April 2021 Purchases – Vinyl & CDs

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic

April was a solid month of purchases and some great finds. I went digging at an antique mall and cleaned up, I found a few things on ebay and discogs I needed for something special and then I found a few things that were especially cool.

First up, we will go with the especially cool things. I am a big fan of the Train album ‘Drops of Jupiter’ for many reasons. One, it is a really great album! Two, my brother-in-law was the engineer on that album. So when the 20th Anniversary Edition popped up online, I had to grab as I don’t think it had ever been issued on vinyl prior which means I didn’t have it. It is a beauty…

The next was a Michael Sweet album. Stryper released an album years ago called ‘Reborn’ which was the band’s comeback album. The album was originally done as a Michael Sweet solo album, but it was decided to redo it for the band. Well, now we get the original Michael Sweet solo album the way it was intended. This one is called “Reborn Again” and is on a fiery red vinyl and is autographed (on the back) by Michael Sweet…SWEET!!!

Next up, we have some items for something special that is going to happen. If all things go as planned, I will be co-hosting with Mike Ladano on The Lebrain Train and we will be interviewing one of my favorite singers, Paul Laine. This should happen on May 7th. I had to pick up a couple that I was missing and here they are…We will talk about them during the interview so don’t fret.

Next up we have some items from 2 possible new Series coming up later this year on the site. We are currently finishing up Kiss, Judas Priest and Queen. So what are the next two you might be wondering…well…they are Cheap Trick and Aerosmith!! I am super excited to get started on those. Before I get started, I was going through my collection and realized I didn’t have near what I thought I did so that had to be remedied. And did I ever…first we these 3 CDs I found at Manifest Discs for Aerosmith.

Then I found 2 for Cheap Trick…

All really cool…but I hit the motherlode at a place called Sleep Poets Antique Mall in Charlotte. I found a ton of Cheap Trick albums. All in magnificent shape. When I went through my collection, I had around 11 albums, but only 4 were studio. The rest were live albums and Record Store Day albums. I was stunned…well that is no longer the case as I added 6 more studio albums to the collection including the debut…

and these…

I just played them all and man I am pumped to start that series. I only have about 3 more Kiss ones to write as of this date which means I will be finished with Kiss by end of May (you won’t be done until July) so I might be able to start this one in June (it would probably be August before it posted though). I can’t wait!!!

And that ain’t all…I got the final album I need for Paul Laine that didn’t show up until a few weeks after those first two…it was the first one he did with Danger Danger called Dawn…

And I still needed a couple Judas Priest albums to finish up their series and these two were the ones with Tim “Ripper” Owens on vocals. Finally found them at a good price…

And do you remember a Led Zeppelin clone called Greta Van Fleet? Yeah, the seemed to disappear pretty quick, but they actually didn’t. Here is their latest album and I think people give them too much grief…

And I thought I was basically done, but on Saturday, April 17th, my oldest daughter and I went out to grab a bite to eat and since we were passing by Noble Records, we had to stop in. But of course!! Always a dangerous thing. I found some really great stuff…again at Noble. First up are a couple CDs…one is a really cool promotional CD of the debut album from The Four Horsemen and the other was a normal, typical CD of Aerosmith’s Just Push Play…

And if that wasn’t enough I found a couple that I have wanted and for some reason I never picked up. First was Steve Perry’s debut solo album ‘Street Talk’ and the other is the Jimi Jamison band (prior to Survivor) called Cobra and the album was ‘First Strike’. This is one I’ve been curious about for a long time and had never found it before…

And lastly was a Ace Frehley I had been missing on vinyl and this was still in the shrink wrap…Ace Frehley’s Live +1. I have the recent RSD release of this album but that is a different show and has a different +1, but now I have an original copy…

Back in 2017, I believe, my favorite album of the year was by a band called Reach with their album ‘The Great Divine’ and now we finally have their follow-up called ‘The Promise of Life’. Here is to hoping for another favorite…

Then lastly, I was putting my list together for the Desert Island Disc show for The LeBrain Train and I realized I didn’t actually have one of the albums so I ordered it. I guess I had been streaming this one all along. Better late than never. It is Scott Stapp’s ‘Proof of Life”. It makes my Desert Island disc because whenever I lose a little faith, the songs always remind me that there is a great power that is in control. Now, I didn’t make it on to the show due to getting sick, but at least now the album is officially in the collection.

And that is it…I promise. Here is everything all in one place…it was a banner month…

50 thoughts on “April 2021 Purchases – Vinyl & CDs”

  1. Awesome, the Ripper albums. Jugulator ain’t much but Demolition is pretty good. Haven’t been able to find it for a good price yet though.

