Matt Nathanson – ‘Slow, But Speeding’ E.P. – Album Review

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In my endless search for music I don’t have by Matt Nathanson, I always get excited when I find something that I didn’t actually have and this is one of those items. In 2007, Matt released a promotional E.P. on CD called ‘Slow, But Speeding’ for his upcoming 2007 album ‘Some Mad Hope’. I have that album, so why is this E.P. worth getting if it is a promo of the album is something you might ask and I will tell you . There are 3 songs on here and they are all acoustic versions of the new songs on the albums. This one is not extremely rare to get and not overly pricey either which makes it even better. The songs were recorded at Play Records in San Francisco, CA and they are stripped down to their bare essence with just an acoustic guitar and Matt.

The first track is “Gone” as well as the songs on here are written by Matt Nathanson and Mark Weinberg. What I love about Matt is when he sings he really feels the songs. They feel personal to him and a part of him and that is even more prevalent when he does them acoustic. This one has Matt giving up on love after his most recent heartbreak. He is really aching and feels so lost and you can hear the heartache.

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Friday New Releases – May 6, 2022

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Welcome to May! Can you believe it? Time is flying. There are some really juicy releases this week and I am sure any one that follows this site will know what our #1 pick is this week and he is first on the list. But he isn’t the only one that we will be checking out and they are all highlighted in Blue. Let me know what you are interested in hearing and what we may have missed. Thank so much for stopping by and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

  • 71FY5Zbr6gL._AC_UY436_FMwebp_QL65_  Jeff Scott Soto – Complicated – (Frontiers Records): His 3rd solo released in as many years and 9th overall and he might be the busiest man in the business. I think he is awesome, but I am biased as I just got to meet him a couple weeks ago and see him and Jason Bieler in concert (sorry, was I bragging…yes I was). Looking forward to dive in to this, but don’t expect a review until the end of the Jeff Scott Soto Series we are doing.
  • 81orzaFh6oL._AC_UY436_FMwebp_QL65_  Halestorm – Back From the Dead – (Atlantic Recording): Man, I have been waiting for a new album from Lzzy Hale and the gang and the have finally delivered. Are they one of the best newer bands out there, no doubt they are. Lzzy has one of the best rock vocals and when they deliver it, they deliver it hard and heavy!
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Cheap Trick – ‘The Epic Archive, Vol. 1 (1975-1979)’ (2015) – Album Review (The Cheap Trick Collection Series)

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After the last studio album, 2009’s ‘The Latest’, Cheap Trick went a little quiet. The did release a a live album, ‘Sgt Pepper Live’ in 2009, but that album is not in my Collection and this is “The Collection Series” so it won’t get reviewed at this point. Then in 2010, Bun E. Carlos stopped touring and he ended up suing the band in 2013 as they weren’t allowing him to record or participate in anything with the band. The lawsuit was settled and the band continued on without Carlos as a 3-Piece. Of note, Rick Nielsen’s son, Dax, has filled in for Bun E. as the drummer. And in 2014, they did release a compilation album called ‘The 70’s’, but again, not in the collection.

So, what is in the Collection that can be reviewed next? I will tell you. We have ‘The Epic Archive, Vol. 1 through Vol. 3 to review that were all released in 2015. All three albums were released on November 27, 2015 digitally. There was no physical product at the time. That has since been corrected as they eventually did release these on vinyl for Record Store Day on three separate occasions. I was lucky enough to get all 3. We will start with ‘The Epic Archive, Vol. 1 (1975-1979) since that is the first one in the series.

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Biker Mice From Mars – Soundtrack (1993) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

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You are probably wondering what is a Biker Mice From Mars. I know I was when I heard of this album with Jeff Scott Soto on vocals. What I came to find out was that Biker Mice From Mars was a cartoon that actually ran in the U.S. from 1993-1996 and ran for 3 seasons with 65 episodes. I am not sure what planet I was on, but apparently it wasn’t this one as I have never, ever heard of this one before.

And to my surprise the cast voicing these characters were huge stars in the 90’s. Most importantly the cast of Beverly Hills 90210 voiced a ton as it Ian Ziering, Brian Austin Greene, Jason Priestly, Luke Perry, Tori Spelling and Jennie Garth all voiced a character. I wonder why Shannon Doherty didn’t voice one. Now if those weren’t the stars you would know. It also had Mark Hamill, Brad Garrett, Peter Strause, CCH Pounder, Malcolm McDowell, Leah Remini, Rob Paulsen and Jess Harnell of the Animaniacs and the band Rock Sugar.

