Friday New Releases – January 20th

Things are starting to pick up in the music world.  Next, however, the full onslaught on new releases starts.  This week, there are a few good ones I am wanting to try (highlighted in blue).  I am not familiar with any of these bands, but what I have heard is intriguing and I think worth a listen.

  • 170x170bb-35  Aaron Keylock – Cut Against the Grain – (Mascot Label): First one on my list is Aaron Keylock.  He is a blues guitarists and I don’t think I mention this, but he is only 18.  This is his debut solo album and I think it is worth a listen.  As the new face of rock, I can’t wait to see what he brings to the table.

  • 170x170bb-36  Starset – Vessels – (New Razor & Tie Enterprises): Next up is Starset. They are an electronic rock/hard rock band.  The single “Monster” is really awesome so I figured they might be something great.  This is their 2nd album which mean I missed the first.  I will listen to this and if it is great,  go back and spin their first album.

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Train – Play That Song Tour Announced – Opening acts O.A.R. and Natasha Bedingfield

Train announced their 2017 North American Tour called the Play That Song Tour.  The band O.A.R. and Natasha Bedingfield have been tapped as opening acts and it is going to be a great show.  For those that visit my blog regularly will know that Train holds a special place with our family and we have seen them numerous times and quite possibly one more time with this tour.

Train also released the lyric video for one of their new songs called “Drink Up”.  The song is from their new album ‘a girl, a bottle, a boat’ which comes out the same day as tickets go on sale.

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Snoopy And His Friends The Royal Guardsmen (1967 – Laurie Records) – Album Spotlight

I was going through my vinyls and came across the strangest album I own.  It is a 1967 pressing of ‘Snoopy and his friends the Royal Guardsmen’.  The album tells the story of Snoopy and the Red Baron in both verse and in song.  Why this album is in my possession I have no idea.  I don’t know which of my brothers or sisters had this album originally or if it was one of my parents albums.

First, who are the Royal Guardsman?  Are they a real band?  They actually are a real band.  They were based out of Ocala, Florida and came up with their name during the British Invasion of the 60’s when bands like the Beatles were blowing up the charts.  I guess they felt it sounded British.  There is an extensive interview and article on the band at Popretrorama.com called The True Story of the Royal Guardsmen.  Click on the link if you want to learn more.

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Everywhere – Fiction Act E.P. – Album Spotlight

The lead singer of Everywhere reached out to me (and I am sure 100’s of other people as well so I know I am not special) to listen to their band’s new E.P., ‘Fiction Act’.  I get a lot of these requests and 9 times out of 10, I can’t stomach what I hear; however, this one was very different.  I actually enjoyed what I was hearing come from my car speakers.

When that happened, I had to find out who they were and what they were about.  First, I like to know where the band gets their name.  Per they bio on their website at everywheretheband.com:

The name of the band was inspired by the quote “Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go everywhere” by former Cosmopolitan editor Helen Gurley Brown.

This told me the band was looking for the bad girl and to get laid…what band isn’t.  I would be worried if they didn’t.  I don’t know if this is true, I am just guessing.  It also let me know they actually put a little thought into their name and it showed some intelligence.

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My Sunday Song – “Because You Loved Me” by Celine Dion

For My Sunday Song #23, my wife has chosen the Celine Dion song “Because You Loved Me”.  I will let her tell you why…enjoy:

This song was written by Diane Warren and produced by David Foster for the movie “Up Close & Personal” starring Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer. Michelle Pfeiffer’s character is thanking Robert Redford’s character for believing in her. Warren could not have picked a more soulful artist to sing this song. Dion has this way of taking you to another place when you are listening to her and it’s like there is no one else around.

I’m pretty sure we all have that certain someone who has supported us even when we didn’t even believe in ourselves, someone who really looked out for us despite our know it all attitude, someone who saw a side of us no one else ever saw and someone who was always there no matter what. For the first part of my life, that person was my dad and still is to a certain degree but for the past 16 years or so this person is definitely my husband. For those who say they have never had anyone like this, remember that God loves you. He does all these things…and more!

This song was on Dion’s “Falling Into You” album released in 1996. It won a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.

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Friday New Releases – January 13th

OMG!! It is Friday the 13th!!  And living up to it’s unlucky reputation, there is nothing really great coming out that I am super excited about except for Danny Gokey & Gotthard (highlighted in Blue).  Since I am only interested in the,  I will post a few videos for some of the others so you can get a taste of what is to come.

  • 170x170bb-18  Danny Gokey – Rise – (BMG):  Christian artist Danny Gokey is releasing his latest album today and it shows how much better he is growing as an artist.  He started out on American Idol and has seem to found his place in music.  His popularity in the Christian genre continues to grow and this album should help that grow even more.

  • 170x170bb-8  Gotthard – Silver – (G. Records):  Gotthard has been a favorite of mine for quite some time.  I am looking forward to hearing this and have enjoyed the first single, “Stay With Me”.

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Def Leppard, Poison & Tesla – Tour Dates

I am so excited to see that Def Leppard announced their latest tour dates for their North American Tour.  They will be going on the road with Poison and Tesla, an 80’s throwback show it appears.  The only disappointing thing for me as that the three will not be coming to Charlotte because Def Leppard will be headlining the Carolina Rebellion Festival in May.  I hope I get to go to the Rebellion to see them, but first I need to find someone willing to go with this old man.

