Month: February 2024

Def Leppard – ‘Live in Mountain View: August 17, 1988’ – Bootleg DVD (The Def Leppard Collection Series)

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With Bootlegs, you never know what you are going to get and that is especially true with concert DVDs. In my search for anything Def Leppard, I came across this live DVD of Def Leppard from their ‘Hysteria Tour’. The show was recorded on August 17, 1988 at the Shoreline Amphitheater just outside of Mountain View, California. The show was recorded using either a still shot of the video screen or the actual footage used for the venue video screens themselves. And the video quality is supposed to be great, along with the sound.

The show itself is the typical ‘Hysteria Tour’ show you would expect from the guys. By this time they were already basically ignoring anything from ‘On Through the Night’ and ‘High & Dry’ except for one song. The set list consisted of only one track from ‘High & Dry’, it included 7 from ‘Pyromania’ and 6 from ‘Hysteria’. No covers, nothing. 14 tracks and a little over an hour and a half long in length.

Earlier, I said the picture quality was supposed to be great, but that was not the case for this copy I have on DVD. I am sure this recorded off a copy of a VHS tape that was recorded of a copy of another VHS tape and another VHS tape and so on and so on. The quality at times is unwatchable especially when the stage is dark. If the stage is all lit up, the picture looks decent considering this is VHS technology on a DVD. However, the sound is spot on through out. Clear and you can hear everybody. This would’ve been better as a CD only concert bootleg in my opinion.

When you compare this set list to their famous live release, ‘In the Round, In Your Face’, it is an identical set list with one exception. In the encore you get an extra song with the band doing “Love Bites”. Otherwise, everything is pretty identical. The other show was recorded 5 months earlier in February 1988. 

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The Collection: Episode 2 – February 2024 Wrap-Up

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We are doing something different this time around and going to do the wrap-up in video form. So, if you want to see everything and hear a little more discussion on the items, go check out the video. It will air tonight at 7pm on Youtube.

You’ll get some of the usual suspects like Kiss, Aerosmith, Needtobreathe, AC/DC and so much more. And I think I hit almost every format this month with vinyl, CD, Cassettes and even an 8-Track. No reel-to-reels though so not every format.

Ok, I won’t leave you empty handed in…here is everything in one shot…almost everything as the big box of Needtobreathe collectibles I bought we covered in Episode 1 so didn’t want to repeat anything…

Please check out the shot at 7pm tonight, Tuesday, February 27, 2024. Thanks for stopping by!!

Bon Jovi – “Keep the Faith” (1992) – CD Maxi Single (The Bon Jovi Collection Series)

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The lead single off the album of the same name was “Keep the Faith’. It was released on October 7, 1992 almost a full month prior the album release. The song went straight to #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart and all the way to #29 on the Billboard Hot 100 giving the band another Top 40 hit. It had major success around the world going Top 10 in over 9 countries including the UK which is where you would find the single we are showing off today. This is one of two CD singles released in the UK for this song. I don’t have the other one, so I will need to work on that one day.

“Keep the Faith” is a very inspiring song about faith and holding on throughout any troubles or adversities that come your way. Be strong and push your way through it and have a little faith that you will make it out the other side. The song for me is about hope and inner strength and why it is a personal favorite of mine.

The single, “Keep the Faith”, opens with a killer bass line then Tico’s drum beat settles in a blistering groove. The song is uplifting and almost happy without being cheesy. It drives forward like a marching army and I think actually outdoes the opening track on the album for inspiration. The guitar solo on this one sees Richie slay with those fingers as they fly over the frets. One of his best on the album. There is a funky groove throughout from Hugh McDonald and we get aggressive vocals from Jon which gives us a solid rocker of a song. Jon actually speaks a portion of the vocals which adds to the impact of the song and I think gives it a little something extra special. The song on this single is the album version and not a radio edit.

