Bon Jovi – ‘Forever (Legendary Edition)’ (2025) – Album Review (The Bon Jovi Collection Series)

Last year, Bon Jovi released their 16th Studio album, ‘Forever’. It was an album I wasn’t sure we would ever get. Jon had some serious vocal issues, so bad in fact he needed surgery. Back in 2022, Jon Bon Jovi went under the knife to fix his vocal cord problem that had been well documented by the cruel trolls of the internet. After watching the documentary, ‘Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story’, we got to see first hand how bad things were for Jon. It is amazing he is even able to still sing. When I did the review of the ‘Forever’ album, I asked…will we ever see them live again? We were real unsure back then, now the answer is a resounding yes. They have announced a few shows in 2026 with more to come in 2027 from what I hear.

After the release of ‘Forever’, Jon received a lot of phone calls from artists wanting to cover songs off the album. So many, in fact, he stopped and had an idea. Why have people cover the songs when they could join him and sing with him and make a duet album of all the songs from the album. And that is what he did. The album came out on October 24, 2025. The band added one new track called “Red, White and Jersey” to give the fans a little something new for buying the album again. However, that was not needed as the artists that joined Jon were enough for me to want to grab it. I mean, come on…he has Robbie Williams, Joe Elliott (Def Leppard), James Bay and Bruce Springsteen…that was enough for me. In fact, the list of artist is very diverse covering Rock, Country, British Pop and even Gospel.

Like with the last album, I bought one of every physical format including vinyl and CD. This time around though I went with the standard black vinyl instead of a colored variant. I kept it simple and save a few bucks. My vinyl collection for Bon Jovi is still complete! With format aside, how do the songs stand up as duets, honestly, I was a little surprised at how well they do. We might as well get to it and discuss.

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The Collection: Ep. 81 – Bon Jovi: Forever & Forever (Legendary Edition)

This week we are going to talk about Bon Jovi’s latest album, Forever (Legendary Edition) as well as the original Forever album. The album came out on October 24, 2025 and I figured we would walk through each song, discuss the duet partners and how much we like or dislike each song. This is the band’s 16th and 17th Studio albums and honestly, I am so happy they are still putting out new music. I haven’t liked everything this band is done, but new music is better than no music. We have vinyl, CDs and even a cassette to show off this week. I hope you enjoy.

So go check it out as it is live right now on YouTube. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.

The Collection: Ep. 66 – Billy Idol’s ‘Dream Into It’ – Album Review

This week on the Collection, we are going to show off the new CD and Vinyl for Billy Idol’s new album, ‘Dream Into It’. And why we are it, we will throw in an album review. I know I’ve already posted an album review of this on the site, but this is the YouTube show and it is a slightly different audience. I felt it needed to be in both places. It has been 11 years since we’ve had a full length studio album from Billy Idol. His last one was 2014 with ‘Kings And Queens of the Underground’. He has had a couple of 4 song E.P.’s since then, but no full album of new music. Now, the time is upon us. After he did those two E.P.’s, he realized the press on those was as much as a full length album so why not simply do a full album and we are glad he did. Let’s get to it!

So go check it out as it will be live tonight right now, July 21, 2025 at 7pm. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.

Billy Idol – ‘Dream Into It’ (2025) – Album Review (The Billy Idol Series)

It has been 11 years since we’ve had a full length studio album from Billy Idol. His last one was 2014 with ‘Kings And Queens of the Underground’. He has had a couple of 4 song E.P.’s since then, but no full album of new music. Now, the time is upon us. After he did those two E.P.’s, he realized the press on those was as much as a full length album so why not simply do a full album and we are glad he did. The album was released on April 25, 2025 and it went to #79 in the U.K., but Switzerland saw it go to #3 and Germany it was #2. How did it fare in the U.S.? Well, it was Billy’s first ever Top 10 album as it went to #7. Not bad Billy…not bad at all!

The interesting about this release is that it is a concept album and it is broken down in to two parts. Part 1 is called “Dying to Love” and is Side One on the vinyl. This side is focused on the past and sees Billy being nostalgic and focusing on his early years. Part 2 is called, “I’m Reborn” and is Side Two of the album. The focus here is more forward looking on his life now which sees him now as Grandpa and in love with a great family. Cool to see someone that almost died from his drug use and rock & roll lifestyle to be an older rocker and simply loving life. He seems to be in a good place.

I ended up buying both the CD and the vinyl simply because I collect everything Billy so had to have both versions. We get 9 songs, but really only 8 new ones as one of the song is a remake of the song “John Wayne” which was on hit 2008 greatest hits album called The Very Best of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself. This time around it is a duet and we will get to that later. A little disappointing that we didn’t get 10 new songs. I was worried he was going to re-use some of the songs from his last two E.P.’s, but thankfully that was not the case. But we do a good some good stuff and some okay stuff, so let’s get to the music.

