We are already at the end of March and can’t believe three months in to the year already as well. Time does fly. But it doesn’t fly fast enough that we can’t do a monthly summary of purchases here at 2 Loud 2 Old Music. And this month was another good one even though the vinyl purchases were down and overall purchases were down as well. I didn’t actually get out to a real record store this month so I will try and make up for that in April.
The month started off with Frontiers Records updating their $5 CD sale and adding a bunch more albums to the list. I, of course, took advantage of that sale. I was able to pick up albums from Inglorious, Night Ranger and Jorn as well as a live Blu-Ray from Dokken. All great stuff.
And then my wife and daughter wanted to go to 2nd & Charles as they had a book sale where you buy 5 books, you get 5 free…Sadly, there was not a CD sale at the time, but it didn’t stop me from picking up some great music while I was there. I did get 5 CDs, but since the next 5 weren’t free, I stuck with only my 5. I picked up some Metallica, Tesla, Halestorm, Aldo Nova (which I had already on vinyl) and the last great Queensryche album in my book, ‘Promised Land’.
For My Sunday Song #353, we are going to discuss the ballad “Always Be Mine” off Aldo Nova’s second album ‘Subject…Aldo Nova’…but I just call it ‘Subject’. The album was released on September 30, 1983 and was a very loose concept with a whole apocalyptic vision of the world. This was the 2nd single off the album but didn’t even make the Hot 100 in the U.S. which it should as this is one of the great ballads of the decade in my book. The album didn’t get a ton of press but it did eventually go Gold about 11 years after it’s release.
The song is about a breakup. A very hard break up of two people that still love each other, but they’ve played so many games, shed so many tears that it probably should be over. The guy in the song still loves her and in his heart, she’ll always be his. He is pleading with her to give it another shot, to stop the games, stop wearing the masks and just talk heart to heart and work things out. It is a little heartbreaking at times.
Musically, the song is beautifully done with Aldo on keyboards, guitars and vocals. Aldo likes to do a lot of the stuff himself. It starts off with an electronic drum beat that is followed by the keyboards…a lot of keyboards. But there is a tenderness to it all and the music has such great melody and the guitar playing…man Aldo can certainly play guitar. He is highly underrated. Aldo’s vocals pull at the heartstrings as he conveys all the love and pain the guy is feeling as he tries to win his girl back. The song sounds like the 80’s, but you know, it still works for me and is still as powerful today as it was when I first heard it back in 1983…40 years ago…damn…I’m getting old.
For My Sunday Song #352, we get the song “The Border” from his most recent release ‘Short Stories E.P.’ back in 2022. The E.P. is only 3 songs that tell stories that make you feel like you are in the movies or at least that was his goal. The opening track, like all the tracks, was solely written by Aldo and he performed all the instruments as well which is impressive when you hear it.
The lyrics paint a picture of two outlaws on steel horses with a guitar strapped to their backs. They appear to be on the run from the law as the speed down the road to get to the Rio Grande and escape to Mexico. There is a woman waiting on the other side of the Border and he can’t wait to sing her a song. I wonder if there is a deeper meaning behind the song. Sadly, Aldo lost his wife a few years back and I wonder if what he is being chased by is death and when he crosses over (the border), he will be with her again and can sing her the song he so wants for her to hear again. When looking at it with that frame of mine, it is a sad and beautiful track.
Musically, there is a whole Latin flavor with hints of Carlos Santana in the guitar tone. It is pretty fantastic sounding. Aldo’s vocals fit perfectly nestled in to the song and you can’t help but want to get up and move to those rhythmic beats as the bass and drums really settle in to a nice groove that causes the hips to sway back and forth. The guitar playing is top notch as Aldo wails away on the solo. This song quickly became a favorite of mine from him.
For My Sunday Song #351, we are starting a 10 song set of songs by Aldo Nova. You know him from the early 80’s with his massive hit “Fantasy”. But he is way more than that song and we will walk through a bunch for you over the next 10 weeks (including “Fantasy” because why not). First up is the song “Modern World” off his 1991 album ‘Blood on the Bricks’. The song was written by Aldo and his pal Jon Bon Jovi. You might not know that Aldo worked with Jon on a bunch of demos back way before there was a Bon Jovi and was John Bongiovi. But that is another story for another day.
