Author: 2loud2oldmusic

Collective Soul – The Albums Ranked from Worst to First

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For me, this was a local band making it big.  Collective Soul was from Stockbridge, GA which was just outside of Atlanta so for they were a local band since I lived just outside of Atlanta as well…only in a slightly different area.  The band was Ed Roland, brother Dean Roland, Will Turpin, Ross Childress and Shane Evans.  Ed Roland was the driving, creative force behind the band and still is today.

The band started selling numerous copies of their debut album ‘Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid’ without a record label’s help.  I think they sold over 10,000 copies.  The record companies took notice and they were snatched up pretty quickly. In 1994, Atlantic Records signed them and basically slapped their label name on the disc and put it out since the album was already made.  Not a bad investment.  The rest is history.

Now we are over 25 years later and the band is getting ready to release their 10th studio album and to celebrate, I thought I would rank all their albums from worst to first.  And let me tell you this was really hard for me.  Collective Soul is a very consistent band.  They have a sound that is consistent throughout all albums.  They don’t venture far from their formula and why should they.  This is amazing considering they have been through 3 lead guitarists over the years, but have kept that same guitar sound.

The hard thing for me is what order as on any given day I can like one album more than the other and then back to liking another one.  There isn’t a bad album in the bunch only some I like more than others.  I stuck with only the Studio albums, no collections, no E.Ps and no live albums so not everything is here on this list.  I hope you enjoy it and maybe discover a band you weren’t all too familiar with.

WORST – AFTERWORDS (2007)

 

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Guns N’ Roses – ‘Appetite For Destruction: Super Deluxe Edition’ – Album Review

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I had a little Christmas money and I found the Guns N’ Roses album ‘Appetite for Destruction: Super Deluxe Edition’ on sale of $89.99 which is down from the $124.99 on Amazon so I decided to bite the bullet on this 4 CD set.  Now, I didn’t have enough to the that $800+ Locked & Loaded Box Set so I had to pass on that one.

Now, lucky for you I will review this set and go through what it has to offer.  With 73 tracks and 49 Unreleased tracks, I am not going to go through each song in detail as we would be here for days reading and I would be dead from writing all those words. You will get a “Cliff Notes” version of the review.  I hope that is okay.  The set has a lot to offer.  Here is snap shot of what all comes with the set…(I used this picture from the web as I couldn’t get a decent picture – thanks Amazon).

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The first thing that grabbed my attention was the beautiful book.   It is a 96-page Hardcover Book with Unreleased Photos and tons of pictures of posters and band memorabilia.  The book cover is all black and genuine fake leather embossed with the GN’R logo.  It is tough to see that logo, but it is there…

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My Sunday Song – “Beck’s Bolero” by Jeff Beck

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For My Sunday Song #129, we are tackling the Jeff Beck classic, “Beck’s Bolero”.  The song was recorded back in 1966 and released by Beck in 1967.  This was the first release after Beck left the Yardbirds in hopes of quieting everyone that were upset about him leaving the band.  The song would wind up on his 1968 debut album ‘Truth’.

Now, before we get in to the song, I think we need to discuss the musicians that were on this track. The songwriter is said to be a guitarist by the name of Jimmy Page with contributions to it by Beck himself.  The line-up was Jeff Beck (of course), Jimmy Page, Keith Moon, John Paul Jones and Nicky Hopkins.  Damn!!  That is a line-up.  It was later confirmed that was the early incarnations of a little band you might have heard of called Led Zeppelin!!  Pretty dang cool.

Okay, back to the song…the song is inspired in part by Ravel’s “Bolero” obviously.  The song is made up of three parts.  The first is Page giving us that Bolero sound and then Beck bringing in the melody and almost spiritual, spacey sound going.  Part two kicks in with a scream and Keith Moon beating the crap out of the drums.  The tempo picks up with some distorted guitar sounds and the song rocks out with some slamming keyboard as well.  And part three brings us back to the earthy sounds of the beginning with some added fills and more melody.  It is a sensational journey.

