With their 1979 album, ‘Lovedrive’, Scorpions were starting to see international success. In the States, the album went to #55 and was certified Gold. In the UK, two of the singles charted. The band was enjoying their new success and the label was ready to capitalize on that success. On November 17, 1979, the band released their first compilation called ‘Best of Scorpions’. The album reached #180 on the Top 200 album chart and didn’t garner I think the fever the band and label were hoping.
The songs from the compilation come from four of their first five albums. There were no songs chosen from their debut album, ‘Lonesome Crow’. All the songs were from ‘Fly to the Rainbow’, ‘In Trance’, ‘Virgin Killer’ and ‘Taken By Force’. There were also no songs from the newest album ‘Lovedrive’. All the songs were from the Uli Jon Roth era of the band. I’ve read some of the songs were new mixes, but not all and the ones that were sounded pretty much the same. I am sure they cleaned them up so they would all sound consistent here on the album. Let’s jump right in…
For My Sunday Song #317, we are going to talk “Long Time Coming” by Cheap Trick. The song is off their 2017 album ‘We’re All Alright’ which I think is one of their best. It was the only single from the album and only hit #36 on the Mainstream Rock Chart but it is way better than that. A band that has been around for over 40 years comes along and delivers a song and album like this shows they still have a ton of gas in the tank. The song was written by Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander, Tom Petersson and producer Julian Raymond and it was released as a single on April 27, 2017.
“Long Time Coming,” a crunchy hard rocker driven by a Kinks-flavored riff, is a bit of a one-song tribute to Cheap Trick’s influential forebears. “It’s our interpretation of Slade and MC5 and AC/DC and Aerosmith — a lot of riffs that are reminiscent of the Move, but they’re not steals,” Nielsen says. “It’s just, like, all the bands we like.” The song also features a synthesizer underbelly that was a signature in “Surrender,” “Dream Police” and other Cheap Trick songs.
There is nothing I can say that will summarize better than Rick Nielsen does. It is full of that classic angst of early Cheap Trick with their influences laid out on their sleeves. It rocks out and is about as heavy as these guys get. And though they are 40 years in, you don’t know that based on this song. They sound, hungry and fresh as ever! And if you want to sound like The Kinks and AC/DC and mix the two together, sign me up.
Give the song a listen and let me know what you think. These guys are still going strong and seem to be getting better and better. Not too many old bands still excite me like these guys do!! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful and Happy Sunday!!
“Long Time Coming”
I’m in the middle of something And it sure feels good It makes me feel better Do I look like a should?
Get me on the tour bus Then put me on a plane Take me to the city Before I go insane
I can feel, I can think, I can show ya What you want, what you need, get to know ya I don’t care what they say all the time Believe me, you’re gonna feel fine
It’s been a long time coming (long time coming) It’s been a long time coming down (long time coming) It’s been a long time coming (long time coming) It’s been a long time coming down (long time coming)
Shake it, shake it, shake it About to blow my mind A real pole grinder I leave my troubles behind
I can feel, I can think, I can show ya What you want, what you need, get to know ya I don’t care waht they say, I can tell all the time Believe me, you’re gonna feel fine
It’s been a long time coming (long time coming) It’s been a long time coming down (long time coming) It’s been a long time coming (long time coming) It’s been a long time coming down (long time coming)
I can feel, I can think, I can show ya What you want, what you need, get to know ya I don’t care what they tell all the time Yeah, believe me, you’re gonna feel fine
It’s been a long time coming (long time coming) It’s been a long time coming down (long time coming) It’s been a long time coming (long time coming) It’s been a long time coming down (long time coming)
Long time coming (long time coming) Long time coming down (long time coming) It’s been a long time coming (long time coming) It’s been a long time coming down (long time coming)
It’s a long time!
Written by Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander, Tom Petersson and producer Julian Raymond
Friday, Friday, Friday!!! It is time for new releases and we have a few…okay, more than a few. There are well over 50 releases this week so I am sure you will find something. I only have one that I’m interested in and maybe will listen to a few more over time. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a great weekend!
Smith/Kotzen – Better Days…And Nights (LIVE) – (BMG Rights): Adrian Smith and Richie Kotzen are back and this time we get live and studio albums. You get 5 previously unreleased live tracks from theirTrans-Atlantic 22 Tour plus the four studio tracks featured on their sold out ‘Better Days’ vinyl EP!
