Tag: Deep Purple

Yngwie Malmsteen – ‘Inspiration’ (1996) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

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Yngwie Malmsteen brought back his first three singers for his next album which was a tribute album of all the songs that inspired Yngwie to do what he does. The aptly titled, ‘Inspiration’, is his ninth studio album and was released on October 14, 1996. The album charted in Finland and in Sweden but nowhere else that I can find. It did go Gold in Japan selling over 100,000 copies. It has been reissued a couple times over the years, but my copy is the original Japanese released on Pony Canyon from 1996 with OBI strip and booklet written all in Japanese.

The singers on the album are Joe Lynn Turner, Mark Boals and the reason we are here, Jeff Scott Soto. If you remember after ‘Marching Out’ when Jeff left the band yet again, I told you he would pop back in the Yngwie Universe. Joe and Jeff get 3 songs each while Mark gets 4 on the album. Yngwie even handles the vocals on one song which give us the 11 songs in total. The Japanese Edition that I has a bonus track that gives us 11 tracks in total. The normal release of the album only had 10 tracks.

Surprisingly, there are no instrumentals for Yngwie to show off which I think is pretty mature of him. There isn’t a lot of variety as we get 5 Richie Blackmore songs with 4 from Deep Purple and one from Rainbow. We also are treated to 2 Jimi Hendrix tracks. The remaining 4 tracks are from Kansas, U.K., Scorpions and Rush. But based off these tracks, he was influenced by a lot of guitarists and bands so many others were as well. Who doesn’t love Richie Blackmore or Jimi Hendrix.

The album opens with a cover of Kansas and their hit “Carry On Wayward Son” and wouldn’t you know that Jeff Scott Soto is also first up with the vocals. The song sounds like it should, but the riffs you know from the original are not on here as Yngwie changes them to suit Yngwie. Even the solo is all his own. Jeff handles the vocals with no problem. There are great harmonies and Jeff stuck with how the song should be done. He saves the song from veering too far off the rails.

Joe Lynn Turner handles the reins on “Pictures of Home” which is a Deep Purple cover off ‘Machine Head’. Turner is an impressive vocalist so no issue with the vocals on this one. And this isn’t even his best performance on the album. The guitar riffs are fast, frenzied and frantic as only Yngwie can. If you only heard the guitar, you would never guess this was a Deep Purple track. Now, the Yngwie bass playing on this one is badass and one of my favorite parts. The ending of the song is a crazy keyboard instrumental with some guitar thrown in. Very cool and helped make the song better.

“Gates of Bablyon” has a killer opening with its Indian style sitar work and then when Jeff jumps in, the song is taken up a notch. This might be the best vocal performance on the whole album. He has that raspiness at times that really adds some texture to the song. At the same time, his vocals simply soar. He does Ronnie James Dio proud with this Rainbow cover. Yngwie’s guitar playing is over-the-top for the song, but still really smokes. I actually don’t mind it all. And his picking at the end, sensational. The sum of this songs parts are what makes it one of the best songs on the album.

Yngwie now takes turns on the vocals with The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s own “Manic Depression”. The groove on this one is simply sweet. Wrapped around that groove are little guitar fills that add some layers. Now, Yngwie isn’t the best singer, but neither was Jimi. I think he holds his own here and his guitar parts aren’t too flashy and actually fit the song pretty well. They keep great song is still being great.

I don’t remember the band U.K., but hearing the song, I remember it. “In the Dead of Night” sees Mark Boals get his first vocals on a song. The song opens with some keyboards, guitar fills and then a solid beat that propels the song forward. Mark’s voice sounds great. The higher pitched of the three singers. Very melodic and when he hits the chorus, they hit that sweet spot and sound so good. About half way through the song, we get the guitar solo and it is very tasteful and plays for the song. It is nice to see Yngwie play reservedly sometimes and show us that he isn’t one-dimensional.

