We have a bunch of releases for you this week, so hopefully there is something you like. I have pre-ordered the Oasis box set but it says it won’t show up until next week…Boo! Amazon!!. I also wouldn’t mind hearing Three Days Grace and maybe stream The Smashing Pumpkins 25th Anniversary of Machina. What do you want to hear this week? Let me know and tell us what we missed so everyone knows. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a great weekend!!
Oasis – Complete Studio Albums Collection – (Big Brother Recordings)
Three Days Grace – Alienation – (RCA Records / Sony Music)
The Smashing Pumpkins – Machina (25th Anniversary) – (Virgin Records)
Deftones – Private Music – (Reprise Records)
Crowne – Wonderland – (Frontiers Records)
Robert Jon & The Wreck – Heartbreaks & Last Goodbyes – (Journeyman Records)
John Fogerty – Legacy: The Creedence Clearwater Revival Years (John’s Version) – (John Fogerty / Concord)
The Who – Live at the Oval 1971 – (UMe)
Jon Batiste – Big Money – (Verve Records / Interscope Records / Naht Jona LLC)
We are in a time in Def Leppard’s career where there is a 7 year break between studio albums. To help fill that gap, the boys in the band kept busy. We’ve seen the Phil Collen side project Man Raze and now we have Joe Elliott’s side project called Down ‘N’N Outz. And during this stretch we don’t get only one album from each, we will actually see two albums from each before the next Leppard studio album. Hey, if I can’t have Def Leppard, I’ll take this stuff just as well.
The Down ‘N’ Outz were formed thanks to Mott the Hoople. Mott the Hoople was doing a reunion show, well a week’s worth of reunion shows. They asked Joe to be a part of it. One thing led to another and with the help of drummer Phil Martini, Ronnie Garrity from Raw Glory, and Paul Guerin, Guy Griffin, and Keith Weir from The Quireboys, the Down ‘N’ Outz were born. They performed as the opening act. The twist was they would be playing songs by bands or artists associated with Mott the Hoople, but not actually Mott the Hoople songs. They even recorded a show and released it on DVD, which I need to one day obtain.
After the gig, the band were having so much fun, they actually recorded an album. There is a 10 song edition that was released first on June 23, 2010 as part of an edition of Classic Rock Magazine (I want that one!!), but the final album actually had 13 songs, one of which was an original by the band. If you liked Joe & Phil’s band the Cybernauts, then this will be right up your alley. On July 13, 2010, their debut album ‘My ReGeneration’ was released. Don’t think it ever charted, but who cares. If you are fan of Mott the Hoople and all their side projects, a fan of Def Leppard or a fan of the Quireboys, then you need this. Let’s get to it! Wait…FYI…the band even started their own brand of beer…thus the bottle cap in the album pictures below.
The opening track is the classic “Golden Opportunity” which is an Ian Hunter cover from his album ‘Overnight Angels’. What is cool about this one is when it starts up you hear a needle dropping and some static like this was vinyl, but my version is a CD. A cool little trick. The band sticks to the essence of the song (and all the songs), but they can’t help put their own little flair on it. When the song is as cool and iconic as this one, how could they screw it up. The musicianship is stellar and Joe sounds awesome! The energy is electric and you can feel the excitement they have for playing this music. A great opening track.
Next up is “Storm” which is a Mott cover (Not a Mott the Hoople cover – just Mott). This one is from the album ‘Shouting and Pointing’. It fades in from the opening track and the tempo is fast. The riffs are cool, the keyboards are slamming as are the drums. Another fun, high energy track that keeps the party going. I have to say I wasn’t overly familiar with this one which I think helps my enjoyment as it feels new to me. The band is swinging and again I can’t get over their playing…these guys are really good.
Then it is time for another Ian Hunter song and this one is the title track to his album “Overnight Angels”. Man, I love this song and the Boyz bring down the house with this one. The gentle guitar riff opening with the heavy bass and drums are a slick contrast. Joe’s vocal delivery is slow and deliberate, well paced. The grit of his vocals adds so much to the song. I think this album so far has been a headphone album as there is so much going on musically and it all sounds like a smorgasbord of tastiness.
Okay, I’ve realized something…the Ian songs I know. The Mott songs I don’t. This next one was new to me as well. It is the song “Career (No Such Thing as Rock ‘n Roll)” from the ‘Shouting and Pointing’ album. It opens with a biting piano with some keyboards that sound like horns. It has this grand, epic tone. Joe’s vocals are more reserved to match the music. It is really beautiful in its presentation. I might need to be checking out these Mott albums. I have Mott the Hoople stuff, but no Mott.
