Month: December 2023

My Sunday Song – “Crossing Over” by Van Halen

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For My Sunday Song #393, we are on the third Japanese Bonus Track picked by Mike Ladano. This time around it is the Van Halen song “Crossing Over” off the band’s 1995 album ‘Balance’. The song was written by Van Halen (credited to all the members) and was not just a Japanese Bonus Track, but was also used as the B-Side to “Can’t Stop Loving You”. And if you recently bought the new Van Halen Collection II box set, you got the track on the 4th Bonus LP so that is really cool.

I read somewhere that the song was not actually written during the Balance recording sessions, but originated way back in 1983 when it was titled “David’s Song”. Eddie played all the instruments on the demo. The song wasn’t about Roth, it was about a friend of Eddie’s name David who had committed suicide. If you read the lyrics you can get that from them. Eddie is trying to reach out and see his friend one more time. To touch him one more time before he crosses over. It is a dark song and powerful too.

The song starts off with Eddie and the tone is really eerie and then the bass comes in with a little duh dum, and then the Alex is in on the drums and those drums are unmistakable Alex as he has such a unique sound. There are some electronic drum elements too. It all is very dark. Sammy finally comes in and sings and it isn’t all powerful. It is slow and the lyrics are very deliberate and meant to convey the dark tone to the song. There is an importance to the lyrics, to the sound, to it all. I read somewhere that Eddie’s demo was used for this track and they layered in Alex and Sammy and if that is true, that is cool. The song isn’t explosive and the chorus isn’t very catchy, but this is the mid 90’s and things were not always done the way we were used to hearing things. Overall, a really cool track.

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December 2023 Purchases – Vinyl & CDs & More

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Welcome to the final Purchases Wrap-Up of 2023 and we will go out with a bang. This month saw a trip to New York City to see the final Kiss show so of course we hit some record stores while there. It also saw Christmas and my Birthday so a lot of good stuff came my way. The month started off with the Kiss show and if you want to see all the Kiss stuff go read the review HERE!!!. Here, we will show the purchases I made while in New York. We hit four record stores and bought from three of them. First up is a couple from the first store and found the debut Kix album and Maneskin’s new one on vinyl. Good stuff…

And at the next one, we found a couple Whitesnake bootlegs of a couple radio broadcasts. And these are early 80’s which is the best stuff…

And I picked up a couple CDs as well including Eric Singers ESP album signed by Eric…

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Top Albums of 2023!!

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I can’t believe we are through with another year. And what a year it was, It saw me complete my goal of reviewing my massive Jeff Scott Soto Series with over 80 posts and 18 months of work. I was crazy to do it, but I loved every minute of it. I also started two more rather large and incredible series with Bon Jovi and Def Leppard which should take me through most of 2024. These might be the last two really Series I do as they are the last of my large band collections I have in my possession. All the other artist I have aren’t in such abundance like these were.

With the Soto, Def Leppard and Bon Jovi Series, I actually didn’t spend much time with new releases and if I’m being honest, this was a pretty piss poor year for rock albums that I grabbed me interest during the year. So, we are going to go through what I call the Top Albums of 2023, but I missed so much this isn’t a definitive list. This is only what I listened to in the year so take it with a grain of salt. Of course there will be some honorable mentions, a worst of album and maybe a best of re-issue/box set. I am not doing a Rock only list this year as I want to highlight anything I listened to this year that I thought was great. Sit back, grab a cup of coffee if it is morning, or a beer if it is any other time of day…and enjoy!!

MY FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2023:

#10 – The Rolling Stones – ‘Hackney Diamonds’

Is this the best Rolling Stones album, no, not at all. But let’s be honest, how cool is it we got another Stones album. I think it is really cool. Producer, Andrew Watt, was on board to bring the band back to life. He made it modern, but still a Stones album. I liked his work with Ozzy and I like it here. You Still get Mick and Keith and the boys sounding like who they are so don’t fret. There is a bar room blues feel to it, but it also feels relevant for today. They have Lady Gaga on board and even Sir Paul McCartney. I found it it to be a fantastic listen and one of my favorites for the year. Way to go boys. I like “Angry”, “Sweet Sounds of Heaven”, “Bite My Head Off” and so many more. Check it out!!

