One thing I’ve been having fun with is collecting the Exclusive vinyls offered at my local Record Store, Noble Records. Each month he generally has one or two releases that are exclusive to his store. Usually that means a colored variant of archival release. It has allowed me to branch out and listen to things I would normally never ever hear or get the chance to hear. And I will say, 90% of his releases I have found to be quite enjoyable and made me really appreciate a lot of these cult bands that seemed to fall by the wayside or discarded from this rock & roll business. I have reviewed two of these before and I thought, it is time to start diving in to more of this and do a review. So, here we are with one of those exclusives.
For this review, we are going to look at a band that had one album and was done. A One And Done band called Elias Hulk. The album was released in the UK sometime back in 1970. The band was originally called Alias the Hulk due to their love for Marvel Comics and The Incredible Hulk. Eventually the name was shorted to Elias Hulk. The band consisted of members James Haines (Bass), Bernard James (Drums), Neil Tatum (Lead Guitar), Granville Frazer (Rhythm Guitar) and Peter Thorpe (Lead Singer). And as far as sound, they are a cross between a heavy bluesy rock with some psychedelic hard rock mixed and some Eastern elements that add a cool uniqueness to their sound. And if that wasn’t enough, it is a little proggy as well. I would say that it is a pretty accurate as we definitely have some heavy moments and then some not quite so heavy, but all sounds are still rock and still kick ass.
We are finally to the 11th Studio album by Def Leppard. It comes off the longest break between albums sitting at 7 years. The last album was ‘Songs From the Sparkle Lounge’ back in 2008. Now, they did have some live albums in between the two studio albums and we reviewed those years ago, you can click those links below. Therefore, we are jumping to 2015 where the band released their first self-titled album. Why now? Simply put, the band felt this album was nothing but the Def Leppard sound. No one era of the band…a little bit of all of them. I can tell you for sure this does sound like a Def Leppard album…good or bad! The sound hasn’t changed and neither has the band as it is still Joe Elliott, Rick Allen, Rick Savage, Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell as it has been for over 20+ years. I still think of Vivian as the new guy though. LOL!!
The album was released on October 30, 2015 and it went #10 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart. This was their seventh Top 10 album of their career. Now, it did go to #1 on the Rock Charts in case you were wondering. The album did spawn four singles, but of course none of them charted in the Top 40 as we are long past those days. But we do get an album that is what you want from the band and expect. It is a Def Leppard album, no doubt. There is also a lot of diversity on the album which can be good and can be bad if it isn’t done right. We will see if it was.
The band says the album is all Def Leppard from across the years, well the opening track “Let’s Go” is straight out of the ‘Hysteria’ era. A bombastic opening track that oozes everything from that album. It has a huge chorus full of those gang vocals they do so well. Listen to Sav’s bass lines, he does some great work on this one and of course there is a Leppardesque solo to boot. An arena rock track that puts you on notice the boys are back.
Kiss is known for having a million greatest hits album and here we have another. This one is on the cheap side of things and is pretty basic. It is probably a label release and the band probably had zero to do with this one. It was released in 2008 by Mercury and UMe. It is called ‘Playlist Your Way’ and everything about it is cheap. The packing is a fold out cardboard that the CD is housed in. The cover has a big cutout and slipped in is a credit card size cardboard with a picture of the band on one side and a code on the other I believe to download some ringtones. This was 2008 and everyone wanted a ringtone so why not a Kiss one. The card could only be used in the U.S. and my copy was a sealed brand new release so the card was never used.
The CD has 14 tracks that range from the debut album up to ‘Hot in the Shade’. But no, there is not a song from every album in between. It is a random selection and it is basically the hits…well…except for “Uh! All Night”. I don’t really consider that one a hit or a good song. My buddy Michael Ladano reviewed this years ago and he thought it was strange that “Beth” was butted up against “Uh! All Night” and I would have to agree. The dynamics of those two songs sort of clash being side by side. While we are on the songs, let’s discuss them.
First up is “Rock And Roll All Nite” and surprisingly it is the ‘Dressed to Kill’ studio version and not the live version as it is on most comps. It is the rock anthem of rock anthem’s and you can hear those elements and that this song was bursting to be heard. The song came together because Neil wanted them to write an anthem or something for the fans to rally behind and this was the result…not bad!
