Month: January 2021

Friday New Releases – January 8, 2021

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Welcome to 2021 and the first Friday New Releases of the New Year! Oh how I have missed this post…I know it has only been three weeks since the final one of 2020, but I like these posts. For the first one of the year, there aren’t a ton of releases and there are only a couple I want to listen to so not a great start, but it is right after Christmas and this is usually a slow week anyway. My choices are highlighted in Blue. Let me know what you want to hear or of there is a release I missed that you think the world should know (or at least the couple 100 people that might see this post). Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

  • 91NHdl52uXL._SX522_  Sammy Hagar & the Circle – Lockdown 2020 – (Mailboat Records): During 2020’s Lockdown, Sammy Hagar & the Circle did a lot of covers and posted them, well now they are releasing them as a complete album and I am excited. Sammy Hager & The Circle was the one concert I had scheduled last year that got cancelled thanks to Covid. That bill also had Whitesnake and Night Ranger so I was really looking forward to it. Maybe they will come around some time soon.
  • 71iSduxl+OL._SX522_  Passenger – Songs for the Drunk and Broken Hearted – (Nettwerk Music Group): Passenger isn’t really a band name, it is the stage name for Michael David Rosenberg. I like his brand of folk and indie music. He has a pleasant voice and he’s a great songwriter. Give him a listen.
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Kiss – ‘Smashes, Thrashes & Hits’ (1988) – Album Review (The Kiss Review Series)

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After Kiss released the greatest hits package ‘Chikara’ to Japanese and European audiences, the U.S. finally got its own greatest hits package. This was now the fourth greatest hits set the other two being Killers and Double Platinum. Of the four, the U.S. only saw two official releases. ‘Smashes, Thrashes & Hits’ was released on November 15, 1988. Kiss wasn’t doing much at this time. They were done touring for ‘Crazy Night’, they wouldn’t start working on their next album for about at least half a year or more, Gene had his side projects of his own record label and the band was in limbo.

The album sold pretty well selling over 2 million copies in the U.S. alone. The album did have two brand new songs to help drive fans to buy it (and it worked, I bought it). And like the compilation, ‘Killers’, the two new songs were solely done by Paul Stanley. Gene was not involved yet again as he was too busy. Paul saves the day yet again. The album did contain 15 tracks, but the European release of this album saw 16 tracks which the extra track was “Crazy, Crazy Nights” from the album ‘Crazy Nights’. Apparently in the U.S., they thought that album was too new to include a song on the compilation I guess.

Now my copy of this album is very special. It was autographed by Lori if you look in the Kiss logo on the front cover. I don’t know who she is, but I bet she owned this record many years ago. All I know her signature actually isn’t worth much because it brought down the price of the album by around $50 and I only paid like $15-20 for it. Thanks Lori. You saved me a lot.

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Ace Frehley – “Space Truckin'” – 12″ Picture Disc (Record Store Day Release)

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To celebrate the release of Ace Frehley’s new album, Origins, Vol. 2, Ace and his team decided to release a Record Store Day “First” for the Black Friday 2020 release day. This time around we got a limited edition 12″ Picture Disc for the song “Space Truckin'”. How exclusive, well there were only 2,100 released worldwide and I got one. Now, if you notice I said “Record Store Day First” which means all we got was an early copy of what will be released at a later time. So the 2,100 limited run is the one with the RSD Sticker I imagine.

There are two things that are really awesome about this release. First is the pictures on the disc. They are incredible Cartoon renderings of Ace and the band. Really great and cool artwork. Second, all the songs on the B-Side are “Space” related. I like how they kept to a theme.

SIDE A:

On Side A is strictly the song “Space Truckin'”. The song is a cover of the Deep Purple classic and Ace does what he doest best and makes the song his own. It has his signature guitar sound and he turns it up a notch and makes the song a fun, rocking track. He has an old friend from Brooklyn do the organ work to try and replicate the great John Lord. His name is Rob Sabino and he does a fantastic job. Matt Starr is on the drums and does a banging job and then Ace lays down a really cool solo. Is it as good as Purple’s version, oh no, but it doesn’t have to be. It just needs to sound like Ace and that is all you need and with his addition to the lyrics of “Hey Curly” it is fantastic. This version is the full album version.

SIDE B:

Side B has not 1 song, but four. All our space themed and you get the songs “Space Invader” (Radio Edit) from the ‘Space Invader’ Deluxe Edition album. Next is “Mission to Mars” from the album ‘Space Invader’ and then you get “Space Truckin'” again but this time it is the Radio Edit and it is about 1/2 the time of his album version. Nice to now have this version on vinyl. And lastly, you get the hilariously bizarre “The Return of Space Bear” from the album ‘Anomaly’ Deluxe Edition. You even get the Space Bear in the artwork above. This song is really an instrumental with Ace being…well Ace. Crazy, Silly, Demented Ace! He talks throughout the song and sounds so insane and wasted, it is quite comical. Worth a listen for that song alone.

I really love this disc and it is a great add to the collection. Getting the Radio edit of “Space Truckin'” was really what I wanted here and the picture disc itself looks quite stunning. A brilliant collector’s piece that will be loved and enjoyed forever.

Kiss – ‘Chikara’ (1988) – Album Review (The Kiss Review Series)

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Kiss were plugging along and everything is still right in the world. In 1988, as they were preparing for their Tour of Japan, the label and the band decided to release a greatest hits compilation. The CD was issued on May 25, 1988 and was limited to only 100,000 copies and only released in Japan. The was the 2nd greatest hits package to not be issued in the U.S., the first being 1982’s ‘Killers’. For that fact, this is a hot collector’s item for Kiss collectors and I didn’t even know about it until years after its release and I still don’t have a physical copy of this release (but I will get one someday).