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Friday New Releases – February 1st

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Wow, how are we already in to February. Time flies when you’re having fun.  We are having fun…right???  Anyway, we don’t have a ton of releases…only 6 on my list this week.  And maybe I will give them all a listen, I haven’t decided.  There are two on my list this week for sure, the rest will make some time, if at all.  Let me know if there is anything you are interested in or if I missed anything.  Thanks and have a great music weekend.

  • 91-I4azk34L._AC_UL115_  Tom Petty – The Best of Everything: The Definitive Career Spanning Hits Collection 1976-2016 – (Geffen Records):  An extensive greatest hits collection for the Tom Petty fan consisting of 38 tracks from his Heartbreaker work, his solo work and even his Mudcrutch work.  It is a pretty great track list with 2 unreleased tracks and an essay by Cameron Crowe.  All just spectacular and must have for every Petty fan.  (UPDATE:  Apparently this got moved at the last minute to March 1st because when I wrote this up it was due to drop on Feb. 1st…sorry about that)

  • 81kCbwr4GjL._SX522_  American Authors – Seasons – (Island Records):  This pop rock, alt rock band is back with their 3rd album.  They have pretty great songs, but this one is attracting me more because of the two songs I have heard are exceptional.  One with Billy Raffoul on it called “Say Amen” and the other is “Neighborhood” with Bear Rinehart from Needtobreathe.  These are two people I really, really like and want everything they do so this is on my list for sure.

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Max the Axe – ‘Status Electric’ – Album Review

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Before I get into the review, I want to note that I did not pay for this CD, it was sent to me.  However, it wasn’t sent by the band or even any PR team, but by the Mighty Mike Ladano as a gift because he thought I would like it (very cool of him…thanks Mike!).  He knows the band though so I guess he is their PR guy.  I hope he is getting paid.  Anyway, the review set forth is my honest take on the album.

Max the Axe is a Canadian band out of Kitchener, Ontario (yeah, I don’t know where that is either).  The songs are filled with some gritty, distorted guitars and the lyrics at times have a slight comedic flare which makes me think that this band is the bastard child of Black Sabbath and Barenaked Ladies.

The Band:

  • Mike “Max” Koutis – guitar
  • Eric Litwiller – vocals
  • Dave Haslam – drums
  • Mike “Mitch” Mitchell on bass.

When the band shined was when they were completely in beast mode with the songs “River Grand” and “Scales of Justice”.  The guitar work was outstanding with the distortion and the drum fills were great.  “Scales of Justice” was an epic song at over 6 minutes and some of the best riffs.  What might be my favorite song off the album is “Sick of Living”. The band  slays it in what I thought sounded like a mix of Sabbath and Priest.  The guitar solo was one of the best on the album and that scream was so rock & roll.

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Gene Simmons – ‘Kiss and Make-Up’ – Book Review

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I was walking through an Antique Mall as my daughter had found another great place to buy used vinyl.  We came to a booth that didn’t have a ton of books, but there was one book there that immediately caught my eye.  It was the Gene Simmons’ autobiography called “Kiss and Make-Up”.  I had not read yet, so I grabbed it.  And at only $5, it was a steal.

And what did I think?  It was okay.  It was an easy read, but there was really nothing surprising or earth shattering.  I did forget he dated Diana Ross, but I knew about Cher so no shocker.  I had forgotten about some of the movies he did, but not ‘Runaway’ as I loved that one.

It was interesting to read about his childhood as it did explain a lot about who he is and why he is the way he is.  Gene is definitely full of himself and you know what, that is okay.  He knows it and I was worried I would like him even less after reading this, but I didn’t. I actually like a little more.  I feel I understand him a little more.

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My Sunday Song – “Frankenstein” by The Edgar Winter Group

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For My Sunday Song #128, the instrumental this week is the great “Frankenstein” by The Edgar Winter Group.  The song was off the band’s 1972 album ‘They Only Come Out at Night’ and went all the way to #1 for one week in May 1973.  The song sold over a million copies and you probably know it and don’t even realize it.

