I can’t believe it is time for another monthly wrap-up of what we added to The Collection. This time around, it is April 2024 and we added a ton of stuff. Somethings we added were actually in their own episode like the Record Store Day purchases and some Kiss Bootlegs. The rest of what we added are on here.
We hit up the local record stores here in Charlotte and even down in Wilmington, North Carolina when we were on our Spring Break trip. We picked up stuff from Discogs, eBay and even from Amazon as well. It is a lot of stuff and so much in fact, there are things still unopened and haven’t been listened to yet. I think that is a sign I bought too much. But like traffic signs, I’m ignoring it too!!
So go check it out as it is live now on April 29, 2024 at 8pm. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.
And for those that wanted the BIG picture we used to put at the bottom of the post with everything in it, here you go…it is back as requested…
The album ‘Have a Nice Day’ album from Bon Jovi came out on September 20, 2005 and to keep the promotion on that album, the band & label decided to release a companion piece 6 months later. On February 7, 2006, they released ‘Live From the Have A Nice Day Tour’ E.P. that was exclusively sold at Walmart. It was only available in the U.S.
Don’t worry though as the songs weren’t exclusive as they also appeared on the Tour Edition of ‘Have a Nice Day’ that was released in Japan. Plus, you could get 3 of the songs as B-Sides for the single “Who Says You Can’t Go Home”. There are six tracks and they are are all live. They were recorded during the Have a Nice Day Tour in Banknorth Garden, Boston, MA on December 10, 2005.
The album contains 4 live versions of songs from ‘Have a Nice Day’ and two classic Bon Jovi tracks as well. It kicks off with one of my favorite songs from the new album called “Last Man Standing”. It has a killer opening riff from Richie and the song is a pure, high energy rocker. Live they seem to play it a little faster at times, but that doesn’t take away from the track. Just an observation. Live though the song doesn’t sound as cool and dark as the studio track, but still cool to have a live version of it.
Next up is the classic Bon Jovi track “You Give Love a Bad Name” and I have heard this one so many times I can’t imagine they would do anything special to it that would make me want to hear this one again live and I was right. Luckily vocals are still great, the band sounds great and the crowd was really in to it and they even get their own chorus to sing. The band could play this one in their sleep.
“Complicated” comes screaming to life next…well after a fade out from the last song and a fade in to this one which tells me these were played next to each other in the show. Another track that is better as a studio track than a live one. It doesn’t have the heart or the intensity that the studio track gave us. Live, the band felt like they were going through the motions. I don’t really mean that bad, they just didn’t do anything that takes it to another level live.
After another fade in/fade out, we get the title track, “Have A Nice Day”. An anthemic rock track in the same vein as “It’s My Life” which tells you it is catchy and a fun track to hear live…and it lives up to expectations. The band plays this one with a lot of energy and seems to enjoy playing it as it is a real crowd pleaser. Plus, we get a “Richie” solo and name check.
“Who Says You Can’t Go Home” is next and this is not a duet with Jennifer Nettles, this is the Jon Bon only version. How does this one come off live? Well, pretty lifeless in my opinion. A paint by numbers run through with no passion or heart in the vocals. Blah! Feels like a bathroom song if you no what I mean.
The final track is “Raise Your Hands” and thank goodness, I needed something uplifting after that snoozefest. A heavier-hitting track with a lot more energy and a lot more guitar. A tougher sounding track that would make my raise my hands to get the blood flowing again. A classic track that takes me back to the good time Bon Jovi era. And more Richie Sambora name checks and solo. Give me more of that.
And that is it. I will admit, it isn’t the most exciting live set, but it is a nice piece to hold you over until the next album comes out and it is good to help continue to promote the new album. But the song choices weren’t the best, the performances were a little dull and lifeless at times. It felt like they were going through the motions on some of these. The CD opened well and closed well, just faltered at times in the middle. My Overall Score is a 3.0 out of 5.0 Stars mostly for a nice collector piece. Otherwise, skippable for non-collectors.
For My Sunday Song #410, we are tackling another Iron Maiden song thanks to Harrison Kopp. His final choice is “No Prayer to the Dying” which is the title song for the album of the same name. The album was their 8th studio album and the first one without Adrian Smith as he left he band due to creative differences. This particular song was not a single and was solely written by Steve Harris.
