A lot of old bands this week with new releases…I’m not sure what year I’m in actually as a result. But I think it is 2025. The only one I’m interested in hearing is the Led Zeppelin E.P. and Foreigner Box Set for ‘4’. For something newer, I’ll check out the new Daughtry E.P. , but that is probably all. What do you want to hear? Also, let us know what we missed. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
Motley Crue – From The Beginning – (BMG Rights Mgmt)
Led Zeppelin – Live EP – (Atlantic Recording Corporation)
Spinal Tap – The End Continues – (Authorized Spinal Tap, LLC / Interscope Records)
Daughtry – Shock To The System Part Two – (Dogtree Records / Big Machine Label Group) David Bowie – I Can’t Give Everything Away 2002-2016 – (Rhino / Parlophone)
Phil Wickham – Song Of The Saints – (Fair Trade Services)
In 2006, Def Leppard released their 9th studio album, ‘Yeah!’. It was a covers album and had 14 tracks on it. The band, however, recorded a ton more songs that were not used. Some wound up on the Japanese Edition as bonus tracks, others as Best Buy bonus tracks, Target and even iTunes. You would literally need to buy 5 versions of the album to get all the tracks. Well, you don’t really need to buy the Japanese edition because the Wal-Mart edition had the two Japanese Bonus Tracks as well as 3 more songs and a selection of interviews with the band. This version has the most bonus tracks of any of the other offers and is a great buy. It would’ve been released on the same day as the album which was May 23, 2006.
The opening track is the only song that breaks the band’s rule about all being British songs. It is cover of the Tom Petty & The Heartbreaker’s “American Girl”. I want to say that all these songs are the demos because they aren’t played with all the band members. This one has Joe on vocals, but it is Vivian Campbell on all instruments except Marc Danzeisen on drums. Additional backing vocals with Jesse Sheely. The song captures the energy of the original, the guitar sound like they should and the harmonies are great. A fun, energetic song and a great choise.
The first interview with the band, “Backstage Interview #1”, sees the band talking about the most recent tour with little snippets from each member. They all say it has been great, but Rick Allen says travel was hard. They also talk about how the audience seems to change with each tour.
Welcome back. Last week, we talked about the Cybernauts ‘Live’ album that was released in 2000 in Japan only. In 2001, they released a Deluxe Version of the album in the UK and the 2nd CD was studio recordings the band had done. If you remember, the Cybernauts are Joe Elliott and Phil Collen from Def Leppard; Trevor Bolder & Woody Woodmansey from David Bowie’s Spiders From Mars and then on keyboard is Dick Decent. They came together as a Mick Ronson & David Bowie tribute band for the Mick Ronson Memorial show back in 1997.
This week, we are talking about the 2nd CD in the Deluxe Edition called ‘The Further Adventures of the Cybernauts’. The Japanese only release was in June 2001 and consists of all studio recordings the band did of these David Bowie songs. We get 7 tracks and one hidden track which is an alternate version of one of the other seven.
The first four tracks were recorded on August 8, 1997 at Bow Lane Studios in Dublin, Ireland the day after they recorded the live show we saw on last week’s post. They didn’t waste any time getting these recorded…why not, they were on fire the night before so capture some of that magic. The first track is “Manic Depression” and it is not a David Bowie track as you already guessed. Nope, this is a Jimi Hendrix one and the band gives it a little psychedelic vibe and Phil does a bang up job doing his best Hendrix. Joe’s vocals are put through something to give it that spacey feel to it. A really cool opening track. “All the Young Dudes” is up next and the Mott the Hoople track is done as it should. Some great keyboards, great vocals and those gang vocals on the chorus see a band that loves and appreciates this music.
