Friday New Releases – December 8th

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The closer we get to Christmas, the fewer good new releases coming out.  That doesn’t mean that aren’t any, just fewer to choose from.  For me this week, there are only two Live albums I am interested in hearing and they are highlighted in Blue.  Let me know if there is anything you see that you like.  Have a great day!!

  • images  Collective Soul – Live – (Suretone Records):  One of my favorite bands from the 90’s and from Georgia.  I have followed them since their first single “Shine” way back in 1993 and they haven’t disappointed me ever!!  I am looking forward to a live album as I don’t have one of those in my collection for them.

  • 61KX5d0LirL._SY300_QL70_  Deep Purple – The Infinite Live Recordings, Vol. 1 – (earMusic):  Deep Purple has been killing it this past year with a new album and so many treats associated with that new album. Now we have a live album as well.  That is all I need to hear.  Thanks and turn it up!!

  • 91G9cZ63fOL._SX522_  Circus of Power – Four – (Noize in the Attic)

  • download-1  Story of the Year – Wolves – (Story of the Year)

  • 61gxmQsSKGL._AC_US320_QL65_  Culture Club – Live at Wembley World Tour 2016 – (Cleopatra Music)

  • 619Oq4V4E1L._AC_US436_QL65_  Luke Bryan – What Makes You Country – (Capitol Records)

  • 91DPED-TXzL._AC_UL115_  Walker Hayes – boom. – (Monument Records)

  • 51qiaHny6mL._AC_US436_QL65_  Belle and Sebastian – How to Solve Our Human Problems Part 1 E.P. – (Matador)

Stone Temple Pilots – “Meadows” – Single Review

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Back on November 14, 2017, Stone Temple Pilots announced their new lead singer, Jeff Gutt, and released their new single “Meadows”.  Through an exhaustive search of over 15,000 submissions they finally found the guy they were looking for in Jeff.  Over the past year, they  have been working together and honing their skills to make sure the band sounded as good as ever and that they gelled.  They didn’t want a Scott Weiland clone, but they needed someone that could pull off the old material as well as the new material (soon to come).  Not only can Jeff sing, but he writes as well.  That combination was what STP was looking for with a new singer.

Scott Weiland was one of the most iconic frontman any band had ever seen.  He is irreplaceable and STP will never be the STP they were with Scott.  A lot of fans won’t be accepting of Jeff for this reason and they are going to be too judgmental of anything new STP puts out.  That is a crying shame because STP isn’t trying to be that STP anymore.  They are trying to move forward with a new sound and honoring the days past.

With the release of “Meadows”, the band has stepped into the future without abandoning anything from the past.  Musically, the song sounds like STP and why wouldn’t it.  These are the same musicians and songwriters of the music from days gone by so of course it is going to sound like STP.  Jeff Gutt sounds amazing. With tinges of Scott’s sound, but not imitating him, you can hear Jeff’s own style shine through.  I think it was a great song choice for the introduction of Jeff as it bridges that gap between new and old so well.

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Maroon 5 – Red Pill Blues – Album Review

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Maroon 5 started off their career as a Pop/Rock/Funk band back in the very early 2000s and brought us the masterpiece debut album ‘Songs About Jane’.  15 year later the band is still going strong with the newest album called ‘Red Pill Blues’.  The resemblance between these two albums is relatively zero.  The Rock/Funk part of the band is non-existent and all you have is glorified POP!

Don’t get me wrong, there is some pop music I like.  However, there is something about pop music that irritates me and that is most songs on pop radio seem to think the actually have to be “featuring” a hip-hop artist or at least another artist.  Singers and bands today don’t seem to be able to do a song that is strictly their own.

Maroon 5 now believes in that theory whole-heartedly.  As a result, they have six songs, that is right 6!!!, on their new album that feature another artist.  They are as follows:

  1. “What Lovers Do (Feat. SZA)
  2. “Help Me Out (duet with Julia Michaels)”
  3. “Who I Am (Feat. Lunchmoney Lewis)”
  4. “Whiskey (Feat. A$AP Rocky)”
  5. ‘Don’t Wanna Know (Feat. Kendrick Lamar – yeah for like 10 seconds)”
  6. “Cold (Feat. Future)”

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My Sunday Song – “Hold Back the River” by James Bay

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My Sunday Song #68 is “Hold Back the River” by James Bay.  You could say I have become a huge fan of this young man.  I have his album “Chaos & the Calm” (on vinyl and a picture disc at that) and my daughter and I have seen him in concert (Great show – read the review HERE).  He has been posting pictures on Facebook of him in the studio and a new album coming in 2018 which got me listening to him again.

When I hit this song in the playlist, I remembered how much I love this song.  The quiet opening with just some slow picking on the guitar and his voice.  The slow build up and a little faster pace and faster and faster.  It actually has the feel that as you try to hold back the river, it get harder and harder and more intense.

In an interview with The Sun, James said the following about the song:

“I wrote it after my first really busy period as an artist, when music had taken me around the world for the first time, and at the end of the year, I’ve become really eager to see friends and my family properly. ‘Hold Back The River’ is a metaphor for that feeling.”

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Friday New Releases – December 1st

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We are now in December and only 24 more days until Christmas.  Here are some great gifts to give…new album releases!!!  There is a wide variety of music this week so there might be something for everyone today.  My picks are highlighted in Blue.  What do you see that you like and want to get from Santa???  Let me know. Also, if you want to purchase an album, you can easily click on the link below the album and it will take you straight to iTunes.

  • 91wwrHTyssL._AC_UL115_  Chris Stapleton – From A Room: Volume 2 – (Mercury Nashville):  I am so glad there is a Volume 2 because ‘From A Room: Volume 1’ was sensational.  I am looking forward to what he taps into for this one because if it is anything like the outlaw country / southern rock vibe of the first one, you will be in for a treat.

