Tag: Paul Laine

My Sunday Song – “Dorianna” by Paul Laine

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For My Sunday Song #411, we are back to me picking the songs after a year of other people picking tracks. This next 10 song set will highlight songs from throughout the career of one of my favorite singers, Paul Laine. He has a new solo album coming out this year, so I figured it was time to celebrate Mr. Laine. We will go through his solo stuff and his work with Danger Danger, The Defiants and so much more. First up is the ballad “Dorianna” off his debut album ‘Stick It In Your Ear” which was produced by the late, great Bruce Fairbairn. The song was released in 1990 and was the first single from the album. The song went to #76 in his home country of Canada, but did not chart down here in the states. And it should’ve had.

The song was written by Paul Laine and seems to talk about the loss of relationship. One filled with promises made and never kept. A heartbreaking look at a love that ended suddenly and he is having a hard time excepting it. He misses her greatly and is holding on now to a memory. He will always love her, but it wasn’t meant to be.

“Dorianna” is the first of several ballads on the album. This ballad brings the power to the power ballad. It opens with the church organ keyboards before Paul’s stunning vocals come softly in with the first verse. He pulls out all the emotion the song requires and you will feel the love he has lost. The guitar work on this is amazing as well and it has a solo that fits the song perfectly. There is a dramatic break towards the end of the song that has some cool keyboard effects accompanying the guitar that take the song over the top and the drums on this thing are so powerful as you feel every beat. Whenever you get to the chorus, you can’t help but scream out her name as well. The song has a great groove and is very catchy and will stick in your head for days.

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What to Expect in New Music for 2024?

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2024 is upon us and it is always fun anticipating what new albums will come out in the year. Since today would normaly be a Friday New Release post, let’s look at the new releases coming our way in 2024. There are quite a few we already know about, but some haven’t been officially announced or even a date set yet.

Last year, there were a few artist I was hoping would release an album that might have or might not have released one.  It is always fun to hope for new music from these bands, but sometimes there are disappointments.  Here are the ones I was hoping to get new albums from last year and what actually happened…

  • Def Leppard – Too soon for a new album, but give us The Collection Vol. 4!!  We still didn’t get The Collection Vol. 4, but we got a new album…sort of. We got ‘Drastic Symphonies’ which was a compilation with a symphony orchestra added and no, not good.
  • Kiss – I will keep this on the list until I die!!  At least give us another Soundboard LP.  We did get a new Soundboard LP, but only one this year and for the Poughkeepsie show in 1984 with Mark St. John and that is really cool!!
  • Guns ‘N Roses – Rumors, Rumors, Rumors!!  Will we ever get a new album!  Nope, but some singles…nothing yet.
  • Aldo Nova – He keeps talking about a 2CD set for over 3 years and still nothing much, but will he get around to releasing the full Life & Times of Eddie Gage? I hope so.  And again, more talk but no 2 CD album for The Life & Times of Eddie Gage…when Aldo?  When?  But he did start touring again.
  • Ace Frehley – It is time for a new album…no Origins, Vol 3…a new album!!  No new album, but one was announced and will be here in early 2024!! YEAH!!
  • Bon Jovi – A new album WITH RICHIE SAMBORA!!!  Nope, still nothing. A lot of talk about a Reunion, but no new album. Something’s brewing though as their 40th Anniversary gets ready to roll around.

Okay, are there albums I want to see this year from some of my favorite bands that haven’t been announced or in some cases even rumored?  Of course there are.  These are the bands I want new albums from this year…but it might not happen.

  • Def Leppard – It is time for The Collection Vol. 4!! Come on boys, give it to us!! Or a new album…whichever you want.
  • Kiss – I will keep this on the list until I die!!  Time to start up more Soundboard LPs or another box set…give us something!
  • Guns ‘N Roses – Rumors, Rumors, Rumors!!  Will we ever get a new album!
  • Aldo Nova – He keeps talking about a 2CD set for over 3 years and still nothing much, but will he get around to releasing the full Life & Times of Eddie Gage? I hope so.
  • Bon Jovi – A new album WITH RICHIE SAMBORA!!!
  • Robbie Williams – Hey Robbie, time for a new pop album…no more Trance please!!

From what I have gathered around the internet, here are the bands that should have new albums out in 2024 or are rumored, but no dates announced yet. The ones I would give a try will be highlighted in Blue. The ones with Dates Announced are at the bottom of this post. The list is building up nicely!!

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The Defiants – ‘Drive’ (2023) – Album Review

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The boys are back with their third album. The boys, of course, are Paul Laine, Bruno Ravel and Rob Marcello or more properly known as The Defiants. The band was brought together back in 2016 thanks to Frontiers Records. I was worried this was going to be a one and done, but thankfully that wasn’t the case.

