Category: Rock

The Top 20 Songs of Ratt

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The band Ratt has been in the news a lot lately and not all in a good way. First with Stephen Pearcy releasing a great new solo album.  And second, the Ratt band mates have been feuding over who owns the band name.  It is sad and disgusting.  To me, Ratt is Stephen Pearcy, Warren DeMartini, Bobby Blotzer, Robbin Crosby and Juan Croucier.  But the band is now two bands fighting over the name.

In one corner you have Stephen Pearcy, Warren MeMartini & Juan Croucier.  The other corner you have Bobby Blotzer.  Robbin Crosby passed away in 2002 and luckily isn’t witnessing this fiasco.  Based on what I have read, Bobby Blotzer will probably lose and Ratt will be with Stephen, Warren and Juan, but what do I know I am not an attorney.

Any other version is a cover band…sorry Bobby that is all your version would look like.  Plus, you were never a song writer on any of the songs so the Ratt sound and style didn’t come from you so not sure I would ever check out your version of Ratt.  I am sorry that was mean.  There were actually 2 songs you have writing credits on and your drumming in the band was actually great.  I still feel your version is a cover band though!!!

Because of them being in the news, I have been listening to their music and I realized they have a lot of great songs.  I figured why not do a list of my Top 20 Ratt songs.  I have gone through all their albums and I feel I have the definitive list of Ratt songs.  I was hoping to have songs from every Ratt album, but their 1999, self-titled reunion album sucked so much that I could  not in good faith include any songs.  Collage was a compilation of rarities and b-sides but mostly stuff from pre-Ratt and I wanted to stick with the main Ratt era.  Otherwise, here the Top 20 Ratt songs.

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Motley Crue ‘The End: Live in Los Angeles’ – DVD & CD Review 

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One of the great things in the Motley Crue Box Set ‘The End’ is the live concert CD & DVD of the final Motley show in Los Angeles on December 31st of 2015.  It is a lot a money to spend for the DVD & CD of the show which thankfully, you can buy separately if that is all you want to buy.  For the casual fan, that is definitely the way to go.  Sadly, I am not the casual fan.  I had to have it all.

First up was the CD version.  The track list is as follows:

1.) Intro
2.) Girls, Girls, Girls
3.) Wild Side
4.) Primal Scream
5.) Same Ol’ Situation (S.O.S.)
6.) Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)
7.) Smokin’ In The Boys’ Room
8.) Looks That Kill
9.) Mutherf***** Of The Year
10.) Shout At The Devil
11.) Louder Than Hell
12.) Saints Of Los Angeles
13.) Live Wire
14.) Dr. Feelgood
15.) Kickstart My Heart
16.) Home Sweet Home

I popped the CD in while I was in my car on my commute into the office and I won’t spend a lot of time talking about as my focus will be on the DVD.  The songs were great, but I had issue with the vocals. I had a hard time understanding what Vince was saying or wasn’t sure if Vince was even saying the right words.  It was also lacking the spectacle of a Motley Crue show.

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Friday New Releases – February 10th

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Welcome to another Friday!  It is time for more new releases and I hope you have some money saved up because one of these is quite pricey.  I know I won’t be getting it anytime soon…if ever.   Not a lot this week, but one I am getting for sure…My picks are in Blue.  And that is The Michael Bolton you see on the list.

  • 616o1njxsrl-_ac_us174_  Def Leppard – And There Will Be A Next Time…Live From Detroit (Blue-Ray/DVD/CD) – (Eagle Rock Entertainment):  Def Leppard is back with another live concert DVD and CD.  Mine has been on pre-order for a couple weeks and should be at my house when I get home.  Can’t wait for this one.

  •  41xza0r4ubl-_ac_us160_  Bon Jovi – Vinyl Box Set (24 LPs) – (Universal Records):  At over $400 this set is for the diehard fan.  I am no longer diehard, but there are 2 albums in here I want that have never been on vinyl before…’Keep the Faith’ and ‘These Days’.  Two of their best albums that I will pick up sometime soon.  Here is a video from their newest album which is included in this set.

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Music Challenge #5 – Galactic Empire’s ‘Galactic Empire’

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For those that don’t know what the Music Challenge is I will tell you.  Go out and pick up an album or stream an album based solely off one of three categories…1) Album Cover, 2) Band Name or 3) Album Name.  Once you have listened to one, come tell me about it.

For my 5th one over the last year, I picked based on the band name and the album cover. The band name was Galactic Empire and the album cover was of space.  The whole thing had a Star Wars vibe to it, so naturally I was drawn to it.  What I didn’t know at the time was it was an album of John William’s Star Wars songs that were all done in a Heavy Metal format.  Interesting enough.

The album ‘Galactic Empire’ was released on February 3rd on Rise Records.

Here is the Track Listing:

  1. “Main Theme”
  2. “The Imperial March”
  3. “Duel of the Fates”
  4. “The Force Theme”
  5. “The Asteroid Field
  6. “Battle of Heroes”
  7. “Cantina Band”
  8. “Ben’s Death / Tie Fighter Attack”
  9. “Across the Stars”
  10. “The Forest Battle”
  11. “The Throne Room / End Title”

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As Lions – Selfish Age – Album Review

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As Lions’ debut is the incredible ‘Selfish Age’.  There is a lot of buzz around this band and not only because Bruce Dickinson’s son, Austin Dickinson, is the lead singer, but also because these kids are super talented and understand how hard rock should sound.  The new face of rock is upon and us and I am given hope that we are in good hands.

First off, It is pretty brave for the kid of a famous singer or musician to go the same route as their famous parent, but there is no comparison needed. They are two very different singers and two very different bands.  The only other thing to say about the subject is that Bruce must be one proud father because this kid and this band are incredible.