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My Sunday Song – “A Night To Remember” By Slade

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For My Sunday Song #401, we are starting another 10 picks and this time the choices are coming from our Aussie friend, Harrison Kopp. Harrison has been a friend of the site for years and he co-hosts Grab a Stack of Rock along with Michael Ladano who picked the last 10 songs. We kick off this set with the song “A Night to Remember” by the band Slade. The song is from their 1981 album ‘Till Deaf Do Us Part’ and it was not a single which is a shame as it totally kicks ass…wait, I’m spoiling everything. Oh well, you can read on if you’d like.

Like most rock & roll songs, this is pure sexual innuendo. It is about sex and a night that they will both remember as they explore each other’s bodies and go at hard all night. Lines like “Oh, I know, if you’re ready for me, my hot rod’s ready to burn” and “I’ve bin savin’ my skin machine for you” are both pretty self-explanatory. If you can’t read between those lines, well, I’m afraid you’ll probably never have sex. Sorry, but it’s true.

The opening is bombastic and explosive. The energy is electrifying and you can feel the sexual tension about to explode. Noddy’s vocals are superb and if you want to know who sounds like him, easily Kevin Dubrow from Quiet Riot (hmm…those two have a history together I believe). The guitars are a fast, the drums are deadly and the bass is laying down a groove. You hope the sex doesn’t go as fast as the tempo or she is going to be sorely disappointed. I love the keyboards at the end as they don’t show prominently anywhere else in the song but here and it adds a new texture to it like maybe they are done with their night and this is them relaxing, smoking a cigarette afterwards.

Continue reading “My Sunday Song – “A Night To Remember” By Slade” →

A LEBRAINLESS PANEL WITH NEW ARRIVALS, JAZZ, HARD ROCK AND METAL ON GRAB A STACK OF ROCK

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Join me tonight while I guest on Grab a Stack of Rock…see below…

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man

Episode 52:  Jex, Aaron, John and Metal Roger!

First order of business:  Get well soon, Harrison!  The Mad Metal Man is unable to co-host tonight’s episode, so filling in for him will be Jex Russell.

I don’t know precisely what the guys will be showing off, but new arrivals are guaranteed!  We will see Kiss, Metallica, Billy Idol, The Who, Chuck Berry and a whole whack of fresh jazz from Mr. Books.

The panel tonight:

  • Hosted by: Jex Russell from Jex’s Vinyl World
  • Jazz provided by Aaron “Mr. Books” of the KMA
  • John T. Snow from The Collection on the hard rock side of things
  • And Metal Roger on comedy relief and heavy metal

Historically speaking, this is the first ever episode of Grab A Stack of Rock with Mike and the Mad Metal Man, without Mike or the Mad Metal Man.  But fear not, Mike will be back on Monday with Tim Durling for a very special Journey episode for Jon Cain’s birthday!

Friday Feb 23 at 8:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 9:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube, or Twitter!!  (Facebook has been problematic of late.)

Friday New Releases – February 23, 2024

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Can you believe we are already through 2 months of 2024? It is insane how time flies. This week we have a bunch more releases for you to help enjoy some of that fast flying time. There are two I’m really interested in. One I’ve already bought (Ace Frehley) and one I want to stream first (Mick Mars). Both great rock records I’m sure. My friend Down Under (Harrison, you know I’m talking about you) will want to grab hold of the new Blaze Bayley. All the rest of you let me know what you want to hear this week or what we may have missed. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great weekend. Note: There are too many releases for videos this week, but I will do at least the the albums that made the picture above…

  • Ace Frehley – 10,000 Volts – (MNRK Records)
  • Mick Mars – The Other Side of Mars – (1313 LLC)
  •  Blaze Bayley – Circle of Stone – (Blaze Bayley Recording)
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Def Leppard – ‘Rarities – Volume One’ (2018) – Album Review (The Def Leppard Collection Series)

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In 2018, the Def Leppard camp released their first of what should become a 4 Volume Collection. This first one was simply called “The Collection, Volume One”. It was released on June 1, 2018 and contained the first four albums on vinyl (or CD depending which you bought). You also received ‘Live at the L.A. Forum” (which we’ve reviewed) and a 7″ Single of the debut Def Leppard E.P. Another bonus album in this collection is a compilation of Rare releases called ‘Rarities – Volume One’.  Some were single versions of album songs or remixes and some were B-Sides of single releases.  I have everyone of these in CD version, but did not have on vinyl so this set made me very happy.

