Cheap Trick – ‘Christmas Christmas’ (2017) – Album Review (The Cheap Trick Collection Series)

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I know this is The Cheap Trick Collection Series, but I have to do this one album even though I don’t actually own a copy (yet) so I am able to complete an album rankings of all their studio albums. The album I don’t own is their Christmas album called ‘Christmas Christmas’. I am not a massive fan of Christmas albums so I will do my best to not be too biased on this one…I can’t promise anything. The album was released on October 20, 2017 and actually has 3 original songs written by the band which is Robin Zander, Rick Nielsen and Tom Petersson with Daxx Nielsen on drums. The remaining 9 tracks are covers with only one of those being a full on traditional song. The album is their 19th Studio album and went to #93 on the Top Album Sales and #5 on the Holiday Charts…not too bad for a Christmas album.

And one other thing. We are reviewing this in May for a posting in June and it is so not time for Christmas music, so getting in that frame of mind is difficult. I watched some Christmas movies, wore a Santa hat, wrapped some presents to give to my kids, made some eggnog and all that jazz to get in the mood and it worked!! So, let’s get going…(note: none of that is true!!)

The album kicks off with an original, “Merry Christmas Darlings”, and let me tell you…it is a great Christmas song. Robin sounds amazing, joyful and all in the Christmas spirit. The song is bouncy and has little rocking edge so don’t expect sleigh bells but lyrically it does touch on a lot of the cliches and there are a lot of “la la la las”. Robin, Rick and Tom actually wrote a decent song. And to keep it the rocking edge going we get “I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday” by Roy Wood and the Wizzards. Another upbeat track that sees Cheap Trick go full glam with lots of angst and yuletide fun.

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Billy Idol – “Mony Mony” (Live) – 12″ Maxi Single (The Billy Idol Series – Bonus Edition)

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Billy Idol has taken a cover song and made it his own. “Mony Mony” is the song that I think more people related to Billy Idol rather than the original singer Tommy James and the Shondells who had a hit with it back in 1968. Billy first released it on his E.P. ‘Don’t Stop’ back in 1981. But it was the live recording of the song that became a hit while he was promoting his album ‘Vital Idol’ in 1987. The song was massive and live gave rise to the additional chant of “Get Laid..Get Fucked” following the line… “Hey, say what…”. It became such a popular chant, that high schools at the time banned the song from school dances.

When I was out crate digging, I came across this 12″ Maxi-Single a couple years ago, but it was in such bad shape, I passed as I knew I could find a better copy. And a couple months ago, I did. So, I grabbed it this time around. I keep saying I am not a fan of 12″ Maxi-Singles because you usually get several unnecessary re-mixes of the same song over and over again and this one is no different. But, I am a collector and I find something from an artist I like and I collect it. Doesn’t mean I have to like it. This 12″ Single is the U.S. version from 1987 and has 4 versions of “Mony Mony” so let’s get to it, shall we.

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You Picked It! – Danger Danger – ‘Screw It!’ (1991) – Album Review

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Alright…You Picked It! And this one really surprised me as I didn’t expect this one to get picked or many votes at all. But I am glad it did as I do enjoy this one a lot! A guilty pleasure you could say. The winner was Danger Danger’s 1991 album ‘Screw It!’ which is one I do have in my collection. Here are the results.

  1. Danger Danger – ‘Screw It!’ – 9 votes
  2. Neil Young – ‘After the Gold Rush – 5 votes
  3. Halestorm – ‘Back from the Dead’ – 4 votes
  4. Boston – ‘Boston’ – 3 Votes
  5. Miranda Lambert – ‘Revolution’ – Sadly, 0 votes

Thanks to all for participating. The July choices will be up on Saturday!

DANGER DANGER – ‘SCREW IT!’:

Danger Danger’s second album was not a repeat of their debut, but an improvement. It was more polished, more naughty and well…more everything. They recorded at in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl at New River Studios where Skid Row recorded their album ‘Slave to the Grind’. The funny thing is both bands put out singles called “Monkey Business” in the same year. Danger Danger was going to call their album ‘Monkey Business’, but changed their mind. I think they had trouble finding a name for the album and they said screw it! So, that became the name of the album ‘Screw It!’. And based on the lyrics in the album, there is a lot of that going on.

