Tag: Tony Franklin

Whitesnake – ‘Into the Light: The Solo Albums Box Set’ (2024) – Album Review (The David Coverdale Series)

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David Coverdale has really outdone himself with these Super Deluxe Editions Box Sets.  First was the ‘1987’ album, then an UnZipped Box Set, then ‘Slide It In’ and the 1989 album ‘Slip of the Tongue’. Heck, He even did the 25th Anniversary Edition of ‘Restless Heart’ and even a 15th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition for ‘Good to Be Bad’ now called ‘Still…Good to Be Bad’. And they are all spectacular. Now, we get a new box set. This time around it is a collection of his 3 solo albums. Starting with the most recent, 2000’s ‘Into the Light’ and going all the back to his first 2 solo albums including 1977’s ‘Whitesnake’ and 1978’s ‘Northwind’. And you don’t get each album once, you get them twice. One with a remastered version and then a 2024 complete remix.

This special edition consists of 6 CDs, 1 60-page Book, and 1 Album Cover Poster.  And it has over 91 tracks amongst all the CDs.  Well…not really. Each album is repeated twice with the remixed and the remastered versions, but there is a lot of new unreleased stuff too which is great. So, this is why I say this is for the diehard fans as it is very repetitive…this is for the diehard fans as it is very repetitive! Yes, I said this twice to prove a point and yes, I did this joke on pretty much every box set review for Whitesnake because its true. Here are all the songs you get…it’s immense.

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Retro Rock Reviews: Ep. 8 – Blue Murder’s ‘Blue Murder’ (1989)

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This week we talk about an album that I loved back in 1989. It is the debut album from Blue Murder simply called ‘Blue Murder’. I was a big John Sykes fan thanks to Whitesnake and I was disappointed in his departure from the band. When I found out about Blue Murder, I was so excited. Especially when I found it wasn’t just John Sykes, but The Firm’s Tony Franklin and Ozzy’s Carmine Appice. And then to found out Bob Rock produced with Mike Fraser on the boards. Yeah, I was all in. But did it hold up? We will find out, join me as I walk through the album song by song.

So go check it out as it is live now on September 26, 2024 at Noon. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.

You Picked It! Blue Murder – ‘Blue Murder’ (1989) – Album Review

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Alright…You Picked It! This one was really close. So close in fact that I had a 3-Way tie for first. So I went on to my personal Facebook Page and posted to get a final run at votes and then Blue Murder ran away with it. Since this is the final “You Pick It” post, at least we are going out with a bang.

  1. Blue Murder – ‘Blue Murder’ – 8 votes
  2. The Scream – ‘Let It Scream’ – 6 votes
  3. Diving For Pearls – ‘Diving For Pearls – 5 votes
  4. RTZ – ‘Return to Zero’ – 2 votes
  5. Saigon Kick – ‘Saigon Kick – 1 vote

Thanks to all for participating in this series for the last few years. It has been fun, but it is time to come to an end. Since I am down to 1 Series currently (The Jeff Scott Soto Series) as the Scorpions Series is ending, I am going to start reviewing a bunch of things in my collection until it is time to start the Bon Jovi Series…not sure when that will be but it will be coming some time this Summer. For now, enjoy the Blue Murder review…

BLUE MURDER – ‘BLUE MURDER’ (1989):

With a sudden dismissal from Whitesnake, which is a story all unto itself, John Sykes had a lot to prove. His guitar work was on full display with Whitesnake’s 1987 self-titled album and fans wanted more…me included. John, along with some stellar musicians including Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge, Ozzy) and Tony Franklin (The Firm) formed the band Blue Murder and they brought a bluesy, rock sound that needed to be heard. With Bob Rock as producer and Mike Fraser mixing, damn it was a lethal combination of people,

And it should’ve been heard as critics loved it and his fans as well, but John made a huge mistake in signing with Geffen Records, the same label that his former band, Whitesnake, was signed to as well. Whitesnake was the label’s shining gem. It has been said that David Coverdale wanted this album squashed and it feels like it was as it came and went without much of a whimper, but for fans of John Sykes, it is an incredible masterpiece of guitar wizardry and when you have Carmine and Tony behind you, you know the rhythm section can’t be quite matched by many. Let’s dive right in and get to the music and see if it holds up to the hype…

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Joel Hoekstra’s 13 – ‘Dying to Live’ (2015) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

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Joel Hoekstra might be one of the best hired guns in the business. From his time in Night Ranger, to Whitesnake, to Cher, to Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) to now Revolution Saints. And in between he has done several solo albums of instrumental music. This time, he wanted to showcase his songwriting abilities and so he started a new project called Joel Hoekstra’s 13 and he brought along some heavy hitters. Helping on this album were none other than Tony Franklin (Blue Murder, The Firm, Whitesnake) on bass, Vinny Appice (Last in Line, Heaven & Hell, Dio & Black Sabbath) on bass and then on vocals he brought in the great Russell Allen (Symphony X, Adrenaline Mob, Allen/Lande, TSO) to handle the vocals. But the reason for the post is the final connection with Jeff Scott Soto.

Jeff was brought in to do backing vocals, but Jeff being the powerhouse and force of nature he is, ended up singing about half the songs on the album. Yes, he is that good. Now, Joel wrote all the songs including music and lyrics which is why this has his name stamped on it. He did have help on one song that he did with Russell called “Changes”. This has been treated as a solo project, but really this is something more. Heck, in fact all of these people would be back for second album a few years later (except Jeff would be only backing vocals on that one – and we wont’ review if for this series as a result.

Even with all these major players on the album, there is still some more help brought in. We get the great Derek Sherinian on keyboards, Charlie Zeleny on percussion and Dave Eggar on the cello for the final song on the album “What We Believe”. And that isn’t all. He also wrangled in Toby Hitchcock (Pride of Lions) and Chloe Lowery (TSO) to do some duets with Mr. Soto. This line-up is pretty damn impressive so the music has to be good…right? Ahhh…you are damn straight!! I missed this album when it came out, not realizing Mr. Soto was on it and if I did, I would’ve been all over it. But I am going to say something that surprises even me, my favorite parts of this album aren’t Jeff Scott Soto…no sir. They are Russell Allen. I forget how awesome he is vocally and this stuff really makes him shine. Alright, let’s get to it, shall we.

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