The Japanese character on the back of the case and on the CD might look familiar. It is the same symbol that was on the bottom of the cover art for the band’s 1974 album, ‘Hotter Than Hell’. Eric Carr also used that symbol on his drum kits for quite some time. Chikara is the Japanese word for Power if you are interested in knowing that fact. And when you are looking to buy this CD on ebay or somewhere, the prize to get is the OBI strip with all the Japanese writing. A lot of the ones I’ve seen out there don’t have that strip anymore.

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My Top 10 Concerts of All Time

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It has been over a year now since I have seen a live show and it could be another year before I get to see another one. I started thinking back on all the shows I have seen and the memories came flooding back. Now back some time last year, the LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or Less did a live stream on the Nigel Tufnel Top 10 Favorite Live Shows of all time. Each guests gave a list of their 11 favorite shows and I had a list for the show. I thought why not spell it out here for everyone to read in all its glory and add some pictures and extra information, if I have any. I hope you enjoy.

11. Motley Crue – Girls, Girls, Girls Tour (1987):

November 22, 1987 at the Omni in Atlanta, GA.  The opening act was Guns N Roses.  The lineup alone makes it a favorite but what happened at the show is why it is on the list. It was not a good show at all which is why it is down at 11.  It is only on the list for what happened at the show. During GNR’s set, Axl jumps off stage at about the 2nd song to grab a security guard who pushed his friend.  Axl is held backstage while the band plays a couple songs (“Communication Breakdown” and “Honky Tonk Women”) with one of their roadies and that was all got from them.  Motley delayed coming on and then put in a half-ass show and left early in protest of Axl’s arrest (at least this is the rumor we heard).  It pissed me off so much I stopped listening to both bands for awhile. Ticket prices at the time were only $17.50.

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My Sunday Song – “Another One Bites the Dust” by Queen

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For My Sunday Song #229, we are tackling on of the band’s biggest hits, “Another One Bites the Dust” off the Queen album “The Game” from 1980. The song was a departure for Queen as it was more funk and disco but it seems everything they do is a departure as they don’t follow anyone’s rules. The song went to #1 in the US and several other countries and sold over 5 million copies worldwide.

The song was written by bass player, John Deacon, and let me tell you there is some bass in it. The song was inspired by the song “Good Times” by the Chic and resulted from John hanging out a lot with that band as he was a big fan. Now, Roger Taylor wasn’t a big fan of the song, but Freddie loved it and worked hard to get everyone’s buy-in on the song and thanks to Freddie it was put on the album and the rest is history.

The song has so many effects on it, but none are with a synthesizer. It is all bass, guitar, piano and drums. Deacon played all the instruments except Roger’s drum loop. Brian May was on it as he added numerous sound effects using his guitar and a harmonizer. Some of the effects were the tape played backwards at different speeds. As a result of this effect, Christian groups protested the band saying the band was using backmasking to hide messages. They thought the band was promoting the use of marijuana.

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What to Expect in New Music for 2021!!

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2021 is upon us and it is always fun anticipating what new albums are and will come out in the year. There are quite a few we already know about, but some haven’t been officially announced or even a date set yet.  

Last year, there were a few artist I was hoping would release an album that might have or might not have released one.  It is always fun to hope for new music from these bands, but were disappointments.  Here is who I was hoping for new albums from last year and what actually happened…

  • Def Leppard – We did get the Def Leppard Box Set for The Early Years and the Live Box Set London to Vegas, BUT NOPE!! STILL NOTHING NEW!!
  • Kiss – NOTHING!!
  • Van Halen – NO! Sadly, this won’t happen with Eddie’s passing. I am now hoping for archive music.
  • The Winery Dogs – NOTHING!! Still keeping my hopes up
  • Guns ‘N Roses – NOTHING!!! Rumors, Rumors, Rumors!!
  • Talisman – after getting a song to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the death of Marcel Jacob in 2019… NO ALBUM, we did get more Jeff Scott Soto music though.
  • AC/DC – YES!! We got POWER UP and it is awesome!!
  • Motley Crue – I thought with a Big Tour in 2020 with Def Leppard & Poison…is a new album far behind??? NOPE – No Music, No Tour thanks to Covid!!
  • Poison – Same as Motley statement above!!! No Music, No Tour thanks to Covid!!
  • Aldo Nova – He kept talking about a 2CD set, but he never got around to releasing it?? NOPE..still talking. He has released some songs, but still no album!!
  • Matt Nathanson – No New Music but we got a Live album and a Christmas album
  • Needtobreathe – YES!!! We got the incredible OUT OF BODY and it was one of their best!!

Okay, are there albums I want to see this year from some of my favorite bands that haven’t been announced or in some cases even rumored?  Of course there are.  These are the bands I want new albums from this year…but it might not happen.

  • Def Leppard – I don’t care if I get new music, but give me The Collection Volume 3 at least!!!
  • Kiss – I will keep this on the list until I die!!
  • The Winery Dogs – Still keeping my hopes up
  • Guns ‘N Roses – Rumors, Rumors, Rumors!!
  • Aldo Nova – He keeps talking about a 2CD set, but will he get around to releasing it??
  • Matt Nathanson – Loved what we got last year, but time for new music!!! I believe he finished recording it, but haven’t heard anything for a long while.
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