Author: 2loud2oldmusic

Judas Priest – ‘Nostradamus’ (2008) – Album Review (The Complete Albums Collection Series)

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For the band’s sixteenth studio album, they went somewhere they had never gone before and really pushed the boundaries of what they could do. “Nostradamus” was going to be a concept album about the man himself, Nostradamus. The idea was brought to the band by their manager, Bill Curbishley, way back in 2005. Eventually the band came around and work started on the album in 2006 and went through 2007. The album finally saw the light of day on June 16, 2008 and saw the band get their highest charting album to date at #11 (now realize that was only sales of 42,000 and in 2008 that had become a lot as album sales were way down).

The band would shed their speed and thrash metal sound and stick strictly to a more symphonic metal sound so if you were expecting anything from before you were in a shock. This was going to be so different than anything else they had done. The album turned in to a 2 CD set with 23 tracks and over a 103 minutes worth of music. You were taken on a journey through the life of Nostradamus and would get songs about his notorious prophecies and about the man himself. You can tell by the titles of the songs on the first disc they are about some dark prophecies that talk about war and the basically the end of the world. The album is full of orchestrated moments and even choirs and if you are looking for the classic Halford scream, you will only get that on the very rare occasion. Rob sings more in an operatic singing style and fits the music perfectly. This is the band stretching their limits and really reaching for the stars.

The band is still Rob Halford, K.K. Downing, Glenn Tipton, Ian Hill and Scott Travis on drums. Don Airey is still on keyboards and then you have Pete Whitfield who handles all the string instrumentation. The band was hitting on all cylinders and have given an album that has to be listened to as an album and from front to back in the order intended to get the full effect and follow along. And due to the length of the album there is no way we are going to go through song by song in any great detail so forgive me. I will stick with the highlights and there are many.

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AC/DC – “Through The Mists of Time” / “Witch’s Spell” – 12″ Limited Edition Picture Disc (RSD 2021 Release)

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I really like Picture Discs. I find them quite beautiful and a wonderful piece to add to the collection. I doesn’t even matter if that is not a new song, bonus track, live version or rare track on the release. I still like to have them. For the June 12, 2021 Record Store Day, AC/DC had a limited edition picture disc that I didn’t even realize was being released. I only caught it because I was online and ordering the Def Leppard RSD release and noticed it. So, I added it to the cart, and sold!!

The Picture Disc is for the song “Through the Mists of Time” and the B-Side is “Witch’s Spell”. Both are on the new release Power Up and not some special mix or anything else that I can see. This is a Limited Edition and that means there are only 5,000 copies. I don’t know what number mine is as it doesn’t say that anywhere on the packaging. Mine has a sticker that says 14280, but that is handwritten and I think was added by the local store. No idea what it means but don’t want to peel it off. The release was made in the Czech Republic based on a sticker that is on the back. There is a Record Store Day Sticker on the front as well plus a little obit type strip at the top (no Japanese on it though) that lists the band and the song info on the back. And that is all there is to it.

On Side A is “Through The Mists of Time” and I love the white background with the band and speaks wrapping around the front. It is a cool shot. Speaking of cool, the coolest song on the album is “Through the Mists of Time” which is not a normal AC/DC title. It harkens back more to a Zeppelin title and has this nostalgic feel to it. And let me tell you what a breath of fresh air this song is and might be one of the best songs on the album. Over 40 years and they still can throw surprises at you. 

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Freddie Mercury: A Life, In His Own Words by Freddie Mercury, Greg Brooks and Simon Lupton – Book Review

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In going through Amazon’s Kindle book, I found this book on Freddie Mercury and thought I would give it a try. The book is called ‘Freddie Mercury: A Life, In his Own Words by Freddie Mercury, Greg Brooks and Simon Lupton. Now, it says by Freddie Mercury but that is very misleading as Freddie was not involved with this book as he had long since passed. It is not an Autobiography. The book is actually a collection of interviews that Freddie had done over the years and they were pieced together here to let you hear from Freddie and what he was thinking. A pretty cool idea, however, it didn’t work in the way I am sure they were hoping it would.

Here are the problems…First…the book is in no real chronological order. It doesn’t really tell the story of Queen or really Freddie in any kind of sequential order. It is all over the place timeline wise. Second…it doesn’t go in depth on Queen much at all. So, if you are looking for a deep dive in to the inner workings of Queen, albums or tours, you will be sadly bored to tears. And third…it is very repetitive, It is very repetitive and it is very repetitive. I can’t tell you how many times we have to hear about how much Freddie likes to spend money, how much the real Freddie is not like the stage Freddie and how lonely and few friends he has. Those are all interesting story points true, but these interviews mention it time and time and time again.

