Passion – Passion – Album Review

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Passion’s debut album brings another great melodic rock album from the label Frontiers Records. The self-titled album came out back on January 24th, 2020 so I am a little late to the party.  Better late than never I always say…okay, not really.  I am sure you have some questions, so let’s get to those.

Question #1: Who are they?

Answer #1: The band is a four piece with the following members…

Lion Ravarez – Vocals
Chance Vanderlain – Guitar
Weston James – Bass
Bobby Laker – Drums

Lion Ravarez is actually Daniel Rossall, former singer of the band Night by Night.  His love for the 80’s music inspired the band and created something special.

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Question #2:  Why is this one worth listening to over all the label’s other releases or any other releases period?

Answer #2:  Simple…it takes you back to the 80’s hard rock you grew up loving (well, grew up with if you are my age).

Question #3: What do they sound like?

Answer #3:  Think Dokken, Slaughter and Danger Danger all rolled in to one.  A voice that can mirror Ted Poley (“Trespass on Love”), Don Dokken (“Lost in the Dark”) and even go all Mark Slaughter on you (“She Bites Hard”).  It is the best of everything you love about the 80’s from rockers to ballads what more could you want.

 

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Question #4:  What are the best songs on the album?

Answer #4: It would be too easy to say everyone of them, so I will give you some that really standout.  I have mentioned a few above in Question #3…

  • “Too Bad for Baby” sounds like Damn Yankees (and I think I read somewhere Rossall contributed to Revolution Saints with Jack Blades…if so…coincident…I think not)
  • “Back” has this confidence and strut to it and a vibe that fits almost any 80’s band
  • “We Do What We Want” – the Danger Danger vibe is strong with this one as did I mention that Lion sounds a lot like Ted…oh yeah,  I did, so it must be true!!

I hope that answered all your questions.  The album is a blast from the past and brings back the fun in rock that is surely missing nowadays.  I needed that lift right now with something that reminded me of old times, but still grounded enough that it sounded fresh to me.  Passion is a total blast.  They are a little of a parody of the genre and that is okay because I know they are for real.  I will give it a 4.5 out of 5.0 Stars.

Oh, sorry, you have one more question…

Question #5:  Should I Buy this album?

Answer #5:  Hell YES!!!!

Def Leppard – ‘London to Vegas’ – Album Review

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There will not be a Def Leppard release that I won’t buy and I won’t review and now Def Leppard have released not one, but TWO Live releases at one time.  You can buy them individually and get either the ‘Hysteria at The O2’ album or the ‘Hits Vegas’ Release or you can do as I did and buy the Deluxe set called “London to Vegas” which has them both in 2 CD format for each album and a Blu-Ray Disc for each show (you can also get DVD).

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And before we get in to the shows, I have to discuss the packaging so you will get lots of pictures so you can see what you are going to get if you haven’t already bought it.  The set comes in a nice thick box that is the size of about a 10″ album.  It is really durable and graphics are great.  The front is the header image at the top and the back is the picture above.  It tells you everything you are going to get and you get a lot. Continue reading “Def Leppard – ‘London to Vegas’ – Album Review” →

My Sunday Song – “Wanted Dead or Alive”

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For My Sunday Song # 199, we are going to discuss one of Bon Jovi’s most popular and famous songs, “Wanted Dead or Alive” off the band’s 1986 album ‘Slippery When Wet’.  The song was the third single from this album and the third to crack the Billboard Hot 100 reaching #7.  The band was on a roll and growing to become one of the world’s biggest rock bands thanks in large part to his song.

The song’s title was inspired by old western movies and Jon thought the lifestyle of a band was similar to that of the outlaws in those movies.  Instead of horses, the band takes the tour bus (which is sort of a large steel horse) from town to town and raping and pillaging in each town…okay not really, but they were getting all the chicks and making tons of money performing, just not stealing it.

That whole cowboy vibe is felt in the music using acoustic guitars as well as electric.  There was a western sound with a hard rock edge and when they do play this as full acoustic, it is drenched in that sitting around the campfire feel telling stories of the road (or old west).  Richie Sambora’s guitar playing on this song spectacular and his background vocals mixed with Jon’s vocals takes this song to the next level.  And Richie’s solo is one of the most memorable he has done and how well it fits in with vibe of the song is magical.  Musically, according to Jon Bon Jovi, the song is inspired by Bob Seger’s song “Turn the Page” and if you listen to the song you hear that the slow driving tempo and groove and seriousness of the song and you can see why it was so inspiring.

