Victims of the Fury Review

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(More customer reviews)Originally released in January 1980, Robin Trower's seventh LP "Victims of the Fury" proved to be his ultimate crowning achievement. It had been five years since what I consider to be his last truly great release before this, 1975's "For Earth Below." The three albums that came in between, 1976's "Long Misty Days," '77's "In City Dreams," and '78's "Caravan to Midnight," while all being good, I feel were somewhat uneven in quality for Trower standards.
That's why when Robin and company ushered in the new decade with "Victims of the Fury," both blues and heavy rock fans alike had reason to rejoice. While the at the time 34-year-old Robin originates from London and from a clearly English background, his emotionally rich and vivid playing, along with the ever soulful vocals of bassist James Dewar, were more rooted in U.S. blues of the past. Hence, Trower's LPs throughout the '70s always charted higher in America rather than in his own home country.
Being only five years old in 1980 when this album was first released, I was introduced to Trower's music much later on in the '90s with the "Essential Robin Trower" compilation. While collections like that are great for that purpose, I eventually picked up all the original albums, including the one being reviewed here "Victims of the Fury."
This record, as stated, is nothing short of a masterpiece. From the opener "Jack and Jill," Robin introduces his jangly, reverby guitar and some of the most fluid riffing he had ever created and more rooted in heavy rock than ever before. From there, the chorus on the title track really made it stand out to me on the "Essential" CD and hearing it here in its original LP placement position is amazing. Side one of the original album closes out with the breathtaking "Only Time," which paints an emotionally rich picture so vivid through the sounds you hear and the vocal lines are very poetic as well.
The reason I say in the headline that you must get the 1989 Chrysalis pressing of this CD rather than the 1997 BGO disc (which also had "Caravan to Midnight" tacked on), is that the latter switches the LP's original running order around and eliminates three of its compositions, "the Shout," "Fly Low," and what is one of Trower's best ever songs, "Ready for the Taking," which features one of his most mesmerizing riffs ever, truly brilliant. I am listening to it now and am still swept away by its essential beauty and power.
If you can't find or afford the original Chrysalis CD though and don't have a turntable to listen to the record, then definitely download the missing tracks here on Amazon. You won't regret it.
All in all, some of the best blues rock ever created from one of the genre's most amazing power trios. Highly recommended.

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Live Around the World Review