What did they get right? Well, the concept is really cool. I did like hearing Freddie talk about the struggles of being famous, his battle with being lonely and his inner thoughts about getting old. As I said, they are truly interesting bits to learn about they just didn’t need to rammed down our throats a hundred times. The man does have an ego as he knows how good he really was, but that ego is squashed by how charming he can be in an interview. Heck, I did have fun reading the book in Freddie’s voice. In my mind I am putting the inflections on the headvoice as I am reading the same way I remember how Freddie would say things. He was flamboyant, he was over-the-top and he was Freddie Mercury, but you do get to see the other side of him which is quite nice to learn.

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My Sunday Song – “The Overthrow” by Will Hoge

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For My Sunday Song #261, we are going to tackle 10 songs from one of my favorite artist, Will Hoge. First up is the song “The Overthrow” off his 2020 album, ‘Tiny Little Movies’. The album is so raw and honest and this song is no different. Will has a way of painting a picture of America’s landscape with his lyrics and he doesn’t hold back on this one.

Will doesn’t intentionally write political charged songs, they tend to write themselves I would guess. When he puts pen to paper and plays that first chord, I imagine the song takes on a life of its own. This song dives in to the deep end and takes on the President of the U.S.A. and many might not appreciate his candor. With lyrics like “Darth Vader with a spray tan” pretty much tells you who he is talking about. He talks about how the man is tearing the country apart and that the people about to stand up and take it all back. They are going to Overthrow him with their votes and send his ass packing and that is what happened.

Musically, it is one of Will’s heaviest, rocking tracks and won’t be typical of what I have for you with this series but I wanted to start with a bang and this one does it. It is dirty, gritty, raw and is like a fist to the face. It is straight up rock & rolll with a little punk edge at least that is what I get from it. Will’s gritty vocals are a perfect match to the music. For me, the drums and that guitar are the highlights as they are both so powerful and are making a statement just like the lyrics. It all blends together perfectly with the vocals and you get a song that grabs hold, shakes you a little and doesn’t let go. Hold on tight!

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You Pick It! – Which Album to Review in September? (Updated)

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NOTE: I had to make a change to the New Release – KK’s Priest was moved to October 1st as release date so would now not be out in time to review for September. Sorry for the last minute change. I think Iron Maiden is a suitable replacement.

You, my reader, are going to pick an album for me to review each month.  It is really simple…first, I will give you 5 albums to choose from and second, you will tell me which one of those you would like to see reviewed on the site.  See…simple!

There are a few simple rules I have put in to place in my selections.  They are…

  • One has to be a new release (within the last month)
  • One has to be one I have never heard before (new releases don’t count for this one)
  • One has to be from a genre I don’t normally listen to at all or very often
  • And the last two are choices from my collection that I haven’t reviewed before

What are the 5 albums you ask?  Funny you should ask because I have those right here…

  New Release – Iron Maiden – “Senjutsu”

  Never Heard Before – Captain Beefheart – ‘Trout Mask Replica’

  Not My Normal Genre – Dr. John, ‘GRIS-Gris’

  From My Collection – Neal Schon – ‘Late Nite’

  From My Collection – U2 – ‘The Joshua Tree’

Let me know which one you would like to see and sometime in September, I will post a review of the album that gets the most votes. You have one week to decide and from there I will start listening to the album and do a review.

Thanks for participating!!

The LeBrain Train: Nigel Tufnel Top 10 Albums We’d Save From A Fire – Tonight @ 7 PM.

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The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike and Friends

Episode 80 – Nigel Tufnel Top Music We’d Save From A Fire

We’ve all heard the question while hanging with pals over a couple drinks.  “What albums would you save from a fire?”  Nobody even wants to think of it!  But as a fun exercise, tonight we’ll tell you our Nigel Tufnel Top Ten Albums We’d Save From A Fire!  Whatever gets saved, you can be you’ll hear about some treasures that are very near and dear to our hearts.

Your panel this week:

Expect lots of show & tell.  John owns The Vault… I own a Fan Can… will these items make our lists?  What will be left to burn?  Find out tonight.

Friday August 20, 7:00 PM E.S.T. on Facebook:  MikeLeBrain and YouTube:  Mike LeBrain.

