Tag: Promotional Copy

Kiss – ‘HoriPro Music Publishing Collection: Disc 1’ (2007) – Promo CD (The Kiss Review Series)

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In my hunt for Kiss compilations, I came across this single disc cd from 2007 that was actually a promo CD of a larger collection that had 8 CDs, only one of which was Kiss. The info on it is as follows:

KISS/VARIOUS Horipro Music Publishing Collection (2007 US promotional only 120-track 8-CD album set issued by the music publishing arm of the Horipro Entertainment Group to illustrate the diversity of their song catalogue, comprising four various artist compilations of hit country songs and classic rock songs, individual discs dedicated to the ‘Emerald Forest’ subsidiary, Jerry Reed and REO Speedwagon, plus a 13-track Kiss collection exclusive to this set. Custom printed discs and full colour picture sleeves, housed in a card picture slipcase with 16-page booklet including artist biographies).

I do not have the whole set, but only the Kiss CD that I picked up on Discogs. I would love to grab the whole set one day, but for now, I’m happy with the Kiss CD at the very least…which is all I really wanted anyway. It is a simple collection with 13 tracks and the inside album sheet had the songs listed and where they wound up on the Billboard Charts and the year. However, not all the songs charted. A very simple set with nothing else included and heck, it didn’t even have the normal Kiss Logo. But it did have a great selection of tracks.

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Billy Idol – “Shock To The System” (1993) – Promo CD w/ Floppy Disk (The Billy Idol Series)

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Billy Idol became fascinated with technology and the cyberpunk movement of the early 90’s.  He saw how the advancement could be used to make music and in fact, ‘Cyberpunk’ was one of the first albums to use ProTools for almost the entire recording of the album. He felt the use of the computers allowed him to do things faster and he felt it gave the whole feel of a garage band.  I don’t know about that last part, but it was the very early stages of how albums and music would be recorded down the road. ‘Cyberpunk’ is the result of all these technological advances and it was an album way ahead of the times. How far ahead?

Well, when he released the single for “Shock to the System” he sent out the promo copies that contained a 3 1/2″ Floppy Disk.  MP3’s eat your heart out.  The disc housed pictures, bios and all the things you now see issued in todays electronic press kits (EPK).  He was also was one of the first albums to actually have an email address in the booklet that came with the album (don’t try it, it though as it no longer works). I finally found a pristine copy of the Promo and now I have the 3 1/2″ Floppy Disk as well. This is now one of the coolest pieces in my collection.

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Bon Jovi – ‘Inside Out’ (2012) – DVD Review (The Bon Jovi Collection Series)

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Only the band’s second live album, ‘Inside Out’, was released on November 27, 2012. It was not one show though, it was spread across 3 epic venues as the back of the box states. The songs are from the 25th Anniversary show at Madison Square Garden, the Hometown opening night at New Meadowlands Stadium and then from the Historic 12 night run at London’s O2 Arena. 12 nights…damn!! Usually, I would hate something that wasn’t all one show, but this works. If I’m not mistaken, this is only available on iTunes. Well, that is unless you are able to find the Australian promo of the actual video…which I do. And that is what we are reviewing here, the DVD and not the iTunes version.

The DVD is a promo as it says on the back of the box and on the disc itself, “not for sale”. The video is the actual screening from the theatrical release and it does something cool. We get 14 tracks from the 3 venues and what they do at times during the songs is switch to split screen and show shots of them performing the song from the other arena or arenas in some cases. An interesting way of doing things and it makes it fun to watch. It is 75 minutes of pure Bon Jovi live energy.

The show kicks off with one of my favorite tracks, “Blood on Blood”, from ‘New Jersey’. 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. “Lost Highway” sees Jon dripping wet with sweat and when they show the split screens, he is perfectly dry in those which tells me one song was played early in the set and the other later.

