Author: 2loud2oldmusic

Stone Temple Pilots – The Albums Ranked Worst to First

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic21 Comments

You have the Big Four in Metal…Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth.  In Grunge, the Big Four were Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots.  At the time, the only one I liked was Stone Temple Pilots.  They were the closest to the old Rock & Roll that I grew up with.  The others were too foreign to me to like.  However, I do like Soundgarden now and Pearl Jam I can tolerate…Nirvana still sucks (I still don’t get the hype for them but that is another story for another time).

Today, we are focusing on Stone Temple Pilots and how their albums rank from my least favorite to the very best one.  Despite all the troubles with the band and lead singer Scott Weiland, they were able to capture a magic that set them apart from most other bands.  Hell, Scott was probably one of the best frontmen to come out of that era or any era for that matter.  His stage presence and charisma were unparalleled and he could command a crowd.  After his passing, a couple other singers came on board including the late Chester Bennington (Linkin Park) and now current lead singer Jeff Gutt.

And let’s not forget the band…Robert DeLeo (bass), Dean DeLeo (guitar) and Eric Kretz (Drums).  Musically, they are the driving force behind the band. They are the constant.  They are why I still listen to this band no matter who fronts.  Their playing is excpetional and Dean’s guitar is freaking awesome.  Some of the best riffs you will hear!

Enough chit chat, let’s get to the reason we are here.  Here are the Stone Temple Pilots albums I rank from Worst to First!!

THE WORST – SHANGRI-LA-DEE-DA (2001):

Continue reading “Stone Temple Pilots – The Albums Ranked Worst to First” →

My Sunday Song – “Atomic Punk” by Van Halen

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic14 Comments

For My Sunday Song #145, we are tackling “Atomic Punk” which is off Van Halen’s debut album.  The space age song is a very deep cut and was never released as a single, but was the B-Side to “You Really Got Me”.  It is one of those gems that only the true fans listen to probably more than some of the band’s big hits (maybe that is just me)  I believe it helped drive the sales to way above 10 million copies.

The song is a sci-fi song about a dystopian society and Dave is the leader of this rag-tag crew.  The opening of the song has these space age sounds coming from Eddie’s guitar almost like a space ship sound.  Eddie captures the sound by rubbing his palm over the strings with the guitar going through one of his pedals.  It is captivating.

Lyrically, there isn’t a whole lot here.  Not in context or theme, but in length.  This is more of a showcase for more of what Eddie can do.  Not to take anything from Dave as he delivers the lyrics earnestly and convincingly as it does set the tone for the dark feel of the song.  But it is Eddie’s guitar playing that is again in full force with all the tricks he throws at you.  You hear something a little different and new each time you listen.

41QpRcUJerL.jpg

Continue reading “My Sunday Song – “Atomic Punk” by Van Halen” →

Friday New Releases – May 24th

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic28 Comments

Happy Friday.  It is a nice long weekend here in the States with Memorial Day coming on Monday and we get that extra day off to spend with family and remember those who have died serving and fighting for our country.  It is also the unofficial start of Summer break (although the kids still have two more weeks of school.  All I know is I get an extra day to listen to some music.  Not much out this week, but there are a couple I am eager to hear.  They are highlighted in Blue. Let me know what you want and if I missed anything. Thanks and have a great weekend.

  • 714mlGfPWtL._SS500_  SOTO – Origami – (InsideOut Music):  Jeff Scott Soto returns with one of his many bands.  This band is on their third album and the first two were heavy, solid rock band and almost metal.  It isn’t a solo album, it is a band.  These guys kick some major ass.  I have held off from listening to anything like I do on albums I want to hear as I like to take it all in at once.  It makes for a better listening experience.

  • 818qjjRsApL._SX522_  Stray Cats – 40 – (Surfdog):  The Stray Cats are Back!!!  And it is about time.  It has been well over 25 years since their last album and I couldn’t be more excited. I love that Rockabilly sound and we need a little of that now to shake things up as the music scene has gotten a little stale.  Welcome back boys!!!

Continue reading “Friday New Releases – May 24th” →

Kiss – ‘Accept No Imitations’ (Bootleg Series) – Album Review

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic13 Comments

On my trip to Paris, I came across a plethora of Kiss Bootleg albums so I figured why not do a whole series on Kiss Bootlegs.  And BOOM!!! Here we are with the first in that series.  Why not start off with a tour I actually saw and that would be the 1985/1986 Aslyum Tour.

