Aerosmith – ‘Classics Live!’ (1986) – Album Review (The Aerosmith Collection Series)

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Back in 1984, Aerosmith reunited with Brad Whitford and Joe Perry and went out on tour to celebrate the reunion. That tour was the Back in the Saddle Tour. The band had been on Columbia Records, but jumped ship and signed with Geffen Records in hopes of getting back in the good graces of the buying public. They planned out and released their comeback album ‘Done With Mirrors’ with little fanfare at least that was until they were on the Run DMC cover of their song “Walk This Way”. That combination of Hip Hop and Rock joining together and being celebrated so much on MTV brought them back in to the limelight.

This new found fame was great for Columbia Records because the bands new deal with Geffen still allowed Columbia to release material they owned of the band, which was a lot. Columbia took full advantage of this opportunity and the first release was a live compilation called ‘Classics Live’ in April 1986. The songs were collected from live shows ranging from 1978 up to 1984 and there was a bonus track any Aerosmith had to have, an unreleased studio track.

Four of the tracks on here come from the February 14, 1984 show at the Orpheum in Boston, Massachusetts. This was a very important show for the band because in the audience was Joe Perry and Brad Whitford who were no loner in the band at this time. Of course, this mean Jimmy Crespo and Rick Dufay were on guitar. But that wasn’t the important thing about this show. This was the very beginning of the original band getting back together and would start the band’s climb back to stardom.

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Cheap Trick – “Mighty Wings” (1986) – 7″ Single (The Cheap Trick Collection Series – Bonus Edition)

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Between the albums ‘Standing on the Edge” and “The Doctor”, Cheap Trick were asked to do a song on an upcoming movie starring this two-bit actor named Tom Cruise. The movie was ‘Top Gun’ and would blow up the silverscreen and was a massive hit. What also was a massive hit was the soundtrack to that movie. What a line-up of who was big in the 80’s. You get Kenny Loggins, Loverboy, Berlin, Miami Sound Machine and Teena Marie to name most of the artist.

Cheap Trick were asked to do the song “Might Wings” which was written by Mark Spiro and Harold Faltermeyer who also produced the soundtrack. The song was the third single off the soundtrack and the only one to not chart which is a big surprise to me as it was my favorite song on the soundtrack. The song appeared in the movie twice. First as an instrumental piece during the scene first training session at Mirimar and then the full version of the track was played during the end credits.

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Quiet Riot – “Bang Your Head (Metal Health)” – 45 Single

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In my ever growing attempt at saving 7″ Singles from sitting all alone in Record Stores craving to spun again a turntable, I have found a couple from the band Quiet Riot that were eager to be adopted by yours truly. I found these two at the great Charlotte Record Store of Noble Records. He is always putting out great stuff and these two are no exception.

The first to discuss is the 2nd Single off the band’s 1983 ‘Metal Health”. The song is “Bang Your Head (Metal Health). At least that is what it says on the single. My album that it is off of calls it simply “Metal Health” and I’ve even seen it listed as “Metal Health (Bang Your Head)”. Whichever way it is listed, it is still a killer song.

My copy is the Standard U.S. Pressing and has the B-Side has the same song, but as a live version recorded for the King Biscuit Flower Hour. The single was released in December 1983 and did really well on the charts. It broke the Top 40 and landed at #31 which wasn’t quite as good as the #5 hit “Cum On Feel the Noize”, the Slade Cover which is the song that broke the band. The band was Kevin DuBrow, Carlos Cavazo, Frankie Banali and Rudy Sarzo. However, bass on this song wasn’t Rudy, it was Charles Wright who left the band during the recording of the album.

