Author: 2loud2oldmusic

John 5 and the Creatures – ‘Invasion’ Album Review

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John 5 and the Creatures are back with their second studio release called ‘Invasion’.  Their first album together was their 2017 release, ‘Season of the Witch’, which was a nightmarishly spectacular release.  John 5 is currently one of my favorite guitarists in rock today and man is he everywhere.  He is always writing for other artists and when he isn’t doing that or playing with the Creatures, he is on tour with Rob Zombie.

And if that isn’t enough, you should check out his Instagram page as he is constantly posting videos of him noodling around with his guitars usually wearing interesting masks and/or costumes and those hairless cats of his walking around.  He knows how to keep you coming back.

And he keeps me coming back.  When this album came out on July 31st, I am not sure I have stopped playing it since that day.  It has been on constant rotation.  And I have to say , I might like this one better than ‘Season of the Witch’ which I didn’t think would be possible. John 5 and the creatures, Ian Ross and Logan Miles Nix are nothing short of spectacular.

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The album kicks off with a storm brewing as the band readies itself to invade every piece of your body.  The ominous bass and hard hitting drums come across with an eeriness that is ready to battle and then John 5 comes blasting in with his killer riffs to lay waste to the land.  And the “Invasion” has begun.

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My Sunday Song – “Scar” by Def Leppard

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For My Sunday Song #155, we are on to a very underrated album called ‘X’.  The song is “Scar” and is another unsung classic in their catalog.  The album ‘X’  didn’t do terribly, it just didn’t do as well as a lot of their previous work. It peaked at #11 on the Billboard charts.  Part of the problem was this was not released as a single.  “Scar” has all the elements people love about the band.

The song is full of layer upon layer of vocals and harmonies that give it the unique Lep trademark vocals.  It has a power ballad feel to it which suits Joe Elliott’s vocal perfectly and it actually seems like it would have fit nicely on one of their best albums, ‘Slang’.  It has a lot of the same tone and feel of that album.

Another piece that I like about the song is the guitar playing of Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell.  There is a hypnotic element to the riffs and when you get to the solo, the back and forth between the two is sensational.  It takes me back to when Phil and Steve would play off each other.  Overall it made feel good.

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Friday New Releases – August 2nd

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Summer is coming to end, but the heat is not.  One week (and a day) until Kiss End of the Road Tour and hopefully something here will hold me over until then.  Sadly, there isn’t much for my liking here this week.  There are a few I will give a listen, but nothing I am buying or overly crazy about.  Hopefully there is something for you this week. If so, let me know what it is and let me know if I missed something so I can check it out.  My choices are highlighted in Blue.  Thanks and have a great weekend.

  • 81lVagnI9LL._SS500_.jpg  Skillet – Victorious – (Atlantic Records):  Skillet is bringing us their 10th album and there sound has changed over the years from being heavily grunged influenced to an industrial rock sound to now a more hard rock sound.  The songs now are anthems that come at you with force and usually a powerful message.  They are a a Christian rock band who have crossed-over and are now delivering the message to people that don’t know they are getting something positive along with their rock. Great stuff.

  • 61fqYiNjiKL._AC_UL115_.jpg  Tenth Avenue North – No Shame – (Provident Label Group):  Another Christian band, but more on the lighter side with being pop melodies and great vocals.  If you need something positive, but don’t want the heavy, this is for you.  For those days I need a pick me-up, these guys can deliver.

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Deep Purple – ‘Burn’ – Album Review (The David Coverdale Series)

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Welcome to the new series covering the career of the great David Coverdale.  We will start off with Deep Purple and then cover his solo work, his work with Jimmy Page and of course, Whitesnake.  We have a long journey ahead as we have around 33 albums that we will cover.  Sit back and I hope you enjoy the ride…Let’s get started!

