Month: December 2020

My Sunday Song – “Killer Queen” by Queen

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic28 Comments

For My Sunday Song #227, we are focusing our attention to the song “Killer Queen” by Queen. The song is off their 1974 album ‘Sheer Heart Attack’. The song was released as a single and went to #2 in their home country of the UK and #12 in the U.S. of A. It is song that is quintessential Queen and this was actually the band’s first hit in the US.

The song was written by Freddie Mercury and in an interview from 1974 in the queenarchives.com, Freddie had this to say about the song…

It’s about a high class call girl. I’m trying to say that classy people can be whores as well. That’s what the song is about, though I’d prefer people to put their interpretation upon it – to read into it what they like.

I would have to agree with what Freddie says because the lyrics are pretty clear. This high class beauty has been passed around from country to country by all sorts of men…very high-level and powerful men. I love the lyrics as they are all so playful and well-crafted to flow well together and piece together a funny, yet clever little tale.

Musically, the song starts off with some snazzy finger snaps from Mr. Mercury. Then a piano joins in and Freddie’s miracle pipes chime in. The chorus is full of four part harmonies and there are so many different effects on the vocals as well. The music is as playful as the lyrics and Freddie’s performance is as flamboyant and theatrical as it comes which is a trademark Queen style. Brian May’s guitar work is also top-notched and layered with so many different tracks. It is an all around fun, good time song and one of the reasons Queen is so amazing. They pretty much can do anything and make it sound great.

Continue reading “My Sunday Song – “Killer Queen” by Queen” →

You Pick It! – Which Album to Review in January?

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic53 Comments

You, my reader, are going to pick an album for me to review each month.  It is really simple…first, I will give you 5 albums to choose from and second, you will tell me which one of those you would like to see reviewed on the site.  See…simple!

There are a few simple rules I have put in to place in my selections.  They are…

  • One has to be a new release (within the last month)
  • One has to be one I have never heard before (new releases don’t count for this one)
  • One has to be from a genre I don’t normally listen to at all or very often
  • And the last two are choices from my collection that I haven’t reviewed before

What are the 5 albums you ask?  Funny you should ask because I have those right here…

  New Release – Miley Cyrus ‘Plastic Hearts’ – her rock album…maybe

 Never Heard Before – The Beach Boys – ‘Pet Sounds’ I know, shameful, but I’ve never played it beginning to end even though I know some songs.

Not My Normal Genre – John Coltrane – ‘A Love Supreme’

  From My Collection – Rage Against the Machine – ‘Renegades’

  From My Collection – The B-52’s – ‘Cosmic Thing’

Let me know which one you would like to see and sometime in January, I will post a review of the album that gets the most votes. You have one week to decide and from there I will start listening to the album and do a review.

Thanks for participating!!

Learn All About Bands You (Hopefully) Don’t Know on this week’s LeBrain Train — mikeladano.com

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic2 Comments

It is time to get on board The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More. This week, yours truly is guest hosting with the Legend Mike LeBrain as well as numerous other great guests. We are discussing our favorite artists you probably never heard of so it will be a great episode to find some new bands. See you there at 7pm (see details below and in the cover art).

The LeBrain Train:  2000 Words or More with Mike Ladano Episode 42 This week’s episode is brought to you by the brain behind 2 Loud 2 Old Music — John himself.  The man is like a music encyclopedia so it’s only fitting that he came up with this particular Nigel Tufnel Top Ten list.  What […]

Learn All About Bands You (Hopefully) Don’t Know on this week’s LeBrain Train — mikeladano.com

Friday New Releases – December 18, 2020

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic27 Comments

Welcome to the LAST Friday New Release post…EVER!! No, I am kidding. It is the last one of 2020 though. I will return with these on January 8th of 2021 as that is the first week of any significant new releases. With that being said, I hope there is something in here you will like as there isn’t much. There a couple I will try out and they are marked in Blue. Let me know what interests you or what I might have missed so everyone knows what’s out there. Thanks for stopping by and thanks for always stopping by week after week. Happy Holidays!!

