Category: Album Review

You Picked It! – Queensryche – ‘Hear in the Now Frontier’ (1997) – Album Review

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Alright…You Picked It! This one was really close and we actually ended in a tie. That is right. Two artist got the same # of votes. The winner for this month’s picks ended up being Queensryche’s ‘Hear in the Now Frontier’ AND Saigon Kick’s ‘The Lizard’ and I am real excited about this fact. So, what we are going to do is review them both, but with a twist. First, we will review Queensryche’s ‘Hear in the Now Frontier’ and down the road, we will do Saigon Kick’s ‘The Lizard’ as someone out there has agreed to review it at the same time with me so I am taking him up on that offer. Here are the results.

  1. Queensryche – ‘Hear in the Now Frontier’ – 5 votes
  2. Saigon Kick – ‘The Lizard’ – 5 votes
  3. Arcade – ‘Arcade’ – 4 votes
  4. Collective Soul – ‘Collective Soul’ – 2 votes
  5. Stryper – ‘Against the Law’ – Disqualified as I already reviewed that one…doh!!

Thanks to all for participating. The March choices will be up on Saturday! And the choices are all from my collection and the next one will all be more modern European Bands that never really made it in the States. Hopefully you can help me decide which one I should review.

QUEENSRYCHE – ‘HEAR IN THE NOW FRONTIER’ (1997):

Back around 1997, music was a sort of black hole for me. I was lost, wandering around trying to find something I liked and whenever bands from the 80’s put something out, I would get excited and grab it. As I did this one back in the day. Queensryche’s 6th studio album was ‘Hear in the Now Frontier’ and it was released on March 25, 1997 and I wasn’t one of the first to get it, but I did get it that year. The CD was no longer in my collection for some reason, and when I was out digging, I found it and saw the name of the song “Sign of the Times” and thought, I liked that song, let me get this as it was only about $3m. Man, did I over pay for this thing. Also, now I remember why it was no longer in my collection. This was my jumping off point for Queensryche and honestly, never have revisited anything that has come after. They completely lost me with this one.

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Scorpions – ‘Acoustica’ (2001) – Album Review (The Scorpions Collection Series)

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The Scorpions were in a mood to keep doing things their own way and after doing an album and touring the classically orchestrated Scorpions rock, they decided to strip it all back and do some shows acoustically. The band performed 3 shows at the Convento do Beato in Lisbon, Portugal in February 2001 and those shows were recorded. From those 3 shows, the album called “Acoustica” was made. The album was released a few months later on May 14, 2001.

The show was a little unusual for the band as it was just the normal guys. Yes, Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker, Mathias Jabs, Ralph Rieckermann and James Kottak performed, but they weren’t alone. The actually had three guitarists and the third was Johan Daansen which really fills the songs up with that acoustic guitar sound. On keyboards was Christian Kolonovitis who also helped the band arrange the songs for the acoustic set. Christian was also the one who was the conductor and arranged the Scorpions songs for the Moment of Glory Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra album the prior year. James might have been on drums, but they also had a percussionist by the name of Mario Argandona. And to fill up the stage even more, there was a cellist, Ariana Acu and a group of female vocalists to help with backing vocals. They were Hille Bemelmanns, Liv Van Aelst and Kristel Van Craen. They really went all out to bring a different experience and I would say it worked pretty well.

The band also were great in giving us a few things extra on this release. We got the biggest hits, no doubt, but that wasn’t all. We actually were treated to 3 brand new songs (four if you got the DVD). And on top of that, we got a handful of great covers from The Cars, Kansas and Queen. With all that, it made this a very worthwhile purchase to get all the songs we hadn’t heard before. But was it all worth it? Let’s see.

The set opens with “The Zoo” and it has this cool groove which is almost like ‘Black Velvet” by Alannah Myles. Then we get the ballad “Always Somewhere” and the crowd claps along and at times sings along, there are female backing vocals and Klaus sounds stellar. Ballads usually work well in the acoustic setting and this one is no different. After this one we get the first of three new songs. First one up is “Life is Too Short” and this one brings some string orchestration. It is another ballad but it really shows the maturity of the band. I would really love to hear a studio version as this is really a great song. The chorus is really catchy which helps draw you in and as the song builds it just keeps getting better.