It is time for “Cleveland Rocks”…oops sorry that is The Drew Carey Show theme song. This is actually “England Rocks” the Ian Hunter song that the Drew theme song is based. It is a rambunctious rocker that celebrates the England Rock & Roll scene. A fun singalong song.
It is back to Mott and this time we get the title track to the album that has two other songs here and that is “Shouting And Pointing”. The piano keys are fast and furious on this one. Then it gets dark and powerful. Joe’s attitude is matched in the music. I like the changes and different directions in the song as it keeps it interesting. Another really cool track and man, this Mott band must be something.
We stay with Mott, but now we are on to his ‘Drive Now’ album and the first song is “By Tonight”. This one feels different, a more guitar heavy song less piano/keyboards. While it still sounds good, it doesn’t feel as glam as the prior songs. I was really digging the piano on these songs. But the guitar work on here is stellar so I don’t want to take away from that at all. Overall, I’m not as in to this one, but it is still a really good track.
“Apologies” is up next from ‘Drive Now’ as well and this one is only 1 minute long. It is acoustic with just a guitar and Joe’s vocals. Joe sounds really cool, the guitar is smooth and a nice change of pace. Something completely different. I like it.
Ian Hunter is back with his song “Who Do You Love”. Leppard covered this one for “Yeah! II”. It is a high energy song and the piano is back in full force. They do a good job with this one, but it is not one of my favorites. It wasn’t on the Lep album either.
This time around we get a British Lion song called “One More Chance to Run” off their self-titled album. The Down ‘N’ Outz tackle this one with some major gusto. The guitars are lethal on this one, the heaviness of the opening riff, the crisp, biting notes of other notes. The energy is up to 10 and they dominate the song.
Back to an Ian song with “3000 Miles From Home” which is another acoustic song with the guitars and Joe on vocals. There is a gentleness to it and a sadness. It is a great song, but a little too one-dimensional with the same riff throughout the song.
“Good Times” is up next and this is a cover of The Easybeats classic done by Mott. It is a high energy, rocking track and a total blast…But…it isn’t as good as the Jimmy Barnes and INXS song as their version is the standard a I hold all other versions too. Joe is great and the music is awesome, but you can’t touch Michael Hutchense and Jimmy together. Sorry Joe. Still, I wouldn’t skip this one if it came on.
The final track is an original from the band. It is “The Flipside of the Shameless Whelk”. It feels incomplete, mostly instrumental and doesn’t seem to have any direction. It feels like an outro or something the band was jamming and threw in for good measure. You hear parts of other songs in it to. It is pretty much nonsense for me.
Track Listing:
Golden Opportunity – Keeper
Storm – Keeper
Overnight Angels – Keeper
Career (No Such Thing As Rock ‘n’ Roll) – Keeper
England Rocks – Keeper
Shouting and Pointing – Keeper
By Tonight – Keeper(1/2 Point)
Apologize – Keeper
Who Do You Love – Keeper(1/2 Point)
One More Chance to Run – Keeper
3000 Miles From Here – Keeper(1/2 Point)
Good Times – Keeper(1/2 Point)
The Flipside of the Shameless Whelk – Delete
The Track Score is 10 out of 13 Tracks or 77%. Let me tell you the production on this is incredible as all the instruments and effects are crystal clear and so full and vibrant. It is a party in your ears. Do all the songs work? No, but the majority of them are pure enjoyment and although not normally a covers band fan, I really dig this one. I am sure most of it is Joe as I love me some Leppard, but the musicianship on here is what really made this so much fun. They seem to really love what they were doing and appreciate these songs. It isn’t perfect, but it is worth a listen if you are a fan of anything Mott the Hoople adjacent. My Overall Score is a 4.0 out of 5.0 Stars.
Oasis – Complete Studio Albums Collection – (Big Brother Recordings)
Three Days Grace – Alienation – (RCA Records / Sony Music)
The Smashing Pumpkins – Machina (25th Anniversary) – (Virgin Records)
Deftones – Private Music – (Reprise Records)
Crowne – Wonderland – (Frontiers Records)
Robert Jon & The Wreck – Heartbreaks & Last Goodbyes – (Journeyman Records)
John Fogerty – Legacy: The Creedence Clearwater Revival Years (John’s Version) – (John Fogerty / Concord)
The Who – Live at the Oval 1971 – (UMe)
Jon Batiste – Big Money – (Verve Records / Interscope Records / Naht Jona LLC)
Ciara – CiCi – (Beauty Marks Entertainment)
2 Loud 2 Old Music 