Category: Pop Music

Friday New Releases – April 21st

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Rock fans rejoice!!  There are an abundance of rock records out today.  There are a variety of other genres as well including a Barry Manilow release, but ROCK is KING today for me.  My favorites to listen to are highlighted in Blue. There will be more on the list I am interested in, but will get listened to whenever I have time.  I hope there is something here for you!  Happy Friday and Happy Listening!!

  • 61loxgv4ial-_ac_us160_  Crazy Lixx – Ruff Justice – (Frontiers Records SRL):  The Swedish “Hair” Metal band is back with a new line-up after losing their major songwriter, Andy Zata.  After hearing the first song, they still sound the same bringing us loud rock & roll.  Hoping for more of the same on the rest of the album.

  • 51xac57bxxl-_ac_us160_  Thunder – Rip It Up – (Earmusic):  English band, Thunder, is bringing us their 11th studio album.  They came about in 1990 right when the 80’s rock was dying out and missed out on being a huge band.  They have been going strong (off and on) since and I am looking forward to another great release from Danny Bowes and company.

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Friday New Releases – April 14th

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Happy Friday or should I say Good Friday!  Being Easter weekend probably explains the fact there are so few releases this Friday.  However, there is one special one that has my attention…the great Richie Kotzen.  Outside of that I might listen to Barenaked Ladies, but don’t know when and if I will get to others.  As usually my choices are highlighted in Blue.

  • 51yt9kcfX4L._AC_SY200_  Richie Kotzen – Salting Earth – (CD Baby):  Richie Kotzen is a true guitar wizard.  He is back with another solo album and I believe I have lost count after there have been so many.  He was incredible with Poison, Mr. Big and especially with The Winery Dogs and as a solo artist he is even better.  Check out what spells he is casting on this one.

  • 170x170bb (97)  Barenaked Ladies & The Persuasions – Ladies and Gentlemen: Barenaked Ladies & The Persuasions – (Raisin’ Records):  The Barenaked Ladies are collaborating with a cappella group The Persuasions.  The album consists of a lot of rewords from the Barenaked Ladies catalog and one cover of a Persuasion song.  Without Steven Page in the band anymore, are they really the same?  Don’t think so.

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Friday New Releases – April 7th

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We are now into April and the releases are still coming fast and furious.  There is a little something for everyone today and I am sure you will find something you like.  We have pop, rock, metal, country, alternative, christian, classical, techno…basically the whole gamut of genres.  My interests are focused on the ones highlighted in Blue.

  • 170x170bb-3  Michelle Branch – Hopeless Romantic – (Verve Label Group):  Michelle Branch??  Am I reading that correctly?  It has been over 14 years since she has had a full length solo album.  She had an E.P. in 2010, but not since 2003 has she had a full length studio album.  This one definitely has me intrigued.  I can’t wait to hear what she has to offer.

  • 610grn7amsl-_ac_us160_  Deep Purple – InFinite – (Earmusic):  Deep Purple just keep on going after almost 50 years.  This is their twentieth studio release and quite possibly their last “Big” tour, whatever that means.  I think the band members currently (after many iterations) is Ian Paice, Roger Glover, Ian Gillan, Steve Morse and Don Alrey.  Looking forward to this release after hearing some great things about the album.

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Rod Stewart – “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” – The 45 Single (1978)

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Off Rod Stewart’s 1978 album ‘Blondes Have More Fun’ comes one of his most memorable songs “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy”.  The song reached #1 in the US, Canada and the UK as well as 3 other countries.  It sold over 2,000,000 copies in the U.S. alone and according to Rolling Stones magazine is #308 of the Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

The song was a little more disco than what Rod was used to releasing.  He had previously been more of a blues rock singer.  As a result, the rock critics were not quite happy with the song.

According to wikipedia (the most reliable source on earth), the song had some legal issues due to copyright infringement cases brought against it.  The song…

incorporates elements of the melody from the song “Taj Mahal” by Jorge Ben Jor and the string arrangement from the song “Put Something Down On It” by Bobby Womack.

Regardless, it is still one of Rod’s most popular songs.  What I love about the cover, is the girl is not Blonde even though the album was ‘Blondes Have More Fun’.  I had also heard that the lady on the cover was Cher, but I couldn’t find anything that backed that up.  I will still think it though.

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Friday New Releases – March 31st

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It is the last Friday of the month and even the last day of the month.  There are over 20 albums on the list today including from some old times like Neil Diamond and Bob Dylan up to newcomers like La’Porsha Renae and Jackie Evancho (ok, she isn’t that new, but she is young).  There are also quite a couple 90’s artists back such as Jamiroquai and Ice T’s Body Count.  Only a few I am really interested in hearing right away and they are highlighted in Blue.  I hope there is something on this list that will brighten your day.  Friday new releases are just a great way to end a busy week.

  • 51ahfe18l2l-_ac_us160_  Brother Firetribe – Sunbound – (Spinefarm):  Yes, I know this album came out last week, but I had excluded it from the list for some strange reason. I wanted to highlight the release so I added it to this week’s new releases…Brother Firetribe comes to us from the great country of Finland.  They are a hard rock and AOR band and is a 5 piece band.  ‘Sunbound’ is their fourth release and after three previously stellar releases, I am looking forward to more magic from this band.

  • 170x170bb-5  Mastodon – Emperor of Sand – (Reprise Records):  Mastodon is heavy metal band from Atlanta, Georgia where I lived for 45 years prior to moving to Charlotte.  These guys are heavy metal and deliver the heavy to the extremes. They are unlike most bands I listen to and it is nice to change it up a little.  I have followed their career for awhile and can’t wait to give a listen.

