Happy Halloween and no tricks for you, only treats. We have another batch of new releases coming your way. Let me know what you want to hear or what we may have missed. I’m interested in the Cars – Heartbeat City Deluxe Set but that is it. I’ll stream for now and maybe get down the road. Too much coming out lately to keep up. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a great weekend.
The Pretty Reckless – Taylor Momsen’s Pretty Reckless Christmas – (Goin’ Down Inc. / Fearless Records)
Florence + The Machine – Everybody Scream – (Polydor Records / Republic Records / Universal)
Avatar – Don’t Go In The Forest – (Black Waltz AB / Thirty Tigers)
The Cars – Heartbeat City (Deluxe Edition) – (Elektra Catalog Group)
Bob Dylan – Through The Open Window: The Bootleg Series Vol. 18 1956-1963 – (Columbia Records / Sony Music)
Duff McKagan – Lighthouse Live From London – (Blood Meridian / earMusic / Edel Entertainment)
Guided by Voices – Thick Rich And Delicious – (GBV Inc.)
Thompson Twins – Industry & Seduction: A Thompson Twins Collection Deluxe – (BMG Rights Mgmt)
For My Sunday Song #449, we re going to look at the super fun song “Stacy’s Mom” by the band Fountains of Wayne. The single was released on May 19, 2003 and is off their album ‘Welcome Interstate Managers’. The song was probably the biggest mainstream hit for the band where it went to #21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and it received massive airplay on MTV as Stacy’s Mom was played by Supermodel Rachel Hunter and who didn’t enjoy watching that.
The song was written by bassist Adam Schlesinger and vocalist Chris Collingwood. The song was inspired by a childhood friend of Adam’s who thought his grandmother was really hot. Take that and add a little Mrs. Robinson and you have the song. “Stacy’s Mom” is about a teenage boy who was dating Stacy and loved to spend time at Stacy’s house out by the pool in hopes Stacy’s mom was around. He fantasized that her mom was into him and now that he is older and not the boy he used to be, he could be the man around the house for Stacy’s mom since her dad was no longer in the picture. It is a typical boy fantasy transformed in to a brilliantly executed song.
The song is pure Power Pop and New Wave. So much so in fact the opening riffs is almost identical to The Cars’ classic “Just What I Needed”. I mean…I.D.E.N.T.I.C.A.L. They actually played the opening riff and it was not a sample despite what Ric Ocasek might have thought. The song is a blast. It is so catchy and you instantly get swept in the excitement. It is full of joy and I love the handclaps towards the end. It is one of those bright and sunny songs that feels like Summer and will put a smile on your face.
I was on Facebook Marketplace just goofing around when I stumbled across a picture of someone selling a bunch of CD’s & DVD’s. I zoomed in on the picture and though I couldn’t see everything, I made out a bunch of CD’s that I would want. I checked the price it was only $50, plus $10 for shipping. I thought to myself, that looks like a good deal…so I took a chance and bought it. There are around 75 CDs, 13 DVDs and 3 books. Everything music related. And did I get a good deal? Watch the show and find out. If you like George Lynch, Dee Snider, Dimebag Darrell, Jani Lane, Firehouse, Nickelback and so many more bands, you will think I hit the motherlode!!
So go check it out as it will be live tonight, January 20, 2025 at 8pm. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.
Welcome to a the series I have on YouTube called Retro Rock Reviews. Each week, we pick an album and do a quick review. They won’t be long shows, something quick and fun to get you through your day. For Episode 5, we jump to the 80’s after spending several weeks in the late 60’s, early 70’s. We talk The Cars’ fifth album, ‘Heartbeat City’. The band exploded with help from legendary producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange. The album was released on March 13, 1984 and spawned not one, not two, but six singles, two of which reached the Top 10 on the Top 40. The album sold over 4 million copies going 4 x’s Platinum in the U.S. alone.
So go check it out as it is live now on September 5, 2024 at Noon. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.
The Scorpions were in a mood to keep doing things their own way and after doing an album and touring the classically orchestrated Scorpions rock, they decided to strip it all back and do some shows acoustically. The band performed 3 shows at the Convento do Beato in Lisbon, Portugal in February 2001 and those shows were recorded. From those 3 shows, the album called “Acoustica” was made. The album was released a few months later on May 14, 2001.
