Billy Idol – “77” (2025) – Limited Edition Picture Disc (RSD Black Friday)

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In 2025, we were graced with a new album by Billy Idol called ‘Dream Into It’. It was his first full length studio album since 2014’s ‘Kings And Queens of the Underground’. One of the singles from the album was for a song called “77” and depending on how you listen to the album, you will get a different version of the song. If you listen to it on CD and Vinyl you get one version, if you listen to it digitally or stream it, you get another. The difference is simple, the CD and vinyl is strictly Billy on vocals and the digital is a duet with Avril Lavigne.

With that being said, the Avril version was not available on a physical release. That was until Black Friday Record Store Day on November 28, 2025. For RSD, Billy released a 12″ Single Limited Edition Picture Disc that contains the Avril Lavigne duet on Side A…and the regular version on Side B. I didn’t actually get up and wait in line this year. Nope. It was way too cold as it was below freezing that very cold Friday morning. Instead, I waited a few hours then when and to my astonishment, there were still several copies of the single. I obviously grabbed one who know if I’ll ever wait in line again now.

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Whitesnake – ‘Forevermore (Revisited, Remixed, Remastered)’ (2025) – Box Set (The David Coverdale Series)

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‘Forevermore’ was originally released on March 9, 2011 and in modern Whitesnake times, a 3 year gap is like a week as the gap between ‘Good to Be Bad’ and the previous studio album was 11 years. David Coverdale and Doug Aldrich wrote the entire album together as David likes to sit with his guitarist and come up with the songs just as he did with Vandenberg and Sykes.  The two tried to capture an album that was rooted in the early Snake albums with that blues rock feel and soak it in the modern rock of today.  Of course, the sprinkled a little of the late 80’s in some songs to not alienate anyone. 

The line-up to the band has some changes to it. Doug Aldrich and Reb Beach are still unchanged from the line-up of the last album.  However, we have had turnover in the rhythm section as we now have Michael Devin on Bass and Brian Tichy on drums.  A pretty lethal duo.  One thing I noticed is that Timothy Drury has been relegated down to a Special Guest for this album when he was a band member on the last…Interesting.  A one cool special guest on this is Jasper Coverdale, David’s son, who supplies some backing vocals….David must be proud!

Here we are a mere 14 years later and we get a Super Deluxe Edition box set called ‘Forevermore (Revisited, Remixed, Remastered)’. The album came out on September 26, 2025 and brings a 4 CD set and 1 Blu-ray to celebrate another Whitesnake release. You get the usual suspects on a David Coverdale box set including a brand new remix of the album, a remastered version of the album, a disc of alternate and unreleased tracks as well as the prized ‘Evolutions’ disc which we will talk about soon enough. You also get a Blu-Ray with lots of videos, a 60-page book, a replica tour book and a poster. Lots and lots of goodies so let’s dive right in to the set.

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The Collection: Ep. 86 – Jorn ’50 Years on Earth: The Anniversary Box Set’ (2018)

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Norwegian rocker, Jorn Lande, turned 50 back in 2018 and to celebrate that fact, Frontiers Records released a collection of 9 of his studio albums and three bonus discs.  That is 12 disc in all for a very reasonable price of about $60 ($5 per CD). I will take that deal any day! ’50 Years on Earth: The Anniversary Box Set’ is what we will show off this week. We will talk a little about each studio album and the 3 bonus discs. If you like David Coverdale, Jorn’s vocals will remind you of him and you won’t be disappointed in what you hear. Good melodic hard rock and metal. Lets get to it!

So go check it out as it is live right now on YouTube. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.

My Sunday Song – “Icky Thump” by The White Stripes

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For My Sunday Song #463, we are going to talk the still applicable song today, “Icky Thump” by The White Stripes. Why do I say still applicable today? Well, the song is about immigration and was written back in the George Bush administration in 2007. As you know, immigration is a hot topic today with all the ICE raids and Border Patrol operations (who were recently in Charlotte arresting a lot of people). It is a topic that I don’t see going away anytime soon. The song was released on April 26, 2007 and went to #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 and even #1 on the Alternative Charts going Platinum selling over a 1 million copies. Very successful for sure.

The song was written by Jack and Meg White and they were really having fun this track. The title, ‘Icky Thump’ comes from a Northern English phrase called ‘Ecky Thump’ which are both euphemisms for the word ‘Hell’. I guess that means the song means Hell Hell. Jack is a staunch Democrat and was completely against all the immigration talk back in the day and wanted to remind everyone that the Whites in the U.S. were immigrants at one time too. If they have a problem with immigration they should kick themselves out for that very reason. He was pointing out the hypocrisy of it all. This whole idea of the song is still relevant today.

