Tag: Picture Disc

Def Leppard – ‘Drastic Symphonies’ (2023) – Picture Disc (The Def Leppard Collection Series)

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I know, I know…I reviewed this album last week. But this is The Collection Series and since a Picture Disc is very different from the normal vinyl and other items, I figured it deserved its own post. So bare with me…

In 2023, Def Leppard did something they hadn’t done in years. Give us a new album a year after the last studio album. In 2022, we were given ‘Diamond Star Halos’ and in 2023, ‘Drastic Symphonies’. Now, ‘Drastic Symphonies’ isn’t technically a studio album. And it isn’t technically a greatest hits compilation. Instead, what we are given is a remix album. Yes, Def Leppard chased the trend (although rather late) and gave us a Symphonic album. They remixed or reworked their songs and added classical music orchestration to it. The album was released on May 19, 2023, one week shy of the one year anniversary of the prior album. In my opinion, they should’ve taken much more time with it and got it right. Why? Let me explain.

A proper Symphony album is done live as that is where you really notice the difference. This is not a proper Symphony album. Instead, Def Leppard did one of two things with the songs. They either completely re-worked the song with the symphony dramatically added in a well thought out manner (sometimes it works, sometimes not). Or…they took a song and put in some symphony in places on the original track. The second way is pure and utter laziness and never works. Wiki says they completely redid all the songs with the exception of the vocals…but listening to it…I disagree. Some of these songs sound exactly like the original with symphony added and all I can say to that is “What is the freaking point!!”

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Def Leppard – ‘High & Dry’ – RSD Picture Disc (2022) (The Def Leppard Collection Series)

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Yes, if you’ve been following the Def Leppard Collection Series then you know I’ve reviewed ‘High & Dry’ already; however, since this the collection series, here is the Record Store Day Picture Disc that was released back in 2022 for ‘High & Dry’. I don’t usually buy too many Picture Disc unless they are like 12″ Singles or E.P.’s because I usually already have the albums. But with Def Leppard, if I see it, I buy it…and guess what…I saw it so I bought it!! It was released on April 23, 2022 and is supposed to be limited to 6,000 copies. It states it is an RSD First which means they plan on releasing the picture disc to the general public at any time now I guess. I don’t think I’ve seen it happen yet. I have scatted the pictures in the post and you can read along to the original review from last year. Enjoy!!…

Original Review:

While touring in support of their debut album, ‘On Through the Night’, Def Leppard opened for one of the biggest bands at the time, AC/DC. Famed producer, Robert John “Mutt” Lange, who produced AC/DC’s massive album “Back in Black”, took notice of the band and he was very impressed. So much so, he agreed to be their producer for the band’s sophomore album ‘High ‘N’ Dry’. A move that would change the course of history for this band and catapult them in to the stratosphere of rock stardom. But first, they had to do an album and this album saw the band head to a more melodic phase, however, the edge and rawness of the debut was still present.

The songwriting was more refined, everything seemed more purposefully composed, it was cleaner yet it was still powerful, engaging and after over 40 years with it, it is one of the best rock & roll albums of all time. Well…it is for me. The band, who was Joe Elliott, Steve Clark, Rick Savage, Rick Allen and Pete Willis, recorded the album between March and June of 1981 and it was released a very short time later on July 11, 1981. A short 16 months after the debut. Man, if they could’ve only kept that pace of releases, how much could they have released over the years. The album would go to #38 in the U.S. and #26 in the UK. Not a massive success, but enough of one thanks to the ballad “Brinin’ on the Heartbreak” which saw massive airplay on MTV, that the band was setup nicely for the next album.

Their third album ‘Pyromania’ was so big, so successful and so amazing, that ‘High ‘N’ Dry’ was re-released in 1984 with 2 additional tracks. One was a re-mix of “Bringin’ On the Heartbreak” which added synthesizers and piano overdubs to make it sound more like what was done on ‘Pyromania’. The other track was “Me & My Wine” which was the B-Side of the original release of “Bringin On the Heartbreak”. It too was re-mixed for a more modern sound. This re-release helped sell more albums which has since seen the album go double platinum. They even did new videos for it with Phil Collen on guitar who was not on this album at all as Pete Willis was at the time. The copy we are reviewing today is the original release without the 2 new tracks, the way it should be heard. Let’s get to it.

