Category: Rock

Bon Jovi – ‘Live From the Have A Nice Day Tour’ (2006 – Walmart Exclusive) – Album Review (The Bon Jovi Collection Series)

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The album ‘Have a Nice Day’ album from Bon Jovi came out on September 20, 2005 and to keep the promotion on that album, the band & label decided to release a companion piece 6 months later. On February 7, 2006, they released ‘Live From the Have A Nice Day Tour’ E.P. that was exclusively sold at Walmart. It was only available in the U.S.

Don’t worry though as the songs weren’t exclusive as they also appeared on the Tour Edition of ‘Have a Nice Day’ that was released in Japan. Plus, you could get 3 of the songs as B-Sides for the single “Who Says You Can’t Go Home”. There are six tracks and they are are all live. They were recorded during the Have a Nice Day Tour in Banknorth Garden, Boston, MA on December 10, 2005.

The album contains 4 live versions of songs from ‘Have a Nice Day’ and two classic Bon Jovi tracks as well. It kicks off with one of my favorite songs from the new album called “Last Man Standing”. It has a killer opening riff from Richie and the song is a pure, high energy rocker. Live they seem to play it a little faster at times, but that doesn’t take away from the track. Just an observation. Live though the song doesn’t sound as cool and dark as the studio track, but still cool to have a live version of it.

Next up is the classic Bon Jovi track “You Give Love a Bad Name” and I have heard this one so many times I can’t imagine they would do anything special to it that would make me want to hear this one again live and I was right. Luckily vocals are still great, the band sounds great and the crowd was really in to it and they even get their own chorus to sing. The band could play this one in their sleep.

“Complicated” comes screaming to life next…well after a fade out from the last song and a fade in to this one which tells me these were played next to each other in the show. Another track that is better as a studio track than a live one. It doesn’t have the heart or the intensity that the studio track gave us. Live, the band felt like they were going through the motions. I don’t really mean that bad, they just didn’t do anything that takes it to another level live.

After another fade in/fade out, we get the title track, “Have A Nice Day”. An anthemic rock track in the same vein as “It’s My Life” which tells you it is catchy and a fun track to hear live…and it lives up to expectations. The band plays this one with a lot of energy and seems to enjoy playing it as it is a real crowd pleaser. Plus, we get a “Richie” solo and name check.

“Who Says You Can’t Go Home” is next and this is not a duet with Jennifer Nettles, this is the Jon Bon only version. How does this one come off live? Well, pretty lifeless in my opinion. A paint by numbers run through with no passion or heart in the vocals. Blah! Feels like a bathroom song if you no what I mean.

The final track is “Raise Your Hands” and thank goodness, I needed something uplifting after that snoozefest. A heavier-hitting track with a lot more energy and a lot more guitar. A tougher sounding track that would make my raise my hands to get the blood flowing again. A classic track that takes me back to the good time Bon Jovi era. And more Richie Sambora name checks and solo. Give me more of that.

And that is it. I will admit, it isn’t the most exciting live set, but it is a nice piece to hold you over until the next album comes out and it is good to help continue to promote the new album. But the song choices weren’t the best, the performances were a little dull and lifeless at times. It felt like they were going through the motions on some of these. The CD opened well and closed well, just faltered at times in the middle. My Overall Score is a 3.0 out of 5.0 Stars mostly for a nice collector piece. Otherwise, skippable for non-collectors.

NEXT UP: BON JOVI – ‘LOST HIGHWAY’ (2007)

THE BON JOVI COLLECTION SERIES:

