Year: 2017

Adelitas Way – ‘Notorious’ – Album Review

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The new album, ‘Notorious’, was released in October 2017 by The Vegas Syn/The Fuel Music. Adelitas Way is from Las Vegas and formed back in 2006. The band now consists of only  Rick DeJesus on lead vocals, Trevor “Tre” Stafford on drums and Andrew Cushing on bass.  Adelitas Way is an independent band and to get this album made they did a Pledgemusic campaign to help fund and after some time, we have this great straight-up rock & roll album.  How long did it take?  Well, the first single came out in September 2016 which is a little over a year before the album finally released.

The album is only 9 songs and at a little over 3 minutes for the average song, you are in and out in about 30 minutes.  Straight and to the point.  No filler, just a sonic blast of rock.  I would rather have an album of 9 great songs than an album of 14 songs with a bunch of filler.  After the slight disappoint I had with their last release, ‘Getaway’, ‘Notorious’ makes amends and proves they can still put out quality work.

The album opens with the title track and third single “Notorious” and comes screaming out of the gate with heavy drums and a wave of guitars.  It is a modern rock song that fully assaults your senses before going straight into the first single from the album “Ready for War (Pray for Peace)”. This rocker doesn’t slow things down and DeJesus sounds great and delivers a catchy, memorable chorus that will make a great song to hear live.  The crowd will be bouncing up and down with their hands in the air.  Andrew Cushing’s bass is also a standout as well as some great guitar work.

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My Sunday Song – “Lunatic Fringe” by Red Rider

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For My Sunday Song #65, I chose “Lunatic Fringe” by Canadian rock band Red Rider.  The song is off their 1981 album ‘As Far as Siam” and is probably the band’s most famous song.  The song charted as high as #11 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, but never cracked the Top 40 of the Bill board Hot 100.  Actually, they never had a song chart in the Top 40 so I guess you could categorize them as a No-Hit Wonder, at least here in the States.

But for me the song was a hit.  MTV surely played it a lot as that was the only place I ever heard it at the time.  The creepiness of the song was what drove me to liking it.  I like dark and creepy songs for some reason.  The song really starts out with a creepy keyboard sound, almost evil feel to it.  From the keyboard sounds, you then get a quick couple guitar notes that add a punch to it. And from there, the song kicks into full band mode and Tom Cochrane’s vocals.  The song ends with city street sounds including sirens and then ends with the guitar riff from the beginning.  The song worked form beginning to end.

According to Mike Bell of the Canadian Online Explorer, “Lunatic Fringe” was inspired by “what Cochrane saw as an alarming rise of anti-Semitism in the ’70s, and was also partially inspired by a book he read on Raoul Wallenberg, who helped thousands of Jews escape Nazi Germany”.  And per Wikipedia, “lunatic fringe” is a “term used to characterize members of a political or social movement as extremists with eccentric or fanatical views. The term was popularized by Theodore Roosevelt, who wrote in 1913 that, “Every reform movement has a lunatic fringe.”” which is why he named the song as he did.

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Friday New Releases – November 10th

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Welcome to another Friday New Releases and this week is a biggie.  Why?  Because Taylor is finally releasing her long awaited new album.  I put it at the top because it will be the most played album in our house (I have two girls that love her).  But don’t fret!  There is plenty of other releases for everyone.  I have a ton of rock records that I can’t wait to spin and they are highlighted in Blue.  I hope there is something for you.  Enjoy!

  • 61fam+0-OYL._AC_US218_  Taylor Swift – Reputation – (Big Machine): Get ready because the old Taylor is DEAD!!  This is a new Taylor Swift and from what I have heard so far, I would agree.  Taylor is reinventing herself now with each new release and I don’t see it as a bad thing.  At least for me, the new songs are more interesting than the prior songs.  I actually might like this new direction.  We will see as I will definitely hear it enough to become familiar with it.

  • 61qd3pEQ1nL._AC_US218_  Sweet & Lynch – Unified – (Frontiers Records):  Now here is where I will begin.  Michael Sweet & George Lynch were brought together by Frontiers Records as one of their special projects and usually they end up as a one time deal, thankfully, this one is not. We are now given a second release and they are touring.  Maybe this will last a little while.  I always need more rock & roll.

