Month: July 2019

Drivin N Cryin – ‘Live the Love Beautiful’ – Album Review

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Kevin Kinney and the boys are back after about 10 years since their last full length studio album.  In between that time, they released a bunch of EP’s, but thankfully finally we get a full set of music.  Drivin n Cryin are from Atlanta, GA, my hometown, so they are local boys who done good.  They saw success for a brief time from the late 80’s to early 90’s with songs like “Honeysuckle Blue”, “Straight to Hell”, “Fly Me Courageous” and “Build a Fire” and those songs are a part of the fabric of my life.

A new album from them is always a treat and when you hear Kevin Kinney’s unique vocals come in to play, you feel at home, like you are sitting on the front porch in that steaming Georgia heat, with a glass of ice cold sweet tea (the kind so sweet you go in to a diabetic coma), radio blasting and feeling life is pretty damn good.  That is exactly how I felt when I played this album.

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The band takes their form of southern rock, Americana folk and even psychedelic sounds and blend it all together for an album that is a straight up rock & roll album.  The album kicks off with “Free Ain’t Free” which is Drivin N Cryin bringing us their own version of a political song.  Kevin paints a vivid picture through his spoken lyrics about hard times and struggles that people face.  And when that squeaky, high pitched vocal kicks in on the chorus, Kevin shows his unique sound that only Kevin can bring. It is the voice that IS Drivin N Cryin.

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Tuesday’s Memes – Jazz

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Last week I did Classical Music.  This week let’s jazzy things up with a little Jazz. Jazz is so cool and hip and everything I am not so bare with me on these as I think they are funny, but since I am not into the genre, I could be mistaken.  I hope you enjoy…

What’s the difference between Rock & Jazz?  I am glad you asked…

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This is true….

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Stone Temple Pilots – ‘Live 2018’ – Revised Album Review

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Is 4% a lot?  If someone was to give you 4% less of something, are you really missing out?  For the most part, that answer would be…No!  Well, the answer changes when it comes to music. If you were to listen to an album that was playing 4% slower and you asked that question, my answer would be…Yes, 4% makes a huge difference.  And such is the case for the Stone Temple Pilot’s album ‘Live 2018’.

What am I talking about?  For Record Store Day 2018, the one on Black Friday, Stone Temple Pilots released a special edition, 3-D, live album.  The music wasn’t 3-D, the album cover was. There was a manufacturing error with the vinyl that caused the speed of the album to be 96% of the actual speed.  Only a 4% difference that made a world of difference when listening to the music.

In my original review of Stone Temple Pilots – Live 2018 review, I mentioned if my opinion of the album was changed when (and if) I received the replacement copy, I would do another review…and here we are. The original, 96% speed, actually received a 3.0 out of 5.0 Stars…what will the corrected vinyl receive?  We will see shortly.

The Replacement copy arrived and it took about 3-4 months after I contacted them to get a replacement which makes sense since albums need about a 3 month window to be made.  The copy arrived and it was in a very simple, solid white cardboard sleeve.  The dust cover was the same as the original version and the album was also the same in the that beautiful translucent, red vinyl.

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My Sunday Song – “White Lightning” by Def Leppard

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For My Sunday Song #154, we are covering the 7 minute epic, “White Lightning” off the band’s 1992 release ‘Adrenalize’.  The album sold millions, went to #1 and released 7 singles (not all in the States) and this was not one of them.  This is one of those deep cuts that is actually probably better than everything else on the record.

The ‘Adrenalize’ album was the first album without Steve Clark and even prior to Vivian Campbell joining the band.  The song was written about Steve Clark and his addicitions and untimely death.  Steve’s nickname from the band was White Lightning as he normally dressed in all white on stage and ran around the stage like a bolt of lightning.  It is such a heartfelt tribute and you can feel the love and passion the band had for this man.

The song opens with a guitar solo by Phil Collen that was played in the style of Steve and his personal tribute to him.  The solo starts off slow, with an eerie feel to it…a sadness.  In fact, Phil played all the parts and even with the dual guitar parts he played as if it was he and Steve going at it together.  It is very touching.

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Friday New Releases – July 26th

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July is almost over, but it isn’t going out before giving us one more week of new releases and there a quite a few, but only a few that I am really eager to hear and those that I will listen to when I have time.  My choices will be marked in Blue.  Tell me what you are looking forward to hearing or what I might have missed as it is known to happen.  I hope there is something for your listening pleasure.  Thanks and have a great weekend!

  • 91kzgnSQ-NL._SS500_  Matt Nathanson – Postcards (from Chicago) E.P. – (Acrobat Records):  Well if you follow this site, then you know this is a no-brainer for me.  I have already ordered the 10″ Orange vinyl and not sure when I will get it, but the digital download was ready for me first thing this morning.  Matt, and at times friends, are doing a 6 song E.P. of cover songs and the list is quite diverse from Chance the Rapper to Richard Marx to Cheap Trick.  Last year or so he did another that was a complete Def Leppard covers E.P. which was Fan’freaking’tastic.  So high hopes for this one.