  1. Bon Jovi – The Albums Box Set (2017)
  2. Jon Bongiovi – The Power Station Sessions (1980-1983) (2001)
  3. Bon Jovi – Bon Jovi (1984)
  4. Bon Jovi – Shot Through the Heart: Live in Cleveland, OH March 17, 1984 FM Broadcast (Bootleg)
  5. Bon Jovi – “Burning For Love” – 12″ Single – Japanese Edition (1984)
  6. Bon Jovi – 7800° Fahrenheit (1985)
  7. Bon Jovi – Slippery When Wet (1986)
  8. Bon Jovi – “Borderline” – 12″ Single – Japanese Edition (1986)
  9. Bon Jovi – New Jersey (1988)
  10. Bon Jovi – New Jersey: Super Deluxe Edition – Disc 2/DVD (1988)
  11. Bon Jovi – “I’ll Be There For You” – Cassette Single (1988)
  12. Jon Bon Jovi – Blaze of Glory (1990)
  13. Jon Bon Jovi – “Blaze of Glory” – Cassette Single (1990)
  14. Richie Sambora – Stranger in this Town (1991)
  15. Bon Jovi – Keep the Faith (1992)
  16. Bon Jovi – “Keep the Faith” – CD Maxi Single (1992)
  17. Bon Jovi – “I Believe” – 7″ Single (1992)
  18. Bon Jovi – Cross Road (1994)
  19. Bon Jovi – “Please Come Home for Christmas” – CD Single (1994)
  20. Bon Jovi – These Days (1995)
  21. Bon Jovi – Live From London – DVD (1995)
  22. Jon Bon Jovi – Destination Anywhere (1997)
  23. Richie Sambora – Undiscovered Soul (1998)
  24. Bon Jovi – Crush (2000)
  25. Bon Jovi – Live From Osaka E.P. (2000)
  26. Bon Jovi – “Thank You For Loving Me” – CD Single (2000)
  27. Bon Jovi – The Crush Tour – DVD (2000)
  28. Bon Jovi – The Love Songs E.P. (Promo) (2001)
  29. Bon Jovi – Tokyo Road: Best of Bon Jovi (2001)
  30. Bon Jovi – One Wild Night Live: 1985-2001 (2001)
  31. Bon Jovi – Bounce (2002)
  32. Bon Jovi – Unauthorized: Rock ‘n Roll Legends – Bootleg DVD (2002)
  33. Bon Jovi – Target E.P. (2003)
  34. Bon Jovi – This Left Feels Right (2003)
  35. Bon Jovi – Wild in the Streets: Unauthorized – Bootleg DVD (2003)
  36. Bon Jovi – This Left Feels Right – DVD (2004)
  37. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Part 1) – (2004)
  38. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 1, Part 2) – (2004)
  39. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 2, Part 3) – (2004)
  40. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 3, Part 4) – (2004)
  41. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 4, Part 5) – (2004)
  42. Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong (Disc 5 & 6, Part 6) – (2004)
  43. Bon Jovi – Have a Nice Day (2005)
  44. Bon Jovi – Live from the Have a Nice Day Tour (Walmart Exclusive) (2006)
  45. Bon Jovi – Lost Highway (2007)
  46. Bon Jovi – Lost Highway: The Concert (2007)
  47. Bon Jovi – The Circle (2009)
  48. Bon Jovi – When We Were Beautiful Documentary DVD (2009)
  49. Bon Jovi – Live at Madison Square Garden – DVD (2009)
  50. Bon Jovi – Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Collection (2009)
  51. Bon Jovi – Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Video Collection – DVD (2010)
  52. Bon Jovi – Inside Out – DVD (2012)
  53. Richie Sambora – Aftermath of the Lowdown (2012)
  54. Bon Jovi – What About Now (2013)
  55. Bon Jovi – Live E.P. (RSD – 2013)
  56. Bon Jovi – Live 2 E.P. (RSD – 2014)
  57. Bon Jovi – Burning Bridges (2015)
  58. Bon Jovi – This House is Not For Sale (2016)
  59. Bon Jovi – This House is Not For Sale – Live From the London Palladium (2016)
  60. Bon Jovi – The Albums Box Set – The Extra LP (2017)
  61. RSO – Radio Free America (2018)
  62. Bon Jovi – 2020 (2020)
  63. Bon Jovi – 40th Anniversary Box Set (TBA – I Hope it is out by the time we get here)

We’ve reviewed a bunch of pieces already over the years and won’t review again. They are as follows:

