For My Sunday Song #67, I am going with a song that randomly pops in my head more often than not, “I Started a Joke”. The song is by the Bee Gees and I don’t honestly know why I find myself singing it at the most odd times. I guess it means I really like this song and I actually do. I was not a Bee Gees fan at all because when I grew up and got in to music, Disco was the Devil. I actually love the Bee Gees now, but their real early stuff from the late 60’s and early 70’s is the best.
“I Started a Joke” was released back in 1968 and was on their album ‘Idea’. The song was written by all three brothers and was sung by Robin Gibb. The song has such a relaxing, somewhat hypnotic sound that is beautiful and psychedelic. It has a sadness to it and the lyrics do as well (“I started a joke, which started the whole world crying”). The song has stuck with me and is constantly playing in my head. For years, I will just start singing this song and looking back it might be at times I was sad but I truly don’t know why it stays with me.
Robin has never explained what the song is about as he felt the song interpretation is up to the listener as any real explanation would detract from what the listener feels it is about. Robin’s vocals on this song are stunning. His squeaky, high pitched voice and the melody just makes me feel the song is about loneliness. I think with the loss of my parents over the last couple years, there is a little part of me that feels a little lonely since they aren’t with me anymore.
It is Black Friday!!! As a result, a lot of bands don’t release albums the day after Thanksgiving. However we do have a few coming out…one studio release I might give a listen, one anniversary release, a couple live and a greatest hits (of ballads). Hopefully there is something for you. Have a great day and don’t shop too much!!! My choices are highlighted in Blue.
Queen – News of the World 40th Anniversary Super Deluxe: The biggest release today is the 40th Anniversary Edition of News of the World. This looks great and I would get it, but it is pretty pricey and might be out of my reach for awhile. The album features the classics “We Will Rock You” and “We are the Champions” so it is a must for anyone’s collection…if you can afford it. The Super Deluxe is $128…ouch!! If it is streamable, I will listen to it there first.
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Who Built the Moon? – (Caroline): Oh the Gallagher Brothers…First Liam has a new album and now Noel. Since no more Oasis, I will take what I can get from each. Liam’s album was surprisingly good…I hope this will be just as surprising (even with the girl playing scissors on stage) and just as good.
My Sunday Song #66 is the first current release I have done in some time. It is the song “Feel the Still” by the band Portugal. The Man. The song is the second single off the band’s 2017 album “Woodstock” and their first #1 on any chart. What surprised me about the band when I looked them up was that this is their 8th studio album. 8th?? I had never heard of these guys…how did that happen??
I first heard this song on an Apple commercial and then later I started hearing it on the radio. It was so damn catchy and had a 60’s kind of vibe to it with the fun beat and John Gourley’s very high pitched vocals. As it turns out, the song has borrowed heavily from the song “Please, Mr. Postman” by The Marvelettes which was released way back before my time in 1961 (not really that far before my time but definitely before).
Lyrically the song seems all over the place. It jumps from references to the civil rights movement in 1966 up to their introduction to the Beastie Boys, Licensed to Ill in 1986 and all the way to today and what is happening with the current administration. I saw where the song was inspired by his daughter growing up while they were making this album. To me he seems to be worried about the world she is going to inherit and that we need to fight for our rights like people have done in the past. Now is the time. Maybe I am reading too much into this short song at only 2:43.
Happy Friday! Next week is Thanksgiving here in the States and sadly, there isn’t a ton to be thankful for on this week’s releases except for the few new live releases from Iron Maiden, Jeff Lyne’s ELO and Black Sabbath. Outside of that, I don’t really care too much. I might give some a listen, but got get through these live albums first. My choices are highlighted in Blue! Let me know if anything tickles your fancy.
Iron Maiden – The Book of Souls: The Live Chapter – (Iron Maiden LLP): Of course any Iron Maiden live album is a welcome sight and this one is no different. This will probably be first up on the drive in to work. I know several of my loyal followers will be devouring this one as well. You know who you are!!
Black Sabbath – The End – (Eagle Rock Entertainment):The Final Black Sabbath show was captured and now being released. Not surprising that they are coming to an end, amazingly they lasted as long as they did. I am interested to see how this show turned out and bid a final farewell to this icon of metal music. For that alone, it is worth a spin!
Welcome to another Friday New Releases and this week is a biggie. Why? Because Taylor is finally releasing her long awaited new album. I put it at the top because it will be the most played album in our house (I have two girls that love her). But don’t fret! There is plenty of other releases for everyone. I have a ton of rock records that I can’t wait to spin and they are highlighted in Blue. I hope there is something for you. Enjoy!