“Lick It Up” is the band’s first single and first video without make-up and the song only went to #66. It opens with a nice little riff and a little scream from Paul. Paul’s second song on the album and it was meant for the radio. This is a pure 80’s, melodic rock song and no wonder it still gets played a lot. The video was so 80’s as well. Real cheesy and had the band in a post-apocalyptic world. It is a little comical watching it now. The song, however, is about a guy trying to talk his girlfriend in to doing the nasty so doesn’t really fit with the video.
Over the last 6 months, I have found a ton of bootlegs and for me that is great as I love getting this tidbits of history from a band especially since the band haven’t released it. There was a stretch of a few months where I found three Whitesnake bootlegs and this is the last of those that I found. This one is from the tour for ‘Saints And Sinners’ which ran from 1982-1983. And the band is listed as David Coverdale, Cozy Powell, Jon Lord, Micky Moody, Mel Galley and Colin Hodgkinson. This particular show is said to be Newscastle City Hall in England and recorded on December 14th, 1982. It is a 3 LP set and is the whole show and was released in Japan. No OBI so don’t get excited, this is a bootleg.
I’ve read there is some debate if this show is from Newcastle. All the dialogue between the songs has been cut so no city is mentioned. The setlist is similar to a show from Japan and being released in Japan has some to believe that is where the show is. That show is February 22, 1983 from Budokan in Tokyo, Japan. I honestly couldn’t tell you one way or the other. The sound isn’t bad, a little hollow at times, needs more deep end. You can hear everyone pretty good. The sound is consisten throughout the show so I am sure it is a soundboard. They must have the crowd mic’d up as you can hear them pretty good. Most audience recordings aren’t consistent.
But what I can tell you is that they set this bootleg up to look like a promo. It has tour dates listed on the back for some UK shows. If that wasn’t enough look at the labels and you will see is “Not For Sale” listed on each label. And what you will also notice is at the top of the label it says “Cozy Powell Band”. Man, that would piss off David I am sure. At least it does say Whitesnake in that really cool logo across the center of the label. You gotta love bootlegs.!
LP 1:
The album opens with “The Shadow of the Blues”…wait…what happened to the “Walking In…”. Oh well, bootlegs for you. For a blues song, this one is really rocking and the band is kicking ass and taking names. The song is sped up but not as fast as “Rough And Ready” where David is singing so fast, I can’t really understand everything he is saying. Jon Lord’s hammond is on fire as he destroys it on the solo. Then Micky comes shredding in with a wicked solo. A great 1-2 punch. According to the label, “Ready An’ Ready” is up next, but we know it is really “Ready An’ Willing”. It kicks with David asking if they are “ready and willing” over and over and then bam…they go in to the song. They slowed the tempo down a little for this to a more normal pace. The song has a great groove to it, David sounds great and more great guitar playing. Always a wonderful live song choice.
And flipping over to Side 2 we get “Don’t Break My Heart Again”. We get some opening drum beats by Cozy, some hand clapping from the audience and some Lord organ. This is a pretty radio friendly sounding track. The crowd gets in to it and sings along at the break with more hand clapping. Then we get an early recording of “Here I Go Again”. And you know it is early because it still says “Hobo” instead of “Drifter”. It has more Lord organ and only David on vocals opening. Nice and quiet before the full band kicks in and it starts to rock out. But not as much as the 1987 version does. But that is a few more years down the road.
LP 2:
First David introduces some new band members with Cozy Powell on drums and Colin Hodgkinson on bass. Now it is time for some David Cock Rock with “Love Hunter”. You’ve got Micky on slide guitar and the song is still a lot of fun even with its inappropriate lyrics. During the middle of the song it breaks in to a Micky Moody guitar solo and a Colin bass solo mixed in. In the middle of the solo, with Micky and Colin go at it, we suddenly get a honky tonk jam and it is either Mel or Colin on vocal. Then with an awkward cut, it is back to some Micky slide guitar with a big dramatic finish before we rock out with the ending of “Love Hunter”.
