Needtobreathe – ‘Best of the Insiders: 4th Edition’ (2025)

For the 2022 Insiders Club, Needtobreathe changed things up. They were no longer going to release a physical product and only do the Digital Songs only. I stopped being a member right then and there as I want a physical product. Well, I think the backlash was swift and loud as a few months in to the year, that all changed. They decided that there will be a new tier level in the Insiders Club, more expensive of course, but a physical product would be given. This time around instead of only a CD, you will get an autographed vinyl copy as well. They still have the digital songs, which are different then the ones on the vinyl. The new CD and Vinyl are now a Best of The Insiders giving us the 9-10 songs from the 8 years of The Insiders CD series they had started 8 years earlier. The 1st Edition came in March 2023 almost a year after the announcement, but the band was smart as they went ahead and worked on the 2023 Edition at the same time they were working on the 2022 Edition. We received this vinyl in April 2023. Then in February 2024, we got the 3rd Edition and a year later in February 2025, we get the 4th Edition. And I have them all…

This time around, we get 9 songs but you have to remember they are trying to fit them on easily on a vinyl with only a set amount of time, so I’m okay with only 9 songs. We did get the CD again which is unsigned but that gives me all four of those as well…

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Kuni – ‘Lookin’ For Action’ (1988) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

After Jeff Scott Soto’s stint with Yngwie Malmsteen was over, Soto was able to land a gig with the Japanese guitar virtuoso, Kuni. The rest of the band included Mike Terrana on Drums, who played with Yngwie and Beau Nasty, as well as Douglas Taylor Baker on Bass, who also wound up playing with Beau Nasty. Behind the boards on this one is a name a lot of you should be familiar with due to the bands Vinnie Vincent Invasion and Slaughter. That is right, Dana Strum produced the album and I have to say the production work on here is fantastic.

The band was very popular in Japan and they even got to tour. One of the shows was recorded for TV so it makes wonder if there is a live album or bootleg of that show anywhere. I need to start looking for that.

The copy I have is actually a re-release from 2018 and has a couple live bonus tracks and who doesn’t love bonus tracks. All releases of this album are Japan only which means…yes…OBI strips and my copy is no different. You can see it a few pictures down. Also included is a fold out page that has an essay in Japanese and I have no idea what it says, but you see Vinnie Vincent’s name mentioned, Loudness, Yngwie and several other band names so I am guessing it is talking about the band members and where they came from plus tons of other great information that would be nice to read…if I read Japanese. The page also has the lyrics to the songs, in English, on both sides.

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