September has an incredible number of new releases coming out and today is the start of it all. There is now way humanly possible to get through all of them and I am not going to try. I will miss out on a lot of great stuff, but each week there is going to be too much to get through. I would have to quit my paying job and then do this full time (which doesn’t pay)…not going to happen, but wish it could.
The ones in Blue are the ones I will make every effort to listen to and enjoy! Which ones are you looking forward to hearing?
Rev Theory – Revelation – (Another Record Co): I like it loud and heavy and that is what I expect I will get with Rev Theory’s new release. I have thoroughly enjoyed their prior releases and what I hear so far sounds great. Give them a listen.
Robert John “Mutt” Lange could quite possibly be one of the greatest music producers there has ever been. He is personally responsible for some of the biggest selling albums of all time. He is the man behind the music, literally.
He started producing albums in the 70’s where he produced Graham Parker’s album ‘Heat Treatment’ and worked with the City Boys. He also worked with the Boomtown Rats which gave him his first real breakout album was their 1978 album ‘A Tonic for the Troops”.
But the big break came with the success of his work with AC/DC. He produced the 1979 album ‘Highway to Hell’ and then the 1980 classic ‘Back in Black’ which is the second largest selling album of all time at over 50 million albums. ‘Back in Black’ was one of the albums I picked up just recently (read about it here). He went to do another album for AC/DC in 1981, ‘For Those About To Rock We Salute You’.
Can you fall in love with an album or an artist by hearing only one song? The answer for me is a resounding YES!! That happened to me many moons ago when I heard one of the coolest songs I have ever heard. The song was “Not That Cool” by Will Hoge. The song was about me. He reached into my soul and wrote this song just for me. Ok, he didn’t really, but it felt like it was.
Not That Cool” was about a young man that wants to talk to a women but the only problem was he doesn’t feel cool enough to approach her and use a corny line. It was me. I am so not cool and could never have the courage to walk up to a pretty woman and give her a line. I was a little too shy for that. However, I still managed to snag a very beautiful woman and somehow she agreed to marry me. Almost 15 years later, we are still together.
This was the song that introduced me to the amazingly talented, singer, songwriter Will Hoge and the album was ‘Blackbird On A Lonely Wire’. The album came out in 2003 on Atlantic Records and was his 2nd studio release with a major label. After hearing “Not That Cool”, I immediately went out and bought the whole album.
Will Hoge has been described as Americana, Alt. Country with a Southern Rock flair and it fits him perfectly. This album throws in a little pop as well as some blues aspects to various songs. The album flow is wonderful and the songs are well placed.
After the fun of “Not That Cool”, he goes straight into another upbeat song “”Be The One”. The song keeps the energy going with a radio friendly song that sadly I never heard on the radio. Then he slows things down a little with “King of Grey” and brings a little country to the sad feeling song.
Things pick right back up with a Tom Petty sounding song called “Secondhand Heart”. The song style would fit perfect on any Petty album. “Hey Tonight” comes next and adds a little pop back into another very radio friendly song.
“Doesn’t Have to Be That Way” brings a little blues sound mixed with his raspy rock voice and when you hear it you will realize why it is my second favorite song on the album. The song shows off his voice and song writing talents.
“It’s A Shame” has a little darker tone and a nice rock sound to it. A great follow-up to “Doesn’t Have to Be That Way”. Will adds a little piano into another country song called “Someone Else’s Baby”. A great sounding song.
Will Hoge rocks out on the next song “TV Set”. A very fast, fun paced song that will get you moving. I love the way he mixes genres in his songs and from one song to the next. Somehow it works.
“Better Off Now” is another song that has a Petty sound and might be a big reason I like this album as I am a big Tom Petty fan. “All Night Long” goes back to full on rock song and races through with heavy beats and great guitars.
Will changes pace again on the final song “Baby Girl”. He pulls out the acoustic guitar and slows it down with a beautiful ballad. A sweet love song and the longest song on the album at over 5 minutes.
Overall it is a fantastic album and my favorite Will Hoge album mainly because it was my first. If you aren’t familiar with Will Hoge, this is a great introduction. He has over 8 studio albums and numerous extended play and live albums so there is plenty to enjoy. I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing him live yet, but I feel it is probably where he shines. I hope you check him out and if you do, let me know what you think.