Taylor Swift – Reputation – (Big Machine): Get ready because the old Taylor is DEAD!! This is a new Taylor Swift and from what I have heard so far, I would agree. Taylor is reinventing herself now with each new release and I don’t see it as a bad thing. At least for me, the new songs are more interesting than the prior songs. I actually might like this new direction. We will see as I will definitely hear it enough to become familiar with it.
Sweet & Lynch – Unified – (Frontiers Records): Now here is where I will begin. Michael Sweet & George Lynch were brought together by Frontiers Records as one of their special projects and usually they end up as a one time deal, thankfully, this one is not. We are now given a second release and they are touring. Maybe this will last a little while. I always need more rock & roll.
Welcome back to T-Shirts, T-Shirts, T-Shirts. I didn’t expect to do another post so soon, but the Rock T-Shirt collection has taken a little twist. It has become a family affair. Not only have I been buying, but now my kids have to have band T-Shirts as well.
My oldest daughter is the worst. Almost as bad as I am. She has some concert T’s and now she has quite a few band shirts as well. Here are her concert shirts for Ed Sheeran, James Bay and Tori Kelly…
For My Sunday Song #64, I chose a classical pop track called “Shatter Me” by Lindsey Stirling. If you don’t know Lindsey, shame on you, she is an American violinist who performs what is called classical crossover. It is classical music with a Pop twist to it is how would describe it. The song “Shatter Me” was off her second album of the same name. It was actually Lindsey’s first attempt at writing lyrics and normally the songs are instrumentals only. I have loved this song since I first heard it and was reminded of it when I saw Lindsey on Dancing With the Stars…and she is pretty good.
The song features the powerhouse vocals of Halestorm’s lead singer Lzzy Hale. The combination of Lindsey’s musical stylings and Lzzy’s rock vocals delivers one of the best songs of 2014. The song would go on to reach #39 on the Billboard Adult Pop songs and was her first charting song.
The song has a positive message about breaking free or shattering the image of what you think people want you to be to being what you want to be. It is about being strong and having the courage to push the limits of who you can be and what you can do. The rock edge to the song and that violin together prove to be a powerful force in delivering this strong message.
Can you believe we are in November already. Christmas is just around the corner and with all the new releases today, what might be on your Christmas list? I don’t really have anything from these releases that I am dying to have, but there are a couple I will give a listen to. Not much in the rock world for me, it is all Pop. The ones I am interested in at least listening to are highlighted in Blue as always.
If you want to buy any of the albums, I have tried to make it easy for you. Click on the link after each album and it will take you to iTunes and you can download the release with just a few clicks.
Maroon 5 – Red Pill Blues – (222 Records/Interscope): Maroon 5 brings us another record, but with the over saturation of Adam Levine on TV with the Voice and the lack of greatness from the singles so far I am not overly excited. However, I have been a huge fan since the beginning so it will get listened to. I hope there are songs that only feature the band. I am sick and DAMN!!! Tired of the releases for this album so far that feature another artist. Why do songs today on Pop Radio have to be with someone else. I don’t get and this is a topic for another time. I do like “Cold” though.
Sam Smith – The Thrill of It All – (Capitol Records): Finally the voice of Sam Smith is back with some new music. I know my oldest loves him and I have to admit he has a nice voice. I will give it a spin and see what he has to offer. The first two promotional songs have been good.
Welcome to the last Friday of October and the last set of new releases for the month. Halloween is coming up in a few days and maybe there is something on here that will be a treat for you…or maybe you buy it, it sucks and then it is a trick…either way I hope there is something for you. The ones I am interested in are highlight in Blue.
Stereophonics – Scream Above the Sounds – (Stereophonics / Parlophone): These Welsh boys are back with another new album. After 20 years together, they haven’t missed a beat. They are on a steady diet of one new album every two years and without fail, he were are with their latest. If you don’t know them, check them out and see why they are top of my list this week.
Red – Gone – (Provident Label Group): This Christian metal band is straying from their Christian roots with this album and delivering a mainstream rock record. They even do a Sia cover on the album. This could be interesting. I will definitely cue this one up as well,
After 15 years since her last studio album, Shania Twain is finally back with a brand new album called ‘Now’. My love for Shania dates back to the 90’s with her smash hit album, ‘The Woman in Me’. From there on, I was hooked. The deathly good looks and that amazing voice was a combination I couldn’t resist.
