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When it hit the airwaves in 1986, Pee-wee’s Playhouse was a rare mainstream triumph for a bunch of weirdo subculture types. The late Paul Reubens developed his Pee-wee Herman character on the LA improv-comedy scene in the ’70s, turned it into a stage show, appeared in a Cheech & Chong movie, and fully got the chance to go nuts in the classic 1985 cinematic vehicle Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, which happened to be Tim Burton’s directorial debut. When the film was a success, HBO produced an actual children’s television show for this fake children’s entertainer, and he made it into a lively, bugged-out hallucination. Rob Zombie was a set decorator. Laurence Fishburne was the recurring character Cowboy Curtis. It was really something.

The post Kate Pierson Sings <em>Pee-wee’s Playhouse</em> Theme At Netflix’s 40th Anniversary Tribute Concert appeared first on Stereogum.

The genesis of blues rock occurred when Les Paul’s Gibson and Leo Fender’s solid-body electric guitars hit the market at the beginning of the 1950s. At the same time that Delta blues and Chicago blues artists like Muddy Waters and B.B. King began using electric guitars, rock & roll was born, augmenting the volume exponentially. By the next decade, young rock artists were reaching back into the first half of the 20th century for music to reinterpret through a then-current filter. Whether it was Eric Clapton turning Cream’s interpretation of Robert Johnson’s “Cross Road Blues” into a blues rock staple or Led Zeppelin’s transformation of Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie’s “When the Levee Breaks,” the latter often had more impact than the former. Here are ten blues rock covers that not only honored their source material, but in many listeners’ minds completely outshined the originals.

Allman Brothers – “Stormy Monday” 

T-Bone Walker recorded “Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad)” in 1947, and it was released as a single. It became what the Blues Foundation would recognize as one of the most influential records in blues history. His version was filled with jazz sophistication and delivered as a slow, sophisticated lament using elegant phrasing and vocal restraint.

The Allman Brothers Band recorded their performance of “Stormy Monday” at the Fillmore East in March 1971 and released the album in July. They transformed the two-and-a-half-minute original into a nearly nine-minute, slow-burning blues rock performance through improvisational brilliance, creating a classic interpretation of a timeless song.

Joe Bonamassa – “Sloe Gin”

“Sloe Gin” was written by Bob Ezrin, who worked with Alice Cooper and Pink Floyd, along with Michael Kamen. It was recorded by multi-talented actor and singer Tim Curry for his 1978 debut solo album, Read My Lips. Joe Bonamassa rescued it from obscurity when he not only covered it, but also titled his sixth studio album, released in 2007, Sloe Gin.

Tim Curry’s recording was a brooding, dark, and dramatic meditation on loneliness and emotional collapse. Joe Bonamassa transformed it into a signature, towering cinematic anthem with aching bends and sustained cries of stratospheric guitar peals that many consider one of the most emotionally expressive solos of his career.

Cream – “Crossroads”

“Crossroads” was Cream’s adaptation of Robert Johnson’s 1936 recording “Cross Road Blues.” Johnson’s version was a haunting, bare-bones acoustic song that reflected the frustration of a hitchhiker who had grown weary of waiting for a ride. According to legend, Johnson sold his soul to the devil at that crossroads to become a great guitarist.

Eric Clapton and Cream’s version of the song was recorded live for their album Wheels of Fire, which was recorded in 1967 and released in 1968. Their version is a blues rock powerhouse detonation that brought Delta blues into the modern era.

Cream – “Rolling and Tumbling”

“Rolling and Tumbling” was originally written and recorded by Hambone Willie Newbern in 1929. It is considered a classic, haunting slice of Delta slide guitar blues and has been re-recorded well over a hundred times by various artists over the past century, from Robert Johnson to The Rolling Stones.

