Mammoth – ‘Mammoth’ (1981/2024) – Album Review

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Noble Records had three exclusives in October and they were all great, but this one stood out the most for me. It is from a band called Mammoth (not to be confused with the early Van Halen band or even Wolfgang’s Mammoth WVH). These guys were a Southern Rock band out of Florida and the album was recorded in 1981 at Relayer Studios in Deland, Florida. If you like Lynyrd Skynyrd and that Southern Rock sound, than Mammoth will be right up your alley. It is the first Exclusive Noble Records has done where I had actually heard of the band and had always been curious about them. The Noble Exclusive was limited to only 300 copies on a really cool purple colored vinyl. It sold out rather quickly.

The band consists of Bill Abell (Rhythm guitar), Ron Herman (Drums), Joey Costa (Bass) and Buzz Fetters (Lead Guitar) and apparently they all lent a hand to vocals as they don’t have a defined lead singer. Instead, the blend the vocals into each track that works to perfection. These guys are in your face, rocking it hard and are 100% authentic in their delivery. Hold on tight and get ready for a band that should’ve been bigger as they had the songs, the sound and the style. Riding Easy Records reminds us again of another great band that we all missed back in the day.

SIDE ONE:

The album kicks off with “Change the Run” and it simply explodes out of the speakers. The riffs are slick, fast and frenzied and the vocals are powerful and full of attitude. The guitar tones are in that sweet spot with wicked licks and ever so slight distortion. The drums and bass drive a rhythm section that pushes the song forward at a controlled, fast pace…oh yeah…and there is cowbell!! There is never enough cowbell!! But the highlight is that guitar and the solo..wow! What a blistering opening track.

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Def Leppard – ‘Hits Vegas: Live at Planet Hollywood’ (2020) – Album Review (The Def Leppard Collection Series)

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In 2020, Def Leppard released a really cool box set called London to Vegas. It had 2 shows, one from the 02 in London where they played the entire Hysteria album live and the other called ‘Hits Vegas: Live at Planet Hollywood’ where Def Leppard did another residency. The set had CDs for the shows as well as Blu Ray (or DVD) so you could watch it too. But that wasn’t all. They also released the albums individually and I bought each one as well, but this time on Vinyl.

This thing is impressive folks.  You get 28 songs and they are full of deep cuts as well as the classics.  This show is 2 1/2 hours long…2 1/2 hours…you heard that correctly.  Now the actual show was about 4 songs less so you know they added a few songs from other shows to give you most, if not all the songs they played.  The set is a 3 LP set in a beautiful gatefold packaging that include 3 beautiful transparent blue vinyl. They are really nice. However, since the cover has the U.S. flag on it and being 3 LP’s…wouldn’t a red, white & blue have been even cooler!? The answer is yes.

In a nutshell, the show was fantastic. Joe as you know is not as spot on with the vocals as when he was younger and that is not a problem here as the band does assist heavily with the harmonies and background vocals to help smooth that out.  I would say after a couple songs, you don’t even notice and you just enjoy the show. I mean by the end, I thought everyone sounded great. It was very enjoyable.

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Kiss – ‘Superstar Series: The Best of Kiss’ (2009) – Album Review (The Kiss Review Series)

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Universal Music was spitting out Kiss Compilations like candy in the 2000’s. There are numerous ones to speak about (and we have been). This time around we get a Canada only release for a Compilation Series that spanned numerous artists. Of course, this one is on Kiss or why else would I be talking about it. This is a very generic series and with only 7 songs, very skippable…and I mean skippable unless you are certifiably insane like me and have to have everything! There are no liner notes and no thought was put in to this release at all. But since we are here, what songs are on it?

It kicks off with “Shout It Out Loud” which was the first single off ‘Destroyer’. It was trying to capitalize off the success of the live version of “Rock and Roll All Nite” that was released previously.  The title of the song comes from the Hollies song “We Want to Shout It Out Loud” which Wicked Lester demoed years earlier. The song is sung by both Paul and Gene  and that chorus of “Shout it, Shout it, Shout It Out Loud” is pure rock gold.

