The return of Yes (the band), Queen (the band), Jack Ryan (the superspy), Vinyl (the format) and Mr. Show (but not really)!
File under "Revivals...sorta"...
- Queen is releasing their first album of new material in more than a decade -- and this time they're doing it with ex-Bad Company frontman Paul Rodgers, with whom they've been touring with a sort of "Tribute to Freddie Mercury" show.
Hardcore Mercury fans are losing their minds and saying they shouldn't call this new iteration of the band Queen. Which you had to sort of see coming. Their last album, 1995's Made in Heaven, was made with leftover Mercury vocals.
- Variety reports that director Sam Raimi (Spider-Man, A Simple Plan) is looking to revive Tom Clancy's superspy Jack Ryan, who has been played on screen by Alec Baldwin (The Hunt for Red October), Harrison Ford (Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger) and Ben Affleck (Sum of All Fears).
Jack Ryan movies have, to date, raked in nearly $800 million at the box office -- so I guess you can see why they'd want to bring him back yet again. My dad's a Tom Clancy fan and these guys (and they're almost all guys) are rabid. Freddie Mercury fans may scream and cry if Queen replaces him with someone they don't like -- but Tom Clancy fans might shoot the poor guy who becomes the next Jack Ryan if he lets them down. I nominate Vin Diesel for this very reason.
- Yes (the band) are hitting the road for a 40th anniversary tour.
No, no you're right -- they did just do a 35th anniversary tour. Think that's a little too much Yes? Keyboardist Rick Wakeman agrees with you -- so he's sitting this one out. This is the fourth time he's quit the band. His son Oliver's going to be handling his duties while dad takes a principled stand over giving Yes fans more of what they inexplicably continue to want.
- It looks like Bob Odinkirk and David Cross of the late, brilliant Mr. Show are coming back to HBO for a new series. It won't be a Mr. Show revival, but I'm still looking forward to it.
- And last but by no means least, Elvis Costello is releasing his new album, Momofuku in only two formats -- digital and vinyl.
If you buy the vinyl album (which I will) you get a voucher for a digital download. Hardcore audiophiles continue to (probably rightly) extoll the virtues of vinyl and (certainly rightly) condemn the comparatively terrible sound of the MP3 format. Like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails, Costello has built an audience that's loyal enough to roll with him and remain curious as he experiments with how to continue to deliver music to us in the way he likes.