At the May 2022 Record Show here in Charlotte, I found a couple bootlegs on CD that I had to grab. The first was from Extreme which we discussed recently and this one is from Queensryche. I don’t know much about it but I do know that it had to come out sometime after 1992 as the most current songs on here were recorded around that time. There are 3 different versions of this bootleg according to Discogs and all three have the same track listing. The other two were from Italy and released in 1992 and the other 1994. This one has no date or country of origin so all is unknown. If you do know, please comment below.
The first 5 tracks are taken from MTV Unplugged which were recorded on April 27, 1992. I don’t think there has ever been an official MTV Unplugged release for this show…at least not that I can find. Tracks 6-9 and 11-14 are all recorded around 1983 in New York which is very early Queensryche. Pre the release of ‘The Warning’ which is really cool. They would’ve only had out the Queensryche E.P. at this point. Song 10 comes from Tokyo and Budokan in 1985.
And like any good bootleg, there are mistakes in both song titles and track orders. First, the song “Take Hold of the Flame” is actually “Take Hold of My Flame”. Track 7 is listed as “Blinded” but is actually “Queen of the Reich”. Track 8 is listed as “The Lady Wore Black (Electric)” but is actually “Blinded” and as a result, Track 9 is listed as “Queen of the Reich” but is “Blinded”. Okay, I think that is all that I can find.
Axel Rudi Pell had fallen in love with the idea of the Pyramids. He had studied them immensely and was fascinated with the mystery behind them. So much so that he wanted to do a whole concept album on the pyramids, but in the end thought better of it and as a result, only a handful of the songs actually have a pyramid theme.
From October 1995 to January 1996, Jeff Scott Soto and Axel Rudi Pell worked on the next Axel album. Out of the 14 tracks on the album, 4 were co-written with Soto. The band was unchanged with Volker Krawczak on bass, Jorg Michael on drums, Julie Greaux on keyboards, Jeff Scott Soto on vocals and of course, Axel Rudi Pell on guitar. The album came out in Germany on March 3, 1996. Axel wanted to tour the album, but due to scheduling conflicts with Jeff Scott Soto they were unable to do so. Axel could’ve grabbed another singer and done the tour, but Jeff was too important and Axel knew it. What was so important for Jeff, that is easy. It was a 70’s tribute band called Boogie Knights. They were constantly playing at least 3-4 nights a week. Mr. Soto needed a steady paycheck and the Boogie Knights gave that to him. We will get to them later down the line so back to the music.
The album kicks off with an intro called “Return of the Pharaoh”. It is a haunting storm brewing as the Pharaoh is escaping from his tomb…at least that is what it feels like. The thunder and lightning build, the instruments build until the explode in to the opening track “Gettin’ Dangerous” which is a pure speed metal at its best. It is like an adrenaline shot straight in to your vein. The drums are immense, the speed is frenzied and Jeff’s vocals are all powerful. Pell’s solo is freaking sick and the whole song is an attack on your senses. A slammin’ opener.
Next up is one of the coolest songs on the album, “Fool Fool”. It feels like an homage to Black Sabbath’s Heaven And Hell. The riff is totally killer and Jeff’s vocal style is deep and darker and fits the groove so well. He stays reserved and doesn’t over sing which is what this song needed. It is the chorus that hooks you in and won’t let go. The bass work on here is great as there is a groove throughout that just resonates. Pell’s solo has this whole atmospheric vibe that plays for the song and then he goes nuts and delivers another riveting solo.
“Hole in the Sky” brings the speed metal back and Pell shows what he can do best. Jeff’s sings back in his higher register to match the speed of the song. I don’t know how Jorg can pound the kick drum so fast and furious without missing a beat. Another beast of a track with Pell doing what he does best.
With “Touch the Rainbow”, we get another mid-tempo rocker where the guitar work is pure Jimi Hendrix and I love it. The rest of the song is a pure 80’s rocker with a very melodic and harmonized, catchy chorus which gives you a whole Dio vibe with the Rainbow themes. A song in the wheelhouse of Mr. Soto’s vocal prowess. And Pell’s solo…wow!! That is all I need to say about it…wow! A very different track and all very cool.
“Sphinx’ Revenge” is the first instrumental and what a piece it is. It is full of riffs and the speed is ridiculous. Axel really let’s loose and shows he is no Blackmore or Yngwie clone. Jorg Michael’s shows what a beast of precision he is on the drums and Volker’s bass is so key to the sound on this one and he gets a solo break as well with Jorg laying the beat behind him. But it is the fret work and riffing by Pell that makes this song stick in your head.
The grammatically incorrect “You and I” is up next and gives you another heavy 80’s rocker style song. It has the catchy chorus and the Dio styled lyrics and the Pell riffs. If there is a weak song on the album, this would be it but it isn’t by much.
