Welcome to Friday new releases on this Friday the 13th. And let me tell you this is a lucky Friday…no bad news here. There are an abundance of releases this week that I am excited about and it might be the best week in quite a long time or even all year. There are over 25 on this list and maybe 1/2 I am interested in at listening to once. How long is that going to take…it could be next September. My choices will be highlighted in Blue. Let me know what you see that you like and what I might be missing (could there be anything???). Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!
The most important…
The Defiants – Zokusho – (Frontiers Records): Man, I am super excited about this one. Paul Laine and the Danger Danger boys are back with their second release and if it is half as good as the debut, then we are in for a treat. The first 3 songs they have previewed are sensational!! So expectations are HIGH!! I don’t usually listen to songs that are previewed on albums I am anxious about, but I could wait. If you like 80’s brand rock with modern productions, you will be in for a treat.
Tom Keifer – Rise – (Cleopatra Music):The voice of Cinderella is back with his 2nd solo album. His first was fantastic and nothing less is expected on this one. His blues rock and the gravely voice is just what the doctor ordered so grab a copy and crank it up. A great weekend is ahead.
The next in the Bootleg series is a show from the Rising Sun Tour in 2006. This show took place on July 23rd, 2006 at the Fuji Speedway in Japan. It was a short tour, but it was awesome. In 2006, the members would have been Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer. This is important for a later discussion.
Including solos and introductions, the setlist is 23 songs and a pretty long show. There were some songs on here I love that aren’t played every tour so I was excited to get those. But we will discuss those later.
First, we have to discuss the packaging as we normally do. This set is on CD as I have no more vinyl to discuss. The Cover of this thing is awesome. It is so scary looking and has absolutely nothing to do with the band. At least the album name is good with “Kiss of Thunder”.
Now when you open the CD jewel case, on the left is the picture below. Can you tell me what is wrong with this picture? If you can’t, you aren’t a Kiss fan so please leave! I’m kidding you can stay.
Bear Rinehart is lead singer of the band Needtobreathe and if you follow my site at all you know I am a huge fan of that band. When I heard Bear was doing a solo project I was excited to see what different direction he might take. His first solo project definitely explores a different sound and style then his main job.
The name he chose is Wilder Woods which happens to be the names of his two kids, Wilder and Woods Rinehart. I think it is interesting he didn’t even use his own name on the project as he seems to want to keep it completely separate from Needtobreathe.
The album is a pure R&B and Soul album which is far from the Americana, Folk, souther rock sound of his other band. The opening track, “Light Shine In”, might the one song that sounds most like Needtobreathe with a little more of a rock edge and the track “What Gives You The Right” might have fit nicely on their album ‘Hard Love’ with its energy and alt-pop sound.
“Sure Ain’t” is classic R&B and one of the best songs on the album. He poors his heart and soul in to the vocals and there is this magical groove to pull you in. This is followed by ballad “Someday Soon” sees Bear go soulful and gives us his most heartfelt vocals.
Another R&B track is “Supply & Demand” where Bear is trying to woo his woman into a little more horizontal part of the relationship. It has a throwback sound and it is enjoyment for your ears.
“Electric Woman” might be the best song on the album with a catchy ass groove and its sultry vocal approach and seems to be another love song to his wife. And the cool thing is she is in the video with him.
Speaking of his wife, it takes balls to tell your wife that she is wrong and he does just that with “Mary, You’re Wrong” to start off Side 2. If she thinks he is going to leave her, she is mistaken as he has no desire and that is there for the long haul. “Feel” is straight out of the 70’s R&B era with the female backing vocals and the total sonics of the song.
“Hillside House” is a really slow song that seems real personal to him and I think it is another love letter to his wife who seems to be his muse for most of this album…which is really cool to see that she still pulls those feelings out of him after so many years of marriage.
The last track, “Religion”, is very church-like in its approach and you can hear his Christian upbringing in the church flow through even though it is a song that is talking about his struggles with religion. It is a little sad and the acoustic feel to the song keeps the voice as the highlight and lets you focus on the words.