“I Was Made For Lovin’ You” was written by Paul Stanley, Vini Poncia and the great Desmond Child makes his first of many appears with the band. This is from ‘Dynasty’ and the story goes that Disco was really big at the time and the record company wanted the band to be a little more commercial. Paul thought any idiot could write a disco song and a bet was made and a few hours later, the song was written and Paul proved his point. The song went to #11 on the Billboard Hot 100.

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Friday New Releases – December 6, 2024

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This is the final Friday New Release post of 2024. There are fewer and fewer releases as we get closer to the end of the year and not enough each week to do a post (<10 per week). If you want to see everything coming out…go to the New Release tab above and bookmark it. It even has a nice list started for 2025.

We have a handful you this week and nothing I have to have. I might stream The Rolling Stones and Tori Amos ones, but that is it for me. Let me know what you want to hear this week or what we may have missed. Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend.

  • The Rolling Stones – Welcome to Shepherd’s Bush – (Mercury Studios)
  • Tori Amos – Diving Deep Live – (Decca Records / Universal)
  • Sabrina Carpenter – Fruitcake – (Island Records)
  • Dua Lipa – Dua Lipa Live From The Royal Albert Hall – (Warner Records)
  • Jethro Tull – The Jethro Tull Christmas Album: Fresh Snow at Christmas – (InsideOutMusic)
  • Hozier – Unreal Unearth Unending – (Rubyworks / Columbia Records)
  • Until I Wake – Renovate – (Fearless Records / Concord)
  • Lucinda Williams – Sings the Beatles from Abbey Road – (Highway 20 Records)
  • Interpol – Live at Third Man Records – (Third Man Records)
  • Powell-Payne – Voila – (Frontiers Records)
  • Tarja – Rocking Heels: Live at Hellfest – (earMusic / Edel Music & Entertainment)
  • Gleemer – End of the Nail – (Other People Records)
  • Neckbreakker – Within the Viscera – (Nuclear Blast)
  • Magic Kingdom – Blaze of Rage – (Sharptone)
  • Rose – Rosie – (Atlantic Records)
  • Lauren Mayberry – Vicious Creature – (EMI / Universal)
  • The Blasters – Over There: Live at the Venue, London The Complete Concert – (Liberation Hall)
  • Dax – From A Man’s Perspective – (Records Label, LLC / Columbia)

The Collection: Ep. 39 – November 2024 Wrap Up

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As we end another month, it is time to go back and see what 2 Loud 2 Old Music added to the collection. This is November 2024 and we have lots of vinyl and CDs. So much to go through including a ton of Noble Record Exclusives, Voice of America Archive Albums as well as another addition to the Rock Candy collection, the Kiss collection and a Box Set collections. Lots of great albums to go though and show for this month so I hope you enjoy the show!!

So go check it out as it will be live tonight right now, December 2, 2024 at 8pm. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.

Down ‘N’ Outz – ‘This Is How We Roll’ (2019) – Album Review (The Def Leppard Collection Series)

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We are on the third studio album for the band Down ‘N’ Outz. A band that was created by Joe Elliott to cover Mott the Hoople and Ian Hunter songs and they did that job gloriously. For this third time, they decided to do something different. They created an album that was almost all original material penned by Joe Elliott himself. There is one cover on it and that is perfectly fine. The band line-up is slightly different. We do still have Paul Guerin, Guy Griffin, Keith Weir and Paul Martini, but they have a new bass player with the wonderful Share Ross from the band Vixen. She is a great addition to this ragged bunch of guys.

The album came out on October 11, 2019 and was produced by Ronan McHugh and the engineer on the album is an old Def Leppard friend by the name of Phil Collen. Cool he lended a hand to the production. We get 12 tracks on a single LP which is a very nice gatefold with the lyrics inside. The album sleeve has some great pictures of each of the band members and the vinyl itself is simply black. I don’t know if this thing charted or any sales figures, but a project like this is done for the love of music, no expectations to be a massive chart success. Joe’s had that, this is a passion project. And let’s see how that passion plays out.

SIDE 1:

The album opens with the first song Joe wrote for the album, “Another Man’s War”. Joe was going for something that was not Def Leppard but more Mott, Bowie and that 70’s glam. and I would say he did a bang up job with that goal. The piano is the driving force on this one while the guitars give it just enough bite to rock the song out. A pure 70’s style gem and Joe’s vocals honor that era greatly. A stellar opening track that sets the mood.