I am sure you have a few questions… Like, who are the Cybernauts? The Cybernauts are a Mick Ronson/David Bowie tribute band and they play all the hits they had together. David might have wrote the songs, but Mick was the guitarist and what a player he was and what life he gave those songs. And, why is this part of the Def Leppard series? Well, that is because two members of this cover band are none other then singer Joe Elliott and guitarists Phil Collen from Def Leppard. The rest of the Cybernauts are Trevor Bolder (bass) and Woody Woodmansey (drums) both from David Bowie’s band Spiders from Mars. Also, to round it out on keyboard is Dick Decent.
Trevor and Joe meet way back in 1983 and had been friends ever since. When Trevor was asked to put together a band for a Mick Ronson memorial service, he found out Joe and Phil were asked to play as well so they teamed up for the event and performed. A few years later they were asked to do it again, but this time they decided to actually do a small tour with the band and finish it at the Mick Ronson memorial show. Joe had the idea of recording the Dublin show and they did. That was August 7, 1997 in Dublin, Ireland at the Olympia Theatre. And three years later in 2000, the CD was released and only released in Japan.
My copy though was released in 2001 and was a 2 CD set with the original show, plus a 2nd CD of studio recordings. The E.P. was called The Further Adventures of the Cybernauts…which we will discuss later. For now, we will focus on disc 1, the live show they recorded which consisted of 18 tracks that will take you back to those critical years of David Bowie and Mick Ronson and you are reminded of what an amazing catalog the two had together.
Another Friday has come and more releases are here for your listening pleasure. This week I want to hear the new Black Country Communion, Dirty Knobs and even a collection of Ratt Rarities. I also want the Linsdey Buckingham box set, but for now it is only the digital version. The CDs will come in August. What do you want to hear this week? Let me know and let me know what I missed so everyone can know about it as well. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a great and wonderful weekend.
Welcome to Black Friday and as a result, there aren’t a ton of new releases this week. In fact, it is Black Friday Record Store Day for 2022 so that is taking the steam away from the new releases. If you want the RSD releases…go to the bottom of the list and they are all there. I have nothing I really want from either the new releases or the RSD list so my wallet is getting a break which is great after last week’s Kiss box set for Creatures of the Night. It needs a break!! Let me know what you want or what we may have missed. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a great weekend!!
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers – Live at the Fillmore, 1997 – (Petty Legacy LLC / Warner)
David Bowie – Divine Symmetry – (Parlophone Records / Jones & Tintoretto Entertainment)
Ringo Starr – Live at the Greek Theater 2019 – (BFD)
Sword – III – (Massacre Records / Soulfood Music)
Our Mirage – Eclipse – (Arising Empire)
Stormzy – This is What I Mean – (Def Jam / Hashtag Merky Music / Universal)
Felix Riebl – Everyday Amen – (My Shore Productions / AWAL Recordings)
High Command – Eclipse of the Dual Moons – (Southern Lord)
You, my reader, are going to pick an album for me to review each month. It is really simple…first, I will give you 5 albums to choose from and second, you will tell me which one of those you would like to see reviewed on the site. See…simple! Now, if you want to cast more than one vote, comment on the Twitter and Facebook post and you could get up to 3 votes on your favorite pick.
There are no longer rules for my selections, maybe themes. I’m just picking albums in my collection and this time they are classics from the 70’s. What are the 5 albums you ask? Funny you should ask because I have them right here…
Alice Cooper – ‘Billion Dollar Babies’
Elton John – ‘Captain Fantastic’
Rolling Stones – ‘Sticky Fingers’
David Bowie – ‘Diamond Dogs’
Led Zeppelin – ‘Led Zeppelin II’
Let me know which one you would like to see and sometime in December, I will post a review of the album that gets the most votes. You have one week to decide and from there I will start listening to the album and do a review.