Muddy Waters’ 1950 recording took the loose structure and weary heartbreak of Hambone Willie Newbern’s original and electrified it into a snarling groove with a more aggressive swagger. In 1966, during the British Invasion of America, the recently formed British blues rock band Cream released their debut album Fresh Cream. They recorded a version of “Rolling and Tumbling” that turned up the volume and intensity with amplified urgency, driven by Eric Clapton’s scorching slide guitar and the driving rhythm section of Ginger Baker on drums and Jack Bruce on bass guitar and vocals.

Rory Gallagher – “Bullfrog Blues” 

William Harris was a native of Mississippi who wrote and recorded “Bullfrog Blues” as a traditional acoustic country blues song in 1928. Harris’ recording was a charming, loose, good-humored acoustic finger-picking lament built on pre-World War II Southern wit.

Rory Gallagher electrified the obscure Delta blues relic into one of rock’s ultimate jam sessions, recording it live in 1972 for his album Live in Europe, which was released later that year. Gallagher’s version is explosive, featuring a blazing electric workout that redefined the song by injecting ferocious Stratocaster leads and stop-on-a-dime tempo shifts. It was a crowd pleaser from the beginning and became the second most-played song in his live performances over the years.

Jimi Hendrix – “All Along the Watchtower”

Bob Dylan’s album John Wesley Harding was released in 1967 and was his eighth studio album. It contained songs he worked on with his new band and marked a change in musical direction from the psychedelic rock of Blonde on Blonde to a more country blues-inspired sound. One of the most popular songs from the album was “All Along the Watchtower,” which was stark, cryptic, and semi-biblical in its approach.

Jimi Hendrix recorded his interpretation of “All Along the Watchtower” a few months later in 1968 for Electric Ladyland, the album he was recording at the time. Hendrix did more than merely turn up the volume; he detonated the song with spiraling lead guitar lines, thunderous rhythm, and an ominous sense of drama. He transformed Dylan’s country blues back into psychedelic blues rock and created a transcendent, apocalyptic sound that became one of his trademarks. It became Hendrix’s biggest American chart hit, and many people are not even aware that it was originally Dylan’s song.

Janis Joplin – “Ball and Chain”

Big Mama Thornton wrote “Ball and Chain” and recorded it in the early 1960s, but it was not released until 1968 on a compilation album. By that time, the song had been made famous by Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company, who performed it at the legendary Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. Joplin witnessed Thornton performing the song in a San Francisco bar and obtained permission from her to record it.

Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company transformed Thornton’s slow, commanding performance into a volcanic eruption that stretched the arrangement into a psychedelic blues epic filled with shrieking guitars and soul-ripping vocals.

Led Zeppelin – “When the Levee Breaks”

“When the Levee Breaks” was originally written and recorded by Memphis Minnie and her husband Kansas Joe McCoy in 1929. The song is a stark country blues response to the devastation of the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927.

Led Zeppelin reinterpreted the song, transforming it from rural despair into apocalyptic grandeur. Robert Plant’s echoing lament, along with Jimmy Page’s grinding guitar riff and John Bonham’s thunderous drum beat, created a slow, hypnotic, and impossibly heavy version.

Muddy Waters – “I Just Want to Make Love to You” 

“I Just Want to Make Love to You” was written by Willie Dixon and recorded by Muddy Waters and his band in 1954. It was released as a single by Chess Records the same year with a classic blues lineup featuring Little Walter on harmonica, Jimmy Rogers on guitar, Otis Spann on piano, Fred Below on drums, and Willie Dixon on bass. It was pure Chicago blues seduction that was lean and menacing, performed with a raw, slow-burning intensity and a vocal delivery built around suggestive lyrics.

Fourteen years later, in 1968, Muddy Waters recorded Electric Mud at the suggestion of Marshall Chess, son of Chess Records founder Leonard Chess. He convinced Muddy Waters that recording a psychedelic blues rock album was a way to reach a younger audience. The backing band was comprised of members of Rotary Connection, a psychedelic rock band from Chicago. The album pushed the song toward a Hendrix-like interpretation, executed as a thunderous blues rocker with fuzzed-out guitars and extended solos.

