Author: 2loud2oldmusic

You Picked It! – The Sex Pistols – ‘Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols’ – Album Review

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Alright…You Picked It! And this one was really, really close. It was back and forth between The Sex Pistols and Twisted Sister for most of the time and then a couple last minute votes pushed one of the other and that was The Sex Pistols with ‘Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols’ which is one I’d never sat down and listened to from beginning to end. The votes were as follows:

  1. The Sex Pistols – ‘Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols’ – 10 votes
  2. Twisted Sister – ‘Under the Blade’ – 8 votes
  3. Wu Tang Clan – ‘Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers)’ – 4 votes
  4. The Wallflowers – ‘Exit Wounds’ – 2 votes
  5. Black Sabbath – ‘Paranoid’ – 2 Votes

Thanks to all for participating. The September choices will be up on Saturday!

THE SEX PISTOLS – ‘NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS, HERE’S THE SEX PISTOLS’

I have never been a fan of punk, at least not until recently. I’ve slowly started diving in. But due to the antics of Johnny Rotten or Sid Vicious, this band never made me want to listen to their albums. There was so much hype surrounding them and I really don’t want to listen to a band that is so hyped because it will never live up to expectations…i.e. Nirvana…they sucked then and they suck now and there was so much hype surrounding them. And hell, this band only had one studio album officially. Then why should I even bother and how can a band with only one album be so inspirational or critical to a movement. I still don’t have the answer to that question, but damn is this not an amazing album. Okay, they album lived up to the hype and then some. “DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE”…well, in this case…DO BELIEVE!!!

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My Sunday Song – “Round And Round” by Ratt

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For My Sunday Song #260 and the final in the 10 song set is “Round and Round” by Ratt. The song is the first single off the band’s 1984 classic album ‘Out of the Cellar’. It reached #12 on the Hot 100 propelling the album to #7 and sells over 3 million copies in the U.S. alone. It broke the band in to one of the biggest acts in the world and the top acts in that whole 80’s Rock scene. The song was written by Warren DeMartini, Robbin Crosby and Stephen Pearcy.

The song is about a girl that he is really in to and he wants to be with her. She isn’t willing to give it up yet, but he knows he will get there in the end. The two go round and round playing all the games until the end and they both get what they knew would happen right from the start.

What makes the song great are those sleazy vocals by Stephen Pearcy matched perfectly with the nasty guitar riffs by Crosby and DeMartini and the dual solo, man, don’t get me started on that. It is all pure metal sleaze! The song is heavy, yet catchy as hell. The chorus is infectious and musically it is aggressive and pure fun. You can’t help but move and the song gets stuck in your head and can’t escape. It would be the blueprint of what was to hit the scene on the Sunset Strip and MTV for years to come!

Speaking of MTV, what really put this song over the top for the band was the video they released.  Their manager at the time was Marshall Berle.  Marshall had a pretty famous uncle that you might have heard of named Milton Berle, the legendary comedian.  With his famous Uncle Miltie character dressed in drag, he makes an appearance in the video which draws it national attention. This video sums up the 80’s nicely.

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Friday New Releases – August 13, 2021

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It is Friday the 13th!! I am hoping everyone has a safe, non-horror filled day. And as luck would have it, there is really nothing I am interested in getting this week. A few I might listen to but nothing I am in a rush to get to so Friday the 13th is already starting out to be a crappy day!! I am sure there is something you will find that you can wrap your ears around as there are a lot to go through. Let me know what you want to hear and what I may have missed as that does happen (a lot). My only choice is The Killers and marked in Blue below. Thanks for stopping by and I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

  • 81xwHtXyl4S._SX522_  The Killers – Pressure Machine – (Island Records / UMG): They are wasting no time putting out a new album as they just had one last year but I am sure Covid killed it. The last one was really great so I am anxious to hear what is in store this time around. After 17 years, Mr. Flowers and co. still have their groove and so that is why this is first up today and really the only one I’m wanting to hear.

And all the rest…

  • 815q+4uW5+S._SX522_  Sheryl Crow – Live from the Ryman and More – (Big Machine Label Group)
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Queen – ‘Made in Heaven’ (1995) – Album Review (The Studio Album Series)

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We are now to the final studio album by Queen called ‘Made in Heaven’ which also means this is the final review in The Studio Album Series. The album was released on November 6, 1995 almost 4 years after Freddie’s death which was on November 24, 1991. It is the only studio album from the band released with Freddie after his death so where did the music come from you might wonder. After the band finished their last album, ‘Innuendo’, which was around November 1990, Freddie was very ill due to the AIDS virus. He had his mind made up that he would sing as much as he possibly could and leave that for the band to finish at some point down the road. Normally Freddie would do the vocals after the music was done and recorded, but due to his failing health, he sang whatever he had written or the band had put in front of him to sing. He only wanted to leave these last bits of gift to the world.