I was down in St. Augustine, Florida in early August and went by a second-hand book store where this book was waiting for me it to rescue it. A couple weeks later on a flight to New York, I opened it up and started reading. On the flights there and back, I got through 2/3’s of the book as I couldn’t put it down. I finished it up in another sitting or two and really enjoyed it. I knew some stories on Mr. Hughes, but I didn’t know this story. The book, ‘Glenn Hughes The Autobiography: From Deep Purple to Black Country Communion’ was written by Glenn and Joel McIver. It actually starts off earlier than Deep Purple as it cover some of his childhood and does go to Black Country Communion which means it goes from 1951 to 2010.
The forward is by Metallica’s own Lars Ulrich. He discusses the first time he saw Glenn Hughes play and what a big fan he is. I have to admit, it was a little light as forewards go as I expected a little more insight in to what he knew about Glenn, but wasn’t much meat to it. Sorry Lars. But that was the only thing I didn’t like about this book. One of the really cool features in the book is the fact they have interviewed a ton of people close to Glenn through the years, parents, girlfriends/wives and bandmates. Snippets of those interviews are sprinkled throughout each chapter adding color commentary and texture to what Glenn is talking about. It also lets you despite all the drugs, people tended to agree with what he talks about with some minor different interpretations at times.
I know Glenn was an avid drug user, but I guess I didn’t realize to the extreme it became. Imagine my surprise when he is talking about his massive drug use in the mid-to late 80’s he was living in Atlanta. In fact, he ended up buying a house not terribly far from where I grew up and was living at the time. Who knows I could’ve passed Glenn back in the day and never knew it. Doubtful, as he was help up in house a lot doing drugs.
I really loved learning about Trapeze, his band before Deep Purple. I need to explore them more. For me, the activities surrounding his joining Deep Purple were pretty cool and to learn that he David Coverdale were actually friends and got a long really well despite them competing a little for lead vocals. Glenn’s drug problem didn’t really start until around the third album with Purple, ‘Come Taste the Band’ when Tommy Bolin joined. Glenn and Tommy became drug buddies. Glenn’s tenure ended withe Purple without him really knowing it as that is how bad it was getting.
The 80’s were a drug filled mess. His projects with Gary Moore and Pat Thrall all suffered greatly as well as relationships with his many lady friends and his wife. His times with Tony Iommi and Black Sabbath was brief and interesting as well. He was not pleasant person to be around when he was drugged out…which was often. He is lucky to have made it out alive. The drugs were so bad, he only wanted to be around those people that were heavy in to drugs. This lasted until the 90’s when he started to get cleaned up. He revitalized his solo career and eventually gets clean and gets back to his singing as the focus as he is the Voice of Rock. I’m not going in to detail as that is what the book is for so get it.
The book ends with his joining Joe Bonamassa, Jason Bonham and Derek Sherinian as they form Black Country Communion. Glenn really loves this band and believes it might be one of the best things he’s done. They’ve since done four albums total and they are pretty amazing. Too bad the book ends back in 2010 as we know Glenn is still going strong as he now fronts The Dead Daisies and his voice is still amazing!
The Glenn Hughes autobiography is one of the most enjoyable ones I have read in a long time. Glenn is so likable in the book despite some of the crappy things he does. It is amazing he can remember what he does, but he is open and honest about how bad the drugs were and takes full responsibility. He is lucky to be around and we are lucky to have all this great music and have that Voice in our lives. My Overall Score is a 5.0 out of 5.0 Stars as I truly couldn’t put this down and don’t think I’ve read a book that fast in a very long time.
For My Sunday Song #316, we are talking about “When I Wake Up Tomorrow” by Cheap Trick. The song is off their stellar 2016 album ‘Bang, Zoom, Crazy…Hello!’. The song was released as a promotional single and went to #24 on the Mainstream Rock Chart. The song was written by Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander, Tom Petersson and Julian Raymond. They have decided to credit everyone that is an official band member and the producer. Whatever works right.
The song is a modern ballad. It is dark and there is a sadness as the singer is looking for more than a one night stand and is begging and pleading for more. He doesn’t feel like he can live without her and just wants her to stay the night and wake up with him tomorrow. Part of me wonders if he wants her to stay the night so he won’t kill himself it is that dark sounding. But there is a beauty to it as well.