  • 91GAIR97laL._AC_UL115_.jpg  Soundgarden – Live at the Artists Den – (UMe):  Soundgarden is releasing a live show from their 2013 Tour and it will be a full 29 song set and will remind us how great Chris Cornell was as a singer and a frontman.  It will be available on Blue Ray, CD, LP and digital.  Get the deluxe set to have it all.

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Kiss – North Hampton, PA March 19 1975 (Bootleg Series) – Album Review

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The next in the Kiss Bootleg Series is a show from March 19th in 1975 on the Dressed to Kill Tour.  The show was at the Roxy Theatre in Northampton, Pennsylvania and is actually opening night of the Tour.

As usual, we will start with the packaging and what this bootleg has to offer.  First, it is a double LP, however, they skimped and there is no Gatefold to be had.  It is actually a pretty flimsy album jacket and I don’t think it will hold up over time.  The back cover is another live shot of the band but you can’t see anyone’s face.  Not the best choice for a picture.

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The album came with a couple surprises. The first being a collection of Kiss photographs from an L.A. photoshoot at the Playboy Club Rooftop on January 16th, 1974.  The photos came in a nice little mailer as seen below…

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Scott Stapp – ‘The Space Between the Shadows’ – Album Review

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Scott Stapp, the man everyone seems to love to hate.  From Creed to his solo work, he gets no respect which is an utter shame as I think people miss the beauty in his songs and his voice.  The man has been at the top of the world when Creed was at its heights and he has been at rock bottom with his public battles with bi-polar disorder and addiction.  This album is reminder of what he has been through and badge of how far he has come.

His 2013 album, ‘Proof of Life’, is one of my favorite albums and my favorite of his so when I heard about his third solo album, I was really excited.  And did the album live up to expectations, well, lets check it out and see.

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The vinyl is a single LP which has all the 12 songs you can get in Apple Music or iTunes.  The last 2 being listed as bonus tracks.  Being that many songs on one piece of vinyl, the sound is still fantastic, crisp and clear.

The album jacket is a gatefold and inside the gatefold you get all the lyrics to each song, his thank you list and all the credits on the album.  It is nice to be actually able to read the lyrics because sometimes they get jammed on one side of the album sleeve and they are too hard to read.

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Tuesday’s Memes – Classical Music

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Classical Music…when you are a kid you think this is old people music.  When you are older, you realize that if there wasn’t classical music, there would be no movie scores and that Star Wars would suck if John Williams didn’t write the music.  So we are going to celebrate all things Classical Music.  I hope you enjoy!!

The Puns…

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Caleb Johnson & the Ramblin’ Saints – ‘Born From Southern Ground’ – Album Review

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Caleb Johnson came to us via American Idol, but don’t let they fool you into dismissing him because that would be a huge mistake on your part.  Caleb’s debut album came out in 2014 very quickly after winning said singing competition and the album did pretty well, but the record company didn’t know what to do with him and Caleb was rather unhappy with them and with the album as he was forced to do songs he didn’t necessarily like.  After a long battle and finally breaking free from that contract, Caleb is back 5 years later with the album he wanted to make as his first album.  This is the real Caleb Johnson.

Caleb Johnson now has a band called ‘The Ramblin’ Saints’ and what a backing band they are. The album shows every influence that has impacted his life from classic rock, southern rock, soul and even a little funk all with one of the most powerful voices in rock today on full display.  If you really had to classify this album, it is straight-up, pure rock & roll.

The album opens with “Hanging On” with a nice Hammond Organ and then a build up until it rocks out which is pure classic rock in style and mixed with some lovely ladies that do the backing vocals on this (and other songs) that also adds a little soulful touch to the song.

The next song, “Solid Gold”, has a Rival Sons vibe probably because it was co-written with Jay Buchanan of the band along with Blair Daily.  It is bluesy piece and that guitar sounds a lot like the new Rival Sons album which is a very good thing.

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My Sunday Song – “Paper Sun” by Def Leppard

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For My Sunday Song #153, we are exploring the great song “Paper Sun” from the band’s 1999 album ‘Euphoria’.  The song was released as a single in the U.S., but to little fanfare despite it being one of the best songs on the album.

The song is about the Omagh terrorist bombing on August 15, 1998 in Northern Ireland.  Here is what wikipedia says about the bombing…

It was carried out by a group calling themselves the Real Irish Republican Army, a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) splinter group who opposed the IRA’s ceasefire and the Good Friday Agreement. The bombing killed 29 people (including a woman pregnant with twins) and injured some 220 others, making it the deadliest single incident of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

Lyrically and musically, the song is very dark and sad.  At over 5:26 minutes, the song takes you on a journey through the emotions of that sad day.  It feels like they are losing hope in humanity and in life.  The world is so fragile as if made of paper that could burn up in an instant.  Lyrics, like “Do you still hear ’em screamin'” is full of the pain that one would feel if they were at the bombing and could hear the cries for help and the cries of sorrow for those lost.

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