This vinyl I picked up is opening night on November 29th, 1985 at T.H. Barton Coliseum in Little Rock, AR.  I would see the show a month later on New Year’s Eve in Atlanta, GA at The Omni.

IMG_0388

Before we get in to the music, let’s talk about the packaging of the album.  The set is a gatefold with 2 LPs and the gatefold has a bunch of shots of the band from the performance (or at least shots from some time during the tour.  The cover (at the top) is of Gene only which is a little bizarre as I probably would have rather had the group picture on the back as the front at least.  But I am being picky.

IMG_0389

Continue reading “Kiss – ‘Accept No Imitations’ (Bootleg Series) – Album Review” →

Generation X – ‘K.M.D. Sweet Revenge’ – Album Review (The Billy Idol Series)

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic51 Comments

After the release of Generation X’s second album, “Valley of the Dolls”, the band started recording the follow-up release.  However, during the recording the band started having some creative issues with each other. The album was demoed, but never finished before the band broke-up.  Billy Idol and Tony James decided to continue on and they rebranded themselves as Gen X.  They released ‘Kiss Me Deadly’ in 1980 to little or moderate success.  So, the 3rd Generation X album never saw the light of day.

Well, it never saw the light of day until 1998 when former Generation X guitarist Derwood Andrews released it due to some contract obligations without the consent of Billy Idol and Tony James.  Billy & Tony were able to block the release in the U.S., but not anywhere else.  The songs were in demo form and not fully realized tracks.

Now in 2003, Billy finally did release the songs (from a different audio source) on a Generation X Anthology that he did approve.  The songs I have that I will discuss are for the Anthology and not the actual Sweet Revenge release as I am still trying to get my hands on it.  When I do, I will update the post.

kmd_cd_tray_400

Continue reading “Generation X – ‘K.M.D. Sweet Revenge’ – Album Review (The Billy Idol Series)” →

Greta Van Fleet – Concert Review (Charlotte, NC on May 15th, 2019)

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic22 Comments

One of the new bright spots in rock music is on tour and when they came through Charlotte, I thought I needed to check them out.  So, we bought tickets for the whole family as my kids enjoy them too.  Now it is unusual that we all like the same band which made a perfect time for all of us to go see a show together.

That band is Greta Van Fleet. Yes, they catch a lot of heat for sounding so much like a former band that the press on that is old and we need to move on.  I have their E.P.s and their lone album on vinyl and I dig everything they do.  The question left for me…Can this band pull it off LIVE!!!???  If they can, they are real, legit and people should stop giving them a hard time.  These guys are new in the industry and only in their early 20’s so this was a big question mark for me.

Before the show, I cheated and checked out the set list from some previous shows and I was very disappointed.  They were only playing 10 shows!!  They are the headliners…how can they only have 10 songs?  I told my daughter the only way the can turn it in to a full show is that they are going to have to stretch these songs out way longer than they were done on the records.

IMG_0483

Before we talk about how they did, let’s see the setlist…

  1. The Cold Wind
  2. Highway Tune
  3. Black Smoke Rising
  4. Edge of Darkness
  5. Flower Power
  6. You’re The One
  7. Age of Man
  8. Black Flag Exposition
  9. Watching Over
  10. When the Curtain Falls
  11. Safari Song (Encore & Drum Solo)

Continue reading “Greta Van Fleet – Concert Review (Charlotte, NC on May 15th, 2019)” →

My Sunday Song – “Romeo Delight” by Van Halen

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic11 Comments

For My Sunday Song #144, we are tackling “Romeo Delight” by Van Halen off their 1980 album ‘Women and Children First’.  The song was never released as a single, but is one of the strongest on the album.  The album, however, did well going as high as #6 on the Billboard charts.  The album saw the band getting a little heavier and when it comes to Van Halen, the heavier the better for me.

The song is about going to the bar and looking for a fight and looking for girl to bed that night.  A drinking and party and helluva good time song.  Dave’s confidence comes shining through in his vocal delivery and you are pretty confident he is walking home with a lady.