Here are the dates below.  See if they are coming to your town and if so, you have to go see them. Def Leppard still puts on one helluva show.  For more info go to Def Leppard.com

TOUR DATES

April 8 – Manchester, NH – SNHU Arena
April 10 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre*
April 12 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
April 14 – Baltimore, MD – Royal Farms Arena
April 15 – Uniondale, NY – Nassau Coliseum
April 17- Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena
April 19 – Green Bay, WI – Resch Center**
April 21 – St Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center*
April 22 – Sioux Falls, SD – Sanford Premier Center
April 24 – Des Moines, IA – Wells Fargo Arena*
April 26 – Louisville, KY – KFC Yum! Center***
April 27 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
April 29 – Fort Myers, FL – Jetblue Park*
April 30 – Jacksonville, FL – Metropolitan Park*
May 2 – Tuscaloosa, AL – Tuscaloosa Amphitheatre
May 3 – Atlanta, GA – Lakewood Amphitheatre*
May 5 – Charlottesville, VA – John Paul Jones Arena
May 6 – Concord, NC – Charlotte Motor Speedway**
May 24 – Lincoln, NE – Pinnacle Bank Arena
May 26 – Pryor Oklahoma – Rocklahoma*
May 27 – San Antonio, TX – AT&T Center*
May 29 – Colorado Springs, CO – Broadmoor World Arena
May 31 – Bozeman, MT – Brick Breeden Fieldhouse
June 2 – Edmonton, AB – Rexall Place/Rogers Place *
June 3 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome*
June 6 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena*
June 7 – Spokane, WA – Spokane Arena*
June 9 – Seattle, WA – White River Amph
June 10 – Portland, OR – Moda Center
June 12 – Fresno, CA – Save Mart Center
June 14- Ontario, CA – Citizens Bank Arena
June 16 – San Diego, CA – Sleep Train Amphitheatre
June 17 – Las Vegas, NV – MGM Grand Garden Arena
June 19 – Salt Lake City, UT – USANA Amphitheatre
June 21 – Kansas City, MO – Sprint Center***
June 22 – St Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre*
June 24 – Chicago, IL  – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre**
June 25 – Indianapolis, IN – Klipsch Music Center

 

* NO POISON OR TESLA

** NO POISON

*** NO TESLA*

1983 – The Greatest Year in Music?

Last year, I explored the year 1987 as the greatest year in music.  It was a great year and had some huge top selling albums.  Now , I am going to argue for 1983 as the greatest year in music.  The greatest year in music is very subjective and each person will have a different year.  Probably your high school years and/or the year you really started digging music.  1983 was the year that I started becoming massively obsessed with music.

The year had some of the biggest selling albums and a ton of music that influenced me, but what makes the year even better were the debut albums that came out in 1983. Some of the biggest names in music.  Here are the albums and/or events that make 1983 the greatest year in music:

Michael Jackson:

michael_jackson_-_thrillerWe will start off with one of the biggest reasons 1983 might be the greatest year in music.  That reason is Michael Jackson.  His album, ‘Thriller’, actually came out on November 30, 1982.  However, the impact of that album was truly felt in 1983.  Believe it or not, ‘Thriller’, did not reach #1 until almost 3 months after its release.  On February, 26, 1983, ‘Thriller’ was the #1 album in the country.  It was the first of 37 weeks at #1.  The album is the top selling album of all time at over 65 million copies.  A number that is unheard of and might never be topped.

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Halestorm – ReAniMate 3.0 – The CoVeRs eP – Album Review

As I have said repeatedly, cover albums are not my favorite albums as usually they lack the imagination and creativity to make them feel like it is the band’s songs.  They stick too much to the original and who wants that.  If I want to hear something that sounds like the original song, I will listen to the original song.

I will keep an open mind with this review and do my best to do it justice.  Halestorm is now on their 3rd edition of their Reanimate the Covers E.P.’s.  I give the band credit for giving their fans something to tide them over until their next album.  As a music fan, it is nice to always get something new from your favorite bands even if it is a cover song.  However, Halestorm does a lot of covers.

After listening to the album repeatedly for the last few days, I feel I have a great grasp of the songs and can say that I am not overly impressed with the E.P. as a whole.  The band sticks pretty close to the original versions which is where my disappointment lies on most of the songs, but overall it is not a bad effort.  I would rather have a full album of new material though.

The opening track is “Still of the Night”, a Whitensake cover.  I have to admit I do like this song.  Yes, they stick close to the original version, but the vocal range is actually perfect for Lzzy and the band sounds really great.  What I like about Halestorm is that when they really rock it out, that is where they shine.  This song really gives them the opportunity to rock out.

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My Sunday Song – “There Will Come A Day” by Faith Hill

For My Sunday Song #22, my wife has selected “There Will Come A Day” by Faith Hill.  I will now turn it over to my wife…

I will never forget seeing Faith Hill perform this song on television after the 9/11 attacks. She, along with numerous other artists, participated in a fundraising telethon with all net proceeds benefitting the United Way’s September 11th Telethon Fund. The combination of her powerful voice and the message that we can all relate to within the first four lines (especially after watching the evening news from any city) makes this one of my all time favorite songs. This song also paints the perfect picture of that amazing day when we will meet our maker. Regardless of what is going on in our world we can count on the fact that “there will come a day”.  

This song is from her 4th studio album Breathe released in November 1999. Two things about “favorite songs” of mine to keep in mind as you read over the next 8 weeks and get to know me: 1) when I find something I like, I play it over and over and over, and 2) if I’m in the car and I’m alone, I sing really loud and there’s probably some dancing in there too. I’ve always done these two things, they aren’t things that happened with age and nope, I didn’t care then if people saw me singing and dancing in the car and I don’t care now.

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