Another month comes to a close so it is time for another monthly wrap up of what landed in 2 Loud 2 Old Music’s collection this month and it was another decent month, if I do say so myself. It started off with a couple of new releases. First being the vinyl for the 2nd Mammoth WVH album and I like it as much as the first one…
And the second that item that came out the same time was the new album for Rick Springfield. 20 songs on one disc and it is classic Springfield and I have enjoyed it a lot as I do most of his albums.
Poison’s ‘Swallow This Live’ came out on November 12, 1991 and it was the band’s first live album. As an added treat the album contained four studio tracks so the band released the single for “So Tell My Why’ which was one of those four new studio tracks on the album. It did not chart in the States and a point of interest, it was the very last single with C.C. DeVille…well at least in to the album ‘Power to the People’ in 2000.
This CD Single was Made in England which is significant in the fact that the UK version of ‘Swallow This Live’ was a single disc edition. Aside from not having the solos, it was missing the songs “Let it Play”, “Life Goes On” and the 3rd track on this single “Ride the Wind” making it the only place to get that song in the UK. “So Tell Me Why” actually charted in the UK going to #25 on the Singles Chart maybe it was helped by this CD single. The other track on here is the live version to “Unskinny Bop” giving us 3 songs on the single which is always a nice value.
The single “So Tell Me Why” is a fun track with a lot of energy. It sounds like anything that was on either of the last two albums. Great melodies and lots of guitar and Bret sings his heart out. Probably the best of the four new tracks on that album which is why it was a single I’m sure. The song is about a guy who still wants to be this woman and do anything and everything for her, but she is cold, distant and seems to be emotionally empty. He just wants to know why she doesn’t want to be with him anymore.
“I’ll Be There For You” was the third single off the album and it went to #1 on the Billboard Top 100 Charts. This was the band’s fourth #1 song and if I’m not mistaken, it was their last but not from lack of great songs as they still put out some fantastic tracks even after this one. This particular song was written soley by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora with no outside help. Same with the B-Side, “Homebound Train”. Bon Jovi was at the top of their game and no one could touch them. They could have taken a piss, recorded it and it probably would’ve gone to #1 too as long as Jon and Richie were in the video.
If you ever wanted to know why this era of rock bands were called “Hair Bands”, just look at the cover. Aqua Net stock was riding high at that time as the amount of hairspray being used put a hole in the ozone layer…true fact!! My version of the single is standard cassette single. The single version and album version aren’t really different as there are only a couple seconds shaved off the single. The big difference is the radio edit which this is not.
For My Sunday Song #375, we are at the midway point with Deke’s Choices and this time around it is the song “A Place to Call Home” by the Canadian/American rock band Big Wreck. I say 1/2 American as the band originated in Boston, but ended up in Canada. The song is off their 2014 album ‘Ghosts’ and it is the opening track. The song wasn’t a single, but that track is a standout as it sets the tone for the rest of the album. The band are Ian Thornley, Brian Doherty, Paulo Neta, David McMillan and Chuck Keeping in case you were wondering.
The song was written by Ian Thornley and is about a common problem with a theme on belonging and finding your place in this world. Finding your place to call home basically. The song talks about being defined by your choices and accepting the consequences of said choices. Will making different choices or having a different background effect those choices or will you end up where you are regardless of how you were raised. A lot of thought and contemplation in this song and that is pretty cool.
The song opens with this really distorted, killer sounding guitar riff that drones on into an ominous choir of vocals that make this song seem almost otherworldly. When Ian comes in on vocals, there is an angelic choir feel to his vocals, very spacy and airy. The bass and drum lay down this heavy groove and with Ian’s vocals seemingly sounds a little Chris Cornell like which is really cool. The song is powerful and that chorus is huge. I am really digging this grunge type/Soundgarden sound and very bluesy vibe. A stellar track.
We are to the end of August and we are going out hotter than hell with a ton of new releases this week. There are four this week I am really anxious to hear only one of which is on pre-oder (so far). I am looking forward to Candlebox, Alice Cooper, Filter and Vandenberg!! A hard rocking Friday for me! Let me know what you want to hear this week and let us know what we may have missed so everyone will know what’s out there! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!
Candlebox – The Long Goodbye – (Round Hill Records)
Alice Cooper – Road – (earMusic / Edel Music & Entertainment)
I will start out by saying, always know the owner of your local record store. It is a great connection to have so treat them well, support their store and good things can come of it. I say that because my local record store, Noble Records, has started getting records that are exclusive to his store. They are usually a limited run and something really obscure, like this one. I had never heard of Organ-Utan prior to his mentioning of this album so I streamed it and when I did, I was blown away. I went to the website of the store to go ahead and order the vinyl, but sadly, it was sold out. There were very few copies printed (1000 per Discogs).
Fast forward to a few weeks later and I am in the store and I mention to the owner, Dillon, that I listened to the album and loved it, but missed out on the vinyl. He asked if I really wanted a copy and of course I said, yes I did. He got up, walked to the back and brought me a copy. I was over the moon appreciative for that and so I bought it right then and there. So, that is why you always want to get to know the owner of your local record store. He apparently had a few copies stashed for his most loyal customers and I am glad to say, I might be one since he was so kind to do that for me. So, enough about that, let’s get to this beauty.
