Scott Stapp, the man everyone seems to love to hate. From Creed to his solo work, he gets no respect which is an utter shame as I think people miss the beauty in his songs and his voice. The man has been at the top of the world when Creed was at its heights and he has been at rock bottom with his public battles with bi-polar disorder and addiction. This album is reminder of what he has been through and badge of how far he has come.
His 2013 album, ‘Proof of Life’, is one of my favorite albums and my favorite of his so when I heard about his third solo album, I was really excited. And did the album live up to expectations, well, lets check it out and see.
The vinyl is a single LP which has all the 12 songs you can get in Apple Music or iTunes. The last 2 being listed as bonus tracks. Being that many songs on one piece of vinyl, the sound is still fantastic, crisp and clear.
The album jacket is a gatefold and inside the gatefold you get all the lyrics to each song, his thank you list and all the credits on the album. It is nice to be actually able to read the lyrics because sometimes they get jammed on one side of the album sleeve and they are too hard to read.
Caleb Johnson came to us via American Idol, but don’t let they fool you into dismissing him because that would be a huge mistake on your part. Caleb’s debut album came out in 2014 very quickly after winning said singing competition and the album did pretty well, but the record company didn’t know what to do with him and Caleb was rather unhappy with them and with the album as he was forced to do songs he didn’t necessarily like. After a long battle and finally breaking free from that contract, Caleb is back 5 years later with the album he wanted to make as his first album. This is the real Caleb Johnson.
Caleb Johnson now has a band called ‘The Ramblin’ Saints’ and what a backing band they are. The album shows every influence that has impacted his life from classic rock, southern rock, soul and even a little funk all with one of the most powerful voices in rock today on full display. If you really had to classify this album, it is straight-up, pure rock & roll.
The album opens with “Hanging On” with a nice Hammond Organ and then a build up until it rocks out which is pure classic rock in style and mixed with some lovely ladies that do the backing vocals on this (and other songs) that also adds a little soulful touch to the song.
The next song, “Solid Gold”, has a Rival Sons vibe probably because it was co-written with Jay Buchanan of the band along with Blair Daily. It is bluesy piece and that guitar sounds a lot like the new Rival Sons album which is a very good thing.
We are to the final studio album released in our Billy Idol Series which means we are really close to the end of the series which makes me a little sad as I have enjoyed doing this series. The next album up for review is a remix album of Billy’s hits called ‘Revitalized’ which was released in September 2018 and is 31 years after the release of his first remix album called ‘Vital Idol’.
Billy’s songs are brought into the 21st century with remixes coming from some of the best EDM artist of 2018 including Paul Oakenfold, Moby, The Crystal Method, CRAY and many more. The original album has 11 tracks where the digital version gives you an additional 4 tracks for 15 songs total.
I guess I will preface this by saying the album is full of hits songs and the remixes are all worth a listen, but nothing beats the original songs and actually nothing is better than Vital Idol. These songs are good and give us a look at them in a new, modern light. For fans it is fun and a must have for the collection; however, nothing groundbreaking here like Vital Idol was.
What’s the old saying…”Things are bigger in Texas”. That can’t be more true than Texas Hippie Coalition. The music is bigger and so is the singer Big Dad Ritch! No, I am not talking about his size (which is Big) but I am talking that voice. It is loud and menacing!
The band is back with their sixth album and first with their new label Entertainment One. A “big” step up for the boys. Their music is a soundtrack to Bar Fights and even for Strip Club dances. It is loud, gritty, dirty and downright nasty! It is pure Texas Metal!! From the opening salvo of “Moonshine” all the way to “Blue Lights On” they assault you with blistering guitars and head banging drums.
We are up to the fifth album in the Bootleg series and we are still on the albums I found in Paris back in April. And since it is July 4th, I thought what is more American than July 4th…well KISS!!!
