Month: March 2019

My Sunday Song – “Danger” by Kiss

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For My Sunday Song #137, we are going to ‘Creatures of the Night’ album and the song “Danger” from 1982.  This album didn’t do that well for the band and the tour did even worse.  Kiss was in turmoil at the time and the band seemed doomed to be at their end.  The album eventually did go Gold, but at the time was a failure.  Now, it is actually regarded to some as one of their best albums…and I would be in that group.

“Danger” was written by Paul Stanley and Adam Mitchell as the band had been using outsider writers for some time now.  Paul had lead vocal duties and Eric Carr was on drums.  But those were the only 2 official Kiss members on the song.  It was thought for a long time that Bob Kulick played lead guitar, but it was actually Vinnie Vincent who was not yet a full-fledge member of Kiss.  Ace, technically, still had that role although he didn’t play on the album.  He did get credited with playing and his picture is on the cover.

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And if that wasn’t enough, Gene doesn’t play bass on this one either.  The bass player was Jimmy Haslip from the jazz fusion group The Yellowjackets.  Gene apparently was too distraught over his break-up with Diana Ross to play.

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Friday New Releases – March 29th

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March is over and it will go out with a ton of releases this week.  There is something for everyone with this many releases.  We have metal, rock, alternative, country, R&B, jazz and christian music all to be heard and spun.  Actually, for me, there isn’t much I am interested in and I will highlight those in Blue.  Let me know what you found and if I missed anything.  Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend.  If you want to see a bunch of the new releases coming over the next couple months, click New Releases here or at the top of the page.

  • 61e23dfEOBL._SS500_  Billie Eilish – When We All Fall Asleep – (Darkroom/Interscope Records):  Okay, this one is on my list because it is my oldest daughters favorite artist right now and apparently a lot of people are digging her.  She is VERY DARK in her attitude, music and especially the lyrics.  But she has something that is the “IT” factor right now.  A lot of her stuff is a little too weird, but some songs really knock it out of the park.  I will be listening to this one a lot…and not all by choice.

  • 81mrsy-ui6l._ac_ul115_  L.A. Guns – The Devil You Know – (Frontiers Records):  Is this the real L.A. Guns or one of the two touring bands with the same name??  Kidding…a little.  Either way, I will give it a spin and see what this old band still has to offer.

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Turntables & Vinyl #19 – She Met Sabrina Carpenter

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Turntables & Vinyl is my journey through music.  Most of the time it is about my vinyl purchases, but occasionally it is about my musical experiences.  This time it is actually about my youngest daughter’s musical experience.

My youngest keeps bringing up the fact she has never met anyone famous while her older sister has gotten to meet so many famous people including Matt Nathanson, Tori Kelly and actor Keegan Allen.  So, when she found out former Disney star, Actress and Singer Sabrina Carpenter was coming to town she mentioned she wanted to go to the show.

Now, my daughter never really asks to go to concerts (except for Shawn Mendes, but that is another story) so I immediately told her we would go.  She asked about getting to meet her and I reminded her that if it was too expensive, we would not be able to do it.  On the day of pre-orders for the tickets, I go online and look up ticket prices and you know, they weren’t terrible for the meet & greet.  Well they were, but her birthday was going to be shortly after the concert and I thought it would make a great early present.

They were offering two packages, the expensive one that gave you a tour of the Tour Bus as well as a personal meet & greet with Sabrina for individual pictures.  The other lesser expensive one (but still expensive) was no meet & greet, but Sabrina was going to do a  Q&A with the VIPs and a group picture, no individual photo.  You also would get an autographed show setlist and a special gift from Sabrina.

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Billy Idol – ‘Whiplash Smile’ – Album Review (The Billy Idol Series)

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After the tour for Rebel Yell, Billy Idol continued to live like he was on tour.  The drug use was getting worse, his relationship with Perri Lister was over and even his manager, Bill Aucoin was absent due to his own drug issues.  Billy’s world was slowly spiraling out of control.  And so was his ego.

When work was started on his next album ‘Whiplash Smile’, Billy’s ego started to get in the way.  He wanted control.  He wanted to write all the songs.  He wanted to add more synthesizers, more sounds, more stuff that wasn’t Steve Stevens.  And it is noticeable in the music.

What is also noticeable, is that with everyone leaving his life, the loneliness found its way into the music.  And an album that found about as much success as its predecessor, it wasn’t not quite the Billy Idol album people wanted or critics even liked.  It was an album that would lead to the end of a relationship between musicians that really needed each other.

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Tuesday’s Memes – Hootie & the Blowfish

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Did you know Hootie & the Blowfish are touring again?  Wow, I didn’t think that would ever happen again…my life is complete!!  In celebration, we have to do a Darius Rucker & Hootie & the Blowfish collection of memes from around the internet.  Here are some of the better ones I found.  I hope you enjoy them.

Hootie & the Blowfish…the songs…

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The Original Vs. The Cover – “New York Groove”

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For this month’s version of The Original Vs. The Cover, we are tackling the 70’s hit, “New York Groove” that was made famous by Ace Frehley on his solo album in 1978.  However, the song was originally performed by the Glam band Hello back in 1974.  The song was written by Russ Ballard and if you don’t know Russ, he was in the band Argent, went solo, and was a songwriter who has worked with America, Roger Daltrey, Peter Criss, and Frehley’s Comet to name a few.

The Hello song did pretty well in the UK hitting #9 and #7 in Germany.  Ace’s version was the highest charting song of any of the Kiss Solo albums where it peaked at #13 in the Billboard Hot 100.

