The Collection: Ep. 49 – Airbourne on Vinyl

This week on The Collection, we are talking the Australian band Airbourne. Founded in 2001, however, their first album didn’t come out until 2007. Brothers Joel O’Keeffe and Ryan O’Keeffe along with David Roads and Justin Street bring their musical influences of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Motorhead, Def Leppard and of course being from Australia…AC/DC and create some killer rock music.  The AC/DC influence is the biggest as they are now doing what they did in the late 70’s and early 80’s.  They are delivering some dirty, gritty, sleazy, no holds barred, uncompromising rock & roll.

So go check it out as it is live tonight right now, March 10, 2025 at 8pm. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.

Friday New Releases – March 21, 2025

The big release of the week would have to be Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco’s new album, but that one is not for me. Instead I have on pre-order the new Pop Evil as well as the Rush 50 Set. I’ll stream the new Gotthard release and decide then whether or not to get. But there is still a lot of other releases so something is bound to tempt you. Let me know what you want to hear or what we may have missed. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a great weekend!

  • Pop Evil – What Remains – (MNRK Records)
  • Gotthard – Stereo Crush – (Reigning Phoenix Music)
  • Rush – Rush 50 (Anniversary Super Deluxe) – (Mercury Records / Anthem Records)
  • My Morning Jacket – Is – (ATO Records)
  • Selena Gomez & Benny Blanco – I Said I Love You First – (SMG Music / Friends Keep Secrets / Interscope)
  • Jessica Simpson – Nashville Canyon, Pt. 1 – (Nashville Canyon)
  • Bobby Rush & Kenny Wayne Shepherd – Young Fashioned Ways – (Deep Rush)
Continue reading “Friday New Releases – March 21, 2025”

Robbie Williams – ‘Life Thru A Lens” (25th Anniversary 7×7″ Box Set Edition)

After a very tumultuous time in the boy band Take That, Robbie left the group, recorded an album and went in to rehab. Robbie’s drug problem and ego problem was too much for Take That. He was tired of his creative input being ignored and was ready to branch out on his own. And branch out he did. His first album, ‘Life Thru a Lens’ was released on September 29, 1997 and though it started off slow, it would go on to great heights hitting #1 on the UK charts and selling over 3 million copies in Europe.

Now, we peasants here in the States, knew nothing about Robbie and sadly that would continue throughout most of his career. He had some moderate success with a few songs, but for the most part, the U.S. missed out on a hugely talented guy. I’m glad to say, I didn’t miss out. I discovered him a few years later with the songs “Millennium” and “Rock DJ” and I was hooked. But we aren’t here to talk about the albums those songs were on. Nope. We are here to talk about the 25th Anniversary Edition of his debut album, ‘Life Thru a Lens’ and what a box set he put together. This box set I bought when Udiscovermusic.com had a 50% off sale and I couldn’t pass it up.

What we get with this Box Set are not one, but 7 different 7″ singles. There are so many great songs on here. While Take That was pretty much ballads, Robbie was all Britpop! And he does it pretty fucking well. Not only do you have the five great singles of “Old Before I Die” (written with Desmond Child and The Hooter’s own Eric Bazillian), “Lazy Days”, “South of the Border”, the beautiful ballad”Angels” as well as the Queen-esque “Let Me Entertain You”. All fantastic songs, but the best song on here wasn’t even a single which is the angry, funtastic song “Ego A Go Go”. The box set even has the hidden track “Hello Sir” which is Robbie reciting a poem telling off an old teacher who told him he wouldn’t amount to anything…boy was he wrong. You get the whole album over the singles plus 2 bonus tracks all in the order of the album. Some day I’ll do a proper review of it, but for now, these are the Seven Singles.

Continue reading “Robbie Williams – ‘Life Thru A Lens” (25th Anniversary 7×7″ Box Set Edition)”

McPhee – ‘McPhee’ (1971/2025) – Album Review

Here we have another review of one of Noble Records Exclusive offerings. This time around we go Down Under to Sydney, Australia with a band named McPhee. The album was originally released in 1971 and has been lost and forgotten through the sands of time. Well, not really as it has been a highly sought after piece in the collecting world and an original LP will cost you well over $2,000 to obtain it. Don’t fret, these reissues by labels such as Guerssen Records help keep these lost gems in the public eye and we are luckier for it.

