Wow! Another month in the books. 3 more to go before we finish out the year. Time flies by!! We end the month with a nice haul of well over 50 releases. I only want to hear a handful of these and they will be marked in Blue. Let me know what you want to hear this week and what we may have missed. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a great weekend!
Richard Marx – Songwriter – (Shelter Music Group / BMG Rights Mgt): Can you believe Richard Marx is on his 13th Studio album. Crazy! But thankfully for us he is as I will always take new music from. I’ve been a fan of this pop artist since his mullet days! This album consists of songs in 4 different genres – pop, rock, country and ballads. Interesting.
Monster Truck – Warriors – (BMG Rights Mgmt): This Canadian hard rock, blues rock, southern rock band is back with another album. Have they run their course. I hope not, can’t wait to see what they have in store for us this time around.
Another month gone by which is good news because it means more Vinyl, CDs, books and even a DVD have been added the collection. And we are kicking this month off a very pleasant surprise from a good friend of 2 Loud 2 Old Music. Mr. Books himself, Aaron, from KeepsMeAlive.com has sent yet another care package. The man believes in giving! This time around we got 2 books and 2 CDs all the way from the Great White North. Be careful what you say in the comments on his site as you are bound to wind up with it. Aaron knows my love for Idol and I have made comments before about the other 3 items…and now I have them. Thanks Aaron…and yes, he left a little note as usual!!
Now to start the month out, during labor day weekend, 2nd & Charles had their buy 5 get 5 free sale and so I hit up the CDs section and stuck to the 5 and 5 rule. Here is the 5 I bought…
And the five I got for free…or vice versa, however you want to look at it…
Jeff Scott Soto was ready to call it quits with The Boogie Nights as doing some solo work was starting to appeal to him as it had been years since his debut solo album. He thought about signing with Z-Records, but due to the problems with his band Humanimal, that was quickly nixed. He wound up with an Italian label called Frontiers Records. The deal included re-releasing his debut solo album ‘Love Parade’ as well as new material which was already in the works and would be released in late 2002.
I am not sure the actual release date of this E.P., but I am guessing it is prior to the album. The E.P. consists of the first single from his upcoming solo album ‘Prism’ called “Holding On”. It also includes a previously unreleased track and 2 live songs plus a re-release of a song from his debut solo album ‘Love Parade’. It is a great E.P. to have.
When I was on vacation last Summer, I found a ton of 45 Singles with the Picture Sleeves at a place called House of Vinyl and I ended buying 7 Van Halen 45’s. And we’ve been through all of those so far as seen below…
Now it is time to add a new one to the list from one I found at Mad Jack’s in Matthews, NC. This is another from ‘OU812’ and it is “Finish What Ya Started”. The song was released as a single in September 1988 and it did well going all the way to #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the Rock Charts. The song was credited to be written by Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony, but we all know it was really just Eddie and Sammy. They were doing the “band” thing and crediting everybody and that never seems to end well.
The album was basically finished, but due to lack of sleep one night, Eddie came up with the riff and ran over to his neighbor’s house at 2 in the morning and was begrudgingly let in by Sammy. The two spent the rest of the night finishing the music and after Eddie left, Sammy finished the lyrics which seem to be about someone being unsatisfied because the other person wouldn’t finish the deed…you know what I’m talking about. Someone has a case of blue balls!!
In talking with Michael LeFevre over at 80sMetalMan after he did a Survivor post, we thought it would be fun to do an album ranking of all 8 of their albums. We wanted to see how we looked at each album. So, here is my list. Click on 80sMetalMan to go see his list.
Survivor…everyone knows them because of the Rocky movies whether it is “Eye of the Tiger” from Rocky III or “Burning Heart” from Rocky IV, but the band was so much more than that. They were a great pop rock band / AOR or whatever you want to call them. The main three band members were vocalists Dave Bickler, keyboardist Jim Peterik and guitarist Frankie Sullivan (the only original member left in the band). They had other members but those were the three consistent members. After 4 albums, Dave left due to vocal issues and Jimi Jamison came in on vocals and took the band to a different level. The band sort of broke up after 1988’s ‘Too Hot To Sleep’, but Jimi Jamison still toured under the name which caused a lot of lawsuits. Dave came back in the fold from time to time and so did Jimi. After an 18 year break, they released their 8th album ‘Reach’ and that has been it ever since…mainly due to the passing of Jimi Jamison back in 2004. Maybe some day we will get more Survivor music, but for now, this is what we got. How do they rank? Check it out.
As reported in the ‘Lovedrive’ review, Michael Schenker rejoined Scorpions after he left UFO. He toured with the band and left during the tour so Mathias Jabs was brought back in the fold after some heave negotiations. It is the line-up of Mathias Jabs, Rudolf Schenker, Klaus Meine, Francis Buchholz and Herman Rarebell that bring us the bands seventh studio album, ‘Animal Magnetism’. A name that was thought up by Mr. Rarebell.
The album was released on March 31, 1980 and saw the band maintain their current sound with hard rock songs that were melodic and catchy as hell. The sound that the world would soon catch on too and see them hit the stratosphere, but not just yet. The album went #52 in the U.S. and it would reach platinum status. In the UK, the album spawned two singles that reached the Top 100 though the only made it as high as the 70’s and not Top 40 hits. It was another album that saw the band keep moving in the right direction.
Now, like almost all of Scorpions album covers, this one too had a little controversy. It was designed by renowned artist, Storm Thorgerson of the design firm Hipgnosis. It had a young lady on her knees in front of a man and she only comes up waist high. It is very suggestive as we wonder is she going to do something sexually to the man although nothing is shown. It is purely speculation. As a result, there was no alternative cover done for this one. But the most interesting thing about the cover is the addition of the dog right next to the girl. Why is he/she there, we have no idea other than to stick with the name of the album, ‘Animal Magnetism’. It is so strange and yet so captivating. I love this cover for everything that it doesn’t show.
