Category: New Releases

Friday New Releases – July 7th

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Happy Friday!  For those of us in the States, we celebrated our Independence Day on July 4th and now it is time to celebrate Friday New Releases.  Go grab a new album and let me know what you get.  This Friday, there are not a ton of releases and only a couple I want to check out…they are highlighted in Blue. I hope you find something you like.

  • 170x170bb-69  Riverdogs – California – (Frontiers Records Srl):  Def Leppard’s own Vivian Campbell and the other Riverdogs bring us their first new album in 6 years.  They are blues based, hard rock band and they never disappoint.  This will be the one I run to first and give it a listen.

  • 170x170bb  All 41 – World’s Best Hope – (Frontiers Records Srl): Frontiers Records is a great record company and they are known for bringing great artist together for a special project and this is no exception.  The band has Terry Brock from Giant & Strangeways on lead vocals: Robert Berry from Three & Alliance on bass and lead vocals; Gary Pihl from Boston, Sammy Hagar & also Alliance on guitar; and lastly, Matt Starr from Ace Frehley’s band and Mr. Big on drums.  I will give it a listen.

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Cheap Trick – ‘We’re All Alright!’ – Album Review

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Cheap Trick is the fine wine of Rock & Roll…they keep getting better with age.  Okay, that was extremely cheesy if not entirely true!  They are now on their 18th Studio album after 44 years together.  To top it off, it has only been around 15 months since their last one, ‘Bang, Zoom, Crazy…Hello’.  The new album picks up right where that album left off.  ‘We’re All Alright!’ even takes it to the next level.

The album title, ‘We’re All Alright!’, is a line straight out of their classic song “Surrender” and the whole album is classic Cheap Trick.  The album is a fast paced, juggernaut of pure Cheap Trick rock.  The songs are generally around 3 minutes and the album flies by at only 33 minutes (45 for the deluxe edition).  The album consists of new songs and some old songs that were never recorded or released.

For a band where the members are well into their 60’s, they sound so alive and refreshing and sound better than bands that are half their age.  Robin Zander’s vocals are amazing and sound like he did when he was a kid. Rick Nielsen’s guitar work on the album is the highlight for me.  So many great riffs and solos that music today is sorely missing.  Tom Petersson’s work on the bass keeps everyone in line and adds the finishing touches to each song.  Daxx Nielsen (Rick’s son) on drums has that old Cheap Trick sound and keep the band going at a heart stopping pace.

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Friday New Releases – June 30th

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It is the last Friday of June and I have vacation time coming my way.  Not much coming out this week and thankfully that is the case as I won’t have time much over the next week to listen to anything.  The ones I am curious about are highlighted in Blue.  Hopefully you find something you like…if so, let me know.

  • 170x170bb-48  Stone Sour – Hydrograd – (Roadrunner Records):  Corey Taylor (from Slipnot) and crew are back with their sixth studio album.  Talk is this will be more of a straight up rock and roll record which I am not sure what that will mean, but we will see what their definition of a Rock & Roll record is.  Looking forward to giving it a spin.

  • 51u9Y6CGJ8L._AC_US218_  Don Barnes – Ride the Storm – (MelodicRock Records):  Don Barnes from .38 Special finally gets to release his solo album from 1989.  Thanks to MelodicRock Records (& Melodicrock.com).  I am eager to hear what we missed from so long ago.  Apparently the album was never released due to the label (A&M Records) being sold.  I don’t know if it got lost in the shuffle or it wasn’t good enough that the new company didn’t want to release it.  We will soon find out.

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Friday New Releases – June 23rd

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Happy Friday!  I hope your Summer is going well.  This week has very few releases that are on my radar so not a lot to choose from.  There are a couple that will get a spin and maybe I can catch up on all the releases earlier in the month.  The ones I will listen to are highlighted in Blue…as usual.

  • 170x170bb-60  Imagine Dragons – Evolve – (Interscope):  The pop/rock band is back with their third studio release.  After breaking on to the scene in 2012 with “Radioactive, they hope to capture the magic yet again.  If “Believer” is any indication of what is to come, we should have another great release.

  • 170x170bb-33  King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard – Murder of the Universe – (Flightless Records):  King Gizzard returns with their 2nd album of 2017.  The first ‘Flying Microtonal Banana’ was exceptional and can they repeat the magic so quickly?  We will see.  Plus, they intend to release 4 to 5 albums this year so they better get moving as we are almost half way through the year.  This album appears to be quite different from the last as it is broken up into 3 chapters to tell an overall story I am assuming. I will have to wait and hear I guess.  NOTE: Video has a warning that if you are susceptible to seizures, DO NOT watch the video.

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Papa Roach – ‘Crooked Teeth’ – Album Review

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‘Crooked Teeth’ is Papa Roach’s ninth studio album and with it they show no signs of slowing down.  The band sounds incredible and delivers another solid release.  Where bands like Linkin Park have completely changed their style, Papa Roach hasn’t changed their sound too dramatically.  And why should they as they do it so well.