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Def Leppard – “Animal” (1987) – 7″ Single (Part 1 of 7) – (The Def Leppard Collection Series)

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On August 3rd, 1987, Def Leppard released their fourth studio album, ‘Hysteria’.  Little did they know this ground breaking album would go on to sell over 25 million records, produce 7 hit singles and go to #1 on the Billboard Charts. The band’s debut single for the album in the rest of the world and the second single here in the States, “Animal” was also the band’s first hit in their home country of the UK going to #6! Finally, they had UK success. The song was released in the UK on July 20, 1987 and the U.S. in September 1987. “Animal was the second single in the U.S. and did much better than “Women” which had performed poorly on the charts. It went to #19 and cracked the Top 40. The Single I have is the US version with “I Wanna Be Your Hero” as the B-Side while the UK version had “Tear It Down”. My version is also from the Hysteria Singles Box Set.

I’ve read that the song was demoed back in 1984 by Rick Allen with drum parts on an acoustic drum kit prior to his accident. And I read that Phil had originally written the song, but either way the whole band gets the writing credit so it goes to Rick, Phil, Joe Elliott, Rick Savage & Steve Clark. None of the producers that worked on the album could do anything with it and then 2 1/2 years later, a flip switched and the song flowed with the help of producer Robert “John” Mutt Lange. Phil had stated the following…per songfacts.com

“We’d revisit it and I remember we were recording vocals in Paris for something and one day Joe [Elliott] had done this vocal and Mutt Lange had said, ‘Wow, this vocal’s killer. Let’s rewrite the song around that.’ So we did and it was our first English Top 10 single, so it was worth waiting.” Collen credits Lange for taking the song to the next level. “He said, ‘Yeah, this is okay but this can be great.’ That’s always his thing. ‘Yeah, it can be alright and it can be an okay song but we want to make it great.’ And I think we achieved that. Certainly with the album, Hysteria. It had a different kind of response to it than if we had just sat there and released the first draft.”

A SIDE:

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Bon Jovi – ‘Tokyo Road: Best of Bon Jovi’ (2001) – Album Review (The Bon Jovi Collection Series)

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With Bon Jovi’s return and their ‘Crush’ album, the band was literally crushing it. The album was selling great and their worldwide tour was a smash hit selling out and reaching over 1 million people around the globe. In May of 2001, they released a live album with a collection of live songs from throughout the years to help capitalize on the new found success again. But before that, the band released a greatest hits package on March 28, 2001. The album was called ‘Tokyo Road: Best of Bon Jovi’ and it was released exclusively in Japan. As a result, I didn’t hear about it for years, but I finally did get a copy.

The album contains 16 songs only one of which is a new version which was “One Wild Night” which was remixed for this release. All the other songs appear to be album versions for the most part. Now, if you bought one of the initial pressings of the album, you were given a bonus 3″ Mini CD with 4 exclusive live tracks. My copy has that plus it still has the OBI strip and the extra booklet with the lyrics in both English and Japanese. It is all there in all it’s glory.

The opening track was the only unreleased track which was a remix of “One Wild Night 2001” which was originally off the ‘Crush’ album. “One Wild Night” originally had a cartoon tune opening, but that was removed and the song just starts with some weird sounding guitar licks that are less rocking, but then the song does rock out. The song is anthem and if you had heard this live your hands would be high in the airing, pumping along with the beat. The song is throwback to the early rock legends of the 60’s. They really changed up the sound and tone with this one all thought the heart of the song is still there.

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My Sunday Song – “In Your Face” by Kiss

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For My Sunday Song #392, then next one in the Japanese Bonus Tracks from Mike Ladano’s picks is one from Kiss off the 1998 reunion album ‘Psycho Circus’ is the Japanese Bonus Track called “In Your Face”. It was written by Gene Simmons but it is Ace that is on vocals. The song didn’t make the regular album, but did show up as a B-Side on singles and listed as a non-album track. Therefore, there are no charting on the song and it didn’t help drive sales, but I have to say I really dig it.

The song seems to be autobiographical for Ace even though Gene did write it. Gene made it from Ace’s perspective. The song seems to be about that Ace doesn’t feel like he belongs, but he is who he is and he won’t apologize for it. And if you push him, he will get in your face so you better watch out. They lyrics mention Ace and the Spaceman and the song feels like an Ace track. It is better than numerous songs on this album.