The show was a little unusual for the band as it was just the normal guys. Yes, Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker, Mathias Jabs, Ralph Rieckermann and James Kottak performed, but they weren’t alone. The actually had three guitarists and the third was Johan Daansen which really fills the songs up with that acoustic guitar sound. On keyboards was Christian Kolonovitis who also helped the band arrange the songs for the acoustic set. Christian was also the one who was the conductor and arranged the Scorpions songs for the Moment of Glory Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra album the prior year. James might have been on drums, but they also had a percussionist by the name of Mario Argandona. And to fill up the stage even more, there was a cellist, Ariana Acu and a group of female vocalists to help with backing vocals. They were Hille Bemelmanns, Liv Van Aelst and Kristel Van Craen. They really went all out to bring a different experience and I would say it worked pretty well.
The band also were great in giving us a few things extra on this release. We got the biggest hits, no doubt, but that wasn’t all. We actually were treated to 3 brand new songs (four if you got the DVD). And on top of that, we got a handful of great covers from The Cars, Kansas and Queen. With all that, it made this a very worthwhile purchase to get all the songs we hadn’t heard before. But was it all worth it? Let’s see.
The set opens with “The Zoo” and it has this cool groove which is almost like ‘Black Velvet” by Alannah Myles. Then we get the ballad “Always Somewhere” and the crowd claps along and at times sings along, there are female backing vocals and Klaus sounds stellar. Ballads usually work well in the acoustic setting and this one is no different. After this one we get the first of three new songs. First one up is “Life is Too Short” and this one brings some string orchestration. It is another ballad but it really shows the maturity of the band. I would really love to hear a studio version as this is really a great song. The chorus is really catchy which helps draw you in and as the song builds it just keeps getting better.
Alright…You Picked It! This one was really close as we almost ended in a tie, but one edged out the pack by one little vote. The one vote that made it not a tie was someone said that they wanted either one album or another that I should pick, so I always go with the first name on the choices. If I didn’t, we would’ve ended in a tie. The winner for this month’s picks ended up being The Cars with ‘Heartbeat City’ and I am real excited about this one. Here are the results.
The Cars – ‘Heartbeat City’ – 8 votes
Prince – ‘Purple Rain’ – 7 votes
Genesis – ‘Invisible Touch’ – 3 votes
U2 – ‘The Joshua Tree’ – 2 votes
Bryan Adams – ‘Reckless’ – 2 Votes
Thanks to all for participating. The February choices will be up on Saturday! And the choices are all now from my collection and the next one will be some albums I have from the 90’s but probably not the ones you’d expect. Hopefully you can help me decide which one I should review.
THE CARS – ‘HEARTBEAT CITY’ (1984):
The Cars were now on their fifth studio album by 1984 and they made some changes with this one. Long time producer, Roy Thomas Baker, was replaced with some dude name Mutt…that is right…Mutt…Robert John “Mutt” Lange. I think you’ve heard of him before. Mutt had just come off Def Leppard’s album ‘Pyromania’ so he was one of the hottest producers around, plus he had done ‘Back in Black’ and “For Those About to Rock, We Salute You” by AC/DC, ‘4’ by Foreigner and ‘High & Dry’ by Def Leppard. Just a few massive albums. With Mutt signing on to do this album, he had to turn down Def Leppard’s next album ‘Hysteria’…but delay after delay allowed him to eventually join in and help with that mind blowing album.
But the Cars were different, they pure pop. They were not a hard rock band. The Cars also co-produced with the album as well. I do know that Mutt’s influence on here is huge and obvious at times as I can hear hints of his other work in these songs. This saw the band return to form and even see elements of their debut on here as well. It might be slick and polished, but is quite incredible too! If this isn’t their best album, it is pretty damn near close.
You, my reader, are going to pick an album for me to review each month. It is really simple…first, I will give you 5 albums to choose from and second, you will tell me which one of those you would like to see reviewed on the site. See…simple! Now, if you want to cast more than one vote, comment on the Twitter and Facebook post and you could get up to 3 votes on your favorite pick.
There are no longer rules for my selections, maybe themes. I’m just picking albums in my collection and this time they are all from my favorite era of music…The 80’s. We’ve done one with the 80’s rock scene now let’s go to the 80’s Pop scene and what was riding the charts. What are the 5 albums you ask? I have them right here…
U2 – ‘The Joshua Tree’
Prince – ‘Purple Rain’
Genesis – ‘Invisible Touch’
The Cars – ‘Heartbeat City’
Bryan Adams – ‘Reckless’
Let me know which one you would like to see and sometime in January, I will post a review of the album that gets the most votes. You have one week to decide and from there I will start listening to the album and do a review.
After the dismal 2017 release ‘These are the Days’, I had pretty much given up on the band. Heck, on my Album Ranks for Lit…it was the Worst!! That album went too far to the country slant which a lot of rock bands have tried and few, if any have succeeded. Just ask Bon Jovi how well it went. That was not what I wanted to hear. I don’t know if the band heard my complaints or not, but with their new album ‘Tastes Like Gold’, they are back to the Southern California Rock sound despite the fact they are now in Nashville. Whatever the reason, I couldn’t be happier to have that sound back. They sat down with a whole host of writers which I don’t always like, but they were able to pull together a consistent album that was sonically Lit. I’ll take that.