For My Sunday Song #5, I chose “How Great Thou Art”. Last week was one of the hardest weeks of my life. My mother passed away last Sunday and went on to a better place where she can watch down upon us and protect us forever as a mother always does. This song was sung during her funeral and for that reason, I am dedicating this post to her. She was loved very much and will certainly be missed. I feel a little piece of me is now lost, but at the same time I feel her presence with me.
My favorite version of this song was performed by Carrie Underwood and Vince Gill and the song will hold a special place in my heart forever. It was one of the most powerful performances of this song I have ever seen and it moved my to tears as I was listening to it again for this post. With that, I will leave you with the song to enjoy and these final words…I Love You Mom!!
Do kids nowadays know what a B-Side is? With today’s music environment, they no longer exist. Now when a single is released, you just download that single. There is no longer another song purchased along with the single. That makes me sad.
I guess the so called Deluxe Edition of albums is like getting all your B-Sides at one time, but where is the fun in that. And are albums really “deluxe editions” if they don’t offer a non-deluxe edition? I think that would just be called an album.
Some B-Sides went on to be as big as the A-Side of even bigger. A couple examples would be with Kiss and Queen. For Kiss, “Beth” was the B-Side on the single for “Detroit Rock City”. A radio station added the song to their playlist and it went on to be Kiss’ biggest hit and reached #7 on the Billboard charts. Queen had the same thing happen. The B-Side for “We Are the Champions” was “We Will Rock You” The 2 songs now are played together and are 2 of the bands biggest and most played songs.
It is Friday and a holiday weekend, what could be better?? Oh, new music!! Unfortunately, there isn’t a whole lot out today due to the holiday weekend. For that reason, I will try and check out all of them below.
Art of Dying – Nevermore (EP) – (Vices and Virtues Music): I enjoyed their album that came out last December, ‘Rise’. What a nice surprise to get some new music so quickly.
Freddie Mercury – Messenger of the Gods: The Singles Collection – (Hollywood Records): There is no video released specifically for this release, so I will include one for “The Great Pretender”.
I hit the mother lode last weekend while I was visiting family in Atlanta. The conversation somehow ended up on Vinyl records and my sister-in-law mentioned she had some old albums laying around. My brother found the box and in it were 4 albums on my wish list…Def Leppard’s ‘Pyromania’ and ‘Hysteria’; Whitesnake’s self-titled album and Bon Jovi’s ‘Slippery When Wet’. I couldn’t believe my luck. Of course, when I left their house, for some reason I left the Bon Jovi album there. I will make sure to grab it next time I am down. BTW, they were in phenomenal shape.
With the release of a new single, “This House is Not For Sale”, and a new album coming soon, I had to go back and listen to Bon Jovi all over again. In listening, I started really enjoying the deep album cuts the best as the singles have been so over played over the years.
Despite the shortcomings of their last few albums, I am and will always be a fan. Even with all the crap going on between Jon Bon Jovi & Richie Sambora. Bon Jovi, in my opinion, is not Bon Jovi without Richie Sambora.
Anyway, here are my favorite Non-Single tracks in no particular order:
“Blood on Blood” off New Jersey: If there is one thing Bon Jovi was always great about was telling a great story in the their songs. This one is my favorite. The story of brotherhood & friendship. I have always dreamed about taking this song and turning it into a novel and exploring what would happen if the main character from the song actually did get that “call in the middle of the night”. The video is a live version of the song, but go back and listen to the album version to capture all the emotions.
My Sunday Song #4: “Limitless” by Colton Dixon was instantly one of my favorite songs by him. It is off his album ‘Anchor’ which came out in 2014 on Sparrow Records/19 Entertainment. For those that don’t know, Colton Dixon was on American Idol in Season 11. He has parlayed that into a very nice music career as a Christian artist.
For me, the song is special as it is a great reminder that without Faith and without God, there are limits to what you can do. Through God, there is nothing that you can’t accomplish. We all lose that faith every now and again. Here is to hoping that you don’t.
Dee Snider reimagined “We’re Not Gonna Take It” into a ballad and an acoustic version for charity. The song and video was done to raise awareness for kid’s cancer. The video was directed by Criss Angel and proceeds will go to Criss Angel’s HELP (Heal Every Life Possible) charity.
It was too good and too important an issue not to share. If you are moved to, please donate.
Rev Theory – Revelation – (Another Record Co): I like it loud and heavy and that is what I expect I will get with Rev Theory’s new release. I have thoroughly enjoyed their prior releases and what I hear so far sounds great. Give them a listen.