The song is a dark commentary on the world that was the late 80’s and early 90’s. The sleaze, the drugs, the crime were all up and the world seemed to be a dark place and they lyrics captured it beautifully. He even takes a big dig at Donald Trump for his womanizing and awful business tactics long before he was President. Marion Barry, mayor of Washington D.C. also wasn’t safe from his wrath as he bashed him for his drug addictions. No one was safe in this song. It is a really dark take on the world and we are happier for it as we got this song.
Musically, the song is as dark as the lyrics. The song opens with a nasty, dirty guitar riff and an angry sadistic sounding drum beat. Aldo sings it with a lot of attitude and anger to match the despair in the music. But like any song Jon is involved in, it has the hooks to draw you in as that chorus filled with harmonies and great background singers adding more effect to the song. It is a solid rocker and shows that Aldo was more than keyboards and that sometimes the guitar riff was king.
For the month’s The Original vs. The Cover, we have a Canadian Battle Royale!! We are going to look at the song “Hey Operator” which was originally recorded by Toronto’s own Coney Hatch and they are battling it out with Montreal’s own Aldo Nova. The song was written by Coney Hatch’s lead singer Carl Dixon and was on their 1982 debut self-titled album. It was released as a single and went to #19 on the Canadian charts. No real success in the U.S. though. Aldo Nova released the song in 1983 on his second album ‘Subject’. It was never released as a single, but for me was one of my favorite songs on his album. I had never heard of Coney Hatch back then, but I was a massive Aldo fan.
“Hey Operator” is a simple song about a guy wanting to call his girl long distance…or maybe it is just phone sex, who knows. There doesn’t seem to be any deep seeded meaning behind it, but that doesn’t make a great song no matter who sings it. As both versions are worth a listen. But let’s’s walk through both and see who has the best version.
CONEY HATCH
The Coney Hatch is more of a guitar and piano version and is a straight up rock track. Very radio friendly with a catchy chorus and I like how the piano gets louder during the chorus with some great riffing by Steve Shelski. His solo is also great, if not short and sweet. The rhythm section of Andy Curran and Dave Ketchum is the driving force behind the song though. But for me the real highlight is Carl’s vocals as they are quite fantastic. I love his tone and he just has a great rock & roll voice. How did these guys never make it in the U.S. is unknown as this is great, a kind of Foreigner vibe to it.
Last year flew by and now here we are in 2023 and already at our first month purchases wrap-up. It was a good start to the year if I do say so myself. I started a new collection, found some stuff for other collections I have, treated myself to an album I’ve been wanting for years and even found a Jeff Scott Soto CD that I didn’t even know existed. I would say that all makes for a solid month.
The month kicked off in full glory when 2nd & Charles kicked off the year with a buy 5 get 5 free sale on their CDs and so I pounced on it. Sadly, my memory sucks and one is one I already had, see if you can guess which one because it was in my November purchases as well.
If that wasn’t enough, later in the month I went by Repo Records here in Charlotte and found a handful of picture sleeve 45’s. I love the picture sleeves and so I bought about 9 this time around. Some great stuff to add to the collection…
Why not make it a 3-fer today with Aldo Nova. If you are an Aldo Nova fan, then you need to check out Grant’s Rock Warehaus as Grant, along with Tim Durling of Tim’s Vinyl Cofessions, and me, John Snow, take a look at the career of Aldo Nova. It is a fun, retrospective of his career and some great visuals as well. I want to thank Grant for having me along for the ride on this one.
@grantsrockwarehaus Check out Grant’s Rock Warehaus at the following:
Aldo Nova was silent for a number of years due to contract issues and such, but all those issues are settled and as a result, we have been getting a ton of new music from Aldo. The famed singer of “Fantasy” has put out 4 CDs over the last year. First was a 10 song E.P. of his rock opera ‘The Life & Times of Eddie Gage’ which is a two hour opera, but here we get a brief intro with the 10 songs…and it was great. Then he did ‘Reloaded 2.0’ which was a re-imagining of a bunch of hits. Then we get two 3-song E.P.’s. First is ‘Short Stories’ which we reviewed first and now we get a 3-Song E.P. called ‘Sonic Hallucinations’ which will now review.