Flipping it over it we get David introducing another new member with Mel Galley then we get the older version of “Crying in the Rain”. A great opening set of guitar work and then David comes in and he sounds great. This is a killer, rocking track and this older version has a little more groove and not as heavy, but oh, it is as good. The guitar solo in this is extended and ripping, a song in and of itself, but still with the “Crying” groove. David does give each member a chance to shine at these shows. He’s a good boss…when he’s not firing the whole band over and over. You go to an early Snake show and you aren’t getting the songs as they are on the album, no sire. You get so much more. At the end, they go quietly in to a small piece of the Deep Purple track “Soldier of Fortune”. Then another cut and then it is all Jon Lord as he gets his turn in the spotlight…hell to the yeah!
LP 3:
Why not start LP 3 with yet another solo and this time around it is Cozy Powell on drums. He is a beast. He even does part of 633 Squadron, Over the Top and 1812 Overture during his solo. It is not your typical drum solo and that is a welcoming fresh thing to hear. When it ends they go in to classic Whitesnake mode with the bluesy “Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City”. It is slows things down, the crowd claps along and the boys just get down and dirty with this one. Always a treat when they pull this one out.
Flipping to the final side, Side 6, they start off with an fan favorite called “Fool For Your Loving”, but this is not the Slip of the Tongue version. They speed things back up like they are in a major hurry. The later version isn’t much different. A little slower and more dramatic. And that is how they end the show, but we still have encore. And first up is “Thank You Blues” which is a little message for the audience. And yes, it is very bluesy. Then they go in to the fun, crazy “Wine, Women And Song”. It is a foot stomping boogie woogie good time. And of course, Jon Lord kicks ass on this one too! This is a great encore song that is nothing but fun. The final track is “We Wish You Well” and David softly sings the crowd out of the evening. This sounds like a recording thought and not a live performance. This was probably being played as the fans exited the arena. Kiss does that kind of stuff too.
And that is it. A 3 LP live set from Whitesnake. The sound isn’t bad. It is consistent throughout and you can hear the crowd which makes for a great live show. David sounds really good and the new band, at the time, was another fine set of musicians. It didn’t bother me that a lot of the dialogue was cut out as it meant it was basically song after song. There are a lot of great solos and jamming moments. And by spreading out the album over 3 LPs, the songs weren’t compressed and helped the sound quality. Overall a really good bootleg. My Overall Score is a 4.0 out of 5.0 Stars as it did need a little more punch in the sound, but what you get is still awesome.
The Down ‘N’ Outz were formed thanks to Mott the Hoople. Mott the Hoople was doing a reunion show, well a week’s worth of reunion shows. They asked Joe to be a part of it. One thing led to another and with the help of drummer Phil Martini, Ronnie Garrity from Raw Glory, and Paul Guerin, Guy Griffin, and Keith Weir from The Quireboys, the Down ‘N’ Outz were born. They performed as the opening act. The twist was they would be playing songs by bands or artists associated with Mott the Hoople, but not actually Mott the Hoople songs. And that was what the first album, ‘My Regeneration’ covered was songs associated with Mott the Hoople, but not Mott the Hoople songs.
This time around on ‘The Further Adventures of…’ they focus entirely on Mott the Hoople songs and what a joy it is. On April 21, 2014, they released their second album with the same line-up, a little more playing together under their belt and a fresh set of old songs. They set out on a tour and years later would release a live album & DVD of a show from the tour called ‘The Further Live Adventures of…’, but I don’t have that one yet so not sure we will get to that during this series. For now, we will focus on this album so we might as well get to it.
My copy is a standard release, no deluxe edition. But what is really cool is when you open the enclosed booklet and fold it out you get a whole comic book story as you will see below. They even turned themselves in to comic book characters. A fun, different approach and a great packing job. Joe and company are doing these releases right!
The album kicks off with the classic 1969 Mott the Hoople hit “Rock And Roll Queen” which was off their self-titled album. The band is slamming and Joe sounds great. The punchy piano breathes so much life in to the song and the song completely rocks. A great opening track to set the tone.
For the first time on vinyl, Motley Crue released ‘Supersonic And Demonic Relics’ for the 2024 Record Store Day. And since this was the first time on vinyl, I had to grab a copy. There were only 2,500 copies available, so I guess I am lucky to have grabbed one of them. I am sure they will release this album on vinyl eventually, but hopefully this will be the only picture disc. Now, with the track record of RSD albums, I’m not holding my breath.
