Month: July 2017

Friday New Releases – July 14th

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It’s Friday!! And dang it has been hot!  What is not hot is the lack of releases today.  There are only 2 new ones I care about and 1 greatest hits package, other than that I don’t really see much I want to hear.  The ones I want are highlighted in Blue.

  • 61Iht-lpO7L._AC_US218_  12 Stones – Picture Perfect – (Cleopatra Records):  After being absent for the last 5 years, 12 Stones bring us their 5th studio album.  12 Stones is a Christian Rock, Post-Grunge/Alternative band that started around 2000.  Only two original members remain, but the new single “Picture Perfect” sounds promising.  Give it a listen and then check them out.

  • 81m20d6qF+L._AC_UL115_  Lifehouse – Greatest Hits:  One of my favorite bands to come along since 2000 and can basically do no wrong in my book…or at least haven’t yet.  If you aren’t familiar with them than there is no better way to learn about them than a greatest hits package.  All the hits are there.  They are a pop/rock band and I am sure you have heard one of their songs before.  If you like, the albums will be better as you can dive into their deep cuts which is where they really shine.  I didn’t know which video to pick so I ended up with this great duet with Natasha Bedingfield

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Lionel Richie – “Dancing On The Ceiling” – The 45 Single

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Still yet more in the big box of vinyl.  This time the 45 single I found was actually one of my wife’s old 45’s. The single was for Lionel Richie’s song “Dancing On The Single”.  The single was released in 1986 and was the title track for his third studio album.

I never thought I would do a post on this song as it is not one of my favorite Lionel Richie songs.  Though it is a fun, energetic, dance song; it is a really terrible song at the same time.  I am not alone in that thinking as Blender Magazine listed it as the 20th Worst Song ever out of 50.

However, the world disagreed with me and Blender as the song was a Top 10 hit in almost ever country it was released.  The U.S. saw it go all the way to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The B-Side of the single was “Love Will Find A Way”.  However, as most of my singles from this box don’t follow suit with having the correct B-Side, this one is no different.  This copy of the 45 is a Promotional Copy and Not For Sale.  The flip side is actually “Dancing On The Ceiling” again.  If I couldn’t get enough of the song on the A-Side, I can flip it to the B-Side and hear it again.  Sure, let’s do that.

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Imagine Dragons – ‘Evolve’ – Album Review

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After taking 2016 off as a little break, Imagine Dragons is back on the scene with their 3rd studio album, ‘Evolve’.  After the overwhelming success of their debut, ‘Night Visions’, the 2nd album, ‘Smoke + Mirror’s, was not as successful and didn’t have as big of hits.  It was still a successful album, so hard to call it a sophomore slump.  Now on their third album, there is a little pressure to come out swinging.

‘Evolve’ is a true evolution of their sound, but they do deliver some outstanding pop rock music.  The music is actually a little bordering on arena rock, but since the guitars aren’t the main focus or real drums I guess it is a more of an electronica version of arena rock. I hear more electronic keyboards and drum machines than actual guitars or drums.

The first half of this album is why I call it arena rock.  It is full of slick productions and pounding beats that give it that arena rock feel.  It is one of the best opening 5 songs of any pop rock album out this year.  The second half is a little all over the place and no real direction.

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My Sunday Song – “Life by The Drop” by Stevie Ray Vaughn

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My Sunday Song #47 is “Life By The Drop” performed by Stevie Ray Vaughn from his album ‘The Sky is Falling’.  The album came out in 1991, a year after Stevie’s death.  It was his final studio album.

I had always thought the song was about drinking, but I was wrong.  The song is about two old friends reunited after years apart.  One of the friends has gone on to make something of themselves while the other has not.  The song is basically saying to live life to the fullest and go after your dreams.  You don’t want to end up old and having tons of regrets.  When I discovered this was the meaning of the song years later, it made sense and I connected on another level with the song.

The song was written by an old friend of Stevie’s name Doyle Bramhall with the help of Barbara Logan.  Doyle wrote the song about Stevie and how his friend went off and succeeded in life, but he didn’t reach the same level of greatness.  He was proud of Stevie, but apparently had a lot of regret on his own success or lack thereof.  From what I have read about Doyle, he did finally release his own album in 1994 which was 3 years after his friend had passed away.  Doyle later died in 2011.