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Def Leppard – ‘Acoustic in Vegas’ (2020) – 10″ Picture Disc

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A couple weeks back, we discussed the ‘Hits Vegas: Live at Planet Hollywood’ show that Def Leppard released on vinyl. It was taken from the bands 2019 Sin City Residency. Well, what we have for you this week is a special snippet of that show. This is a 10″ E.P. that covers the acoustic portion of that show. And the nice thing about it is that it is a picture disc as well. You get 4 songs, all done acoustically, in a limited edition packaging. I believe this was also a European only release and put out some time in 2020. What songs do we get? Well, let’s see.

On Side A, it kicks off with “Let Me Be The One” off the 2002 album ‘X’. One of the best ballads the band has ever done and one that do not play live ever, sadly. Viv and Phil’s acoustic work is always superb and this one is no different. The band’s harmonies on the backing vocals are pretty great live (not studio quality, but who can).

If that wasn’t cool enough, they pull out “We Belong” from the 2015 self-titled album. What is cool about this is it has all 5 guys taking turns singing, which is a first for the band. One of my favorite songs from that album and here they just slay. Everyone sounds incredible and it is as if it was from the studio album it is that good. This time around, we get drums as they were absent on the first track so glad to Rick Allen get involved on the acoustic portion. This had never been played live ever until the Residency.

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Motley Crue – ‘Supersonic And Demonic Relics’ (RSD 2024 Picture Disc) – Album Review

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For the first time on vinyl, Motley Crue released ‘Supersonic And Demonic Relics’ for the 2024 Record Store Day. And since this was the first time on vinyl, I had to grab a copy. There were only 2,500 copies available, so I guess I am lucky to have grabbed one of them. I am sure they will release this album on vinyl eventually, but hopefully this will be the only picture disc. Now, with the track record of RSD albums, I’m not holding my breath.

The album originally came out on June 29, 1999 and Wikipedia says this is the band’s fourth compilation, but I don’t know what their three are before it as I only know of Decade of Decadance 81-91 in 1991 and the Greatest Hits in 1998. Yes, this is compilation but it not a greatest hits album. Instead it is a collection of tracks from soundtracks, songs that were new on a greatest hits album, remixes and even a handful of unreleased tracks. I really like these type of releases even if the songs aren’t always great. I’ll take this over a greatest hits record any day. My only complaint about this RSD release is the quality of the pictures on the cover and even the choice for the vinyl pictures. The cover looks grainy and not very professionally done. And the side of the vinyl with the picture of the speakers from the album cover are a little dull and not very crisp. I know, I’m picky.

LP 1:

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Bon Jovi – ‘Live 2 E.P.’ – Picture Disc (Record Store Day 2014) – Album Review (The Bon Jovi Collection Series)

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Last week, we talked about the first of 2 Live E.P Picture Discs that were released on Record Store Day. This week, we discuss ‘Live 2’ which was released on Record Store Day 2014. It states it is a limited edition, but we have no idea how many there are out there and they aren’t hard to get as the internet has a bunch for sale if you search it up. So, it probably isn’t that limited. Still, it is another cool 10″ E.P. from the band even if the songs have all been previously released.

This time around all the songs are from the New Jersery World Tour recorded either in 1988 or 1989 and broken down in to a U.S. Side of recorded songs or an International Side of recorded songs. Now, there are only 4 songs so not a ton and they have all been released previously so you might have some of them already and you don’t know it.

The U.S. Side kicks off with “I’ll Be There For You” which was recorded in Lakeland, FL, 1989. It was previously available on 2 CD set of ‘Keep the Faith’ which featured a bonus CD also called Bon Jovi Live.  It isn’t a bad version, they do seem to have slowed things down a little live, but the key is how amazing Richie Sambora’s playing is on this one. Such emotion in those notes, it is really cool.

