Whitesnake (Snake) – Still Of the Night Live in Battle Creek, Mich. July 26, 1987

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On Black Friday, 16 members of my family went to Zoo Atlanta.  It was a great trip and some great times were had.  However, my mind was elsewhere.  I wanted to venture over to Criminal Records over in Little Five Points and check out this great Atlanta record store.  At 2pm, my daughter and I were going to leave are family behind and head over to the store.

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While at the Zoo, we missed the new Reptile house and we were planning on going back around to check it out before we left.  Well, being at the zoo with 16 people and a lot of those people are children, it was very slow going.  2pm started creeping up on us and I started to think, we weren’t going to make it to the reptile house and of course, we didn’t.  I was a little disappointed I didn’t get to see any of the “Snakes”.

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“My First Time” with Kiss – ‘Lick It Up’

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We are now to the end of the “My First Time” series. I ended up skipping it in November as their were too many new albums to review, plus I just wasn’t in the mood,  That got me thinking.  I don’t like being tied down to a specific album or theme.  I want to review albums whenever I am in the mood to do it.  Doing this series, limited me a little so I figured I would do one more and then just start reviewing any album, any time…no theme.

I figured if it was going to be my last, it needed to be something special.  For me, that means Kiss!!  The “My First Time” series is about the FIRST album I bought from a band.  Believe it or not, that album is ‘Lick It Up’ by Kiss.  A couple of my brothers were huge fans and had all their albums, but I had never bought one.  That changed with the excitement of this release.

What was all the excitement about this album?  Well, I am glad you asked.  Kiss sales had been in the decline.  Even with the stellar album ‘Creatures of the Night’ (one of their best), Kiss needed to do something to shake things up.  So they did just that.  They removed the make-up.  It was such a big deal, MTV held a special for the band to reveal themselves without make-up.  They also introduced the video for their first single, “Lick It Up”.  Here is the MTV special reveal…

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My Sunday Song – “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” by KT Tunstall

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My Sunday Song #69 is “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” by KT Tunstall.  The song was released as a single in 2005 from her 2004 debut album ‘Eyes to the Telescope’.  It was a sensational debut song and reached as high as #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and made it to #1 Adult Pop Songs chart.

The acoustic guitar and drum beat had you tapping your feet and bobbing your head instantly.  When you add in that gritty voice, you had an instant classic. KT’s song was a little blues, a little soul and a little rock, but a had a lot of character.  I never knew what the song meant and it didn’t really matter.  It was catchy and had a certain charm to it. I would catch myself singing it all the time when it was released and it was one of the best songs of 2005 for sure.

KT Tunstall discussed the meaning of the song at Contactmusic.com.  She said the following:

“Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” is inspired by old blues, Nashville psycho hillbillies & hazy memories. It tells the story of finding yourself lost on your path, and a choice has to be made. It’s about gambling, fate, listening to your heart, and having the strength to fight the darkness that’s always willing to carry you off.

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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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