In 2018, Def Leppard issued a new Greatest Hits compilation called ‘The Story So Far..The Best of’. It was released on CD and Vinyl and if you got the vinyl set, you received a 7″ Single for their cover of Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus”. It is the only way to get that single, that I am aware. And what a strange cover and unexpected surprise from the band. Who would’ve thought they would cover Depeche Mode.
“Depeche Mode [started out] really poppy like a lot of bands that disappeared, then all of a sudden they started doing things like ‘Personal Jesus’ – and it was like ‘woah’ … It has an element of cool that was different from the earlier Depeche Mode stuff,” Collen said. “I found it really inspiring how this article that said Depeche Mode sold out more than Bieber or Taylor Swift,” Collen said. “We [felt] a tear of pride and joy for them – the fact that they carried on, never stopped … and it’s sort of the way we see ourselves.”
Over the last 6 months, I have found a ton of bootlegs and for me that is great as I love getting this tidbits of history from a band especially since the band haven’t released it. There was a stretch of a few months where I found three Whitesnake bootlegs and this is the last of those that I found. This one is from the tour for ‘Saints And Sinners’ which ran from 1982-1983. And the band is listed as David Coverdale, Cozy Powell, Jon Lord, Micky Moody, Mel Galley and Colin Hodgkinson. This particular show is said to be Newscastle City Hall in England and recorded on December 14th, 1982. It is a 3 LP set and is the whole show and was released in Japan. No OBI so don’t get excited, this is a bootleg.
I’ve read there is some debate if this show is from Newcastle. All the dialogue between the songs has been cut so no city is mentioned. The setlist is similar to a show from Japan and being released in Japan has some to believe that is where the show is. That show is February 22, 1983 from Budokan in Tokyo, Japan. I honestly couldn’t tell you one way or the other. The sound isn’t bad, a little hollow at times, needs more deep end. You can hear everyone pretty good. The sound is consisten throughout the show so I am sure it is a soundboard. They must have the crowd mic’d up as you can hear them pretty good. Most audience recordings aren’t consistent.
But what I can tell you is that they set this bootleg up to look like a promo. It has tour dates listed on the back for some UK shows. If that wasn’t enough look at the labels and you will see is “Not For Sale” listed on each label. And what you will also notice is at the top of the label it says “Cozy Powell Band”. Man, that would piss off David I am sure. At least it does say Whitesnake in that really cool logo across the center of the label. You gotta love bootlegs.!
LP 1:
The album opens with “The Shadow of the Blues”…wait…what happened to the “Walking In…”. Oh well, bootlegs for you. For a blues song, this one is really rocking and the band is kicking ass and taking names. The song is sped up but not as fast as “Rough And Ready” where David is singing so fast, I can’t really understand everything he is saying. Jon Lord’s hammond is on fire as he destroys it on the solo. Then Micky comes shredding in with a wicked solo. A great 1-2 punch. According to the label, “Ready An’ Ready” is up next, but we know it is really “Ready An’ Willing”. It kicks with David asking if they are “ready and willing” over and over and then bam…they go in to the song. They slowed the tempo down a little for this to a more normal pace. The song has a great groove to it, David sounds great and more great guitar playing. Always a wonderful live song choice.
And flipping over to Side 2 we get “Don’t Break My Heart Again”. We get some opening drum beats by Cozy, some hand clapping from the audience and some Lord organ. This is a pretty radio friendly sounding track. The crowd gets in to it and sings along at the break with more hand clapping. Then we get an early recording of “Here I Go Again”. And you know it is early because it still says “Hobo” instead of “Drifter”. It has more Lord organ and only David on vocals opening. Nice and quiet before the full band kicks in and it starts to rock out. But not as much as the 1987 version does. But that is a few more years down the road.
LP 2:
First David introduces some new band members with Cozy Powell on drums and Colin Hodgkinson on bass. Now it is time for some David Cock Rock with “Love Hunter”. You’ve got Micky on slide guitar and the song is still a lot of fun even with its inappropriate lyrics. During the middle of the song it breaks in to a Micky Moody guitar solo and a Colin bass solo mixed in. In the middle of the solo, with Micky and Colin go at it, we suddenly get a honky tonk jam and it is either Mel or Colin on vocal. Then with an awkward cut, it is back to some Micky slide guitar with a big dramatic finish before we rock out with the ending of “Love Hunter”.
Flipping it over it we get David introducing another new member with Mel Galley then we get the older version of “Crying in the Rain”. A great opening set of guitar work and then David comes in and he sounds great. This is a killer, rocking track and this older version has a little more groove and not as heavy, but oh, it is as good. The guitar solo in this is extended and ripping, a song in and of itself, but still with the “Crying” groove. David does give each member a chance to shine at these shows. He’s a good boss…when he’s not firing the whole band over and over. You go to an early Snake show and you aren’t getting the songs as they are on the album, no sire. You get so much more. At the end, they go quietly in to a small piece of the Deep Purple track “Soldier of Fortune”. Then another cut and then it is all Jon Lord as he gets his turn in the spotlight…hell to the yeah!
