My Sunday Song – “Once” by Van Halen

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For My Sunday Song #142, we are going with a song by underrated Van Halen singer Gary Cherone.  The song is “Once” off the album Van Halen III.  The song wasn’t a single and the album wasn’t a hit, but it had some great songs and Gary Cherone (singer for Extreme) never got the recognition he deserved for this album.  So we will give it here.

“Once” is an epic song at over 7 minutes long.  It opens with the piano and is a much slower tempo song.  There is a mystical and yet eerie feel to the song.  And even a sadness as it seems to be about love loss.  It is filled with so many layers and textures that you hear something different each time you give it a listen.  It has an almost early Genesis feel to it.

The song focuses on the groove with the piano and Gary’s voice which is actually also understated in the song.  but Eddie’s guitar work is also sensational.  He dances in and out of the song and during the long instrumental break of the song, he is trying all sorts of things.  It seems to be a very experimental song for them and I thought it worked as it was so different than everything else Van Halen had done.

Interesting on the song is that bass is played by Eddie and not Michael Anthony.  In fact, on Van Halen III, Michael only played bass on 3 tracks.  His time was numbered with the band by this point for sure.

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Friday New Releases – May 3rd

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Welcome to May and a very dismal week of releases…at least for me.  There isn’t much I am interested in this week which will hopefully help me catch up on what I missed while on vacation.  There is one I am interest in and another I might check out, but that is all.  My choices are highlighted in Blue.  Let me know what interests you or if I missed anything. Or just stop by and say hi!  Whatever floats your boat.  Have a great weekend!!!

  • a1+ap30xvvl._sx522_  Joy Williams – Front Porch – (Sensibility Records):  Is she the better half of the band The Civil Wars that were together from about 2009-2014?  I don’t know.  I guess that depends if you liked her voice or John Paul White’s voice better.  I love her voice and enjoyed her first solo album after the breakup, so I am looking forward to hear what new she has to offer.  The band was more American folk and I can you classify her that still.  Whatever you want to definite it, it is some great songwriting.

  • A1W3vvhDtmL._SS500_  New Found Glory – From the Screen to Your Stereo 3 – (Hopeless Records):  NFG has been hit or miss over the years.  I am not sure I will enjoy this at it their 3rd covers album, but you never know what you will get so I might give it a shot.  Just glad to see a band from the 90’s still going at it as it seems a lot of bands from that decade aren’t around anymore.

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Turntables & Vinyl #20 – The Paris Adventure

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For Spring Break this year, we had the pleasure of visiting a quaint little town in this little country.  The country was France and the little town was Paris.  It was a dream trip come true.  I had hoped to have a little time to have a little rock & roll adventure while I was there, but there was so much to see and so little time to do it.

I did hit a couple record stores, but didn’t get to as many as I had hoped.  I didn’t get to see Jim Morrison’s grave or visit the Place Vendome to see where the band got its name.  But we did do so much that I thought I would share a little of it with you.  Oh yeah, this a music site so we will get to what I bought by the end.

Now, we skipped the whole Hotel thing and rented an apartment for the family and an awesome neighborhood with lots of cafes and lots of pastries.  Below is the door to the courtyard.  It was a beautiful blue door and made it easy to find.

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There was so much room in the apartment which is surprising for Paris.  It was absolutely stunning. These were our windows right above that blue door.

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And the view down our street was awesome as well. The architecture was always amazing. The streets were so cute. This one was a one way with real small sidewalks and we loved being in that area.  Everyone was so nice and helpful.

We of course visited all the museums and the typical Paris sites, but nothing is better than the Eiffel Tower.  Every time we saw it, I had to stop and just admire.  It is breathtaking.  There is just something about it that is so special and I don’t know what it is.  Here are a couple of my favorites…

Oh!  And at night!!  She is even more beautiful…

Now, a week before we arrived, there was devastating news that Notre Dame Cathedral caught on fire.  That bothered me a lot as that was one of the top places I wanted to see while we were there. Now, we weren’t able to get inside, but we did go on Easter Sunday and take a look.  This was as close as we could get.  We weren’t the only ones that had that idea as the area was slammed with people.  I am glad I got to see her.

I have no real exciting stories to tell on this trip.  It went off without a hitch and we got to see so much. Nothing unusual or strange happened, the weather was beautiful and all was right with the world so I apologize for no real adventure.  Just a lot of beautiful places visited, memories had and unforgettable times with family.

Here are a few more things we saw…

We saw the Louvre which houses the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo statue among many, many other things.  The Mona Lisa was tiny. She isn’t this grand painting and at times hard to imagine why this painting is so famous, but it is and we saw it.  The picture I took does it no justice so I am hoping my daughter with the good camera got some good pictures.

