August is almost over, but before it ends there is one more batch of new releases to bring you. The only one that really catches my eye is the Thunder box set called The Complete EMI Recordings, other than that, I’m probably going to catch up on prior releases. 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 great weekend.
AWOLNATION – The Phantom Five – (Thank You For Listening Entertainment)
Thunder – The Complete EMI Recordings 1989-1995 – (Hne)
U2 – Zoo TV: Live in Dublin E.P. – (Interscope / Geffen / A&M)
Welcome to a the series I have on YouTube called Retro Rock Reviews. Each week, we pick an album and do a quick review. They won’t be long shows, something quick and fun to get you through your day. For Episode 4, we are talking about the last album that came out after her passing on October 4, 1970. We are talking about Janis Joplin and her last album ‘Pearl’ which was released on January 11, 1971 , The album spent 9 weeks at #1 and sold over 4 million copies. It was a heck of a final album and a great tribute to her legacy. I hope you enjoy my review.
So go check it out as it is live now on August 29, 2024 at Noon. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.
The compilations are coming fast and furious. First we had the UK greatest hits compilation called ‘Best of Def Leppard’ which came in a 1 CD and a 2 CD version. The U.S. did not get that release. Instead, about 6 months later, the States got a slightly different collection called ‘Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection’. This was released May 17, 2005 about 7 months later and went to #10 on the Billboard 200 chart selling over 1 million copies in the States alone. Canada bought about 200,000. So, it did well.
How does this one differ from “Best of”? Not by a whole lot. The biggest, noticeable difference is the artwork is really spruced up and more vibrant with the Union Jack used as background. Some of the pictures are the same and the liner notes I think are identical. This time, Disc 1 is identical to ‘Vault’ with the only change adding 2 songs. Disc 2 is pretty close to the same as well. There is a different New song. Instead of the cover of The Kink’s “Waterloo Sunset”, we get a Badfinger cover of “No Matter What”. We do get 18 tracks on Disc 2 instead of 17 with “Paper Sun” and “Mirror Mirror (Look Into My Eyes” being different. The dropped “Make Love Like A Man”, thankfully. And lastly, the track order is shaken up on Disc 2 as well. Let’s be realistic, they aren’t that different.
DISC 1:
The album opens with the biggest song of their career, “Pour Some Sugar on Me”. It was the third single off ‘Hysteria’ in the UK, but the fourth in the States. And it was do or die time for the band. They need to sell way more and this song did it for them. Yes, the song is about sex, but it is it the energy of the song that make this one so good. This is the ‘Historia’ Video Edit version which opens with “Love is a like a Bomb” and is actually longer then the album version.
Then with no mercy, we get “Photograph”. First…the song is NOT about Marilyn Monroe. The song is about an obsession with a woman and all you have of her is that photograph. The Marilyn Monroe part was added for the video to help tell the story. And it captures it perfectly. As the video shows that obsession going a little too far. The song was perfect in my book and the video was mesmerizing. The two together captured my attention like nothing ever had before and every time MTV showed, I turned up the volume!
This week my buddy Deke and I are on a our 4th show in the series called “In Depth” and each episode we will pick an album and dive a little deeper in to it. We decided we would do a mini-Queensryche series and go from their E.P. up to ‘Promised Land’. We are now up to their 3rd Full Length album and 4th release with 1988’s ‘Operation: Mindcrime’. So, if you like a little Queensryche then come check it out as you get some fun facts and our thoughts on the sound, the songs and the band. How much to we love or hate this album…find out by clicking below…
Deke is from the Distortion Den and from the blog world as well. Go Check him out at the links below…
So go check it out as it is live now on August 26, 2024 at 8pm. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.
This is re-review as I reviewed this when it came out. Have my feelings softened on this one? We will see…
Back in 2013, Richie Sambora met Orianthi and sparks flew, apparently. The two were an item and decided they needed to put out music for the masses and I was happy about it at the time. I love Richie’s vocals and his bluesy, rock style plus he can play the guitar (have you heard of Bon Jovi?). Orianthi is also one helluva a guitar player herself and she can sing with the best of them. She has played for Michael Jackson and for Alice Cooper as well as her own solo work. The two together, I was expecting a bluesy rock album with some amazing guitar work. Did I get that…well…we will see.
After releasing two E.P.’s in 2017 and a couple singles including one double single, we finally get a full album called ‘Radio Free America’ from RSO (it’s there initials, get it!). Now here is the problem with that…the full album is all 13 songs previously released with those E.P.’s and singles and only 2 new songs. That is right, only 2 and one is a cover. So, if you bought the E.P.’s, you aren’t getting much more. And to make it worse, it is an album of 15 songs in length (over an hour and 7 minutes). That is pretty long for an album and you know there will be filler…and trust me there is filler. I heard they recorded 25 songs, I would like to know where those other 10 songs are and will they ever see the light of day now that they are no longer together. Man, I hope so.
With the opening and title track “Making History” Richie & Orianthi are doing what we wanted them to do. They are rocking out. The guitars on this one are exceptional with an almost Def Leppardesque sound from around the “Euphoria” era at times (maybe). The guitar solo is freaking sensational and it is all I ask from these two. Of course I have one minor negative on the song. The vocals are missing something whether it is the chemistry or the mix. Bob Rock is the producer and he does great work, but I am not a fan of them singing simultaneously. I prefer them to trade back and forth.