Papa Roach still brings the rap in their songs, however, the album is more melodic and has a very modern rock sound.  With any rock album, it sounds best cranked up as loud as you can take it.  Like they did with their last album, ‘F.E.A.R.’, they have also added a couple of collaborations with some spectacular guests including Skylar Grey and Machine Gun Kelly.

The album opens with “Break the Fall” and gives you the rap lyrics you would expect and then cranks up the metal with the classic Papa Roach sound.  The album comes out of the gate swinging and doesn’t let up with the title track, “Crooked Teeth”.  The first single off the album is a scorcher that attacks you from all sides with the pounding drums and screaming vocals and powerful guitars.  You see that even after 24 years, the band has not lost a step.

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Friday New Releases – June 16th

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Happy Friday!  It is time for more new releases and one I know everyone on earth is waiting to hear…that is right…Nickelback!!  Your local police will be thrilled to have new Nickelback music to play and torment their prisoners.  There is quite a lot and a little for everyone so take a look and start listening.  My choices are highlighted in Blue.

  • 170x170bb-1  Nickelback – Feed the Machine – (Nickelback II Productions):  Nickelback is back (no pun intended) to bring more enjoyment to our senses (this was supposed to come out as sarcasm, but sometimes it is tough to show that in writing).  Will I give it a listen???  Maybe, not sure yet.  I figured I would mention it since so many people do buy their albums and go see them in concert.

  • 170x170bb-59  Cheap Trick – We’re All Alright! – (Big Machine):  The first of two childhood favorite bands with new albums.  First up is Cheap Trick.  I am glad to see them still cranking out new tunes as this is their 18th studio album and they actually released one last year as well.  Will I give this one a listen…hell yeah!.

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Linkin Park – One More Light – Album Review

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Linkin Park goes 180º in direction with ‘One More Light’.  The heaviness from ‘The Hunting Party’ and anything else they have done is thrown out the window.  Instead, Linkin Park goes entirely POP!!  No heavy guitars, very little in the realm of rap and overall full on aggressiveness is gone.

The closest you get to old school Linkin Park is “Good Goodbye (feat. Pusha T & Stormzy)”. This is one of the few songs I do like despite the dumbest lyric in history brought to us by Pusha T…

“Goodbye, good riddance
A period is after every sentence”

Really!!  A period is after every sentence???  That is the best you could come up with to rhyme with good riddance. Suckish!

The first single, “Heavy”, is great, but only because of Kiiara’s voice.  She brings an elegance to the song that is needed. A few other songs I did end up enjoying included “Talking to Myself”, “Invisible” and “Sharp Edges”.  They were catchy even if unoriginal.  The remainder of the album meandered along and was completely forgettable.

‘One More Light’ is not worth your time. I might have liked it if I didn’t know it was Linkin Park.

5 keepers out 10 songs – 50% (2.5 out 5 stars)

#200WordChallenge

Friday New Releases – June 9th

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It is Friday yet again and there are even more albums out and ready for you to go buy, stream or do with it as you will.  Not a lot this week, but one critical one for my kids.  The ones I will check out are highlighted in Blue.  I hope there is something for you.

  • 170x170bb-70  Katy Perry – Witness – (Capitol Records):  After 4 long years since Prism, Katy is back and better than ever…well…maybe not.  She has released 3 singles are ready and I have to say I am not that impressed.  I only like the first one “Chain to the Rhythm”, the rest have been kind of awful (especially “Bon Appetit”).  And I have to mention how awful the album cover looks to me.  Not off to a good start.  I will still give it a try though, but expectations are now pretty low.

  • 51qQOMb6CqL._AC_US160_  Lady Antebellum – Heart Break – (Capitol Nashville):  Lady Antebellum is back after three years and the members doing a little stuff on their own.  They are pure pop country, but I love Charles Kelley’s voice and Hillary Scott’s as well.  Put the two together and wow!!

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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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Friday New Releases – June 2nd

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Can you believe we are already in to June???  Crazy!  And it has already gotten crazy hot here in Charlotte…and it isn’t even Summer yet (officially).  At least there are some Hot New Releases to keep you COOL!!!  There are only a handful I am looking to grab and they are highlighted in Blue.  I hope there is something that you are interested in getting.

  • 170x170bb (85)  U2 – The Joshua Tree (Deluxe) – (Island Records):  I can not believe it has been 30 years since this album was originally released. I was a senior in High School and this album was huge.  It is one of the world’s best selling albums.  U2 is commemorating the 30th anniversary with a new Deluxe Edition and a World Tour celebrating this album.  Who can forget all those great songs “Where The Streets Have No Name” “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”, “Bullet The Blue Sky” and “With Or With Out You”.  There is a 2CD Deluxe Edition which includes a live album of the Joshua Tree Tour and a SUPER DELUXE Edition which is a 4 CD set and includes 2 additional discs or remixes and rare songs from that time.  I definitely will be checking this out.

  • 81XAcRTPPLL._AC_UL160_SR160,160_  Adrenaline Mob – We the People – (Century Media):  Russell Allen (Symphony X) and Mike Orlando are back with their 3rd full length release.  The first two were great metal albums and I am not expecting anything less than spectacular with this one.  Climb aboard and check out the rush that comes with listening to these guys.

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