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Panther – ‘Panther’ (1986) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

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Welcome and Happy New Year!! We are finally here. The first in the Jeff Scott Soto Series. I have been teasing this thing for months and let me tell you I am really excited to finally be starting the series. We are not going to go through Jeff’s entire career, but mostly focusing on albums where he is the featured singer. He has done a ton of tribute album songs, but this is all about the Studio albums he has done with his solo work and numerous bands he has been in and there are a lot. I have followed Jeff’s career for over 20 years thanks to the site Melodicrock.com. It was there I discovered Jeff with his band Talisman and his solo work. And from there, I’ve gone a little nuts. I’ve explored his entire career which now spans out 37+ years. We aren’t going back to the very beginning which would’ve have been his birth on November 4, 1965…nope that is too far back. We will pick things up in 1984 when Jeff was only 18 years old with his first real band. Yes, I know he wasn’t an official member of this band and that he was only used to record the demos so they could find a singer, but it is the first real recordings we have that have been released.

The album ‘Panther’ by the band Panther was originally released in 1986 and was only a 6 song E.P. Wait, 1986. If that is the case, why is this the first album? I’ll tell you why. The album was recorded in 1984/85 (depends what you read) as demos for the band. Right after recording the album, Jeff received a phone call from the management of some new gun slinger named Yngwie Malmsteen. Soto jumped at the chance and left the band to work with Yngwie’s Rising Force. Technically, the Yngwie albums were released prior to this one, but this one was recorded prior to those so that is why I am starting with this one. It is my site and my party and I’ll start where I want!

After Jeff’s success with Yngwie, the label finally released the album in 1986. It was released as an E.P. with only 6 songs. Good luck finding that original E.P. and if you have it…ugh how much do you want for it???? My copy is actually a re-release of the E.P. with four additional songs only a few years back in 2018. And that is perfect for me as I love to have as many songs as I can get. The band was Jeff Scott Soto on vocals, Mike Barrish on guitar, Glen Davis on bass and Scott Taylor on drums. The boys played up and down the LA Strip and played a lot at The Troubadour. Their style was typical 80’s Hard Rock with a very NWOBHM influence as well. And since that is all the history of the band I have been able to piece together (accurately or not accurately is to be determined) let us get to the music.

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My Sunday Song – “Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield

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For My Sunday Song #280 and the final of this 10 song set, we are talking about the 80’s classic “Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield. It is an iconic song and one that screams The 80’s. The song went all the way to #1 and I believe is his only #1 song and garnered Rick a Grammy. Did you know, it was the #1 song in the country when MTV debuted!! The song was from the album “Working Class Dog” and helped catapult the album to Platinum status. Rick Springfield was everywhere and even on TV as he played Dr. Noah Drake on the Daytime Soap of ‘General Hospital” which my mom watched which meant I had to watch it. We didn’t have a lot of TV options back in 1981. I am sure that his TV popularity helped shoot this up the charts as women loved him and hoped to be Jessie’s Girl.

The song is about Rick’s friend’s girlfriend. His name was Gary and not Jessie as Rick was trying to protect the innocent. Rick was in a Stained Glass class with Gary and I guess saw the girl, but actually never met her or knew her name (or he is still protecting the innocent). In fact, he states that the girl probably has no idea the song is about her. Rick was lusting from afar, but at least we got a great song out of it. The lyrics are a little silly at times and it is strange that this old guy (he was in his 30’s at the time) was singing a song about teenagers, but he made it work.

The song is pure bubblegum, pop magic and total power pop bliss at the same time. It has this really cool guitar riff throughout and the solo really pushes the song on to the rock side as well which helped it be popular with everyone. Rick sings it with an energy and honest deliver that makes you feel bad for him that he didn’t have her. I am sure we all had someone we crushed on like that growing up. You feel his yearning for her and that is what connected with everyone. Plus, the music is so damn catchy.

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A Year in Music! – What did 2 Loud 2 Old Music Listen to in 2021?

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For 2021, I did something a little different here at 2 Loud 2 Old Music. I tracked every single album I listened to kind of like Spotify, but more manual and not as technical. Every time I listened to an album or E.P., I wrote it down. And I will say that this will be the last and only time I ever do this as it was a pain in the ass. I will say, this was not a normal year. I worked from home all year which gave me access to all my music, vinyl, cds and streaming. I didn’t include individual songs or shuffling which I like to do. These were straight album listens from beginning to end in the order the album was meant to be heard.