LP 3:
Why not start LP 3 with yet another solo and this time around it is Cozy Powell on drums. He is a beast. He even does part of 633 Squadron, Over the Top and 1812 Overture during his solo. It is not your typical drum solo and that is a welcoming fresh thing to hear. When it ends they go in to classic Whitesnake mode with the bluesy “Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City”. It is slows things down, the crowd claps along and the boys just get down and dirty with this one. Always a treat when they pull this one out.
Flipping to the final side, Side 6, they start off with an fan favorite called “Fool For Your Loving”, but this is not the Slip of the Tongue version. They speed things back up like they are in a major hurry. The later version isn’t much different. A little slower and more dramatic. And that is how they end the show, but we still have encore. And first up is “Thank You Blues” which is a little message for the audience. And yes, it is very bluesy. Then they go in to the fun, crazy “Wine, Women And Song”. It is a foot stomping boogie woogie good time. And of course, Jon Lord kicks ass on this one too! This is a great encore song that is nothing but fun. The final track is “We Wish You Well” and David softly sings the crowd out of the evening. This sounds like a recording thought and not a live performance. This was probably being played as the fans exited the arena. Kiss does that kind of stuff too.
And that is it. A 3 LP live set from Whitesnake. The sound isn’t bad. It is consistent throughout and you can hear the crowd which makes for a great live show. David sounds really good and the new band, at the time, was another fine set of musicians. It didn’t bother me that a lot of the dialogue was cut out as it meant it was basically song after song. There are a lot of great solos and jamming moments. And by spreading out the album over 3 LPs, the songs weren’t compressed and helped the sound quality. Overall a really good bootleg. My Overall Score is a 4.0 out of 5.0 Stars as it did need a little more punch in the sound, but what you get is still awesome.
We all know Bryan Adams and what a great songwriter he is as he has had numerous hits such as “Cuts Like A Knife” and “Summer of ’69’ to only name a couple. He and his writing partner Jim Valance are two of the best. But did you know they also wrote for other artists? Before Bryan was famous as Bryan Adams, he and Jim wrote a couple songs for the band Kiss. On the Kiss album ‘Creatures of the Night’, they have two songs and both written with Gene Simmons and sung by Gene. One is one of his trademark songs “War Machine” and the other is “Rock And Roll Hell. What we have here is the brand new single released from Bryan covering those two songs. Is it technically a cover if he wrote it? Good question.
After all these years, why has he suddenly decided to release his own version? Easy, Bryan has started a brand new record label called Bad Records and this was his way of kicking off that label and it’s very first single release. They were released digitally and they decided to actually release a 7″ Vinyl Single as well which of course I had to buy as I am a huge Kiss fan and “Creatures” is one of my favorite albums by the band. It is Kiss Adjacent so I had to get it.
For the first time on vinyl, Motley Crue released ‘Supersonic And Demonic Relics’ for the 2024 Record Store Day. And since this was the first time on vinyl, I had to grab a copy. There were only 2,500 copies available, so I guess I am lucky to have grabbed one of them. I am sure they will release this album on vinyl eventually, but hopefully this will be the only picture disc. Now, with the track record of RSD albums, I’m not holding my breath.
The album originally came out on June 29, 1999 and Wikipedia says this is the band’s fourth compilation, but I don’t know what their three are before it as I only know of Decade of Decadance 81-91 in 1991 and the Greatest Hits in 1998. Yes, this is compilation but it not a greatest hits album. Instead it is a collection of tracks from soundtracks, songs that were new on a greatest hits album, remixes and even a handful of unreleased tracks. I really like these type of releases even if the songs aren’t always great. I’ll take this over a greatest hits record any day. My only complaint about this RSD release is the quality of the pictures on the cover and even the choice for the vinyl pictures. The cover looks grainy and not very professionally done. And the side of the vinyl with the picture of the speakers from the album cover are a little dull and not very crisp. I know, I’m picky.
The last 7″ Single I found this Summer was for a Southern Rock Band that did really well in the early 80’s. A lot of smash hits including this one from their 1983 album ‘Tour de Force’. I said last week that this week’s single was special. And that is because the band was .38 Special and the song was “If I’d Been the One”. The album went to #22 thanks in part to this Top 40 song which went to #19 and #1 on the Mainstream Rock Chart. The version I have is a standard U.S. version and the B-Side was also from the album, so sadly, no non-album track which I love to get as the B-Side, but at least we got another great track from the album.
“If I’d Been the One” was credited to Don Barnes, Larry Steele, Jeff Carlisi and Donnie Van Zant. The song is about Donnie and his relationship with his older brother Ronnie Van Zandt who was killed in the notorious plane crash that killed several members and crew of the band Lynyrd Skynyrd. Donnie asks the question, what if he was the one on that plane? Donnie was definitely hurting and seem to be suffering from survivor’s guilt even though he wasn’t on the plane. It was a chance for him to express his love for his brother and his battle with all the emotions he felt about his death. It is really a sad song.
As we end another month, it is time to go back and see what 2 Loud 2 Old Music added to the collection. This is October 2024 and we have vinyl, CDs and even a book. So much to go through including a ton of Noble Record Exclusives and Test Pressings as well as another addition to the Rock Candy collection, the Kiss collection and 2 Box Set collections. Lots of great albums to go though and show for this month so I hope you enjoy the show!!
