Category: Album Review

“My First Time” with Aerosmith’s ‘Done With Mirrors’

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This is the first in a new monthly series I am going to do called “My First Time”.  It is not as dirty as you think.  It is not about my first time doing certain things.  The series will be about the FIRST album I bought from an artist that really got me into the band.  See, not dirty like you thought.

I was out at the record store a few weeks back and came across the vinyl for Aerosmith’s 1985 album ‘Done With Mirrors’ and remembered that this was the FIRST album I bought for the band, so of course I snatched the vinyl up and it only cost me $6.  I had the cassette years ago, but all my cassettes are now long gone.

I obviously knew of Aerosmith because my brothers listened to them when they were growing up and I remember seeing their vinyl albums lying around.  I remember hearing “Sweet Emotion”, “Dream On” and even listened to the album “Toys In the Attic”, but I wasn’t a true fan.  That didn’t come until the mid-80’s after I bought this album.

I was watching MTV one evening and they played the video for “Let the Music Do The Talking” and I actually fell in love with that song instantly.  The next chance I had to make it to the record store, I picked a copy of the album on cassette.  Little did I know at the time that the song was actually a remake of the same song Joe Perry did with his solo band The Joe Perry Project.

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Danny Gokey – ‘Rise’ – Album Review

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You probably know Danny Gokey from his time on American Idol.  He place third on Season 8 behind the winner, Kris Allen, and the runner-up, Adam Lambert.  To me Adam should have won, but that is the topic for another discussion.  I am going to talk about Danny Gokey and his new album, ‘Rise’.

Danny is on his 5th album (if you count the Christmas album and his Spanish version of his 2nd album).  He has seem to have found his niche in the Christian Pop genre and is getting better with each release.  You can see the maturity and the improvement in the songs on this release.  Ever since he started adding to the songwriting on his second album, the releases have been getting better and better.

He has definitely gained more confidence and ease with his singing as his voice hasn’t sounded better.  The smooth, soulful vocals along with the Pop vibe makes for an exceptional album that could easily be on the mainstream Pop radios.

For this release, he has taken songs with a positive, Christian message and turned them into sleek, danceable pop songs that at the same time have deep meaning and heart.  The first single, “Rise”, is a dance, pop song, but is absolutely beautiful and is such an uplifting song and instantly became a favorite of mine.  The video even shines a light on domestic violence and an organization that will help women going through such a tragic event.

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Snoopy And His Friends The Royal Guardsmen (1967 – Laurie Records) – Album Spotlight

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I was going through my vinyls and came across the strangest album I own.  It is a 1967 pressing of ‘Snoopy and his friends the Royal Guardsmen’.  The album tells the story of Snoopy and the Red Baron in both verse and in song.  Why this album is in my possession I have no idea.  I don’t know which of my brothers or sisters had this album originally or if it was one of my parents albums.

First, who are the Royal Guardsman?  Are they a real band?  They actually are a real band.  They were based out of Ocala, Florida and came up with their name during the British Invasion of the 60’s when bands like the Beatles were blowing up the charts.  I guess they felt it sounded British.  There is an extensive interview and article on the band at Popretrorama.com called The True Story of the Royal Guardsmen.  Click on the link if you want to learn more.

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Everywhere – Fiction Act E.P. – Album Spotlight

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The lead singer of Everywhere reached out to me (and I am sure 100’s of other people as well so I know I am not special) to listen to their band’s new E.P., ‘Fiction Act’.  I get a lot of these requests and 9 times out of 10, I can’t stomach what I hear; however, this one was very different.  I actually enjoyed what I was hearing come from my car speakers.

When that happened, I had to find out who they were and what they were about.  First, I like to know where the band gets their name.  Per they bio on their website at everywheretheband.com:

The name of the band was inspired by the quote “Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go everywhere” by former Cosmopolitan editor Helen Gurley Brown.

This told me the band was looking for the bad girl and to get laid…what band isn’t.  I would be worried if they didn’t.  I don’t know if this is true, I am just guessing.  It also let me know they actually put a little thought into their name and it showed some intelligence.

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Halestorm – ReAniMate 3.0 – The CoVeRs eP – Album Review

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As I have said repeatedly, cover albums are not my favorite albums as usually they lack the imagination and creativity to make them feel like it is the band’s songs.  They stick too much to the original and who wants that.  If I want to hear something that sounds like the original song, I will listen to the original song.

I will keep an open mind with this review and do my best to do it justice.  Halestorm is now on their 3rd edition of their Reanimate the Covers E.P.’s.  I give the band credit for giving their fans something to tide them over until their next album.  As a music fan, it is nice to always get something new from your favorite bands even if it is a cover song.  However, Halestorm does a lot of covers.

After listening to the album repeatedly for the last few days, I feel I have a great grasp of the songs and can say that I am not overly impressed with the E.P. as a whole.  The band sticks pretty close to the original versions which is where my disappointment lies on most of the songs, but overall it is not a bad effort.  I would rather have a full album of new material though.

