Category: Album Review

Harry Styles – ‘Harry Styles’ – Album Review

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I wasn’t planning on doing a review of this album until my daughter asked if I was doing a review.  It made me think that maybe she wanted me to do a review, so after numerous listens of the album, here is my review.

Before I listened to the album, I really didn’t know what to expect.  I know what I hoped to hear and that was an album that was nothing like One Direction, his former band.  The Harry Styles solo album needed to show creativity and give us a different look than what we have seen before.  The pressure for him to deliver is huge.  I know I didn’t care for Zayn’s album (although “Pillowtalk” was an amazing song) so I was hoping this didn’t end up giving me a similar feeling.

Gladly, I wasn’t disappointed.  I was actually pleasantly surprised.  Harry delivered an album of very diverse songs yet they seemed to be cohesive at the same time.  Sonically, the album is pure British.  It has a lot of British musical influences and stylings.  I hear the essences of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Elton John, Arctic Monkeys, Oasis and even Robbie Williams.  And looking at the songwriting credits, I see Harry has his hand in all the songs which is a good thing…just how much of the writing he did is unknown.

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“My First Time” with Journey’s ‘Frontiers’

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Love It or Hate It, Journey went down a whole new path with the release of ‘Frontiers’. After the incredible success of the album, ‘Escape’, the ballad became King for Journey. Some feel it was the start of the downfall, others think it is the pinnacle of their success. I think it is a little of both.

With the success of ‘Escape’, Journey was catapulted into the stratosphere of popularity. They were one of the biggest bands in the world.  Steve Perry had the most recognizable voices on the radio and probably one of the absolute best voices on the radio at the time…if not ever.  The man could sing.  But for some reason I still hadn’t bought a Journey album.  When I heard their second single of their latest album, ‘Frontiers’, I finally bought my first Journey album.  The single was for “Faithfully”.

There is so much to love about this album and there is so much to pick on the band for about this album.  Let’s start with the picking on piece first as it is the most fun.  Oh, where to begin…

Let’s start with the album cover…I picture of a futuristic, robotic looking head or maybe a futuristic, human head.  Not sure I get it, but I know it has to do with the name of the album, ‘Frontiers’ as I think the band was saying they were reaching into a new frontier. The amazing artwork from the previous albums was no more.  The whole continuity between all the other album covers was gone…and is sadly missed.

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David Bowie – Cracked Actor (Live Los Angeles ’74) – #RSD

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One of my main goals on Record Store Day on April 22nd was to obtain a copy of the David Bowie album ‘Cracked Actor’.  Thankfully, I succeeded.  It fast became one of my favorite LPs I have in my ever growing collection.

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The year was 1974, David Bowie was king and touring supporting the Diamond Dog album. The album was recorded live at Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles on September 5th, 1974.  The Theatre only sat around 5,000 so it was a nice intimate setting and quite small to what David was able to fill later in his career.

Let’s first talk about the packaging of the record.  It is a very nice, high quality, high glossed album cover.  So high glossed, I couldn’t avoid being seen in the cover as I was taking pictures.  I tried so many angles.

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Everywhere – “Man Up” feat. Rebecca Nohr

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Everywhere is back with a brand new single called “Man Up”.  If you remember from last year, I featured their fabulous E.P., Fiction Act, which you can check out by clicking on the album name.

The song is a high energy pop song with a heavy European, electronic sound that makes you want to get out of your chair and hit the dance floor.  The song features the lovely voice of Swedish singer and songwriter, Rebecca Nohr.  She adds a new flavor to their sound and she nicely compliments Max Berga’s vocals.  As discussed below, the song “Man Up” is about just that…being a Man and how hard it is to live up to that standard with what life throws at you.

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Chris Stapleton – From A Room: Volume 1 – Album Review

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Finally, a Country album worth writing about.  I can not stand the pop country music that is played on the radio today.  It is all fluff and no substance.  Country music should make you feel something and tell a great story.  The only thing I feel with most of country music today is…well…nothing.  That is the problem.

That changed with the appearance of Chris Stapleton on to the scene.  He is what Country music should be.  With his first album, ‘Traveller’, back in 2015, Chris brought the old school brand of Country music back for everyone to enjoy.  He was one of the most talked about new artist to come around in a long, long time.  The funny thing is he really isn’t new as he has been a songwriter for years, but was finally able to break through as a solo artist.

‘From A Room: Volume 1’ was recorded Nashville at the famed RCA Studio A where some of the greats recorded such as Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings.  Their spirit is heard throughout the album and brings back the old school Country music that we have longed to hear for years.

