Category: Album Review

John 5 and the Creatures – ‘Invasion’ Album Review

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic10 Comments

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.

Digipak-mockup-album-web

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.

Continue reading “John 5 and the Creatures – ‘Invasion’ Album Review” →

Deep Purple – ‘Burn’ – Album Review (The David Coverdale Series)

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic71 Comments

Welcome to the new series covering the career of the great David Coverdale.  We will start off with Deep Purple and then cover his solo work, his work with Jimmy Page and of course, Whitesnake.  We have a long journey ahead as we have around 33 albums that we will cover.  Sit back and I hope you enjoy the ride…Let’s get started!

Deep Purple – ‘Burn’ (1974):

In 1973, Deep Purple went through yet another line-up change.  This one saw the band lose the lead singer, Ian Gillan, and bass player, Roger Glover.  And for this time around, Ritchie Blackmore wanted to take the band in a new direction and it was the start of Mark III.

First up he brought in bass player Glenn Hughes and damn the man can sing as well so not a bad pick. Glenn had come from the band Trapeze where he had made a name for himself.  But Ritchie wasn’t done.

IMG_0723

Ritchie found a pretty unknown singer whose voice he really loved as it had a blues tone to it that spoke to him.  That gentleman was none other than David Coverdale.  We would all grow to love him from Whitesnake, but every story has a beginning and this is his.  With the powerful vocals of Hughes and Coverdale, Deep Purple were set up to do great things.  Not only those two great singers, Ritchie still had the amazing Jon Lord on keyboards and Ian Paice on Drums.  It is a pretty impressive line-up!

Continue reading “Deep Purple – ‘Burn’ – Album Review (The David Coverdale Series)” →

Drivin N Cryin – ‘Live the Love Beautiful’ – Album Review

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic7 Comments

Kevin Kinney and the boys are back after about 10 years since their last full length studio album.  In between that time, they released a bunch of EP’s, but thankfully finally we get a full set of music.  Drivin n Cryin are from Atlanta, GA, my hometown, so they are local boys who done good.  They saw success for a brief time from the late 80’s to early 90’s with songs like “Honeysuckle Blue”, “Straight to Hell”, “Fly Me Courageous” and “Build a Fire” and those songs are a part of the fabric of my life.

A new album from them is always a treat and when you hear Kevin Kinney’s unique vocals come in to play, you feel at home, like you are sitting on the front porch in that steaming Georgia heat, with a glass of ice cold sweet tea (the kind so sweet you go in to a diabetic coma), radio blasting and feeling life is pretty damn good.  That is exactly how I felt when I played this album.

65895887_10157172748970822_306040359987707904_o

The band takes their form of southern rock, Americana folk and even psychedelic sounds and blend it all together for an album that is a straight up rock & roll album.  The album kicks off with “Free Ain’t Free” which is Drivin N Cryin bringing us their own version of a political song.  Kevin paints a vivid picture through his spoken lyrics about hard times and struggles that people face.  And when that squeaky, high pitched vocal kicks in on the chorus, Kevin shows his unique sound that only Kevin can bring. It is the voice that IS Drivin N Cryin.

Continue reading “Drivin N Cryin – ‘Live the Love Beautiful’ – Album Review” →

Stone Temple Pilots – ‘Live 2018’ – Revised Album Review

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic14 Comments

Is 4% a lot?  If someone was to give you 4% less of something, are you really missing out?  For the most part, that answer would be…No!  Well, the answer changes when it comes to music. If you were to listen to an album that was playing 4% slower and you asked that question, my answer would be…Yes, 4% makes a huge difference.  And such is the case for the Stone Temple Pilot’s album ‘Live 2018’.

What am I talking about?  For Record Store Day 2018, the one on Black Friday, Stone Temple Pilots released a special edition, 3-D, live album.  The music wasn’t 3-D, the album cover was. There was a manufacturing error with the vinyl that caused the speed of the album to be 96% of the actual speed.  Only a 4% difference that made a world of difference when listening to the music.

In my original review of Stone Temple Pilots – Live 2018 review, I mentioned if my opinion of the album was changed when (and if) I received the replacement copy, I would do another review…and here we are. The original, 96% speed, actually received a 3.0 out of 5.0 Stars…what will the corrected vinyl receive?  We will see shortly.

The Replacement copy arrived and it took about 3-4 months after I contacted them to get a replacement which makes sense since albums need about a 3 month window to be made.  The copy arrived and it was in a very simple, solid white cardboard sleeve.  The dust cover was the same as the original version and the album was also the same in the that beautiful translucent, red vinyl.

IMG_0636

Continue reading “Stone Temple Pilots – ‘Live 2018’ – Revised Album Review” →

Kiss – North Hampton, PA March 19 1975 (Bootleg Series) – Album Review

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic131 Comments

The next in the Kiss Bootleg Series is a show from March 19th in 1975 on the Dressed to Kill Tour.  The show was at the Roxy Theatre in Northampton, Pennsylvania and is actually opening night of the Tour.

As usual, we will start with the packaging and what this bootleg has to offer.  First, it is a double LP, however, they skimped and there is no Gatefold to be had.  It is actually a pretty flimsy album jacket and I don’t think it will hold up over time.  The back cover is another live shot of the band but you can’t see anyone’s face.  Not the best choice for a picture.

IMG_0713

The album came with a couple surprises. The first being a collection of Kiss photographs from an L.A. photoshoot at the Playboy Club Rooftop on January 16th, 1974.  The photos came in a nice little mailer as seen below…

IMG_0719

Continue reading “Kiss – North Hampton, PA March 19 1975 (Bootleg Series) – Album Review” →

Scott Stapp – ‘The Space Between the Shadows’ – Album Review

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic20 Comments

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.

IMG_0749

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.

Continue reading “Scott Stapp – ‘The Space Between the Shadows’ – Album Review” →

Caleb Johnson & the Ramblin’ Saints – ‘Born From Southern Ground’ – Album Review

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic9 Comments

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.

Continue reading “Caleb Johnson & the Ramblin’ Saints – ‘Born From Southern Ground’ – Album Review” →

Billy Idol – ‘Revitalized’ – Album Review (The Billy Idol Series)

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic47 Comments

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.

vital-idol-revitalized-1014x487

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.

Continue reading “Billy Idol – ‘Revitalized’ – Album Review (The Billy Idol Series)” →

Texas Hippie Coalition – ‘High in the Saddle’ – Album Review

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic5 Comments

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.

D21JkucXcAAANIu

Continue reading “Texas Hippie Coalition – ‘High in the Saddle’ – Album Review” →

Kiss – With Fire & Thunder (Bootleg Series) – Album Review

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic137 Comments

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).

IMG_0695

The vinyl sleeve is a nice solid cardboard sleeve that is very sturdy and has more great pictures.

Continue reading “Kiss – With Fire & Thunder (Bootleg Series) – Album Review” →