Continue reading “My Sunday Song – “Wanted Dead or Alive”” →

Friday New Releases – June 5th

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There was a big week last week and this week was much bigger than it wound up as a lot of releases were moved due to Covid-19.  What you do have is a limited selection and some cool stuff though I not much I want to check out. My choice is highlighted in Blue. Let me know what you are digging and what I might’ve missed as it does happen.  Thanks for stopping by and have a Great Weekend!!

  • 51LCcTjOqwL  The Sword – Conquest of Kingdoms – (Craft Recordings / Concord):  The Sword are bringing 2 releases in very close proximity.  First up is this compilation of live songs and some rare oddities.  The other is a greatest hits compilation coming on June 19th with more rare songs.  This release today is digital only, but the physical product will also be on the 19th.  Here is a Kiss cover of “She”.

And the rest…

  • 91As0DhMFKL._SX522_  Emery – White Line Fever – (BC Music)

Continue reading “Friday New Releases – June 5th” →

Kiss – ‘Wicked Lester and Progeny Demo Sessions’ (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (The Kiss Review Series )

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Welcome to the beginning of a new series on 2Loud2OldMusic.com.  We are finally tackling the entire Kiss catalog.  As you know, if you follow this site, Kiss is one of my favorite bands and I am amassing quite a vinyl collection.  I have done posts on Kiss over the years (a lot), but I haven’t tackled their main albums and in detail.  I figured, it was finally time to do so.  And what better way to kick it off then with the band right before Kiss was formed…Wicked Lester.  This review is a double review of sorts as this vinyl is a Bootleg and so it is part of my Bootleg Series with Kiss and it will also be the kickoff to the new series as this is where Kiss really began.

I haven’t done a full count, but I am guessing we will wind up with over 50 albums in this review as I will tackle as many Kiss albums as I can including Studio, Live, Greatest Hits, and anything else in my collection.  I will even venture off in to solo albums by the band members or other side projects they have.  It is going to be everything Kiss related.  I have a feeling this will take more than a year to complete, but I think I am up for the task. I hope you are too.  At the bottom of every post, there will be links to all the Kiss Reviews we have done in the past if you want to venture over and check them out.  I hope you enjoy…

IMG_2021 Continue reading “Kiss – ‘Wicked Lester and Progeny Demo Sessions’ (Bootleg Series) – Album Review (The Kiss Review Series )” →

Babe Ruth – ‘First Base’ – Album Review

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Let’s go back to the year 1972.  I was just shy of 4 years old and didn’t know anything about music at this point.  Obviously, I don’t remember this release.  I do know that 46 years later, I would discover this album in a collection I picked up.  And I also know this was one of the coolest albums in that entire collection.  I thought it would be fun to go deep in my collection and talk about one of my favorites and this is definitely out of the ordinary from my usual reviews.

Babe Ruth is a blues rock band that leans very progressive and they hail from England.  Formed in 1970 with Alan Shacklock, Janita “Jennie” Haan and Dave Hewitt.  The band would later add Dick Powell and Dave Punshon and we would then have the band we hear on this album simply titled ‘First Base’.  Lots of baseball theme with the band name, album title and even the weird cover of spacemen playing baseball.

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SIDE ONE:

The album kicks off with the most rocking song of the bunch called “Wells Fargo”.  It is the story of the old western stagecoach and has a whole cowboy theme to it.  Jennie Haan’s vocals are totally brilliant with a hard rocking edge with the hints of Janis Joplin.  Alan’s guitar riff was fuzzy and cool and when you bump that up against Brent Carter’s saxophone you are in for a treat.  The whole blues rock feel is what I’ve been digging a lot of lately and this helps satisfy that thirst and then thrown in a damn fine guitar solo and life is good.  There is also a cool groove throughout the song by the fantastic rhythm section of Dave on bass and Dick on drums.  This is how you kick off your debut album folks. Continue reading “Babe Ruth – ‘First Base’ – Album Review” →

Whitesnake – ‘Live at Donington 1990: Monsters of Rock’ – Album Review (The David Coverdale Series)

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We are now in the year 2011 with Whitesnake and with that being said, let’s release a live album from 1990.  Sure, why not. David seems to be out of ideas as this is the third live album in 5 years and in another 2 years, he will release 2 more.  I have to admit, I am starting to get live album burnout.  But since this is a 1990 Live album and I haven’t reviewed a live album from this line-up, it makes the cut.