“Silent Angel” is the first ballad and opens with Julie’s keyboards doing a whole Journey even Motley Cure “Home Sweet Home” sound. Jeff sings softer and brings as much emotion as he can muster. But the song itself is way too generic and even the solo is less than. It is a poor man’s Scorpion ballad at best.
Axel loves to throw in one epic 10 minute track and this time around it is the title track, “Black Moon Pyramid” which harkens back to Sabbath and Rainbow as Axel likes to do. Think “Stargazer” if you need to have a comparison. Jeff does some speaking vocals at the beginning and then when he goes in to the singing his vocals soar. More proof of his talent and versatility. He owns this one along with Axel’s guitar playing which is rich, dramatic and technically incredible. His solos are far from boring as they are their own symphonies. Julie’s keyboard work on here is great as well as there sounds like some string arrangements which I believe are all done on keyboard as there are no credits for it. I love all the changes in the song as it takes you on a journey and a heck of a thrill ride it is that goes by so fast.
“Serenade Of Darkness (Opus #1 Adagio Con Agresso)” gives us another Pell instrumental. It is done in a whole Back classical style and shows Axel isn’t a one trick pony that he his skilled well-trained musician. Then the song explodes into a mad-frenzied solo where the song becomes a pure rocker. I have to say Pell gets better and better with every album.
Next up is “Visions in the Night” which brings us back to the power metal we are used to hearing but it goes back and forth between heavy and soft though not a ballad by any means. This one has some softer, more tender vocals from Jeff until he brings it home with the chorus and man does his voice sound good here. They soar to new heights and his shining moment on the album.
Then we get a minute long instrumental called “Aqua Solution” and it sounds like it is in water. That goes in to the most unusual song and heavily Jeff Scott Soto influence “Aquarius Dance”. It is funk-filled rocker. Jeff loves his funk and he definitely funkafied Pell. Totally doesn’t fit on this album, but so what. It is so good and I love the psychedelic funkiness of Pell’s guitar and who added the bongos…love it. As a Pell song, ehh…As a Soto song…totally awesome!!
Then we get another version of “Silent Angel” and this is the Guitar version which is totally instrumental and a much better version of the song. It is tender, sweet and brilliant at the same time. It doesn’t feel generic like the vocal version…sorry Jeff. It has more heart and soul and that is all you want in a ballad…right!
Track Listing:
Return of The Pharaoh (Intro)
Gettin’ Dangerous – Keeper
Fool Fool – Keeper
Hole in the Sky – Keeper
Touch the Rainbow – Keeper
Sphinx Revenge – Keeper
You and I – Keeper(1/2 Point)
Silent Angel – Delete
Black Moon Pyramid – Keeper
Serenade Of Darkness (Opus #1 Adagio Con Agresso) – Keeper
Visions in the Night – Keeper
Aqua Solution
Aquarius Dance – Keeper
Silent Angel (Guitar Version) – Keeper
The Track Score is 10.5 out of 12 Tracks or 88% (I didn’t score the Intro or “Aqua Solution” as not real songs). This is a step in the right direction for Axel and might be favorite of his albums we’ve review so far. It is the total package, great variety, impressive playing by all, solos galore and melodic vocal prowess by Soto. You get speed metal, hard rock, instrumentals and hell, even funk. It is a smorgasbord of variety and it keeps your interest from beginning to end. The minor missteps don’t overshadow the greatness included here. I’ve really started to enjoy Pell’s playing more and more with each listen. The album also got better with each listen. And Soto…well, he is why we’re hear anyway. What else do I need to say. My Overall Score is a 4.0 out of 5.0 Stars. Worth a buy if you find it, no doubt!!
We are on the last review in the Cheap Trick Collection Series and it is their twentieth studio album called ‘In Another World’. The album was originally supposed to be released in 2018 and the first single “Summer Looks Good On You” came out on May 18, 2018, but no release came. Then over a year later on Black Friday Record Store Day on November 29, 2019 a second single, “Gimme Some Truth”, was released which we reviewed a couple weeks back. Still no album. The band finally finished it in 2020, but then Covid hit. So finally on April 9, 2021 the album was released.
The band was still original members Robin Zander, Rick Nielsen and Tom Petersson. However, there were additional musicians on the album. Daxx Nielsen, Rick’s son, handled the drums and that wasn’t all. Jimmy Hall, lead singer for Wet Willie, actually contributed with the harmonica and former Sex Pistols guitarists, Steve Jones, contributed guitar work on the song “Gimme Some Truth”. The producer on the album was Julian Raymond which I believe is his fourth in a row with the band. He also contributed songwriting along with Daxx as all five were credited with the songs with some minor exceptions which we will talk about later.
