Tag Archives: 2025

Franz Ferdinand: The Human Fear

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On January 10, 2025, “Domino” label released “The Human Fear”, the sixth Franz Ferdinand studio album. It was recorded in 2024, at “AYR” in Scotland, and was produced by Mike Ralph.

Personnel:

  • Alex Kapranos – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards
  • Dino Bardot – guitar, backing vocals
  • Julian Corrie – synthesizer, backing vocals
  • Bob Hardy – bass
  • Audrey Tait – drums, percussion
  • Clara Luciani – backing vocals
  • Gemma Chester – engineer
  • Josh Green – engineer
  • Anthony Ryan Denton – engineer assistant
  • Mark Ralph – mixing
  • Matt Colton – mastering

Track listing:

All tracks by Alex Kapranos, except where noted.

  1. Audacious
  2. Everydaydreamer – Alex Kapranos, Julian Corrie
  3. The Doctor –Alex Kapranos, Julian Corrie, Dino Bardot
  4. Hooked – Alex Kapranos, Julie Corrie
  5. Build It Up –Alex Kapranos, Julie Corrie
  6. Night or Day
  7. Tell Me I Should Stay
  8. Cats
  9. Black Eyelashes
  10. Bar Lonely – Alex Kapranos, Bob Hardy
  11. The Birds

Ringo Starr: Look Up

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On January 10, 2025, “Universal Music Enterprise” label released “Look Up”, the twenty-first Ringo Starr studio album. It was recorded in 2024, and was produced by T-Bone Burnett, Daniel Tashian and Bruce Sugar.

Personnel:

  • Ringo Starr – lead vocals, drums, percussion, whistling
  • T Bone Burnett – acoustic and electric guitar, 6-string bass
  • Daniel Tashian – acoustic and electric guitar, 12 string lead guitar, woodblock , 6-string bass, piano, harmony vocals
  • Billy Strings – harmony vocal, lead acoustic guitar, guitars, electric guitar
  • Paul Franklin – pedal steel guitar
  • Joe Walsh – slide guitar
  • Greg Leisz – acoustic guitars
  • Rory Hoffman – acoustic guitar, clarinet
  • Molly Tuttle – harmony and duet vocal, acoustic guitar, 12-string guitar, mandolin
  • Colin Linden – resonator guitar
  • Stuart Duncan – fiddle, mandolin
  • Rebecca Lovell – mandolin, backing vocals
  • Andy Cata – piano
  • Mike Rojas – piano
  • Mickey Raphael – harmonica
  • Dennis Crouch – bass
  • David Mansfield – string arrangement
  • Lucius (Jess Wolfe & Holly Laessig) – backing vocals
  • Megan Lovell – backing vocals
  • Alison Krauss – harmony vocal
  • Bruce Sugar – engineer
  • Michael Piersante – engineer, mixing
  • Mike Stankiwicz – engineer
  • Eddie Roberts – additional engineering, engineer assistant
  • David Paulin – engineer assistant
  • Grant Wilson – engineer assistant
  • Joanna Finley – engineer assistant
  • Karl Wingate – engineer assistant
  • Michelle Freetly – engineer assistant
  • Reuben Cohen – mastering
  • Gavin Lurssen – mastering
  • Ivy Skoff – production coordination

Track listing:

All tracks by T Bone Burnett, except where noted.

  1. Breathless
  2. Look Up – T-Bone Burnett, Daniel Tashian
  3. Time on My Hands – T-Bone Burnett, Daniel Tashian, Paul Kennerley
  4. Never Let Me Go
  5. I Live for Your Love – T-Bone Burnet, Bill Swan
  6. Come Back
  7. Can You Hear me Calling
  8. Rosetta
  9. You Want Some – Bill Swan
  10. String Theory – T-Bone Burnett, Daniel Tashian
  11. Thankful – Bruce Sugar, Richard Starkey

Mick Abrahams

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On December 19, 2025, Michael Timothy Abrahams died aged 82. He was musician (guitar), singer and song-writer, member of the band Wommett, founding member of Blodwyn Pig and Mick Abrahams Band, but was best known as the original guitarist for Jethro Tull 1967 – 1968). As leader he released 17 albums.

