Happy Friday and we have a ton of releases for you today including some really big names like Teddy Swim, Kane Brown, Eric Clapton and The Weeknd to name a few. There is nothing really for me this week…I might tryout Larkin Poe’s new one but that is probably it. 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.
Kane Brown – The High Road – (Sony Music Nashville)
Eric Clapton – Meanwhile – (Surfdog / Eric Clapton)
Larkin Poe – Bloom – (Tricki Woo)
Teddy Swims – I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy: Part 2 – (Warner Records)
The Weeknd — Hurry Up Tomorrow – (XO Records/Republic)
This is not a side project, the band has made that clear and one way to prove that Sons of Apollo is a band is to tour and they did. But the show they decided to record wasn’t just a tour show, Nope! It was so much more. And it needed to be. They needed to capture the true essence of what this band is about and I have to say, I believe they did that and then some. They recorded the show back on September 22, 2018 at The Ancient Roman Amphitheater in Plovdiv Bulgaria and what a beautiful setting it is. Worthy of the Sons of the God Apollo. And the show couldn’t just be the band playing, Nope. It needed a little something extra so they brought in the Plovdiv Orchestra and a choir nicely named for this show as the Psychotic Symphony. This isn’t a band playing their songs with a symphony like so many bands, this is different, fresh and exciting.
You get it all packaged in a 3 CD set, that is right…3 CDs cover the whole entire show. Over 2 1/2 hours of rock & roll & prog bliss!! And if that isn’t enough, they throw in a DVD of the entire show as well. And the DVD is really where it is at in my book. Listening to the CD is great and you will enjoy the show, but when you watch it live and see these guys in action, Holy Shit!! These guys can play and they put on a master class of what musicianship really is. With Jeff Scott Soto on vocals, Mike Portnoy and drums, Derek Sherinian on Keyboards, Billy Sheehan on bass and Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal on guitar, these are some of the best in the field and they show you how it is done.
The roots of Sons of Apollo stem back to the band Dream Theater as both Derek Sherinian and Mike Portnoy were once members. They both left Dream Theater (Sherinian fired in 1999 and Portnoy left in 2010) and eventually teamed back up for a short-lived instrumental project called PSMS with Billy Sheehan and Tony MacAlpine. Billy had played with Mike in the band The Winery Dogs. Eventually, Derek, Mike and Billy decided to make it a full time band (not a project) and they started Sons of Apollo. They needed a guitarist and Mike suggest Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal because why not, he’s fantastic. They also needed a singer and Mike suggested Jeff Scott Soto as his band had opened for The Winery Dogs and I am guessing Mike was impressed. The band was complete and ready to go.
The band recorded in only 10 days as their schedules were busy. They were produced by the dynamic duo called The Del Fuvio Brothers. What? You never heard of them…well…it is the nickname that both Derek and Mike had while in Dream Theater so they used that as the Producer name since they both produced the album. The band’s sound is a pinch of early Dream Theater and a dab of pure Classic Rock. Musically, the songs were written mostly by Portnoy and Sherinian with help from Bumblefoot and Billy. Soto handled most of the lyrics, but there was input Sherinian and Portnoy on a lot of the songs as well. It was a team effort (led by Derek & Mike).
The cover art work on the album was handled by Mike Portnoy. He had the vision. It was going to be two lions facing each other, but Derek suggested that his lion be an eagle and you can see it holding the keyboard while the lion is holding the drumsticks. There is a crown with a bunch of Bumblefoot and Billy’s headstocks form their guitar and bass behind it. I am not sure what part represents Soto. Is it the crown because he is the king of vocals or are the 3 spikes in the center actually pipes which would represent his vocal pipes? I don’t know, I’m making things up as I go along. The album title comes from the song “Lost in Oblivion” which has the line ‘Psychotic Symphony” in one of the verses. The album was released on October 20, 2017 to much critical acclaim and was a resounding success.
Finally!! A week where there is a ton of music I want to hear. There are over 20 releases that I felt were worth mentioning, but I am sure there are a bunch more that I don’t have so let me know in the comments what I may have missed that you think the people should know. Frontiers Records has a big release day with at least 6 releases which honestly I think is way too many for a record company to release on the same day. I don’t feel it is fair to your artist to spread the support so thin and definitely not to the fans who can’t afford to buy all those albums at one time. I personally think you should re-think that strategy. Enough of that talk, my choices are highlighted in Blue. Tell me what you want to hear this week. Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!!
W.E.T. – Retransmission – (Frontiers Records): Now here is a band I think everyone should listen to this week. It has the great Robert Sall (Work of Art), Erik Martensson (Eclipse) and Jeff Scott Soto (Talisman) bringing you the name W.E.T. This is the band’s fourth and I think they keep getting better. What I thought would be only 1 album, now has a pretty decent catalog. I am a huge fan of Soto’s voice and even Martensson has a great voice. This is melodic rock at its finest.
The Dead Daisies – Holy Ground – (Universal): I really enjoyed this band with John Corabi as lead singer, but he is no longer there. Now they have a new singer who is none other than the Voice of Rock, Glenn Hughes, who I love. I am eager to listen to this to see what they got with Glenn at the helm. This album was supposed to come out right around when Covid hit if I’m not mistaken so I am glad to finally dive in.
Rock fans rejoice!! There are an abundance of rock records out today. There are a variety of other genres as well including a Barry Manilow release, but ROCK is KING today for me. My favorites to listen to are highlighted in Blue. There will be more on the list I am interested in, but will get listened to whenever I have time. I hope there is something here for you! Happy Friday and Happy Listening!!
Crazy Lixx – Ruff Justice – (Frontiers Records SRL): The Swedish “Hair” Metal band is back with a new line-up after losing their major songwriter, Andy Zata. After hearing the first song, they still sound the same bringing us loud rock & roll. Hoping for more of the same on the rest of the album.
Thunder – Rip It Up – (Earmusic): English band, Thunder, is bringing us their 11th studio album. They came about in 1990 right when the 80’s rock was dying out and missed out on being a huge band. They have been going strong (off and on) since and I am looking forward to another great release from Danny Bowes and company.
Kane Brown – The High Road – (Sony Music Nashville)
Eric Clapton – Meanwhile – (Surfdog / Eric Clapton)
Larkin Poe – Bloom – (Tricki Woo)
Teddy Swims – I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy: Part 2 – (Warner Records)
The Weeknd — Hurry Up Tomorrow – (XO Records/Republic)
Thin Lizzy — Acoustic Sessions – (Universal Music)
Joey McIntyre – Freedom – (Bowen Arrow Productions)
2 Loud 2 Old Music 