“When I Wake Up Tomorrow” brings a darker, more moody styled song and Zander does some of his best Bowie vibes he can muster. The rhythm section on this one is also a standout as Tom and Daxx seem to have found the groove that fits nicely with in Rick’s great guitar work. But it is those keyboard parts that add a new texture and layer which are so cool and almost U2 like in their stylings. Easy to see why this was a single as it is fresh sounding and one of the best things they’ve done in years. Pure brilliance.
Alright…You Picked It! And this one wasn’t even close. The winner had the first vote and got passed, but ended up winning in the end. The winner was David Bowie’s Blackstar which was his last album before he died and one I have never listened to in its entirety. Here are the results.
David Bowie – ‘Blackstar’ – 9 votes
Aldo Nova – ‘The Life & Times of Eddie Gage’ – 7 votes
Steve Vai – ‘Passion & Warfare’ – 2 votes
Journey – ‘Raised on Radio’ – 2 Vote
Beyonce – ‘Lemonade’ – Sadly, 0 votes
Thanks to all for participating. The June choices will be up on Saturday!
DAVID BOWIE – ‘BLACKSTAR’:
When I saw this won, I was really worried about reviewing it because Bowie is very intimidating to me. Also, this was a well received album by the critics and fans as well as the fact he died two days after the release of the album which was released on January 8, 2016. David recorded this album in secret and surprised everyone with its release. He knew this was his last album and that makes it a really special album so I don’t want to hate it and bash his last efforts. Thankfully, that was not the case. It did take me a while to warm up to it, but after a couple spins I really started digging this album.
The album had a lot of experimental art rock elements, but the main thing I noticed was that it had a lot of Jazz elements as well and doing research I now know why. The band consisted a lot of New York local jazz musicians including saxophonist Donny McCaslin, pianist Jason Lindner, bassist Tim Lefebvre and drummer Mark Guiliana; guitarist Ben Monder joined the ensemble for the final sessions, while James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem contributed percussion. The musicianship on this album is second to none and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment.
Motley Crue – From The Beginning – (BMG Rights Mgmt)
Foreigner – 4 (Deluxe Edition) – (Atlantic Recording / Warner Music)
Led Zeppelin – Live EP – (Atlantic Recording Corporation)
Spinal Tap – The End Continues – (Authorized Spinal Tap, LLC / Interscope Records)
Daughtry – Shock To The System Part Two – (Dogtree Records / Big Machine Label Group)
David Bowie – I Can’t Give Everything Away 2002-2016 – (Rhino / Parlophone)
Phil Wickham – Song Of The Saints – (Fair Trade Services)
Ed Sheeran – Play – (Atlantic Records)
Black Country Communion – V – (J&R Adventures)
Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs – Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits – (BMG Rights Mgmt)
Ratt – Rarities – (Deadline Music) – Vinyl July 5 and no video…
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers – Live at the Fillmore, 1997 – (Petty Legacy LLC / Warner)
David Bowie – Divine Symmetry – (Parlophone Records / Jones & Tintoretto Entertainment)
Ringo Starr – Live at the Greek Theater 2019 – (BFD)
Sword – III – (Massacre Records / Soulfood Music)
Our Mirage – Eclipse – (Arising Empire)
Stormzy – This is What I Mean – (Def Jam / Hashtag Merky Music / Universal)
Felix Riebl – Everyday Amen – (My Shore Productions / AWAL Recordings)
High Command – Eclipse of the Dual Moons – (Southern Lord)
Leather – We Are the Chosen – (Steamhammer)
Alice Cooper – ‘Billion Dollar Babies’
Elton John – ‘Captain Fantastic’
Rolling Stones – ‘Sticky Fingers’
David Bowie – ‘Diamond Dogs’
Led Zeppelin – ‘Led Zeppelin II’
2 Loud 2 Old Music 