The song is about a guy that takes a trip to Mexico and has no problems going South into Mexico (unlike those trying to go North into the U.S.). He meets a woman who houses him and feeds him, but she then assaults him and holds him hostage. Which I am sure he greatly deserved. A very weird song lyrically, but the flow is something only Jack White can do.

Musically, it is pure garage rock with lots of distortion. Jack makes his guitar speak a language that is hard to fathom how he does it, In case you are wondering, Jack used a 1959 Univox synth and during the solo he used Zvex Wooly Mammoth and a DigiTech Whammy pedal to get that really cool sound. Meg’s drums were a constant pounding beat like a marching army. It is a rip roaring track that is everything I love about The White Stripes. It is amazing that these two people can make so much incredible music.

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Friday New Releases – December 12, 2025

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Happy Friday!! Welcome to the VERY LAST Friday New Release Post!!!…of the year. Yes, after this week there isn’t enough new releases to make it worth doing a post. But fret not, we will be back on January 2nd for What to Expect in 2026 and then the regular Friday New Release posts will start back on January 9th!! Let’s get back to this week, shall we. I am interested in hearing the new Jimi Jamison live hits record and even Dangerous Toys. If I like them, I’ll buy them. What do you want to hear this week or what did we miss? Thanks for stopping by and we will see you in a few weeks (for this type of post, my regular posts will continue!).

  • Jimi Jamison – 1998 Live Hits – (Frontiers Records)
  • Dangerous Toys – Demolition – (Deadline Music)
  • Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here 50 (Documentary Version) – (Pink Floyd Music Ltd)
  • Brantley Gilbert – Greatest Hits…So Far – (Big Machine Label Group)
  • Rob Moratti – Sovereign – (Frontiers Records)
  • Graham Bonnet Band – Lost in Hollywood – (Frontiers Records)
  • The Pogues – Fairytale of New York E.P. – (Warner Music UK)
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Talisman – ‘Live in Stockholm’ (2015) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

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During the early 2000’s, Marcel Jacob came forward and revealed he was suffering from chronic rheumatism and it would limit his live shows. By 2003, he must have felt up to it because the band played several festivals during that Summer and thankfully for us, a lot of those were recorded. ‘Live in Stockholm’ is the 4th live recording released by the Swedish-American band Talisman. The show was recorded at Club Mondo in Stockholm, Sweden back to August 4th, 2003. You have heard most of this show before as it was previously released as ‘Five Men Live’ back in 2005 which we talked about previously. It was also on the Talisman DVD called ‘The World’s Best Kept Secret.

This reissue was first released only on Digital back on August 17, 2015 and then during 2016, the CD was finally released. What is different about this release is that it was remastered and now include all 18 tracks. A full set and for the very first time the show includes ‘Here 2day Gone 2day’ which was left off the original due to time constraints. The CD set also includes the show on DVD which is also a nice plus if you don’t have ‘The World’s Best Kept Secret’.

The Club Mondo show kicks off with no introduction, just a killer guitar riff…a pause…and the same riff. The band goes straight in to “Break your Chains”. They rock it out and to keep it going they go in to “Color My XTC” which is a massive bass heavy track thanks to Marcel Jacobs. You get a great guitar solo, but that bass is thumping the whole time. It is a massive song. Jeff is in his element and sounds great (although backing vocals are a little weak). And no time for a break, “Fabricated War” comes roaring in and the heavy continues as they totally rock it out. More Marcel high in the mix and you know, he has to be as the Talisman sound is that bass!! And again, no break, no talking to the crowd as the belt out “Mysterious”. It is one banger after another and as a fan, just give me music, no talking necessary.

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The Collection: Ep. 85 – Harem Scarem ‘The Ultimate Collection’ (2019) – Box Set

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This week, We are going to talk Harem Scarem. More Specifically, the 2019 release of the Frontiers Records release of the ‘The Ultimate Collection’ Box Set. The Ultimate Collection is a box set that contains 12 of their studio albums plus a collection of songs from early in their career as well as a disc of unreleased tracks.  And to top it off, the studio albums include all the bonus tracks from those albums as well.  That is a lot of music and there are 175 tracks in this set. It is Incredible!

So go check it out as it is live right now on YouTube. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.