Johnny Winter – “Highway 61 Revisited”

Bob Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited” is the title track of his sixth studio album, Highway 61 Revisited, which was released in 1965 after he began using an electric guitar and helped create the folk rock genre. Highway 61 itself is considered the escape route for people leaving the Deep South for Northern cities like St. Louis and Chicago, as it follows the Mississippi River for 1,400 miles from New Orleans, Louisiana, to Duluth, Minnesota, the birthplace of Robert Zimmerman.

Dylan’s version was a snarling, surreal slice of electric folk blues rock dripping with biting satire, delivered through wild beatnik poetic imagery inspired by the biblical story of Abraham from Genesis Chapter 22. In 1969, Johnny Winter transformed “Highway 61 Revisited” from a counterculture commentary into a full-throttle Texas blues rock assault. Winter’s searing slide guitar and manic performance turned Dylan’s poetic imagery into a barroom brawl.

The post 10 Blues Rock Covers Better Than the Original appeared first on Blues Rock Review.

Posted on May 6th 2026, 1:48p.m.

Deep Purple has announced Splat!, a new studio album due July 3 via earMUSIC. The 13-track record is described as the heaviest Deep Purple album in many years, recorded with the band playing together live in the studio — their longstanding approach to tracking.

Once again teaming with producer Bob Ezrin — whose credits include Kiss, Pink Floyd, Lou Reed, and Alice Cooper — the current lineup of Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Don Airey, and Simon McBride has delivered what the band is billing as a direct continuation of the spirit that defined their classic early-1970s run.

Gillan said, “Where we are now with this incarnation of Deep Purple feels very much like a very ‘now’ version of Deep Purple as it was in the ’70s.”

On the album’s musical DNA, Gillan said: “I have to say, now we are very much back in with material that is compatible with ‘Highway Star,’ ‘Smoke On The Water,’ ‘Lazy’ — the dynamics, the balance, and the fun of the music we made from ’69 to ’73.”

The album’s conceptual framework was developed by Gillan. Rather than treating the end of humanity as an outright catastrophe, Splat! frames it as a transformation — a metamorphosis beyond physical existence. Further details around the concept will be revealed in the weeks leading up to the July 3 release.

To support the album, Deep Purple will extend their already substantial 2026 touring schedule with 86 shows across 28 countries on three continents. Gillan summed it up simply: “Deep Purple is in a great place right now.”

Splat! will be released in the following formats: CD (digisleeve); standard black 2LP gatefold (180g); limited purple 2LP gatefold (180g); limited transparent yellow 2LP gatefold (180g); and digital. A limited box set includes the 2LP gatefold, a CD digisleeve, a 12-page vinyl-sized booklet, three exclusive 10-inch vinyl records featuring live recordings from the band’s 2024 tour, and an exclusive 7-inch single of “Guinnesis” — a bonus track not included on the studio album.

Additional items available via the official artist store include a limited 2LP picture disc, a limited cassette, and a signed canvas edition limited to 199 copies worldwide. All LP editions include the 12-page LP-sized booklet with illustrations and full lyrics, available with the first pressing only.

Formed in 1968, Deep Purple has sold more than 120 million albums and toured globally for decades. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016 and named the “Fifth Most Influential Band Ever” by British radio station Planet Rock. Splat! follows =1 (2024), Whoosh! (2020), inFinite (2017), and NOW What?! (2013), all produced with Ezrin.

The post DEEP PURPLE Announce New Album “Splat!” – Described As Their Heaviest Record In Years – Due July 3 Via earMUSIC appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Frontiers Music [Release date : 15.05.26] There can be few more explosive opening tracks than Von Groove’s ‘Once Is Not Enough’ from their self titled debut, 1992. 30 years later : they’ve got the band back together – Michael Shotton, … Continue reading →

The post Album review : VON GROOVE – Born To Rock appeared first on Get Ready to ROCK!.

Posted on May 6th 2026, 1:33p.m.