This was was from September 14, 1974 on the Hotter Than Hell Tour and it was recorded at The Victory Burlesque in Toronto, ON, Canada. This was actually a warm-up show for the tour, one of two nights (not sure which one). This was also about a month before the Hotter Than Hell album came out.
As usual, before we get into the music we will talk about the packaging and what was offered with this set. First off, this was a single LP and not a double like all the others as this was only a 9 song set as you have to remember this was only 1974 and Kiss hadn’t been around very long with only 2 album to choose from at this point. The packaging was quite simple. The front (as seen above) is a very early shot of the band before all the glitz and glamour. The back is a great shot of the band on stage (what show, I do not know for sure…we will assume this one, but I am sure it is not).
The vinyl sleeve is a nice solid cardboard sleeve that is very sturdy and has more great pictures.
On November 25th, 2016, Black Friday or another Record Store Day, Billy Idol released a special edition 3 LP vinyl Live Album!! The release were highlights from his 2014-2015 Kings & Queens of the Underground Tour. I say it is highlights because the songs are from various different shows from around the world and not one full show. I am sure he went and grabbed the best versions of each song.
The album was limited to only 2000 copies, each hand-numbered and exclusively on vinyl as the only physical release. The album is available digitally as well (which also comes with the Vinyl version. It is a beautiful set and the sound is amazing. Here’s the only problem. I was unable to snag a copy during its initial release. I am keeping a watchful eye on eBay and Discogs to find a reasonably priced one for sell and then I will grab it. So, this review is really just a review of the digital release.
BFI? What does that stand for? I think it is Billy “Fucking” Idol. I also think BFI is the name of his label as well. Whatever it stands for, BFI Live is fantastic. The sound quality of each recording is crisp, clear and loud! Was it cleaned up in the studio…probably, but who cares. It is still live for the most part and that is all that matters. It captures the essence fo a Billy performance and that is all you really want anyway. Okay, I guess it is missing a little of the roughness that happens during live shows so that might be the only negative.
The release has 16 tracks from 10 different cities including Houston, Vienna, Munich, Atlanta and even Council Bluffs (wherever that is). The setlist is greatest hits set live basically. It is everything you would want to hear and expect to hear at a Billy show.
He does 3 songs off the latest album and they are “Postcards from the Past”, “Can’t Break Me Down” and “Save Me Now”. Two of the first three songs are off the new album which is smart as people tend to go to the bathroom or get a beer (or both) when a song comes on they don’t really know. When the show opens up, the crowd is so energized, that isn’t going to happen.
It is a high energy show and Billy and Steve Steven show no signs of slowing down. The songs are kept pretty much to their original format with the exception of a few lyric changes such as “LA Woman” (the Doors cover) being changed to “Portland Woman” and Billy asking “Nashville to Dance” on “Dancing With Myself”. Billy and the crowd seem to be having a wonderful time.
Steve Stevens sounds really great with his guitar work especially on Flesh for Fantasy and the one song I didn’t know when looking at the track listing. It was “Dementia” which turned out to be a wonderful Steve Stevens guitar solo. I didn’t know guitar solos actually had names other than “Guitar Solo”. Seriously though, the song is actually off Steve’s solo album “Flamenco a Go-Go” from 2000. Kinda nice Billy let him highlight one of his own songs.
The songs cover most of Billy’s career with even a song from his Generation X days, “Ready Steady Go” which Billy seems to love to still play and Steve adds a whole new magic to it with his playing. You also get the story behind the song “Sweet Sixteen” which Billy tells with such enthusiasm. Before that story, a woman screams “I Love You!!!” and immediately Billy responds back “I Love Me Too! That makes two of us”…it was a very funny moment I am glad they left in.
And let’s talk about how he ends this album. The album ends with 3 of his most iconic songs and I could imagine the crowd going nuts and loving everything about it. He ends with “Rebel Yell”, “White Wedding” and “Mony, Mony”…what an amazing way to go out.