As I said, Ace sings and actually plays lead guitar on this one which he only does on 3 of the 11 tracks on the Japanese Edition. I assume Gene is on bass since he wrote the song and Paul on rhythm guitar, but there is no Peter on drums as it is handled by Kevin Valentine. I do love the bass on this one as Gene really gets a little nasty on this one. Ace sounds great and his solo is also spectacular. Again, the song has a classic Ace feel to it and is a solid rocker with a catchy chorus and all around melodic track.

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Billy Idol – ‘Idol Songs: 11 of the Best’ (1988) – Album Review (The Billy Idol Series)

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While I was recording a show on Grant’s Rock Warehaus, we were discussing the Billy Idol Chrysalis Years and as I was gathering my vinyl for that show, I realized that I was missing the ‘Idol Songs: 11 of the Best’ from my collection. I could’ve sworn I had bought that one before as I remember holding it in my hand at one time. But, I apparently didn’t buy it. So, I told Grant I would remedy that situation and so I head over to discogs to see if I could get one and what the best one to get. Well, it turned out the best version to get was the UK 1988 version which came with a 12″ Limited 4 Track E.P. exclusive to this set. Sold. I bought it from someone in Sweden and a week later, it was in my hands. It still had the stickers on the front and back cover talking about the 12″ Exclusive 4 Track E.P. and it was in pristine shape.

The album was released on June 20, 1988 on Chrysalis Records and contains 11 tracks from his first three studio albums as well as the E.P. and includes a live version of “Mony, Mony” which wiki says comes from the ‘Don’t Stop’ E.P. but my E.P. does not have a live version, it is the studio track. You can get another limited edition version with 2 bonus tracks, but why do that when you get one like I have with the the 4 bonus tracks. The album went to #2 on the UK Charts and was certified Platinum. I don’t really remember this album here in the States as it came out after Vital Idol and I felt that was pushed way more than this compilation. But I have one now, so all is good. In 2003, they did reissue this album with a different cover and called it ‘Essentials’…I like my version better.

The opening track is the title song “Rebel Yell” which actually opened the ‘Rebel Yell’ album.  It is a scorcher of a song, high energy and attitude.  The opening of the song is all done with the guitar even though it sounds like both a guitar and a keyboard.  Steve is showing off right out of the gate.  Vocally, Billy is on fire and you can see his lip curling up while he is signing which is amazing as it is on vinyl.  “Rebel Yell” was actually inspired by the Rolling Stones according to Billy on VH1 Storytellers.  Billy was at a party thrown by the Stones and everyone was drinking Rebel Yell Bourbon Whiskey.  I guess he loved that whiskey (along with a lot of drugs at the time).

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Def Leppard – ‘Hysteria’ (1987) – Album Review (The Def Leppard Collection Series)

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On August 3rd, 1987, Def Leppard released their fourth studio album, ‘Hysteria’.  Little did they know this ground breaking album would go on to sell over 25 million records, produce 7 hit singles and go to #1 on the Billboard Charts.  The members didn’t change as it was stilll Joe Elliott, Rick Savage, Rick Allen, Steve Clark and Phil Collen who got his first writing credits on this one. Whether you like this album or not, there is no denying the impact it had on the world of music. In fact, I have so many copies of this album. I have it on CD, cassette and vinyl and in fact, I have three copies on vinyl. The original album, the picture disc and the one that came in the box set The Collection, Vol. 1. I would say I’m set.

The album was a labor of love for the band as it took several years to record and they struggled so much during this time. There were so many setbacks during the recording of the album.  First, Robert John “Mutt” Lange turned down the producing job for the record after he had recorded “High & Dry” (my personal favorite) and “Pyromania” although he did help in the initial song writing for the record.  The band went through several producers during the recording including working with Jim Steinman of ‘Bat Out of Hell’ fame.  Their relationship did not go smoothly and he was later fired (they paid him a lot of money to get out of the contract so it must have gone really badly). Later in the process, “Mutt” did come back and produce the final product and then history was made.