The show is from Donington Park on August 8th, 1990 at the Monsters of Rock Festival.  It is the final show in the ‘Liqour and Poker Tour’ in support of the ‘Slip of the Tongue’ album.  This show was also released on the ‘Slip of the Tongue’ 30th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition box set.  The CD is not the full show as it leaves out the solos, but the DVD has the full show on it.  So, I would recommend getting that deluxe edition because you get this show plus a whole lot more.

The band is headlining the festival, for the second time I believe.  The line-up of the band is pretty impressive…

  • David Coverdale
  • Steve Vai
  • Adrian Vandenberg
  • Rudy Sarzo
  • Tommy Aldridge

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The show is a full set even for a festival. They play 17 songs and this being 1990, there are no early Deep Purple songs as David refused to play them back then.  And if you want early Whitesnake, you only get “Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City’ from the Snakebite EP (and is probably my favorite song of this show) and that is all.  The songs are from the 3 big albums in the 80’s – Slide it In, 1987 and Slip of the Tongue. Continue reading “Whitesnake – ‘Live at Donington 1990: Monsters of Rock’ – Album Review (The David Coverdale Series)” →

My Sunday Song – “Just Older” by Bon Jovi

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For My Sunday Song #198, we are going with another deep cut and with a non-single song called “Just Older” off the band’s 2000 album called ‘Crush’.  The album was kind of a comeback album for the band and the song “It’s My Life” brought the band back in to superstar status and whole new generation of folks got to know the band again and for the first time.  However, it was songs like “Just Older” that made remember what a great write Jon was (with the help of Billy Falcon).

The song is pretty inspirational when you listen to those lyrics. It seems to be about two friends seeing each other again and reminiscing about old times, but the big difference is they have accepted the fact they are older and they have no regrets.  The chorus really sums it up…

I like the bed I’m sleeping in
It’s just like me, it’s broken in
It’s not old – just older
Like a favorite pair of torn blue jeans
This skin I’m in it’s alright with me
It’s not old – just older

Being comfortable in your own skin is what it is really all about.  When you are comfortable with who you are, you can appreciate everything around you.  You can look back with no regrets and see all the positives.  There is another line that hits home to and is also a throwback to another Bon Jovi hit…

I’ve kept my faith

Little lines like that make exploring their lyrics so much fun and what makes songs stick with you and stand out more than others.  The little things to grab on to that feel like they are talking about you.

71sDepX+l9L._SS500_ Continue reading “My Sunday Song – “Just Older” by Bon Jovi” →

2 Loud 2 Old Music – Small Changes

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How’s everyone doing out there?  I want to give a heads up to some small changes coming to 2 Loud 2 Old Music.

First up,  we now have a Logo for the site.  Nothing fancy, but I like it and it will now grace all our pages including the website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  I hope you like it.  We may be celebrating that change down the road, we will see how that idea pans out.

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I’ve already updated all sites with the new logo and on the main website, I didn’t change the theme as I couldn’t find one that did everything I wanted to do more than I liked my layout so I update the colors to match the logo. Please go check it out and see if you like it as I do.

What other small changes are coming? Continue reading “2 Loud 2 Old Music – Small Changes” →

Friday New Releases – May 29th

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FINALLY!!  A Massive Week of new releases.  I mean this is the biggest week since this whole Corona outbreak started and thank goodness.  We need this!!  There a lot on my list this week…a whole lot.  They are highlighted in Blue as usual.  What interests you, what did I miss, what what what???  Please let me know.  I hope you have a great weekend and you know what I’ll be doing!!!  Thanks for stopping by.

  • 81Pgg8+JYdL._SS500_  Def Leppard – Hits Vegas (Live) – (Bludgeon Riffola Ltd):  Def Leppard has two out this week…that is right…TWO!!  You can also get it as one BluRay or DVD set that has both albums on CD and in Video format which I have the BluRay version coming to me.  This is the disc I am more excited about, the Vegas Residency Show as they tend to play a lot of DEEP DEEP CUTS and that is what the collector in me wants.

  • 81l398mT5qL._SS500_  Def Leppard – Hysteria at the O2 (Live) – Bludgeon Riffola Ltd):  Release #2 is for the London gig where they played the Hysteria album in its entirety which I already have from the Viva! Hysteria Vegas show years back, but the completist in me has to have this one too.

Continue reading “Friday New Releases – May 29th” →