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We also went to the many churches and cathedrals and all were amazing.

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And the museums were boundless and if I never step into another one for rest of my life I am okay with that…just kidding.

And let’s not forget Versailles.  Wow!  What a place that small, tiny palace is.  I think they liked Gold…A LOT OF GOLD!!!

And the fountains were amazing at the palace as well…

Everywhere you went in the city there were statues and fountains as well.  I mean it, every time you came out on a new street, you had to stop and soak it all in.  There is nothing like that where I come from.

And of course the Arc de Triomphe…

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Okay, Okay…I have bored you enough with the pictures.  Let us get to the music.  The goal on the trip was to hit as many record stores as I could find and only buy things I couldn’t find here in the States.  It didn’t always follow that rule, but I stuck to it pretty hard.  The first store I went was a bust.  Nothing.  The rock section was weak.  The next store, which happened to be a block from our apartment was NEVER OPEN!! I think they went out of business.

I was getting worried.  We were traveling around so much, hitting museum after museum and walking mile after mile (we averaged around 8 miles a day walking) that there was little time to record shop.  I finally got out one afternoon and walked to a place called Betinos Record Shop.

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It was a great little store, but I didn’t find a lot.  I did find the UK pressing of Billy Idol’s Vital Idol with the different cover and one less track than the US version I have.  I was pretty excited about that.

I also found a 12″ Single of Billy Idol’s “To Be A Lover” from Whiplash Smile which I  could probably found in the states, but this was the French Edition.

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And the last thing at this store was a 12″ Single of Whitesnake’s Give Me More Time from the album Slide It In.  The B-Side was the song Need Your Love So Bad which was the bonus track on the Cassette.

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And that was it…only 17 Euros spent.  Not too bad.  After this stop, I continued over to Born to Be Bad Records and guess what, they were closed.  The website showed as open, but the site was wrong.  At this point, it was late and I headed back to the apartment so we could all go to dinner.

The next day, I was able to squeeze in a little time at the best record store I could find…Rock’n’Roll Voltage.  The specialize in Hard Rock, Thrash, Glam, Death, Doom and Black Metal…Heavy Metal Overload (HMO) would feel right at home in this store.

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I found a lot here!!  A LOT!!!  If I wanted to spend $1,000’s on 12″ Singles for Def Leppard, Kiss, Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, etc…I could have gone broke.  I needed unlimited funds in this store which I didn’t have.  I walked out with two Non-Kiss items at this store.  The first was this beauty…

A 12″ Picture Disc of the Coverdale * Page song “Take Me For A Little While”.  It gives you two versions of that song (LP and Acoustic) as well as “Shake My Tree” (The Guitar Crunch Mix) and “Easy Does It”.

And to top it off, I found a 12″ of David Coverdale’s “The Last Note of Freedom” from the Days of Thunder Soundtrack.  This will work great in the David Coverdale series that will be starting soon on the site.

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Then I hit the mother lode of Bootlegs for Kiss.  The guy specializes in Bootlegs and he showed me all the bootlegs he had and he had tons!!!  We stayed focused with Kiss and I ended up buying 7 different Kiss concerts from his selection.  I am telling you, I needed unlimited funds and I would have enough material to write for years on this blog and never have to buy another thing.

Anyway, here are the shows I bought…

Kiss – The Summer of Satan: The Devils Ride Out! (Roosevelt Stadium, Jersey City, NJ – July 10, 1976):

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Kiss – North Hampton, PA – March 19, 1975 (Roxy Theatre):

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Kiss – With Fire & Thunder (He Victory Burlesque, Toronto, ON, Canada – September 14th, 1974):

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Kiss – Return to Capital Center (Largo, MD – July 8, 1979):

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Kiss – Look Wot You Dun To Me: Kiss On Japan Tour 1988 (The Castle Hall, Osaka, Japan – April 18, 1988):

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Kiss – The Hottest Show On Earth (Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, CA – September 2010):

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Kiss – Accept No Imitations (T. H. Barton Coliseum, Little Rock, AK – November 29, 1985):

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And that was my haul.  Getting them back to the U.S. was a pain.  I had to borrow my daughters Paris bag she bought as it was the only bag that fit the albums and let me tell you, she wasn’t happy about that.  I had to carry them under my arm the whole way (except overhead bin when on the plane).  They weren’t light by any means, but no complaints from me.  All these Kiss Bootlegs will get reviewed for A Kiss Bootleg Series I will now do as a result.

