If one of you would be so kind as to hand me that crystal ball over there, we'll do a bit of future gazing and see what 2007 holds in store.
I'll leave the predictions to the yapping heads on the cable news networks, and concentrate on the nearly certain new albums, tours, and other projects involving classic rock artists in the coming year.
GENESIS REUNION TOUR
The subject of rumor and conjecture for as long as most of us can remember, a
Genesis reunion tour is now a reality for 2007. Tony Banks,
Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford will hit the road in June for the first Genesis tour since 1991. The reunion will begin with a 20-stadium tour of Europe, followed by a series of 20 dates in September in the US.
NEW RUSH ALBUM
A new
Rush album -- the first since 2002's
Vapor Trails -- is expected to be ready in the early part the year. Drummer Neil Peart, guitarist Alex Lifeson and bassist (and vocalist) Geddy Lee went into the recording studio in November.
NEW STOOGES ALBUM AND TOUR
It was 1973 when Iggy Pop's Stooges last released a new album. Their next will be released in March 2007, accompanied by a world tour that will include a stop at the South by Southwest Festival on St. Patrick's Day. The Stooges are among the nominees for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.
HEAVEN AND HELL (aka We Used To Be Black Sabbath) TOUR
A new incarnation of
Black Sabbath, featuring Ronnie James Dio and founding members Tommy Iommi, Bill Ward and Geezer Butler will begin touring in March 2007 as Heaven and Hell. A new studio album is also expected late in the year.
A springtime release date is expected for a new album from Aerosmith. The two new tracks that were included on a late-2006
"Very Best Of ..." album were considered to be a preview of what we might expect on the new release.
Following up on the Halloween 2006 release of
Bat Out Of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose, the 22-city North-American leg of the Bat Out of Hell III - Seize the Night Tour will kick off February 23 in Pala, California. The European leg of the tour begins in May.
NEW DEF LEPPARD ALBUM
Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen tells
Billboard that the new album that the band will begin recording in January 2007 will be "a rawer kind of vibe -- more menacing. More of a live sound. Not too glossy." Def Leppard spent most of 2006 on tour (with
Journey) promoting
their 2006 album, Yeah!.
MARIANNE FAITHFULL TOUR
Postponed in the fall of 2006 after she was diagnosed with breast cancer, Marianne Faithfull's tour of Europe and North America will begin in March 2007. "It has been an extraordinary experience and, in many ways, extremely positive," Faithfull said in a statement announcing her recovery.
ERIC CLAPTON'S MEMOIRS
Due for release in 2007 is
Eric Clapton's autobiography. Says Clapton's literary agent, "Eric has known everybody and played with everybody. He has terrific recall and a very dry wit. He will be very frank about his life."
ROBERT PLANT / ALISON KRAUSS ALBUM?
What's known for certain is that Plant and Krauss were in a Nashville recording studio in the fall of 2006 recording tracks for what is presumed to be an upcoming duet album. Plant tells
Rolling Stone, "[W]e were pushing ideas around. [Producer] T Bone [Burnett] made a superlative record recently
[The True False Identity]. The combination of my voice with Alison’s voice and T Bone’s spookiness - well, I’ll just say it’s very encouraging." A new album from Plant and his group, The Strange Sensation is also a possibility for 2007.