The band Danger Danger consists of lead singer, Ted Poley, guitarists Andy Timmons, Kasey Smith on keyboards, Bruno Ravel on bass and Steve West on drums. These guys were awesome. They were a true hair metal band and their music was the epitome of the genre. It was rude, crude, and anthem rocked out. It was one of the most sexualized albums I have ever heard and yet, even in today’s #MeToo Movement, I lover every minute of it. There is no denying their target audience with this one…young teenage boys…who had hot chicks as friends. I first heard of them because in 1990, they opened for Kiss. After I got that taste, I went and bought the debut and then was a day one shopper when this was released and I have loved it ever since. In fact, it is my #1 album on their Worst to First Ranking. I guess I have now spoiled the review…oh well…here it goes anyway.

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My Sunday Song – “No Surprize” by Aerosmith

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For My Sunday Song #303, we are talking about the song “No Surprize” off the Aerosmith’s 1979 album ‘Night in the Ruts’. It wasn’t the band’s most successful album as the drugs had really taken hold of them by this time. It was amazing an album was even made. The album went to #14 on the Billboard Album Charts, but didn’t stay for long. It was panned by the critics and fans alike. But it isn’t half bad (it ain’t half good either). One of the best songs is “No Surprize” yet it was never released as a single so now we will give it its dues.

The opening track of the album was “No Surprize” which took a long while to write. Joe and Steven had been working on a song together and Steven was having trouble with the lyrics. After two months of blockage, Steven finally got his second wind and wrote a great song that tells the story of the band. It covers from the humble beginnings in 1971, the struggles of making it, the drug problems and the wondering where their royalties were. I can tell you, they went in to the drugs!! Lots and Lots and Lots of Drugs!! There is a cool line in it with “Vaccinate your ass with a phonograph needle” and I wonder now if that would work to battle Covid. Probably not.

The song is a mix of blues and old time rock & roll with a Chuck Berry vibe on guitar coming from Perry. It is rough and raw and Tyler’s vocals a real grit to them like he had lived a tough life and currently he was doing just that. Hamilton and Kramer were the heart of the song laying down a great rhythm and keeping the song driving forward while Joe and Brad laid down some cool riffs. It is a down and dirty rock song, just the way I like it.

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AC/DC – “Let’s Get It Up” – 7″ Single

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At a local record show, I found this beauty from AC/DC. It is the U.S. single for their first single off “For Those About To Rock We Salute You” called “Let’s Get It Up”. Hmm…I wonder what this is about?? More on that later. The song never charted in the U.S., but in their home country of Australia, it went to #73 and the Swedes liked it the most as it went to #18 in their country.

The song is typical AC/DC filth, but I mean that in a loving way. “Let’s Get It Up” is about sailing the seven seas and remaining out at sea for a long time, but it also is about, well, getting an erection and keeping it up for a long time. As Brian Johnson said in Kerrang, it is “Filth, Pure Filth, We’re a Filthy band”…yep, that sums it up nicely.

There are two versions of the U.S. Single. One with a gray cannon, like the one I have, and one that has a black cannon. I’ll have to keep that in mind when I’m hunting next time. The B-Side is the same with “Snowballed” also from the album ‘For Those About To Rock We Salute You’.

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Friday New Releases – June 10, 2022

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Another Friday and thankfully another weekend! To make that weekend even more enjoyable, we have brought you another batch of releases. With over 40 to choose from, there is bound to be something to your liking. If not, sorry…I did my best!! I only have one I am interested in and if you follow this site, it will be obvious which one that is…plus it is marked in Blue. Let me know what you want to hear or what may have been left off the list so everyone knows to expect it. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

  • 71GwKGGe-5L._AC_UY436_FMwebp_QL65_  Kiss – Off the Sounboard: Donington 1996 – (Universal Music / Simstan Music): We are now on the third edition of the Off the Soundboard Series and that is two for this year. Rumor has it one more will be coming. This one is Reunion Era Kiss so I am excited about this one as the original 4 are back!!