The remaining members of the band, Roger Taylor, Brian May and John Deacon, tooled around on the songs for years, mostly due to Brian May heading out on tour for his solo album, ‘Back to the Light’, which coincidently is getting a Deluxe Edition released in a couple months. The band worked some of the new material Freddie had completed and they added the Queen sound to them. However, that wasn’t enough songs to complete the album so the band also dove in to their back catalog and searched for material that Freddie had sung, but was never used even dipping in to Freddie’s solo work. It was a hodgepodge of songs and that is exactly how the album feels. It is a little disjointed and not very cohesive as a complete album work. It felt like a money grab in my book, but that is only my opinion.

The album cover is a picture of Freddie’s statue that was erected in Montreux, Switzerland where the band had a recording studio that had used for years. It as the town’s way of celebrating Freddie. The picture was taken at sunset and overlooks Lake Geneva. The back cover of the CD was the remaining band members looking out upon the Alps. Now, if you got the vinyl and not the CD, your front and back cover would be the picture above which was taken at sunrise and actually had the band standing near the statue overlooking the Lake. It is a very fitting picture actually.

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‘Dokken: Into The Fire And Other Embers Of 80s Metal History’ by James Curl – Book Review

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I found this book on Amazon Unlimited and thought, I like Dokken, this should be a good book to read. And it was, however, my opinion of the boys is now slightly tainted. I now wish I didn’t know what I have learned because I won’t look at the band the same way again. More on that later.

The book is called “Dokken: Into the Fire and Other Embers of 80’s Metal History’ by James Curl. That is a long title. The book is a collection of personal interviews he had with Jeff Pilson and Don Dokken as well as collecting interviews from other people over the years including George Lynch and some Mick Brown (but very little from Mick). The puzzle is pieced together and the story is told of the band from before the beginning with the members other bands all the way to 2019 and where the band stands today.

It is cool to learn about the previous bands and what it took to get to the point of starting Dokken which to me is the weirdest and strangest tale. Dokken got started in the strangest way not anything like the other bands on the Sunset Strip. Dokken wasn’t signed because of all their shows on the Strip, nope. Somehow, Don wound up in Germany and got a deal to record there. The classic line-up was not around yet of Jeff Pilson, George Lynch and Mick Brown. Don was back & forth between L.A. and Germany a lot and was able to pull together the line-up after the original guys he had lined up couldn’t commit. The book tells how he got to know George, Jeff and Mick.

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Needtobreathe ‎– “Happy If You Could” / “Difference Maker (Charleston Demo)” – 7″ Single

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The next 7″ Vinyl Single I have from Needtobreathe is an Insiders Exclusive Single. It was only offered out to paid fans who are signed up for their Insiders Club (Yes, I am now a member, but wasn’t back then). As you can see from header picture, the packaging was limited to a die-cut paper sleeve, inserted in a clear vinyl sleeve which has a barcode sticker attached to the outside of the vinyl sleeve. Pretty plain but cool in its simplicity.

From what I gather, the vinyl was supposed to give us the unreleased track “Happy If You Could” which you can get the demo of the song on a digital E.P. called Cercas Blacas E.P. from 2013. I can’t find a ton of information on it, but it looks like it was recorded for the “Rivers in the Wasteland” album but not used. And here is the interesting part of all this. The song “Happy If You Could” isn’t even on this release. I am sure it was a mistake, but the song on Side A is actually the band’s cover of “Go Tell It To The Mountain”. Did someone not bother listening to the test pressing???

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Judas Priest – ‘Painkiller’ (1990) – Album Review (The Complete Albums Collection Series)

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After ‘Ram It Down’, Priest needed to find themselves as they were going down the wrong path musically. In January 1990, the band got back to the studio to begin work and a comeback album that would show they were still the metal titans they were. This time it would be without their drummer Dave Holland who left in 1989. Drummer Scott Travis, from Racer X, was brought in and his double kick drumming style was going to help bring the heavy back to their sound. Also out was producer Tom Allom and in came Chris Tsangarides who also helped Priest find a new sound. We still have Rob Halford, Ian Hill, Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing.

The album was finished by March 1990, but didn’t see a release until September 1990. The reason for the delay was that Judas Priest was being sued for subliminal messages in their music stemming from a civil suit brought on by the families of two teens that say the band had subliminal messages in the song “Better By You, Better Than Me” telling the teens to kill themselves. One teen was successful in his attempt and the other teen survived. The lawsuit ended up being thrown out on August 24th as the judge ruled in favor of the band that there was no messaging. As a result, the band released the album on September 3, 1990 and the heavy was brought back to Priest. The album went Gold in the US selling over 500,000 copies and charting at #26 on the Billboard Charts.