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Poison – ‘Your Mama Don’t Dance” – 7″ Single

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In my quest for 7″ singles with Picture Sleeves, I found another great 80’s single and this one is for Poison. The song is a cover of Loggins & Messina’s “Your Mama Don’t Dance” and was released as a single for Poison on February 1, 1989. The song reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and went Gold which the Loggins & Messina version also went Gold while their version went to #4. So, not too different from one another. The song can be found on Poison’s second album, ‘Open Up and Say…Ahh!’

My version of the single is the U.S. promo as it says “Not for Sale” on the 7″ single label. There is no B-Side as “Your Mama Don’t Dance” is on both sides of the single. If you were to find the actual single for the song, the B-Side would be “Tearin’ Down the Walls” also from the ‘Open Up and Say…Ahh!’ album.

The song is about the generational gap between kids and parents. The parents don’t agree with that rock & roll and all the degenerative behavior. It is based off what happened during the ’50’s and ’60’s with the onslaught of that new fangled thing called Rock & Roll. The lyrics are cliched with all stereotypes from that era. It was also based a little on what Jim Messina went through with his mom and step-father.

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Scorpions – Crazy World: 4 Tracks from ‘Crazy World’ – Promotional Vinyl (1990) – (The Scorpions Collection Series)

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In my digging at a record show, I found a bunch of cool European releases from Scorpions. Most were German releases, but there was this one UK Only Release. It was an Advance DJ Copy of the album ‘Crazy World’. It was on vinyl and only had 4 tracks, but it was released prior to the album’s release. It is a pretty simple with only a flimsy cardboard sleeve that was the album jacket and album sleeve. The cover was black with a giant Scorpion on it and had the famous words at the bottom “For Promotional Use Only…Not For Resale”. Well, somebody sold it because I paid money for it.

It is short and sweet with 4 tracks, 2 on one side and 2 on the other. All four tracks are straight off the album, not any remixes nor single edits so nothing special, but I liked it enough to buy it as I like promos as you will see because the next four posts, including this one, are all on promos I have from the album ‘Crazy World’. Sorry about that, but this is the Scorpions Collection Series I believe and they are in my collection.

SIDE 1:

Just like thee album, the promo opens with, “Tease Me Please Me”, which is a sleazy little track that seems part Motley Crue, part everything else at the time and that is okay. The song is a rocker that doesn’t take a lot of thought, but it still kicks ass. A fun opening track with a cool riff, some nasty guitar work, Klaus’ gritty vocals and overall catchy as hell. It is straight up down and dirty rock & roll. Yes, please…sign me up. The song was written by Klaus Meine, Mathias Jabs, Herman Rarebell and Jim Vallance. It did go to #8 on the US Hot Mainstream Rock Track Chart.

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Matt Nathanson – “I Saw” – CD Promotional Single

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In my further quest for owning all Matt Nathanson items listed on Discogs, I found another gem. This Promo CD is for the song “I Saw” off his 2003 album and major label debut called ‘Beneath These Fireworks’. The song was from 2004 and sadly it didn’t chart. No real surprise as he’s never been a big radio hits guy (even though his stuff is better than radio). The album didn’t do well either and shortly after releasing his first major label debut on Universal, Universal dropped him. Such is the story of so many artists and bands.

Yes, it has a cracked case!!

The song was written by Matt Nathanson and Mark Weinberg and it seems to be about a break up. The two people were together and one still aches and longs for the other. It sounds like he screwed up, she broke up. He wants her back and is sorry for what he did. He wants her to save him so badly by taking him back. She’s consoling him and telling him everything will be alright, but she isn’t going to take him back. It is over. He dreams about her and can’t get her out of his head, but it doesn’t happen. They are done.

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Matt Nathanson – ‘Sampler’ – Promotional CD

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Another Promotional CD I found for Matt Nathanson thanks to Discogs is a “Sampler” CD for his 2003 album ‘Beneath These Fireworks’. That album was Matt’s major label debut album on Universal Records, but it wasn’t his first CD by any means. The CD was a 3 song sampler for his upcoming album and was sent around to the Radio DJs, I am assuming. The cover for the Promo is the same as the album cover, the only difference is instead of saying “Beneath These Fireworks”, it says “Sampler”.

