The collector in me got the best of me. I bought a box off eBay that was full of 8-Tracks. Of course, why wouldn’t I. I don’t have an 8-Track Player so why not buy a bunch of tapes to never listen to them. Makes total sense. Well, this box had some Kiss, Van Halen, Thin Lizzy, Led Zeppelin and a ton more classic rock 70’s bands…and some not classic rock. So, this special episode is going through 40 8-Tracks…Don’t worry, I make it fairly quick.
So go check it out as it is live now on July 24, 2024 at Noon…because why not!! Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.
This week my buddy Deke and I are on a our 3rd show in the series called “In Depth” and each episode we will pick an album and dive a little deeper in to it. We decided we would do a mini-Queensryche series and go from their E.P. up to ‘Promised Land’. We are now up to their 2nd Full Length album and 3rd release with 1986’s ‘Rage For Order. So, if you like a little Queensryche then come check it out as you get some fun facts and our thoughts on the sound, the songs and the band. Maybe even talk about Vampires and Perms.
Deke is from the Distortion Den and from the blog world as well. Go Check him out at the links below…
So go check it out as it is live now on July 22, 2024 at 8pm. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.
Last week, we talked about the first of 2 Live E.P Picture Discs that were released on Record Store Day. This week, we discuss ‘Live 2’ which was released on Record Store Day 2014. It states it is a limited edition, but we have no idea how many there are out there and they aren’t hard to get as the internet has a bunch for sale if you search it up. So, it probably isn’t that limited. Still, it is another cool 10″ E.P. from the band even if the songs have all been previously released.
This time around all the songs are from the New Jersery World Tour recorded either in 1988 or 1989 and broken down in to a U.S. Side of recorded songs or an International Side of recorded songs. Now, there are only 4 songs so not a ton and they have all been released previously so you might have some of them already and you don’t know it.
The U.S. Side kicks off with “I’ll Be There For You” which was recorded in Lakeland, FL, 1989. It was previously available on 2 CD set of ‘Keep the Faith’ which featured a bonus CD also called Bon Jovi Live. It isn’t a bad version, they do seem to have slowed things down a little live, but the key is how amazing Richie Sambora’s playing is on this one. Such emotion in those notes, it is really cool.
Back on August 5, 2003, Kiss released, okay, the record company released a greatest hits compilation called The Millennium Collection: The Best of Kiss(1973-1979). It was the first of three volume set which we will get to the other two soon enough. In a move only a record label would do, the label issued the ‘Icon’ Series with two volumes. The first volume is the exact same track list as ‘The Millennium Collection: The Best of Kiss (1973-1979)’ and was released in 2010.
In a cash grab kind of move, they changed NOTHING!! The Icon version is the exact same except for crappier cover art and no inserts/liner notes. A very bare bones set. I do not really recommend any of these sets as they weren’t done by Kiss per se. But us collectors buy it all. And as a collector of Kiss albums, I do have it. So for now, let us go through this set and talk about the songs since we are here as there is nothing else good to say about this…wait, have I said anything good yet???
The album kicks off with the first song of their debut, “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. The song has a great opening drum fill by Peter and is an uptempo rock song that was inspired by all the sexy women in New York. There is a great bass riff by Gene why Ace belts out the solo. Paul sings the song and shows all the confidence a lead singer should show.
Does it get hotter every day now? Man, this heat is unbearable. Hopefully Fall will get here soon enough. In the meantime, here are some hot New Releases for you this week. I’ll definitely give the new Deep Purple a listen and maybe Highly Suspect, but outside of that, probably nothing else. I hope there is something for you this week. Let me know what you want to hear or what we may have missed. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a great weekend.
Deep Purple – =1 – (earMusic / Edel Music & Entertainment)
Highly Suspect – As Above, So Below – (Roadrunner Records)
Glass Animals – I Love You So F***ing Much – (Polydor Records / Universal Music)
Def Leppard toured extensively for their latest album, ‘Euphoria’, which came out June 8, 1999. That tour brought them to Japan where they played 8 shows, three of which were at Tokyo’s famed Kokusai Forum where this disc was recorded. It is said that this was the October 1st show. However, the bootleggers have it wrong. The band only played “Wasted” on the October 2nd show which was actually recorded in full and broadcast on the radio and it was actually filmed to be shown on TV as well. Why we don’t have an official release of this show from the band is strange. We do have a few songs that from this show that were released on The Collection, Volume 2 Box Set on the Rarities 3 LP from that set.
