Month: February 2017

My Sunday Song – “Unanswered Prayers” by Garth Brooks

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For My Sunday Song #26, my wife has selected “Unanswered Prayers” by Garth Brooks. Here is what she has to say about the song and what it means to her.

Written by Garth Brooks, Pat Alger and Larry Bastian and released in October 1990 on his No Fences album.   Brooks said “Every time I sing this song, it teaches me the same lesson…happiness is not getting what you want, it’s wanting what you’ve got.”

I suspect you are already thinking of at least one unanswered prayer that you are mighty grateful the good Lord did not answer. Am I right? Every time I hear the name of this song or see the name of this song, I can’t help but to think of where I would be today had God answered some of those prayers I prayed. And, you know what, I probably wouldn’t be here right now writing this blog for you. It scares me to even think about it. We have the prayers such as “God, please help me make an A on this math test”; or “God, don’t let my parents catch me talking on the phone late”; or “God, please make that boy like me”. Then as we get older, we start asking for bigger and more serious stuff and sometimes we think it is going to be the end of the world if it doesn’t happen, especially in the time frame we want it to happen. Prayers such as “God, I can’t live here anymore so please help me get the job I applied for in this other city so I can move and start a new life”, or “God, I am so in love with this guy and I know he is the one so please make it work between us”. What do these prayers have in common? They are all based on our wants rather than God’s will.

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Michael Bolton – ‘Songs of Cinema’ – Album Review

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Now before I get into the album review, let me preface this with that I am a fan of Michael Bolton’s earlier work starting with his 1983 release ‘Michael Bolton’ which had “Fool’s Game” up until ‘Time, Love & Tenderness’ in 1991.  After that it started to go down hill for me as he was doing way too many covers.  More covers than originals, which is disappointing.  He was also getting further and further from his original rock roots (listen to his early releases and you will hear what I am talking about).

Several months back, I heard Michael was signing with Frontiers Records Srl and I was actually excited to hear that as Frontiers is a great record label and they are a ROCK record label.  They have brought back many bands of my youth and signed them including Night Ranger and Stryper and now Michael Bolton.

Imagine my utter disappointment when I heard the new Michael Bolton album was a cover album of movie songs called ‘Songs of Cinema’.  Wow!!  It is just what I wanted (heavy, heavy sarcasm)!  I told myself going into it, I would keep an open mind and give it a solid listen…which I feel I did for about 30 seconds.

What songs did he cover?  I will tell you.

It starts off with “When A Man Loves A Woman”. Hasn’t he done that one before? Why yes he has, but this one is different…it is the 2017 Version.  Oh yeah, that is right…I am supposed to keep an open mind.  I am sorry, but I can’t. That ship has sailed.  When the first song is a rehash of an old song that you have already covered, you lost me.  The original one he did back in 1991 was so much better.

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Friday New Releases – February 10th

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Welcome to another Friday!  It is time for more new releases and I hope you have some money saved up because one of these is quite pricey.  I know I won’t be getting it anytime soon…if ever.   Not a lot this week, but one I am getting for sure…My picks are in Blue.  And that is The Michael Bolton you see on the list.

  • 616o1njxsrl-_ac_us174_  Def Leppard – And There Will Be A Next Time…Live From Detroit (Blue-Ray/DVD/CD) – (Eagle Rock Entertainment):  Def Leppard is back with another live concert DVD and CD.  Mine has been on pre-order for a couple weeks and should be at my house when I get home.  Can’t wait for this one.

  •  41xza0r4ubl-_ac_us160_  Bon Jovi – Vinyl Box Set (24 LPs) – (Universal Records):  At over $400 this set is for the diehard fan.  I am no longer diehard, but there are 2 albums in here I want that have never been on vinyl before…’Keep the Faith’ and ‘These Days’.  Two of their best albums that I will pick up sometime soon.  Here is a video from their newest album which is included in this set.

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Train – A Girl A Bottle A Boat – Album Review

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Train has found a niche in the pop world.  They bring a fun, summer song feel to their albums and are firmly fitted in the Adult Contemporary world.  They have found their formula and they are sticking to it.  However, they are starting to show signs of a disease called BonJovitis.  What is BonJovitis?  Well here is the clinical definition:

BonJovitis – a disease caused by repeating the same song formula without ever changing anything other than the words. It causes dull, lifeless and completely uninspiring albums and puts your fans and listeners to sleep.  Ultimately the disease will cause your album sales to drop and fans to leave and search elsewhere for music.  (See Bon Jovi as a perfect example).

All their albums are starting to sound the same, but it isn’t as bad for me as how Bon Jovi does it.  If you are a regular reader of my site, you know Train holds a special place in my families heart.  That is the only reason they don’t have full blown BonJovitis in my eyes…YET!!!

All joking aside, Train has delivered another solid album.  I even think the album cover is actually quite beautiful.  It has the ocean, a beautiful girl, a boat and the American flag.  I don’t see a bottle though.