SCHEDULE:

  • Greg Fraser of Storm Force returns!  Friday September 24 7:00 PM

Friday New Releases – August 20, 2021

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Happy Friday! We’ve made it through another week and not a moment too soon. I am ready for this weekend. Thankfully, we also have a ton of new releases to listen to this week (like most weeks lately. There are only a couple I really want to hear and I have marked those in Blue. There are others I’m curious about, but we will see if I have the time. Check out all the releases and let me know what you want to hear this week and let me know what album releases I may have missed. Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

  • 81bYHjvl9vL._SS500_  Anderson East – Maybe We Never Die – (Low Country Sound / Elektra): Anderson’s last album, ‘Encore’, was exceptional. I am hoping for more of the same. If you like country mixed with soul, R&B and Americana, then this will be right up your alley. Can’t wait to give it a spin.
  • A1V5INA0ecS._SX522_  Switchfoot – Interrobang – (Fantasy Records / Concord): Switchfoot is always labeled as a Christian act, but they are so much more. They are alternative, a little post-grunge and power pop and I like it all. I am also a big fan of Jon Foreman’s vocals. I will be seeing them in concert in a couple months as they open for Needtobreathe so this will be a good show.
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Queen – The Albums Ranked Worst to First (The Studio Album Series)

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Here at 2 Loud 2 Old Music, we went through and reviewed all the Studio Albums for the band Queen. And to do this, we are used the 40th Anniversary 2011 Remastered CDs as our source as I picked up the 3 Volume Box Set for Christmas 2020. And with any good series, we will start with their debut album and work our way through all the studio albums in chronological order. There were 15 albums and all with the same band members of Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon. How many bands can say that? Not many.

What was great about going through them all in order is that you see how the band evolved over time and how much they experimented whether it was successful or not. You see the highs and the lows, where the band hit its groove and where they were wandering around lost. They did move soundtracks, the rocked out, they had fantasy songs, rockabilly, disco and even metal. They did it all. Now let’s go through and see where they ranked worst to first.

THE WORST – ‘MADE IN HEAVEN’ (1995):

The album did not have a cohesive feel and it shouldn’t since it wasn’t really written as an album. It was a last ditch effort to pull as many Freddie songs together as they could for one final release.  And I don’t think it is one they should’ve done mainly because all these songs aren’t really up to the Queen Standard in my book.  There were way too many ballads, they used two songs that were already released as Freddie solo songs and I don’t think the material was all that great to begin with.  I feel they should’ve left well enough alone as I think ‘Innuendo’ was a great way to go out, but what do I know.  My Overall Score is a 2.0 Out of 5.0 Stars. There were a few tracks worth having, but overall not enough to make this a must have album.

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Judas Priest – ‘Angel of Retribution’ (2005) – Album Review (The Complete Albums Collection Series)

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After the 1990 album, ‘Painkiller’, Rob Halford left Judas Priest and the band continued on for 11 years with the singer Tim “Ripper” Owens. Rob went on and did his own thing whether it was the band Fight, Two or band Halford. Judas Priest did two albums with Ripper during this time, but the fans were screaming for Halford and Priest to reunite. Rob had wanted that for a long time, but was too afraid to reach out (at least that is what he says in his book). However, eventually it happened. Rob Halford was to rejoin Priest and in 2003, it finally happened.

Judas Priest toured a little and then went in to the studio to record their new album ‘Angel of Retribution’. They recorded from October to December of 2004 and the album was finally released on February 23, 2005 and to quite acclaim. It went to #13 on the Billboard 200 Charts and Priest were back. Rob brought over Roy Z as the producer who also mixed and engineered the album as well. Roy Z was the guitar player in Rob’s band Halford and he produced several of those albums as well.

I read somewhere that the album artwork was a continuation of the angel from ‘Sad Wings of Destiny’. This time the angel has transformed in to steel as she is rising out of the ashes and becoming the angel of retribution. Who knows if that is true, but cool to think that it is a reference to that album.

After 11 years apart, what would the new Priest sound like was the question of the day. Judas Priest would come out and deliver a massively heavy album and usher their sound in to the 21st Century! Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, K.K. Downing, Ian Hill and Scott Travis are ready to rock.

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Needtobreathe – “Brother” – 7″ Limited Edition Single

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In my quest for getting everything on vinyl for Needtobreathe, there were four 7″ Singles I had to get and I am glad to say, I now have 3 of them. There is still one elusive one that I need for the song “Keep Your Eyes Open”, so if you see it let me know. For now we are going to talk about this single for the song “Brother”. The song is actually off the album, ‘Rivers in the Wasteland’ from 2014. However, the songs on this disc are not on the version on the album.

The disc is a limited edition release with only 2,000 copies and I have one so there are only 1,999 left out there for you to find (yes, I know how to subtract). It is on a very beautiful transparent blue vinyl and it is gorgeous. It comes in a lovely jacket with a cool picture of Bear Rineheart on the front and his brother Bo Rinehart on the back which is significant which we will discuss later.

The package also comes with an insert with details about Side A and Side B and it is formatted in that same flowery motif. It is quite nice.

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