Guerssen always does such a fine job recreating the original artwork and they use only the best, high quality material. It is reproduced on a stunning green and black splatter vinyl which you will see below. On top of that you get an essay on the band by Ian McFarlane which gives you all the details needed to know about this band.

And speaking of the band, you get Jim Deverell on Organ, piano and vocals; Faye Lewis on vocals and percussion; Terry Popple on drums; Tony Joyce on guitar; and last but certainly not least, Benny Kaika on bass. It is a stellar line-up full of people that now how to use their instruments as you will hear if you check this out, which you should. The album is mostly full of covers but there are 2 original songs out of the 7 on the album. Musically, this is some killer acid rock, psychedelia, prog and pure rock. But enough jibber-jabber, lets get to the music.

SIDE 1:

Continue reading “McPhee – ‘McPhee’ (1971/2025) – Album Review”

Friday New Releases – March 14, 2025

Another week has gone by and thank goodness we are to another Friday New Release post. Some really good ones this week however, there is only one for me and that is Dorothy. Let me know what you want to hear this week or what we may have missed. As always, thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great weekend.

  • Dorothy – The Way – (Roc Nation Records)
  • Coheed and Cambria – The Father of Make Believe – (Virgin Music Group)
  • Steven Wilson – The Overview – (Fiction Records)
  • Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes – Live at the Greek – (Classicber)
  • Jon Anderson – Live: Perpetual Change – (Frontiers Records)
  • Streetlight – Night Visions – (Frontiers Records)
  • ZZ Ward – Liberation – (Sun Records)
Continue reading “Friday New Releases – March 14, 2025”

The Police – ‘Every Move You Make: The Studio Recordings’ (2019) – Box Set

Originally released on vinyl in 2018, they smartened up and finally released this on CD on November 16, 2019. I missed out on the vinyl, but luckily did grab this even though it wasn’t until back at the end of December when UdiscoverMusic had a 50% off sale. I think I picked this up for like $25 or so and free shipping. That is always key!! The box set contains every studio album (there are only 5) plus a bonus disc called ‘Flexible Strategies’ which contains all their B-Sides as well. The Discs are all housed in a gatefold vinyl-like jacket made of cardboard and those are all housed in a sturdy box that is decorated inside and out!!

But there is something missing. This isn’t the Complete Recordings released back in 1993 so this isn’t everything they’ve recorded. And it is also missing a booklet that gives us writing credits, song credits, lyrics or anything about the band. That was a little disappointing in my book. But I’m also a casual fan so I still think this set is great as it gives me all I need really which is the music to enjoy.

If you don’t know who The Police are…well…you are missing out. It is made of Stewart Copeland on drums, Andy Summers on guitar and Sting on bass. They all do some vocals but most is handled by Sting. They started in 1977 and were very punk with a reggae swag to their music. They transitioned to a more post-punk and pop sound with their later albums and what I liked about their albums were they were all different and their song writing and playing kept getting better. I always thought of The Police as a “Smart” band as they used words I never heard before (just look at some of the album titles). The songs were so intelligent and they based a lot fo stuff off books and things they read. And I think that was also what made them interesting. It was great songs, great musicianship and they had something to say.

Continue reading “The Police – ‘Every Move You Make: The Studio Recordings’ (2019) – Box Set”

The Collection: Ep. 48 – Def Leppard on Cassette

This week on The Collection, we are talking Def Leppard and specifically, Def Leppard on Cassette. We go through every single album that has been released on Cassette, what I’m missing and what was never released on cassette. From ‘On Through the Night’ to ‘Drastic Symphonies’ let’s walk through the Def Leppard Cassette Catalog.

So go check it out as it is live tonight right now, March 10, 2025 at 8pm. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.