One thing to note, while on tour for this album in 2021, Tom Petersson had to have open heart surgery and was sidelined from the tour. As a result, Robin’s son, Robin Taylor Zander, stepped in on bass. Tom is still a full member of the band, thankfully. I still find it interesting that when two of the original members had to leave, Robin and Rick made sure to keep it in the family. Okay, now back to the music.
Alright…You Picked It! And this one wasn’t ever really that close. There was a lot of back and forth between Johnny Cash and Janis Joplin, but once Janis pulled ahead there was no stopping her. The winner was Janis Joplin’s 1971 album ‘Pearl’ which is one I do have in my collection. Here are the results.
Janis Joplin – ‘Pearl’ – 9 votes
Johnny Cash – ‘American IV: The Man Comes Around’ – 6 votes
Sly & the Family Stone – ‘There’s a Riot Goin’ On’ – 3 votes
AC/DC – ‘Dirty Deeds Done Dirty Cheap’ – 2 votes
Crobot – ‘Feel This’ – Sadly, 0 votes
Thanks to all for participating. The August choices will be up on Saturday!
JANIS JOPLIN – ‘PEARL’:
Janis Joplin died on October 4, 1970 of a heroin overdose at the tender age of 27 like so many musicians and actors before her. Janis had been recording her new album at the time of her death as they had started back in July and had recorded up to her death. Four months after her death, the album was released on January 11, 1971. It would go on to hold the #1 spot on Billboard 9 weeks and has been certified quadruple platinum. Not a bad way to go out.
Skid Row were two albums in and after 1991’s ‘Slave to the Grind’ going #1, there were riding high. Little did they know that the rug was about to be pulled out from under them thanks to the likes of Nirvana. But that didn’t stop them from releasing material to keep the fans happy. They released an E.P. which was a collection of covers and a collection of B-Sides from previous singles. This an idea that today band’s like Halestorm do between albums…the only difference is the Halestorm covers are not B-Sides. Still glad they do it.
The album came out on September 22, 1992 almost 30 years ago. My version is not an original copy, but a re-issue released on October 17, 2017. This release is part of the Rhino Rocktober’s 2017 and is limited to 3,000 copies worldwide. It comes with original inner-sleeve and vinyl disc in charcoal black poly-lined inner whatever the hell that means. The vinyl is silver…or maybe gray…either way, it is nice…
When it was time to start work on the new Talisman album, Marcel Jacobs flew to the States to meet up with Jeff Scott Soto and write songs. He was there for a few weeks in March 1995 and they cranked out a batch of songs. But recording this time around was going to be different. The band didn’t meet up in the studio to record the album. Instead each member recorded their parts in different studios around the world. Once the music was done, they sent the tapes to Jeff and he added all the vocals. Not the quickest way or easiest and doesn’t always deliver the best results.
The first time the band members were all together in the studio was only when it was time to mix the records and that time was short. There was a big issue with the Japanese label. They wanted the album done by a set date. The band was rushed to get it mixed and that was done by Mats Lindfors. Marcel was not happy with the mix, but the Japanese label didn’t care so they took the original mix. The album was going to be released.
On the good side of it, their European label, Polydor Records didn’t have a deadline. This allowed the band to remix the album, make some vocal edits (as Jeff wasn’t happy with a few parts) and then on August 23, 1995 the album was released in Europe. And yes, it was a different mix than the Japanese Edition. Of course that means I now need both copies so off I go to find the Japanese Edition. My copy of the album is a 2004 release which was a 2 CD set including the ‘Life’ album and the ‘5 out of 5’ live album we reviewed a couple weeks ago.
The album didn’t do as well as the prior Talisman albums and that was all due to label issues. You see there was an issue with distribution as the new distributor prioritized their own albums over Polydor’s releases. People with the labels were getting fired and the Japanese label ended up going bankrupt. Mix all those things together and trouble will ensue.
After 2 Record Store Releases in a row up for review, we are now on our third in a row and 6 total RSD releases from this band and all fantastic. Cheap Trick’s ‘Out to Get You! Live 1977’ is pretty freaking cool. This was very early on between the debut album and only months away from the release of their second album, In Color, which came out 3 months later. We get basically every song from those two albums (and one the crowd hadn’t even heard yet) as well as a couple from their third album (which hadn’t even been recorded or thought of yet), plus a handful of tracks that wouldn’t show up again for years.
They were hungry, energetic and fresh and yet still a little green. The release is from Record Store Day 2020 and is an exclusive release…well, not that exclusive since you can stream it but physically it is currently only available on vinyl. And there were only 4,700 on this limited release. The show is recorded over 4 performances over two days on June 3rd and 4th at The Whisky A Go Go in Los Angeles and we get 22 tracks of pure and utter joy.