Between 2002-2008, The record labels in control of the Kiss Catalog released not one, not two, heck not even 3 Greatest Hit Compilations. Nope. They released a total of 7 greatest hits compilations spread over those years. I am sure there are more, I just haven’t found them yet. Over the last few weeks, we have been through a bunch of them and hopefully this is the last one for a little while. At least until I find more…which I will. As far as compilations go, this one is worth taking notice. Let me explain.
Originally this was released in 2004 as part of the KISS Sound and Vision box set. This set was released on January 11, 2005 and is a 2 CD Set called ‘Gold’. The label for this one was Universal Music Corporation. This set covers the make-up years from 1974 up to 1982…except it doesn’t include anything from ‘Creatures of the Night’. The 1982 in reference here is for the ‘Killers’ compilation. There are 20 songs per disc which means we get a handful of releases from almost every album with some minor exceptions. There is at least one from every release though (except maybe Double Platinum. If you want a comp that gives you the best coverage of the make-up era, I don’t know if you can do better than this.
DISC 1:
Kiss (1974): The representation of the debut album is strong as it gives you five tracks:
The album kicks off with the song “Strutter”. The song was written by both Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons and over the years, this would be a rare experience as they would wind up writing songs by themselves. The music of the song was based off an old Gene song called “Stanley the Parrot” which was recorded even before there was a Wicked Lester.
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man Episode 68: Def Leppard CD Rarities with @RockTheseTweets and @2Loud2OldMusic
This has been a meeting long in the making. For years, I have admired the music collection of Chris from MyRockAndRollHeaven on Twitter. In particular, Chris is a Def Leppard collector, and I believe his collection is one of the best in the world.
Finally the stars have aligned, and we have Chris tonight on Grab A Stack of Rock. Since his collection is so massive, we decided to narrow it down to rare Def Leppard on CD. Singles, Japanese imports, EPs and more will be shown tonight. Joining us as co-host will be fellow fan and collector John Snow from 2Loud2OldMusic! He is currently in the midst of a Def Leppard review series, so this lines up perfect.
What will we see tonight? The rarest of the rare Leppard on CD. Don’t miss it.
Friday August 23 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook!
When I heard there was a new Jimi Jamison album, I was excited as he passed away so many years ago. Then, I heard it was a country album and that excitement waned a little. However, I will still check it out. My daughters are super excited for Sabrina Carpenters new album and with 2 #1 Singles so far, this one should be huge. 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.
Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet – (Island Records)
Lainey Wilson – Whirlwind – (This is Hit, Inc. / Broken Bow Records)
Thomas Rhett – About a Woman – (Fifty-One /Forty-Nine Records / Thirty Tigers)
Welcome to a new series I have on YouTube called Retro Rock Reviews. Each week, we are going to pick an album and do a quick review. They won’t be long shows, something quick and fun to get you through your day. For Episode 3, we are talking about one of the first Alice Cooper albums I ever heard and that is ‘Billion Dollar Babies’. Released on February 25, 1973 , it was an album that took Alice Cooper to the next level. With Bob Ezrin at the helm and a slew of great guitarists, this album went to #1 in the U.S. and the U.K. selling well over 1,000,000 copies. I hope you enjoy my review.
So go check it out as it is live now on August 22, 2024 at Noon. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.
Up to this point, Def Leppard really only had 1 greatest hits album and that was 1995’s ‘Vault: Def Leppard Greatest Hits 1980-1995’. Since that last compilation, they have released a couple more albums so it was time to update the Greatest Hits package and this time it is called ‘Best of Def Leppard’, easy enough. There is a single disc version which is basically the same tracks as the ‘Vault’. Well, close enough. They did remove two tracks and add two more recent ones then they added two more tracks on that one to give us 17 tracks instead of 15. And I am okay with the choices they made.
There is also a 2 CD set which is what I have. It came with a slip case (my copy doesn’t have that piece) and a second disc with more of a diverse selection. While the first mostly ignores the first albums (exception being “Bringin’ On the Heartbreak”), this adds a few more tracks plus gives us more of the newer albums. And even better a new song…well new to Def Leppard as it is a cover of The Kink’s song “Waterloo Sunset”. This was a preview of what was to come with the band’s next studio album ‘Yeah!’ which is a covers album. I like that second disc since it is the usual Leppard standards.
The CD came out on October 25, 2004 and it did sell 300,000 copies in the UK and went to #6 on the albums chart. It charted in other countries as well, but it didn’t chart in the U.S. as it was not officially released here in the States. That would come the next year with a new compilation called ‘Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection’ which we will review next week. Now, since this set is 34 songs over 2 CDs, this review could take awhile. I’ll get started.
DISC 1:
The album opens with the biggest song of their career, “Pour Some Sugar on Me”. It was the third single off ‘Hysteria’ in the UK, but the fourth in the States. And it was do or die time for the band. They need to sell way more and this song did it for them. Yes, the song is about sex, but it is it the energy of the song that make this one so good. This is the ‘Historia’ Video Edit version which opens with “Love is a like a Bomb” and is actually longer then the album version.
AWOLNATION – The Phantom Five – (Thank You For Listening Entertainment)
Thunder – The Complete EMI Recordings 1989-1995 – (Hne)
U2 – Zoo TV: Live in Dublin E.P. – (Interscope / Geffen / A&M)
Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet – (Island Records)
Lainey Wilson – Whirlwind – (This is Hit, Inc. / Broken Bow Records)
Thomas Rhett – About a Woman – (Fifty-One /Forty-Nine Records / Thirty Tigers)
2 Loud 2 Old Music 