The Band:

  • Austin Dickinson – Vocals
  • Conor O’Keefe – Guitar
  • Will Homer- Guitar
  • Stefan Whiting – Bass
  • Dave Fee- Drums

The opening track, “Aftermath”, immediately sets the tone for the rest of the album.  From this song, you hear great production, great song structure, a melodic sound and intelligent lyrics.  You will get this from every song on the album; however, every song is different.

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My Sunday Song – SPECIAL EDITION – “Rise Up” by Disciple (GO FALCONS!!)

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We interrupt our normally scheduled My Sunday Song for a Special Edition celebrating the Atlanta Falcons in the Super Bowl. The My Sunday Song regular post will return next week with the next edition in the series with my lovely wife picking the songs.

The Falcons use the slogan #RiseUp to rally their fans and there is a great rock song with that same name.  “Rise Up” by the band Disciple is such a great motivating, heavy and loud song that really pumps you up.

So enjoy the song and enjoy the Super Bowl.  Win or Lose, I am glad the Falcons finally made it back.  I do hope they somehow pull a giant victory and stop the Patriots, but I will admit I will be disappointed if they lose.  GO FALCONS!!

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Friday New Releases – February 3rd

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The year is already flying by as we are now in February in what seems like a blink of the eye. I am still getting through all of last week’s releases so luckily there are only 2 I find intriguing this week. They are highlighted in Blue.

  • 170x170bb-10  Black Star Riders – Heavy Fire – (Nuclear Blast):  Black Star Riders returns with their third album.  The band is basically Thin Lizzy but they are not using the name.  Not sure why, but regardless, I love the new material.  The first two albums were great and I feel they are just getting warmed up.  High hopes for the new release.

  • 71wxshqv-8l-_sx522_  Judas Priest – Turbo (30th Anniversary 3CD set) – (Sony Legacy):  Wow!  30 years since the release of Turbo.  I am looking forward to revisiting this classic Judas Priest album and eager to hear what special they might have added to this addition.  Here is the original video to “Turbo Lover” and the video was awful…sorry.

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Motley Crue – ‘The End’ Box Set

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I have been wanting this box set since the day it was announced.  I finally was able to get my hands on a copy and couldn’t be happier.  Well, almost.  Let’s first talk about what is wrong with this box set.  There is a HUGE OMISSION of several albums.  The albums ‘Motley Crue’, ‘Generation Swine’ and ‘New Tattoo” are for some strange, f**king reason are not included in this box set.  I am sure they had a reason, but a good reason it was absolutely not!

Now that I got that out of the way…the Motley Crue Box Set is to commemorate the 35 years of the band.  The set goes through their final show on December 31st, 2015 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.  Motley Crue were

  • Vince Neil – Vocals
  • Nikki Sixx – Bass
  • Mick Mars – Guitar
  • Tommy Lee – Drums

I mentioned briefly what was wrong, now let’s go through what was included in the box set and what they did get right.

The Case:  As you can see from the featured image, the case is actually quite large.  It is a grave headstone marking the death (or ‘The End’) of Motley Crue.  My youngest daughter thought that it was weird, but it is actually quite fitting for the occasion. When full, the case is rather heavy and seems durable enough for its purpose.  The only down side is it won’t fit in my LP cabinet as you can see from the picture as well.  However, it is nice enough to be a nice accent to the cabinet when I place it on top.

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“My First Time” with Aerosmith’s ‘Done With Mirrors’

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This is the first in a new monthly series I am going to do called “My First Time”.  It is not as dirty as you think.  It is not about my first time doing certain things.  The series will be about the FIRST album I bought from an artist that really got me into the band.  See, not dirty like you thought.

I was out at the record store a few weeks back and came across the vinyl for Aerosmith’s 1985 album ‘Done With Mirrors’ and remembered that this was the FIRST album I bought for the band, so of course I snatched the vinyl up and it only cost me $6.  I had the cassette years ago, but all my cassettes are now long gone.

I obviously knew of Aerosmith because my brothers listened to them when they were growing up and I remember seeing their vinyl albums lying around.  I remember hearing “Sweet Emotion”, “Dream On” and even listened to the album “Toys In the Attic”, but I wasn’t a true fan.  That didn’t come until the mid-80’s after I bought this album.

I was watching MTV one evening and they played the video for “Let the Music Do The Talking” and I actually fell in love with that song instantly.  The next chance I had to make it to the record store, I picked a copy of the album on cassette.  Little did I know at the time that the song was actually a remake of the same song Joe Perry did with his solo band The Joe Perry Project.

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Friday New Releases – January 27th

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I hope everyone has a wonderful Friday and a fantastic weekend.  I should be sitting on a tropical beach in Jamaica about now soaking up the sun and the alcohol with my lovely bride of 15 years.  We are two weeks past our anniversary, but we finally got away just the two of us.

The bad news is I am missing so many great releases this weekend, but I don’t really care.  I will listen when I get back.  One release that is actually quite fitting is the Train release.  That is “our band” as I have mentioned many times on this blog.  That will the one I definitely check out this week.  I have highlighted in Blue all the ones I am interested in and will find some time to give a listen.

  • 170x170bb-14  Train – A Girl, A Bottle, A Boat – (Sunken Forest/Columbia):  So happy for another Train album.  I have heard a couple songs so far and they have been okay.  They seem to be rehashing the same formula with every album and song now and loosing some of the magic (reminds of what Bon Jovi is going through).  I am hoping the rest of the album is better otherwise, they might loose their place as my wife and I’s favorite band.

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