Turntables & Vinyl #25 – The Alternate Covers

It has been almost two years since I’ve done a Turntables & Vinyl post. And since today is the 2,000th Post on the site, why not do another. 2,000 Posts!! That is insane. I can’t believe I have bored you for that long now and yet you still come back. Thank you for that.

These Turntable & Vinyl post are basically about my collection or interesting things about collecting and this one is about collecting. As far as collecting goes, I haven’t gone down the rabbit hole of getting every variant of an album, but I have found myself, a little unknowingly, picking up duplicate albums with the big difference being they have a completely different album cover. I don’t have a lot, but I am noticing more and more that if I know there is a different album cover, I am now actively looking for it. However, most of the time it has been by utter accident that I found a different cover and didn’t know it existed.

This post is going to show you the handful that I have and then show the ones that I am actively hunting down. But first, why do artist have different album covers in the first place? Most of the time it is simply down to controversy. Some album covers have a little nudity or something offensive that pisses off the wrong people so in order to sell those albums in certain stores a new cover is done. In other parts, it is simply different tastes in different parts of the world. And then it might be a reissue so they change up the cover a little, either way, I think it is cool and so I am now collecting alternate covers.

This is my most recent acquisition and it is from Joe Satriani. The one on the left was the album cover I originally had and all I knew about and it turns out it is the European release cover and the one used in the 1988 reissue. But apparently there was alternate cover because I found the one on the right in a record store in St. Augustine Florida. It really isn’t the alternate cover because I believe it is the original release cover from 1986 and the one i had first was actually the alternate cover. Both are awesome.

Here is another one where I had the alternate cover first, the one on the left, before i had the original cover, the one on the right. The original cover was the UK only release of the original album. The giant snake on the left is the alternate cover for the releases outside of the UK. Not sure why the difference, but both are equally cool.

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August 2022 Purchases – Vinyl, CDs and Books

August is over and so is Summer. School is back in session and it was a very busy month. Between vacation, getting one of my daughters off to college and traveling for work, I didn’t have much record store time. As a result, my selection is rather small compared to some of my months. But doesn’t mean there isn’t enough to show off so lets get in to it.

We will start off with my record shopping while on vacation as I did pick up a few things. First up was a Joe Satriani for the album, ‘Not of this Earth’, which I already have. But I didn’t have this cover. I had never seen this before, so my rule…if you haven’t seen it before, you buy it. And I did…

And that holds true for one my next finds at the same record store. I picked up Kiss’ ‘Psycho Circus’ on CD as it was at the lowest price I’d seen in awhile. Then I saw a maxi-single for “I Was Made For Loving You (Live)” for the Alive III album. I had never seen this before, so I bought it…

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Friday New Releases – April 8, 2022

It is Friday! And you know what that means…New Music!! We have a ton of releases for you this week and there are several I am interested in hearing, I’m not sure about buying them yet, but I will stream them. My choices are in Blue. There is a lot of variety on here so I am sure there will be something for everyone. Let me know what you want to hear and what I may have missed. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a great weekend.

  • 41496fPlhkL._AC_UY436_FMwebp_QL65_  Joe Satriani – The Elephants of Mars – (Edel Music / earMusic): Joe Satriani never has a shortage of new music. This is his 18th Studio album over the last 36 years which is a new one every 2 years. Can’t beat that (unless you are Guided By Voices). I really loved his early albums but the later albums have been a little spotty for me, but he is still one of my favorite guitarists.
  • A1yTLUWrtPL._AC_UY436_FMwebp_QL65_  Papa Roach – Ego Trip – (New Noize Records / ADA Warner Music): Now on their 11 Studio album Papa Roach is back to deliver their brand of rock…which is nu metal, rap rock, hard rock, alt. rock, alt metal or whatever you want to call it. All I know, is they have some great songs so will be happy to add some more to the collection.
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Friday New Releases – April 10th

Happy Friday.  We made it through another week and in today’s world, that is saying something.  As your reward, we have a batch of new releases for you.  And let me tell you, I need this pick me up.  There are a few I am interested in hearing and they are highlighted in Blue as normal.  Let me know what you see that you want to hear or maybe I missed something so let me know.  I hope there is something for you.  Have a great weekend!!!