“Mistreated” is the final of the three Soto songs and this bluesy treat sees Jeff pull out his best David Coverdale from the Deep Purple years. What I love is that they left the blues aspect of this song as it gets a little down, dirty and nasty with that riff. But Yngwie, being Yngwie, throws in some wild, extra-curricular riffs. And it works. The solo is not as restrained as the last song, but it isn’t over-the-top either. A nice mixture of both that still sounds like the original, simply some extra flair thrown in for good measure. Soto has no missteps on his three songs, even if I’m extremely biased towards him…it is still true.

“The Sails of Charon” is the only Scorpions cover and I the do keep to the feel and vibe of the original with the main groove, but the riffs are all Yngwie. Wild, crazy and blistering fast. Does that hurt the song? Yeah, it does a little as it is a favorite of mine as far as early Scorpions goes. Uli is missed on this one. Mark Boals is back and he is trying his best Klaus Meine and he does a great job. At times, he sounds a little like him. I might have preferred more of sounding like himself, but I’ll take it. The solo here starts off while Mark is letting a long, drawn out scream. Yngwie attacks the frets at break-neck speed. Flashy and wild. Not a bad song, but not the best on the album.

Yet another Deep Purple cover is upon us with “Demon’s Eye”. Joe Lynn Turner is back this time around. Man, what a voice he has. He seems to be the main focus on this one and I love it. The groove on this one is solid, as good as the original. The solo is again, tasteful. I do like it when he shows he can rein it in for the song.

“Anthem” is up next and we are finally to the Rush song. I’ve been waiting for this one. Anders Johansson is the drummer on this one (and all the songs) and let me tell you he does a great job. Not an easy one to play. The guitar playing by Yngwie is as flamboyant as he is at times. Some really cool effects and some pure mastery at times. Mark Boals is back and he is a chameleon with his vocals. He sounds so different then the last track he was on. Might be his best performance on the album here. The guitar solo is wildly entertaining and so Yngwie. The energy around this song is electric and another favorite on the album.

The final track on the original album is a Deep Purple song…go figure. This time it is “Child In Time” and has Mark on the vocals. A great opening on the keyboards by David Rosenthal to open the track. It was nice to see him not try to duplicate Jon Lord (can’t be done). Mark starts off with a reserved vocal before he goes all crazy and delivers the screams that this song requires. It is good, not Ian Gillan good, but Mark does a respectable job. I guess we should mention Yngwie as it is his album. His solo is what you’d expect some resemblance to the original, but lots of dashes of his style thrown in for flavor. The solo is long and explosive and so Yngwie. And sometimes, that is a good thing.

“Spanish Castle Magic” by The Jimi Hendrix Experience is the Japanese Bonus Track. Like “Manic Depression” it captures that Hendrix Experience sound. Joe Lynn is on vocals and does a respectable job. Yngwie keeps to the spirit of the song and throws in his style to make it his own as best he could. To be honest, I’m not a fan of any covers of this song. Ace Frehley tried to do it and I didn’t like that one either. It isn’t a bad cover, the song doesn’t do anything for me. But you’d probably like it as this is not my personal taste.

Track Listing:

  1. Carry On Wayward Son (Kansas Cover) – Keeper
  2. Pictures of Home (Deep Purple Cover) – Keeper
  3. Gates of Babylon (Rainbow Cover) – Keeper
  4. Manic Depression (The Jimi Hendrix Experience Cover) – Keeper
  5. In the Dead of Night (U.K. Cover) – Keeper
  6. Mistreated (Deep Purple Cover) – Keeper
  7. The Sails of Charon (Scorpions Cover – Keeper (1/2 Point)
  8. Demon’s Eyes (Deep Purple Cover)  – Keeper
  9. Anthem (Rush Cover) – Keeper
  10. Child In Time (Deep Purple Cover) – Keeper
  11. Spanish Castle Magic (The Jimi Hendrix Experience Cover) (Japanese Bonus Track) – Delete

The Track Score is 9.5 out of 11 Tracks or 86%.  I have to say, I liked this way more than I thought I would. I can see how Yngwie’s style can get tiresome, but he did hold back on some songs and let loose on others which kept it interesting. The songs themselves are all awesome so great song choices too.  The vocalist?  I mean you have Mark Boals, Joe Lynn Turner and Jeff Scott Soto, what is there not to like. They all did a great job. I think Mark has come in to his own, Joe is a legend and the most seasoned of the bunch and Jeff is nothing but sensational as usual. Rarely does he not sound good to my ears.  Songs like “Anthem” and “Gates of Babylon” are worth the price of this album alone and the rest of the songs just make it that much better.  My Overall Score is a 4.0 out of 5.0 Stars.  Again, this one surprised me how much I liked it.  And to get three songs from Jeff I didn’t have before, that is just icing on the cake. 