My Sunday Song – “Hole In My Hand” by Day of Fire

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For My Sunday Song #462, we are talking Day of Fire’s massive song “Hole in My Hand” off their 2006 album ‘Cut & Move’. The Christian Rock band out of Nashville, Tennessee bring us their second album that was produced by Pete Thornton who had worked with Limp Bizkit. Not quite the same type of music, so an interesting choice, but a good one. The song was written by Gregg Hionis, Joseph Alan Pangallo and Richard Joshua Brown

The song could mean a lot of things. I’ve seen that people think it is about addiction or even relationships troubles. For me, I don’t think that at all. I think the song is about struggles with faith. The struggles he has had in life have chipped away at his faith. The title of “Hole in My Hand” could related to the stigmata and I think represent for him his struggles in faith. He is reaching out to his friend, Jesus, in helping bringing the light back in to him. The hole in his hand is a reminder of what he has been through and with God he can stand tall and have the fire burning back in his heart to lift him up. A very uplifting song despite it being a rather dark song overall.

Musically, I love the tone of the guitar, it is sharp and cutting. The drums are heavy and loud and together they give you a feel of desperation and struggle. Singer, Josh Brown, has such a grit to his vocals it bleeds of despair yet a hint of hope. The quieter, darker verses counteractive by the uplifting and bigger choruses show us the possible light in burning brightly and ready to be let loose. The song ends with the guitar, bass and drums exploding and then it all quietly fades away. A very nice touch.

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Friday New Releases – December 5, 2025

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Christmas is almost upon us, the end of the year will be here soon. There are only 2 more New Release Friday’s left for the year and this is one of them. We have a handful of releases for you this week and I have the Scorpions live album on order. Can’t wait to get that one. Let me know what you want to get this week or what we may have missed. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a great weekend.

  • Scorpions – Coming Home Live (Deluxe) – (Spinefarm)
  • Zac Brown Band – Love & Fear – (Master of None LLC)
  • Jeremy Allen White – Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere (Soundtrack) – (Columbia Records)
  • Dream Theater – The Studio Albums 1992-2016 – (Atlantic Records)
  • Olivia Rodrigo – Live From Glastonbury A BBC Recording – (Geffen)
  • Fine Young Cannibals – FYC 40 (40th Anniversary Best of) – (London Records)
  • Depeche Mode – Memento Mori: Mexico City – (Venusnote / Columbia Records)
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Octavision – ‘Coexist’ (2020) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

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Jeff Scott Soto has played with some incredible musicians throughout his career, and this album sees some players that are beyond description. Octavision is the brainchild of Armenian guitar virtuoso, Hovak Alaverdyan, who wanted to put together music with Middle Eastern and Armenian folk musical sounds and styles into a heavy metal, progressive rock sound. I would say he achieved his goal with the release of ‘Co-Exist’. The album came out on December 29, 2020 in the States and in Japan was released on March 24, 2021 which is the copy I have complete with the precious OBI Strip.

How was Hovak able to create such a worldly sounding record? It was the amazing musicians he surrounded himself. And it is an impressive list to say the least. He had not one, but two bassists including Victor Wooten who is a master-class Jazz/Fusion bassist who has played with the likes of Bela Fleck and then rock & roll bassists extraordinaire, Billy Sheehan who has played with Jeff in Sons of Apollo along with Mr. Big and David Lee Roth. On keyboards, he brought in Murzo (aka…Ara Torosyan) who is an Armenian born cinematic music arranger.

Those guys are great, but he needed people to help capture that particular sound he was looking to achieve. For that, he brought in Avo Margaryan on the blul (which is an open-ended shepherd’s flute if you didn’t know…I didn’t) and Artyom Manukyan on cello. Not pictured in the album sleeve is another musician to help with the sound and that was Anahit Artushyan on kanun (I know what you are thinking..what is kanun…it is a horizontal harp, similar to a zither or dulcimer, I’m sure that helped a lot). And lastly, we need a drummer. For that task, he recruited Czechian, Roman Lomtadze, who is more than up for the task of beating the skins to make sure the rock & roll part of this band shined through.

I haven’t mentioned what Jeff does yet. Jeff, obviously, is on vocals. However, out of the 7 tracks, only 2 have vocals. So like his work with Yngwie, Jeff is here to add flavor to the music and although he isn’t on all the tracks, he is the only singer which is why I included this in the review series. If ‘Rising Force’ can be included, so can this one. And when you hear it, you will thank me for it as well.

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