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  2. They should have called “Just Push Play” something else. Like “Just Push Eject and Promptly Throw This CD Out the Nearest Open Window at the Highest Possible Altitude.”

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  4. Cool scores. Those Cheap Tricks are classics esp the debut, One On One is the sleeper in the bunch. Pretty good album. I will give you a heads up though as The Doctor is a tough listen if you come across it. Buyer beware don’t overpay for it would be my advice.

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    1. Ha! Good advice. I am sure it won’t be much. I just need two more to complete up through the 90’s (I think). Then it will be CDs for a bunch of them after that. I’m okay if some aren’t great because I want them all. That is just how I roll. 🙂

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  5. That explains why you weren’t on the Lebrain Train this past Friday, instead we had Chris Slade haha. But I hope you’re feeling better John. Cool stuff! How did you find Jugulator and Demolition though? I heard those were hard to find.

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    1. Thanks. I am feeling fine now. It didn’t last long and now I am glad I have both my shots. Those two are easy to find on eBay, but finding a decent price you have to weed through the listings and time it well.

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      1. Oh you’re fully vaccinated now! Congrats! Ah yes, the timing is key. Glad you were able to find those because I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on them. Some people like Jugulator, but I think Harrison likes Demolition more (I could be wrong).

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  6. HOLY. SMOKES. Dude, that is a heap of tunes! Thank you for allowing me to vicariously enjoy shopping for records in actual public spaces. So much to talk about there, but that Four Horsemen is a real score.

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    1. I thought it was cool to find a promo Cd of the Four Horsemen. And this month wouldn’t have been as big if i didn’t find so many Cheap Trick albums that I needed in one place. I couldn’t pass it up as they are usually hard to find. They had a ton of Aerosmith as well and if I can get back in May, I will go see what I can grab. Most of the stores around here aren’t able to keep the used copies in stock.

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      1. I’m a big FH fan thanks to Mike (he sent me an album of them). That’s a total score.

        By all the CT, for sure. If I could get into the shop here, I could probably find you more. Then again, as you say, the market will be tough for a while for used copies until things even out.

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            1. It depends on how successful the trip is. I go to these shows with a list in hand and if it ain’t on the list, I don’t buy it (unless it is something Kiss or Leppard I didn’t know about). If I stray from the list it can get really expensive.

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              1. That is excellent self-control! I do that in Toronto every time, shop the list and then just go freestyle. I spend more, but I get there so rarely I don’t tend to worry bout it. And that’s how I’ve ended up with so much stuff. If you caught the tail end of last week’s show at Mike’s (where I filled in for you – hope you’re feeling better!) I admitted it’s all getting to be overwhelming clutter. I could learn from you, sir!

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                1. I don’t always have self-control though. Sometimes the old adage comes in to play, if you’ve never seen it before you buy it and that is when I get in trouble. Thanks for filling in for me and I do feel a lot better. It was a weird couple days.

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                  1. My Nana always told me if you see something you like, buy it. You’re young, youll pay it off. Just make sure it’s exactly what you want and then just do it, because if you go back for it, there’s a good chance it’ll be gone. Now, I’ve adapted that, though I still live by it. What I do is, say I’m at Sonic Boom, I carry a basket and I gather up everything that appeals to me. At the end, I go back through it all piece by piece, looking for: 1) price (I add up as I go), 2) do I really need/want it? and 3) will I ever see it again? If the price adds up too high, I go back through again until it gets down to where I’m comfortable budget-wise. Mike has seen me do this. Anyway, whatever doesn’t make the cut goes back in the proper sections where I found them because I am a good citizen. Then, if I am happy with the re-count, I settle up and carry on. I know the stakes, as I would only get to Toronto a few times a year even before Covid, so I had to be sure before leaving something behind.

                    Glad to hear you’re doing better!

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                    1. Ha! I did that same thing last time I was out. I added it all up and put two things back because it was too much. At the same time, I’ve been going thru bins, thought I was done and found something. Looked at the price and ended up taking something out of my other choice and putting it back as I would rather have the new thing I found.

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  8. What a haul. Never got Train. Had the impression that they were kinda light on everything.
    Need to look into Reach. Thanks for the tip!
    Didn’t know there were different versions of Frehley’s comet live album.

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  10. That’s a good haul. Loads of stuff to dig into… though Just Press Play is definitely one to play on mute. I’m pretty fond of Nine Lives. I think that’s the best of the later Aerosmith releases… and that Train album is 20 years old? Jings.

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