Category: Album Review

Kiss – Kiss and Ace Demos (1995) – Album Review (The Kiss Bootleg Series)

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I have been doing a Kiss Bootleg Series for years. You get a review every time I add a new one to the collection. Well, after buying 38 Bootleg CDs from John Humphrey’s personal collection, I figured let’s jump right back in and do a whole lot of reviews on the Bootlegs. Oh, if you don’t know who John Humphrey is, you need to know he is a massive Kiss collector. And he is the drummer of the band Seether. John decided to sell off his entire collection…sort of…he kept all the vinyl (like 4,000 of them). He did it through an auction at Backstage Auctions and I had to have a piece of it…and I did wind up with some things.

This time around we have a German demo called ‘Kiss and Ace Demos’. And guess what, that is what is in on it, plus a lot of Wicked Lester tracks. The first 10 tracks are Wicked Lester (but not really). Tracks 11-15 are Kiss Demos (mostly) and Tracks 16-18 are Ace Frehley Demos (one of which I’ve never had before. Track 19 on the list is the radio commercial for Kiss – The Originals release. An interesting add.

Now, the track listing says you get 19 tracks, but that isn’t really true. Like most bootlegs, there are mistakes. Well, a couple errors in this case. First is that tracks 9 & 10 are not what they have listed as “We Want To” and “Shout it out Loud”. Nope that is actually one song called “We Want To (Shout It Out Loud)”. Th other mistake is “Ladies in Waiting” is spelled “Laidies in Waiting”…which I guess makes it take on a whole new meaning…or maybe fits the meaning of the song that much better. And there was a little bonus inside the booklet. There was the actual receipt when this album was purchased back April 12, 1995 (if bought in Europe, then it would be December 4, 1995…not 100% positive on either. But the price was rather high at 49.85 after tax. A little steep back in that day.

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The Collection: Ep. 81 – Bon Jovi: Forever & Forever (Legendary Edition)

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This week we are going to talk about Bon Jovi’s latest album, Forever (Legendary Edition) as well as the original Forever album. The album came out on October 24, 2025 and I figured we would walk through each song, discuss the duet partners and how much we like or dislike each song. This is the band’s 16th and 17th Studio albums and honestly, I am so happy they are still putting out new music. I haven’t liked everything this band is done, but new music is better than no music. We have vinyl, CDs and even a cassette to show off this week. I hope you enjoy.

So go check it out as it is live right now on YouTube. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.

Kiss – ‘Boxx (Vol. 2) – Live in Europe 1984’ (1993) – Album Review (The Kiss Bootleg Series)

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I have been doing a Kiss Bootleg Series for years. You get a review every time I add a new one to the collection. Well, after buying 38 Bootleg CDs from John Humphrey’s personal collection, I figured let’s jump right back in and do a whole lot of reviews on the Bootlegs. Oh, if you don’t know who John Humphrey is, you need to know he is a massive Kiss collector. And he is the drummer of the band Seether. John decided to sell off his entire collection…sort of…he kept all the vinyl (like 4,000 of them). He did it through an auction at Backstage Auctions and I had to have a piece of it…and I did wind up with some things.

This time around we have another Australian Bootleg which means it has a big “UNAUTHORIZED” across the cover. It is called Boxx (Vol. 2) – Live in Europe 1984 and was released in 1993 by a label called Banana and distributed by Apple House Music. What is with the fruit references?? It’s packaging is identical to the other two we’ve reviewed from this company All were made in Australia. This time we get a Gold Disc for the CD which is different.

This show has Bruce Kulick on guitar and he was not yet an official member. All the songs are from a show at the Gaumont Theater in Ipswich, England on October 11, 1984 for the Animalize Tour. I have a full show from this European Tour and it was the October 26 show in Stockholm on the “They Only Come Out at Night” bootleg. This one here is only 10 tracks, it is not a full show, but with only 3 songs are classic 70’s Kiss and the rest are all from the 80’s, I am truly okay with that as I love the 80’s songs. Heck, the 80’s were the era I grew up in. The 70’s, I was a little kid and influenced heavily by my brother’s taste. The 80’s were all my doing.