A couple more points to note. When I do a review of an album, I try to listen to it 5 to 6 times before reviewing so there are a lot of repeat listens to an album. And what did I track? I tracked the following:

  • Artist
  • Album Name
  • Year of Release
  • Month
  • Day
  • Day of the Week
  • Format

With all that data, I am able to give you lots of useless information that I thought would be fun. So let’s get started. How many albums did 2 Loud 2 Old Listen to in 2021? Easy…1,374!! If I was working in the office, the number probably would’ve been no where even close to that number. Now let’s get in to the juicy details. Out of the 1,374 albums, there were 609 unique albums I heard during the year.

What were the Top 20 Bands I listened to during the year and how many albums?

Note, I worked on a number of Review Series during the year and made some Album Rankings and as a result, those are going to be high on my list. I don’t think there are really any surprises on this list, especially the Top 5 as they were all Review Series. There were 290 different artist and bands I listened to throughout the year.

ArtistCount of Artist
Judas Priest140
Cheap Trick96
Aerosmith87
Queen85
Kiss61
Will Hoge34
Queensryche23
Wig Wam20
Needtobreathe19
Scorpions18
Def Leppard17
Whitesnake14
Danger Danger13
Stone Temple Pilots13
Rob Zombie12
Firehouse12
Jeff Scott Soto11
Steelheart11
Katy Perry10
Matt Nathanson10

What were the Top Albums I listened to during the year?

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What to Expect in New Music for 2022??

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2022 is upon us and it is always fun anticipating what new albums will come out in the year. There are quite a few we already know about, but some haven’t been officially announced or even a date set yet.

Last year, there were a few artist I was hoping would release an album that might have or might not have released one.  It is always fun to hope for new music from these bands, but sometimes there are disappointments.  Here are the ones I was hoping to get new albums from last year and what actually happened…

  • Def Leppard – I don’t care if I get new music, but give me The Collection Volume 3 at least!!! – We did get The Collection Volume 3!!!
  • Kiss – I will keep this on the list until I die!! – We did get a Live Bootleg album in what I hope is the first of many!!
  • The Winery Dogs – Still keeping my hopes up – No Album, BUT…they are working on a new album for 2022
  • Guns ‘N Roses – Rumors, Rumors, Rumors!! – STILL NOTHING…But did get a couple singles!
  • Aldo Nova – He keeps talking about a 2CD set, but will he get around to releasing it?? After 2 years still nothing…he keeps saying its coming but I will believe it when I see it!!
  • Matt Nathanson – Loved what we got last year, but time for new music!!! I believe he finished recording it, but haven’t heard anything for a long while. – He has recorded it but Covid delayed it. It Will Be 2022!!  We did get a live album so that was cool! Now he did surprise us with a U2 covers album called Achtung Matty! 

Okay, are there albums I want to see this year from some of my favorite bands that haven’t been announced or in some cases even rumored?  Of course there are.  These are the bands I want new albums from this year…but it might not happen.

  • Def Leppard – They’ve been writing…will we get the new album in 2022??  Or at least The Collection Vol. 4 which is the final in the series
  • Kiss – I will keep this on the list until I die!!  At least give us another Soundboard LP.
  • Guns ‘N Roses – Rumors, Rumors, Rumors!!  They teased us with a couple singles, is an album in the works?
  • Aldo Nova – He keeps talking about a 2CD set for over 2 years and still nothing much, but will he get around to releasing it in 2022??
  • Poison – I think it is finally time for a new Poison album!!
  • Will Hoge – His last one was 2020 so now is the time for another!
  • Billy Idol – He teased us with an E.P. in 2021.  A full album would be nice

From what I have gathered around the internet, here are the bands that should have new albums out in 2021, but no dates announced yet. The ones I would give a try will be highlighted in Blue.  The ones with Dates Announced are at the bottom of this post.  The list is building up nicely!! Continue reading “What to Expect in New Music for 2022??” →

December 2021 Purchases – Vinyl & CDs

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Welcome to the final Monthly Purchase review of 2021. Sit back because we are going out with a bang!! Not only did I score some major vinyl and CDs in my hunts, but my Christmas/Birthday presents were a lot as well. I am not going to waste anymore time and we will just jump right in.

