Kiss – ‘Unplugged’ – Album Review (The Kiss Bootleg Series)

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I have been doing a Kiss Bootleg Series for years. You get a review every time I add a new one to the collection. Well, after buying 38 Bootleg CDs from John Humphrey’s personal collection, I figured let’s jump right back in and do a whole lot of reviews on the Bootlegs. Oh, if you don’t know who John Humphrey is, you need to know he is a massive Kiss collector. And he is the drummer of the band Seether. John decided to sell off his entire collection…sort of…he kept all the vinyl (like 4,000 of them). He did it through an auction at Backstage Auctions and I had to have a piece of it…and I did wind up with somethings.

As it says in the liner notes, Kiss has done numerous acoustic performances over the years on radio and TV (excluding MTV unplugged). This compilation takes those performances and puts them in one disc. It covers the time periods of 1990-1994 which makes most of it having Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Eric Singer and Bruce Kulick. But we do get Eric Carr and Ace Frehley tracks as well. The sound quality if actually pretty good and we get 12 fun and exciting tracks and wildly good time as it shows the humor of the guys as well as these are very loose and crazy performances.

The first track is from The Howard Stern show on February 25, 1993 and you can hear Howard and Robin joking it up with Paul and Gene. They play “Detroit Rock City” and Gene is a cut-up throughout the whole thing. I love it when he points out where all the explosions would be when they play it live. Paul sounds relaxed and vocally is on point. I love seeing the lighter side of the band.

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The Collection: Ep. 58 – May 2025 Wrap-Up

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I know it isn’t the end of the month yet, but we are doing our Wrap-Up for May anyway. So for now, it is time to go back and see what 2 Loud 2 Old Music added to the collection. This is May 2025 and we have a little vinyl, a whole lot of CDs and even a book. So much to go through including several new Rock Candy CDs in the collection, a new item for the Kiss collection and a couple Box Sets. Lots of great new and old stuff to go through and show for this month so I hope you enjoy the show!!

So go check it out as it will be live tonight right now, May 26, 2025 at 7pm. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.

And in case you can’t watch it for whatever reason that is not a good enough excuse, here is everything…

My Sunday Song – “Pictures of You” By The Last Goodnight

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For My Sunday Song #434, we are going to talk about the song “Pictures of You” by the band The Last Goodnight. The song was off their only album ‘Poison Kiss’ from 2007. A great pop rock band that only had one album and gone too soon. “Pictures of You” was the debut single off their debut album and it only went to #70 in the U.S., but did much better in Australia where it went to #3 and went Platinum. The song was written by Jeff Blue, Mike Nadeau and Kurtis John. Kurtis is the lead singer, Mike is on guitar while Jeff is the producer of the album.

The song appears to be about life, both the good and bad. We take pictures and hang them on the wall and we can imagine what we could have been. It starts out with a newborn child and all the potential that child has. Life gets in the way and has different ideas. A cure is discovered for a disease while the government blocks its release. A solider goes off to war and the parents are home worrying themselves to death. You are boxer in a ring with thoughts of winning a title, but it doesn’t materialize. So many great things can happen…but don’t. A rather depressing look at life.

It might be a depressing look at life, but it is a beautifully written song. Musically, it is on the softer side of rock and is so full of the pop tricks. It has a great big chorus that is catchy and will hook you right in. The chorus is a little repetitive which helps it stick in your head and makes you sing along quickly as if the song is an old friend you’ve known forever. I think Kurtis’ vocals are stellar and really pop. Clean, smooth and very pleasant to the ears. And I don’t always like the use of keyboards, but they are subtle and add so much texture to the song on this one. It is one of those songs that grabbed me quickly and never let go. Even after around 18 years, I still catch myself singing this one and wanting to hear it.

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Friday New Releases – May 23, 2025

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We have reached another Friday and of course that means we have some releases for you this week. Though not a ton. For me, I am taking it easy as there is nothing I’m running out to buy, but hopefully there is something for you to listen to this week. Let me 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.