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Friday New Releases – June 21, 2024

Welcome to the Friday New Releases. This week we have another handful of releases and there is a lot of variety in this list so hopefully you can find something. There is nothing for me this week which is good because Summer Vacation starts soon and I need to save some money. 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 wondeful weekend.

  • Avril Lavigne – Greatest Hits – (Sony Music)
  • Daryl Hall – D – (United Artist Productions)
  • Lake Street Dive – Good Together – (Fantasy Records)
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Friday New Releases – February 25, 2022

I can’t believe we are already to the last Friday of February. This year is already flying by. The good news is that it feels like the new releases come faster and faster. This month there are over 50 to go through and that should keep you busy for a while. There are three I’m interested in hearing and the are highlighted in Blue. Let me know what you want to hear this week and let us know if we missed anything. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

  • 81dU-Br4D3L._AC_UY436_FMwebp_QL65_  Scorpions – Rock Believer – (Vertigo Berlin / Universal Music): Our favorite German rock band is still going strong after around 50 years together. And these guys can still kick some major ass. I am really looking to hear this, but don’t expect a review for a very long time as I am saving it for the Scorpions Collection Review Series that will start later this year.
  • 61pLU2Q97SL._AC_UY436_FMwebp_QL65_  Corey Taylor – CMFB…Sides – (Roadrunner Records): The Slipnot frontman is at it again and as much as I love his CMFT album, I am eager to hear this one. I believe it is a covers album, but I am okay with it. And based on the cover, I think we will see a Kiss Cover on this thing.
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Avril Lavigne – ‘Head Above Water’ – Album Review

Avril Lavigne is now on her 6th studio album and the first since 2013’s self-titled release.  That is a long gap and she has been missed.  Avril has gone from this skater girl with a punk and rock attitude to a more mature, pop sound that is both beautiful and elegant.

The problem with the release is it is safe, there is no more edge to her songs.  There is nothing to differentiate her from every other person on the radio even having Nicki Minaj appear on “Dumb Blonde”.  Yes, please…have a hip hop artist in your song so it gets played on the radio (that is sarcasm, btw).  One time, she led the pack, now she is trying to keep up.

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The opening track “Head Above Water” is strong and “Tell Me It’s Over” as well as “I Fell In Love With the Devil” aren’t bad either, but the album felt like so much filler and after 6 years, I hoped she had something more to say.  Also, when the aforementioned “Dumb Blonde” is the most upbeat, fun song on the album, that is a problem.

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Friday New Releases – February 15th

Welcome to the day after Valentine’s Day. I hope everyone was with the one you love or at least loving the one you were with.  And if you didn’t have anyone, that is okay too.  Maybe there is something on here you could love.  There is a little for everyone.  My choices are highlighted in Blue.  Let me know what you are interested in and what I might have missed.  Have a great weekend.

  • 71c2NqTqsmL._SX522_  Avril Lavigne – Head Above Water – (BMG):  Avril Lavigne, what can I say.  I actually dig her stuff.  I am not afraid to admit it.  Even if she married the guy from Nickelback.  I won’t hold that against her.  I haven’t heard anything off this one yet, but that won’t deter me from giving it a listen as she has earned that respect. Oh yeah, the cover of the album is quite nice!

  • 51FqalwhnlL._AC_US436_QL65_  Jon Fratelli – Bright Night Flowers – (Cooking Vinyl Ltd):  I love the Fratelli’s so can’t wait to hear Jon do another solo album.  His last one I enjoyed so why would this one be any different.  Give him a try, you will like it.

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What to Expect for New Music in 2019?

2019 is upon us and it is always fun anticipating what new albums are and will come out in the year.  There are quite a few we already know about, but some haven’t been officially announced or even a date set yet.  From what I have gathered around the internet, here are the bands that should have new albums out in 2019, but no dates announced yet. The ones I would give a try (and my kids) will be highlighted in Blue.  The ones with Dates Announced are at the bottom of this post.  The list is building up nicely!!

  • Adele
  • Billy Eilish
  • Coldplay
  • The Defiants
  • Eclipse
  • Greta Van Fleet – (rumor already for new music)
  • Hootie & the Blowfish (new tour has been announced)
  • Megadeth
  • Michael Sweet
  • Miley Cyrus
  • Prince
  • The Raconteurs
  • Rob Zombie
  • Stryper
  • The Cranberries
  • Taylor Swift
  • Tesla – Shock (Produced by Phil Collen of Def Leppard)
  • Tori Kelly
  • Whitesnake – Flesh & Blood (should be March)

Continue reading “What to Expect for New Music in 2019?”