As we end another month, it is time to go back and see what 2 Loud 2 Old Music added to the collection. This is October 2024 and we have vinyl, CDs and even a book. So much to go through including a ton of Noble Record Exclusives and Test Pressings as well as another addition to the Rock Candy collection, the Kiss collection and 2 Box Set collections. Lots of great albums to go though and show for this month so I hope you enjoy the show!!
So go check it out as it will be live tonight right now, October 28, 2024 at 8pm. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.
And here is everything in case you can’t watch the video…
Kiss and their label are know for releasing a ton of greatest hits compilations as you have seen over the last few months from what I’ve posted. And we’ve barely scratched the surface. I have another one for you and this one is was released on August 27, 2002. It is called ‘The Very Best of Kiss’ and you get 21 songs. There is nothing new, unreleased or anything special about these songs. They are all taken from the albums they represent with the exception of “Detroit Rock City” which is the edited version but it is from ‘Double Platinum’ and has been released before. Basically, there is really no reason to buy this one.
It is not well representative of their whole career as we only get 3 songs from the 80’s and 1 from the 90’s and that is it. We also only get 1 song from the solo albums and that is Ace’s “New York Groove”. The 70’s heyday is what is mostly represented here and if you want that era, get the ‘Gold’ compilation we mentioned awhile back as it is splendid. You do get a lot of band members represented as we have songs with Gene Simmons, Paul Stanely, Ace Frehley, Peter Criss, Eric Carr, Vinnie Vincent, Bruce Kulick and Eric Singer. No Mark St. John nor Tommy Thayer though. The album did chart at #52 on the Billboard 200 album chart and it did go Gold in the U.S., but otherwise nothing special. And with that, let’s get in to the music.s
The album kicks off with the song “Strutter” from the debut album. The song was written by both Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons and over the years, this would be a rare experience as they would wind up writing songs by themselves. The music of the song was based off an old Gene song called “Stanley the Parrot” which was recorded even before there was a Wicked Lester.
As we end another month, it is time to go back and see what 2 Loud 2 Old Music added to the collection. This is September 2024 and we have vinyl, CDs and a brand new 7″ Single. So much to go through including a Noble Record Exclusives and to top that off we have another addition to the Rock Candy, the Kiss collection and a Box Set collection. Lots of great albums to go though and show for this month so I hope you enjoy the show!!
So go check it out as it will be live tonight right now, September 30, 2024 at 8pm. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.
Judas Priest originally was signed to Gull Records for their first two albums. They moved on from them and when Priest started getting big in 1980 with ‘British Steel’ and before their next album in 1981 ‘Point of Entry’, the label decided to capitalize on that rise in popularity and released a greatest hits compilation called ‘Hero, Hero’. The songs on the compilation were from both ‘Rocka Rolla’ (1974) and ‘Sad Wings of Destiny’ (1976). Actually it was all of ‘Rocka Rolla’ and only 6 songs from ‘Sad Wings’. What made it interesting though was that the songs from ‘Rocka Rolla’ had been remixed in 1981 by Rodger Bain and so was the song ‘Diamonds and Rust’.
The compilation I have on CD is a re-issue under the Koch Records label. What makes it different is that the songs from ‘Rocka Rolla’ are not the remixed songs. They are actually the original versions from the album. So, it is not quite as collectible as the original 1981 issue. However, the “Diamonds and Rust” song is still the remixed I believe. Instead of doing the songs in order from the original albums, they have altered the listing a little. The band is Rob Halford, K.K. Downing, Glenn Tipton and Ian Hill. There are two drummers since they changed so frequently. You get John Hinch and Alan Moore.
The opener is “Prelude” which is an instrumental opening and actually has no correlation to the next track “Tyrant”. It is done in a baroque style with piano and a lot of tom tom drums. There is some guitar, but not much worth noting. It really seems completely unnecessary and very skippable. “Tyrant” opens with a killer riff and explodes with full on energy. This is the Priest I was always expecting. Hard, heavy and full on metal bleeding from its soul. Halford’s vocals are spot on and I love the layered on vocals of his in the chorus. The guitar work between Downing and Tipton is what it is all about. They way those two play-off each other is unbeatable. I could listen to those two battle all day.
“Rocka Rolla” is more upbeat and has several little solos by Downing and Tipton does the outro. It even has some harmonica played by Halford. Another blues track, but more upbeat and rocking then the opener and another great track.
As we end another month, it is time to go back and see what 2 Loud 2 Old Music added to the collection. This is August 2024 and we have vinyl, CDs and even some 7″ Singles. So much to go through including not one…not two…but four Noble Record Exclusives and or Label records. And to top that off we have another addition to the Rock Candy, the Kiss collection and now starting a Box Set collection. We even hit up a big $5 CD sale at MNRK Records. So much to show for this month so I hope you enjoy the show!!
So go check it out as it will be live tonight right now, September 2, 2024 at 8pm. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.
I know, I know. I’ve done a lot of Kiss compilations lately. Hopefully, you have it in you for another one. This one is a little different then the others, believe it or not. It is a 4 CD set called ‘Ikons’ and it contains one CD for each member of the band. That is right. The songs on each CD are sung by the band member the CD is named after. Funny thing is, growing up, I would do the exact same thing. I would make a cassette, or later CDs, that were band member specific. The Ace and Peter ones were easy as they barely had enough songs to make a CD. However, Gene’s and Paul’s were more difficult as they had a lot more to choose from.