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Kiss – Boxx (Vol. 1) (1993) – Album Review (The Kiss Bootleg Series)

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic8 Comments

I have been doing a Kiss Bootleg Series for years. You get a review every time I add a new one to the collection. Well, after buying 38 Bootleg CDs from John Humphrey’s personal collection, I figured let’s jump right back in and do a whole lot of reviews on the Bootlegs. Oh, if you don’t know who John Humphrey is, you need to know he is a massive Kiss collector. And he is the drummer of the band Seether. John decided to sell off his entire collection…sort of…he kept all the vinyl (like 4,000 of them). He did it through an auction at Backstage Auctions and I had to have a piece of it…and I did wind up with some things.

This time around we have another Australian Bootleg which means it has a big “UNAUTHORIZED” across the cover. It is called Boxx (Vol. 1) and was released in 1993 by a label called Banana and distributed by Apple House Music. What is with the fruit references?? It’s packaging is identical to the Live Vol. 1 we did a few weeks back. Both were made in Australia. This time instead of tracks from one show we get them from two. One is Cleveland 1975 and the other is actually Nashville 1984 despite the cover saying ’85. Oops. It looks like songs 1-6 are from June 21, 1975 at the Cleveland Music Hall and was actually part of the King Biscuit Flower Hour Broadcast…which explains why it sounds so good. Tracks 7-13 are from January 11, 1984 show at Nashville Municipal Auditorium.

It starts off with what is called “Intro” so I was expecting a big “You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best…” opening, however, it was simply the intro to the song “Hotter Than Hell” as are only taking songs from the setlist here and not a full show. “Hotter Than Hell” really cooks. The guitars are smoking, the bass is steaming and the drums are explosive. Paul’s vocals are killer and it is hard to believe this is a bootleg. The go right into “Firehouse” like they do in the original full show. And it is more of the same awesomeness. You know how the song goes so no need discussing that, simply know this sounds like a band in their prime and hungry as hell.

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The Collection: Ep. 79 – Kiss: ‘Dressed to Kill’ (50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition)

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This week we unbox the brand new Kiss ‘Dressed to Kill’ (50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition) box set. It is massive. There are 5 CDs and 1 Blu-Ray but it also has a bunch of goodies included. You get a 100-page Hard Back book, stickers, buttons, picks, posters photographs, newspaper, ticket stubs, backstage passes and everything and anything related with a Kiss logo on it. The album came out in 1975 and produced what would become one of the greatest rock anthems with “Rock And Roll All Nite”. The tour would spawn the greatest live album ever made, Alive!, and you get not one, but two full shows that album was taken from. The rest will hopefully be on the Alive! box set, we will get to that one after it comes out. Sit back and enjoy as you unbox with me as it just showed up on my doorstep.

So go check it out as it is live right now on YouTube. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.

Scorpions – ‘From The First Sting’ (2025) – Album Review (The Scorpions Collection Series)

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60 Years! Think about how long that number is. That is how long Scorpions have been a band and a band that is still going strong. Quite impressive! To celebrate that length of services, they have released a new greatest hits compilation that goes all the back to the first sting and one of the most recent stings. Musically, the band has released material since 1972 which isn’t quite 60 years, but the essence of the band goes back to 1965 when it was started by Rudolf Schenker. Their first album, ‘Lonesome Dove’, came out in 1972 and their last studio album so far, ‘Rock Believer’ came out in 2022. And they have a brand new live album coming out on December 5, 2025 called ‘Coming Home Live’ that was recorded on July 5, 2025. Can’t wait.

This compilation came out on October 17, 2025 and I have both the CD version and the Amazon Exclusive Gold Vinyl which also comes with a Scorpions Patch. The album on vinyl is a 2 LP set while the CD is only a single disc. Hard to put 60 years of songs on a single disc that only has 16 tracks. I think a 2 CD or even 3 CD set would’ve been a more appropriate and better way to celebrate 60 years. 60 years, did I mention that yet? They do cover some great songs on here and we even get 2 previously unreleased versions of a couple of their songs so that is cool at least.