  • Don Felder – The Vault: Fifty Years of Music – (Frontiers Records)
  • Ronnie Romero – Live at Rock Imperium Festival – (Frontiers Records)
  • Taj Mahal / Keb’ Mo’ – Room on the Porch – (Concord Records)
  • Big Daddy Weave – Let It Begin – (Curb Records)
  • Green Day – Saviors (edition de luxe) – (Reprise Records)
  • Joe Jonas – Music For People Who Believe in Love – (Republic Records / UMG)
  • Sports Team – Boys These Days – (Bright Antenna Entertainment / AWAL)
  • Cardinal Black – Midnight at The Valencia – (Jump In Records / Thirty Tigers)
  • Stereolab – Instant Holograms on Metal Film – (Duophonic)
  • The SteelDrivers – Outrun – (Sun Records)
  • Sparks – MAD! – (Transgressive)
  • Firefall – Friends And Family 2 – (Firetours Inc / Sunset Blvd Records)
  • Feversea – Man Under Erasure – (Dark Essence Records)
  • Witchcraft – Idag – (Heavy Psych Sounds)
  • OnSlaught – Origins of Aggression – (Reigning Phoenix Music)
  • Crystal Spiders – Metanoia – (Ripple Music)
  • Unmerciful – Devouring Darkness – (Willowtip)
  • Unantastbar – Fur Immer Wir – (Napalm Records)
  • Age of Apocalypse – In Oblivion – (Closed Casket Activities)
  • St. Johns Wood Affair – 2 – (Think Like A Key Music / Keith Smart)
  • Cindytalk – Camouflage Heart – (Dais Records)
  • Charmer – Downpour – (Counter Intuitive Records)
  • Skunk Anansie – The Painful Truth – (Boogooyamma / Frontiers Records)
  • These New Puritans – Crooked Wing – (Domino Recordings)
  • House of Protection – Outrun You All – (Red Bull Records)
  • Amble – Reverie – (Warner Records / Amble Music Ltd)

Kiss – ‘Wicked Lester’ – Album Review (The Kiss Bootleg Series)

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I have been doing a Kiss Bootleg Series for years. You get a review every time I add a new one to the collection. Well, after buying 38 Bootleg CDs from John Humphrey’s personal collection, I figured let’s jump right back in and do a whole lot of reviews on the Bootlegs. Oh, if you don’t know who John Humphrey is, you need to know he is a massive Kiss collector. And he is the drummer of the band Seether. John decided to sell off his entire collection…sort of…he kept all the vinyl (like 4,000 of them). He did it through an auction at Backstage Auctions and I had to have a piece of it…and I did wind up with somethings.

Now, to the review…We all know Kiss was started by Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Peter Criss and Ace Frehley.  But did you know about the band prior to Kiss?  It all started with Gene (Chaim Witz) and Paul (Stanley Eisen) in a band called Rainbow with Gene’s friend Stephen Coronel.  Paul was the third member and then they brought in a drummer named Joe Davidson. This band didn’t last long at all and hell, the drummer even a shorter time as he was quickly replaced with Tony Zarella.  They only played one show before they had to drop the name Rainbow because that name was already being used by some other band (and no, not the Richie Blackmore band).

And that is how Wicked Lester was born.  After only a couple shows as Wicked Lester, they were approached by a label and were given the chance to record some demos. After listening to those demos, the label decided that Stephen was not good enough and had to be fired. And since Gene and Paul the upstanding citizens they are, they fired Stephen.  I guess you do whatever it takes to make it in this business.  Ron Leejack was then brought in for guitar duties and it was time to record the album.

Now the album would take about a year to complete and upon receiving the album and hearing it, the label were not quite thrilled with it…okay, they hated it.  Hated it so much, they shelved it and it was never released.  Well, never in a full, pure album form.  It has been leaked out as a bootleg and that is what we have here. This particular release has a total of 9 demos of Wicked Lester and it also has the 5 demos done by Eddie Kramer before Kiss did their first album. Lastly, it claims to have 5 songs from Live at the Academy of Music in New York from 12/31/73, but this is not true from what I researched. It is actually 5 songs from the Long Beach recording on 5/31/74.

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The Collection: Ep. 57 – Noble Records Exclusives (Part 2 of 2)

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This week, we have Part 2 of 2 Noble Records Exclusives shows. Noble Records is my local record store and they do monthly exclusives of private press album releases from lost gems of the past. The exclusive part is the colored vinyl that is exclusive to his store. We have psych rock, funk, hard rock, southern rock and some really obscure stuff at times. Check it out as there is some really cool stuff such as Back Jack, Fraction, Mammoth, Doc Rockit, Tennessee River Crooks and so much more.

Check out Dillon’s YouTube channel for some really cool vinyl content! https://www.youtube.com/@noblerecords

So go check it out as it will be live tonight right now, May 19, 2025 at 7pm. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.