I spoke with Paul Laine a couple years ago and I knew he was working on this album. And about 6 months later, when I was exchanging emails with him, he was coming up on his deadline to submit the album to Frontiers. He seemed a little stressed, but in a good way. This was around January 2022. I am not sure what happened, but the album didn’t see the light of day for another 18 months. I hope to talk with him again soon and I will make sure to see what was going on. Regardless, as of June 7, 2023, we have the new Defiants album and I couldn’t be happier.

The guys had worked together before in a band called Danger Danger, you remember them from the late 80’s and 90’s. The Defiants were made to recapture that 80’s rock magic and capture it they did. I will try not to be biased as I am a huge Paul Laine fan and I pretty much love everything he does and there is a reason for that…he is one of the best vocalists in the business and his voice gets stronger as he ages. He does not disappoint here either. In fact no one does. This is my album of the Summer and in fact, could wind up as album of the Year. Yes, I said it! And here’s why…

The album opens with a scorcher in “Hey Life” which is a massive anthemic rocker. And listen to that opening guitar riff…does it not sound like “Rise” by Extreme??? Which is wild as both albums came out on the same day. Paul’s vocals soar as he tells life to get out of his way. The drums are pounding, the guitars are a rip-roaring shredfest and the song makes a massive opening statement.

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July 2022 Purchases – Vinyl, CD’s and 8-Tracks!!

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We are moving through the year quite fast I believe as it is already the end of July. And it was a hot one, both temperature and purchases. Now, I do have a handful of vinyl, but as prices skyrocket, I am focusing on the albums that mean something to me or from bands that mean something to me so the purchases have slowed. CDs are cheaper and a lot easier to obtain so I seem to be buying way more of those these days. With minor exceptions, I have been laser focused on what I’m buying. Let’s go through the vinyl first. First up is the new album from Shinedown called ‘Planet Zero’. I have all their albums on vinyl as I am a big fan so why not get the new one…

Then it I picked up a couple holy grail type albums. First was one from Kiss that had only been issued for their very limited exclusive Kissteria box set. I didn’t think I’d every own one. Thanksfully, they re-issued it on vinyl and I snagged a copy. Not their best compilation, but one that was lacking in my vinyl collection so couldn’t be happier…My list of missing vinyl is now smaller.

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January 2022 Purchases – Vinyl & Cds

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Welcome to the first round of purchases for 2022. Yes, I know, it never seems to end…my wife and wallet keep telling me that, but I don’t listen…obviously. And this week was another stellar month and a few really good deals as well…at least I think so. The first set of purchases were from gift cards left over from Christmas that I hadn’t spent and it was tough to decide. First I went with a vinyl I had been wanting for awhile and finding an original vinyl pressing was going to be expense so I went withe re-issue from Music on Vinyl for Extreme!!

The other items I picked up on those gift cards were the studio albums I was missing for Robbie Williams…I figured no time better than to complete that collection so I did. There were four left and here they are… Now I just need to the rare stuff that I am missing…challenge accepted!!

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2021 – A Year in Review at 2 Loud 2 Old Music – The Top 10 Posts of the Year!!

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Last Saturday, I gave you a post of totally useless information with all the albums I listened to in 2021, so let’s do it again this Saturday. We are going to look back at what happened in 2021…no not in the world of music. But in the world of 2 Loud 2 Old Music, the website!! I know this is important stuff, I get how excited you must be so stop the YAWNING!!!

We had a another record year here at the site. We finally broke 1,000 followers and are now sitting at around 1,022. A small milestone for the site. It only took 5 years to get there. If that was enough we broke a record of views this year with over 272,000 views which is a 36% increase over the prior year. Next year, we are hoping to finally pass 300,000 views. See, real exciting stuff.

During the year we worked on a lot of Review Series. We finished the Kiss Review Series which had around 74 separate posts and took over 13 months to complete. We also started and finished the Judas Priest Series and the Queen Series which were both a lot of fun. We have started and are a good way through the Cheap Trick Collection Series and the Aerosmith Collection Series as I love doing these Series so I hope you do as well. It lets me go back and deep dive in to their albums and it also gives me a reason to go out and buy more albums. For 2022, we have the Jeff Scott Soto Series and I will go ahead and tell you when the Aerosmith Series ends, we will be jumping right in to the Scorpions Collection Series. A lot to look forward to next year!

What were to Top 10 Posts of the Year?

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The Spectacular Rise, Fall and Rebirth of Hair Metal by Christopher Hilton – Book Review

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My favorite era of music is the so called, 80’s Hair Metal scene. Of course, back then it was just rock and didn’t yet have a label, but that was the music for me. I know a lot about that era and the bands so any time I can get my hands on a book about that time, I am all over it. I took a chance on this one called ‘The Spectacular Rise, Fall and Rebirth of Hair Metal by Christopher Hilton. The book had a 4.4 rating so I thought I would give it a shot.