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T-Shirts, T-Shirts, T-Shirts #2 – A Family Affair

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Welcome back to T-Shirts, T-Shirts, T-Shirts.  I didn’t expect to do another post so soon, but the Rock T-Shirt collection has taken a little twist.  It has become a family affair.  Not only have I been buying, but now my kids have to have band T-Shirts as well.

My oldest daughter is the worst.  Almost as bad as I am.  She has some concert T’s and now she has quite a few band shirts as well.  Here are her concert shirts for Ed Sheeran, James Bay and Tori Kelly…

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Fozzy – ‘Judas’ – Album Review

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It is hard to believe Fozzy has been together for close to 20 years.  I remember when they came on the scene and I wasn’t overly impressed.  It was more of a cover band and this WWE wrestler, Chris Jericho, was the lead singer.  Being a wrestler didn’t give him much street cred in my book.  But over time, the band moved from a cover band to a real rock & roll band.  Now with their seventh studio album, ‘Judas’, I think Fozzy have created their masterpiece.

The songs are guitar heavy, modern and so damn catchy.  I would describe it as Pop Metal for the fact it is so melodic and every song is radio friendly.  The opening track and title track, “Judas”, is the perfect first single.  If you like this song, the album is a slam dunk.  You than go into “Drinkin’ With Jesus” with its great guitar solo, “Painless”, which is almost a power ballad but has a little more punch and than straight into “Weight of My World” which is the catchiest damn song on the whole album. It is one of my favorite songs on the album despite it being a little repetitive…that repetitiveness  works!!

The next couple of songs “Wordsworth Way” and “Burn Me Out” don’t slow things down.  “Wordsworth Way” is such a great production and a great guitar solo even as brief as it is (it still a guitar solo – me like those).  “Burn Me Out” doesn’t offer up much for me.  It is a little forgettable.

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My Sunday Song – “Shatter Me” by Lindsey Stirling (feat. Lzzy Hale)

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For My Sunday Song #64, I chose a classical pop track called “Shatter Me” by Lindsey Stirling.  If you don’t know Lindsey, shame on you, she is an American violinist who performs what is called classical crossover.  It is classical music with a Pop twist to it is how would describe it.  The song “Shatter Me” was off her second album of the same name. It was actually Lindsey’s first attempt at writing lyrics and normally the songs are instrumentals only.  I have loved this song since I first heard it and was reminded of it when I saw Lindsey on Dancing With the Stars…and she is pretty good.

The song features the powerhouse vocals of Halestorm’s lead singer Lzzy Hale.  The combination of Lindsey’s musical stylings and Lzzy’s rock vocals delivers one of the best songs of 2014.  The song would go on to reach #39 on the Billboard Adult Pop songs and was her first charting song.

The song has a positive message about breaking free or shattering the image of what you think people want you to be to being what you want to be.  It is about being strong and having the courage to push the limits of who you can be and what you can do.  The rock edge to the song and that violin together prove to be a powerful force in delivering this strong message.

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Friday New Releases – November 3rd

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Can you believe we are in November already.  Christmas is just around the corner and with all the new releases today, what might be on your Christmas list?  I don’t really have anything from these releases that I am dying to have, but there are a couple I will give a listen to.  Not much in the rock world for me, it is all Pop.  The ones I am interested in at least listening to are highlighted in Blue as always.

If you want to buy any of the albums, I have tried to make it easy for you. Click on the link after each album and it will take you to iTunes and you can download the release with just a few clicks.

  • 51m6YjZEtOL._AC_US400_FMwebp_QL65_  Maroon 5 – Red Pill Blues – (222 Records/Interscope):  Maroon 5 brings us another record, but with the over saturation of Adam Levine on TV with the Voice and the lack of greatness from the singles so far I am not overly excited.  However, I have been a huge fan since the beginning so it will get listened to.  I hope there are songs that only feature the band.  I am sick and DAMN!!! Tired of the releases for this album so far that feature another artist.  Why do songs today on Pop Radio have to be with someone else.  I don’t get and this is a topic for another time.  I do like “Cold” though.

