Author: 2loud2oldmusic

The Monkees – ’50: Classic Album Collection’ – Box Set Review

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The first album I ever bought was off a TV commercial way back in the 70’s. We were watching the TBS channel, but for us it was a local channel as we were from Atlanta. This was before it became a cable channel. TBS was showing re-runs of the TV show The Monkees. I saw that commercial and begged my mom to buy that album as I really, really wanted it. Well, being the fantastic mom she was, she picked up the phone, made a call and the next thing you know I had a copy of that album. It was The Monkees Greatest Hits and I still have that record today (see below).

Fast forward about 46 years later and I’m still a Monkees fan. But I didn’t have any of their other albums in my collection. I was on Amazon and I saw this box set called 50: Classic Album Collection by The Monkees. It had their first 9 albums included as well as a bonus disc of other tracks. I asked Santa for it and guess what was under the tree.

The Box Set came out in 2016 and is celebrating the band’s 50th Anniversary as they started in 1966. It was released on April 16, 2016 and was a Record Store Day special. I missed this because my first Record Store Day wasn’t until 2017 because if I was back in to collecting in 2016, I would’ve bought this then with no questions asked as it was limited to only 3,000 copies. Now, when I asked for this for Christmas, I actually assumed the box set was only the black vinyl, but when I opened it up and pulled out the debut album, it was a colored vinyl, in fact, they all were a different color. Man, what a surprise it was. There was nothing on the label to tell you if you got the standard black or the color…I got lucky I guess.

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Jeff Scott Soto – ‘One Night in Madrid’ (2009) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

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Back in 2003, Jeff did his first ever solo tour and at the stop in Madrid, the energy from the crowd was insane and he said that if he made it back he would record the show for a live DVD and CD. It took 6 years before his next solo tour brought him back to Spain and he delivered on that promise and now we have ‘One Night in Madrid’. The tour was in support of his latest solo album ‘Beautiful Mess’ and the show as on April 18, 2009 at Sala Heineken in Madrid, Spain.

This time the band was not his usual cast of characters, but a brand new band consisting of Jorge Salan on lead guitar, Fernando Mainer on bass, Edu Cominato on drums and BJ on keyboards and acoustic guitar. Now, of course Jeff Scott Soto was their singing as it is his tour. I have the CD of the show and it is a 2CD set and includes 22 tracks including solos and the ever popular Funky Medley. Let’s go ahead and jump right in to another great show by Mr. Soto.

The show opens with a radio being changed from station to station and each stop was a classic Jeff Scott Soto song. Then a voice comes on says, “That was then…this is now!” and the show starts with the lead song from ‘Beautiful Mess’ called “21st Century” and it sounds great. Jeff really sounds on point and the band captures the essence of the song. The guitars sound fantastic, the backing vocals are all perfect and I would say this new band clicks pretty well together. And if you need further proof listen to “Colour My XTC” from his Talisman days. The bass on this one is key to make it work as Marcel was a beast on bass and Fernando holds his own on this one, really great job.

We get more of Jeff’s solo work the classic “Soul Divine’ off ‘Lost in the Translation’. A true highlight of his career. Then we go in to the 2nd track from ‘Beautiful Mess’ with “Our Song” and the crowd is clapping along. It is the softer side of Jeff and then goes more power. On the album it had an irritating electronic drum track, but here it is raw and real drums and so much better. Then it is back to the rock with “Drowning” another from the ‘Lost in the Translation’ album. The guitars on this one are badass, some great riffs and real heavy. A real barn burner with this one.

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My Sunday Song – “Loud Love” – Soundgarden

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For My Sunday Song #334, we are going to walk through the song “Loud Love” by Soundgarden. The song is off their 1989 album ‘Louder Than Love’. They hadn’t broke yet here in the states so the song didn’t chart although the album went to #108 on the US Billboard 200 album chart. Now, in the UK the song did chart and reached #87. Not great, but it charted. Fun fact, it is believed that this song was supposed to be on the Wayne’s World soundtrack as it is playing in the background when Wayne meets Casandra. Early listings of the songs had it on their, but it was left off.

The song was written by Chris Cornell. I am not sure what they intended the song to be about, but to me when I look at the lyrics it feels like it is about someone pushing another person to their limits to get them to fight back, to show some emotion and not sit there and take it. They are going to keep at them until the pop and the line “I’ll hammer you until you fight” is a perfect example of that thought. There aren’t a ton of lyrics so no real proof, but that is my gut.