This album for me was my favorite Summer album this year. Musically and lyrically, the album feels light, breezy, sunny and puts me in a great mood with each and every listen. The album painted a picture of driving down the road with the top down and the radio cranking. The beach on one side and glorious palm trees swaying back and forth on the other. The smell of the ocean in the air tickling your senses and putting a smile on your face. Sit back, drink your margaritas (stop driving at this point) and enjoy the fun in the sun.
From the opening party anthem of “Yeah Yeah Yeah” you know you are in for a good time as it is old school Lit all the way. Next is “Mouth Shut” which sees No Doubt drummer Adrian Young join in on the fun. Adrian helped fill in on drums on tour back in 2009 after the death of their longtime drummer Allen Shellenberger. The song is more party fun talking about how you always tend to say the wrong thing. The chorus is catchy as hell and will have you singing along right out of the gate. “Do It Again” has a powerful chorus that feels dramatic and gives a more modern vibe mixed with the old Lit.
“Kicked off the Plane” is an autobiographical song about them getting kicked off a plane for being…well..for being lit!! And no, it wasn’t because they refused to wear a mask!! It reminds me a little of “My Own Worst Enemy” and I mean that in a good way as it shares the same energy. Then we get the tender ballad “Ok With That” and one of my favorite tracks on the album. It is heartfelt and somber but so beautiful at the same time. He seems to be resound to the fact if it is the end of the world, he’s okay with it. It is nice to see the softer side of Lit. The first half ends with “The Life That I Got” featuring American Authors. This is a pure pop song and when they hit the chorus I swear it is “Midnight Memories” by One Direction. I’m torn if I’m okay with that.
The back half kicks off with “Get Out of My Song” and it keeps the party going with a massive drum beat and goes in to that easily sing-song chorus that makes it feel familiar as it is so catchy. Then the title track, “Tastes Like Gold”, has slowed down verses then goes to the bombastic chorus layered with keyboards and goes back and forth making a little predictable. Then with “Here’s to Another” we get an over the top pop song with a ton more keyboards and more of those sunny vibes we’ve been enjoying but overall a rather generic track.
“Hold That Thought” is more of an acoustic track reminiscent of the previous album, ‘These are the Days’, so they haven’t totally abandoned that sound. It is almost a ballad with that pop and country influence mixed together. You have to remember, I didn’t like that previous album so not a favorite song of mine for this one. They quickly redeem themselves with the explosive “Out of It”. This modern pop-rocker sees a more serious side of the band as the song feels more dramatic and impactful. Not a party song, but I’ll take a more modern serious sounding Lit too! The band goes out with a bang with help on vocals from the super-talented Butch Walker as they cover The Cars song “Let’s Go” and they nail it. On keys is Jason Freese who help capture that Cars “magic”. It is pure nostalgia sounding and even has the handclaps. It is a spot-on rendition that is pure excitement and joy. It makes you miss The Cars and love Lit at the same time. Great way to go out.
It is nice to see Lit redeem themselves after their last catastrophe. It is a reminder of how fun they can be and how exciting their sound is when they go old school. The first half of the album is stronger then the back half, but that Cars cover is the best. This for me was my Summer album as I mentioned at the beginning. A total blast and a great reminder of everything I loved about Lit. It is all right here. Go sit by the pool and crank this baby!! My Overall Score is a 4.0 out of 5.0 Stars.
Can’t believe it is time for another monthly wrap-up. This year has flown by in almost a blink. October wasn’t as fruitful as other months although it was still pretty good. I only actually hit a record store once during the month. The rest were all bought online whether Amazon, Discogs or directly from the artist.
The first batch is from a trip my daughter and I made to the local antique mall. This mall is really great as it has several booths strictly related to vinyl and that is always where I ended up spending all my time. My daughter wants to look at vintage clothing. It is sad when clothes from when I grew up is now vintage, but that is another story. First up are two Aerosmith releases. One I had on CD, but I had really been looking for a decent vinyl version and finally got one. The other release is a 12″ Maxi Single for “Dude (Looks Like a Lady)”.
The other two items were 12″ Singles for ZZ Top and Bon Jovi. The Bon Jovi is an E.P. and one I had only seen on Mike Ladano’ssite when he wrote about a couple years ago. When I saw it, it was an easy decision.