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Music Challenge #5 – Galactic Empire’s ‘Galactic Empire’

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For those that don’t know what the Music Challenge is I will tell you.  Go out and pick up an album or stream an album based solely off one of three categories…1) Album Cover, 2) Band Name or 3) Album Name.  Once you have listened to one, come tell me about it.

For my 5th one over the last year, I picked based on the band name and the album cover. The band name was Galactic Empire and the album cover was of space.  The whole thing had a Star Wars vibe to it, so naturally I was drawn to it.  What I didn’t know at the time was it was an album of John William’s Star Wars songs that were all done in a Heavy Metal format.  Interesting enough.

The album ‘Galactic Empire’ was released on February 3rd on Rise Records.

Here is the Track Listing:

  1. “Main Theme”
  2. “The Imperial March”
  3. “Duel of the Fates”
  4. “The Force Theme”
  5. “The Asteroid Field
  6. “Battle of Heroes”
  7. “Cantina Band”
  8. “Ben’s Death / Tie Fighter Attack”
  9. “Across the Stars”
  10. “The Forest Battle”
  11. “The Throne Room / End Title”

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As Lions – Selfish Age – Album Review

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As Lions’ debut is the incredible ‘Selfish Age’.  There is a lot of buzz around this band and not only because Bruce Dickinson’s son, Austin Dickinson, is the lead singer, but also because these kids are super talented and understand how hard rock should sound.  The new face of rock is upon and us and I am given hope that we are in good hands.

First off, It is pretty brave for the kid of a famous singer or musician to go the same route as their famous parent, but there is no comparison needed. They are two very different singers and two very different bands.  The only other thing to say about the subject is that Bruce must be one proud father because this kid and this band are incredible.

The Band:

  • Austin Dickinson – Vocals
  • Conor O’Keefe – Guitar
  • Will Homer- Guitar
  • Stefan Whiting – Bass
  • Dave Fee- Drums

The opening track, “Aftermath”, immediately sets the tone for the rest of the album.  From this song, you hear great production, great song structure, a melodic sound and intelligent lyrics.  You will get this from every song on the album; however, every song is different.

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My Sunday Song – SPECIAL EDITION – “Rise Up” by Disciple (GO FALCONS!!)

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We interrupt our normally scheduled My Sunday Song for a Special Edition celebrating the Atlanta Falcons in the Super Bowl. The My Sunday Song regular post will return next week with the next edition in the series with my lovely wife picking the songs.

The Falcons use the slogan #RiseUp to rally their fans and there is a great rock song with that same name.  “Rise Up” by the band Disciple is such a great motivating, heavy and loud song that really pumps you up.

So enjoy the song and enjoy the Super Bowl.  Win or Lose, I am glad the Falcons finally made it back.  I do hope they somehow pull a giant victory and stop the Patriots, but I will admit I will be disappointed if they lose.  GO FALCONS!!

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Friday New Releases – February 3rd

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The year is already flying by as we are now in February in what seems like a blink of the eye. I am still getting through all of last week’s releases so luckily there are only 2 I find intriguing this week. They are highlighted in Blue.

  • 170x170bb-10  Black Star Riders – Heavy Fire – (Nuclear Blast):  Black Star Riders returns with their third album.  The band is basically Thin Lizzy but they are not using the name.  Not sure why, but regardless, I love the new material.  The first two albums were great and I feel they are just getting warmed up.  High hopes for the new release.

  • 71wxshqv-8l-_sx522_  Judas Priest – Turbo (30th Anniversary 3CD set) – (Sony Legacy):  Wow!  30 years since the release of Turbo.  I am looking forward to revisiting this classic Judas Priest album and eager to hear what special they might have added to this addition.  Here is the original video to “Turbo Lover” and the video was awful…sorry.

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Motley Crue – ‘The End’ Box Set

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I have been wanting this box set since the day it was announced.  I finally was able to get my hands on a copy and couldn’t be happier.  Well, almost.  Let’s first talk about what is wrong with this box set.  There is a HUGE OMISSION of several albums.  The albums ‘Motley Crue’, ‘Generation Swine’ and ‘New Tattoo” are for some strange, f**king reason are not included in this box set.  I am sure they had a reason, but a good reason it was absolutely not!

Now that I got that out of the way…the Motley Crue Box Set is to commemorate the 35 years of the band.  The set goes through their final show on December 31st, 2015 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.  Motley Crue were

  • Vince Neil – Vocals
  • Nikki Sixx – Bass
  • Mick Mars – Guitar
  • Tommy Lee – Drums

I mentioned briefly what was wrong, now let’s go through what was included in the box set and what they did get right.

The Case:  As you can see from the featured image, the case is actually quite large.  It is a grave headstone marking the death (or ‘The End’) of Motley Crue.  My youngest daughter thought that it was weird, but it is actually quite fitting for the occasion. When full, the case is rather heavy and seems durable enough for its purpose.  The only down side is it won’t fit in my LP cabinet as you can see from the picture as well.  However, it is nice enough to be a nice accent to the cabinet when I place it on top.

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