Category: Rock

Billy Idol – ‘Charmed Life’ – Album Review (The Billy Idol Series)

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic63 Comments

Billy Idol’s world was different now after ‘Whiplash Smile’ and ‘Vital Idol’.  Steve Stevens was gone, his manager Bill Aucoin was gone and he needed a fresh start.  After reconciling with his girlfriend, Perri Lister, they moved from New York City to Los Angeles to give things a go.

Billy and Perri had a baby boy, Billy bought himself a motorcycle, Billy got the acting bug and Billy couldn’t stay faithful to Perri.  A lot was going on.  Oh yeah, and he continued to use drugs.  So, where to begin.  I will give a Cliff Notes version as it would be a rather long synopsis if I didn’t.

I guess we will go with the fact that he had a baby and was now a dad, but it didn’t seem to stop his infidelity. He continually cheated on Perri and even fell for a girl 13 years younger than him.  Well, he knocked her up and she gave Billy a beautiful baby girl.  This of course was the end of Billy & Perri when she found out.

IMG_1769

Billy also met a lot of people in the movie business and actually got a big role in the Oliver Stone movie ‘The Doors’ about Jim Morrison and the band.   But before he could do that role, Billy went and had himself a little motorcycle accident which nearly cost him one of his legs.  As a result, he couldn’t do the role and had to settle for a much lesser role in the movie.  In fact, it was so bad he wasn’t able to promote his new album he had been working on called ‘Charmed Life’.  He did appear in the video for the first single (more on that later), but not much else.

Continue reading “Billy Idol – ‘Charmed Life’ – Album Review (The Billy Idol Series)” →

My Sunday Song – “Rocket Ride” by Kiss

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic8 Comments

For My Sunday Song #140 and the final of this 10 song run of Kiss songs, we are discussing “Rocket Ride” by Kiss.  The song is one of the five original songs on the classic live album Kiss Alive II.  For the second live album, Kiss stepped it up a notch and added some original songs to give the album that extra boost.  The song reached #39 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was the band’s seventh song to make it to the Top 40 charts.

The song was written by Ace Frehley and Sean Delaney.  Sean, if you don’t know, worked with Kiss back in the day and was crucial in Kiss becoming Kiss.  He pushed Bill Aucoin to go see the band and then Bill became the manager.  Sean became their road manager and was critical in the development of the band’s onstage choreography and even co-wrote many famous Kiss songs.  He is a big part of the  band’s Kisstory!!

This is the only song of the five that Ace actually appeared on as Bob Kulick was brought in to play the guitar on all the other songs.  Ace and Peter are the only Kiss members to appear on this track in return.  Peter of course on the drums and Ace played all the guitar and bass parts.

The song opens with some electrifying guitar riffs delivered by the master himself.  It speeds by with a blistering pace and Ace truly nails the vocals.  The song is fun, rocking and delivers everything you want in a Kiss song including a stellar solo.  Peter keeps the beats coming with some nice little fills and the two are great together. The guitar riff at the end along with the explosiveness of Peter’s drumming ends the song perfectly and goes out the same way it came in  with bang.

51V0lbkc-FL._SY355_.jpg

Continue reading “My Sunday Song – “Rocket Ride” by Kiss” →

Friday New Releases – April 19th

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic13 Comments

Today is Good Friday!!  In more ways than I can explain right now.  Easter is this weekend and, the kids are out of school for a week…oh what should we do!!  First, we should check out the new music.  There isn’t a whole lot as it is Easter weekend. Only one that I will definitely listen to and the rest…maybe or maybe not.  My choices are highlighted in Blue.

  • 81fids1zw7l._ss500_  JohnnySwim – Moonlight – (Johnnyswim):  Johnnyswim are a husband/wife duo who I am not that familiar with.  I saw them open for Needtobreathe and I really enjoyed the show, so I will be checking them out.  Plus Chip Gaines of Fixer Upper loves them and his wife had them play for his birthday…I don’t think I could afford to have any band play for my birthday!!

  • 710paSDGp9L._SX522_  Rolling Stones – Honk – (Universal Music):  Yes, another greatest hits package from the aging rockers.  This was to be for their upcoming tour which is now postponed due to Mick having heart surgery.  Prayers out to you sir!!  I will spin it, but when I feel in the mood for it.  Won’t be rushing out to get.