And All the rest…

  • 81i+mewobvL._AC_UL640_FMwebp_QL65_  Carrie Underwood – Denim & Rhinestones – (Capitol Records Nashville  / UMG)
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Kiss – ‘The Ritz On Fire’ – Album Review (The Bootleg Series)

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I can’t believe we are on our 20th Review in the Kiss Bootleg Series. Nuts to think I’ve picked up that many. This one is called ‘The Ritz on Fire’ which is from August 12, 1988, The Ritz, New York City. A radio broadcast, from the Crazy Nights tour. This one is not the full show, but sort of a Best Of Compilation of that show. There are a bunch of different ones out there, some with full shows and some like this. I do have a show from the Crazy Nights Tour that was recorded on April 18, 1988 in Osaka, Japan, so I figured I’d grab this one as well as why not, you can never have enough Kiss Bootlegs…obviously or we wouldn’t be on #20.

I have found that this version is one of the few bootlegs that get all the packaging correct. They have the right band members in the pictures (Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Eric Carr and Bruce Kulick) and the right song titles and I don’t see any mistakes which is rare in the Bootleg world.

This is Kiss live much in the same vein as their current “Off the Soundboard” series in that there are no touchups, it is as you heard it when it happened and in this case as it was on the radio broadcast. The first 9 songs on this 10 song set are in order of the original setlist and it isn’t until the 10th song that it jumps ahead a number songs and plays one more. Basically, it is the first half of the show.

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Gary Schutt – ‘Sentimetal’ (1994) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

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We have seen Gary Schutt before in the Jeff Scott Soto Series and that was with the review of the Takara album ‘Eternal Faith’ from 1993. Gary Schutt was the bass played. However, here is the not only the bass player, but he is also the guitar player, the keyboardist, the drum programmer. The only thing he doesn’t do on here is sing as that is left up to his good friend, Jeff Scott Soto. The two were spending a lot of time together because at the same time Gary was making his debut solo album, so was Jeff and we will get to his for the next review.

The album was recorded over a two week period in May of 1994 as both Gary and Jeff were renting a house in Delray Beach, Florida. The album was released on August, 31, 1994 in Japan and sometime in 1995 in Europe. It did get a reissue in 2005 that has 3 Bonus Tracks, but we are going to review the original album with the basic 11 tracks. And what we get is a cross between hard rock, melodic rock, aor and a little prog thrown in. Let’s check it out

The album kicks off with “Warpaint” and immediately you are sucked in to some great guitar playing as Gary rips some massive riffs. His bass is thunderous and powerful. The drum sound is the only negative because they are programmed sounding. To me it feels like an Extreme song a la ‘III Sides to Every Story’. The guitar has Nuno fill along with the bass and Jeff sings with a hint of Cherone and there is nothing wrong with that. An explosive opener and a sign of things to come.

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Billy Squier – “In The Dark” – 7″ Single

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I found this single out in the wild and being a fan of Billy Squier, I had to have it. “In the Dark” was the second single off his massively successful album, ‘Don’t Say No’. The song was released as a single in August 1981 and went all the way to #35 on the Billboard Hot 100 making it Billy’s second Top 40 Single with the first being “The Stroke” obviously! Like all Billy Songs, they were written by him which goes to show how talented he was. A very underrated artist and terrible he was shut out and basically black-balled over one ridiculous video, but that is a story for another time.

My version of the single is standard US version and has “Whadda You Want From Me” as the B-Side. The picture sleeve is the same picture on both sides which I find to be rather lazy personally but are you buying it for picture, probably not.

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Cheap Trick – ‘We’re All Alright!’ (2017) – Album Review (The Cheap Trick Collection Series)

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Cheap Trick is the fine wine of Rock & Roll…they keep getting better with age.  Okay, that was extremely cheesy if not entirely true!  They are now on their 18th Studio album after 44 years together.  To top it off, it has only been around 15 months since their last one, ‘Bang, Zoom, Crazy…Hello’.  The new album picks up right where that album left off.  ‘We’re All Alright!’ even takes it to the next level.

The album title, ‘We’re All Alright!’, is a line straight out of their classic song “Surrender” and the whole album is classic Cheap Trick.  The album is a fast paced, juggernaut of pure Cheap Trick rock.  The songs are generally around 3 minutes and the album flies by at only 33 minutes (45 for the deluxe edition).  The album consists of new songs and some old songs that were never recorded or released.

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