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Friday New Releases – July 7th

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Happy Friday!  For those of us in the States, we celebrated our Independence Day on July 4th and now it is time to celebrate Friday New Releases.  Go grab a new album and let me know what you get.  This Friday, there are not a ton of releases and only a couple I want to check out…they are highlighted in Blue. I hope you find something you like.

  • 170x170bb-69  Riverdogs – California – (Frontiers Records Srl):  Def Leppard’s own Vivian Campbell and the other Riverdogs bring us their first new album in 6 years.  They are blues based, hard rock band and they never disappoint.  This will be the one I run to first and give it a listen.

  • 170x170bb  All 41 – World’s Best Hope – (Frontiers Records Srl): Frontiers Records is a great record company and they are known for bringing great artist together for a special project and this is no exception.  The band has Terry Brock from Giant & Strangeways on lead vocals: Robert Berry from Three & Alliance on bass and lead vocals; Gary Pihl from Boston, Sammy Hagar & also Alliance on guitar; and lastly, Matt Starr from Ace Frehley’s band and Mr. Big on drums.  I will give it a listen.

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Bob & Doug McKenzie – Great White North – Album Spotlight

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Bob & Doug McKenzie are a pair of Canadian Brothers who do nothing but drink, say Eh! and Hoser! constantly and are the epitome of every Canadian Stereotype.  The comedy duo is played by Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas.  They were able to take these two dumbass characters and turn them into comedy gold.

Both Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas went on to great success, but might always be remembered for these characters.  Rick Moranis is known for his comedic acting in such great films as Ghostbusters, Little Shop of Horrors, Spaceballs, and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.  Dave Thomas had a long life on SCTV and mostly stayed in television.  Recently has has a recurring role in Blacklist.

The album was included in a box of vinyl I received from my brother-in-law.  I was curious as to why the hell he had this album and then I saw the little sticker on the front that said “featuring Geddy Lee” and then I knew.  My brother-in-law is a HUGE Rush fan so now it made sense.

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Cheap Trick – ‘We’re All Alright!’ – Album Review

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Cheap Trick is the fine wine of Rock & Roll…they keep getting better with age.  Okay, that was extremely cheesy if not entirely true!  They are now on their 18th Studio album after 44 years together.  To top it off, it has only been around 15 months since their last one, ‘Bang, Zoom, Crazy…Hello’.  The new album picks up right where that album left off.  ‘We’re All Alright!’ even takes it to the next level.

The album title, ‘We’re All Alright!’, is a line straight out of their classic song “Surrender” and the whole album is classic Cheap Trick.  The album is a fast paced, juggernaut of pure Cheap Trick rock.  The songs are generally around 3 minutes and the album flies by at only 33 minutes (45 for the deluxe edition).  The album consists of new songs and some old songs that were never recorded or released.

For a band where the members are well into their 60’s, they sound so alive and refreshing and sound better than bands that are half their age.  Robin Zander’s vocals are amazing and sound like he did when he was a kid. Rick Nielsen’s guitar work on the album is the highlight for me.  So many great riffs and solos that music today is sorely missing.  Tom Petersson’s work on the bass keeps everyone in line and adds the finishing touches to each song.  Daxx Nielsen (Rick’s son) on drums has that old Cheap Trick sound and keep the band going at a heart stopping pace.

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My Sunday Song – “The Day The Ravens Left the Tower” by the Alarm

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For My Sunday Song #46, I have chosen “The Day The Ravens Left The Tower” by The Alarm.  The song is off the album, ‘Strength’, from 1985 and is one of my all time favorite albums from the 80’s.  They were never hugely popular in the States although MTV played them a lot.  The album did reach #39 on the Billboard 200 Chart.

“The Day The Ravens Left the Tower” is a very dark song and was a real jump in their songwriting lyrically.  They have always been political with their songs, but the maturity and growth in songwriting really shined on this song for me.  I know I read this somewhere that the song was inspired by a hallucination that Eddie MacDonald had when he was sick with the flu.  I think that is cool if that is true.

What I am fascinated with about the song is actually the story of the ravens.  For those that don’t know, there are ravens that live in the Tower of London.  There have been ravens living there since as far back as 1660 or so around the time of King Charles II.  It is believed that the ravens are there to protect the Crown. If they should ever leave the tower, the Crown and Britain would fall.  I know there is a lot more to the story, but I am not a historian and the site is about music so you can look it up further if you are interested…it is fascinating stuff (also any UK readers want to add anything, please leave a comment).

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