Joe Ely

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On December 15, 2025, Joe Ely died aged 78. He was musician (guitar), singer and songwriter, considered as one of the main creators of the progressive country scene in the 1970s and 1980s. He was founding member of the band The Flatlanders, performed and recorded with Bruce Springsteen, Uncle Tupelo, Los Super Seven, The Chieftains, James McMurtry, The Clash, Lyle Lovett, John Hiatt and Guy Clark. As leader, Ely released 22 albums.

Marilyn Mazur

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On December 12, 2025, Marilyn Mazur died aged 70. She was percussionist, performed and recorded with Six Winds, Alex Riel, Gil Evans, Wayne Shorter, Jan Garbarek, Lindsay Cooper, Makiko Hirabayashi. Pierre Dørge, Makiko Hirabayashi, Frans Bak, Frans BakJon Balke, Peter Bastian, Harry Beckett, Kirsten Braten Berg, Ketil Bjornstad,  Kristian Blak, Birgit Bruel, Etta Cameron, Nikolaj Hess, Carsten Dahl, Lars Danielsson, Laurent Cugny, Yelena Eckemoff, Agnes Buen Garnas, Caroline Henderson, Nikolaj Hess, Jan Gunnar Hoff, Robert Irving III, Morten Kaersa, Iver Kleive, Peter Kowald, Wolfgang Lackerschmid, Michala Petri, Jean-Michel Pilc, Caecilie Norby, Charlie Mariano, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Rena Rama, Helge Sunde, Eje Thelin, Trondheim Voices, Hans Ulrik, Andreas Vollenweider, Dhafer Youssef, Eberhard Weber and Miles Davis. As leader she released 14 albums.

Steve Cropper

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On December 3, 2025, Steven Lee Cropper died aged 84. He was musician, songwriter, record producer and actor, known as “The Colonel”. He was the guitarist of the “Stax Records” house band, Booker T. & the M.G.’s, which backed artists such as Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas, and Johnnie Taylor. He was also member of the Blues Brothers Band, and recorded and performed with many other artists including Alabama, Jimmy Barnes, William Bell, Barbi Benton, Big Star, Stephen Bishop, Frank Black, Bobby and the Midnites, Booker T. & MG.’s, Ronnie Baker Brooks, Jimmy Buffett, Billy Burnette, Brian Cadd, Cate Brothers, Chicago, David Clayton Thomas, A. J. Croce, Patti Dahlstrom, Delaney & Bonnie, Ned Doheny, Yvonne Elliman, Jose Feliziano, Eddie Floyd, Peter Frampton, Richie Furay, Art Garfunkel, Cyndi Grecco, Levon Helm, Chris Hillman, Rebecca Lynn Howard, Etta James, Wynonna Judd, Albert King, B.B. King, Al Kooper, John Lennon, Ann Margret, Marilyn McCoo, Billy Davis Jr., Craig Morgan, Aaron Neville, Wayne Newton, Harry Nilsson, John Oates, Nigel Olsson, Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton, Wilson Pickett, Michel Polnareff, John Prine, Otis Redding, Bruce Roberts, Leon Russell, Sanford & Townsend, Leo Sayer, Poncho Sanchez, Guy Sebastian, Neil Sedaka, Paul Shaffer, Paul Simon, Percy Sledge, Broderick Smith, The Soul Children, The Staple Singers, Mavis Staple, Ringo Starr, Rod Stewart, Livingston Taylor, Carla Thomas, Mickey Thomas, Wendy Waldman, Tower of Power, The Manhattan Transfer, Dale Watson and Jerry Lynn Williams. Magazine “Rolling Stone” ranked him 36th on its list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists”. Cropper won two “Grammy Awards”, and as leader or co-leader Cropper released 13 albums.

Jimmy Cliff

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On November 24, 2025, James Chambers (aka Jimmy Cliff) died aged 81. He was singer, musician (guitar, piano, keyboards, congas) and actor, one of the most important figures  in worldwide promotion of the Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae music. He was the only living reggae musician to hold the “Order of Merit”, the highest honor that can be granted by the Jamaican government for achievements in the arts and sciences. In 2010, Jimmy Cliff was inducted in the “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame”.