The collection of songs ranges back to the beginning in 1979 with the band’s first two singles and goes all the way up to the B-Sides from the band’s Diamond released album in 1987 called ‘Hysteria’. It is a great selection of songs and to have them all on one LP is really cool and something that will get played quite frequently as I love all these songs. Let’s get in to the meat of it and talk about the music as that is why we are here.

SIDE A:

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Kiss – ‘Lick It Up’ (2023) – 40th Anniversary Picture Disc Box Set (The Kiss Review Series)

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The ‘Lick it Up’ album, which came out on September 23, 1983, garnered way more attention than it’s predecessor ‘Creatures of the Night’ for one main reason. The band finally took off the make-up which is something they had been talking about doing since at least the ‘Music from the Elder’ era. They finally did it and the big reveal was on MTV during primetime. I remember this vividly as this was event TV for me as I was a lifelong Kiss fan at the time (and still am today). I remember seeing each member in make-up and then without and I remember thinking, “PUT IT BACK ON!!! OOOOH THE HORROR!!!” No, it really wasn’t that bad. It was actually pretty cool. And just like that Kiss was back in the public eye and they had some songs that could back it up.

Now, 40 years later, Kiss was rumored to be releasing another Box Set like say ‘Creatures’ or ‘Destroyer’, but those plans were squashed probably due to the fact the other box sets didn’t sell out…but who knows why. Instead they released a new Japanese Edition with a lot of little extras (but no extra discs or music) and a Picture Disc box set for ‘Lick It Up’ that included two 12″ Singles that were picture discs as well. They were limited to 3,000 copies and my copy is 1,729. This was way better than what happened to the Japanese edition which instead of #’s, a lot of them just showed XXXX…man, that would piss me off. The box is a heavy duty cardboard box embossed in silver rather than the white of the original album. It is quite nice.

I have already reviewed ‘Lick It Up’ in great detail which you can click here and read…Kiss – Lick It Up (1983). For this post, we are only going to show off the new picture discs and packaging for the box set. I hope you enjoy.

‘LICK IT UP’ – THE ALBUM

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The Collection – Episode 1: Needtobreathe – What’s In The Box?

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Welcome to Episode 1 of The Collection. This first episode kicks us off with a big purchase I made of someone’s Needtobreathe collection and I only bought it for 1 CD included. What CD was it?? You will see. The rest of the collection is a giant bonus! You’ll see CDs, Vinyl, hats, T-shirts, posters and more…

I hope you enjoy this episode which goes “live” Tuesday, February 20th at 7:00 PM E.S.T. Please do leave some comments and I promise I’ll address them as soon as I can!

Bon Jovi – “Borderline” (1986) – 12″ Single (Japanese Edition) – (The Bon Jovi Collection Series)

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While I was in New York City a little while back for the Final Kiss Show at Madison Square Garden, my brother and I did hit some shops and I found, not one, but two Japanese Singles from Bon Jovi. These were released back in the 80’s in Japan only and they are in such beautiful shape. I had to have them so I bought them. First up was “Burning for Love” and now we get in to the 2nd Single I found with “Borderline”.

I am not sure the reason behind this Japanese Only release. We are during the ‘Slippery When Wet’ era of the band and they release a 12″ Single for “Borderline” which wasn’t even on the album, only a studio outtake. It doesn’t make quite much sense. The opening track is “Livin’ On A Prayer” from the Slippery album, but why label it as “Borderline”??? Very confusing to me, but I don’t care, it is still a cool piece for the collection. The Japanese audience was always treated with special releases from Bon Jovi and better covers.

Included in the release was a lyric sheet for the songs in both English and Japanese…

Continue reading “Bon Jovi – “Borderline” (1986) – 12″ Single (Japanese Edition) – (The Bon Jovi Collection Series)” →