So go check it out as it will be live tonight right now, October 28, 2024 at 8pm. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.
And here is everything in case you can’t watch the video…
I love me a good bootleg and I found with this one. It is from Queen and it is called ‘Command Performance: Live at the Hammersmith Odean at Christmastime 1975’. In fact, it was recorded on December 24, 1975. The bootleg came out some time in 1976 and I love the simplicity of it all. A green sheet with a photocopy of the band and setlist in black. Nothing fancy about it at all. Nothing on the back cover and the labels on the vinyl were white and someone had typed ‘Side One’ or ‘Side Two’ depending on the side. No expense was spared…LOL!!
And like all bootlegs, there are mistakes. The opening track is listed as “Now I’m Sure”…and I’m sure that is wrong. It should be “Now I’m Here”. If that wasn’t enough, Roger Taylor is now spelling his name differently as Rodger Taylor. That “d” makes a difference. The other thing, this isn’t the full show. It is a single LP so several songs and medley were cut, but what you get here is still rather amazing. It is the best of the best.
What was special about this show is it was broadcast live on the BBC and it was the first time the band had ever done that. With that being said, the sound quality on this is exceptional (with minor exceptions). This is one of the cleanest sounding bootlegs I have ever owned. However, what makes this bootleg obsolete now is that the band actually did release this show officially on November 20, 2015. It was called ‘A Night at the Odeon – Hammersmith 1975’.
That didn’t matter to me, as I love bootlegs and still wanted it as it was a cherished piece in the bootleg world back in the 70’s. Plus, nothing beats the simplicity of the whole set. This was so prized because several songs on this set were later dropped from the setlist and did not appear on any official live release back in the day. In the grand scheme of things, yes, I can get the official release, but this to me is more authentic and more special. Now, let’s get to the music.
A few years back I did a complete collection series on the Scorpions. I figured it was time to show all the vinyl off on The Collection. We will break it up in to two parts with the first being from the debut album, ‘Lonesome Crow’, all the up to ‘Blackout’ with every thing I have in between which we covered last week. For Part 2, this week we will cover ‘Love at First Sting’ up to their latest ‘Rock Believer’. This will cover from 1984 all the way up to their most recent released in 2022. This will have the classic line-up of Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker, Mathias Jabs, Francis Buchholz and Herman Rarebell. There will be new members on bass and drums down the road including Mikkey Dee from Motorhead on drums. We will talk covers, music and sound…all the good and bad an inbetween.
So go check it out as it will be live tonight right now, October 14, 2024 at 8pm. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.
On June 11, 2021, Def Leppard finally released The Collection, Vol. 3. It had been 2 years since the released of Vol. 2 in part probably due to Covid-19. By 2021, things were slowly starting to get back to normal. This was a crucial collection because these albums were not available on vinyl prior to this. So, it is is a must have set for you vinyl collectors. Ok, not really because they are available now individually…well…except for the bonus material. We’ve talked through the B-Sides, Yeah! II and now it is time for the final bonus album in The Collection, Vol. 3…Yeah! Live.
‘Yeah! Live’ is a compilation of 8 live cover songs the band have done over the years. They are B-Sides or recorded from tribute shows they have done and now they are all in one spot. I feel like they have to have more then this, but maybe not. What is cool is Side B as it has Brian May on most of the tracks. I guess he is the 6th member of the band now.. It is not a vast chunk of songs, but it is all quality here not quantity. What is cool is there is a couple recordings on here from the 80’s so we get Steve Clark on a couple tracks. But the rest of the guys are here too with Joe Elliott, Rick Savage, Rick Allen, Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell.
SIDE A:
The B-Side to the song “Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad” is a live version of the Alice Cooper classic, “Elected”. It was recorded in July 1987 at Tilburg, Netherlands on the ‘Hysteria’ Tour. The crowd was really in to this show as they are screaming loud. Joe attacks the vocals with that Alice Cooper style, with grit and attitude. I wonder if the crowd noise is pumped in as they repeat some of their chants throughout. Anyway, the band rocks it out and does a fair job at this one. All I know is when it came out and I picked it up with this song as the B-Side I was happy to have something I didn’t have in my collection at the time. I’ll take new stuff any day.
On June 13, 1985, Ratt released their second full length album called ‘Invasion of Your Privacy’. After the success of their debut ‘Out of the Cellar’, Ratt wasted no time in repeating that formula and delivering another solid album. The first single off that album was “Lay It Down” and released in the same month as the album. This is the 2nd 7″ Single I found while on vacation down in Florida. My copy is another standard US Version and it doesn’t use the cover of the album as the single cover. Instead, we get individual shots of each band member.
The single was the band’s second, and last, Top 40 Hit and I am honestly surprised by that fact. The band has had so many great songs and is a legend in the Hair Metal/Glam Metal scene that to have only 2 Top 40 sings is nuts. It did go to #4 on the Mainstream Rock Chart which is probably where most of their songs charted anyway.
2 Loud 2 Old Music 