As with most bootlegs, this CD has one glaring mistake. Look at the picture below and see if you can spot it. And no, it isn’t the fact the picture is with some of the members of Journey. Nope. It is the fact that the picture has the late, great Steve Clark in it who died back in 1991 a full 8 years prior to this release. He isn’t even on this release so shouldn’t have a picture. The bootleggers, however, seem to get all the song titles right and even the spelling. That is pretty rare! Now, that is all I have on this release so let’s get to the show which is the full set list with 22 songs and almost 2 hours worth of music spread over 2 CDs…it is awesome. And one cool thing is they play at least one song from every Leppard album released to date. Good job boys…good job!
The album opens with “Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)” which is played at 100 mph as the band seems to be in a hurry to get through it. The band sounds fantastic though, guitars are crisp, drums are powerful and Joe sounds terrific. Always a great opener. And they don’t slow things down as they rip through the Sweet cover of “Action” and I do love Lep’s version of this one. They made it their own. A high energy romp that keeps the pace at breakneck speed. They go in to the first new song and play “Demolition Man” and talk about fast…holy crap I think they sped it up the tempo even more. It is bam bam, next song, bam bam, next song…you get the idea. The new song fits well into the vibe of the live setting. I dig it.
This week on the Collection we are going back to an artist that I discovered when I was still in Middle School. A time when my siblings were no longer influencing my musical taste, but I was finding them out on my own. Aldo Nova was one of the first artist that I discovered and have been a life long fan ever since I heard the rip roaring riff of ‘Fantasy’. From 1982 all the way up to today, we will go through my vinyl, my CDs as well as my only cassette and only 7″ single I have in my Aldo Nova Collection.
So go check it out as it will be live tonight right now, July 15, 2024 at 8pm. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.
Back in 2013, Bon Jovi jumped on board the Record Store Day Bandwagon. On April 20, 2013, we get the first of 2 Live E.P. Picture Discs from the band. The first one is called simply ‘Live’ and is a 10″, 33 1/3 RPM, Picture Disc. It contains four live tracks, all previously released in some form or fashion.
The opening track, “Livin’ On A Prayer” was recorded at Madison Square Garden on either July 14/15 of 2008 and was released on the video ‘Live at Madison Square Garden’ in 2009. The song starts off with Jon singing “Livin’ on a Prayer a cappella and the crowd finishes it the chorus. The full band joins in and they show why they are a great live band.
The second track is a personal favorite, “Blood on Blood” and this one was recorded at the Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey around May 2010. The song was released on the live album (and video) ‘Inside Out’. It feels untouched as you can here the little wobbles and cracks in Jon’s voice like a good live show should have. The song might not have the same grit live as it does on the studio version, but they do put their all in to it.
Billy Idol became fascinated with technology and the cyberpunk movement of the early 90’s. He saw how the advancement could be used to make music and in fact, ‘Cyberpunk’ was one of the first albums to use ProTools for almost the entire recording of the album. He felt the use of the computers allowed him to do things faster and he felt it gave the whole feel of a garage band. I don’t know about that last part, but it was the very early stages of how albums and music would be recorded down the road. ‘Cyberpunk’ is the result of all these technological advances and it was an album way ahead of the times. How far ahead?
Well, when he released the single for “Shock to the System” he sent out the promo copies that contained a 3 1/2″ Floppy Disk. MP3’s eat your heart out. The disc housed pictures, bios and all the things you now see issued in todays electronic press kits (EPK). He was also was one of the first albums to actually have an email address in the booklet that came with the album (don’t try it, it though as it no longer works). I finally found a pristine copy of the Promo and now I have the 3 1/2″ Floppy Disk as well. This is now one of the coolest pieces in my collection.
Happy Friday!! And why is it happy? Well, it is New Release Friday that is why. We have a bunch of new albums for you this week. I am interested in the Van Halen and the Mr. Big release. My kids are excited about the Megan Moroney and Cigarettes After Sex new albums. Hopefully there is something in here for you. Let me know what you want to hear or what we may have missed. Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend.
Mr. Big – Ten – (Frontiers Records)
Megan Moroney – Am I Okay? – (Sony Music)
Hardy – Quit!! – (Big Loud Rock / Mercury Records / Republic Records / UMG)
Cigarettes After Sex – X’s – (Spanish Prayers / Partisan Records)
Deep Purple – =1 – (earMusic / Edel Music & Entertainment)
Highly Suspect – As Above, So Below – (Roadrunner Records)
Glass Animals – I Love You So F***ing Much – (Polydor Records / Universal Music)
Mr. Big – Ten – (Frontiers Records)
Megan Moroney – Am I Okay? – (Sony Music)
Hardy – Quit!! – (Big Loud Rock / Mercury Records / Republic Records / UMG)
Cigarettes After Sex – X’s – (Spanish Prayers / Partisan Records)
2 Loud 2 Old Music 