Reminder: John Paul Jones on Rod Stewart box set released today

Rod Stewart's 4-CD box set of previously unreleased material was released today.

It includes a previously unreleased studio track with guest musicians John Paul Jones on organ and David Gilmour on guitar.

The track is a remake of the song "In a Broken Dream" recorded in the summer of 1992. For more information on the circumstances of that studio recording, click here.

Warner and Rhino released the 4-CD box set The Rod Stewart Sessions 1971-1998 today in the United States.

Click here to listen to this very Pink Floyd-sounding track now from Spinner!

Them Crooked Vultures add German shows in December, N.Y. show in October

John Paul Jones's new supergroup with Dave Grohl and Josh Homme announced four additional concert dates today: one in New York and three in Germany.

With the additional date, the first North American tour of Them Crooked Vultures is now scheduled to close Oct. 15 at Roseland Ballroom in New York. The tickets will be available to the public beginning Sept. 26 by clicking here. An edition of the band's official newsletter distributed today included presale information for the New York show.

Shows in Munich, Berlin and Cologne are to take place in early December, in the days leading up to the U.K. tour launch scheduled for Dec. 10. Information to purchase tickets to the three German shows can be found here.

On sale now are tickets to the band's six shows in Australia and New Zealand:

• Jan. 19: Challenge Stadium, Perth, Australia
• Jan. 22: Festival Hall, Melbourne, Australia
• Jan. 25: Riverstage, Brisbane, Australia
• Jan. 26: Hodern Pavilion, Sydney, Australia
• Jan. 29: TSB Bank Arena, Wellington, New Zealand
• Jan. 30: Vector Arena, Auckland, New Zealand

Jason Bonham sets U.S. tour dates with Bonham; Slash also to welcome drummer at Las Vegas gig

Earlier this year, Jason Bonham reunited his first band, Airrace, and went on a U.K. tour with them.

So why not reunite his most successful solo band, Bonham, and go on a U.S. tour? The magic 8 ball says that's in his future.

Over a short time between 1989 and 1990, the band took its Zeppelin-influenced sound and released a hit single called "Wait for You" as well as a Gold-certified album The Disregard of Timekeeping.

Now, Bonham has just announced five shows in Florida and California next month. Here is the complete list of announced tour dates thus far:

• Oct. 14 - Revolution Live - Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
• Oct. 15 - House of Blues - Orlando, Fla.
• Oct. 16 - State Theatre - St. Petersburg, Fla.
• Oct. 29 - Coach House - San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
• Oct. 30 - The Canyon - Agoura Hills, Calif.
  

The band, Bonham, is said to be performing its own music along with that of some of the drummer's other recent projects: UFO, Foreigner and, definitely, Led Zeppelin.

Tickets to the above shows are on sale now through Ticketmaster and can be purchased here.

In addition, Jason Bonham is to be in Las Vegas before those dates take place. He is scheduled to perform with Slash in an all-star show at the Mirage hotel and casino on Oct. 2. (Update: Jason did not perform this date as he evidently dropped out of the lineup in advance.)

It is shaping up to be similar in spirit to the June 30 gig in Norway that saw Bonham playing drums for Slash's 90-minute set that saw guest vocal appearances from Ozzy Osbourne, Fergie and Franky Perez. During that show, Perez sang "Immigrant Song" and "Whole Lotta Love," and Fergie sang "Black Dog."

For the Oct. 2 show, Slash's announced onstage guests are to include:

• singer Courtney Love of Hole
  
• guitarist Joe Perry of Aerosmith
• drummer Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe
• singer Rob Zombie of White Zombie
• drummer Matt Sorum of Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver
• guitarist Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick
• guitarist and singer Rocco DeLuca of Rocco DeLuca and the Burden
• singer Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls

Plus, there are supposed to be other "surprise" celebrity appearances! Click here to reserve your spot at the event.

Slash was said to have been putting the finishing touches on a solo album in recent weeks. Drums on that album are said to be played by Josh Freese, who previously worked with Nine Inch Nails.

Knebworth, Bath festivals remembered in new box set

The promoter of the Knebworth Festival, Freddy Bannister, is offering a new limited-edition box set to honor the 30th anniversary of Knebworth and also the 40th anniversary of the first Bath Festival. This commemorative set includes:

• ticket, program and flyer reprints from the Bath festivals in 1969 and 1970 and the Knebworth Festival in 1979
• a set of 20 glossy 6x8" photographs taken at the Bath and Knebworth festivals
• three T-shirts (select three from among three Knebworth designs and two designs displaying the poster art from the Bath festivals)
• two poster reprints (select two from among the 1969 and 1970 Bath festivals as well as the 1979 Knebworth Festival)
• a copy of Freddy Bannister's 2003 book, "There Must Be a Better Way: The Story of the Bath and Knebworth Rock Festivals 1969-1979"
  
• a DVD containing 100 photographs of Led Zeppelin at Knebworth, plus an interview of Robert Plant and John Paul Jones conducted by J.J. Jackson
• a 60-minute DVD called "The Spirit of Knebworth" that overviews the seven Knebworth festivals held between 1974 and 1979
• a signature of the promoter, Freddy Bannister
  

The boxed set is limited to 200 and is reasonably priced at £64.95 plus shipping costs. Visit www.rockmusicmem.com for ordering information.

Buddy Miller, John Fogerty honored at Americana Music Awards

A CD that Robert Plant appears on was named Album of the Year at the 2009 Americana Music Awards ceremony last night.

Multi-instrumentalist and singer Buddy Miller won the Artist of the Year category, while he and his wife Julie Miller picked up Duo/Group of the Year, the category Plant and Alison Krauss claimed a year ago.

Meanwhile, the Buddy and Julie Miller album Written in Chalk received last night's top honor in the Americana Music Association's annual awards ceremony held last night at the Sommet Center in Nashville.

Plant duets with Buddy Miller on one track on that album, "What You Gonna Do Leroy." Also playing lap steel on the track is Gurf Morlix, who was awarded Instrumentalist of the Year.

It was the first time since 2006 that somebody other than Buddy Miller won in that category.

It was another one of Miller's duets on Written in Chalk, with Patty Griffin on the song called "Chalk," that took home Song of the Year. The song was written by Julie Miller.

The Americana Music Association also presented a lifetime achievement award to American rocker John Fogerty. The former Creedence Clearwater Revival singer was on hand to receive the award, one day after performing a surprise set at Nashville's Mercy Lounge.

Miller is among the musicians on Fogerty's latest solo offering, The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again. It is the follow-up to a disc of his in 1972.

Plant was not known to be in attendance last night, although it is possible he will rear his head in Nashville again next month as his current record label, Rounder, prepares an evening celebration in honor of the label's 40th anniversary.

Krauss is scheduled to perform with her band, Union Station, at an Oct. 12 event, to be held at the Grand Ole Opry House. The show is to be filmed for an upcoming PBS television special.

As for a second album with Plant and Krauss, it has previously been reported that progress in pre-production this January was sidetracked prior to their Grammy sweep in February.

While Plant was spotted in Nashville midway through the year, a source familiar with behind-the-scenes operations indicated to LedZeppelinNews.com midway through the year that, on one hand, Krauss had "declared a moratorium on all work for 12-18 months with Robert because she wants to do an album and extended tour with Union Station." On the other hand, the source said, Plant was left "frustrated" as he "wants to finish the thing off and be done with it."

The last time Krauss is known to have publicly addressed any further collaboration with Plant came this July, when she commented to the U.K. Telegraph that their second album would "be different, as if we hadn't made the first." The writer of that article said Plant and Krauss had only "listening meetings about potential material" pertaining to their next musical project together.