She has been through a lot since her last album…a divorce from her partner in music crime, Robert John “Mutt” Lange, to vocal problems resulting from Lyme Disease and dysphonia. She has persevered and is now back on to the music scene.
Two years ago she embarked on a comeback tour even though she didn’t have an album. My wife and I were able to see her on that tour and her show was spectacular. My wife and I are such big fans, we even had the song “From this Moment” played at our wedding. So, a new album from her is more than welcomed in my family.
Well, that was until we heard the first single, “Life’s About to Get Good”. To say this song is bad, would be mean. To say this song was good, would be lying. It lies somewhere in between. As much as I dislike this song, sadly, it is one of the better songs on the album. If you like old Shania and don’t want her to change, then you might like this song. For me, it was boring and lyrically awful. The song has a real CHESSE factor to it. I will give her this song and I won’t delete it only because it is better than most and she did release it as a single. The song hasn’t been performing very well since its release proving a little of how I feel might be what other people think as well.
There are a couple good songs on the album, the next one being her latest release and the opening track “Swingin’ With My Eyes Closed”. This is classic Shania, yet in a good way. This one is definitely Country tinged and is everything you love about her. It is not my favorite song on the album, but it is pretty darn close.
My favorite song on the album is “Roll Me On the River”. What I like about this song is its difference from everything else on the album. It is the most original and takes Shania in a different path which is the approach this album should have taken for the whole thing as we are 15 years later and she is basically trying to do the same thing she did then “now”. The album is titled “NOW”, shouldn’t the songs feel like they are now in the present day. There is a heavy drum beat and takes on a darker tone musically. She delivers the lyrics slower and more deliberately. This song is what the album title reflects. It is a modern song. It isn’t country, it is a little more rock.
One thing this album was going to show me was if the myth about Mutt being the puppet master, pulling her strings on her albums as he produced and help write her three biggest albums, was true. After spending a little time with the album, I feel that myth was warranted. The songs on this album lack any lyrical development and good production. Mutt was a master at developing lyrical phrasing. Go back and listen to her earlier albums and even go back and listen to Def Leppard interview about Mutt. He felt the way the words sounded were more important than the words themselves. They definitely don’t take this approach with the lyrics on this album.
One prime example is the song “Poor Me”. The song is a play on the words of her life being so hard and she went through so much…oh poor me! And then Pour Me a drink. In theory, this song is brilliant play on those two sayings. Execution is completely different. Lyrically the song is a complete miss. What could have been turned into a big hit with Mutt just kinda whimpers out into forgettable and boring.
Since I was listening to the deluxe edition and there are 16 songs, I won’t go through all of them. I have highlighted the ones I like above and I don’t feel there is any need to go through each individual song as they all fall under the same category as boring, cheesy and lyrically lacking. The songs aren’t overly varied as they will hint mostly towards country and pop. You get some upbeat tunes and some slower ballads, but they are all missing that pop, that right production and memorable & clever lyrics.
My wife and I even listened to the album together and when the album, she turned to me and went…ehh! Which spoke volumes to me. That is when I went and went through the album several more times on my own to see if it gets better with each listen, but it didn’t. I because more difficult with the exception a few songs I already mentioned. Here is where I stand on whether a song is a Keeper or needs to be deleted.
Track Listing:
“Swingin’ With My Eyes Closed” – Keeper
“Home Now” – Delete
“Light of My Life” – Delete
“Poor Me” – Delete
“Who’s Gonna Be Your Girl” – Delete
“More Fun” – Delete
“I’m Alright” – Delete
“Let’s Kiss and Make Up” – Delete
“Where Do You Think You’re Going” – Delete
“Roll Me On the River” – Keeper
“We Got Something They Don’t” – Delete
“Because of You” – Delete
“You Can’t Buy Love” – Delete
“Life’s About to Get Good” – Keeper
“Soldier” – Delete
“All in All” – Delete
3 keepers out 16 songs – 19% (1 out 5 stars) As much as I have loved Shania, this was hard for me to listen to and to write about. I was so hoping for a grand return. I believe what I realized about the album is it is missing the FUN of her previous albums. It is like your crazyass best friend in college went and grew up and became a boring adult.
Go listen for yourself and you judge. My expectations might have been too high and so anything would be a let down…but I don’t think that is the case. Let me know what you think. Thanks.