Musically, that guitar piece at the beginning is insane. It is a “feedback melody” is how I’ve seen it described. It is Kim Thayil standing in front of an amp, hitting a note until he gets feedback and then running his fingers up and down the fret. It is almost like the note is breathing. Really cool and what draws me to the song. Chris Cornell really screams out the chorus and lets out a scream towards the end that is pretty killer. Lyrically, there is not a lot to the song, but musically it wraps around those lyrics and drags it out to almost 5 minutes of heavy and thunderous music that paints the scene with a dark brush that feels a little disturbing and I love it.

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You Pick It! – Which Album to Review in February?

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You, my reader, are going to pick an album for me to review each month.  It is really simple…first, I will give you 5 albums to choose from and second, you will tell me which one of those you would like to see reviewed on the site.  See…simple! Now, if you want to cast more than one vote, comment on the Twitter and Facebook post and you could get up to 3 votes on your favorite pick.

There are no longer rules for my selections, maybe themes.  I’m just picking albums in my collection and this time they are all from the 90’s. I’m not a huge fan of the 90’s so my collection is limited and don’t expect grunge. What are the 5 albums you ask?  I have them right here…

   Saigon Kick – ‘The Lizard’ (1992)

   Queensryche – ‘Hear in the Now Frontier’ (1997)

   Stryper – ‘Against the Law’ (1990) – Apparently I’ve reviewed this so don’t pick it. My memory sucks!!

   Arcade – ‘Arcade’ (1993)

   Collective Soul – ‘Collective Soul’ (1995)

Let me know which one you would like to see and sometime in February, I will post a review of the album that gets the most votes. You have one week to decide and from there I will start listening to the album and do a review.

Thanks for participating!!

Friday New Releases – January 20, 2023

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Three weeks in and two I actually am anxious to check out this week. The year of releases is starting to pick up!! Take a look through the list and see what you can find that will break the bank. Let me know what you want to hear this week and what we may have missed. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!!

  • 91GKB8lfr4L._SX466_ (1)  Maneskin – Rush! – (Arista Records): One of the more exciting new rock bands out there so looking forward to hearing this one. We need some good new bands!!
  • 81EgS6uN-+L._AC_UY436_FMwebp_QL65_  Heroes And Monsters – Heroes And Monsters – (Frontiers Records): Lead singer is Todd Kerns who actually is in Slash’s band and is the lead singer in Bruce Kulick’s band on the Kiss Cruises…That is all I need to hear. Sign me up for this one…

And all the rest…

  • 914ELeHOLbL._AC_UY436_FMwebp_QL65_  Black Star Riders – Wrong Side of Paradise – (Earache Music)
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Scorpions – ‘Big City Nights’ (1998) – Album Review (The Scorpions Collection Series)

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Scorpions is no stranger to releasing compilation albums. In fact, there are 28 official greatest hits compilations over their career. That is insane. Out of those 28, some are worth getting, like ‘Deadly Sting’ or ‘Best of Rockers ‘n Ballads’ and some are not…like this one!! This is a complete money grab except it was released at a time where Scorpions weren’t getting much publicity so I am sure this was overlooked by everyone. There are no unreleased tracks, no single mixes, no nothing excited that would make this worth getting. So why do I have it? I found it in a bin for like $2 so why not. It isn’t worth anymore than that, I promise!

It was released on July 11, 1998 on Rebound Records & Universal Music Distribution. There is one interesting thing about it, some copies have the song “No One Like You (Live)” was weirdly replaced with the studio version, but still listed it as “Live” on the track listing. My copy is the boring old version with the actual live version. And that is it, nothing else interesting about this release. So, I will at least go through the songs and give my input on them.

“Big City Nights” is up first and it is off the album ‘Love at First Sting’ and was the third single off the album. This one leans more to the 80’s pop rock, very radio friendly and although a rocker, a little calmer. Yet, it is very effective with its cool riff, contagious chorus and of course, that great Klaus vocal. What is there not to like.

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Jeff Scott Soto – “21st Century” / “Gin & Tonic Sky” CD Single (2009) – Bonus Edition (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

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I like to find Promo CDs. I’m not sure why as usually there is nothing new on them, but I think it is for the fact the cover is usually not the same as the album and it is a cool piece that was used to promote the upcoming albums and/or songs. So, when I saw this I had to have it. It is a Promotional CD for the upcoming Soto album in 2009 of ‘Beautiful Mess’. The top corner of the sleeve says it is from Promotional Use Only and This CD Cannot be Sold…well…it was…to me!

The CD contains two songs from the album, “21st Century” and “Gin & Tonic Sky”. Not only that, it has the two promotional videos that were shot for those songs as well. If you have the 2 CD version of the album, like I do, you already have these videos, but if you don’t, then this is cool to have as well. Let’s talk through the two songs.