It ain’t Needtobreathe and thankfully so as a solo album should be different. His first solo effort is a strong statement that he has a lot more to offer. There is a swagger and confidence in the style and his vocal delivery. I love the 70’s R&B vibes, the grooves and the soul that his heart is pouring out in his music and his lyrics. He made a modern R&B album that plays well today probably as well as it would have played in the 70’s. He has captured a sound that will hopefully resonate with everyone, young and old. My only complaint is the 2nd Side is a little weaker than the first, outside of that there are no other complaints. I would rate the album a 4.0 out of 5.0 Stars.
Give it a try and let me know what you think. Thanks for stopping by.
Now that Deep Purple was defunct, the record company needed to release something I am sure so why not a live album. In October 1975, ‘Made in Europe’ was released. The recording from April 3rd – April 7th on some of the final dates that Ritchie Blackmore would play as he left the band shortly after. So, with that being said, the line is the Mark III lineup of the band consisting of Ritchie, David Coverdale, Glenn Hughes, Jon Lord and Ian Paice.
The show was recorded from 3 different shows that took place on April 3rd, 1975 in Graz, Austria, April 5th in Saarbrücken, Germany and finally on April 7th at the Palais des Sports in Paris, France. According to the album jacket, the album was recorded using the “Rolling Stones” mobile truck. And it has also been discussed that there were some heavy overdubbing and cleaning up of the set including the audience with the crowd noise and applause…but this is the 70’s what live album wasn’t retouched (ahem…Kiss).
The album is only a single LP and only includes 5 songs with a total run time of 45:47 which means the average song length over 9 minutes so the band plays the heck out of these songs which is really what a Deep Purple live album is all about. The band had huge success with the prior live album ‘Made in Japan’ and although this is a good release, it isn’t as good as the Japan release.
Ritchie Blackmore left the band after the last album, ‘Stormbringer’, due to creative differences with David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes. I find this funny considering Ritchie brought them in to help take the band in a new direction and Ritchie ended up not liking that direction. So Deep Purple was done…or were they?
David talked Jon Lord and Ian Paice to continue and they did. Now before they could continue, they needed a new guitar player and in comes Tommy Bolin, a bloody American. This upset quite a few diehard UK Purple fans. And probably part of the reason the album didn’t do that well.
David had heard Tommy’s playing on Jazz fusion drummer Billy Cobham’s solo album called ‘Spectrum’ and thought he would be perfect. And we all know now that David has an ear for great guitarists (can you say John Sykes and Steve Vai to name a couple). Tommy was a great guitar player and it is too bad his heroin addiction would take a life way too soon a little over a year after the album’s release.
Deep Purple would continue and this would end up being the first Deep Purple album to not feature either Ritchie Blackmore or even Ian Gillan. As a result, a lot of people don’t really consider this a Deep Purple album. Now that is crazy because if they consider ‘Burn’ to be a Deep Purple album, then this one is as well as the sound and feel is so similar to that album and quite possibly could be better. I know I might be in the minority, but I really like this album.
This piece of Kiss Bootleg I found at my local independent record store called Lunchbox Records. It is Kiss from February 7th, 1995 and was recorded at the Hilton Hotel Ballroom in Melbourne, Australia while they were down under on tour. The album is an acoustic show and this is a collection of outtakes from that show.
The line-up is Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons of course and since this is pre-reunion, it also includes Bruce Kulick and Eric Singer. A great non-makeup lineup. The band sounds great and even Paul is singing his heart out. The recording I believe is an audience recording only due to the loudness of the crowd, but let me tell you it sounds freaking awesome.
The crowd is really in to and at times it feels like a campfire singalong. The band is definitely enjoying themselves as they are interacting with the crowd and seem to be having a blast.
The set is a single LP and includes a full size poster in with the album. The picture is of the front cover so not something different from what you already see…
One great thing about Matt Nathanson (there are a lot) is that he has been releasing E.P.s in between albums to keep his fans happy. Last year we got the absolutely incredible Def Leppard covers E.P. called ‘Pyromattia’which was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. Now he brings us another covers E.P. titled ‘Postcards (from Chicago)’.