The ‘Ikon’ box set came out on October 21, 2008 and was included in a gatefold case that folded out to have 5 sections. It also came with a slip cover to go over it. It contained a different image then what was on the case itself which is awesome. You get a picture of each band member along with a slot for each members album specifically designed for each member with their famous ‘icon’ stamped on it. It was a nicely put together set. Each Disc contains 14 tracks so you do the math on how many songs you get (don’t forget to carry the one).
Between 2002-2008, The record labels in control of the Kiss Catalog released not one, not two, heck not even 3 Greatest Hit Compilations. Nope. They released a total of 7 greatest hits compilations spread over those years. I am sure there are more, I just haven’t found them yet. Over the last few weeks, we have been through a bunch of them and hopefully this is the last one for a little while. At least until I find more…which I will. As far as compilations go, this one is worth taking notice. Let me explain.
Originally this was released in 2004 as part of the KISS Sound and Vision box set. This set was released on January 11, 2005 and is a 2 CD Set called ‘Gold’. The label for this one was Universal Music Corporation. This set covers the make-up years from 1974 up to 1982…except it doesn’t include anything from ‘Creatures of the Night’. The 1982 in reference here is for the ‘Killers’ compilation. There are 20 songs per disc which means we get a handful of releases from almost every album with some minor exceptions. There is at least one from every release though (except maybe Double Platinum. If you want a comp that gives you the best coverage of the make-up era, I don’t know if you can do better than this.
DISC 1:
Kiss (1974): The representation of the debut album is strong as it gives you five tracks:
The album kicks off with the song “Strutter”. The song was written by both Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons and over the years, this would be a rare experience as they would wind up writing songs by themselves. The music of the song was based off an old Gene song called “Stanley the Parrot” which was recorded even before there was a Wicked Lester.
On November 21, 2006, Kiss and their label released the first collection of all the Alive! albums in the band’s catalog. It was called Kiss Alive! 1975-2000. I really great idea to get them all in one set. And what makes this special is that it is the first release of what was supposed to be Kiss Alive IV, Alive! The Millennium Concert from 2000. Their label got swallowed up and it was shelved. As you now know, ‘Symphony’ was released as Alive IV.
The Box Set had four CDs, one for each show, ‘Alive!’, ‘Alive II’, ‘Alive III’ and Alive! The Milllennium Concert’. There are also a couple of bonus tracks included in the set. The set came in a multi-layered cardboard fold out box and there was a cool feature. Each CD was housed in a the normal plastic shell, but behind each disc, was a live shot from each of the respective shows. The set also included a 72-page booklet.
DISC 1:
‘ALIVE!’ (1975)
‘Alive!’ was recorded over four stops on the Dressed to Kill Tour. You had May 16 at Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan, naturally; June 21 at Cleveland Music Hall in Cleveland, Ohio; July 20 at RKO Orpheum Theater in Davenport, Iowa; and July 23 at Wildwoods Convention Center in Wildwood, New Jersey. With four shows recorded, they could piece together a perfect live album…well…maybe not!
Kiss is notorious for releasing Greatest Hits compilations and it is both the band and the label responsible for that travesty. Don’t get me wrong, they have a ton of great songs so a few greatest hits compilations are probably necessary. However, this is not one of them even though this one is a little different. On either October 10, 2006 or November 21, 2006, depending on who you believe (Wikipedia shows both dates), the label allowed a third volume in the 20th Century Masters’ Millennium Collection. They released ‘The Best of Kiss: Volume 3 – The Millennium Collection’ and what makes it a little different is that it is only compilation from Kiss that focuses only on their material from the 1990’s. It gets a point for that.
But like Volumes 1 & 2, it is only 12 songs and all are previously released so nothing new here. No remixes, single edits, just album cuts which is easier and cheaper. The look is exactly like the other comps in this set so at least they are consistent. However, the 90’s weren’t the best time for Kiss, they had 3 studio albums and a couple live albums. Not much to work with I’m afraid.
The compilation kicks off with “God Gave Rock And Roll To You II” which is a cover of the Argent song written by Russ Ballard with heavy lyric changes by Paul, Gene and Bob. The song is the first good rock anthem Kiss has done in years and the first in 10 years to have a co-lead vocals with both Gene and Paul. This was from the Bill & Ted Bogus Journey movie and soundtrack as well as from ‘Revenge’. You can get in a multitude of places.
As we end another month, it is time to go back and see what 2 Loud 2 Old Music added to the collection. This is July 2024 and we have vinyl, CDs, Cassettes and even some 7″ Singles I forgot to pull out last month. So much to go through including not one…not two…but three Noble Record Exclusives. And to top that off we have another addition to the Rock Candy and the Kiss collection. And my buddy Deke from The Distortion Den sent me a few CDs as well. So much to show for this month so I hope you enjoy the show!!
So go check it out as it will be live tonight right now, July 29, 2024 at 8pm. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.
2 Loud 2 Old Music 