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Bon Jovi – ‘Live E.P.’ – 10″ Picture Disc (Record Store Day 2013) – Album Review (The Bon Jovi Collection Series)

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Back in 2013, Bon Jovi jumped on board the Record Store Day Bandwagon. On April 20, 2013, we get the first of 2 Live E.P. Picture Discs from the band. The first one is called simply ‘Live’ and is a 10″, 33 1/3 RPM, Picture Disc. It contains four live tracks, all previously released in some form or fashion.

The opening track, “Livin’ On A Prayer” was recorded at Madison Square Garden on either July 14/15 of 2008 and was released on the video ‘Live at Madison Square Garden’ in 2009. The song starts off with Jon singing “Livin’ on a Prayer a cappella and the crowd finishes it the chorus. The full band joins in and they show why they are a great live band. 

The second track is a personal favorite, “Blood on Blood” and this one was recorded at the Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey around May 2010. The song was released on the live album (and video) ‘Inside Out’. It feels untouched as you can here the little wobbles and cracks in Jon’s voice like a good live show should have. The song might not have the same grit live as it does on the studio version, but they do put their all in to it.

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Kiss – ‘Lick It Up’ (2023) – 40th Anniversary Picture Disc Box Set (The Kiss Review Series)

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The ‘Lick it Up’ album, which came out on September 23, 1983, garnered way more attention than it’s predecessor ‘Creatures of the Night’ for one main reason. The band finally took off the make-up which is something they had been talking about doing since at least the ‘Music from the Elder’ era. They finally did it and the big reveal was on MTV during primetime. I remember this vividly as this was event TV for me as I was a lifelong Kiss fan at the time (and still am today). I remember seeing each member in make-up and then without and I remember thinking, “PUT IT BACK ON!!! OOOOH THE HORROR!!!” No, it really wasn’t that bad. It was actually pretty cool. And just like that Kiss was back in the public eye and they had some songs that could back it up.

Now, 40 years later, Kiss was rumored to be releasing another Box Set like say ‘Creatures’ or ‘Destroyer’, but those plans were squashed probably due to the fact the other box sets didn’t sell out…but who knows why. Instead they released a new Japanese Edition with a lot of little extras (but no extra discs or music) and a Picture Disc box set for ‘Lick It Up’ that included two 12″ Singles that were picture discs as well. They were limited to 3,000 copies and my copy is 1,729. This was way better than what happened to the Japanese edition which instead of #’s, a lot of them just showed XXXX…man, that would piss me off. The box is a heavy duty cardboard box embossed in silver rather than the white of the original album. It is quite nice.

I have already reviewed ‘Lick It Up’ in great detail which you can click here and read…Kiss – Lick It Up (1983). For this post, we are only going to show off the new picture discs and packaging for the box set. I hope you enjoy.

‘LICK IT UP’ – THE ALBUM

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Queensryche – “Jet City Woman” – Limited Edition Cut-To-Shape Picture Disc

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At the most recent Record Show in Charlotte back in May, I found a few really cool items. One of them was a Limited Edition Cut-To-Shape Picture Disc for the song “Jet City Woman” by Queensryche. The song was off their 1990 album ‘Empire’ and was one of the best songs on the album. It was the 4th and final single from the album and was released in May 1991. The song was played a lot on MTV and reached #6 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock songs. However, this is not the official single. This was released in the UK in August 1991.

The song was written by Geoff Tate and Chris DeGarmo and the title was taken from their hometown of Seattle which is known as the Jet City. The woman part was Geoff’s first wife who was a flight attendant. The song tells the story about after being out on the road and the longing for the ones you love. The loneliness that is felt without them and you can’t stop thinking about them. You want to get home and be with them, but can’t.

A-SIDE:

The A-Side is “Jet City Woman” of course. The sound is very industrial at times and very metallic, but overall, still a pop-rock song. Very melodic and Geoff’s vocals are quite stellar. They are slickly produced and the production on the whole song is done very well. There are still progressive metal elements as well and I like the added airplane sound effects to go with the song title. It is very mature sound unlike most bands of the time. Queensryche always sounded like a smarter band then their peers and this goes a long way to proving it.