For My Sunday Song #318, we will talk about “Clock Strikes Ten” by Cheap Trick. The song is off their 1977 album ‘In Color’ and the single was only released in Japan where it went all the way to #1 helping pave the way for Budokan. It is also a great song to hear live!
The song was written by Rick Nielsen and was basically about partying on the weekend. When the clock strikes 10pm, it is time to party. The lyrics keep speaking of the clock striking every two hours and how the night was progressing. It is simply a party song that is completely old school rocked out.
It starts off with what sounds like a clocks bell chiming and representative of Big Ben’s clock. The song then explodes in to an old rockabilly stylings with that old school 50/60’s rock & roll i.e. “Rock Around the Clock” style. I even feel there is even a little Aerosmith vibe going as well. It is a fireball of a song that will get you on your feet and moving which is all we really want in a song anyway, right!
We now on the final of the 6 singles bought at Repo Records and the fourth and final one from the band Europe. The single this time around is “Let the Good Times Rock” from the 1988 album ‘Out of This World’. The song was the third single from the album and was released in January 1989. As far as charting, well, it did chart at #85 in the UK, but don’t see the chart info otherwise.
The song was written by Joey Tempest and the song is basically about a relationship that is going well and they should celebrate it and let the good times rock. A simple meaning behind a relatively simple song.
Yesterday, I had my appendix removed…today is recovery and nothing better than new music. There is only one I want this week and it is on order. I hope it arrives soon. We don’t have as many releases as this week but we are still close to 50 new ones. Go through the list and tell us what you want to hear this week and let us all know if there is anything we might have missed. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
Billy Idol – The Cage E.P. – (BFI Records / Dark Horse Records / BMG): If you read this site regularly, then you already know this is my top choice this week. Billy Idol is back with another E.P. and after last year’s fabulous The Roadside E.P., I am excited about this one and first single “The Cage” is a promising start. Even we aren’t going to get a full album, I will gladly take an E.P. every year.
And the rest…enjoy…
Kelsea Ballerini – Subject to Change – (Black River Entertainment)
As I mentioned in the prior Humanimal post…back in 2001, Talisman guitarist, Pontus Norgren, was working on a side project with Z-Records label boss, Mark Alger. Mark envisioned a Talisman type project that would be very different from the normal Talisman material. Pontus recruited Talisman bassist, Marcel Jacob, but the drummer was Thomas Broman who was not from Talisman. And yes, Jeff Scott Soto was on vocals. The big difference between Talisman and Humanimal is that the songs were more guitar driven than bass.
The first single released from the debut album was doing so well, Z-Records thought they would capitalize on the success and released this limited edition E.P. for the song “Find My Way Home”. To entice fans to buy it, they included a previously unreleased track…heck it worked…I bought it!!
“Find My Way Home” is off the debut Humanimal album and compared to some songs on the album this one slows things down, but it ain’t a ballad as there are none on that album. Slowed down means it is less than a million beats a second. This is one of the best songs on the album as it is more melodic and Soto brings it on home vocally as it sits right in his wheelhouse. The instruments take a little backseat to Soto’s vocals as they aren’t as in your face. But it doesn’t take away from that great rhythm section. A standout track for sure.
The second track and previously unreleased is “Love Dominion” which has some intense guitar work from Pontus with some really cool opening riffs and Thomas is pounding away on the drums. The opening gives us a guitar solo as well before Jeff joins in on vocals. The bass is heavy on this one, but not Talisman heavy. Jeff’s vocals aren’t as in your face and seem more reserved with such a rocking track, but it works. Great hooks, riffs and melodies…another cool track that would’ve fit nicely on the album. The song was issued on the album for the reissues and has been called “Love Dominion”, “Loves Dominion” and “Loves the Dominion” depending which version you get. Mine is “Love Dominion”.
Then with the final song on the E.P. and another from the debut album, things get a little funky with “Turn Away”. The song is dark and moody while also a very groovy song thanks to Marcel and the magic he can do with that bass. The chorus is really catchy and has more great harmonies. The a cappella break with just Soto and his many layers of vocals is awesome. Another Soto standout track.
And there you have it. I had to buy this one since I had the original release of the album and not a reissue which makes it cooler for me. It is a great 3 song set and is great taste of how good this short-lived band was. It is a must have for the Soto collector as it is a limited edition. The only thing is I don’t know how limited it actually is as I’ve never seen a number for how many were released. 3 powerhouse songs means a Perfect Score of 5.0 out of 5.0 Stars!
UP NEXT: JEFF SCOTT SOTO – ‘HOLDING ON’ E.P. (2002)
Richard Marx – Songwriter – (Shelter Music Group / BMG Rights Mgt): Can you believe Richard Marx is on his 13th Studio album. Crazy! But thankfully for us he is as I will always take new music from. I’ve been a fan of this pop artist since his mullet days! This album consists of songs in 4 different genres – pop, rock, country and ballads. Interesting.
Monster Truck – Warriors – (BMG Rights Mgmt): This Canadian hard rock, blues rock, southern rock band is back with another album. Have they run their course. I hope not, can’t wait to see what they have in store for us this time around.
Billy Idol – The Cage E.P. – (BFI Records / Dark Horse Records / BMG): If you read this site regularly, then you already know this is my top choice this week. Billy Idol is back with another E.P. and after last year’s fabulous The Roadside E.P., I am excited about this one and first single “The Cage” is a promising start. Even we aren’t going to get a full album, I will gladly take an E.P. every year.
Kelsea Ballerini – Subject to Change – (Black River Entertainment)
2 Loud 2 Old Music 