Needtobreathe – ‘Best of the Insiders: 4th Edition’ (2025)

For the 2022 Insiders Club, Needtobreathe changed things up. They were no longer going to release a physical product and only do the Digital Songs only. I stopped being a member right then and there as I want a physical product. Well, I think the backlash was swift and loud as a few months in to the year, that all changed. They decided that there will be a new tier level in the Insiders Club, more expensive of course, but a physical product would be given. This time around instead of only a CD, you will get an autographed vinyl copy as well. They still have the digital songs, which are different then the ones on the vinyl. The new CD and Vinyl are now a Best of The Insiders giving us the 9-10 songs from the 8 years of The Insiders CD series they had started 8 years earlier. The 1st Edition came in March 2023 almost a year after the announcement, but the band was smart as they went ahead and worked on the 2023 Edition at the same time they were working on the 2022 Edition. We received this vinyl in April 2023. Then in February 2024, we got the 3rd Edition and a year later in February 2025, we get the 4th Edition. And I have them all…

This time around, we get 9 songs but you have to remember they are trying to fit them on easily on a vinyl with only a set amount of time, so I’m okay with only 9 songs. We did get the CD again which is unsigned but that gives me all four of those as well…

Continue reading “Needtobreathe – ‘Best of the Insiders: 4th Edition’ (2025)”

My Sunday Song – “Been To Hell” by Hollywood Undead

My Sunday Song #423 is from the Rap Metal/Nu Metal band Hollywood Undead. The song is “Been to Hell” and is off their 2011 album ‘American Tragedy’. “Been to Hell” was released as a single on February 5, 2001 as a free download, 2 months prior to the album, and as a single on March 15 of the same year. It went to #13 on the US Heatseeker Songs and #2 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart just missing the Hot 100. It was #5 on the AOL Top 10 Rock Songs of 2011. All-in-all, it did quite well as it even caught my ear. Not a genre I got in to much, but there is something about this band that I just love.

The song was written by the band and was inspired during the 2010 US Recession which hit California hard, which is where these guys are from. The song is about how so many come out to L.A. and Hollywood looking for fame and fortune and yet get eaten alive and spit right back out. It is a place where dreams become nightmares. It is the truth they want to tell to make sure people know what really goes on in Tinsel town.

The band is Daniel “Danny” Murillo – lead vocals, Jorel “J-Dog” Decker – rap vocals, Matthew “Da Kurlzz” Busek – Hype vocals, Dylan “Funny Man”/”King Kong” Alvarez – rap vocals, George “Johnny 3 Tears” Ragan – Rap vocals and Joron “Charlie Scene” Terrell – vocals & guitar. I love how they share the vocals and each verse is rapped by someone different. The guitars are heavy as hell, the electronics programming is simply stellar giving a great beat, a catchy melody and the percussion is powerful. Like I said, not a genre I follow, but there is something powerful about the lyrics and the music that sucks you right in. There is an honesty to it and an authenticity that comes through that will speak to you. And it makes a great song to cruise down the road with the windows down and turned up to 11.

Continue reading “My Sunday Song – “Been To Hell” by Hollywood Undead”

Friday New Releases – March 7, 2025

March kicks off with a bang with a major release from Lady Gaga!! For those of a different ilk, you’ve got Scorpion Child, Neil Young, Jethro Tull and even Jason Isbell. Ok, you can’t forget Tobymac or even Spiritbox . So many to name so instead of me naming them, just look at the list below. I will give Scorpion Child a listen and then decide if I should order. Let me know what you want to hear this week or what we may have missed. Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!!

  • Lady Gaga – Mayhem – (Interscope Records)
  • Scorpion Child – I Saw The End As It Passed Right Through – (SoNo Recording Group)
  • Jason Isbell – Foxes in the Snow – (Southeastern Records)
  • TobyMac – Heaven On My Mind – (ForeFront Records / Capitol Records)
  • Neil Young – Oceanside Countryside – (The Other Shoe Productions / Reprise Records)
  • Spiritbox – Tsunami Sea – (Pale Chord Music / Rise Records)
  • Jethro Tull – Curious Ruminant – (InsideOutMusic)
Continue reading “Friday New Releases – March 7, 2025”