THE JEFF SCOTT SOTO SERIES:

  1. Panther – ‘Panther’ (1986) – recorded in 1984
  2. Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force – ‘Rising Force’ (1984)
  3. Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force – ‘Marching Out’ (1985)
  4. Kuni – ‘Lookin’ For Action’ (1988)
  5. Kryst the Conqueror – ‘Deliver Us From Evil’ (1989) / ‘Soldiers of Light: The Complete Recordings (2019)
  6. Eyes – ‘Eyes’ (1990)
  7. Eyes – “Nobody Said It Was Easy” (1990) – 7″ Single – Bonus Edition
  8. Talisman – ‘Talisman’ (1990)
  9. Talisman – “I’ll Be Waiting” (1990) – 7″ Single – Bonus Edition
  10. Skrapp Mettle – ‘Sensitive’ (1991)
  11. Axel Rudi Pell – ‘Eternal Prisoner’ (1992)
  12. Bakteria – ‘Deficate! Suffocate! Mutilate! Masturbate!’ (1992 / 2009)
  13. Eyes – ‘Windows of the Soul’ (1993)
  14. Talisman – ‘Genesis’ (1993)
  15. Axel Rudi Pell – ‘The Ballads’ (1993)
  16. Biker Mice From Mars – ‘Biker Mice From Mars (Soundtrack)’ (1993)
  17. Takara – ‘Eternal Faith’ (1993)
  18. Talisman – ‘5 Out Of 5 (Live in Japan)’ (1994)
  19. Talisman – ‘Humanimal’ (1994)
  20. Axel Rudi Pell – ‘Between the Walls’ (1994)
  21. Gary Schutt – ‘Sentimetal’ (1994)
  22. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Love Parade’ (1994)
  23. Eyes – ‘November Mass / Full Moon’ (1994)
  24. Axel Rudi Pell – ‘Made in Germany (Live)’ (1995)
  25. Takara – ‘Taste of Heaven’ (1995)
  26. Talisman – ‘Life’ (1995)
  27. Jeff Scott Soto, Gary Schutt, Michael Voss, Neal Grusky – ’24th of June: Alive ‘N Kissing’ (1995)
  28. Axel Rudi Pell – ‘Black Moon Pyramid’ (1996)
  29. Human Clay – ‘Human Clay’ (1996)
  30. Talisman – ‘Besterious’ (1996)
  31. Talisman – ‘Best of’ (1996)
  32. Yngwie Malmsteen – ‘Inspiration’ (1996)
  33. Axel Rudi Pell – ‘Magic’ (1997)
  34. Human Clay – ‘U4IA’ (1997)
  35. Boogie Knights – ‘Welcome to the Jungle Boogie’ (1997)
  36. Takara – ‘Blind in Paradise’ (1998)
  37. Talisman – ‘Truth’ (1998)
  38. Takara – ‘Eternity: The Best of 93-98’ (1998)
  39. ‘Rock Star: Music from the Motion Picture (Soundtrack)’ – Various Artists (2001)
  40. Humanimal – ‘Humanimal’ (2002)
  41. Humanimal – Find My Way Home: Limited Edition E.P. (2002)
  42. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Holding On E.P.’ (2002)
  43. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Prism’ (2002)
  44. Talisman – ‘Live at Sweden Rock Festival’ (2002)
  45. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘JSS Live at the Gods 2002’ (2003)
  46. Talisman – ‘Cats & Dogs’ (2003)
  47. Jeff Scott Soto – The Queen Sessions (2003)
  48. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Believe in Me E.P.’ (2004)
  49. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Lost in the Translation’ (2004)