First up this month is an RSD release that I didn’t get until after the Black Friday RSD. It is the latest Aerosmith release and will be final review in The Aerosmith Collection Series. It is the very first live recording of the band…

Then my daughter and I found out that one our digging holes was going out of business. Manifest Disc closed its doors and before they did, we hit them up for some of their deep discount deals. My daughter did some damage in the DVD section and I did some in the CDs and one vinyl. The CDs are hodge podge of stuff some of it I was hoping to find vinyl, but I have given up hope so I just bought the CDs since they were dirt cheap.

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The Top Albums of 2021

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2021 was not quite as strange as 2020 as things started to get back to normal. I got out to see a couple concerts and back to digging in the record stores and even went in to the office a few times.  Covid pushed back a lot of albums in 2020 and they finally came out in 2021. Some were worth the wait and well, some weren’t.  But there were some great releases and I am sure I missed a number of great albums and if you look around the web, there will be tons of Top Album lists you can get a pretty good idea of what you should check out in case you missed any of these.

This year I am doing things a little different.  I am only doing one list post, but that list will be centered around my Favorite Rock Albums of the year.  At the end I’ll give you my Top 5 Non-Rock Albums of the year as I didn’t listen to a ton of new releases this year as I was focused so much on my Kiss, Judas Priest, Queen and now Cheap Trick & Aerosmith Series.  That took a lot of time.

Also note, these are MY FAVORITES!!  These are not the most popular or trendy albums.  You won’t find the cool trendy bands, because they are usually here today gone tomorrow.  These are the albums that I connected with during the year and I kept coming back to again and again.  And without further adieu, here are the Top Rock Albums of 2020:

THE TOP ROCK ALBUMS OF 2021:

#10 – Eclipse – ‘Wired’:

71-t49UrImL._SX522_ Eclipse is a melodic rock / glam rock /hard rock band out of Sweden and let me tell you Sweden knows how to pump out these bands. I think there are more rock bands in Sweden then there are people.  It is just a guess.  The two original guys, Erik Martensson and Magnus Henriksson. are back with their 9th album and they keep delivering.  Erik’s vocals are killer and Magnus can lay down some riffs.  The three opening tracks, “Roses On Your Grave”, “Dying Breed” and “Saturday Night (Hallelujah)” just suck you in and you know you are in good hands and just along for the ride at this point. Continue reading “The Top Albums of 2021” →

ZZ Top – “Legs” – 12″ Maxi-Single

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I was out at a record show in Charlotte and was digging through the crates when I came across a 12″ Maxi-Single of ZZ Top’s song “Legs”. Who doesn’t want a “special dance mix” of that song. I had to have it especially since it was not the album mix. I love finding the non-album versions of the songs. I quickly snatched it up and here we are now doing a post.

The song is off the band’s multi-platinum, 1983 album “Eliminator”. This album, along with this song, put ZZ Top in to the stratosphere of success. And really we have MTV to thank as ZZ Top fully embraced the video concept and they did a trilogy of videos with these powerful women driving around in the classic 1933 Ford Coupe and it was stunning, just like the women.

“Legs” went Top 40 going all the way to #8 and saw the band incorporate electronic elements and new wave sounds in to their music. This was the first time that the band embrace synthesizers and electronic drum machines and if I’m not mistaken the bass and drums that were recorded for the song were actually replaced by the electronic equipment. I wonder how that went over the Hill and Beard.

My copy of the single is the standard U.S. 12″ Maxi-Single that included the “Special Dance Mix” of the song “Legs” and the B-Side was the album version of the song “La Grange” from the album ‘Tres Hombres’ from 1983. It is weird to think that this Texas Blues Rock Band would have a “Dance Mix” of a song, but in the 80’s, anything was possible. It was a dramatic change for the band that brought them a completely new audience. To think, these guys were old as far as the MTV generation was concerned, but they somehow pulled off a miracle thanks to videos and brought a fun, good time rock & roll vibe to the audience and they ate it up.

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