There you have it. The Paris trip in a nutshell.  Thanks for taking the journey with me and I hope you enjoyed it.  It was the trip of a lifetime for us and memories the kids will have forever.  We did New York City last year, Paris this year…what will next Spring Break hold??? We will have to wait and see (I am thinking Hawaii or London; the kids are thinking LA/San Francisco)

Def Leppard – ‘The Story So Far…The Best of Volume 2’ – Album Review (#RSD – 2019)

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I bought ‘The Story So Far…The Best of’ back in 2018 and at the time not realizing it was only Volume 1.  I also bought the CD Deluxe to get all the music as the vinyl didn’t have everything.  Well, now it does.  For Record Store Day 2019, Def Leppard released Volume 2 for those suckers, like me, who will buy everything they put out.

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Now Volume 1 has all the songs from their 3 biggest albums (Pyromania, Hysteria and Adrenalice).  Volume 2 covers pretty much everything else.  And for that, it has a much better selection of songs than Volume 1 for me.  It covers the band’s history better and is a lot more diverse and entertaining.

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But before we get on about the set list, let’s talk the album cover.  It is styled the same as volume 1 with some alterations to color.  The biggest pet peeve for me is the picture when you open up the gatefold (oh yeah, 2 LP set with gatefold).  It is the same DAMN concert picture as the first!!  Really, you couldn’t come up with a different picture. At least the pictures of the individual band members are different.

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I Prevail – ‘Trauma’ – Album Review

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I Prevail is back after a potential career ending vocal cord injury for singer, Brian Burkheiser.  Brian wasn’t sure if he would be able to continue, but with a successful surgery, that ‘trauma’ has led to the band returning with their sophomore album, ‘Trauma’.  And let me tell you the band is not suffering from any sophomore slump or suffering any side effects from that surgery.  This is a band that has found who they are and delivered one of the most impressive albums of the year.

I Prevail is a metalcore band and as I am not overly familiar with that genre, all I can say is if it sounds like this, I will be getting to know more of this band and this genre.  All I do know is I hear sounds of Linkin Park and Hollywood Undead in their music and since I like both those bands, then this is something for me.  It is at times brutal and other times beautiful.

The unclean vocals, Eric Vanlerberghe, don’t distract from the songs as it is not excessive.  It only enhances the performances and gives it an edge and attitude that fits perfectly with the music.  The clean vocals, Brian Burkheiser, are smooth and so melodic and he has this great rock voice that is quickly becoming a favorite of mine.

The opening track, “Bow Down”, is an assault on the senses.  It comes at you with such power and force that you are immediately engulfed in the shockwave and blown back in your seat.  Then we go into the song “Paranoid” which is so different than the opener. It includes a little rap and Brian’s clean vocals sound great.  It slowly builds up and then drops back slower.

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My Sunday Song – “Unchained” by Van Halen

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For My Sunday Song #141, we are now going to tackle 10 songs from Van Halen.  They could be with David Lee Roth, Sammy Hager or even Gary Cherone on lead vocals.  We will cover all the bases.  First up will be “Unchained” off the band’s fourth album, ‘Fair Warning’.  ‘Fair Warning’ came out in April 1981 and “Unchained” was the second single off the album released in July 1981, but I had also heard no singles were ever officially released so not sure what to believe.  Either way, the song reached #13 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart.

The album suffered from poor sales, but the album was received very well by the critics.  In fact, “Unchained” is often named as one of the best Van Halen songs of all time.  I can’t say I disagree with that.

The song is noted for its use of the MXR M-117 Flanger which for us non-guitar people is a pedal used that can change the sound of the guitar.  For the guitar people, It uses a Drop Db tuning with suspended fourth chords interspersed (thanks Wikipedia).  Eddie made this effect very popular and helped increase the sales of such equipment. (Picture not actual EVH pedal).

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The song also features producer Ted Templeman on vocals.  During a point in the song, Dave is pontificating on and on and Ted jumps in and says “Come On Dave, Give Me a Break” and Dave replies, “Hey, hey, hey, hey, one break coming up!”.  It is an awesome moment in the song.

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Friday New Releases – April 26th

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I should be arriving home today from vacation in Paris, France so I will be a little late getting to these releases, but there are a bunch I want to at least listen to first before I buy.  All my choices are highlighted in Blue.  Let me know what you are interested in or if there is something I might have missed as that happens…a lot!!  Enjoy and have a great weekend.  I know I will be resting from this trip and I am sure suffering major jet lag.

  • 81v8c1Xq1AL._AC_UL115_  Rob Thomas – Chip Tooth Smile – (Atlantic Records):  The former Matchbox 20 frontman is finally back with a new solo album after four years.  I liked his early stuff and definitely early Matchbox 20.  I am hoping he captures a little of that lost magic, but I don’t know yet as I haven’t listened to anything yet, not even the video posted below.  I will try it out, he has earned that.