And then all the rest…
Marcus Mumford – (self-titled) – (Capitol Records / UMG)
The Devil Wears Prada – Color Decay – (Solid State Records)
Michelle Branch – The Trouble with Fever – (Audio Eagle Records / Nonesuch Records)
Ringo Starr – EP3 E.P. – (Universal Music / Roccabella)
Back in 2001, Talisman guitarist, Pontus Norgren, was working on a side project with Z-Records label boss, Mark Alger. Mark envisioned a Talisman type project that would be very different from the normal Talisman material. It was thought to be a concept album with multiple lead singers including Jeff Scott Soto doing a few tunes as that was all he agreed to do. Pontus recruited Talisman bassist, Marcel Jacob, but the drummer was Thomas Broman who was not from Talisman.
Jeff signed on to do a few songs and said he was not a member of this band and was doing is at as a favor for his friends. Man, that sounds familiar (Takara and most of his early projects). And like normal, the multiple singer aspect didn’t work out and then Jeff agreed to do the whole album. This was basically a Talisman album with three of the four members, but it wasn’t that either. The biggest difference is the sound. This was a guitar driven album and much heavier than normal Talisman. In Talisman, you have Marcel’s bass front and center and the main focus, here, this is Pontus’ project so the guitar is the main focus. There are moments that feel and sound like Talisman, so any Talisman fan will love this album. But it is different.
The Humanimal name was chosen to mark the connection to Talisman, but at the same time to say that this is different, new and exciting. The album saw a release on January 2002, but it would end up being their last album together as this name. There were some shady dealings going on with the label and Marcel and Pontus ended up in a bitter dispute on royalties with Z-Records which led to bitter arguments between the two friends and as a result, the two parted ways. It was so bad, Pontus was now out of Talisman as well. Soto was planning on signing with Z-Records, but the royalty issue is rumored to have stopped him from signing with them as well. He would soon sign with Frontiers Records (which we will discuss on the next review). What started out as promising turned in to a total disaster…such is life in the Music Business!
We are now on the band’s sixth studio album and the first one with new guitarist Mathias Jabs. Mathias replaced Uli Jon Roth who was unhappy with the direction of the band and left to form his own band called Electric Sun. With Mathias on board, we now have what is considered the “classic” line-up because it was the line-up that had the most success. That line-up was Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker, Francis Buchholz and Herman Rarebell. But Mathias wasn’t the only lead guitarist on this album.
After leaving UFO, Michael Schenker returned to Scorpions to help work on the ‘Lovedrive’ album. Originally thought to only be on about 3 songs, Michael is on most of the album as he contributed backing vocals as well as lead guitar work on 5 songs. But he was not planning on touring with the band at least not until the band parted ways with Mathias Jabs. He joined in February 1979 at the beginning of the tour. However, it didn’t last long as by April, Michael left the Tour while they were in France. After what was said to be very intense negotiations, Mathias Jabs rejoined the band. Talk about drama!!
In the batch of singles I found at Repo Records a couple months back, we are now to our fourth single of 6 and second from the band Europe. This one is the fourth single off ‘The Final Countdown’ and is a song that would catch a lot of grief today as the song is “Cherokee”. With today’s over sensitive, my feelings get hurt easily culture, “Cherokee” would probably be frowned upon with a bunch of white guys singing about Native Americans. “Cherokee” was released in November 1987 and didn’t do as well as their other singles, It only went to #72 not getting anywhere close to the Top 40.
The song was written by Joey Tempest. It was inspired by a book the wife of the album producer had. He had read through it and was inspired to write about the plight of the Cherokee nation as the U.S. government relocated them to Oklahoma from their native land of the lower Appalachian Mountains. Over 4,000 died on that march. It was the last song written for the album.
The copy I have is the standard U.S. version with the single being the album version and not the shorter edited version. The B-Side being “Heart of Stone” off the same album. I also have a “demonstration-not for sale” stamp on this one as well, but it is backwards and on the B-Side so not sure what is going on with these. Maybe they were used for Promo purposes…and maybe not.
Alright…You Picked It! And this one I thought was going to be a blowout as The Smiths opened up with the first 5 votes. It ended up really close, but The Smiths never relinquished the lead. Therefore the winner was The Smiths – ‘The Queen is Dead’ which is one I have actually never heard from beginning to end as as it is not a genre I particularly like. Here are the results.