The song seems to be very introspective as the protagonist sits alone by a window watching it rain. He starts to question what life is all about and wondering why he was there. He sounds a little depressed and very lonely. He starts to plead to God for answers as he feels his prayers were never answered. He might be dying and therefore feels that because of that, there are no more prayers left to be answered. The strange thing about the lyrics are that they never say the title, “No Prayer for the Dying”. Not mentioned once.
Musically, the song is just over 4 minutes which I think is short for a Maiden song. In fact, there are no 6 minute or more songs on the album which I believe is a first. The song starts off slow and fairly quiet. The music is almost as thoughtful and introspective as the meaning behind the lyrics. Bruce Dickinson’s vocals are emotive and almost smooth but still a little grit. The verses are really soft and in between the verses the music picks up. I don’t think there is actually a chorus. The instrumental pieces between the verses is the chorus as it is a great melody. There is some great depth in the bass lines and the rhythm section entirely. About midway through the song the music cranks it up a notch, the bass lines are fast and powerful, but the guitars are shredding and they are frenzied and it is all fantastic. There a drum barrages and it is all wild and crazy. It really changes the dynamics of the song and makes it really interesting. Bruce comes back in screaming now as he pleads with God to answer his prayers. It slows back down to the gentleness of the beginning and then ends. A really cool track.
This is a big week for me. Two of my favorite artists are releasing 40th Anniversary Editions of their biggest albums. First, Def Leppard and ‘Pyromania’ and Billy Idol with ‘Rebel Yell’. Yes, I ordered both and they are on their way. Can’t wait to dive in to this and here the previously unreleased material. If those don’t shake your tree, there are ton more new releases this week that are actually new releases. Let us know what you want to hear or what we may have missed. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
Def Leppard were trying to keep product moving to keep the fans happy between albums. They didn’t want the gaps between albums, that tended to be rather long, to not have anything come out. So, on October 5, 1993, they released another VHS video and this one was called ‘Visualize’. My copy is on DVD which came in 2001, but the original was a VHS only edition. It contained promo videos, interviews and concert footage and it won a 1993 Metal Edge Readers’ Choice Award for “Best Home Video.” It ended up selling only around 50,000 copies in the States. I know I had it in VHS, got rid of that when the DVD came out and bought it again. On DVD, it is coupled with another VHS only release called ‘Video Archive’ which we will talk about later.
When you start the DVD, it makes you pick which language you want and it was so tempting to pick something other than English, but I went with the English version since I am uneducated American who only knows one language. When you click “Visualize” it starts out with some live footage and an interview short with the band, first Joe Elliott then Vivian Campbell, Phil Collen, Rick Allen and then Rick Savage. Good to see all the guys getting face time.
Video wise, the first one is off “Hysteria” and was the final single called “Rocket”. The reason it is here is the video ‘Historia’ was released prior to “Rocket” coming out as a video single. The “Rocket” video is a great one with the band in a warehouse with TVs all around showing clips of rockets and the band’s favorite artist that inspired them like Bowie and Elton John for just a few. The next video was for “Switch 625” and this was done only as a tribute to the passing of the band’s great guitarist, Steve Clark. He has been missed. The video is prefaced by a Japanese interview where Steve talks and jokes around. The band then talks about what he means to them. Very touching tribute.
We are excited to announce that this week’s episode has a very special guest and friend to 2 Loud 2 Old Music as we interview author Tim Durling. You know Tim from his YouTube channel, Tim’s Vinyl Confessions, and you will love it as we discuss his first book called ‘Unspooled: An Adventure in 8-Tracks’. The book walks through the 80’s where 8-Tracks were a dying breed but you could still buy them in those Record Club’s like Columbia House or RCA.
Tim has some great insight in to the 8-Tracks that were only available in these clubs and you will be surprised at some of those that you would’ve never thought were on that format, but they were. We show off some 8-Tracks in our collection and Tim has some rare ones. It is really cool to see. And find out the answer to the riveting questions…Who gave Tim the idea to do a book on 8-Tracks? Do either of us an 8-Track Player??? and many more…
Come join Tim Durling and I in this fantastic discussion on ‘Unspooled: An Adventure in 8-Tracks’ tonight at 8pm on April 22nd, 2024 on YouTube. Click the link below. Don’t forget to hit Subscribe and Like and please leave a comment. Thanks and have great day!!