Deep Purple – ‘Burn’ (1974):

In 1973, Deep Purple went through yet another line-up change.  This one saw the band lose the lead singer, Ian Gillan, and bass player, Roger Glover.  And for this time around, Ritchie Blackmore wanted to take the band in a new direction and it was the start of Mark III.

First up he brought in bass player Glenn Hughes and damn the man can sing as well so not a bad pick. Glenn had come from the band Trapeze where he had made a name for himself.  But Ritchie wasn’t done.

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Ritchie found a pretty unknown singer whose voice he really loved as it had a blues tone to it that spoke to him.  That gentleman was none other than David Coverdale.  We would all grow to love him from Whitesnake, but every story has a beginning and this is his.  With the powerful vocals of Hughes and Coverdale, Deep Purple were set up to do great things.  Not only those two great singers, Ritchie still had the amazing Jon Lord on keyboards and Ian Paice on Drums.  It is a pretty impressive line-up!

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Drivin N Cryin – ‘Live the Love Beautiful’ – Album Review

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Kevin Kinney and the boys are back after about 10 years since their last full length studio album.  In between that time, they released a bunch of EP’s, but thankfully finally we get a full set of music.  Drivin n Cryin are from Atlanta, GA, my hometown, so they are local boys who done good.  They saw success for a brief time from the late 80’s to early 90’s with songs like “Honeysuckle Blue”, “Straight to Hell”, “Fly Me Courageous” and “Build a Fire” and those songs are a part of the fabric of my life.

A new album from them is always a treat and when you hear Kevin Kinney’s unique vocals come in to play, you feel at home, like you are sitting on the front porch in that steaming Georgia heat, with a glass of ice cold sweet tea (the kind so sweet you go in to a diabetic coma), radio blasting and feeling life is pretty damn good.  That is exactly how I felt when I played this album.

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The band takes their form of southern rock, Americana folk and even psychedelic sounds and blend it all together for an album that is a straight up rock & roll album.  The album kicks off with “Free Ain’t Free” which is Drivin N Cryin bringing us their own version of a political song.  Kevin paints a vivid picture through his spoken lyrics about hard times and struggles that people face.  And when that squeaky, high pitched vocal kicks in on the chorus, Kevin shows his unique sound that only Kevin can bring. It is the voice that IS Drivin N Cryin.

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Stone Temple Pilots – ‘Live 2018’ – Revised Album Review

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Is 4% a lot?  If someone was to give you 4% less of something, are you really missing out?  For the most part, that answer would be…No!  Well, the answer changes when it comes to music. If you were to listen to an album that was playing 4% slower and you asked that question, my answer would be…Yes, 4% makes a huge difference.  And such is the case for the Stone Temple Pilot’s album ‘Live 2018’.

What am I talking about?  For Record Store Day 2018, the one on Black Friday, Stone Temple Pilots released a special edition, 3-D, live album.  The music wasn’t 3-D, the album cover was. There was a manufacturing error with the vinyl that caused the speed of the album to be 96% of the actual speed.  Only a 4% difference that made a world of difference when listening to the music.

In my original review of Stone Temple Pilots – Live 2018 review, I mentioned if my opinion of the album was changed when (and if) I received the replacement copy, I would do another review…and here we are. The original, 96% speed, actually received a 3.0 out of 5.0 Stars…what will the corrected vinyl receive?  We will see shortly.

The Replacement copy arrived and it took about 3-4 months after I contacted them to get a replacement which makes sense since albums need about a 3 month window to be made.  The copy arrived and it was in a very simple, solid white cardboard sleeve.  The dust cover was the same as the original version and the album was also the same in the that beautiful translucent, red vinyl.

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My Sunday Song – “White Lightning” by Def Leppard

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For My Sunday Song #154, we are covering the 7 minute epic, “White Lightning” off the band’s 1992 release ‘Adrenalize’.  The album sold millions, went to #1 and released 7 singles (not all in the States) and this was not one of them.  This is one of those deep cuts that is actually probably better than everything else on the record.