  1. Bon Jovi – The Brotherhood Tour Book (1988-1990)
  2. Bon Jovi – Bon Jovi Tour 2011 – Tourbook
  3. Bon Jovi – The Rock History – Bootleg CD
  4. Bon Jovi – “You Give Love A Bad Name” – 12″ Single
  5. Bon Jovi – “You Give Love a Bad Name” – 7″ Single
  6. Bon Jovi – Red Hot & 2 Parts Live E.P. – 12″ Single
  7. Bon Jovi – “Wanted Dead or Alive” – 7″ Single
  8. Bon Jovi – “Bad Medicine” – 7″ Single
  9. Bon Jovi – “Born to Be My Baby” – 7″ Single
  10. Bon Jovi – “I’ll Be There For You” – 7″ Single
  11. Bon Jovi – “Lay Your Hands on Me” – 7″ Single
  12. Bon Jovi – “Living in Sin” – 7″ Single

My Sunday Song – “No Prayer For the Dying” By Iron Maiden

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For My Sunday Song #410, we are tackling another Iron Maiden song thanks to Harrison Kopp. His final choice is “No Prayer to the Dying” which is the title song for the album of the same name. The album was their 8th studio album and the first one without Adrian Smith as he left he band due to creative differences. This particular song was not a single and was solely written by Steve Harris. 

The song seems to be very introspective as the protagonist sits alone by a window watching it rain. He starts to question what life is all about and wondering why he was there. He sounds a little depressed and very lonely. He starts to plead to God for answers as he feels his prayers were never answered. He might be dying and therefore feels that because of that, there are no more prayers left to be answered. The strange thing about the lyrics are that they never say the title, “No Prayer for the Dying”. Not mentioned once.

Musically, the song is just over 4 minutes which I think is short for a Maiden song. In fact, there are no 6 minute or more songs on the album which I believe is a first. The song starts off slow and fairly quiet. The music is almost as thoughtful and introspective as the meaning behind the lyrics. Bruce Dickinson’s vocals are emotive and almost smooth but still a little grit. The verses are really soft and in between the verses the music picks up. I don’t think there is actually a chorus. The instrumental pieces between the verses is the chorus as it is a great melody. There is some great depth in the bass lines and the rhythm section entirely. About midway through the song the music cranks it up a notch, the bass lines are fast and powerful, but the guitars are shredding and they are frenzied and it is all fantastic. There a drum barrages and it is all wild and crazy. It really changes the dynamics of the song and makes it really interesting. Bruce comes back in screaming now as he pleads with God to answer his prayers. It slows back down to the gentleness of the beginning and then ends. A really cool track.

Continue reading “My Sunday Song – “No Prayer For the Dying” By Iron Maiden” →

Friday New Releases – April 26, 2024

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This is a big week for me. Two of my favorite artists are releasing 40th Anniversary Editions of their biggest albums. First, Def Leppard and ‘Pyromania’ and Billy Idol with ‘Rebel Yell’. Yes, I ordered both and they are on their way. Can’t wait to dive in to this and here the previously unreleased material. If those don’t shake your tree, there are ton more new releases this week that are actually new releases. Let us know what you want to hear or what we may have missed. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

  • Def Leppard – Pyromania 40th Anniversary Box Set – (Mercury Records)
  • Billy Idol – Rebel Yell (40th Anniversary Expanded Edition) – (Universal Music)
  •  Pet Shop Boys – Nonetheless – (Parlophone Records / x2 Recordings Ltd)
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Def Leppard – ‘Visualize’ (1993) – DVD Review (The Def Leppard Collection Series)

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Def Leppard were trying to keep product moving to keep the fans happy between albums. They didn’t want the gaps between albums, that tended to be rather long, to not have anything come out. So, on October 5, 1993, they released another VHS video and this one was called ‘Visualize’. My copy is on DVD which came in 2001, but the original was a VHS only edition. It contained  promo videos, interviews and concert footage and it won a 1993 Metal Edge Readers’ Choice Award for “Best Home Video.” It ended up selling only around 50,000 copies in the States. I know I had it in VHS, got rid of that when the DVD came out and bought it again. On DVD, it is coupled with another VHS only release called ‘Video Archive’ which we will talk about later.