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Matt Nathanson – “Headphones (Feat. LOLO)” – CD Promotional Single

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If you know me, you know I’m a huge Matt Nathanson fan and I collect everything he does on Vinyl and CD…even the CD Promotional singles. I’ve posted a lot of the ones I have in my collection on the site already. But now, I finally found the most elusive single for me and the last one out there that I know about or even Discogs documents. It is the Promotional CD single for his classic song “Headphones”. It might be my favorite Matt Nathanson song of all time.

The song features singer LOLO and is off Matt’s album ‘Show Me Your Fangs’ released in 2014.  It is one of his best albums as well, so check it out as well. The CD promo was sent out to radio stations across the country sometime in 2014 and “Headphones” is the only song on the disc. I’m not saying this promo single is rare, but there is only 1 person on Discogs that states they have it in their collection (and that person might be me) and one has never been sold on Discogs. I bought mine off eBay while scrolling early one morning. I couldn’t believe my luck.

The song “Headphones” for me is about putting on my headphones, listening to music and escaping.  When you listen to music, it can take all your cares in the world and throw them out the window. With music, you can feel invincible (as the song states).  The song is everything I feel about music and how important it is in my life.  Heck, I even started a blog where all I talk about is music.  I have only known this song for 3 years now, but it is the soundtrack to my feelings on music.

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Friday New Releases – November 29, 2024

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There are only a handful of new releases for this Friday. Why? Well, it is Black Friday so no one wants to compete with the Record Store Day Black Friday Sale!! So, that list is here for your viewing pleasure. There a couple things I wouldn’t mind getting, but I won’t be around for Black Friday so I’ll have to pay the late tax if I can’t find it online. Oh well. What do you want this week? Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!!

  • Phil Collins – Live From the Board: Official Bootleg – (Craft Recordings / Rhino Records)
  • Eric Clapton – Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival 2023 – (Rhino Records)
  • Jazz Sabbath – The 1968 Tapes – (Blacklake)
  • Regina Spektor – Songs – (Sire Records)
  • Fire Action – Until the Heat Dies – (Steamhammer)
  • Bedsore – Dreaming the Strife for Love – (2o Buck Spin)
  • The Innocence Mission – Midwinter Swimmers – (Therese Records)
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Zior – ‘Zior’ (1971/2019) – Album Review

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I have mentioned before that I collect Noble Records Exclusive albums and that I have enjoyed them immensely, for the most part. I have listened to them so many times now, that Apple Music has started popping up related songs on my Radio Station. One of the songs that popped up was by a band called Zior. I thought the song was incredible so when I went back to Noble, I asked if they had anything by them and sure enough, they had a re-issue of the 1971 album that the song was from. Of course I bought it. And now you get the pleasure of reading what I thought about it whether you want to or not! And let me tell you, you want to hear about it.

Zior is a heavy metal, psych rock band from the 70’s with a lot of prog influence as well. The band has been compared to Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Steppenwolf and even the Doors (see the sticker down further in the article). And I would say that is an accurate description as all of those elements are in this album. The band was heavy in to the occult as well as those themes are also in the lyrics. If you like Stoner Rock or even NWOBHM, I think this album would be for you. And if those descriptions aren’t enough to sway you to give them a try, then I have more work to do to convince you.

The album’s artwork was designed by Keith MacMillan who you know as he did the cover for the debut Black Sabbath album as well as a couple other of their album covers. You can definitely see his style in the cover image. The band, let’s talk about the band. We have Keith Bonser on Vocals (as well as organ, bass and flute…yep…flute), John Truba on guitar, Peter Brewer on drums (plus piano and harmonica) and Barry Skeels on bass. And you will soon find out what a fine set of musicians we have here. A solid band, a great singer and music that will surprise you. Why don’t I talk about the music and hopefully by the end, this will speak to you they way it spoke to me. It didn’t really speak to me, that would be crazy. I was speaking figuratively, not literally.

Continue reading “Zior – ‘Zior’ (1971/2019) – Album Review” →