  50. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Live at the Queen Convention 2003’ (2004)
  51. Soul SirkUS – ‘World Play’ (2004/2005)
  52. Talisman – ‘Five Men Live’ (2005)
  53. Talisman – ‘World’s Best Kept Secret DVD (2005)
  54. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Essential Ballads’ (2006)
  55. Journey – ‘Live from Atlanta (Bootleg)’ (2006)
  56. Talisman – ‘7’ (2006)
  57. Talisman – The Albums Ranked Worst to First
  58. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘B-Sides’ (2006)
  59. Redlist – ‘Ignorance’ (2007)
  60. Jeff Scott Soto – LA Rocks Demo / Vinnie Vincent Demo 1988 (2008)
  61. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Beautiful Mess’ (2009)
  62. Jeff Scott Soto – “21st Century” / “Gin & Tonic Sky” CD Single (2009) – Bonus Edition
  63. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘One Night in Madrid’ (2009)
  64. Trans-Siberian Orchestra – ‘Night Castle’ (2009)
  65. W.E.T. – ‘W.E.T.’ (2009)
  66. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Live at Firefest 2008’ (2010)
  67. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Damage Control’ (2012)
  68. W.E.T. – ‘Rise Up’ (2013)
  69. W.E.T. – ‘One Live in Stockholm’ (2014)
  70. Jeff Scott Soto – The Authorized Biography (2014)
  71. SOTO – ‘Inside the Vertigo’ (2015)
  72. Joel Hoekstra’s 13 – Dying to Live (2015)
  73. Talisman – ‘Live in Stockholm’ (2015)
  74. SOTO – ‘Divak’ (2016)
  75. Sons of Apollo – ‘Psychotic Symphony’ (2017)
  76. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Retribution’ (2017)
  77. W.E.T. – ‘Earthrage’ (2018)
  78. SOTO – ‘Origami’ (2019)
  79. Sons of Apollo – ‘Live With the Plovdiv Psychotic Symphony’ (2019)
  80. Sons of Apollo – ‘MMXX’ (2020)
  81. Talisman – “Never Die (A Song For Marcel)” – 7″ Single (2020)
  82. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Live and Loud in Milan 2019’ (2020)
  83. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Wide Awake (In My Dreamland)’ (2020)
  84. SOTO – ‘Revision’ (2020)
  85. Octavision – ‘Coexist’ (2020)
  86. W.E.T. – ‘Retransmission’ (2021)
  87. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘The Duets Collection, Vol. 1’ (2021)
  88. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Complicated’ (2022)
  89. Jeff Scott Soto – The Solo Albums Ranked Worst to First
  90. Ellefson-Soto – ‘Vacation in the Underworld’ (2022)
  91. Slam – Slam (2023)
  92. Art of Anarchy – ‘Let There Be Anarchy’ (2024)
  93. D’Luna – ‘Monster’ (2024)
  94. W.E.T. – ‘Apex’ (2025)
  95. Ellefson-Soto – ‘Unbreakable’ (2025)
  96. Jeff Scott Soto – ALL THE ALBUMS Ranked Worst to First
  97. Jeff Scott Soto / Jason Bieler – Live In Concert (2022) – Bonus Edition
  98. Jeff Scotto Soto / Jason Bieler – Live in Concert (2023) – Bonus Edition