The album originally came out on June 29, 1999 and Wikipedia says this is the band’s fourth compilation, but I don’t know what their three are before it as I only know of Decade of Decadance 81-91 in 1991 and the Greatest Hits in 1998. Yes, this is compilation but it not a greatest hits album. Instead it is a collection of tracks from soundtracks, songs that were new on a greatest hits album, remixes and even a handful of unreleased tracks. I really like these type of releases even if the songs aren’t always great. I’ll take this over a greatest hits record any day. My only complaint about this RSD release is the quality of the pictures on the cover and even the choice for the vinyl pictures. The cover looks grainy and not very professionally done. And the side of the vinyl with the picture of the speakers from the album cover are a little dull and not very crisp. I know, I’m picky.
We are now on the 2nd album from Man Raze and still no new Def Leppard studio album. This time Phil Collen, Simon Laffy and Paul Cook bring us more of their eclectic style of music. This one is even in the title as we get some punk, some funk (very little) and a lot of rock. You get two Girls and one Sex Pistol which adds up to even more fun. The album is a chance for the boys to pay homage to their musical influences and so we get a variety of sounds and songs all fit into a fantastic package.
When this came out on back in 2011, I was all over it. I really loved the debut and expected I would this one as well. I have the standard U.S. edition, but Japan got one too on January 26, 2012 and of course it had a bonus track. One day I’ll get that one.
The opening riff of the opening track grabs hold and sucks you in. “Over My Dead Body” is a cranking rocker that is catchy as hell and will leave the song eating away at your brain like an ear worm. A song that could’ve easily been a Def Leppard song as it is so melodic and full of great harmonies plus a tight, killer guitar solo. Man Raze opens the album with a bang.
“I C U in Everything” is up next and instantly things sound different especially in Phil’s vocal delivery. A lot of effects are put on them and he sings much deeper and darker. I love the bass work on this one as it gives it a nice groove. It is another rocker, but a completely different style then the previous song. They are keeping it interesting. The vocals I didn’t like at first, but are growing on me with each listen and Phil does another great little solo.
Whitesnake was touring Japan in the Spring of 1980 in support of the band’s 1979 album ‘Love Hunter’. This was only a month prior to the release of their new album ‘Ready ‘an Willing’ and surprisingly they didn’t test out any of those songs yet so close to the album release. So, we are getting some really old school songs and Deep Purple cuts here and I am thrilled about that myself. The show on April 12, 1980 at Aichi-Ken Kinro Kaikan in Nagoya, Japan was a live broadcast on FM radio. This is the entire show which is awesome. The band is David Coverdale (obviously), Micky Moody and Bernie Marsden on guitars, Neil Murray on bass, Ian Paice on drums and the great Jon Lord on keyboards.
This bootleg was released recently back in 2023 like the last one we discussed from Whitesnake. I love getting a newer version of such an old show. I love old school Snake so this was a no-brainer for me. This is a 2 LP set and both are on a beautiful white vinyl. It is a beautiful set and the sound quality is off a soundboard with some roughness on the mix the first couple songs, but all-in-all in it fantastic sounding for what it is.
LP 1:
The show opens with “Come On” which is from the ‘Snakebite’ E.P. from 1978. Written by David Coverdale and Bernie Marsden and right away you can hear how big the guitar sound is. The song is a pure rock song with a great groove and a blistering solo. A great opener and I love the fact that David has two Deep Purple references in the song…“Soldier of Fortune” and “Gypsy”. They go in to “You ‘N Me” from ‘Lovehunter’, and this is normally a real bluesy track with some slide guitar, but here it feels more straight-up rock & roll. The guitars are a little weak in the mix these first two tracks, but you can still hear them and know they are the main focus behind David of course. You can hear the organ, barely, as Jon Lord is going to town, wish it was higher in the mix as I love Jon Lord and as soon as I wish that, the organs get louder and bam, Lord is killing it. Much better live then studio version for this one.
Then it is a couple of down & dirty blues tracks with “Walking in the Shadow of the Blues” and “Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City”. The first from ‘Lovehunter” and the latter from ‘Snakebite’. Both are dang brilliant and just listen to the rip roaring guitars and organ again. David is fine form and sounds awesome. Two of their best songs played with one of the best line-ups Whitesnake has seen!! What more do you need? I’ll tell you…nothing. And finally we end Side A with one of three solos on the album. This one is Micky Moody’s and well…you know what you are going to get so sit back and enjoy! Micky does a really cool slide-guitar solo and it is brilliant.