From Aldo’s website we get the following: Aldo Nova creates a sonic tapestry that brings you his vision of 3 Extraterrestrial Symphonies of the future. The album was Composed, Performed, Produced, Arranged, Engineered, and Mixed all by Aldo Nova. This is an instrumental album and Aldo goes all out with bringing us some interesting music and whether he was high as a kite while doing it or sober, it is certainly different. I do love the artwork on here with the galaxy and Aldo breaking free from it.
The first track is called “Calling All Aliens” and it is all synthesizers and there is so much going on. We do get a killer electronic drum beat that drives the song and some angelic (or alien) backing vocals that add an extra flavor to the track. But it is what he does on the keys that is the magic here. He is able to create some great melodies that give us so much flavor to the song and let’s it stick in your head. Close Encounters of the Third Kind it is not, it is better than those simple tones as this is a lush landscape of sound. I’m sure the Aliens will answer back and come down to Earth with open arms.
Aldo Nova was silent for a number of years due to contract issues and such, but all those issues are settled and as a result, we have been getting a ton of new music from Aldo. The famed singer of “Fantasy” has put out 4 CDs over the last year. First was a 10 song E.P. of his rock opera ‘The Life & Times of Eddie Gage’ which is a two hour opera, but here we get a brief intro with the 10 songs…and it was great. Then he did ‘Reloaded 2.0’ which was a re-imagining of a bunch of hits. Then we get two 3-song E.P.’s. First is ‘Short Stories’ which we will review here and then next was a 3-Song E.P. called ‘Sonic Hallucinations’ which will review next.
According to Aldo’s website, “Aldo Nova-Short Stories is an EP that is made up of 3 great songs that each tell a different story that gives the listener the sensation of either watching a film or can be a song where they identify and touches a certain part of their lives.” And I love the artwork. The cover is called ‘Guitar And Tuba’ and was drawn by artist James St. Laurent.
The first track is called “The Border” and it has this whole Latin flavor with hints of Carlos Santana in the guitar tone. It is pretty fantastic sounding. Aldo’s vocals fit perfectly nestled in to the song and you can’t help but want to get up and move to those rhythmic beats as the bass and drums really settle in to a nice groove that causes the hips to sway back and forth. The guitar playing is top notch as Aldo wails away on the solo. I don’t hear any tuba though. The song feels like a couple of bad guys running from the law and/or s he running from death and from God. Who knows.
Next up is “What Happened to Our Dreams” is a story about lost love. Young high school romance with big dreams, but all good things come to an end and those dreams never become reality. The song is a ballad with some great acoustic guitars, some nice percussion work and an emotive Aldo singing with a broken heart at dreams that never came to be. The music has a great tone and feel to it as it feels like an old school 80’s ballad yet still sound a little modern at the same time. Another killer song.
The last track is called “Let Our Worlds Collide” and this one is a story as old as time. Two loves who for some reason aren’t together, but longing to be. A love song for the ages. Another ballad and this one is accompanied by a piano and it is quite beautiful. Aldo’s vocals match the aching tones of the piano as he hurts because his love is not there by his side as he loves her so much and although she’s not there, she can feel his love because it is so strong. It shows that Aldo doesn’t need the guitar nor the keyboards. Just him and a piano is sometimes all he needs to show that he can do anything and a few backing singers.
There is one thing I really hate about the 3-Song E.P. and that is it is only 3 songs. And all three are stellar tracks and make me wish for a whole album. Come on Aldo, gives a full album sometime soon please!! You still have it in you to do great things as this so truly shows. My Overall Score is a 5.0 out of 5.0 Stars! I really did enjoy this set.
If you want to watch the podcast I did with Tim Durling on his show Tim’s Vinyl Confessions, go check it out below…
Come join the fun as Tim Durling and I walk through not one, but two brand new E.P.’s from Canadian artist, Aldo Nova. The E.P.’s are ‘Short Stories” which has three songs, with vocals, and the second is “Sonic Hallucinations” which also has three songs, but all instrumental. Check out what we have to say about them and see if you need to run, not walk, to pick these up. Come back on Monday to see my two in depth reviews of the E.P.’s on the site as well.
2 Loud 2 Old Music 