The Collection: Ep. 76 – David Coverdale on Vinyl (Deep Purple to Whitesnake)

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This week, we are going to explore my David Coverdale Collection on vinyl. We will start with his time with Deep Purple and go through the Whitesnake collection as well as any solo and side projects. I’ll even throw in some bootlegs and 12″ Singles. It is all things Coverdale for this episode as he is one of my favorite Rock & Roll Singers and I think I have enough stuff to go through that I think you’ll enjoy!!

So go check it out as it will be live tonight, October 6, 2025 at 7pm. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.

Friday New Releases – August 29, 2025

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The big winner this week in new releases will be Sabrina Carpenter. I know that is the only release that matters to my daughters. For me, the only release I care about is Bryan Adams new one “Roll With The Punches”. I am sure there is at least one person I know that will dive in to The Beaches album. 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 great weekend!!

  • Sabrina Carpenter – Man’s Best Friend – (Island Records / UMG)
  • Bryan Adams – Roll With The Punches – (Badams Music Ltd) – Digital only – Physical release is next week
  • The Hives – The Hives Forever Forever The Hives – (Play It Again Sam)
  • Belinda Carlisle – Once Upon A Time In California – (Puglady)
  • The Beaches – No Hard Feelings – (AWAL Recordings)
  • The Beths – Straight Line Was a Lie – (ANTI)
  • Funkadelic – Funkadelic – (Org Music)
  • Deep Purple – Rapture of the Deep (20th Anniversary Remix) – (Edel Germany / earMusic)
Continue reading “Friday New Releases – August 29, 2025” →

Friday New Releases – August 15, 2025

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Do we have some stellar stuff for you this week…Well…I hope we do. There are a couple I am super excited about with the new Will Hoge and the new Jeff Scott Soto release, Ellefson Soto, that has him and David Ellefson together again for their 2nd album. Both on pre-order. There is a new Chevelle album, new Maroon 5 and even the new Deluxe Edition for Van Halen’s Balance…yeah, I have that on pre-order too. Let meknow what you want to hear this week. I know I’ll be busy. Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

  • Will Hoge – Sweet Misery – (Edlo Records)
  • Ellefson Soto – Unbreakable – (Rat Pak Records)
  • Chevelle – Bright As Blasphemy – (Alchemy Recordings / BMG)
  • Maroon 5 – Love is Like – (Interscope Records)
  • Van Halen – Balance (Expanded Edition) – (Rhino Records / Warner Records)
  • As December Falls – Everything’s On Fire But I’m Fine – (As December Falls)
  • Deep Purple – Made In Japan (Steven Wilson Remix) – (Purpletuity Ltd / Rhino Records)
  • Rise Against – Ricochet – (Loma Vista Recordings / Concord)
Continue reading “Friday New Releases – August 15, 2025” →

Friday New Releases – July 19, 2024

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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)
Continue reading “Friday New Releases – July 19, 2024” →

Whitesnake – ‘Live at Hammersmith’ (1980) – Album Review (The David Coverdale Series)

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I was watching Tim’s Vinyl Confessions a few week’s back and they were going through their Whitesnake vinyl and one of the guys had a Japanese Edition of Whitesnake’s ‘Live at Hammersmith’ and I don’t think I had seen it before. So, after the show ended, I went to Discogs and bought it from someone in Japan. I received a week later…yes, only a week from Japan. Heck, I can’t get things from the next town over that fast. And it lived up to expectations and then some. I mean just look at the cover with the deep rich green snake and the back cover is just as cool. This might be my favorite Whitesnake cover ever! It is so awesome.

‘Live at Hammersmith’ was recorded on November 23, 1978 at The Hammersmith Odeon in London. The album was only released in Japan back in November 1980 as a single disc vinyl. I say single disc vinyl, because this album is actually the 2nd LP on the 2LP edition of ‘Live…in the Heart of the City’. I don’t have the two LP version of that album. I have the single version which is the 1st LP which was recored in 1980 on June 23/24 at The Hammersmith Odeon in London as well. You can read that review at the links at the bottom of the page.

Continue reading “Whitesnake – ‘Live at Hammersmith’ (1980) – Album Review (The David Coverdale Series)” →

‘Glenn Hughes The Autobiography: From Deep Purple to Black Country Communion’ by Glenn Hughes & Joel McIver – Book Review

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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.

Axel Rudi Pell – ‘The Ballads’ (1993) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

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After Jeff Scott Soto had finished his vocals on the ‘Eternal Prisoner’ album for Axel Rudi Pell, he went back to the states to continue to work with his band Slam. Then it was on to work on the next Talisman album ‘Genesis’. But his obligations weren’t done with Axel. Axel wanted to do an album full of nothing but ballads so Jeff was brought back in April 1993 to finish up some work on several songs to be included on the album. Jeff was only on 4 of the 10 songs, two were instrumentals, two from Rob Rock with one from Karl Holthaus both previous singers of Axel’s.