The opening track is “Still of the Night”, a Whitensake cover.  I have to admit I do like this song.  Yes, they stick close to the original version, but the vocal range is actually perfect for Lzzy and the band sounds really great.  What I like about Halestorm is that when they really rock it out, that is where they shine.  This song really gives them the opportunity to rock out.

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Sixx:A.M. – ‘Prayers for the Blessed, Vol. 2’ – Album Review

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On the follow-up to ‘Prayers for the Damned, Vol. 1’, Sixx:A.M. is back in a little over 6 months with the ‘Prayers for the Blessed, Vol. 2’.  What I love about Sixx:A.M. is the consistency they have with the quality of songs and the album and this one is no different. There are not too many bands that are hitting on all cylinders like they currently are.

When the first song, “Barbarians (Prayers for the Blessed)”, kicks in you immediately know the band has picked up right where Vol. 1 left off.  The heavy ass drums and guitar just screams ‘CRANK ME UP!!!’

The first single off the album is “We Will Not Go Quietly” and is more of what I have come to expect and salivate over. James Michael’s vocals are outstanding and you can’t complain about the greatness of DJ Ashba’s guitar work either.

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Record Store Day – The Wild Feathers – ‘Live at the Ryman’

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On Black Friday, November 25th, it was Record Store Day.  A day to celebrate independently owned Record Stores.  Bands will release special edition or unique offerings to celebrate.  I was in the middle of traveling to Atlanta from Charlotte and was not able to hit my local record store to show my appreciation.

However, on Saturday I did visit a record store in Marietta, Ga because there was one album I was eager to obtain.  It was a special 2 LP release of The Wild Feathers ‘Live at the Ryman’.  There were only 3,000 copies made and I can say I am one of the very proud owners of one copy.

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Bon Jovi – ‘This House Is Not For Sale’ – Album Review

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The song “God Bless This Mess” sums up the album. The album is a complete mess. The album has some good songs, but overall lacks heart and the great songwriting from years past. I really wanted to like this album and hoped they could make one last great album. That did not happen.

What is wrong with the album?  Where do I begin.

1. The album is so formulaic and a repeat of their last few albums. There is definitely nothing new.

2. The backing vocals are lacking. Richie Sambora’s vocals alongside Jon’s voice are sorely missed.

3.  There are no great power ballads and a lot of the songs lack any real emotion. At times it feels like they are phoning it in.  It is very disappointing.

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Dee Snider – ‘We Are The Ones’ – Album Review

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When I heard Dee Snider was finally releasing another solo album, I was actually excited.  I had recently become a fan of his and his former band Twisted Sister after watching their documentary “We Are Twisted F#@king Sister”.  I had heard of them, of course, and love all their hits; however, I garnered a whole new respect for the band and how much they busted their hump and earned every ounce of success they had.

My expectations for the album were relatively low due mainly to his solo release ‘Dee does Broadway’.  The Twisted Sister lead singer doing Broadway tunes?  I couldn’t wrap my head around that one.  So, imagine my delight when I hit play.  It was beyond anything I was expecting and it was full of surprises.  The album rocked out, but was much more radio friendly for most of the songs.  There was enough variety to keep your interest and not disappoint any fans.Damon Ranger was the producer and helped Dee craft a great all around album.

The album opened with the title song “We Are the Ones” which to no surprise was a rocker and exactly what I was hoping he would deliver.  The next song, “Over Again” which is another old school rocker.  The chorus is very catchy and you will catch yourself singing it Over and Over and Over Again (sorry…had to go there).

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Lady Gaga – Joanne (2016)- Album Review

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When Lady Gaga came on the scene back in 2008, I thought she was just a 21st Century Madonna.  Boy, was I wrong.  Where Madonna never really grew up in her music, Lady Gaga certainly has.

The album is eclectic in its musical styles, but they all blend nicely together in a very cohesive album.  She definitely has her pop/dance songs such as the first single “Perfect Illusions” to “A Yo” which would fit nicely on any P!nk album.

Lady Gaga rocks out on the coolest song of the album “John Wayne” and has a country-blues tinged song “Sinner’s Prayer”.  Her vocal maturity shows through on the exceptional songs “Joanne”, “Diamond Heart” and the heartbreaking love song “Million Reasons”.

One of the highlights is the song “Angel Down” that was inspired by Trayvon Martin. It is a very moving and sad song.  The only misstep I found was “Hey Girl’ with Florence Welch.  It is the one song I found flat musically and not very interesting.

For the album, she worked with Mark Ronson, Beck & Josh Homme (eclectic group) who helped her craft a well-rounded, sensational album.  I can now say I am officially a fan.

10 keepers out 11 songs – 91% (4.5 out 5 stars).

 

NOTE:  This is my first 200 word album review which was inspired by a challenge by Mike Ladano from way back in August. I am a little slow getting around to it.  Click on his name and check out his site.  It has tons of reviews and some awesome stories.