Matt took some time while in Chicago to put together another covers release. There are 6 songs from quite a diverse group of artists which makes it a very interesting release. Here is the track list…
Same Drugs (feat. Patrick Stump) – original by Chance the Rapper
Perfect World – original by Liz Phair
Hum Hallelujah – original by Fall Out Boy
Surrender (feat. Richard Marx) – original by Cheap Trick
Hold On to the Nights – original by Richard Marx
Whiskey Bottle – original by Uncle Tupelo
The album is out now on digital and I had to wait for 3 months on the vinyl. It is sweet. It has an autographed postcard of Chicago and it is on a really cool looking Orange Vinyl and here it finally is after the long wait…
After ‘Burn’, Deep Purple went right back in the studio and recorded their second album together with the Mark III line-up. The album was released in November 1974 just nine months after ‘Burn’. ‘Stormbringer’ is the bands 9th album and actually ended marking the end of an era for the band which will discuss shortly.
The album cover is a great picture of a tornado with a pegasus riding in with the storm. The cover is based on a photo by Lucille Handberg which was taken back on July 8th of the year 1927 in the town of Jasper, Minnesota. The picture stretches out to the back cover to show the immense size of the storm. The intenseness of the album cover; doesn’t necessarily translate to the music.
The sound of the album is a continuation of ‘Burn’, but not near the intensity. There seem to push the Blues and Funk and lot more on this one much to the dismay of its leader Ritchie Blackmore. Ritchie was so displeased with the direction of the band that after this album, Ritchie left ending the era of the Mark III phase of Coverdale, Hughes, Lord, Paice and Blackmore. I find this funny considering David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes were both brought in by Ritchie to explore a new sound and direction for the band. I guess sometimes be careful what you wish for.
We are on Vinyl #7 and the Final Vinyl from my trip to Paris. Man, what a collection of bootlegs I picked up and I couldn’t be more thrilled. I have been enjoying them immensely and they were well worth the money despite what my wife says!
The final vinyl in the collection is from the Epicenter in Fontana, CA on September 25th, 2010 on the bands The Hottest Show on Earth Tour. The album actually says it is at the Auto Club Speedway, but they even say Epicenter in the show. So that ain’t right.
This particular bootleg was made in Japan and even has the awesome Japanese obi strip on the album cover as you see on the above picture. And the back of the strip is some more pictures of the band.
And the back cover is pretty awesome as well as it has a great stage shot of the menacing Demon himself, Gene Simmons.
John 5 and the Creatures are back with their second studio release called ‘Invasion’. Their first album together was their 2017 release, ‘Season of the Witch’, which was a nightmarishly spectacular release. John 5 is currently one of my favorite guitarists in rock today and man is he everywhere. He is always writing for other artists and when he isn’t doing that or playing with the Creatures, he is on tour with Rob Zombie.
And if that isn’t enough, you should check out his Instagram page as he is constantly posting videos of him noodling around with his guitars usually wearing interesting masks and/or costumes and those hairless cats of his walking around. He knows how to keep you coming back.
And he keeps me coming back. When this album came out on July 31st, I am not sure I have stopped playing it since that day. It has been on constant rotation. And I have to say , I might like this one better than ‘Season of the Witch’ which I didn’t think would be possible. John 5 and the creatures, Ian Ross and Logan Miles Nix are nothing short of spectacular.
The album kicks off with a storm brewing as the band readies itself to invade every piece of your body. The ominous bass and hard hitting drums come across with an eeriness that is ready to battle and then John 5 comes blasting in with his killer riffs to lay waste to the land. And the “Invasion” has begun.
The Defiants – Zokusho – (Frontiers Records): Man, I am super excited about this one. Paul Laine and the Danger Danger boys are back with their second release and if it is half as good as the debut, then we are in for a treat. The first 3 songs they have previewed are sensational!! So expectations are HIGH!! I don’t usually listen to songs that are previewed on albums I am anxious about, but I could wait. If you like 80’s brand rock with modern productions, you will be in for a treat.
Tom Keifer – Rise – (Cleopatra Music): The voice of Cinderella is back with his 2nd solo album. His first was fantastic and nothing less is expected on this one. His blues rock and the gravely voice is just what the doctor ordered so grab a copy and crank it up. A great weekend is ahead.
2 Loud 2 Old Music 