The album was released on September 7, 1993 and I guess it was successful as Axel did a total of five of these Ballad compilations. ‘The Ballads’ release had a mixture of previously released tracks, some previously unreleased tracks and even a couple covers. It is a lot of ballads to have on an album. It caused a mixture of reactions. Some metal fans were turned off because the album was nothing but ballads, however, you had a section of non-metal people that were now introduced to Axel’s music because it was all ballads. Heck it was the ballads that probably brought a lot of women in to the Glam music scene anyway…that and the fact they wanted to know the secrets on how the guys got their hair so big and poofy. But lets talk about the music instead of the hair.

“You Want Love” opens the album and was one of the new tracks recorded by Jeff Scott Soto for this release. Opens with acoustic guitars and then Soto comes in singing in a soft falsetto. The chorus brings harmonies and the bass and drum. From here on out, the tempo stays relatively consistent. Jeff does sound great, I’ll give him that, but the song is a little dull as it is too same-same sounding throughout. Even the solo is a little lifeless and boring.

Continue reading “Axel Rudi Pell – ‘The Ballads’ (1993) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)” →

Friday New Releases – November 26, 2021

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Welcome to Black Friday and like almost every Friday, there is a ton of new music. Well, regular releases there are only a handful as it is a Holiday. However, this is also Black Friday RSD 2021! That means there are ton of vinyl releases available at your locally independent record store and that list is at the bottom. The normal Friday releases are below. There is really only one this week I am interested in hearing and that one is in Bold below. Let me know what you are interested in and what we may have missed. Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope all my U.S. readers had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know I did.

  • 91z8JzzkTBL._AC_UY436_FMwebp_QL65_  Smith/Kotzen – Better Days E.P. – (BMG Rights): Adrian Smith of Iron Maiden and Richie Kotzen of well, Richie Kotzen are back together again. Sadly, this time we only get an E.P. instead of a full album, but these two powerhouses are worth any little bit. I can’t wait to hear what they have in store for us.

And that is it for me this week. A couple of these I might try when I find the time. I hope you find a few you want to hear…

  • A1f-3oyIBHL._AC_UL640_FMwebp_QL65_  Black Label Society – Doom Crew Inc. – (Panworkz / Entertainment One)
Continue reading “Friday New Releases – November 26, 2021” →

Friday New Releases – October 29, 2021

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Welcome to the last New Release Friday of October. This weekend is Halloween and what are the treats in store for you. There are around 50 releases this week so I would say that is a pretty nice treat for everyone. Two of the ones I have on order and will hopefully arrive soon so I can spin them and one is one I am sure I will hear because of my kids plus I am interested in hearing it anyway. My choices are in Bold. Let me know if the releases this week are a treat or a trick and let us know what else is out this week that I may have missed. Thanks, as always, for stopping by and I hope everyone has a frighteningly great weekend!!

  • 81ZlVjaHANL._AC_UY436_FMwebp_QL65_  Whitesnake – Restless Heart Super Deluxe Edition – (Rhino Records): One thing David Coverdale does well is how to put together a fantastic box set. He has hit it out of the park with ‘Slide it In’, ’87 and with Slip of the Tongue, now it is time for the next in the series, “Restless Heart”. This underrated album and often overlooked album gets the super deluxe treatment and you will get a remastering, unreleased and demos as well as a live show and it will all be amazing as usual! Mine is out for delivery and should be here today!!
  • 91-5WZba9NL._AC_UY436_FMwebp_QL65_  John 5 & the Creatures – Sinner – (John 5 / Big Machine Label Group): John 5 is probably my favorite guitarist out there right now. Whether it is his solo work, his work with Rob Zombie or his noodling around on instagram, he is nothing short of amazing. I am sure we will get more rock, metal and bluegrass with this release like we do and I couldn’t be happier about that. I have a signed copy of this on its way to the house very soon. Can’t wait!!
Continue reading “Friday New Releases – October 29, 2021” →