The second big obstacle was Rick Allen’s car accident that severed his arm.  Yes, the drummer of the band lost an arm.  With all respect to the band, they did not abandon Rick.  They stood by him and supported him until he was capable of playing the drums with one arm using an electronic drum set and a set of foot pedals to compensate for the lost arm.  It definitely was a trying time.  I won’t go into much more as you can watch the documentary or read the book to learn more otherwise we could go on forever and ever talking about the making of this album as it had been 4 years since their prior release ‘Pyromania’. Instead, we can jump right in to the album as I feel we are here for the music anyway.

The first track on the album is the song “Women”. The song was the first single for the album in the U.S., but “Animal” was the first everywhere else. The reason for that is that Leppard wanted to make sure their core audience, the males, would understand what they were going for with the sound of this new album. They knew women might not like this one, however, the song isn’t degrading women at all. It is actually inspired by the important women in Joe Elliott’s life and is an anthem that actually pays tribute and celebrates women both their beauty and their strength all with a biblical background to it.

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Ace Frehley – The 21st Century Singles Collection: 2009-2020 – Box Set Review

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MNRK Records has been going a little overboard with the Ace Frehley collection in releasing so many different color variants of his vinyl that it borderlines on the ridiculous. How many copies do you really need. Me…one!! But they have a done a couple cool things with The Space Cassette Collection and now a Singles Collection. These are at least different formats and not the same vinyl with a different color or cover. I finally picked up the Singles Collection, but only because of a massive price drop. The set was way overpriced at $125 which I think is nuts for what you get. I saw someone post on Facebook that there was a huge sale on it and so I went and snatched a copy. The price had dropped to only $40 and now it is worth the price for what you get.

There are seven 7″ Singles all with picture sleeves and colored vinyl. You get at least one single from each album starting with his 2009 comeback album ‘Anomaly’ and going all the way up to his most recent album, the 2020 covers album, ‘Origins, Vol. 2’. Most of the albums get only one single, but ‘Origins, Vol. 1’ and ‘Spaceman’ get two singles. And I think those are two of the better albums so it makes sense to me.

We won’t go in to detail of each song, but we will post pictures of everything you are getting so you have an idea of what you are really getting in the box set in case you want to buy it. You also get a digital download card of the songs and I won’t post that picture because that is my card and I don’t want anyone using it before I do. I hope you enjoy the walk through the set.

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Bon Jovi – ‘The Love Songs E.P.’ (2001) – Promo CD (The Bon Jovi Collection)

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Bon Jovi and the label were really pushing their single “Thank You For Loving Me” off their 2000 album ‘Crush’. The single was released on November 6, 2000 and only went to #57 on the Billboard Hot 100. So, to help promote the song even more, they created an E.P. with that song and other love songs. This is a rare bonus CD, that was available only on Valentine’s Day of 2001 with the purchase of the studio album Crush. It contained five Bon Jovi love ballads; “Thank You for Loving Me”, “Bed of Roses”, “Always”, “I’ll Be There for You” and “Never Say Goodbye”. I also read that it was sent to radio stations as well as promo to be played as it contains the radio edit of “Thank You For Loving Me”.

The CD comes in a cardboard gatefold sleeve with a bunch of hearts on the front. The gatefold opens with the chorus of the song on the right and a heart shapped cut-out that is holding the CD on the left. It is pure Valentine’s Day cheese. I’ll tell you, it isn’t that hard to come by and not real expensive so if you need to complete your collection with this, it won’t be to difficult. Hit up eBay or Discogs and you should find it easy enough. As I mentioned, the first song is a radio edit and so is “Always”. The rest are the original versions from the albums. Let’s go through them all.

The song title, “Thnk You For Loving Me” seems to be inspired by Brad Pitt’s character in the film ‘Meet Joe Black’ where he tells Claire Forlani’s character “thank you for loving me”…or it could be a giant coincidence. It was written by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora and was inspired by Jon’s own personal experiences and observations on how love can change you and it was a giant thank you to those special people in his life. It is chock full of ballad cliches with a full on string section, soft & gentle piano and some nice sweet guitar licks from Sambora giving us the power in power ballad. And yes, it is a little over-the-top at times and cheesy, but Jon still delivers it as only he can with all the emotion needed to draw in the listener and pull at their heartstrings. Not their best ballad they’ve ever done, but honestly, its pretty damn good nonetheless.

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