The title of “Frankenstein” is interesting.  The title came from the fact the song was pieced together from a very long version of the song as the band would often just jam.  So pieces from that jam were spliced together to form the 4 minute album version.  It sounds seamless, but the song is an amalgamation of so many different sounds and styles from funk to progressive rock to just plain experimentation.  It is a monster for sure.

Speaking of monster, what a monster line-up on this song.  You have Dan Hartman on bass, Chuck Ruff on drums, Ronnie Montrose on guitar and Edgar Winter synthesizers and keyboards as well as Rick Derringer producing the song.  What a fine group of musicians.

Back to the song, the song is also famous for the double drum solo between Chuck Ruff and Edgar Winter.  Chuck on the drums and Edgar playing a set of timbales.  It really adds to the song.  And don’t forget all the synthesizers music, sound and whatever strange noises were being made.  It was just such a weird song sandwiched in between those awesome Montrose guitar riffs.  And Ronnie Montrose is a beast on this one.

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Friday New Releases – January 25th

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Now we are in to full swing in the new year.  The albums are starting to come out and today we have a long list of releases. There will hopefully be something for everyone.  There are bunch I am interested in, but might not necessarily buy right now.  They will be streamed to start with and I will pick up the ones I like the best.  My choices are highlighted in Blue.  Let me know what you like or are interested in.  Thanks and have a great musical weekend.

  • 41XHjCPQ-aL._AC_US436_QL65_  Starbreaker – Dysphoria – (Frontiers Records):  Tony Harnell and Magnus Karlsson team up again with the band’s third album and first in over 11 years…damn…way too long.  It is metal, it is hard rock and it is usually great.  Can’t wait to hear this one.

  • 61MGNjF1EfL._SS500  Rival Sons – Feral Roots – (Atlantic Records):  Rival Sons are one of those bands you just fall in love with immediately when you hear them. Now on their 6th studio album they just keep getting better.  They are straight up rock & roll with a heavy blues influence and worth a listen.  Give them a try.

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The Original Vs. The Cover – “Respect”

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For this installment of The Original Vs. The Cover, we are discussing the classic Aretha Franklin song “Respect” which is actually a cover of the song originally written and performed by Otis Redding just two years earlier.  The Otis Redding song was written for Speedo Sims and his band the Singing Demons, but they were unable to find the sound they liked and so Otis decided to sing the song.

The song came out in 1965 and went to the Top 5 on the Black Charts, but actually crossed-over to the pop charts where it reached #35.  It was one of a couple songs that crossed-over for Otis.  The Redding version is about a man’s plea to his woman to show him some respect for bringing home the bacon.  He could care less if she does him wrong, but just wants his due from her.

OTIS REDDING

In looking through his roster of musicians, he had a couple that stood out for me.  There were two keyboard players on the song, one goes by the name Booker T. Jones and the other is Isaac Hayes.  The rest of the band were all Booker T. & the MG’s band members except for the horn section, they were not part of Booker’s band.

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Jorn – 50 Years on Earth: The Anniversary Box Set – Album Review

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Norwegian rocker, Jorn Lande, turned 50 this year and to celebrate that fact, Frontiers Records released a collection of 9 of his studio albums and three bonus discs.  That is 12 disc in all for a very reasonable price of about $60 ($5 per CD). I will take that deal any day!

Jorn’s voice is so powerful and he could hold is own with some of the more well known vocalist out there.  When he sings, he does sound almost exactly like David Coverdale of Whitesnake.  And when he covers any Whitesnake song, the resemblance is uncanny.  That is probably why I like him so much as I am huge Whitesnake fan.

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Frontiers does a great job with the set.  The box is real sturdy and should hold up well for years.  Each CD is packaged in a cardboard sleeve that looks like the original CD and includes the original CD booklet as well.  Sometimes sets have left that piece out.  The CD itself looks like a small vinyl replica which seems to be a trend for some box sets (The Kip Winger Set did that as well).  It is a nicely packaged set.

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