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W.E.T. – ‘W.E.T.’ (2009) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

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After Jeff Scott Soto was let go from Journey, Serafino Perugino of Frontiers Records really wanted Jeff to record an album a pure hard/melodic rock album that is the same vein of Journey. Jeff had different ideas. Jeff had been working on his solo album ‘Beautiful Mess’ which was a far cry from that type of music. However, Jeff agreed but on one condition. That condition was that ‘Beautiful Mess’ was released first…and it was.

Serafino also had the idea of doing a supergroup with Jeff in it. When he heard the first handful of songs, Jeff was really in to it and signed up. It also helped who else was in the band. The original name of the band was called Lost in the Shadows and I don’t think anyone liked that name at all. They come up with the name W.E.T. and that was because who was in the band. That included Robert Sall of the band Work of Art (The “W”); Erik Martensson of the band Eclipses (The “E”) and Jeff Scott Soto of the band Talisman (The “T”). All three bands are Swedish bands and all on Frontiers so it made it easy to bring these three guys together.

The songs were written by a number of writers, but Erik and Robert wrote a majority of the songs and Jeff wrote the lyrics. Magnus Henriksson was also involved with writing along with Johan Becker and Miqeal Persson. On instruments, of course Erik and Robert played, Jeff sang, but there were others. Magnus Henriksson from the band Eclipse played most of the lead guitars and Robben Black, also of Eclipse, played the drums and was actually the fourth member of the band and since he was in Eclipse, technically he is part of the “E” as well. This rag tag group of musicians actually pulled it off and brought one of the best Supergroups Frontiers has put together (and they have put together a lot and most are forgettable).

The band was only going to be a one-off project and were not going to tour. however, the fans wanted more. When Warrant pulled out of the the 2011 Firefest, they asked if W.E.T. would fill in. After a lot of phone calls and changed schedules they made it happen. The next thing you know, they agreed to do another album and the band played on. We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, so let’s dive in to the debut album called ‘W.E.T.’ (simple enough). The album came out on November 29, 2009 in Europe and the U.S. got it some time in 2010. The reception of the album was fantastic and it helped solidify me as a massive Soto fan. In fact, when I met Jeff back in April 2022, I brought 5 CD covers of my favorite Soto albums and this was one of them. As you can see above in the header photo, Jeff signed this CD for me. I think I now have about 7 of the albums signed by him.

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Scorpions – ‘Moment of Glory (with The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra)’ (2000) – Album Review (The Scorpions Collection Series)

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Scorpions did something a lot of bands were doing and that was recording a live album using an orchestra. Metal and classical music go together as metal’s influences are heavily drawn from classical music. However, it doesn’t mean it should be done with every band. They were accused of copying Metallica who had released ‘S&M’ a year earlier. However, it actually had been discussed to do back in 1995 when the Berlin Philharmonic originally approached Scorpions to do such a show. Originally they had approached Michael Kamen, but he gave up on the job so he could actually go work Metallica on their album. They eventually found a composer by the name of Christian Kolonovits and along with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the album was completed.

It was recorded during January, March and April 2000 and was finally released on August 8, 2000. The album features only 10 tracks that consist of re-worked songs integrated with an orchestra and some really cool interludes from classical pieces. The album went to #3 in Germany and it did go Gold, but did nothing in the U.S. as I don’t think I heard about this until years later, but I was checked out on the band at this time any way. During the Hanover EXPO in June of 2000, they performed the show live and it was recorded for a DVD and was released in December 2000. During 2021, the band took it on the road and did 7 shows in Russia and other Baltic countries.

The show kicks off with a complete rearrangement of “Rock You Like a Hurricane” called “Hurricane 2000”. You get a grand opening that all the orchestra and it feels like the opening to a movie or maybe even a Bugs Bunny cartoon. The band joins in and you get that classic Hurricane riff re-imagined with an orchestra and a lot of extra notes thrown in. The overall tempo is slowed down as Klaus seems to slowly sing the lyrics instead of the rapid fire approach in the original. They added some women’s backing vocals towards the end of the song which totally strips the balls off the song. It isn’t bad, but it isn’t the Hurricane we all grew up with either. It does kick off the show with a bang though even if a little muted.