My Sunday Song – “Sanctuary” by The Wild Feathers

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For My Sunday Song #433, we are talking about a song from a band that most people probably haven’t heard before. The song is called “Sanctuary” and the band are The Wild Feathers. They are an alt-country band or maybe a Southern rock band with heavy country, Americana style music. Almost folksy at times, almost rock at others and they even dip their toes in to the pop realm. This song falls right in to that range. It was written by the band I am assuming as their are no writing credits.

So, the band is Ricky Young, Joel King, Taylor Burns, Ben Dumas and Brett Moore. The song is from their new album ‘Sirens’ which came out in October 2024 and was produced by Shooter Jennings. The song meaning is simple, thanks to Ricky Young actually telling us what it is about…(from Wildfiremusic.net)

‘Sanctuary’ is about standing up for yourself and not being the punching bag and safe place in a toxic relationship. It kind of encourages you to remember your self-worth and to love yourself. You can love somebody so much that you forget who you really are and I think that’s a place where a lot of people find themselves. It’s good to love somebody, but you can’t stop being happy in the process.

Musically, the song is cross between pop, rock and even a ballad. I hear The Eagles or at least a 70’s throwback style, I hear some incredible harmonies, I hear smooth vocals that are engaging and inviting. A song that wraps its arms around you and makes you feel it to the core. Some great guitar work, rhythm section and a perfect drum beat. The organ/piano work is also perfection. Everything blends together to give you pure artistry in a band full of honest to goodness musicians.

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Friday New Releases – May 16, 2025

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Welcome to another Friday New Release post. This week, I’m looking forward to hearing the new Morgan Wallen album as he’s one of the few new country singers I like. I’m also eager to hear the new Giant album. But that is it for me. What do you want to hear this week or what did we miss? Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great weekend!!

  • Morgan Wallen – I’m The Problem – (Big Loud Records / Mercury Records)
  • Giant – Stand And Deliver – (Frontiers Records)
  • Bury Tomorrow – Will You Haunt Me, With That Same Patience – (Music For Nations)
  • Sleep Theory – Afterglow – (Epitaph)
  • Kadavar – I Just Want to Be A Sound – (Clouds Hill)
  • Confessions of a Traitor – This Pain Will Serve You – (Facedown Records)
  • Larcenia Roe – Extraction – (Unique Leader Records)
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The Distortion Den Presents: Best Rock Debut Albums

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For this episode, Deke invited me to join him as we decided to focus on a Top 10 ranking of what some of our favourite albums would be. I had a couple of surprises with his picks which was really cool according to Deke (a couple weren’t really rock) whereas Deke feels no one will be surprised by his picks. The only rule was that they had to be albums in our collections. Who knows maybe down the road we’ll do another episode. (as there are many fantastic debut records still out there)

Thanks for watching…and make sure to Subscribe to Distortion Den while you are it! Always great content!!

W.E.T. – The Albums Ranked Worst to First

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As we now know as we have review five studio albums, W.E.T. is a culmination of some great artist including Robert Sall of the band Work of Art (The “W”); Erik Martensson of the band Eclipses (The “E”) and Jeff Scott Soto of the band Talisman (The “T”). All three bands are Swedish bands and all on Frontiers so it made it easy to bring these three guys together. Rounding out the current band are Magnus Henriksson (Eclipse); Jamie Borger (Talisman) and Andreas Passmark (Work of Art & Royal Hunt). All in some shape, form or fashion have been a small part of one of the three founding bands.

What started as a possible one-off project with Frontiers Records, the first album came out in 2009 and 16 years later we are now through 5 albums and one live album and a ton of great music. There is not a bad album in the bunch as ALL 5 scored a 4.0 out of 5.0 Stars or better. Not many bands can do that in my book. So, which ones are better than the others, let’s take a look.

THE WORST (NOT REALLY) – ‘APEX’ (2025)

I can’t really say this is a bad album at all because it isn’t.  If I had any complaint it is the same as I usually give for any Eclipse album. And that is that the songs can be repetitive, the stylings are all similar with little variety, however, the songs are so catchy and hook-laden that you don’t mind in the end.  As I said earlier, this is the sweet spot for Jeff’s vocals and my favorite style for him to sing.  Erik Martensson’s fine song writing is on full display. How he can write so many great songs is beyond me with this and Eclipse.  The guitar playing, the keyboards, the bass and the drums are in perfect harmony on these releases and they don’t know how to make a bad album.  My Overall Score is a 4.0 out of 5.0 Stars.  This is a brand new album so it could be a grower, but it is here because it doesn’t really offer anything new from the first four.

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