There was only one more vinyl purchase for the month and this one is the coolest. It is the brand new E.P. from Billy Idol called ‘The Roadside’. I’ve ready written a review for it so you can check it out HERE!!!!!. This one is special because it is autographed by the man, the myth, the legend, Billy Idol. You know when you get some autographs they send a picture insert that the artist signs? Well, they do. Except for Billy. Billy sends an actual album jacket with no album and signs the jacket. Then they send a separate sealed album. Strange, but okay.
And that was the last of the vinyl for the month. The rest are all CDs. I have a wishlist on Discogs and this month, I decided each week I was going to buy something from that list. Easy enough right? Except when you decide which seller to use and find out they actually have several items from that artist that are on your list or other artist and that is where the trouble ensues. I figured, well, I have to buy them all because I will save a ton on shipping…and I’m right. There were three shipments and most were Jeff Scott Soto releases because I am wrapping up my purchases before we start the Jeff Scott Soto series in January 2022! It will be a great way to kick off the new year. Here is what I got…
And then there were a few more…and these last 3 came from France. I didn’t read the listing very well and didn’t realize he shipped these without their cases. I guess that is why the shipping was so cheap from France. Luckily I had some empty cases laying around.
Now a few of the first picture I bought and wound up buying stuff from another artist because I saved on shipping. It was two of Joe Elliott’s Down ‘N Outz side project that I had on CD at one and no longer do…but I do again…long story, sad, don’t won’t get in to it!!
And another purchase I ended up buying a Bonus E.P. from Needtobreathe’s album ‘Hard Love’ which I forgot I didn’t actually have on CD. What was I thinking. It is sealed and I’m trying to decide if I will keep it that way…
Then using MyPoints gift cards, I picked up a couple free things on Amazon. They are both from a band called Tait. The lead singer is Michael Tait formerly of the band DC Talk. His voice is like butter. He sounds like Nat King Cole, but rocks out. Really cool stuff. One of the CDs arrived sealed and autographed by the band. I must not have read the description too well because I don’t remember reading it was autographed. Cool enough. And thanks to Lori for getting rid of it.
And the very last thing I got were a couple of CDs from my pal who I mentioned earlier, Mike Ladano or LeBrain from the The LeBrain Train. He was kind enough to send me the new Max the Axe E.P. and threw in the debut Cars CD which for some reason I didn’t have on CD. I do on vinyl, but nice to have a remastered version as well. Thanks Mike. Now, the Max the Axe CD you just read about on Monday so you know all about that one now.
Not a bad haul I guess. It is just weird that most of these I bought online and not from an actual record shop. I hope I get to hit one or two in October. I know there is record show on October 9th, so I will at least hit that. Until next time, happy purchasing!! Here is everything one more time…
The Cars. What can be said about them that hasn’t already been said. They are one of the greatest new wave bands to ever come along and an inspiration to many. Their brand of power pop ruled the airwaves from the Debut in 1978 all the way to 1984 before they started to fade away from the scene, but never faded away from our hearts.
The band was inducted in to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2018 and the band was all there except for Benjamin Orr who died in 2000. It was really cool to see the band together again and play a few songs. The classic line-up consisted of the following members:
Ric Ocasek – Vocals, rhythm guitar
Elliot Easton – lead guitar
Greg Hawkes – keyboards
Benjamin Orr – bass, lead vocals
David Robinson – drums
We most recently we lost Ric Ocasek in 2019. As I did when Orr died, upon Ric’s death I pulled out The Cars catalog and went through it over and over again. It reminded me of how great these guys were and what a catalog of music they left behind. As a result, I decided to do an album ranking to see what was the worst album all the way up to the best. Let’s see where they stack up.
The Pretty Reckless – Taylor Momsen’s Pretty Reckless Christmas – (Goin’ Down Inc. / Fearless Records)
Florence + The Machine – Everybody Scream – (Polydor Records / Republic Records / Universal)
Avatar – Don’t Go In The Forest – (Black Waltz AB / Thirty Tigers)
The Cars – Heartbeat City (Deluxe Edition) – (Elektra Catalog Group)
Bob Dylan – Through The Open Window: The Bootleg Series Vol. 18 1956-1963 – (Columbia Records / Sony Music)
Duff McKagan – Lighthouse Live From London – (Blood Meridian / earMusic / Edel Entertainment)
Guided by Voices – Thick Rich And Delicious – (GBV Inc.)
Thompson Twins – Industry & Seduction: A Thompson Twins Collection Deluxe – (BMG Rights Mgmt)
ODC – Twisted Love – (Frontiers Records)
U2 – ‘The Joshua Tree’
Prince – ‘Purple Rain’
Genesis – ‘Invisible Touch’
The Cars – ‘Heartbeat City’
Bryan Adams – ‘Reckless’
2 Loud 2 Old Music 