  • 41o9cEfsGBL._AC_US320_QL65_  Rodrigo y Gabriela – Mettavolution – (Rubyworks):  This might actually be first up on the playlist.  I love these two.  Their instrumental, flamenco style music is at times breathtaking.  High expectations as I have never been disappointed before.  Give them a listen if you have heard them before…it is really cool.

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Mr. Mister – “Kyrie” (The 45 Single)

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Back in 1985, Mr. Mister were blowing up the Billboard Hot 100.  All of it a result of one song…”Kyrie”.  “Kyrie” is off the album ‘Welcome to the Real World’ and the song went all the way to #1 in the U.S.  Not just the U.S., it was #1 in Canada and Norway as well.  Mr. Mister were a four-piece band out of Phoenix, Arizona with lead singer Richard Page.

The song, “Kyrie”, was written by Richard Page, Steve George & John Lang.  John wrote the lyrics while Steve and Richard wrote the music.  “Kyrie” means Lord, Have Mercy in Greek and the song actually feels like a prayer. It was inspired by John Lang’s time in church as young child.  It was believed that the song was written due to a traumatic incident with Richard Page, but thankfully that is not the case and it is only an urban legend.

Richard’s vocals on this uptempo song are so smooth and so powerful.  When I said it felt like a prayer that is what it feels like.  Richard is screaming out to God to have mercy on him during his travels.  It was so impactful, it helped drive this song to the top.  However, people didn’t realize at the time that it was religious (even though Mr. Mister are not a Christian band).  People thought he was singing about a girl named Kyrie.

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Billy Idol – ‘Charmed Life’ – Album Review (The Billy Idol Series)

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Billy Idol’s world was different now after ‘Whiplash Smile’ and ‘Vital Idol’.  Steve Stevens was gone, his manager Bill Aucoin was gone and he needed a fresh start.  After reconciling with his girlfriend, Perri Lister, they moved from New York City to Los Angeles to give things a go.

Billy and Perri had a baby boy, Billy bought himself a motorcycle, Billy got the acting bug and Billy couldn’t stay faithful to Perri.  A lot was going on.  Oh yeah, and he continued to use drugs.  So, where to begin.  I will give a Cliff Notes version as it would be a rather long synopsis if I didn’t.

I guess we will go with the fact that he had a baby and was now a dad, but it didn’t seem to stop his infidelity. He continually cheated on Perri and even fell for a girl 13 years younger than him.  Well, he knocked her up and she gave Billy a beautiful baby girl.  This of course was the end of Billy & Perri when she found out.

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Billy also met a lot of people in the movie business and actually got a big role in the Oliver Stone movie ‘The Doors’ about Jim Morrison and the band.   But before he could do that role, Billy went and had himself a little motorcycle accident which nearly cost him one of his legs.  As a result, he couldn’t do the role and had to settle for a much lesser role in the movie.  In fact, it was so bad he wasn’t able to promote his new album he had been working on called ‘Charmed Life’.  He did appear in the video for the first single (more on that later), but not much else.

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My Sunday Song – “Rocket Ride” by Kiss

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For My Sunday Song #140 and the final of this 10 song run of Kiss songs, we are discussing “Rocket Ride” by Kiss.  The song is one of the five original songs on the classic live album Kiss Alive II.  For the second live album, Kiss stepped it up a notch and added some original songs to give the album that extra boost.  The song reached #39 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was the band’s seventh song to make it to the Top 40 charts.

The song was written by Ace Frehley and Sean Delaney.  Sean, if you don’t know, worked with Kiss back in the day and was crucial in Kiss becoming Kiss.  He pushed Bill Aucoin to go see the band and then Bill became the manager.  Sean became their road manager and was critical in the development of the band’s onstage choreography and even co-wrote many famous Kiss songs.  He is a big part of the  band’s Kisstory!!

This is the only song of the five that Ace actually appeared on as Bob Kulick was brought in to play the guitar on all the other songs.  Ace and Peter are the only Kiss members to appear on this track in return.  Peter of course on the drums and Ace played all the guitar and bass parts.

The song opens with some electrifying guitar riffs delivered by the master himself.  It speeds by with a blistering pace and Ace truly nails the vocals.  The song is fun, rocking and delivers everything you want in a Kiss song including a stellar solo.  Peter keeps the beats coming with some nice little fills and the two are great together. The guitar riff at the end along with the explosiveness of Peter’s drumming ends the song perfectly and goes out the same way it came in  with bang.

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