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The Police – “Roxanne” – The 45 Single (1978)

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In the continuing sage of the vinyl filled box I found another 45 single and this one was by The Police.  It was for the song “Roxanne” which is one of their signature songs.  Sadly, I don’t have a cover jacket for it.  The sleeve it was in was for Columbia Records; however, the single was released by A&M so I know it is not the right sleeve.  No matter, the single still plays regardless.  Below are the Original UK cover (left) and the alternate cover in the UK (right – is Stewart picking his nose???).

And here is mine…

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Colton Dixon – Identity (Deluxe Edition – 2017) – Album Review

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Colton Dixon is one of the rising stars in the Christian genre.  As everyone always has to mention, he is a former American Idol contestant who finished in 7th place on Season 11. Now on his third album, the maturity and vocal talent are hitting their peak. Colton has been growing with each release and ‘Identity’ shows definitely shows that growth.

‘Identity’ is a very ambitious album for this young singer.  The Deluxe Edition is a startling 17 tracks and is a loosely based concept album.  I say loosely as the album doesn’t tell a story from beginning to end, but appears to be broken into three parts with the songs representing that theme.  The three themes are “The Mind”, “The Body” and “The Spirit”.

“The Mind”

The first part of the album is “The Mind”.  The album starts off with the Interlude called “The Mind” which is an instrumental piece with angel like voiceovers by a female and male voiceover giving you the theme of the section.  It is actually quite great.  The song transitions seamlessly into the title track “Identity”.  The four songs in this section are all pop songs that in one shape or another are representative of the mind.

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MercyMe – Lifer (2017) – Album Review

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For those that don’t know, MercyMe is a Christian rock/pop band out of Texas who have been tearing up the Christian charts since 2001.  You might know them and not know it. Back in 2001, they had a crossover hit to mainstream radio with the song “I Can Only Imagine”.  This was the song that introduced me to the band and has made me a fan ever since.

Back on March 31, 2017, MercyMe has brought us their 8th studio album (this does not include the 6 independent releases they had before signing with a major label).  Their new album ‘Lifer’ has another batch of catchy songs that celebrate Christ, and life in general, but in a way that does not feel preachy.  It actually feels fun and not slammed down your throat. ‘Lifer’ is really a party album that will make you dance, celebrate and might actually make you feel good.

With the way modern radio is, we probably won’t see another Christian crossover song and that is a crying shame.  I preach about this on every Christian album I review.  The mainstream media won’t play Christian music because it is taboo for some reason.  They feel Christian music should be relegated to the Christian only radio stations.  My problem with that is people are missing good music…sorry…GREAT MUSIC!!!  Who cares if the topic is God or Jesus or anything Christian.  The message is way better than the crap that is being played right now.  The world could use a little positivity right about now.  It is always doom and gloom.  Sorry…Got off topic there for a second.  Please forgive me.

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Def Leppard – The Def Leppard E.P. – Album Review

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Here is the review for the Def Leppard E.P. I picked up on Record Store Day on April 22, 2017.

Back in 1979, a little known band named Def Leppard released their first E.P.  The E.P. was recorded at Fairview Studios in Hull, England back in November of 1978 and was self-produced.  It only included three songs and was recorded by a band that was quite different than the band you know and love today.

The band at the time was only four members as the original drummer, Tony Kenning, quit right before the recording of the E.P.

  • Joe “Zeff” Elliott
  • Steve Clark
  • Pete Willis
  • Rick Savage

Since they didn’t have a drummer anymore, they used drummer Frank Noon from a band that called themselves “The Next Band”.  Shortly thereafter, the band hired a 15 year old kid to be the drummer named Rick Allen.

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“My First Time” with Hall & Oates’ ‘H2O’

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The first cassette I remember having was a gift from a girl up the street named Rosemary.  It was the album ‘H20’ by Hall & Oates.  I no longer have the cassette, but when I was out this past year shopping for vinyl, I found the album and had to snatch it up.

Even today, this is one of my favorite albums.  I was in the car with my girls the other day and my oldest daughter was flipping radio stations (which is constantly happening).  This song was starting up on one station and I asked her to stop.  I told her this was the very first cassette I ever had and she actually let the song “Maneater” play through.  I think the girls actually enjoyed the song.

After that happened, I thought this would be a great album for the “My First Time” series. H2O was the band’s eleventh studio album and ended up being one of the biggest, if not the biggest, of their career.  The album was released on October 4th, 1982 and went to #3 on the Billboard Album charts for 15 weeks.  The album has sold around 4 million copies and has been certified double platinum.  I know I have been the owner of at least 2 or 3 of those copies.

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