  • 91yHYsRoMJL._SX522_  George Lynch & Jeff Pilson – Heavy Hitters – (Deadline Music): 1/2 of Dokken together again. Yes, please…well we will see, but I am willing to give it a go. It is a bunch of pop cover songs turned hard rock/metal. Some cool songs so we will see what they do to them.
  • Jordan Feliz – Say It – (Centricity Music): Christian singer Jordan Feliz is back with a new album. I really loved his first couple album, so hoping for more greatness. This is a digital only release today. Hard copies not until February.
Continue reading “Friday New Releases – December 18, 2020” →

Kiss – ‘Exposed’ VHS (1987) – Video Review (The Kiss Review Series)

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic97 Comments

We have come to the part of the Kiss timeline in which I believe Kiss would like to completely forget. The Kiss ‘Exposed’ VHS tape that was released on May 18, 1987. In an MTV world and the 80’s rock screaming of women and excess, Kiss decided to put together a collection of their 80’s music videos that they had so far. But no, that wasn’t enough. Gene and Paul wanted to give you so much more. Some exclusive interviews, some vintage videos and a lot of women (and we will get to that in a minute).

In what can be described simply as a train wreck, we get a semi-scripted, badly acted performance of Kiss doing little sketches and some actually real and great interviews. The set for this fantasmic masterpiece is what is supposed to be Paul’s mansion…guess what…it wasn’t. They rented it for this video shoot and brought a lot of Kiss memorabilia in to make you think it was Paul’s actual bachelor pad. The set up was supposed to be some sort of documentary where this clumsy, nerdy news-type guy and a horny cameraman follow Gene and Paul around and do interviews. The sketches are horribly bad, Paul is not funny…and I mean groaningly not funny and Gene is well…Gene.

On top of that the house and every scene is covered with half-naked, and in some cases, very naked women lying around being horribly objectified and they are being misogynistic towards. In today’s world, it is completely and utterly unacceptable. However, when you are 17-18 years old in 1987, it is totally AWESOME!! I got to see Boobies!!! Because at 17/18, that was not something I was getting to see on a regular basis. I had this on VHS at the time and can’t believe my parents let me watch it. Thankfully they never saw it or I wouldn’t get to see it again. When I watched this a couple weeks ago, it was suddenly very painful to watch.

Continue reading “Kiss – ‘Exposed’ VHS (1987) – Video Review (The Kiss Review Series)” →

Needtobreathe – “Who Am I”

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic15 Comments

Sometimes when you hear a song, it connects with you, it moves you, it touches you in a way that few songs can do. Well, this is one of those songs. The first time I heard it immediately caught my attention. There was something special about it, I could tell. I listened to it again, I mean I really listened to it. I took in the words and absorbed them in to my mind and then in to my heart. Yes, this song IS Special!!

Sometimes an artist can write a song that you feel is written especially for you or for something going on in your life. Well, this is one of those songs. If you know anyone that is suffering from depression, then this is a song that you need to hear. Depression can make a person feel worthless, can make a person feel like there is no hope, can make a person push their loved ones away. Depression is cruel and it is so hard to watch someone go through it and it leaves you wishing there is something you can do.

“Who Am I” is a song that can be interpreted in a couple ways. The first way is more religious. It is God telling us that no matter how unworthy we feel, he will always be there. No matter what we do or say, no matter how bad it is, God will love us unconditionally. All we need to do is accept him in to our hearts

Continue reading “Needtobreathe – “Who Am I”” →

Ace Frehley – ‘Frehley’s Comet’ (1987) – Album Review (The Kiss Review Series)

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic94 Comments

After Ace Frehley left Kiss in 1982, it took him awhile to get going on a solo project. Where Peter had a solo album out within a year of leaving Kiss (if not sooner), it took Ace 5 years before his first bit of music was released. There was a reason for that. When Ace left Kiss, he still maintained a 1/4 share in the band and was not able to release anything until at least 1985. He basically had a non-compete contract for a limited time. However, around 1984, he did start piecing together a band and of course he started with drummer Anton Fig. Anton had played on Ace’s 1978 solo album and had done a few things with Kiss as well on some of their records. After Anton, he recruited John Regan on bass and Richie Scarlett on guitar and vocals. Ace now had a band.

The band recorded some demos in 1984-85 with famed producer Eddie Kramer, who had produced Ace’s 1978 solo album as well as other Kiss album, and actually played their first live show on November 30, 1984. He wasn’t releasing any music yet, so not breaking his contract. The band played some more in 1985, but in the end, Richie Scarlett wanted to pursue his own solo career and left the band. Not a good start so far.