The Smiths – ‘The Queen is Dead’ – 7 votes
Ghost – ‘Meliora’ – 5 votes
The Doors – ‘Morrison Hotel’ – 5 votes
Pistol Annies – ‘Interstate Gospel’ – 2 votes
Hollywood Undead – ‘Hotel Kalifornia’ – Sadly, 0 votes
Thanks to all for participating. The October choices will be up on Saturday!
THE SMITHS – ‘THE QUEEN IS DEAD’ (1986):
Disclaimer: Who would’ve thought that after I wrote this review, the Queen would actually pass away. I mean no disrespect posting this today as it has been planned and written for over a week prior to her death. I find the monarch rather fascinating as we don’t have one here in the States despite some orange colored freak who would like to be King. Enough of that, let’s just talk music.
The Smiths have been touted as one of the most important bands to come out of the 80’s British independent music scene. The album ‘The Queen is Dead’ is routinely placed in the Top 10 (and sometimes #1) as one of the best albums of the 80’s. So, no pressure in reviewing this at all.
When I first listened to the album, I played it in my car on my drive to work. This drive turned in to one of the worst drives I have had in to the office in years. The drive started out dark and gloomy with a lot of fog and then turned a 32 minute drive in to an hour due to a wreck on the highway. Waze took me off the interstate and on to back roads that quickly filled up because of the accident. I’m not saying it was the music that caused this, but I’m also not saying it didn’t. Normally, when I am in traffic like this, the music help soothes me over, but instead it made me somber, melancholic and out right depressed.
For My Sunday Song #316, we are talking about “When I Wake Up Tomorrow” by Cheap Trick. The song is off their stellar 2016 album ‘Bang, Zoom, Crazy…Hello!’. The song was released as a promotional single and went to #24 on the Mainstream Rock Chart. The song was written by Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander, Tom Petersson and Julian Raymond. They have decided to credit everyone that is an official band member and the producer. Whatever works right.
The song is a modern ballad. It is dark and there is a sadness as the singer is looking for more than a one night stand and is begging and pleading for more. He doesn’t feel like he can live without her and just wants her to stay the night and wake up with him tomorrow. Part of me wonders if he wants her to stay the night so he won’t kill himself it is that dark sounding. But there is a beauty to it as well.
“When I Wake Up Tomorrow” brings a darker, more moody styled song and Zander does some of his best Bowie vibes he can muster. The rhythm section on this one is also a standout as Tom and Daxx seem to have found the groove that fits nicely with in Rick’s great guitar work. But it is those keyboard parts that add a new texture and layer which are so cool and almost U2 like in their stylings. Easy to see why this was a single as it is fresh sounding and one of the best things they’ve done in years. Pure brilliance.
After reviewing the two Winger singles, we are now to a set of four singles all coming from the band Europe. I found these all at Repo Records here in Charlotte and they always seem to have a some great stuff. This time around we have the single “Rock the Night” from the 1986 smash album, ‘The Final Countdown’. “Rock the Night” was originally released in 1985 for a movie soundtrack, but was re-recorded for this album. The single was released in the U.S. in April 1987 and saw it break the Top 40 landing at #30 at its peak. It was the second single off the album.
The song was written by Joey Tempest and is basically talking about how some times you go through some tough times, some pain, but you have to fight and keep going. Take all that energy and just rock the night! Simple enough.
My version of the single is the standard U.S. version, so I thought. But after pealing a price sticker of the vinyl, I noticed there is a stamp saying, “Demonstration-Not For Sale” which leads me to believe this might have been used as a promotional copy. The B-Side is a re-recorded version of the band’s first single called “Seven Doors Hotel”.
Happy Friday and we have a ton of releases for you this week with over 50+ new releases. I have a few I want to hear and definitely have purchased one of these so far and it is the first one on the list. Scan through and let me know what you want to hear this week or what we may have missed out on. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
Kiss – Off the Soundboard: Des Moines 1977 – (UMe): Kiss on their 4th Soundboard release and I’m a little behind as I haven’t even listened to the last one and there is another one out…crazy. Maybe this will force me to open them both up and spin them. The other 3 have been from the reunion era or later. This is the first one with the classic line-up and I am excited to dive in to this one. Bring ’em on!
Robbie Williams – XXV – (Robert Williams / Farrell Music Ltd): Robbie Williams is now on his 13th studio album and it his 25th Anniversary as a solo artist. It is full of re-recorded and orchestrated versions of his biggest hits. Plus with the deluxe edition you get three new songs. A must for my collection.