As far as band members go, there have been quite a few, but Rudolf Schenker has been in there since the beginning, singer Klaus Meine since 1969 and Mathias Jabs joined around 1978. Currently, there is Pawel Maciwoda who has been on bass since 2004 and the most recent member is the great Mikkey Dee on drums who joined back in 2016. Throughout the years we have seen some great players like Michael Schenker, Uli Jon Roth, Francis Buchholz, Herman Rarebell and James Kottak to only name a few. What a career these guys have had as they have survived through every genre change that music business has seen and each time they stayed true to themselves and survived. They are all legends and one of my favorite bands. Let’s get to the music.

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The Collection: Ep. 78 – Ace Frehley: The Albums Ranked

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With the passing of my first guitar hero last week, I thought it was appropriate this week to honor his memory and do a ranking of his solo albums. He had 10 albums and I have to say I do enjoy all of them so it isn’t a worst to first, more like a least favorite to most favorite. We include the Kiss solo album from 1978, the two Frehley’s Comet albums and the rest are his actual solo albums that he has done over the last 40 years. Ace was one of a kind and will certainly be missed. That boyish laugh to that Chesire grin, he was his own unique self and I think the music world is all the better for it. He influenced so many guitar players over the years and he is in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and soon will receive the Kennedy Center Honor that is so richly deserved.

So go check it out as it will air tonight, October 20th at 7pm on YouTube. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.

Eyes – ‘November Mass / Full Moon’ (1994) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

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Eyes only recorded two albums with Jeff Scott Soto…well..one studio album and the other was a collection of demos but we will count it. Jeff had departed the band due to creative differences, however, his popularity in Europe was growing. As like the ‘Windows of the Soul’ album, this too was probably released to capitalize on that popularity. This is an interesting release as it is a two disc set with the first being called ‘November Mass’ (basically a greatest hits compilation for the debut and ‘Windows of the Soul’) and the second disc is called ‘Full Moon’ that is a complete album for Eyes with a different singer, Mark Weitz that was recorded in 1992/1993. The 2CD set was released in 1994 on Bulletproof Records and it was only released in Germany & Switzerland yet thanks to the internet, I obtained a copy.

The first disc is ‘November Mass’ and is supposed to be a greatest hits compilation of the first two albums. Well, it isn’t…sorry. It is really only the debut Eyes album on a shuffle with a different track listing. There is not one song off ‘Windows of the Soul’. Yes, three songs appear on that album that are on the debut, but as demo versions of those songs. And those songs are not used here. These are the same tracks as the debut album. A nice thought to think it a compilation, however, that would be false. Does it make this album no good…not in the least. The songs are still great no matter the order.

The second disc is called ‘Full Moon’ and I think there is a misconception with this album. Jeff Scott Soto does not sing on this album except he does appear merely as a background singer. Jeff did record a handful of these demos as the were preparing for a new album. Jeff left the band before the album was finished so Aldy Damian removed Jeff’s lead vocals, while leaving the backing vocals, and brought in a new singer to record the album…in full. The new singer was Mark Weitz and he does an amazing job turning the final Eyes album into a very underrated classic. The band for this album was Aldy Damian on drums, Mark Weitz on vocals, Steve Dougherty on guitar, Jamie Sheriff on keyboards and Bobby Fraga on bass.

‘NOVEMBER MASS’ Songs:

The song opens with Jeff calling out Stevie who lays down so riffs and has Soto screaming when the band kicks in . “Walkin’ Fire” sees Soto change up his deliver a little on the lyrics as he gets a little more gritty. However, the song is a little generic and I would say probably filler. When you compare it to some of the early stuff, not as solid and developed. But still not too bad.