  • 71HREvVvBmL._SX522_  Joe Satriani – Shapeshifting – (Sony Music);  I love Satriani.  The first guitarist I dug that released his own solo albums. Well, maybe it was Vai and Satriani.  Joe has been pumping out music almost annually and I couldn’t be happier.  I can’t wait to see what he has in store for us this time around.

  • 61Ccbs8LyvL  The Strokes – The New Abnormal – (RCA):  The Strokes are back.  How long has it been? It has been 7 years since their last release.  I am not a huge fan, but I am interested to see what they bring to the table in 2020.  I like garage rock and they were kings for a short time, will they regain the reign…we will see.

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My Sunday Song – “Satch Boogie” by Joe Satriani

For My Sunday Song #122, the instrumental this week is “Satch Boogie” by my favorite guitarist Joe Satriani.  The song is off his 1987 album ‘Surfing With the Alien’. This album was what I would compare all instrumental albums against.  It was how an instrumental album should be and sound.

The songs should be that, songs.  They don’t need to be just showcases of your shredding because that would get old, fast.  The songs should be songs.  They should tell a story, have melodies, a chorus even and just be awesome.  Joe normally does just that.  Makes a song.  And sometimes, he just shows off and this one is him showing off and having fun.  Heck, the name of the song is fun…”Satch Boogie”.  And boogie he does.

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Form the opening light touches of the high-hat to his frantic fret work, it is a shredding good time.  There is technique Joe uses in the song called “pitch axis theory”.  Thanks to wikipedia, it is the following:

Pitch axis theory is a musical technique used in constructing chord progressions. The tonic is used as the bass note, and melodic scales are chosen according to the chords that lie beneath them. “A variety of scales or modesare used, all built around the same tonic pitch.”

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Tuesday’s Memes – Guitar Gods!

I have done a post on guitars, but I will step it up and do one on Guitar Gods because I love the guitar and over the next year I will finally learn to play.  Until then, I will leave this to inspire me.  I hope you enjoy…

Jimi…

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And another Jimmy…

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My Sunday Song – “I Believe” by Joe Satriani

For My Sunday Song #77, I am going with one of my favorite songs by Joe Satriani called “I Believe”.  The song is off one of his best albums called ‘Flying in a Blue Dream’ from 1989.  Joe is known for his guitar playing and making it sing.  Well for this song, Joe is actually singing.  One of the very few songs he has ever done that on which was the first reason I was drawn to this song. It was nice to hear him sing.

The song is a ballad and a much slower pace than you are used to getting from him.  I was enthralled by the dark tone to the song and even the dark lyrics.  The lyrics discussed how hard life is, but it is inspiring to as it was still filled with so much hope.  I will let Joe tell it better from an interview he did with Songfacts.com

“It was a difficult period in my life, where my father was in the process of passing away, and I was struggling with finishing up the Flying in a Blue Dream record. I was actually writing other songs that were instrumental pieces for the album. I’d be taking breaks during those periods, and I’d pick up the acoustic guitar and would start playing music.

There was a big painting in our apartment that a friend of my wife’s had done. She had worked my wife’s face into this figure, and I used to look at that quite a bit when I would take breaks from working on the album. So I wrote a song really about how difficult life is, but how ultimately, you have hope and you can change things for the better. It was really about writing that song and looking at that picture.”

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Friday New Releases – January 12th

Happy New Year and welcome to the first Friday New Releases of 2018.  Why is this the first since it is the 2nd Friday of the new year?  Well, it is the first week with any new releases worth mentioning.  And there are a few worth mentioning…at least for me.  The ones I want are highlighted in Blue.