The book goes chronologically through each year of the scene and goes all the way up to 2019/20. When it gets to the 90’s and 2000’s, the chapters start to cover more than one year as it would be too much. I was expecting some great stories and maybe interviews from people of that era and from those involved in the scene, but that is not what I got at all. The author went through and talked mostly about the biggest bands of the era including Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Poison, L.A. Guns, Faster Pussycat and the like and he went through each album and the best songs on the album. At the end of each year he ranked the best album. Honestly, it felt like I was either reading wikipedia or maybe even something I would have written with my limited knowledge of these bands. It was rather pedestrian.

The stories about the bands were the same old stories we’ve heard all the time, there was really nothing new at all. No interviews, no real thought provoking insight, no real meat at all. He always focused on the biggest bands and seldom if ever brought up bands that were lesser known that were completely overlooked. The only good thing is he did follow the music in to the 90’s (and he mentioned Paul Laine of Danger Danger) and how the bands changed their sound and style and then went in to the 2000’s where the 80’s Rock scene saw a major resurgence. He even went as far a talking about the new bands in the 21st Century that have taken up the 80’s glam scene and how a lot of them come from Europe, especially Scandinavia. A good list of bands to check out. Most of them I already knew about, but for newbie’s that part is worth checking out.

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Paul Laine Nerds Out with the LeBrain Train – our best episode yet! — mikeladano.com

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What a fun evening had by all. If you didn’t get a chance to catch the live show with one of my favorite singers of all time, Paul Laine, you now can sit back and enjoy every second like we did. Paul was so gracious to give us so much time as we spent over 2 hours talking his career, rock and we even nerded out a little on Star Wars, Star Trek, history and European Architecture. If you want to know anything about his solo albums, the Danger Danger albums, The Defiants, Shugaazer, Dark Horse or his career in general than don’t miss a minute of this show as we cover it all. Well, almost all, so maybe Paul will be back later down the road for Round 2.

Paul comes in around 21 minutes if you want to skip right to it, but if you do, you will miss Mike do some great Unboxings so you might want to find out “What’s in the Box”!!

Thanks to Paul for all his generous time and great conversation and thanks to Mike for hosting such a great show, The LeBrain Train. He has kept us entertained every week since Covid happened over a year ago. And here is hoping for more fun to come. But can he top tonight??? For me, it will be tough, but I have faith he can do it.

One of the things I love most about doing these shows is how spontaneous they are. John and I came into this Paul Laine interview with pages and pages of notes and questions.  Yet some of the best moments were spur of the moment.  Paul Laine is a music nerd just like us!  But not […]

Paul Laine Nerds Out with the LeBrain Train – our best episode yet! — mikeladano.com

REMINDER: Paul Laine on the LeBrain Train TONIGHT! — mikeladano.com

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A Friendly Reminder that Paul Laine will be joining us tonight on The LeBrain Train. Paul has been around since 1990 with his first solo album, ‘Stick It In Your Ear’ and I have followed him for 30 years from his bands Danger Danger, Shugaazer, Darkhorse and currently The Defiants. Come enjoy the fun and if you have a question, ask away and we will see if he can answer your question.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=qpSnRSZYnds%3Fversion%3D3%26rel%3D1%26showsearch%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26iv_load_policy%3D1%26fs%3D1%26hl%3Den%26autohide%3D2%26wmode%3Dtransparent

The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike and John Episode 63 – Paul Laine John from 2loud2oldmusic is to thank for this week’s guest:  the hugely talented Paul Laine!  He became a solo star here in Canada back in 1990, but has since worked with Danger Danger, the Defiants, Shugaazer and Darkhorse.  He’s […]

REMINDER: Paul Laine on the LeBrain Train TONIGHT! — mikeladano.com

The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike and John Episode 63 – Paul Laine

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This week on The LeBrain Train, I get to guest host with Mike in my first interview with Paul Laine. I have to thank Mike for having me and allowing me to check off a bucket list item by interviewing a rock star.

Here is what Mike and I have to say about Paul…

JOHN – We are joined this week by the multi-talented singer, songwriter, musician, composer, engineer, producer and all great guy, Paul Laine. We will cover his career from his 1990 solo album debut Stick It In Your Ear to his time as lead singer of Danger Danger in the 90’s, all the way up to his current band The Defiants, who just confirmed a third album is coming. We will find out about his time with Bruce Fairbairn at Little Mountain Sound Studios, his other bands Shugaazer and Darkhorse and everything in between. Come join the fun.…Here is my homework for the week…

MIKE – Paul Laine is a remarkable talent.  At age 16 he was playing clubs.  Knowing he needed money to record a good-sounding demo, he started and sold a management company, raising the needed $50,000.  The tape went from MuchMusic’s Terry David Mulligan to uber-manager Bruce Allen.  By age 22, he had Stick It In Your Ear produced by Bruce Fairbairn under his belt!  As John says, he made the leap from solo artist to band member in 1993 when Danger Danger needed a new singer.  We will be covering it all this Friday night on the LeBrain Train.

TIME: Friday May 7, 7:00 PM E.S.T. on Facebook:  MikeLeBrain and YouTube:  Mike LeBrain. Below is a little reminder for you…