Next is the balls-to-the wall rock anthem, “Callin’ All Girls”. It is a great party song full of bluesy guitar licks, great harmonies, head banging drums and full on sleazy lyrics that wouldn’t do well in the #MeToo movement of today. Jeff’s vocals soar and is right in his wheelhouse of vocal capabilities. When he sings this type of music, he could sing the phone book and I would be on board. The production layers tons of backing vocals (all sound like Jeff) and the sound is immense. You get your typical guitar solo break and the catchy choruses, everything you want in a melodic rock song.

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Takara – ‘Eternity: The Best of 93-98’ (1998) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

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After Takara’s third album, The label decided to release a greatest hits compilation of those first three albums. Jeff Scott Soto was no longer a member of the band…okay…he was never an “official” member of the band even though he sang on three albums with them. Now that the band needed to search for a new singer, the label wanted to release this to hold fans over until that process was done. Neal Grusky’s search for a replacement would take a little while as their follow-up album didn’t come out until 2001 with Michael James Flatters as their new singer.

This compilation had 16 tracks and was released on November 18, 1998. If you have the Japanese Edition, you get two additional acoustic tracks as well which is always a plus. However, I think you get those two acoustic tracks on every edition so it isn’t that special…although I don’t think they were ever previously released. You also get the ever cherished OBI Strip along with a booklet with lyrics in both English and Japanese. As far as a breakout between albums you get 5 tracks from the debut, ‘Eternal Faith’, 6 from the follow-up ‘Taste of Heaven’ and 5 from the final Soto album, ‘Blind in Paradise’. The songs are in chronological order and even in the same order they were on the album so not much thought was put in to sequencing for this release. But it is a money grab, so what do you expect.

“Spotlight” kicks it all off and is the first of five tracks from ‘Eternal Faith’. It sounds like you are right back in 1985 with the keyboards and heavy guitar riffs. It is Bon Jovi meets Europe. The album sounds so dated in the 80’s which is not where the music scene was going in 1993!! It has the obligatory guitar solo and Jeff’s vocals have that higher register tone which was key for 80’s rock. The biggest problem is the keyboards are high in the mix and sound like crap. They have this crisp, clink, clink sound to them which I find rather annoying. But not too much that I don’t enjoy the song…more a production note.

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Scorpions – ‘Icon’ (2010) – Album Review (The Scorpions Collection Series)

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Back in November 2010, Scorpions were on their first farewell tour…and as we know now, it wasn’t their last farewell tour. To help capitalize on that tour, Mercury released a compilation for the band called ‘Icon’. The ‘Icon’ compilations have been around a while and numerous bands have these such as Kiss, Poison and so many more. The single disc version, what we have here, is simply a 12 track compilation that covers the biggest hits of their career. It is not very comprehensive, but there is a 2 Disc version that gives you a little more meat. This release covers mostly the 80’s with a few other timeframes sprinkled around as well. If you only have time for a handful of Scorpions classics, then this disc might fit that bill nicely.

The album kicks off with one of the band’s most famous songs, “Rock You Like A Hurricane” which is off their 1984 release ‘Love At First Sting’. Every band needs a signature song and Scorpions did that on their 9th album with the song “Rock You Like a Hurricane”. It only went to #25 on the Top 40 chart, but it has lived on and given the band one of the quintessential 80’s rock songs ever made. There is no one that doesn’t know this song the second that opening riff kicks in. It is a rock anthem like very few achieve. For ever how many songs the album sold, most were sold because of this track. With heavy riffs, killer solos and one of the most catchiest choruses ever, this song took the band to a level they probably never thought they would see.

Then we get one of the best songs ever by the band, “No One Like You” off the 1982 album ‘Blackout’. The band’s first #1 in the U.S. on the Mainstream Rock Tracks. The song is legendary. A power ballad like no other. With strong guitar playing by both Mathias Jabs and Rudolf Schenker, it is a most impressive opening riff and a solo that plays so well for the song. Klaus Meine’s vocals are so clean, smooth and even tender at times. The verses keep it soft and the chorus explodes with passion. What more could you want. As close to perfection as any band could get.

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