When you start the DVD, it makes you pick which language you want and it was so tempting to pick something other than English, but I went with the English version since I am uneducated American who only knows one language. When you click “Visualize” it starts out with some live footage and an interview short with the band, first Joe Elliott then Vivian Campbell, Phil Collen, Rick Allen and then Rick Savage. Good to see all the guys getting face time.

Video wise, the first one is off “Hysteria” and was the final single called “Rocket”. The reason it is here is the video ‘Historia’ was released prior to “Rocket” coming out as a video single. The “Rocket” video is a great one with the band in a warehouse with TVs all around showing clips of rockets and the band’s favorite artist that inspired them like Bowie and Elton John for just a few. The next video was for “Switch 625” and this was done only as a tribute to the passing of the band’s great guitarist, Steve Clark. He has been missed. The video is prefaced by a Japanese interview where Steve talks and jokes around. The band then talks about what he means to them. Very touching tribute.

Continue reading “Def Leppard – ‘Visualize’ (1993) – DVD Review (The Def Leppard Collection Series)” →

The Collection: Ep. 10 – ‘Unspooled: An Adventure in 8-Tracks’ by Tim Durling

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We are excited to announce that this week’s episode has a very special guest and friend to 2 Loud 2 Old Music as we interview author Tim Durling. You know Tim from his YouTube channel, Tim’s Vinyl Confessions, and you will love it as we discuss his first book called ‘Unspooled: An Adventure in 8-Tracks’. The book walks through the 80’s where 8-Tracks were a dying breed but you could still buy them in those Record Club’s like Columbia House or RCA.

Tim has some great insight in to the 8-Tracks that were only available in these clubs and you will be surprised at some of those that you would’ve never thought were on that format, but they were. We show off some 8-Tracks in our collection and Tim has some rare ones. It is really cool to see. And find out the answer to the riveting questions…Who gave Tim the idea to do a book on 8-Tracks? Do either of us an 8-Track Player??? and many more…

Come join Tim Durling and I in this fantastic discussion on ‘Unspooled: An Adventure in 8-Tracks’ tonight at 8pm on April 22nd, 2024 on YouTube. Click the link below. Don’t forget to hit Subscribe and Like and please leave a comment. Thanks and have great day!!

Bon Jovi – ‘Have a Nice Day’ (2005) – Album Review (The Bon Jovi Collection Series)

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Before the release of ‘100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong’, Bon Jovi had already finished recording their next album, ‘Have a Nice Day’. The record company wanted to put it out in early 2005, but Jon and the band had other ideas. They actually went back in to the studio and recorded more songs and tweaked some of the existing. As a result, the album didn’t see the light of day until September 20, 2005. The album 13 tracks and 3 bonus tracks scattered over Europe, Australia and Japan. The album would hit #2 in the U.S. and would hit platinum status as well as see #1 in numerous countries around the world so they were still a big worldwide band.

The album saw a new face in the producer chair. A gentleman by the name of John Shanks. John had worked with Ashlee Simpson, Hillary Duff, Kelly Clarkson and so many more. Us rock fans, were not real excited about that pedigree. Would this be a watered down, poppy Bon Jovi. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case as the album picked up where ‘Bounce’ left off giving us some heavy Bon Jovi and actually it saw a more thought-provoking Bon Jovi as Jon Bon Jovi really dug deep for the lyrics.

But, this would also be the first of many Shanks produced albums that many fans is the reason the band has lost its way and isn’t the same as it used to be. Yes, a band should grow and play with new sounds, and they did that, but the diehard fans have not been happy with the results, this fan included. This was the last Bon Jovi album that was good in my book. We will see if that thought still holds true as I re-explore the later albums. For now, I’m just going to enjoy this one like I always have.

The album would kick off with the first single and the title track, “Have a Nice Day”. The song is a carbon copy of “It’s My Life” as it is anthemic as well as delivering a positive message that says live your life the way you want to do it and when people try to bring you down, just tell them to “Have a Nice Day” and move on with your life. It is an exciting opening track, with an ear worm candy of a chorus that will keep you singing for days after you hear it.