What is the premise of the show? Let me let Wikipedia sum it up for you…“The show follows three anthropomorphic mice motorcyclists named Throttle, Modo, and Vinnie who escape a war on their home planet Mars before arriving to defend the Earth from the evil that destroyed their homeland (the Plutarkians) and to one day return to Mars.” There is a lot more to it than that, but that is all we need to know as we are here about the soundtrack and not the actual show.

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ZZ Top – “Sleeping Bag” – 7″ Single

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ZZ Top were still riding high with ‘Afterburner’ after the massive success of the previous album ‘Eliminator’. The first single off the album was “Sleeping Bag” and the follow-up to their hit “Legs”. The single came out in 1985 and went to #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 which equaled the chart position of “Legs”. However, it did something no other ZZ Top song had done up to that point. It went to #1 on the U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart making it the band’s most successful single ever. The song is written by Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard.

The version I have is a U.S. version but it is not standard release as the original cover was different as it was just the mask. This version as the muscled out body wearing the mask with the ZZ Top name down the side which the logo is along the top on the original single. The B-Side on the single is the same with “Party on the Patio”. I found my copy on one of my many local digs as my stores seem to have an abundance of picture sleeve singles as I seem to find at least one on every trip, but usually more than one.

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Aerosmith – ‘Rockin’ The Joint’ (2005) – Album Review (The Aerosmith Collection Series)

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Back in 2002, the band was towards the end of their Just Push Play Tour and the band played a real intimate show at The Joint at The Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. The band played more deep cuts then normal and recorded the show. The album was finally released over three years later on October 25, 2005 and went to #24 on the Billboard Charts. The band was the still the original guys with Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, Tom Hamilton and Joey Kramer…and there was an additional player for this show and that was Russ Irwin on keyboards. The album was produced by Steven and Marti Frederiksen.

The set list for the show was an astounding 26 songs and out of those there were some great deep cuts they hadn’t played in a long while, but the bad thing was the whole show wasn’t released. The album release only had 11 songs and you would get 2 more if you had the Japanese Edition or the Target Edition as well. That is a crying shame and a massive defect with this release. I am not sure I understand why they didn’t release the whole show. Big mistake.

My copy of the album is the Dual Disc version with the CD on one side and a DVD on the other. The DVD side is only the Enhanced PCM Stereo audio of the album on DVD, but not the actual show. It also has 4 Special Live Video Performances and some Exclusive Behind-The-Scenes Footage. There are two exclusive bonus tracks on the DVD that are the bonus tracks on the Target Exclusive Edition of the CD. The case of the CD is shaped a little different than the normal CD. There is a little button on the front that you push to open the disc. It is a cool version to have in the collection.

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My Sunday Song – “Angel” by Judas Priest

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For My Sunday Song #297, we are talking about the song “Angel” by Judas Priest. The song is off their 2005 album ‘Angel of Retribution’. I picked another song that wasn’t a single and from an album that a lot of fans might not think about. The album is their 15th studio album and the first since 1990’s Painkiller to feature Rob Halford again on vocals.

The lyrics on this one seem to be really deep. That there is a deeper meaning to them that we weren’t meant to really understand. Is it about wanting to die and be taken to the land of peace with Christ? Is it about longing for a lover that has left and he just wants them back to be whole again? Is it about drugs and wanting to escape in them again where he could stop feeling all the pain this world brings? I don’t really have the answer, I guess you can interpret it however you want and none of it would be wrong. 

“Angel”, I think this might be one of the best ballads they have done. Rob’s vocals on this might be the best off the album as well. His vocals are smooth at times and full of emotion and it is just him and an acoustic guitar for most of the song. It has a very melancholy tone and is actually quite moving with its beautiful soaring vocals and the sweeping music seems to lift you in the sky with the angels. The bass comes in around the middle and then some electric guitars for the solo. The drums come in towards the end and brings the full band in to play. It is a beautifully constructed song and might be the best song on the album…who am I kidding, it is the best song on the album.

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April 2022 Purchases – Vinyl & CDs…and More!

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Welcome to another wrap-up post and this time for April. I have to say that April was a fairly quiet month and not much vinyl but a lot of CDs and Cassettes this month. There was a lot going on the Snow Clan this month so record shopping was not a top priority and it shows in the rather small month of purchases. Still though, there are some quality purchases I believe. So let us get right to it. First up, I went and saw Will Hoge in concert at the end of March (after I wrote the March Purchases Post) and I picked up his latest on Vinyl for ‘Tiny Little Movies’ and I did that because I got to meet Will and he kindly signed the album (as well as give us the set list to the show).

And then came the release of Aldo Nova’s new album which is a 10-song E.P. (okay, since when did 10 songs make an E.P.) which is a collection of 10 songs off his forthcoming 22 song Rock Opera – The Life & Times of Eddie Gage. 3 weeks later, Aldo also put out Reloaded 2.0 which is a collection of old songs redone or reimagined with one new song…some of these he released a while back on an E.P. called Aldo Nova 2.0…so same concept with a few extra tracks.