  • 51-yr3+L5-L._AC_US436_QL65_  Sam Smith – The Thrill of It All – (Capitol Records):  Finally the voice of Sam Smith is back with some new music.  I know my oldest loves him and I have to admit he has a nice voice.  I will give it a spin and see what he has to offer.  The first two promotional songs have been good.

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Turntables & Vinyl #10 – The Growing Obsession

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It has been a few months since I have done a post in my Turntable & Vinyl series and a lot has gone on since the last one.  Mainly, the growing obsession with getting my favorite albums in vinyl.  Everywhere I go, I am looking for a record store or thinking of an excuse to go to a store and just “look” around. It has become a growing obsession that isn’t getting any better, in fact, it is getting worse.

And thanks to a fellow blogger, I now have my collection in Discogs.  I can’t remember who it was as it has been several months and I have a terrible memory…now what was I talking about…oh yeah…Discogs.  I spent quite some time cataloging my newly started collection.  The good news, now when I am out at a record store and I can’t remember if I have that album or not, I only need to pull it up on the phone and BOOM!!, I will know if it is in my collection or not.  No more buying duplicates (I told you my memory is bad).  I actually had to use it a few weeks back so I know it was well worth the time adding everything in. Plus, it tells me what my collection is worth (ain’t much which is sad!), but it is a great tool if the collection should get stolen or burned down, I have a record of my albums for insurance purposes.  Nice!

One thing I have been wanting to do for quite a while is upgrade my shitty little stereo system I have been  using.  It was an old system with some shitty little speakers.  Did I mention it was shitty?  Well, I finally replaced it and gave the older system to my oldest daughter for her room.  She loves it because that shitty system replaced her even shittier system.  One man’s junk is another man’s (or teenager girl’s) treasure.  I didn’t get anything real fancy, I did keep it very reasonable.  I only bought a Yamaha Receiver and a couple of Polk floor speakers plus a sub-woofer (I like that bass a little).  I could have gone with a surround sound system, but I really love this set up.  it was the way I listened to the albums back in the day, plus the vinyl isn’t mastered in Surround Sound!!

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“My First Time” with Ozzy Osbourne’s ‘The Ultimate Sin”

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It is hard to believe this is the 10th “My First Time” selection.  That means there only two more to go in the series before I call it quits.  My intention was one a month for a full year.  For the 10th selection, I have chosen the album that was ‘My First Time’ with Ozzy Osbourne.  That album was ‘The Ultimate Sin’.  It took up to his fourth solo release before I actually bought anything Ozzy Osbourne.

The album came out on February 22, 1986 and at the time was Ozzy’s most successful album.  It would go on to sell over 2 million copies and cemented me as a fan.  I had never been into Ozzy’s music prior (with the exception of “Crazy Train”), but there was something about this album I liked.  It felt more accessible to me.  The tunes were more melodic and not as hard as I imagined an Ozzy album to be.  It helped that the first single “Shot in the Dark” received massive airplay on MTV.

Ozzy is always known for having outstanding musicians on an album and this one was no different.  The guitarist at the time was none other than Jake E. Lee.  This would end up being his last album with Ozzy.  He would do some solo stuff and founded Badlands, but he would then disappear for years until his recent return with Red Dragon Cartel.  Most of the music on the album was written by Jake, but since he had been screwed out of writing credits on previous albums, he wouldn’t contribute anything else until he was assured credit.  Once a contract was in place, BOOM, we have a new Ozzy album.

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My Sunday Song – “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes

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My Sunday Song #63 is from The White Stripes.  The song is “Seven Nation Army” and is one of their most popular songs.  It is off their fourth album, ‘Elephant’, and went on to hit #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks back in 2003.

What I love about The White Stripes is the quirkiness of the songs and the band itself.  The band only consists of two people, Jack and Meg White.  They were husband and wife at one time, but have since divorced.  The band is no more, but thankfully, their music lives one.

The song that resonated most with me from them was “Seven Nation Army”.  The song was a standout because of that bass line riff that starts off the song and plays throughout.  Imagine my surprise to learn that was not a bass.  The band doesn’t ever use a bass in their music.  They only use a drum and guitar.  According to Wikipedia, to get that effect, Jack White’s semi-acoustic, 1950s-style Kay Hollow body guitar was run through a DigiTech Whammy pedal which was set down an octave.  It is a really cool sound.

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