  • 511sBdx2nNL._AC_US218_  Joe Satriani – What Happens Next – (Sony Music):  The Satch man is back and I couldn’t be happier.  Well, I could if someone sent this to me in CD or vinyl form.  Since that won’t happen, I will stream it for now.  He is my favorite guitarists and I love how is able to make the guitar sing in each song.  He is amazing.  Looking forward to more great stuff especially since this album features Glenn Hughes on Bass and Chad Smith on Drums.  This should be awesome!!

  • 51tYnOokeJL._AC_US218_  Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Wrong Creatures – (Abstract Dragon):  The American rock band out of San Francisco returns for the 8th studio album.  I love their retro, gritty, distorted guitars with a punk edge.  The song I have heard sounds like what I expect and I expect great things!

  • 51HdK4bnAQL._AC_US320_QL65_  Anderson East – Encore – (Elektra Records):  I heard the song “All On My Mind” that was written with Ed Sheeran and I liked what I heard.  Not real familiar with him, but if the album is anything like the song, sounds like it could be great.  Plus, the man is dating Miranda Lambert!!  Damn!!

  • 61wl74tSw7L._AC_US436_QL65_  Dr. Demento Covered in Punk – Various Artists – (Demented Punk):  Ok, I heard the Cramp’s song “Garbageman” performed by William Shatner and it is fucking awesome!!!  Excuse my language, but it is!!!

  • 51eq-HJ-G-L._AC_US436_QL65_  BØRNS – Blue Madonna – (Interscope Records):  I really enjoyed his last album for its uniqueness, his voice and the songs.  I am hoping for a step up with this release.  His music is labeled as many things including indie pop, psychedelic pop, synth pop, electronica pop and alt rock and it is every one of these labels.  Not my usual cup of tea, but I dig it!!

  • 81vupQOdcKL._SX522_  Camila Cabello – Camila – (Simco Ltd)
  • 61pq+-U8L6L._SS500  Bob Marley – Kingston Sessions: Vintage Years – (JA Records)
  • 61d--C0G8ML._AC_US436_QL65_  Tinsley Ellis – Winning Hand – (Alligator Records)
  • 51Y-lsZ6qhL._AC_US436_QL65_  Corrosion of Conformity – No Cross No Crown – (Nuclear Blast Entertainment)
  • 61kb1KK1gSL._AC_US436_QL65_  Leaves’ Eyes – Sign of the Dragonhead – (AFM Records)
  • 61XwZ9-Di1L._SS500  Black Veil Brides – Vale – (Republic Records)

What to Expect for New Music in 2018!

2018 is upon us and 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 2018, but no dates announced yet. The ones I want will be highlighted in Blue.

  • Godsmack
  • Exodus
  • Shinedown
  • Stone Temple Pilots (I know this is coming as they have said)
  • Jack White – Boarding the House Reach
  • Vance Joy
  • The 1975 – Music for Cars
  • Ace Frehley
  • Arctic Monkeys
  • Avatar
  • Avril Lavigne
  • Bastille
  • Borns
  • Bon Jovi
  • Bring Me the Horizon
  • Bullet for My Valentine
  • Celine Dion
  • Charli XCX
  • Cowboy Junkies
  • DevilDriver
  • Echosmith – Inside a Dream

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My Favorite Guitars

 

I have always wanted to learn to play a guitar.  I tried when I was a kid, but I have two big problems. One, I have zero patience and couldn’t understand why I wasn’t great right away.  Two, I am tone deaf and couldn’t tell you a D flat from an A sharp.

So instead, I just listen to a lot of great guitar players and sit in awe of their incredible talent.  I also have a dream of collecting autograph guitars, but I have another problem with that…MONEY!!  Or lack thereof.

If I had all the money in the world, these are the guitars I would go after.

 

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Van Halen – Frankenstrat – Who is not familiar with this iconic guitar?  This could be one of the most recognizable guitars ever made.  You see it, you know that is Van Halen.  A copy of it is even in the National Museum of American History.  This was the guitar from 1979 and their first album.  He has made many different versions of with this look, but if you are going to grab it, get the original.

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