Continue reading “Friday New Releases – April 19th” →

Motley Crue – ‘The Dirt’ – Movie Review

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic12 Comments

I will admit that I hadn’t read the book (yet) and I was apprehensive about watching the movie because the trailer looked like a bad Lifetime Movie.  But being it was on Netflix and it wouldn’t cost anymore than I am paying now for the service, I finally broke down and watched it.  What did I think?  Well, that is the whole point of this review, to let you know what I thought about the movie.

The movie is very graphic.  It doesn’t shy away from the drug use or any of the sex…at all!!  The opening scene where they are partying doesn’t hold back and pretty much sums up the whole band in 1 minute.  When I was a kid, this scene would have been epic, but as a 50 year old male, with two daughters, I now found it disturbing and sad…damn how perspective changes with age and life experiences.

Without having read the book, I can’t speak to how accurate the movie stuck to it, but then again we can’t speak to the accuracy of the book based on how drugged out these guys were all the time.  I can speak to the performances overall.  The actors portraying the band are as follows:

  • Nikki Sixx – Douglas Booth
  • Tommy Lee – Colson Baker (aka Machine Gun Kelly)
  • Mick Mars – Iwan Rheon
  • Vince Neil – Daniel Webber

The movie started off too crazy and too outlandish which left me not really caring about these guys a whole lot.  As the movie progressed, the acting progressed and the movie actually got better.  As far as Razzle’s death (of Hanoi Rocks) by the drunk driving of Vince, I didn’t feel the proper tension build up it needed. It felt flat.  But later when Vince lost his little girl to cancer, I felt that.  That was way sadder and more believable (plus it could be I have girls and I could relate to how awful that would be to lose one).

motleydirt

Continue reading “Motley Crue – ‘The Dirt’ – Movie Review” →

The Original Vs. The Cover – “Africa”

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic18 Comments

For this version of The Original Vs. The Cover, we are covering a fairly new cover of the song Africa by Weezer compared to the original by Toto.  The Weezer cover has brought Weezer back in to the news, but it has also brought the band Toto to a whole new generation of music lovers which is always a good thing.

The song was written by David Paich and Jeff Pocaro of the band Toto and released back in 1982.  David came up with the song after watching a documentary about all the suffering in Africa.  It moved him, but so did the pictures of such a beautiful continent.  The song is a love song, but love for a place and not an actual romance.  The song did really well for the band and hit #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and #3 in the UK.

Now, 35+ odd years later, a fan on twitter kept asking Weezer to record a cover of the song which they did not do.  They did a cover of the song “Rosanna” to troll the people begging for a cover.  However, a few months later, the band finally released a cover of the song.  Their version only went to #51 on the Billboard Hot 100, but much higher on other charts.  To make it even better, Toto went on and released a cover version of “Hash Pipe” by Weezer,  We are not going to cover that song here.

Toto_-_Africa.jpg

Continue reading “The Original Vs. The Cover – “Africa”” →

Bryan Adams – ‘Shine A Light’ – Album Review

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic11 Comments

Bryan Adams is coming in concert to Charlotte, NC on May 4th, 2019.  I thought this would be a great date night for my wife and I so bought 2 tickets.  With each pair of tickets you buy, you get a copy of the new Bryan Adams album ‘Shine A Light’.  I hadn’t bought any new Adams stuff in quite some time so I was glad to get this and I thought, why not review it.  So, here is that review.

The first thing I noticed is that Bryan is more Easy Listening than he is rock now and I guess that comes with age.  And getting through those first two tracks was not easy to listen to at all.  The first song is the title track, “Shine A Light”, and was written by both Bryan and Ed Sheeran.  Yes, the Ed Sheeran.  It is a catchy enough song, but it is pure pop dribble.  And the second track is no better as it is a duet with Jennifer Lopez called “That’s How Strong Our Love Is”. Yes, the J-Lo herself.  Now if you can make it through those tracks, it will get better, I promise.

IMG_0001

“Part Friday Night, Part Sunday Morning” is probably my favorite song on the album.  It is a fun, good old-fashion rock song that Bryan is really good at it.  Great tempo and great rhythm and all around good time.  Not to be out done is “Driving Under the Influence of Love” written with his long time writing partner, Jim Vallance.  Another rocker that takes me back to Bryan in the 80’s.  These are the two songs that should have kicked off this album rather than that crap before it.  It is uptempo and has a guitar solo.  What more could you want.

Continue reading “Bryan Adams – ‘Shine A Light’ – Album Review” →

My Sunday Song – “God of Thunder” by Kiss

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic6 Comments

For My Sunday Song #139, “God of Thunder” by Kiss is our menacing topic.  The song is off the band’s 1976 classic ‘Destroyer’.  Kiss was flying high at this point and unstoppable.  “God of Thunder” became Gene’s theme song and is the point in the live show that saw Gene spit his blood and perform his bass solo.  It was always awesome.