The first song and actually the first single is “Sad Songs”. The song feels like it could be the Goo Goo Dolls. The chorus is so catchy and it has a great hook. His delivery of the lines is confident and earnest. For a song called “Sad Songs”, the music is more upbeat and gives us a great dichotomy in styles.

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Matt Nathanson – “Room @ the End of the World” – CD Promotional Single

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In my further quest for owning all Matt Nathanson items listed on Discogs, I found another gem. This Promo CD is for “Room at the End of the World” by Matt Nathanson which is off his stellar 2011 album, ‘Modern Love’ and it was the 2nd single off the album. Although I don’t think the song charted, the album did debut at #17 on the Billboard charts. The fact that it didn’t chart is no surprise as Matt has never been a darling of public radio. His songs are way too good for radio as they are well crafted masterpieces and lyrical poems about life and he is pure talent unlike the bozos on radio. No, I am not biased…okay…yes I am. You got me!

The song was written by Matt Nathanson and Mark Weinberg. I believe the song is talking about being with the one you love and nothing can stop you. Even if the world was ending, you two would get a room and make the best of what was to come. I love how the song talks about how he was lost and had given up on love until he found “The One”. The One that makes him whole, The One that he will be with until the end of time, The One true love. There is line that says “one heart is never enough alone” and I don’t think it is saying you have to be with someone to be whole, I think it is saying that he never felt complete until he found her (or him). His lyrical phrasing is always so eloquent and so beautiful. He doesn’t sing a love song in the same cliched way other songs do.

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Matt Nathanson – “Run (Featuring Sugarland)” – CD Promotional Single

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In my quest to own everything listed on Discogs for Matt Nathanson, I picked up the CD Promotional single for the song “Run”. It is off his 2011 album, ‘Modern Love’ and was released as a single, but only reached #53 on the Billboard Hot 100 which baffles me as it is probably my favorite song by him. Another cool thing about it is that the recording engineer on the album was my brother-in-law, Ryan; however, this was the one song he didn’t engineer. Bummer!

The song is not a country song even though Sugarland are on it.  No!  This is a sensual, oh so sexy, love song.  The lyrics are dirty with lines like “You come in waves” and “Then Swallow me whole” as well as “And I watch it explode”.  At the same time they are sexy with lines like “You pull me in close / And buckle my knees” and “You trace my lines / Stirring my soul”.  And then they are heartwarming with a line like “I’m amazing when you’re beside me / I am so much more”.  This song speaks to me and reminds me of my lovely bride and when I hear this song, I think of only her!  Each and every time.

Now here is the problem.  The song I think is more about an affair than love.  The lyrics talk about running back to this person.  The man says he knows that it’s wrong but he can’t help it and he always goes back to her.  Personally, I ignore that part and think of it more as a passionate love affair with my wife.  Either way, you can’t help but love the song.

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Matt Nathanson – “Faster” – Promotional CD

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“Faster” is the first single off Matt Nathanson’s 2011 album ‘Modern Love’. The single in the U.S. came out on March 29, 2011 and it broke the Top 100 landing at #74…so not getting close to the Top 40 countdown. However, on the Adult Top 40 Billboard Chart, it reached #11 so the adults dug, kids…I guess not so much.

The promotional copy I found is from the U.K. and according to the note on the front, it was to be released on August, 6th, 2011. It was talking him up and the fact he was opening for Kelly Clarkson’s tour in America and Train in the U.K. Matt was heading to the U.K. to do his own set of shows. That Kelly Clarkson show was the one my oldest daughter and I caught at their Fox Theater, Atlanta stop. My brother-in-law, Ryan, worked with both Kelly and Matt in that year so we got free tickets to the show and ended up meeting Matt that evening and getting autographs and pictures. He was a truly stand-up guy with the way he treated my daughter. He made her feel that she was the most important girl in the room when he talked to her. Really cool.

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