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Trans-Siberian Orchestra – ‘Night Castle’ (2009) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

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Jeff Scott Soto has become well known for his work with Trans-Siberian Orchestra especially with the annual Christmas Tours as Soto can usually be found on the West Coast group for that annual tradition. But for Jeff, it all started back in 2007 when his name was brought up to Paul O’Neil as a possible singer. As things would have it, Paul loved Jeff and he was brought on to play a role in TSO’s next album, 2009’s ‘Night Castle’. The album was released on October 28, 2009 and actually went platinum. Normally that means it sold over 1,000,000 copies, however, it was a double CD set so it only needed to sell 500,000 copies which it did. The album went to #5 on the Billboard 200 Album chart as well as #1 on the Top Hard Rock Albums Chart.

‘Night Castle’ is a Rock Opera or you could even call it Rock Theatre. It is a concept album where the story revolves around a young child on a beach late at night, where she encounters a mysterious but non-threatening stranger. While they build a sandcastle together by the light of a bonfire, he tells her a tale that takes her all around the world and throughout history. The characters of this story include an American Vietnam War soldier named William Cozier, the Renaissance era philosopher Erasmus who is keeper of the eponymous castle of lost knowledge, and a Communist general based on the dissident Tran Do. There is a beautiful 60 page book included that tells the story along with the lyrics of each song (each song that has vocals). It is an intriguing little story, but there is so much more that is in the story in the book than I can garner from the music.

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Aldo Nova – ‘Short Stories’ E.P. – Album Review

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Aldo Nova was silent for a number of years due to contract issues and such, but all those issues are settled and as a result, we have been getting a ton of new music from Aldo. The famed singer of “Fantasy” has put out 4 CDs over the last year. First was a 10 song E.P. of his rock opera ‘The Life & Times of Eddie Gage’ which is a two hour opera, but here we get a brief intro with the 10 songs…and it was great. Then he did ‘Reloaded 2.0’ which was a re-imagining of a bunch of hits. Then we get two 3-song E.P.’s. First is ‘Short Stories’ which we will review here and then next was a 3-Song E.P. called ‘Sonic Hallucinations’ which will review next.

According to Aldo’s website, “Aldo Nova-Short Stories is an EP that is made up of 3 great songs that each tell a different story that gives the listener the sensation of either watching a film or can be a song where they identify and touches a certain part of their lives.” And I love the artwork. The cover is called ‘Guitar And Tuba’ and was drawn by artist James St. Laurent.

The first track is called “The Border” and it has this whole Latin flavor with hints of Carlos Santana in the guitar tone. It is pretty fantastic sounding. Aldo’s vocals fit perfectly nestled in to the song and you can’t help but want to get up and move to those rhythmic beats as the bass and drums really settle in to a nice groove that causes the hips to sway back and forth. The guitar playing is top notch as Aldo wails away on the solo. I don’t hear any tuba though. The song feels like a couple of bad guys running from the law and/or s he running from death and from God. Who knows.

Next up is “What Happened to Our Dreams” is a story about lost love. Young high school romance with big dreams, but all good things come to an end and those dreams never become reality. The song is a ballad with some great acoustic guitars, some nice percussion work and an emotive Aldo singing with a broken heart at dreams that never came to be. The music has a great tone and feel to it as it feels like an old school 80’s ballad yet still sound a little modern at the same time. Another killer song.

The last track is called “Let Our Worlds Collide” and this one is a story as old as time. Two loves who for some reason aren’t together, but longing to be. A love song for the ages. Another ballad and this one is accompanied by a piano and it is quite beautiful. Aldo’s vocals match the aching tones of the piano as he hurts because his love is not there by his side as he loves her so much and although she’s not there, she can feel his love because it is so strong. It shows that Aldo doesn’t need the guitar nor the keyboards. Just him and a piano is sometimes all he needs to show that he can do anything and a few backing singers.

There is one thing I really hate about the 3-Song E.P. and that is it is only 3 songs. And all three are stellar tracks and make me wish for a whole album. Come on Aldo, gives a full album sometime soon please!! You still have it in you to do great things as this so truly shows. My Overall Score is a 5.0 out of 5.0 Stars! I really did enjoy this set.