All-in-all, this is a hell of a live set and since Billy has only released one other live album (VH1 Storytellers), I will take what I can get. I loved this set and I am eager to go out and find the physical copy after listening to this. With 16 songs and 1 hour and 40 minutes of music…it is simply wonderful. I will give this a 4.5 out of 5.0 Stars and only deducting because it is too clean…I mean I don’t think Billy misses too many notes and I don’t think that is possible (I have never seen him live so can’t say for sure). If you are out and about and come across it (somehow), grab it. You won’t be disappointed.
If you want to check out the other reviews I have done so far for the Billy Idol Series, click the links below:
25 Years! Wow! Collective Soul is celebrating 25 years together as a band and as luck would have it, we also get a new record to boot. The band delivers their 10th Studio Album with ‘Blood’ and they prove there is still life in that blood running through their veins.
With the opening track, “Now’s the Time”, you get that classic Collective Soul guitar sound and Ed’s soaring vocals. The song is high energy and welcomes you to the party with open arms. The heavy bass line from Will Turpin opens the next song “Over Me” which keeps the energy level pumped up to 10. The band has a way with catchy riffs and choruses that are simple yet impactful.
“Crushed” is a song that would feel right at home on their 2000 album ‘Blender’. It is a throwback, yet modern. Then comes “Right as Rain” which the band has been playing live for awhile now so it makes you feel right at home.
We have another Kiss Bootleg to discuss in this series. We are on #4 and this one is from the 1979 Dynasty Tour and took place in Largo, Maryland on July 8th, 1979 at the Capital Center. This was a time in Kiss that is quite interesting as the band was imploding, basically. Peter couldn’t play drums like he did just a short time earlier and Ace was shall we say, “high” on life. This tour was supposed to be huge. The costumes, the stage show and well, everything was to be bigger and better. Well, it was far from it.
Before we get in to the music, we go through the packaging first and this set is delivered beautifully. The set was done in 2018 and it was put together quite nicely. Here is the first little nugget, it is a a little side card that bends around one end kind of like the OBI strips for Japanese releases.
After that there is a large, album sized Disco Sticker included. It is supposed to be in a Disco Ball style and is a little hard to see, but cool nonetheless.
After Billy’s last greatest hits album “Idolize Yourself”, things went quiet. From 2010 – 2014, Billy worked on the next project. Along that same timeframe, he was also working on a book that chronicle his life called “Dancing with MySelf”. The album and book were both released in October 2014 and I guess you could say the album was a soundtrack to that new book.
For me, the album, called ‘King & Queens of the Underground’, should have been called ‘Postcards from the Past’ as the songs seem to have that retrospective feel and were snapshots of his life and career. There is a lot of soul-searching going and it feels like a cathartic exercise in releasing his demons. It was the perfect companion piece for the book.
For the recording of the album, Billy worked mostly with Trevor Horn of the famed band, The Buggles. Keith Forsey, who produced most of Billy’s album was not back for this one. I don’t think there were any issues, I believe Billy was wanting to explore new ground. Trevor brought Billy back to 80’s sound more so than the ‘Devil’s Playground’ did. There were a little more synthesizers/keyboards than in the past and it was utilized perfectly.
After a year since the release of The Collection Volume 1, Def Leppard finally releases Volume 2. And as I did with the first, I bought the Vinyl edition. Volume 1 was sensational and if you want to check out that review, click on The Collection Volume 1. As I normally do with these box sets, I focus mostly on the packaging and the bonus material as the main albums we all know and love or we wouldn’t be buying this set. I want to know if we are getting a bang for our buck
Look at all the albums and songs you are getting. There are 4 Studio albums and 4 albums of bonus material and there a total of 10 LPs in the set as 2 of the albums are double LPs. It is heavy and chock of great tunes that will give you hours and hours of fun. I always save the sticker that is on the plastic wrapping and this time is no different. Here is a summary of the box set.
2 Loud 2 Old Music 