Flipping over to Side B, it starts out with the title track, “Lovehunter”, and it is full of David’s sexually inappropriate lyrics and even in today’s #MeToo movement, I don’t give a shit. His lyrics still rock even if his vocals are a little rough on this one. Not quite hitting the notes.. The song has the that blues tone and some serious slide guitar by Micky Moody accompanied by Neil Murray’s bass line and it is fantastic as he lays down the coolest groove. Along with Moody’s slide guitar you get a twin solo with both Moody and Marsden. It is that duo that really brings this one home.
The we get double treat of Deep Purple tracks with “Mistreated” and “Soldier of Fortune” brought together for a musical enjoyment. In 1980, smart move to still play off that Deep Purple connection. “Mistreated” is down and dirty with a slow nasty groove and things slow down even more with some great guitar picking that turns in to a beast of a solo and back to “Mistreated”. And then music stops and David sings a little “Soldier of Fortune” and it is a little too quiet and hard to hear (and it doesn’t help my neighbor is mowing his lawn!) Let’s just say with “Mistreated” portion was pretty killer.
LP 2:
The second LP kicks off with one of my favorite parts and that is a Jon Lord solo. I generally don’t care too much for keyboard solos, but this is Jon Lord. So, hell to the yeah for this one. The man is a legend and a master. He even mixes a little 2001 Space Odyssey in to his solo. The solo then turns in to the instrumental track “Belgian’s Tom Hat Trick” from the ‘Trouble’ album. The band jumps in and it is an all out master class of greatness. The song has a great melody and a real blast to hear, especially live. If I’m not mistaken, there are at least 3 solos racing through this song.
And since everyone has had a chance to shine, it is now Ian Paice’s turn for a solo on the drums. It plays beautifully out of “Belgian” without missing a beat. Ian goes to town on those drums and doesn’t hold back. And after the barrage of beats, we slip back in to “Belgian” where they all slam it home. After some Ian Paice chants, we go in to the final song on Side C with the Deep Purple track, “Might Just Take Your Life” after David goes “Here’s a song for ya!”…which we know he rarely says before a song (cough, cough – dripping with sarcasm). The band plays it well, but I do miss having Glenn Hughes on the song. They hand over the vocals to Bernie Marsden and he does a great job actually. But I still miss Glenn.
Flipping over to Side D, they kick it off with “Lie Down” and it is time for some sleazy cock rock as the song is really only about one thing. I love the honky tonk boogie of the keys from Lord. Speaking of Lord, he rails through a solo that is crazy. Another track where someone else sings a little and Bernie is back on the mic. Aside from a Lord solo, Micky Moody he gets a killer solo as well. This was definitely a band and not David focused which is great to see. A fun, upbeat track that has no artistic value, but who cares…have some fun. They then go in to “Take Me With You” and this is where David introduces the band and they each do a little notes. This drags the song down for me, but you know, he needs to do it. But when the song comes back in, it completely rocks out.
Then it was time for “Rock Me Baby” which is an old blues song. It has been covered by Muddy Waters and B.B. King. This is part of the encore and it is pretty rock & roll, although there are some blues elements to their performance like the slide guitar and the groove. The Micky Moody solo is the coolest part of the song for sure. Then we end the night with a little ‘Northwinds’ with “Breakdown” and mixed with some “Whitesnake Boogie”. A high energy, bluesy rock ending to a show that showcases the talent that is early Whitesnake. The band sounds like they are having fun and that is a good thing.
And there you have it. A great 1980’s Whitesnake show. I love the early years of Whitesnake about as much as the later years. You know what, I guess I like all the years. The sound quality is really good for what it is, which is a bootleg. A soundboard recording with some minor sound issues, mostly with sound levels. What I loved about this is how much it is the boys jamming and all the solos. There is nothing but talent in this band and it is showcased throughout. A great show so grab it if you ever see it. My Overall Score is a 4.0 out of 5.0 Stars. It is the band as raw as they are with not fixes…I like that. This is how the show sounded and is as it should be.