If you want to watch the podcast I did with Tim Durling on his show Tim’s Vinyl Confessions, go check it out below…

Aldo Nova – ‘Sonic Hallucinations’ E.P. – Album Review

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Aldo Nova was silent for a number of years due to contract issues and such, but all those issues are settled and as a result, we have been getting a ton of new music from Aldo. The famed singer of “Fantasy” has put out 4 CDs over the last year. First was a 10 song E.P. of his rock opera ‘The Life & Times of Eddie Gage’ which is a two hour opera, but here we get a brief intro with the 10 songs…and it was great. Then he did ‘Reloaded 2.0’ which was a re-imagining of a bunch of hits. Then we get two 3-song E.P.’s. First is ‘Short Stories’ which we reviewed first and now we get a 3-Song E.P. called ‘Sonic Hallucinations’ which will now review.

From Aldo’s website we get the following: Aldo Nova creates a sonic tapestry that brings you his vision of 3 Extraterrestrial Symphonies of the future. The album was Composed, Performed, Produced, Arranged, Engineered, and Mixed all by Aldo Nova. This is an instrumental album and Aldo goes all out with bringing us some interesting music and whether he was high as a kite while doing it or sober, it is certainly different. I do love the artwork on here with the galaxy and Aldo breaking free from it.

The first track is called “Calling All Aliens” and it is all synthesizers and there is so much going on. We do get a killer electronic drum beat that drives the song and some angelic (or alien) backing vocals that add an extra flavor to the track. But it is what he does on the keys that is the magic here. He is able to create some great melodies that give us so much flavor to the song and let’s it stick in your head. Close Encounters of the Third Kind it is not, it is better than those simple tones as this is a lush landscape of sound. I’m sure the Aliens will answer back and come down to Earth with open arms.

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Tim’s Vinyl Confessions with Tim Durling discuss Aldo Nova’s 2 E.P.’s “Short Stories” and “Sonic Hallucinations” with guest John T. Snow

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Come join the fun as Tim Durling and I walk through not one, but two brand new E.P.’s from Canadian artist, Aldo Nova. The E.P.’s are ‘Short Stories” which has three songs, with vocals, and the second is “Sonic Hallucinations” which also has three songs, but all instrumental. Check out what we have to say about them and see if you need to run, not walk, to pick these up. Come back on Monday to see my two in depth reviews of the E.P.’s on the site as well.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy!!

Scorpions – ‘Eye II Eye’ (1999) – Album Review (The Scorpions Collection Series)

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For the band’s fourteenth album, ‘Eye II Eye’, Scorpions decided to take a hard left turn and change up their sound as that was what most bands were doing during the 90’s. They decided to follow trends instead of being themselves. They had become insecure and started listening to the record companies and producers rather than go with their gut. Per Mathias Jabs, ‘Eye II Eye’ was the band’s biggest mistake. In fact, it almost destroyed them with their fans as it was too much a change. Thankfully the would recover, albeit years later.

The album was released on March 9, 1999 and though it did chart in their home country of Germany (#6), it failed to gain any ground whatsoever in the UK and the US. Their one single, “Mysterious” did chart on the US Mainstream Rock track going to #26, but outside of that, there was nothing. Producer Peter Wolf from Austria was brought in to man the boards and the album was recorded at Little America Studios in Austria. Peter help co-write a bunch of the album and some other guests were brought in including Marti Frederiksen and the wonderful Mick Jones from Foreigner.

The band was still Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker and Mathias Jabs as the man group and you can tell as they are the only 3 on the cover. The rest of the band saw Ralph Rieckermann on bass and for the first time saw James Kottak on drums. This would end up being Ralph’s last album with the band. And on one song on backing vocals we have long time drummer, Herman Rarebell which I thought was really cool. The sound of this album was a little pop and a little techno at times with very little rock which is why the fans weren’t happy with this release. Should we see what all the fuss was about? Okay, why not…

“Mysterious” opens the album and you get a little electronica, almost dance type music. Have the Scorps gone all boy band on us?? When the song finally kicks in to full band mode, it improves a little. The chorus is catchy and all, but this is not the Scorpions you remember and love. Nope, this is a brand new band trying to follow trends and find itself as they are completely lost at this point and it’s obvious. At least there is a guitar solo that toughens the song up a little, Overall, not a bad song when you compare it to the rest of the album.

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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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