Following the Painkiller tour, Rob Halford left the band as he was ready to try a solo career plus he was tired of dealing with the ever growing tensions in the band. His final date with the band was May 1992. According to Halford’s book ‘Confess’, Rob sent a letter to the band discussing his intentions to pursue outside music and he wanted to take a break to do that, but the band he says took that as he was quitting the band. Not liking confrontation, It took Rob 10 years to finally talk with the band and discuss this matter with them and finally clear the air. We will get to that for the next review. For now, it is music time.

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My Sunday Song – “Shame, Shame, Shame” by Ratt

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For My Sunday Song #259, we are going to talk about “Shame, Shame, Shame” from Ratt’s 1990 album ‘Detonator’. The song was written by Stephen Pearcy, Warren DeMartini and Desmond Child who also produced the album. The song was a Japan Only single and therefore never charted in the US since it wasn’t released here. The album didn’t do that well either only going Gold in the U.S. and hitting #23 on the charts. This surprises me as this to me is one of their best albums, if not THE BEST album they had done.

Lyrically, the song is about catching your girlfriend cheating and telling them they should have known better as now it is over. It is a big F.U. to the girlfriend that they screwed up and now they need to pack their bags and get the hell out. Since the girlfriend instigated the affair, he has no remorse or doubt that she needs to go. Really no other interpretation for this one. It is pretty straight-forward and simple.

The songs opens with a little Warren DeMartini penned instrumental piece called “Intro to Shame” with its slow detuned guitar solo which then slams into the blistering opening track “Shame Shame Shame”.  The song comes at you full force and the guitar work is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.!! There is even a guest appearance by the super talented Michael Schenker.  What more could you want in an opening track.  It is hard, heavy, catchy and starts off the album better than probably any of their other albums.  Stephen’s vocals are spot on with that gritty, smoked too many cigarettes, drank too much whiskey edge it screams a bluesy vibe matched with Warren’s bluesy guitar tone. It is legendary!!

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Friday New Releases – August 6, 2021

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It’s August! Can you believe it!! The Summer is winding down, but thankfully the releases aren’t. My kids will be going back to school and one off to college and since this is depressing me I need to drown my sorrows in new music and wouldn’t you know it, there are few here that will hopefully help me get through it okay. They are marked in Blue. Let me know what you want to hear and let me know what releases I may have missed because it is known to happen. Thanks so much for stopping by and spending a little time with me. I hope you find something great to hear and also have a wonderful weekend. See you next week at the same Bat Time and same Bat Channel (yeah that was as lame as it sounded in my head, but I left it).

  • 81cTmHct8aS._SX522_   Night Ranger – ATBPO – (Frontiers Records): Night Ranger has been going strong this last decade and putting out some great material, maybe even some of their best, but can that streak continue? Who knows, but I do know I will be listening to this one first thing in the morning. The boys still can kick some ass and I need a good ass kicking right now…wait…something sounds strange about that last sentence…oh well.
  • A1qNoCdOfeS._SS500_  Colin Hay – I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself – (Compass Records): Colin Hay’s solo work has been hit or miss, but I am always eager to hear as there is usually something I can grab hold of and enjoy. The former Men at Work singer has been putting out music for about 40 years and I will continue to tag along for the ride.
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Queen – ‘Innuendo’ (1991) – Album Review (The Studio Album Series)

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Queen did not tour for the previous album, ‘The Miracle’, mainly because Freddie Mercury was sick. He had been diagnosed with AIDS in 1987 and his health had been deteriorating rather quickly. Now, they told the media they were trying to get away from the whole album-tour-album-tour type of schedule. Instead of touring they immediately started working on the next album which sadly enough would be the last album released before Freddie’s death in November 1991. The album is ‘Innuendo’ and it was the last great hurrah for a band that had done it all.

They started recording all the way back in March 1989 prior to ‘The Miracle’ even being released, but they wouldn’t finish the album until November 1990. Freddie’s health was not good and so he would come in and record whenever he was physically able. They had hoped to get the album out by Christmas 1990, but missed the deadline due to the health problems. We did finally see the album come out on February 4, 1991 and although the album only went to #30 in the States, the UK saw Queen get yet another #1 album. And like the previous album, the band were unable to Tour this album either.

The pictures of Freddie around this time and the shots of him in the music videos definitely had the public wondering what was wrong with Freddie and rumors were rampant. On November 23, 1991, Freddie issued a statement about his health and admitted he was diagnosed with AIDS, then not 24 hours later, Freddie died from bronchial pneumonia which was brought on as a result of his disease. Freddie’s death on November 24, 1991 shed a bright spotlight on the AIDS crisis and at the same time for us Kiss fans, overshadowed the death of our beloved Kiss drummer Eric Carr who died on the same day. As a rock fan of both bands, this was a sad day for me and I am sure for a lot of people around the world. Queen as we knew was no more. It left Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon with a big hole to fill and an unknown future.

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