I also was out shopping and found a lot of cassettes and they are scattered throughout the pictures as I found a lot of stuff by the same band so I grouped items together with the bands…not in all cases. We will start off with GNR’s Lies and Blue Murder’s self-titled both on cassette…

And then I found some Whitesnake cassettes as well as a Store Promo of a single…great finds for me…

If that wasn’t enough, I found a couple of Billy Idol cassettes and I can’t believe but I already have a duplicate with Whiplash Smile. You’d thing I would know what I have since I have so few, but the cover was so different, I didn’t realize they were the same so now I have two Whiplash Smiles. The other cover is a full length picture and a white label, this was a partial picture with black…at least I didn’t have Don’t Stop.

Kiss is one where I pretty much have all the vinyl (with a few minor exceptions) so I’ve started grabbing the CDs and cassettes as well (and 8 Tracks). Here are a couple more CDs added and a really cool cassette that I didn’t know if I’d find.

And then there were a couple more CDs that I came across from Winger and Ratt I still needed. Plus, I haven’t been able to find on vinyl so the CD will do for now…

Then I was out at Noble Records (one of my favorite stores) and I found a collection of Scorpions Promo CD Singles, so they are now part of the ever growing Scorpions collection that you will all see in due time when we start The Scorpions Collection Series real soon…

The last couple of items I think are really cool. First up is the Japanese Edition of Danger Danger’s debut album with a set of bonus tracks which are live cuts of songs on the album…

Then I bought the next item from Israel, but it isn’t an Israel pressing. It is the UK/Europe pressing which is a 2 CD Special Edition bonus tracks and live tracks.

The last set of discs are for Matt Nathanson. He is another artist I have all the vinyl, but not all the CDs, so we are remedying that as well. And one of these isn’t on vinyl to begin with so I really needed it…

And that is everything. The vinyl purchases were really weak this time around and I will admit it is getting harder to find what I want and at decent prices so we might see a drop in vinyl purchases as a result. I hope that doesn’t stay the trend, but we will see. Here is everything in one big shot…

And that is all. Thanks for stopping by and I can’t wait to see what May will bring us!!

Friday New Releases – April 29, 2022

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Happy Friday! And welcome to another Friday New Release post and the last one for April. Hard to believe April is over!! But what is not hard to believe is that we have over 50 releases for you again this week and it is a wide range of genres. There is something for everyone this week. I am not running out to buy and of these just yet, but I have a handful I will give a listen and they are marked in Blue. Let me know what you want to hear this week. Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

  • 71CXv7Gy4AL._AC_UY436_FMwebp_QL65_  Miranda Lambert – Palomino – (Vanner Records / Sony Music): Miranda is back with her 9th album in 20 years. I am not a massive country fan, but I do like me some Miranda. This might be first up this week.
  • 91srbavPHlL._AC_UY436_FMwebp_QL65_  Crashdiet – Automaton – (Crusader Records / Golden Robot Global): We’ve talked about it before that Sweden manufactures Sleaze Rock/Glam Rock bands and this is another in the long line of bands. They are back with their sixth album and I will look forward to some good rock & roll!
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Cheap Trick – ‘The Latest’ (2009) – Album Review (The Cheap Trick Collection Series)

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We are now to the band’s 16th Studio album. The album was released on June 23, 2009 and only went to #78 on the Billboard Charts and sadly sales only reached 24,000 records as of 2016 which is an absolute shame as this is a hidden gem. The Latest is the last studio album to feature all four members of the original band of Robin Zander, Rick Nielsen, Tom Petersson and Bun E. Carlos. In 2010, Bun E. Carlos stopped touring with the band and it led to him not recording with the band. There were lawsuits back and forth and it was ugly. But that is another discussion for another day.

Cheap Trick really lost their way in the mid to late 80’s and early 90’s. But with ‘Woke Up With a Monster’ up to ‘Rockford’, Cheap Trick was slowly remembering who they were. With ‘The Latest’, the band was back in full form and putting out their best album in years. Cheap Trick was back baby, but sadly, no one knew it. This was the Cheap Trick sound I loved. They band sounded refreshed, rejuvenated and reborn. ‘The Latest’ is the best we’ve seen from them in a very long time.

The version of the album I have is a digipak CD with a fold out cover (as seen below). There was no booklet inside as everything was printed on the reverse sides of the flaps below. One thing cool the band did for this release is they released a version of the album on 8-Track. This was 2009 and 8-Tracks were not a blip on anyone’s radar (except maybe Tim Durling).

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