We are in a time in Def Leppard’s career where there is a 7 year break between studio albums. To help fill that gap, the boys in the band kept busy. We’ve seen the Phil Collen side project Man Raze and now we have Joe Elliott’s side project called Down ‘N’N Outz. And during this stretch we don’t get only one album from each, we will actually see two albums from each before the next Leppard studio album. Hey, if I can’t have Def Leppard, I’ll take this stuff just as well.
The Down ‘N’ Outz were formed thanks to Mott the Hoople. Mott the Hoople was doing a reunion show, well a week’s worth of reunion shows. They asked Joe to be a part of it. One thing led to another and with the help of drummer Phil Martini, Ronnie Garrity from Raw Glory, and Paul Guerin, Guy Griffin, and Keith Weir from The Quireboys, the Down ‘N’ Outz were born. They performed as the opening act. The twist was they would be playing songs by bands or artists associated with Mott the Hoople, but not actually Mott the Hoople songs. They even recorded a show and released it on DVD, which I need to one day obtain.
After the gig, the band were having so much fun, they actually recorded an album. There is a 10 song edition that was released first on June 23, 2010 as part of an edition of Classic Rock Magazine (I want that one!!), but the final album actually had 13 songs, one of which was an original by the band. If you liked Joe & Phil’s band the Cybernauts, then this will be right up your alley. On July 13, 2010, their debut album ‘My ReGeneration’ was released. Don’t think it ever charted, but who cares. If you are fan of Mott the Hoople and all their side projects, a fan of Def Leppard or a fan of the Quireboys, then you need this. Let’s get to it! Wait…FYI…the band even started their own brand of beer…thus the bottle cap in the album pictures below.
The opening track is the classic “Golden Opportunity” which is an Ian Hunter cover from his album ‘Overnight Angels’. What is cool about this one is when it starts up you hear a needle dropping and some static like this was vinyl, but my version is a CD. A cool little trick. The band sticks to the essence of the song (and all the songs), but they can’t help put their own little flair on it. When the song is as cool and iconic as this one, how could they screw it up. The musicianship is stellar and Joe sounds awesome! The energy is electric and you can feel the excitement they have for playing this music. A great opening track.
Next up is “Storm” which is a Mott cover (Not a Mott the Hoople cover – just Mott). This one is from the album ‘Shouting and Pointing’. It fades in from the opening track and the tempo is fast. The riffs are cool, the keyboards are slamming as are the drums. Another fun, high energy track that keeps the party going. I have to say I wasn’t overly familiar with this one which I think helps my enjoyment as it feels new to me. The band is swinging and again I can’t get over their playing…these guys are really good.
Then it is time for another Ian Hunter song and this one is the title track to his album “Overnight Angels”. Man, I love this song and the Boyz bring down the house with this one. The gentle guitar riff opening with the heavy bass and drums are a slick contrast. Joe’s vocal delivery is slow and deliberate, well paced. The grit of his vocals adds so much to the song. I think this album so far has been a headphone album as there is so much going on musically and it all sounds like a smorgasbord of tastiness.
Okay, I’ve realized something…the Ian songs I know. The Mott songs I don’t. This next one was new to me as well. It is the song “Career (No Such Thing as Rock ‘n Roll)” from the ‘Shouting and Pointing’ album. It opens with a biting piano with some keyboards that sound like horns. It has this grand, epic tone. Joe’s vocals are more reserved to match the music. It is really beautiful in its presentation. I might need to be checking out these Mott albums. I have Mott the Hoople stuff, but no Mott.
It is time for “Cleveland Rocks”…oops sorry that is The Drew Carey Show theme song. This is actually “England Rocks” the Ian Hunter song that the Drew theme song is based. It is a rambunctious rocker that celebrates the England Rock & Roll scene. A fun singalong song.
It is back to Mott and this time we get the title track to the album that has two other songs here and that is “Shouting And Pointing”. The piano keys are fast and furious on this one. Then it gets dark and powerful. Joe’s attitude is matched in the music. I like the changes and different directions in the song as it keeps it interesting. Another really cool track and man, this Mott band must be something.
We stay with Mott, but now we are on to his ‘Drive Now’ album and the first song is “By Tonight”. This one feels different, a more guitar heavy song less piano/keyboards. While it still sounds good, it doesn’t feel as glam as the prior songs. I was really digging the piano on these songs. But the guitar work on here is stellar so I don’t want to take away from that at all. Overall, I’m not as in to this one, but it is still a really good track.