The song was written by Paul Stanley and he had all intentions of singing it.  Producer, Bob Ezrin thought differently.  He recommended slowing the song down and letting Gene sing the song.  The slow, almost nightmarish beat of the song fit Gene’s personae perfectly.

The song kicks off with a couple children saying…”Okay, ya’ll can start singing”.  Those kids were heard throughout the song screaming and making all kinds of noises during the song.  Those kids were David and Josh Ezrin, the producer’s kids.  There were so many sound effects added to it to give that eerie feeling.  Even Ace’s guitar work was done in a way to add more of a darkness feel to the song.

61yMhtYGl6L

Continue reading “My Sunday Song – “God of Thunder” by Kiss” →

Friday New Releases – April 12th

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic9 Comments

A number of new releases this week across a vast array of genres.  There is probably something for everyone this week.  We have Alternative, Christian, Indie, R&B, Country, Metal, EDM, AOR, Bubble Gum Pop and who knows what else.  There a few that interest me, but don’t necessarily excite me where I am running out and buying anything. A few I want to listen to and they are highlighted in Blue as always.  Let me know what interests you or if I missed anything.  Enjoy listening and have a great weekend!!

  • 81wqiwabv8l._sx522_  Band of Skulls – Love is All You Love – (SO Recordings):  This English band is back with their 5th album and they are quite interesting and worth a listen.  They are part Blues Rock, Indie Rock, Stoner Rock and just plain Hard Rock.  They are a little of everything and that is what is great about them.  Give them a try if you haven’t already.

  • A14oFsF98hL._SX522_  Danny Gokey – Haven’t Seen It Yet – (Sparrow Records):  Christian artist and former American Idol hopeful releases his fourth album and I was pleasantly surprised by how good his last album was that I will be checking this one out as well.  It is towards the pop realm in Christian music, but his voice is fantastic and the lyrics are great.  If you need something uplifting, this should fit the bill.

Continue reading “Friday New Releases – April 12th” →

Harem Scarem – The Ultimate Collection – Album Review

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic6 Comments

Formed in Canada around 1987, Harem Scarem has been rocking for well over 30 years now.  With 15 studio albums, 8 live albums and numerous compilation albums, they have been delivering solid rock music for the masses.  The band only has two original members still in it from the beginning and they are the two most crucial in this scenario.  Lead singer, Harry Hess, and Lead Guitarist, Pete Lesperance.  Why would these two be the most crucial, well they are the principal song writers as well as the voice and sound of the band.  I would say that is crucial.

The Ultimate Collection is a box set that contains 12 of their studio albums plus a collection of songs from early in their career as well as a disc of unreleased tracks.  And to top it off, the studio albums include all the bonus tracks from those albums as well.  That is a lot of music and there are 175 tracks in this set. Incredible.

IMG_0007

What does that look like all sprawled out?  Here you go…

IMG_0008

Continue reading “Harem Scarem – The Ultimate Collection – Album Review” →

Billy Idol – ‘Vital Idol’ – Album Review (The Billy Idol Series)

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic55 Comments

Mid-way through the tour for Whiplash Smile, there was a new head at Chrysalis Records named Mike Bone.  He wanted to immediately make his mark with Billy and suggested putting a compilation together of Remixed songs along with a live version of “Mony Mony”.  Billy was on board and while on tour, they recorded the live version, slapped a bunch of remixes together and bam…you had an album.

All this above was from Billy’s book, ‘Dancing With Myself’, but doesn’t make sense to me.  As the time in the book was around 86/87 and this compilation had already been released in 1985 in the UK.  In September 1987, ‘Vital Idol’ was released in the US.  Plus, my version doesn’t have a “Live” version of “Mony Mony”.  At least it doesn’t sound live.  Not sure Billy’s memory was correct in the order of things as the book doesn’t mention the UK version and the live take of “Mony, Mony” was on the greatest hits collection that came out in 1988 not the 1987 version of Vital Idol.  Sorry, not completely true as a 1988 Japanese version of Vital Idol does have the live version.  Confusing.

IMG_1763

The UK and US version also differed ever so slightly.  The UK version had one less song and the track order was different.  The US version had a remix of a track off Whiplash Smile which the UK version was out before that album was even released so it wouldn’t have it.

Continue reading “Billy Idol – ‘Vital Idol’ – Album Review (The Billy Idol Series)” →