B-SIDE:

The B-Side of the single is the title track from ‘Empire’ and it is a live version. I believe it is from the 1991 Wisconsin Show where Operation: Livecrime was recorded. That show was done in May 1991 and released in September of the same year. Now, “Empire” was not on that release as the release was Operation: Mindcrime full album live only. This was one of the other songs played that night and was previously unreleased. Geoff and Chris together live is lethal and these guys slayed it. I miss those two together. I don’t have a video to show you that has the song live. I am really surprised by that I will admit.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed this cool Shaped Picture Disc.

Picture This: A LeBrain Train Picture Disc special with 2Loud2OldMusic!

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The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike and John

Episode 96 – Picture Discs Show & Tell

Mike had so much fun showing off his 7″ singles collection a few weeks ago!  When brainstorming for ideas to do this week, I suggested picture discs.  Great idea!  At least Mike thought so, and as a result, I will be joining Mike Ladano tonight for a guaranteed fun time, a show and tell show.  We’ll be rediscovering what we own in picture disc form, since we buy so many records, We can’t remember them all.  10″, 12″, and shaped vinyl will be on deck for us tonight.  And if we’re lucky, maybe we will see some Kiss and Def Leppard….

We will also be including etched discs from our collections.

If the 7″ singles show was any indication, then this will be a blast.  Make sure you catch it live to participate!

Friday January 21, 7:00 PM E.S.T. on YouTube, Facebook and also Facebook!

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

Upcoming LeBrain Train Schedule (From Mike’s post):

DO NOT miss next week!  A special Saturday evening show replaces the usual Friday night as we chat with…

AARON AND JAMES FROM THE KMA!

If you are reading this, then you are a part of the community!  The Keeps Me Alive guys were here first!  Geoff from 1001 Albums, Scott our Heavy Metal Overlord, and LeBrain all came after.  I consider James and Aaron to the founders of the community.  Saturday February 5 at 7:00 PM, we will sit down and chat with Aaron and (for the first time ever) James about their history with music and writing about it.  This show has been a long time coming!  I have wanted to spotlight the KMA for a year and a half now.  Next week will be a party, I promise you.

We will also have a 10 Year Anniversary of Record Store Tales and a 2 Year Anniversary of the LeBrain Train, both coming in March!  If you would like to participate in either, drop us a line.

AC/DC – “Through The Mists of Time” / “Witch’s Spell” – 12″ Limited Edition Picture Disc (RSD 2021 Release)

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I really like Picture Discs. I find them quite beautiful and a wonderful piece to add to the collection. I doesn’t even matter if that is not a new song, bonus track, live version or rare track on the release. I still like to have them. For the June 12, 2021 Record Store Day, AC/DC had a limited edition picture disc that I didn’t even realize was being released. I only caught it because I was online and ordering the Def Leppard RSD release and noticed it. So, I added it to the cart, and sold!!

The Picture Disc is for the song “Through the Mists of Time” and the B-Side is “Witch’s Spell”. Both are on the new release Power Up and not some special mix or anything else that I can see. This is a Limited Edition and that means there are only 5,000 copies. I don’t know what number mine is as it doesn’t say that anywhere on the packaging. Mine has a sticker that says 14280, but that is handwritten and I think was added by the local store. No idea what it means but don’t want to peel it off. The release was made in the Czech Republic based on a sticker that is on the back. There is a Record Store Day Sticker on the front as well plus a little obit type strip at the top (no Japanese on it though) that lists the band and the song info on the back. And that is all there is to it.

On Side A is “Through The Mists of Time” and I love the white background with the band and speaks wrapping around the front. It is a cool shot. Speaking of cool, the coolest song on the album is “Through the Mists of Time” which is not a normal AC/DC title. It harkens back more to a Zeppelin title and has this nostalgic feel to it. And let me tell you what a breath of fresh air this song is and might be one of the best songs on the album. Over 40 years and they still can throw surprises at you. 

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