These four unassuming gentlemen were a cross between rockers, nerds and plain quirky looking guys. Meshed together, they were a force to be reckoned with. The albums didn’t necessarily match the power that came from the stage and when you saw them, you had no idea the type of music that would flow from them. In 1977, this was pre-Budokan so the world wasn’t truly hip on them yet, but these performances captured here let us know that we had one of America’s greatest bands waiting to blow up on the world…and they did just that.
Tim Durling from Tim’s Vinyl Confessions new show is up now on Youtube. Tim invited me to join him as we talked through Aldo Nova’s latest releases. He has more than one. One is his remixing, reimagining of some of his biggest songs called ‘Reloaded 2.0’ and then it is the stellar 10-Song EP of ‘The Life & Times of Eddie Gage: A Rock Opera’. Go check it out.
That is right…starting August 1, 2022, we will begin the next series here on 2 Loud 2 Old Music and it is the Mighty Scorpions!! This is another “Collection Series” so will be everything I have in my collections from The Scorpions so I might miss a few things. We will start from the beginning with ‘Lonesome Crow’ in 1972 and go all the way to 2022’s release of ‘Rock Believer’. 50 Years of the Scorpions and it is time to celebrate them for the greatness that they are!!!
We will do studio albums, live albums, compilations and singles and whatever I have you will see. So what will we see…a list is at the bottom, but for now here you go.
The 70’s Studio Albums…
The 80’s Studio Albums…
The 90’s Studio Albums…
And the 2000’s…
But we don’t stop there…we will cover their live albums…
Their greatest hits compilations…
And I even have a handful of singles and promos…
So, buckle up and get ready to walk through the history of the Scorpions!! And it is a lot…take a look at it all in its beautiful glory!!
Below is a list of the order of the reviews (it is subject to change)…I can’t wait to dive in deep with these German Rock Gods!! See you real soon…
Lonesome Crow (1972)
Fly to the Rainbow (1974)
In Trance (1975)
Virgin Killer (1976)
Taken by Force (1977)
Tokyo Tapes (1978)
Lovedrive (1979)
Best of Scorpions (1979)
Animal Magnetism (1980)
Rock Galaxy (1980)
Blackout (1982)
Hot & Heavy (1982)
Love at First Sting (1984)
Still Loving You Maxi Single (1984)
Best of Scorpions Vol. 2 (1984)
Gold Ballads (1984)
World Wide Live (1985)
Savage Amusement (1988)
Rhythm of Love – Single (Box Set) (1988)
Best of Rockers ‘n’ Ballads (1989)
Crazy World (1990)
Crazy World – 4 Track From Crazy World Promo Vinyl (1990)
Tease Me Please Me Promo CD (1990)
Don’t Believe Her Promo CD (1990)
Send Me An Angle Promo CD (1991)
Face the Heat (1993)
Live Bites (1995)
Pure Instinct (1996)
Big City Nights (Compilation) (1998)
Eye II Eye (1999)
Moment of Glory (with Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra) (2000)
When we reviewed Takara’s ‘Eternal Faith’ album a few weeks back, we mentioned that Jeff Scott Soto said he wasn’t a member of Takara and did it as a favor. Well, a couple years later we are back with the second Takara album and who is singing? It is a Mr. Jeff Scott Soto, of course. After the band had such success in Japan with ‘Eternal Faith’, the Japanese record company wanted another album and would only do it with Jeff on vocals. Jeff didn’t want to let his good friend, Neal Grusky, down and be the reason his buddy lost his record contract, so Jeff being the man he is agreed to do vocal duties again as well as Produced, Engineered and Mixed the album. When Jeff says he’s going to help out, there is no half-assing it for him.
The band had more money to produce this record then the measly $2,500 for the last so we do get better production quality…plus Jeff was getting better at it. The biggest difference is that Jeff’s friend Greg Schutt was no longer on bass. Duties were handled by Carl DeMarco. There were two songs that the bass was done by Bob Daisley from Ozzy and Rainbow fame which is pretty cool, but Carl was the now official band member. On drums, we still had Robert Duda and Neal Grusky on guitar as expected. There are also some keyboard elements done by none other than Jeff’s then girlfriend Julie Greaux, of course!
The album was released on May 24, 1995 in Japan and went to #96 on their national charts, so not bad at all. The version I have is the Canadian Release from 1995 but the CD has 1993. That isn’t the only mistake the CD has as it also called the last song “Lonely Sade of Blue” omitting the “h” in Shade. Oops! Good quality control goes a long way. Let’s get to the music, shall we!
2 Loud 2 Old Music 