“Apologies” is up next from ‘Drive Now’ as well and this one is only 1 minute long. It is acoustic with just a guitar and Joe’s vocals. Joe sounds really cool, the guitar is smooth and a nice change of pace. Something completely different. I like it.
Ian Hunter is back with his song “Who Do You Love”. Leppard covered this one for “Yeah! II”. It is a high energy song and the piano is back in full force. They do a good job with this one, but it is not one of my favorites. It wasn’t on the Lep album either.
This time around we get a British Lion song called “One More Chance to Run” off their self-titled album. The Down ‘N’ Outz tackle this one with some major gusto. The guitars are lethal on this one, the heaviness of the opening riff, the crisp, biting notes of other notes. The energy is up to 10 and they dominate the song.
Back to an Ian song with “3000 Miles From Home” which is another acoustic song with the guitars and Joe on vocals. There is a gentleness to it and a sadness. It is a great song, but a little too one-dimensional with the same riff throughout the song.
“Good Times” is up next and this is a cover of The Easybeats classic done by Mott. It is a high energy, rocking track and a total blast…But…it isn’t as good as the Jimmy Barnes and INXS song as their version is the standard a I hold all other versions too. Joe is great and the music is awesome, but you can’t touch Michael Hutchense and Jimmy together. Sorry Joe. Still, I wouldn’t skip this one if it came on.
The final track is an original from the band. It is “The Flipside of the Shameless Whelk”. It feels incomplete, mostly instrumental and doesn’t seem to have any direction. It feels like an outro or something the band was jamming and threw in for good measure. You hear parts of other songs in it to. It is pretty much nonsense for me.
Track Listing:
Golden Opportunity – Keeper
Storm – Keeper
Overnight Angels – Keeper
Career (No Such Thing As Rock ‘n’ Roll) – Keeper
England Rocks – Keeper
Shouting and Pointing – Keeper
By Tonight – Keeper(1/2 Point)
Apologize – Keeper
Who Do You Love – Keeper(1/2 Point)
One More Chance to Run – Keeper
3000 Miles From Here – Keeper(1/2 Point)
Good Times – Keeper(1/2 Point)
The Flipside of the Shameless Whelk – Delete
The Track Score is 10 out of 13 Tracks or 77%. Let me tell you the production on this is incredible as all the instruments and effects are crystal clear and so full and vibrant. It is a party in your ears. Do all the songs work? No, but the majority of them are pure enjoyment and although not normally a covers band fan, I really dig this one. I am sure most of it is Joe as I love me some Leppard, but the musicianship on here is what really made this so much fun. They seem to really love what they were doing and appreciate these songs. It isn’t perfect, but it is worth a listen if you are a fan of anything Mott the Hoople adjacent. My Overall Score is a 4.0 out of 5.0 Stars.
CMT (Country Music Television) had a great show called CMT Crossroads. The show would bring together two famous acts, one being a country artist and the other either Rock, Pop or whatever they felt would work together. One of those episodes that aired on November 7, 2008 brought together and a young rising country star named Taylor Swift and a band she grew up listening to thanks to her parents, Def Leppard. A dream come true for her and a strange match-up for me. But it was Leppard so I watched. And when the DVD was released, I bought it.
The DVD came out on June 16, 2009 and was exclusive to Wal-Mart stores here in the States. The DVD contained the entire show that was broadcast as well as some bonus material. That bonus material was three bonus songs that were performed and not aired. You also get a bunch of interviews. In total, you get 75 minutes of Country Rock Crossover. Honestly, I wish there was a CD for the show, I’d like that in the collection. Now, was the show good? Let’s find out.
The show kicks off with “Photograph” from Def Leppard and a good one to start as it is one of their most famous songs. Phil Collen breaks out that famous riff while fully dressed and still some hair; and Taylor sings the first verse. Dang, she is so young here. She has a great voice, but she can’t muster the power needed for this song but she can hit some of those notes Joe can’t. Joe Elliott takes on the second version and that is they way this song should be sung. They share the choruses. The band is all the Lep folks and even Taylor’s band so we get two drummers and numerous guitarists and bass players. I even see a keyboard player in the background there. The bands sound awesome and they do play the song to perfection. Who knew it would actually work so well.
2 Loud 2 Old Music 