The ‘Adrenalize’ album was the first album without Steve Clark and even prior to Vivian Campbell joining the band.  The song was written about Steve Clark and his addicitions and untimely death.  Steve’s nickname from the band was White Lightning as he normally dressed in all white on stage and ran around the stage like a bolt of lightning.  It is such a heartfelt tribute and you can feel the love and passion the band had for this man.

The song opens with a guitar solo by Phil Collen that was played in the style of Steve and his personal tribute to him.  The solo starts off slow, with an eerie feel to it…a sadness.  In fact, Phil played all the parts and even with the dual guitar parts he played as if it was he and Steve going at it together.  It is very touching.

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Friday New Releases – July 26th

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July is almost over, but it isn’t going out before giving us one more week of new releases and there a quite a few, but only a few that I am really eager to hear and those that I will listen to when I have time.  My choices will be marked in Blue.  Tell me what you are looking forward to hearing or what I might have missed as it is known to happen.  I hope there is something for your listening pleasure.  Thanks and have a great weekend!

  • 91kzgnSQ-NL._SS500_  Matt Nathanson – Postcards (from Chicago) E.P. – (Acrobat Records):  Well if you follow this site, then you know this is a no-brainer for me.  I have already ordered the 10″ Orange vinyl and not sure when I will get it, but the digital download was ready for me first thing this morning.  Matt, and at times friends, are doing a 6 song E.P. of cover songs and the list is quite diverse from Chance the Rapper to Richard Marx to Cheap Trick.  Last year or so he did another that was a complete Def Leppard covers E.P. which was Fan’freaking’tastic.  So high hopes for this one.

  • 91GAIR97laL._AC_UL115_.jpg  Soundgarden – Live at the Artists Den – (UMe):  Soundgarden is releasing a live show from their 2013 Tour and it will be a full 29 song set and will remind us how great Chris Cornell was as a singer and a frontman.  It will be available on Blue Ray, CD, LP and digital.  Get the deluxe set to have it all.

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Kiss – North Hampton, PA March 19 1975 (Bootleg Series) – Album Review

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The next in the Kiss Bootleg Series is a show from March 19th in 1975 on the Dressed to Kill Tour.  The show was at the Roxy Theatre in Northampton, Pennsylvania and is actually opening night of the Tour.

As usual, we will start with the packaging and what this bootleg has to offer.  First, it is a double LP, however, they skimped and there is no Gatefold to be had.  It is actually a pretty flimsy album jacket and I don’t think it will hold up over time.  The back cover is another live shot of the band but you can’t see anyone’s face.  Not the best choice for a picture.

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The album came with a couple surprises. The first being a collection of Kiss photographs from an L.A. photoshoot at the Playboy Club Rooftop on January 16th, 1974.  The photos came in a nice little mailer as seen below…

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Scott Stapp – ‘The Space Between the Shadows’ – Album Review

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Scott Stapp, the man everyone seems to love to hate.  From Creed to his solo work, he gets no respect which is an utter shame as I think people miss the beauty in his songs and his voice.  The man has been at the top of the world when Creed was at its heights and he has been at rock bottom with his public battles with bi-polar disorder and addiction.  This album is reminder of what he has been through and badge of how far he has come.

His 2013 album, ‘Proof of Life’, is one of my favorite albums and my favorite of his so when I heard about his third solo album, I was really excited.  And did the album live up to expectations, well, lets check it out and see.

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The vinyl is a single LP which has all the 12 songs you can get in Apple Music or iTunes.  The last 2 being listed as bonus tracks.  Being that many songs on one piece of vinyl, the sound is still fantastic, crisp and clear.

The album jacket is a gatefold and inside the gatefold you get all the lyrics to each song, his thank you list and all the credits on the album.  It is nice to be actually able to read the lyrics because sometimes they get jammed on one side of the album sleeve and they are too hard to read.

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