If you’ve never heard of Orang-Utan, you are not alone. This was their only album and the UK band never knew it was released. Yep, can you believe it. There is a long story behind that so I am going to butcher it and shorten it as to not bore you too much. The band was called Hunter and their manager, Leo Rappaccioli, singed a publishing contract with Adrian Millar who put up the money for the recording of the album. Leo signed the deal in an alley on a trash can, so not sure he actually sat and read through it. The band recorded the album in two days and then went about their business.
Apparently compilations are always a big hit with the music buying public. No one wants full albums anymore of new material…nope. They just want the hits. Universal Music & Capitol Records are capitalizing on that and have a series called ‘Icon’. You might have seen one from Kiss, Megadeth, Limp Bizkit, even Billy Ray Cyrus. In 2013, Billy Idol was treated with his own ‘Icon’ greatest hits compilation.
Here is my thing with these releases. They are LAZY! No new edits, no unreleased tracks and only room for a handful of the hits. Not even all the good ones. This Billy Idol release is no different. It only draws from his biggest albums, the first three and one Generation X song. It is missing the good stuff from Charmed Life, Cyberpunk or even Devil’s Playground. However, what is here is good, great in fact. These songs are classics for a reason so I can’t complain about that, but it is still a safe collection. The songs are in chronological order which is also pretty damn lazy.
The albums first is the now classic, “Dancing With Myself”. I say now a classic because this song failed to chart upon its release and didn’t really do much. It wasn’t until Billy released it as one of his solo songs, but that is for another discussion. The song was inspired by what the band saw while on tour in Tokyo. They noticed at that dance clubs, the people were dancing more with their own reflections in the mirrored walls than they were with other people. The song is pure New Wave dance music with a slight punk edge…classic Billy Idol solo. It is so melodic and catchy. The guitars are a little louder on this version and not as much bass, but other than that it is the song you know. A great way to start out the collection. This track is off the Generation X album ‘Kiss Me Deadly’.
On July 1, 2014, Bon Jovi released the Super Deluxe Edition box set for ‘New Jersey’ which was just a hair past the band’s 25th anniversary of the album which came out on September 19, 1988. It contained the original album with some bonus tracks as well as an additional disc of demos from during the recordings. If that wasn’t enough, there as third disc, a DVD, of the 88-minute behind the scenes documentary of the bands massive tour for ‘New Jersey’ which spanned over 200 shows and 26 countries. It was nuts. Also, included on the DVD were all the music videos for the album including both versions of “Bad Medicine”. These were previously only available on VHS. And lastly there was a booklet with pictures of the band, some commentary and lyrics to all the songs including the demos. It was a great set, only missing a live show from that era to make it complete.
For Part 2 of the New Jersey Review, we are going to go through all the bonus tracks from Disc 1 as well as all the songs from Disc 2 with comments on the DVD and booklet as well. The Original Album was reviewed in quite a lot of detail on Part 1 so we won’t repeat that here. So, sit back and enjoy the walk through of all the additional material of the Super Deluxe Edition of Bon Jovi’s ‘New Jersey’.
For My Sunday Song #374, we are on to Deke’s fourth choice which is another Toronto band and this one is called The Pursuit of Happiness. The song is “Hard to Laugh” which is the opening track of their debut album from 1988 called ‘Love Junk’ and it was a single. The album was produced by none other than Todd Rundgren so you know there is some massive talent here as Todd doesn’t just produce anyone.
The song was written by Moe Berg who is the guitarist & vocalist in the band. We also have Kris Abbott who also does guitar and vocals along with Dave Gilby on drums, Johnny Sinclair on bass and Leslie Stanwyck on vocals. The song is about the girlfriend of the guy in this story and she is so gorgeous with a killer body and everyone is wondering why he isn’t smiling from ear to ear all the time. Well, that is easy because she has been cheating on him and he finds it hard to laugh but he is torn up and destroyed.
The song is a great upbeat, power pop song. The song seems almost happy while the subject matter is far from it. There is a lot of humor in the lyrics too and his phrasing is great. Musically, it is simple yet effective as there is a power to it, a great drum beat and rhythm section, I like the guitar tone and it is an all around great tune. Moe’s vocals have a punk feel to it as there is some angst to it which I think adds to the subject matter of the song. He feels it.
Happy Friday! Welcome to another week of new releases and we have over 40 for you this week including a new Greatest Hits package from Aerosmith. How’s this one different, well, it is a deluxe package so I guess that makes it different. And we also have one from The Dead Daisies. With a multitude of singers and players, the best of the bunch are gathered here for your listening pleasure. Outside of that, for me there really isn’t anything else I’m overly interested in, but I hope there is something for you with this varied batch of artists. Let me know what you want to hear this week or what we may have missed. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
Aerosmith – Greatest Hits Deluxe – (Universal Music / Queen of Denial / Aerodisc Partnership)
The Dead Daisies – Best of The Dead Daisies – (Dead Daisies)
Candlebox – The Long Goodbye – (Round Hill Records)
Alice Cooper – Road – (earMusic / Edel Music & Entertainment)
Filter – The Algorithm – (Golden Robot Records)
Aerosmith – Greatest Hits Deluxe – (Universal Music / Queen of Denial / Aerodisc Partnership)
The Dead Daisies – Best of The Dead Daisies – (Dead Daisies)
2 Loud 2 Old Music 