  • 616S2tyrKrL._SS500  Down ‘N Outz – The Further Live Adventures of… – (Frontier Records):  Joe Elliott from Def Leppard returns with his side project that celebrates the music of Mott the Hoople, British Lions & Ian Hunter.  This time it is a live concert and another reminder of how great their music was.  It deserves to be celebrated.  As a Joe fan, no brainer for me.

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‘Runnin’ with the Devil’ by Noel Monk and Joe Layden – Book Review

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Runnin’ with the Devil: A Backstage Pass to the Wild Times, Loud Rock, and the Down and Dirty Truth Behind the Making of Van Halen by Joe Layden and Noel E. Monk…now that is a mouthful for a book title.  The book takes you on the journey of the David Lee Roth era of Van Halen and for some the true era of Van Halen.  The story is from the point of view of their Tour Manager and later Manager Noel E. Monk.

Before we get in to it, if you want to read a much better review of the book, go see my friend Deke at his blog as it was his review that made me get this when Amazon offered on the Kindle for only $2 (or was it $3)…either way it was cheap and worth that price.

The book picks up with Noel coming in as their tour manager for the tour supporting their incredible debut album ‘Van Halen’.  We don’t get any insight into the making of that album or really any album for that matter as Noel didn’t go to the studios while they were recording (or rarely ever did). We also don’t get any information on their forming or even their time with Gene Simmons which would have been nice, but again, this is not a band member telling the story and I had to get over that fact.

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Hollywood Undead – Five (V) – Album Review

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Hollywood Undead brings us their fifth album simply titled Five or V.  The band is a fantastic mix of Hip Hop and Metal.  They don’t limit themselves to either genre as the album also mixes in some nice Pop and R&B sounds to bring a wide variety of styles and sounds in what might be there most infectious album.

The band members go by the monikers of Danny, Charlie Scene, J-Dog, Johnny 3 Tears and Funny Man.  They wear masks and the music is usually filled with anger and angst that is sure to draw you into a crazy, fun-filled ride.  This album does just that, but also is a departure from their previous efforts.

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My Sunday Song – “I Started a Joke” by the Bee Gees

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For My Sunday Song #67, I am going with a song that randomly pops in my head more often than not, “I Started a Joke”.  The song is by the Bee Gees and I don’t honestly know why I find myself singing it at the most odd times.  I guess it means I really like this song and I actually do.  I was not a Bee Gees fan at all because when I grew up and got in to music, Disco was the Devil.  I actually love the Bee Gees now, but their real early stuff from the late 60’s and early 70’s is the best.

“I Started a Joke” was released back in 1968 and was on their album ‘Idea’.  The song was written by all three brothers and was sung by Robin Gibb.  The song has such a relaxing, somewhat hypnotic sound that is beautiful and psychedelic.  It has a sadness to it and the lyrics do as well (“I started a joke, which started the whole world crying”).  The song has stuck with me and is constantly playing in my head.  For years, I will just start singing this song and looking back it might be at times I was sad but I truly don’t know why it stays with me.

Robin has never explained what the song is about as he felt the song interpretation is up to the listener as any real explanation would detract from what the listener feels it is about.  Robin’s vocals on this song are stunning.  His squeaky, high pitched voice and the melody just makes me feel the song is about loneliness.  I think with the loss of my parents over the last couple years, there is a little part of me that feels a little lonely since they aren’t with me anymore.

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Friday New Releases – November 24th

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It is Black Friday!!!  As a result, a lot of bands don’t release albums the day after Thanksgiving.  However we do have a few coming out…one studio release I might give a listen, one anniversary release, a couple live and a greatest hits (of ballads).  Hopefully there is something for you.  Have a great day and don’t shop too much!!!  My choices are highlighted in Blue.

  • 41C2rvfmQYL._AC_US218_  Queen – News of the World 40th Anniversary Super Deluxe:  The biggest release today is the 40th Anniversary Edition of News of the World.  This looks great and I would get it, but it is pretty pricey and might be out of my reach for awhile.  The album features the classics “We Will Rock You” and “We are the Champions” so it is a must for anyone’s collection…if you can afford it.  The Super Deluxe is $128…ouch!!  If it is streamable, I will listen to it there first.

  • 51u0IyadquL._AC_US436_QL65_  Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Who Built the Moon? – (Caroline):  Oh the Gallagher Brothers…First Liam has a new album and now Noel.  Since no more Oasis, I will take what I can get from each.  Liam’s album was surprisingly good…I hope this will be just as surprising (even with the girl playing scissors on stage) and just as good.

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The Original Vs. The Cover – “Hurt”

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This month’s ‘The Original Vs. The Cover’s focusing on the Nine Inch Nails Song “Hurt”.  The song is one of my favorite Nine Inch Nails songs and I am not a huge fan of the band, but this song always struck a chord with me.  However, it was the cover of this song by a gentleman who goes by the moniker of Johnny Cash that made me stop and pay attention to this song (maybe you have heard of him).  It was one of the most surprising song choices for Cash to cover, but damn! did he make it his own song.  Let’s start off with the Original version of “Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails.

NINE INCH NAILS:

The song, “Hurt”, was written by Nine Inch Nails front man Trent Reznor and is off their album ‘The Downward Spiral’.  For those not familiar with the band, their style is very industrial rock and has a very metalic sound.  This song is no different other than the slow, plodding pace of song.  It comes at you with such a sadness and a dark tone that you immediately feel the pain the singer is going through.  The opening lines define the song right out of the gate…”I hurt myself today / To see if I still feel”.

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