Eddie’s guitar work is nothing short of amazing.  The sounds he creates are mesmerizing and his solo is nothing short of stellar.  There is even a point in the song where Dave is singing “Feel my Heartbeat”, Eddie is making this heartbeat noise with his guitar.  He is taking is Low E string and tapping it against the pickup to create the effect.  You want a sound and Eddie will deliver.

LP03C1

Continue reading “My Sunday Song – “Romeo Delight” by Van Halen” →

Ida Mae – Concert Review (Charlotte, NC on May 15th, 2019)

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic5 Comments

The opening act for Greta Van Fleet was a duo named Ida Mae.  It is a husband and wife duo out of England who now reside in Nashville, Tennessee.  At least they have for the last 10 months as they just moved to the States to seriously pursue this thing called music.  The husband is Chris Turpin on guitar and vocals and his lovely wife Stephanie Jean also on vocals.

And they are all you got as the opening act.  It was just Chris and Stephanie on stage for their 6 song set.  And let me tell you that was all you need as they were beyond impressive.  They did some covers and played some of their original songs for an album that will not be released until June 7th.

They were selling that album though at the Merch table and, of course, I picked it up on vinyl (review will come later as I need time to dive into it fully).  I wanted to get them to sign it, but since they didn’t come out until after the show, I was unable to hang around and wait.  My kids had to go to school the next morning and it was already 10:45 and we still had to drive 45 minutes home.

Anyway, about the music.  The setlist was as follows:

  1. My Girl is A Heartbreak
  2. Me and My Chauffeur Blues (Memphis Minnie cover)
  3. What Did the Deep Sea Say (Woody Guthrie cover)
  4. Reaching
  5. Boom Boom Boom
  6. Feel Them Getting Closer

Continue reading “Ida Mae – Concert Review (Charlotte, NC on May 15th, 2019)” →

Friday New Releases – May 17th

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic17 Comments

Happy Friday and thankfully the weekend is here.  It is time for sun and fun and new music.  There a few releases this week, but only a couple that I am really interested in and they will be highlighted in Blue.  Take a look through and let me know what you are interested in hearing or buying and if there is anything I might have missed as that is known to happen.  Thanks and have a wonderful weekend!!

  • 71qH4BeDx+L._SX522_  Crazy Lixx – Forever Wild – (Frontiers Records): One of many Swedish hard rock and glam metal scene and they have been around since 2002.  Only two original members left and they are Danny Rexon (Lead Singer) and Joel Cirera (Drums) and I am okay with it.  They have hit and missed sometimes, but I am still interested in what they have to offer because it will probably be fun.

  • 71HPj4+fyzL._SX522_  Paul Gilbert – Behold Electric Guitar – (Mascot Label Group):  The guitar extraordinaire from Mr. Big is back with another solo album.  With a title like ‘Behold Electric Guitar’, I think you know what you are about to hear.  More electrifying guitar work from a master player.  How could this not be great?  I guess we will find out soon enough.

Continue reading “Friday New Releases – May 17th” →

Matt Nathanson – ‘At the Point’ – Album Review

Published on by 2loud2oldmusicLeave a comment

For the regulars of my site, they already know I am a huge Matt Nathanson fan.  For those non-regulars, I will let you know I am a huge Matt Nathanson fan.  I have been re-exploring his earlier catalog lately and I want to point out a great live set he has available called ‘At the Point’.

‘At the Point’ was recorded, well, at The Point.  The Point is an intimate club in Philadelphia, PA.  It was recorded in the Summer of 2005 and released in 2006.  It is only Matt and his acoustic guitar.  Nothing or no one else.

What I love about this album is it is a lot of his old songs from before my discovery of Matt which was around 2007 or so.  The album showcases his live performance, his ability to own a crowd, his comedic stylings (he is one funny SOB), his voice and most importantly his songwriting and musicianship.

From such classics as “Church Clothes”, “Answering Machine”, “Curve of the Earth” and “I Saw” to his cover of Dire Straits’ “Romeo and Juliet” and Drivin’ N Cryin’s “Straight to Hell”, you get lost in his performances as they are delivered so flawlessly and seem so personal.  You get laughs as he tells stories that will have you laughing your ass off and you just get an hour and seven minutes of pure enjoyment.  This is what a live album should be.  Something you can feel and connect with.

Continue reading “Matt Nathanson – ‘At the Point’ – Album Review” →