Russ Ballard wrote the phrase “back in the New York Groove” while on a plane headed to New York where he hadn’t been in a long while.  So, that became the theme of the song and eventually he would finish the song.

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Hello connected with Russ while he was in the UK and the band’s manager had reached out to Russ asking if he had any songs the band could use and boom, you get “New York Groove”.

Hello’s version opens with a hand clap sound (maybe a stomping/clapping sound), a harmonica riff and a great drum beat.  Right before the chorus, there is nice little guitar riff and speaking of chorus, the way they emphasized the word “Groove” in New York Groove was unusual and made it stand out.  It definitely has that 70’s feel to it and Bob Bradbury does a great job with the vocals.  It is actually a very fun song and I can see why they had a minor hit with it.

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My Sunday Song – “No, No, No” by Kiss

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For My Sunday Song #136, We are going to talk about the 80’s classic “No, No, No” off the 1987 album ‘Crazy Nights” and the B-Side of their first single “Crazy, Crazy Nights”.  ‘Crazy Nights’ was a platinum selling album and might be considered as one of the bands weaker albums in some circles as they were chasing the trend at this point rather than creating it.

The song was originally titled “Assume the Position” (get your mind out of the gutter…because I am sure that is where their mind was with that title) and later it was called “Down on All Fours” (hmmm…I think their mind is still in the gutter).  The song was originally written off a riff by Bruce Kulick and Eric Carr put his stamp on it as well.  It was later handed over to Gene Simmons for completion.

The song opens with a blistering, solo by Bruce.  It is fast and ferocious and shows why he is so highly regarded as one of the best Kiss Guitarists!!  The drums are heavy thanks to the late, great Eric Carr and Gene finally has a decent song as over the last few albums, his weren’t always so stellar.  Well, really this is great mostly because of Bruce, but we won’t tell Gene that as we don’t want to hurt his fragile little ego.

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Friday New Releases – March 22nd

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After last week, we need a bunch of new releases and this week you get just that.  This week is also heavy on the rock side which suits me fine.  A whole lot to choose from here.  Hopefully you will find something you like. I know I have quite a few I am interested and one that is on pre-order and can’t wait to dive into and re-explore.  All my choices are highlighted in Blue.  Let me know what you are looking forward to hearing and if I missed anything.  Thanks and have a great weekend!!

  • 819unabimsl._ss500_  Harem Scarem – The Ultimate Collection Box Set – (Frontiers Records):  A 14 CD set spanning the entire Harem Scarem Career.  This is massive and I can’t wait.  I haven’t gone through their albums one by one in a long, long time…to long in fact.  This will be fun and should keep me busy for quite some time.  What’s your favorite album?

  • 91S5DWfazkL._SX522_  Motley Crue – The Dirt Soundtrack – (Eleven Seven Music):  The Crue is back with a Netflix Biopic and a soundtrack to boot.  The soundtrack has four new songs (sort of) and is a greatest hits collection.  It doesn’t look as sweet as the Queen movie soundtrack (now that is how you do it).  Let’s hope the songs are better than the movie looks.  So far, not overly impress with The Dirt song that was released and there is a cover of Like a Virgin by Madonna…that ain’t helping things look any better.  We will see…

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Avril Lavigne – ‘Head Above Water’ – Album Review

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Avril Lavigne is now on her 6th studio album and the first since 2013’s self-titled release.  That is a long gap and she has been missed.  Avril has gone from this skater girl with a punk and rock attitude to a more mature, pop sound that is both beautiful and elegant.

The problem with the release is it is safe, there is no more edge to her songs.  There is nothing to differentiate her from every other person on the radio even having Nicki Minaj appear on “Dumb Blonde”.  Yes, please…have a hip hop artist in your song so it gets played on the radio (that is sarcasm, btw).  One time, she led the pack, now she is trying to keep up.

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The opening track “Head Above Water” is strong and “Tell Me It’s Over” as well as “I Fell In Love With the Devil” aren’t bad either, but the album felt like so much filler and after 6 years, I hoped she had something more to say.  Also, when the aforementioned “Dumb Blonde” is the most upbeat, fun song on the album, that is a problem.

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Danger Danger – The Albums Ranked Worst to First

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It all started for me back in 1990 when I saw Danger Danger open up for Kiss.  I was really impressed by their stage performance and the songs.  I had to check them out.  They were touring in support of their debut, self-titled album which was released in 1989 and I went out and bought it within that week after the show.  I have followed their career ever since.

The band has had two lead singers (they had another prior to any album coming out, but doesn’t count for this list and since I am not including the “Rare Cuts” compilation).  The first for me was Ted Poley.  He is currently the lead singer again.  From the mid-90’s to early ’00’s, the singer was Paul Laine.  Each have 3 studio album and a cool combo set included in this list for a total of 7 albums ranked.  No live albums or any compilations included.

The classic line-up for me is Bruno Ravel (bass/guitar), Steve West (drums), Andy Timmons (guitar), Kasey Smith (Keyboards) and Ted Poly (vocals).  When they switched out with Paul Laine (vocals) I was perfectly happy as he was a great singer and I loved his debut album ‘Stick It In Your Ear’.  The line-up has change over the years, but Bruno and Steve have been the constants.

The band is a story of two different bands.  The beginning was all having a good time, full of fun and excitement with songs about Sex, Sex, Rock & Roll and more Sex…did I mention sex??  Then they became more serious tone, with a more mature sound and flat out better song writing.  Both bands I liked equally as they each brought something to the table.  I think they are worth checking out, but they might not be everyone’s cup of tea.  I hope you enjoy…

WORST – REVOLVE (2009):

 

 

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