Kiss – ‘Gold’ (2005) – Album Review (The Kiss Review Series)

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Between 2002-2008, The record labels in control of the Kiss Catalog released not one, not two, heck not even 3 Greatest Hit Compilations. Nope. They released a total of 7 greatest hits compilations spread over those years. I am sure there are more, I just haven’t found them yet. Over the last few weeks, we have been through a bunch of them and hopefully this is the last one for a little while. At least until I find more…which I will. As far as compilations go, this one is worth taking notice. Let me explain.

Originally this was released in 2004 as part of the KISS Sound and Vision box set. This set was released on January 11, 2005 and is a 2 CD Set called ‘Gold’. The label for this one was Universal Music Corporation. This set covers the make-up years from 1974 up to 1982…except it doesn’t include anything from ‘Creatures of the Night’. The 1982 in reference here is for the ‘Killers’ compilation. There are 20 songs per disc which means we get a handful of releases from almost every album with some minor exceptions. There is at least one from every release though (except maybe Double Platinum. If you want a comp that gives you the best coverage of the make-up era, I don’t know if you can do better than this.

DISC 1:

Kiss (1974): The representation of the debut album is strong as it gives you five tracks:

The album kicks off with the song “Strutter”.  The song was written by both Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons and over the years, this would be a rare experience as they would wind up writing songs by themselves.  The music of the song was based off an old Gene song called “Stanley the Parrot” which was recorded even before there was a Wicked Lester. 

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Def Leppard CD Rarities with @RockTheseTweets and @2Loud2OldMusic

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GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 68: Def Leppard CD Rarities with @RockTheseTweets and @2Loud2OldMusic

This has been a meeting long in the making.  For years, I have admired the music collection of Chris from MyRockAndRollHeaven on Twitter.  In particular, Chris is a Def Leppard collector, and I believe his collection is one of the best in the world.

Finally the stars have aligned, and we have Chris tonight on Grab A Stack of Rock.  Since his collection is so massive, we decided to narrow it down to rare Def Leppard on CD.  Singles, Japanese imports, EPs and more will be shown tonight.  Joining us as co-host will be fellow fan and collector John Snow from 2Loud2OldMusic!  He is currently in the midst of a Def Leppard review series, so this lines up perfect.

What will we see tonight?  The rarest of the rare Leppard on CD.  Don’t miss it.

Friday August 23 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook!

Friday New Releases – August 23, 2024

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When I heard there was a new Jimi Jamison album, I was excited as he passed away so many years ago. Then, I heard it was a country album and that excitement waned a little. However, I will still check it out. My daughters are super excited for Sabrina Carpenters new album and with 2 #1 Singles so far, this one should be huge. Let me know what you want to hear this week or what we may have missed. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

  • Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet – (Island Records)
  • Lainey Wilson – Whirlwind – (This is Hit, Inc. / Broken Bow Records)
  • Thomas Rhett – About a Woman – (Fifty-One /Forty-Nine Records / Thirty Tigers)
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Retro Rock Reviews: Ep. 3 – Alice Cooper’s ‘Billion Dollar Babies’

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Welcome to a new series I have on YouTube called Retro Rock Reviews. Each week, we are going to pick an album and do a quick review. They won’t be long shows, something quick and fun to get you through your day. For Episode 3, we are talking about one of the first Alice Cooper albums I ever heard and that is ‘Billion Dollar Babies’. Released on February 25, 1973 , it was an album that took Alice Cooper to the next level. With Bob Ezrin at the helm and a slew of great guitarists, this album went to #1 in the U.S. and the U.K. selling well over 1,000,000 copies. I hope you enjoy my review.

So go check it out as it is live now on August 22, 2024 at Noon. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.

Def Leppard – ‘Best Of Def Leppard’ (2004) – Album Review (The Def Leppard Collection Series)

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Up to this point, Def Leppard really only had 1 greatest hits album and that was 1995’s ‘Vault: Def Leppard Greatest Hits 1980-1995’. Since that last compilation, they have released a couple more albums so it was time to update the Greatest Hits package and this time it is called ‘Best of Def Leppard’, easy enough. There is a single disc version which is basically the same tracks as the ‘Vault’. Well, close enough. They did remove two tracks and add two more recent ones then they added two more tracks on that one to give us 17 tracks instead of 15. And I am okay with the choices they made.

There is also a 2 CD set which is what I have. It came with a slip case (my copy doesn’t have that piece) and a second disc with more of a diverse selection. While the first mostly ignores the first albums (exception being “Bringin’ On the Heartbreak”), this adds a few more tracks plus gives us more of the newer albums. And even better a new song…well new to Def Leppard as it is a cover of The Kink’s song “Waterloo Sunset”. This was a preview of what was to come with the band’s next studio album ‘Yeah!’ which is a covers album. I like that second disc since it is the usual Leppard standards.

The CD came out on October 25, 2004 and it did sell 300,000 copies in the UK and went to #6 on the albums chart. It charted in other countries as well, but it didn’t chart in the U.S. as it was not officially released here in the States. That would come the next year with a new compilation called ‘Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection’ which we will review next week. Now, since this set is 34 songs over 2 CDs, this review could take awhile. I’ll get started.