Continue reading “Ace Frehley – ‘Frehley’s Comet’ (1987) – Album Review (The Kiss Review Series)” →

You Picked It! – AC/DC – ‘Power Up’ (2020) – Album Review

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic31 Comments

Alright…You Picked It! And here it is. The one you picked was AC/DC’s Power Up.  The votes were as follows:

  1. AC/DC – ‘Power Up’ – 8 votes
  2. Janet Jackson – ‘Rhythm Nation 1814’ – 4 votes
  3. The White Stripes – ‘Elephant’ – 3 votes
  4. The Stooges – ‘The Stooges – 2 vote
  5. Oasis – ‘(What’s The Story) Morning Glory’ – 1 Vote

Thanks to all for participating.  The January choices will be up on Saturday!

AC/DC – ‘POWER UP’:

For a couple of years now, we have been teased with a brand new AC/DC album ever since those pictures leaked in 2018 of Brian Johnson, Phil Rudd and Cliff Williams surfaced. Everyone was been crazy hoping for a new album with the core guys. Of course Angus is on it and Stevie Young holding his own on rhythm, but it was the fact that Brian and Phil and Cliff were back in the fold ready to play that had everyone excited. Me included which is strange because I hadn’t listened to much AC/DC past Razor’s Edge with maybe the exception of 2000’s Stiff Upper Lip, but it really has been 20-30 years since I really paid attention. Why was I so excited? I think it was 2020 that had me excited. As a surprise to know one, 2020 has been a strange and difficult year with lots of change and the fact we could get an iconic band with an iconic line-up to bring us a new album, AC/DC was just what we all needed.

Continue reading “You Picked It! – AC/DC – ‘Power Up’ (2020) – Album Review” →

My Sunday Song – “Brighton Rock” by Queen

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic17 Comments

For My Sunday Song #226, we are going to discuss the opening track to ‘Sheer Heart Attack’, “Brighton Rock” by Queen. The song was not a single and being the first song on the album, I guess you couldn’t call it a deep cut as it isn’t very deep on the album. But there is something in this song that makes it so incredible and we will get to that piece in a minute.

The song was written by Brian May and the vocals were done by Freddie and Brian. Brian wrote the song during the Queen II sessions, but they didn’t feel like it fit that album so they worked it some more and it actually kicks off this album. The song is about 2 “Mod” kids in love, Jenny and Jimmy, who travel off to Brighton on Holiday. I don’t think the holiday goes great as Jenny is afraid she will get in trouble. There is more, but the story isn’t the best part of the song as it is really secondary. It isn’t even Freddie’s singing that is best part even though his vocals are always stellar.

What is incredible about this song is simply, Brian May. The guitar solo is probably one of the best he has ever done, hands down. It is the centerpiece of the song. There is an entire interlude in the song that is only Brian and that guitar. His use of delay for the harmony that sets the song apart. Brian was tinkering extensively with an Echoplex (a tape delay machine) to get the effects he wanted. The song contains one normal guitar sound and then one with the delayed effect and it must be heard to believe as I don’t know how to describe it in words. It is true audio experience.

Continue reading “My Sunday Song – “Brighton Rock” by Queen” →

Friday New Releases – December 11, 2020

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic31 Comments

Only two more weeks of new releases worth mentioning before Christmas, including this one. This is one of those rare weeks where there is nothing I am really interested in and that is probably a good thing because I need to catch up on everything I have picked up over the last couple months. Wait a minute…there is now one that only announced yesterday so might be one I am interested in. Take a look through the list and see if there is anything for you. Let me know what you want to hear and what I may have missed. Hopefully something will get those ears burning! Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!!

  • Taylor Swift – Evermore – (Taylor Swift): SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE!!! Taylor announced only yesterday that she was dropping a new album today!!! That is two albums in 4 months!! Someone has been busy!!! I might check this out as the last Folklore was quite interesting and a nice departure from her normal music.
  • A1GVuZSEdPL._SS500_  Foster the People – In the Darkest of Nights, Let the Birds Sing E.P. – (Foster the People)
Continue reading “Friday New Releases – December 11, 2020” →