The album kick off with “21st Century” which is a rocking, guitar driven track, however, Jeff’s vocals are more funky and there are modern electronic elements as well. The chorus though is as catchy as you’d expect as he knows how to have a little hook to make you sing along. It isn’t a typical Soto sound as that album saw Jeff stretch his wings a little and try other things. The song is a little left of center and yet it works and is a great start to the album with its high energy and all around fun sound. Sometimes its okay to try new things.

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You Picked It!! – The Cars – ‘Heartbeat City’ – Album Review

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Alright…You Picked It! This one was really close as we almost ended in a tie, but one edged out the pack by one little vote. The one vote that made it not a tie was someone said that they wanted either one album or another that I should pick, so I always go with the first name on the choices. If I didn’t, we would’ve ended in a tie. The winner for this month’s picks ended up being The Cars with ‘Heartbeat City’ and I am real excited about this one. Here are the results.

  1. The Cars – ‘Heartbeat City’ – 8 votes
  2. Prince – ‘Purple Rain’ – 7 votes
  3. Genesis – ‘Invisible Touch’ – 3 votes
  4. U2 – ‘The Joshua Tree’ – 2 votes
  5. Bryan Adams – ‘Reckless’ – 2 Votes

Thanks to all for participating. The February choices will be up on Saturday! And the choices are all now from my collection and the next one will be some albums I have from the 90’s but probably not the ones you’d expect. Hopefully you can help me decide which one I should review.

THE CARS – ‘HEARTBEAT CITY’ (1984):

The Cars were now on their fifth studio album by 1984 and they made some changes with this one. Long time producer, Roy Thomas Baker, was replaced with some dude name Mutt…that is right…Mutt…Robert John “Mutt” Lange. I think you’ve heard of him before. Mutt had just come off Def Leppard’s album ‘Pyromania’ so he was one of the hottest producers around, plus he had done ‘Back in Black’ and “For Those About to Rock, We Salute You” by AC/DC, ‘4’ by Foreigner and ‘High & Dry’ by Def Leppard. Just a few massive albums. With Mutt signing on to do this album, he had to turn down Def Leppard’s next album ‘Hysteria’…but delay after delay allowed him to eventually join in and help with that mind blowing album.

But the Cars were different, they pure pop. They were not a hard rock band. The Cars also co-produced with the album as well. I do know that Mutt’s influence on here is huge and obvious at times as I can hear hints of his other work in these songs. This saw the band return to form and even see elements of their debut on here as well. It might be slick and polished, but is quite incredible too! If this isn’t their best album, it is pretty damn near close.

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My Sunday Song – “You Know My Name” by Chris Cornell

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For My Sunday Song #333, we are going to discuss a James Bond Theme song. This one is “You Know My Name” by Chris Cornell. It holds the distinction of being the only Bond theme song not to be included on the soundtrack. And we have Chris to thank for that as he wanted the song to be his and as a result it appears on his 2007 album ‘Carry On’. The song was written by Chris and David Arnold who was the composer of the Bond music for the film ‘Casino Royale’. The song was leaked early, but did get an official release on November 13, 2006 and did really well in the U.S. where it made the Hot 100 landing at #79 and sold 290,000 copies. In the U.K. it faired better at #7 on the UK Singles Chart and reaching Silver status selling over 200,000 copies.

The song doesn’t mention the movie title and instead is about the person not the movie and thus they came up with “You Know My Name” because after 40+ years of Bond, you know his name. It is about the conflicted side of Bond and not that overly confident super spy. It is about his sacrifices and struggles he battles with internally with being the spy. When he kills, the impact it has on him internally. The fact that everyone ends up betraying him, the impact that has on him. All giving us a different look at Bond which is how Daniel Craig’s Bond has done in his stint as the infamous character.

Chris approached the song two-fold. First, he was inspired by Tom Jones and wanted to sing the song in an almost Crooner style. Second, he loved the intensity of Paul McCartney’s “Live & Let Die” Bond Theme song so he and David made sure to include some heavier rock elements along with the heavy orchestration we get with Bond themes. It is a great combination of styles. I have to say, I think Chris did a great job as I did love his approach with the singing and there are hints of Mr. Jones. There is no mistaking the Bond musical elements as every Bond theme. It is a great Bond Theme!

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Friday New Releases – January 13, 2022

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The second week of the year and we have a much larger selection for you this week. And one that I am actually interested in hearing and then will decide if I get. Let me know what you want to hear this week or what we may have missed and as always, thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a great weekend!!

  • 81ihmfvhpTL._AC_UY436_FMwebp_QL65_  VV – Neon Noir – (Heartagram Records): Former lead singer of the band H.I.M., Ville Valo is going solo and I am looking forward to hearing this as I have always loved his tone and I found H.I.M. pretty interesting so this will be first listen this week.
  • A1metz67q2L._AC_UY218_  Margo Price – Strays – (Loma Vista Recordings / Concord)
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