DISC 1:

The album opens with the biggest song of their career, “Pour Some Sugar on Me”. It was the third single off ‘Hysteria’ in the UK, but the fourth in the States. And it was do or die time for the band. They need to sell way more and this song did it for them. Yes, the song is about sex, but it is it the energy of the song that make this one so good. This is the ‘Historia’ Video Edit version which opens with “Love is a like a Bomb” and is actually longer then the album version.

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The Collection: EP. 29 – Motley Crue’s ‘The End’ Box Set

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This week on The Collection, we are talking the Motley Crue Box Set called ‘The End’. This was supposed to be THE END of Motley Crue, the did a Final Tour, signed a contract and everything, yet as we now know, it wasn’t the end. We are going to put that aside (okay not really) and talk about the Box Set. We will look at the albums included and all the little goodies in the set. I even say the name wrong of the Saints of Los Angeles album EVERY SINGLE TIME!! UGH!! See what city I actually call it. Come join the fun and see what is the Good and the BAD of this box set.

So go check it out as it is live now on August 19, 2024 at 8 p.m! Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.

Tim’s Vinyl Confessions: Ratt’s ‘Rarities’ (2024)

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Come join me as Tim and I as we discuss the new (sort of) Ratt album called ‘Rarities’. It is up on YouTube now. See below…

A new Ratt compilation? Well, new in this physical format. On this episode, John T. Snow and I discuss this recently released collection “from the ’80s metal vault”, featuring one of the most consistent hard rock bands of the mid-’80s.

Follow Tim at https://www.youtube.com/@TimsVinylConfessions

Purchase my books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Tim-Dur…

TVC merchandise: https://www.teepublic.com/user/timsvi…

Bon Jovi – ‘The Extras LP’ (2017 – from The Albums Box Set) – Album Review (The Bon Jovi Collection Series)

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Bon Jovi released a box set that contained every vinyl up to that point. It was called The Album Box Set and it was released on February 10, 2017. Now it was released on both vinyl and CD which I chose the Vinyl collection as I love to have their albums on vinyl. The set carries all studio albums from the debut Bon Jovi album all the way up to ‘This House is Not For Sale’. But that isn’t all, it has both Jon Bon Jovi solo albums as well as an “Extra” LP with a bunch of their international B-Sides which is a nice treat. But that is it. There no extra posters, stickers, booklets or anything. Each album though is remastered on 180g LP and the 16 albums are spread over 24 LPs. At the time this was released, 7 of the albums had never been released on vinyl and then you have the “Extra” LP which is the first time this had ever been released. So, for the vinyl collector in me this was the easiest way to get everything.

We are here to talk the ‘Extras’ LP which was rare tracks and international B-Sides and a couple songs from the ‘Cross Road’ compilation as that compilation is not in here (but I do have that on vinyl as well). We get 10 tracks and we will go through all 10 just for you!

“Someday I’ll Be Saturday Night” is from ‘Cross Roads’ and was released as a single in various countries on February 13, 1995, but not the U.S. It went to #7 in the U.K. and of course never charted in the U.S. The song, according to Wikipedia is about optimism in the face of adversity. The song’s first verse introduces the characters Jim who struggles to find employment and is forced to sleep in his car, and Billie-Jean who was abused by her foster father and has turned to prostitution at the age of sixteen (remarking that the street-life ain’t much better but at least I’m getting paid), mourning the loss of her childhood. It has a country flair to it with its acoustic feel and an accompanying organ. It is catchy for sure and a great tune as who doesn’t struggle through the week hoping for Saturday Night.

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Ratt – ‘Rarities’ (2024) – Album Review

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Ratt aren’t making any new albums it seems, so how does a label make money off their catalog? One way is it to keep reissuing the albums. Another is to release greatest hits compilations and a third is to release a collection or rarities and unreleased versions of the band’s catalogs. And that is what we have here. Heck, the label has been doing other two constantly so this a nice change of pace. But, they definitely went cheap. No liner notes and a cheap cardboard digipack. Plus there are only 9 tracks.

Here is the promotional line they sent out that various sites have posted. Not too much in it either…

From the ’80s metal vault comes this collection of vintage demos and live recordings of one of the scenes biggest hitmakers, Ratt. Features the earliest known recording of the band’s signature hit, “Round & Round”, complete with alternate lyrics and melody, as well as vintage performances of classics like “Body Talk”, “Wanted Man” and more.

The thing is I think this was already released back in 2007 with a different album cover, but same track listing and same label. I can’t find it on Discogs which leads me to believe it was a digital only release. Interesting though.

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Friday New Releases – August 16, 2024

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A big week of releases this week. Not that there are ton, but some highly anticipated. We get the new Post Malone and I think it is a country album if I’m not mistaken. Is there anything he can’t sing. You also get the new Falling In Reverse for you metal fans and for you pop fans there is Foster the People and The Script. Hopefully there is something for you. Let me know what you want to hear and what we may have missed. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a great weekend.

  • Post Malone – F-1Trillion – (Mercury Records / Republic Records / UMG)
  • Falling in Reverse – Popular Monster – (Epitaph)
  • Foster the People – Paradise State of Mind – (Atlantic Records)
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