Before the release of ‘100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong’, Bon Jovi had already finished recording their next album, ‘Have a Nice Day’. The record company wanted to put it out in early 2005, but Jon and the band had other ideas. They actually went back in to the studio and recorded more songs and tweaked some of the existing. As a result, the album didn’t see the light of day until September 20, 2005. The album 13 tracks and 3 bonus tracks scattered over Europe, Australia and Japan. The album would hit #2 in the U.S. and would hit platinum status as well as see #1 in numerous countries around the world so they were still a big worldwide band.
The album saw a new face in the producer chair. A gentleman by the name of John Shanks. John had worked with Ashlee Simpson, Hillary Duff, Kelly Clarkson and so many more. Us rock fans, were not real excited about that pedigree. Would this be a watered down, poppy Bon Jovi. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case as the album picked up where ‘Bounce’ left off giving us some heavy Bon Jovi and actually it saw a more thought-provoking Bon Jovi as Jon Bon Jovi really dug deep for the lyrics.
But, this would also be the first of many Shanks produced albums that many fans is the reason the band has lost its way and isn’t the same as it used to be. Yes, a band should grow and play with new sounds, and they did that, but the diehard fans have not been happy with the results, this fan included. This was the last Bon Jovi album that was good in my book. We will see if that thought still holds true as I re-explore the later albums. For now, I’m just going to enjoy this one like I always have.
The album would kick off with the first single and the title track, “Have a Nice Day”. The song is a carbon copy of “It’s My Life” as it is anthemic as well as delivering a positive message that says live your life the way you want to do it and when people try to bring you down, just tell them to “Have a Nice Day” and move on with your life. It is an exciting opening track, with an ear worm candy of a chorus that will keep you singing for days after you hear it.
For My Sunday Song #409, we tackled Harrison’s next pick of “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga which was an unexpected, but welcome pick. The song is from Lady Gaga’s E.P. ‘The Fame Monster’ and was written by Lady Gaga and RedOne. The song did pretty well going #1 on the Top 40 Charts and #1 on the Dance charts as well, but held to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. To say it was popular is an understatement as it sold over 12 million copies worldwide. Crazy for a single. And the video, well it has over 1.7 Billion views. That is Billion with a B.
The song was inspired by the paranoia Lady Gaga felt while on tour for her debut album. It also draws from her quite unhealthy relationships she has had and is drawn to like a moth to a flame. Too many bad romances I guess. There is a big shout out Alfred Hitchcock movies with the lines…”I want your psycho, your vertigo schtick (Schtick, hey!) / Want you in my rear window, baby, you’re sick” which also points to unhealthy attachments that meet these adjectives.
The song is pure dance pop inspired by electro pop and it is full of synthesizers and drum machines. The song has one of the most catchiest openings with the “Oh-oh-oh’s” and then the “Ra-ra-ah-ah-ah / Roma Roma-ma / Gaga, “ooh la-la”. The minute you hear that you know the song and I think if you have a car full of people, they will all sing along. There is a rap piece in the middle and she even goes French for some lyrics. All making the song a massive earworm. One of the best pop songs she has ever done.
Welcome back to The Collection. Today, April 20, 2024 was yet another Record Store Day and another morning of getting up too early and waiting in line…but it is always fun. See what we got this time around.
lease do leave a comment and I promise I’ll address them as soon as I can! Don’t forget to click “Like” and “Subscribe”. Thanks for watching.
Welcome to will be a massive New Release day for one artist as Taylor Swift has a brand new album this week. No, not a “Taylor Version” of an old album, but a brand new one. The woman is a machine with as much product as she puts out. And for the rest of us, there is the new Pearl Jam record and that first song and title track, Dark Matter, is pretty awesome. There a ton of other releases today as well so check them out and let us know what you want to hear or what we may have missed. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a great weekend!!
Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department – (Republic Records)
Def Leppard – Pyromania 40th Anniversary Box Set – (Mercury Records)
Billy Idol – Rebel Yell (40th Anniversary Expanded Edition) – (Universal Music)
Pet Shop Boys – Nonetheless – (Parlophone Records / x2 Recordings Ltd)
Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department – (Republic Records) 
Pearl Jam – Dark Matter – (Monkeywrench / Republic Records)
Bruce Springsteen – Best of Bruce Springsteen – (Columbia Records / Sony Music)
2 Loud 2 Old Music 