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“My First Time” with The Police’s ‘Synchronicity’

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My First Time is about the ‘first’ album I received or bought for a band and sadly, my first album for The Police was ironically their last.  MTV had played their previous songs quite often and I loved “Don’t Stand So Close To Me” and “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic”, but it wasn’t until “Synchronicity II” that I finally decided to actually buy one of their records.

I picked up the cassette for ‘Synchronicity’ back in 1983 and later I did pick up their entire collection on CD by buying their box set which had all their albums.  I have since sold all the previous copies and when I was out vinyl shopping last year, I found ‘Synchronicity’ and snatched it up.  It cost $8 which was about the same price I paid for the cassette back in the ’80’s.

The Police were not an ordinary pop rock band.  For me, their lyrics were intelligent and not the bubble gum crap that was on the radio.  The songs made you think and look deeper into what they were saying.  At least they did for me.  It was the first time I felt music could be smart.

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Friday New Releases – March 24th

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Are you ready for Friday New Releases?  There are an absolute abundance of records today.  So many to choose from and where the heck do you begin.  I have more I want to hear than I have any week this year.  It is going to be busy non-stop music week.  I hope there is something for you.  The ones I want are in Blue and I can’t wait to get started!!!!

  • 61olilqtlgl-_ac_us160_  Colton Dixon – Identity – (Sparrow):  Colton Dixon has finally returned with a new album.  Colton is a Christian artist and he is a former American Idol Alum, but don’t let any of that scare you away.  He is an amazing talent.  This album is broken up into three parts about the spiritual journey of your Body, Mind & Spirit and should be very interesting.

  • 170x170bb-19  James Blunt – The Afterlove – (Atlantic Records UK):  The fifth studio album from James Blunt drops today.  I have followed him since the beginning even after hearing “You’re Beautiful” way too many times.  He always delivers stellar songs and he has a unique voice that I enjoy over and over.

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Friday New Releases – March 17th

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Happy Friday.  What are you in the mood to hear today?  You have a lot of variety and can listen to blues, rock, christian worship, classical pop, pop, alternative, metal and movie scores.  There are even a couple of 80’s bands back (Depeche Mode and Greg Kihn).  Whatever you like, let me know what floats your boat.  Mine are highlighted in Blue.

  • 170x170bb-22  Gary Clark Jr. – Live North America 2016 – (Warner Bros. Records):  This is probably the best one on the list.  Gary Clark Jr. live doesn’t get much better. If you haven’t heard him before, you are missing out.  He is a helluva a guitar player. He is blues, rock, soul, r&b and blends it all nicely together.  Listen to the video below and you will be like..DAMN!!! This man is awesome!!.

  • 170x170bb-3  Elevation Worship – There is a Cloud – (Elevation Church):  This church is just down the road from us and they do a great live show every year at the Spectrum Center that always sells out.  We have seen them several times at church (when we go) and they are amazing.  If you like Worship music, this is one of the better, more talented groups out there.

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Friday New Releases – March 10th

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Happy Friday!  I hope there are some new releases here that you might like.  There is not a whole lot coming out, but a few will be on my list to listen to during the week.  I will highlight those in Blue.  You will see something from the Jerry Garcia Band for you Deadheads and if you liked Soft Cell from the 80’s there is a greatest hits package from Marc Almond.  There is an album by the great country artist Marty Stuart that actually might be worth a listen, but isn’t first up on my list.  I will eventually get to that one.

  • 170x170bb-16  Chickenfoot – Best + Live – (Chickenfoot LLC & Entertainment One): I am not sure how you have a Best of album after only 2 studio albums, but Chickenfoot seems to think they need one.  I am thinking it is a contractual obligation they have to fulfil.  I will be glad for the Live songs and the one new single “Divine Termination”.  No matter what, when you have Sammy, Joe, Chad & Michael together, you are in for a good time.

  • 170x170bb-43  Bush – Black and White Rainbows – (Zuma Rock Records):  Bush is still going strong.  This is the first album for Gavin Rossdale since his well publicized divorce from Gwen Stefani.  It will be interesting to see how that impacted his song writing for this album.  Can’t wait to hear this one regardless of that fact.

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Maroon 5 – Deep Dive Playlist

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I didn’t know what to listen to the other day, so I hit shuffle on my whole library.  An old Maroon 5 song came up and I really loved that song.  It wasn’t one of their hits, but it was just as good.  It got me thinking about all their songs.

Maroon 5 is more than the songs you hear on the radio.  Their albums are usually great all the way through. I love it when a band’s non-singles are just as good as their radio hits, if not even better.  As a result of this one song randomly popping up on my shuffle, I decided to dive deep into their albums and put together a playlist of the Deep Cuts.  It is what I like to call Deep Dive Playlist.

I have only done two others so far since I started the blog.  One for Def Leppard and one for Bon Jovi.  I hope you enjoy this one as much as people seem to enjoy the other ones.  Here is my Deep Dive Playlist for Maroon 5.  They are not being ranked, they are only a playlist. I love them all.

“How” off the album ‘Hands All  Over Me’: “How” was the song I mentioned that popped up in my shuffle and the inspiration for this deep dive playlist.  It is more of a ballad than a pure dance song and I love Adam’s voice in this song.  Come to think of it, I love Adam’s voice.  How a man can get that high is beyond me, but his voice is so unique and so recognizable the minute you hear it.

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