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The Collection – Record Store Day 2024

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Welcome back to The Collection. Today, April 20, 2024 was yet another Record Store Day and another morning of getting up too early and waiting in line…but it is always fun. See what we got this time around.

lease do leave a comment and I promise I’ll address them as soon as I can! Don’t forget to click “Like” and “Subscribe”. Thanks for watching.

Friday New Releases – April 19, 2024

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Welcome to will be a massive New Release day for one artist as Taylor Swift has a brand new album this week. No, not a “Taylor Version” of an old album, but a brand new one. The woman is a machine with as much product as she puts out. And for the rest of us, there is the new Pearl Jam record and that first song and title track, Dark Matter, is pretty awesome. There a ton of other releases today as well so check them out and let us 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!!

  • Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department – (Republic Records)
  • Pearl Jam – Dark Matter – (Monkeywrench / Republic Records)
  • Bruce Springsteen – Best of Bruce Springsteen – (Columbia Records / Sony Music)
Continue reading “Friday New Releases – April 19, 2024” →

Def Leppard – ‘Retro Active’ (1993) – Album Review (The Def Leppard Collection Series)

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The band was now five albums in but it had been 12 years total. Not a great track record. They wanted to not have 4 years or more between albums again so it was decided to release a compilation album to hold fans over until the next release. But this wasn’t any ordinary greatest hits compilation, nope…that would’ve been too easy. The band decided to pull together a bunch of rare tracks and B-sides and put them together on one release…but still…not so simple as they re-recorded parts, remixed others and gave us a solid collection of songs from their career over the span of 1984 up to 1993. It also gives us some of the last recordings of the late, great Steve Clark.

The album would be called ‘Retro Active’ and released on October 5, 1993. It would spawn three singles including “Two Steps Behind”, “Miss You In A Heartbeat” and The Sweet cover for “Action”. Both “Two Steps Behind” and “Miss You In A Heartbeat” would go Top 40 and the album would go on to sell over 1,000,000 copies in the U.S. alone. Heck, even the opening track, “Desert Storm” would hit the U.S. Mainstream Rock Chart at #12 without even being released technically as a single.

One really cool aspect of the album is the cover which was designed by Hugh Syme and Nels Israelson. The image is a photographed of a woman sitting in front of a vanity mirror. However, she is positioned just so, along with other items, so that when you moved the album further away from you it turned in to a skull. A really cool concept

The album opens up with an outtake from the ‘Hysteria’ album called “Desert Song”. It was originally recorded as an instrumental and is the last song released by the band to feature Steve Clark on guitar. In fact, it is noted as the only song in the catalog to feature both Steve and his replacement Vivian Campbell who did some background vocals on the song. I know I said it was originally an instrumental and it was, but lyrics were written when the pulled the song back out after forgetting about it for years. The song is about Mick Ronson who was dying of cancer around this time. It is a killer opening track, hard hitting and a really cool Clark tone to it which is so missed. The bass work is great on this as well as the guitars. To me, the song sounds more like it would’ve fit on ‘Slang’ then on ‘Hysteria’. A truly fantastic track.

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The Collection: Ep. 9 – Kiss on Vinyl (Part 4 – The Bootlegs)

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The video is up now for Episode 6 of The Collection. When you have older siblings, their music taste can influence what you like and my brother, Gary, was a huge Kiss fan and that spawned me being one as well. From about 7-8 years old all the way til now at 55, I am still a Kiss fan.

For Part 4, we are tackling my Kiss Bootlegs that I have on vinyl. We put it in chronological order for the year the album or songs were recorded, not when they were released. We start with Wicked Lester and go up to a 2010 show from L.A. We have over 20, so sit back and enjoy.

I hope you enjoy this episode which goes “live” right now…Monday night, April 15th at 8pm. Please do leave a comment and I promise I’ll address them as soon as I can! Don’t forget to click “Like” and “Subscribe”. Thanks for watching.