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(More customer reviews)One can easily make the argument that Meat Loaf's career is intertwined with songwriter Jim Steinman. Meat Loaf has enjoyed his greatest success when he has teamed up with Steinman."Bat Out of Hell" and "Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell" are considered two of the all-time legendary albums. For all practical purposes, these albums are Rock Operas (or commonly referred to as Wagnerian Rock). The concepts for these two albums basically revolved around the thoughts and stories of a teenage and young adult male.One thing that really made the "Bat Out of Hell" albums special was the combination of Steinman's songwriting with Meat Loaf's powerful and passionate vocals. Both Meat and Steinman come from a theatrical background - and both Steinman's music and Meat's vocals are clearly a product of this background. I think its safe to say that Steinman provides the infrastructure for Meat to deliver these powerful vocals while Meat's vocals make Steinman's music come alive.It is this style of music that almost seems tailor-made for being heard live - and the collection "Live Around the World" gives Meat Loaf fans a chance to hear what this music sounds like in a live setting. Despite some minor quirks, this collection does not disappoint.
The content of the performances is of a high level. When I review a live album, I usually prefer the album to basically be a full recording of a concert. In other words, I prefer the tracks come a single night's performance and be arranged in the order that they were played in concert. I normally am not one for edited concerts or live compilations.In the case of Meat Loaf's "Live Around the World", the tracks are a mixed bag. This compilation is basically an anthology of Meat's greatest live performances from 1977 through 1996. Because this is the way this album has been put together, this album cannot be used as a gauge for the what a Meat Loaf concert really sounds like. However, the album does attempt job to arrange the songs to give a perception that this could be a Meat Loaf concert.The ordering of the songs is done well, but I can't say this is done perfectly. For example, while "Paradise By the Dashboard Light" is the last song on the first CD, I probably would have made it the last song overall.I do give the album credit for flowing one song into another nicely - creating the "illusion" that this is a live show. While I understand when putting this album together, bringing together an anthology of Meat's live performances seemed like a good idea - I think it would have been better to assemble a CD of one or two actual concerts (The Police's "Live" album basically did this). Yes these are quirks that do bother me about this collection, but it doesn't take away from the content - this is some really good stuff. Meat's performances live up to the high expectations I had for this collection.
As one would expect, most of the performances included on "Live Around the World" come from "Bat Out of Hell" and "Bat Out of Hell II". In fact, all seven songs from "Bat Out of Hell" are included on here. There are seven songs that are included from "Bat Out of Hell II". I am pleased that there are four songs beyond "Bat Out of Hell" that are included. These songs are "Dead Ringer for Love" (from "Dead Ringer"); "Midnight at the Lost and Found" (from "Midnight at the Lost and Found"), as well as "What You See is What You Get" and "Hot Patootie". The nice thing is that Meat shows that his career wasn't just limited to the "Bat Out of Hell" albums - he does a terrific job on these four songs. The one Meat Loaf song that isn't included on this collection is "Everything Louder than Everything Else". This is a terrific song in the true Steinman-Theatrical sense. This is especially disappointing since the prelude to that song, Steinman's spoken "Wasted Youth" is included on this collection.
As mentioned, the performances are incredible. You can hear Meat's passion on every song. Every song is truly a performance. Meat handles co-producing duties for this collection. While Steinman and Todd Rundgren were give a lot of credit for producing Meat in the past, Meat proves he can produce and deliver the product. I was very pleased the full 12 minute version of "I Would Do Anything for Love" kicks off the collection. "Paradise By the Dashboard Light" lives up to my live performance expectations. It is a much longer version than the studio version.Although Ellen Foley isn't doing the co-vocals, Patricia Russo does a great job as "girl". There is an extended dialogue at the end that really makes this a true performance. Russo handles the lion's share of the female lead vocals on this collection. The performance of "Dead Ringer" is very much up there as well - much thanks to Russo's lead vocals. Russo's performance even eclipses what Cher did on this song. Russo also does a great job on "I Would Do Anything for Love" on the vocal exchange that occurs at the end of the song.
One thing that does disappoint are the liner notes. The liner notes do list each of the tracks and the location from which each was recorded. The one thing that isn't included are the dates of the performances. I think for this particular style CD, it would have gone a long way to include the performance dates. As for the musician credits, I would have also liked to have seen each musician's credit listed aligned with each song - insread they are all listed in one place. Overall, if you are a Meat Loaf fan and crave for his level performances in a live setting - this is the CD to get. Highly recommended.

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Cuttin' Heads Review

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(More customer reviews)As Mellencamp has aged his music has become more experimental and relaxed, and on "Cuttin' Heads" he continues to evolve in this manner. The opening track, dealing with interracial relationships, is your typical Mellencamp song except this time employing rapper Chuck D. from Public Enemy to do an intelligent rap at the end of the song. The rhytm is purely hip hop country in true Mellencamp style. He mixes black and white music with politics and it turns out nicely. Who can't help but repeat the line "Lay low proud Poppi"? and "Shout It Out". This moves right into the best song on the cd "Peaceful World". A very catchy harmony and chorus of "Come on baby take a ride with me, I'm up from Indiana down to Tennessee, Everything is cool as can be in a peaceful world". Again, a song about racism, well thought out and with the added bonus of India.Arie's vocals and harmonies. "Deep Blue Heart" is unusual for Mellencamp in that this sounds like a ballad, and to my knowledge of 1982's "American Fool" to 1998's "John Mellencamp", he has never really done a straight ahead ballad. This, too, is well crafted, with the help of Trisha Yearwood. At this point in the cd it seems clear that Mellencamp is using a more r&b, soulful sound than on previous records but then you have "Crazy Island", a nice jab at Americans and our egocentric take on the world. "Just Like You" is a sharp, poignant love song about relying on your partner (or whomever) from time to time to bring some happiness and hope into your life. It's side two that things change a bit, and not necessarily for the better..."The Same Way I Do" is rather forgettable but the humor and narcissism of "Women Seem" is interesting and catchy, and then something new comes along like "Worn Out Nervous Condition" which does not strike me as your typical Mellencamp song, and in fact, he alters his voice here to nice effect I think. My least favorite track is "Shy". What was Mellencamp thinking??? At fifty you don't sing a song that has a chorus, "Sexually I'm Shy Shy Shy" even if he's pretending to look through the eyes of a teenage boy, it still doesn't gel and using a reggae beat doesn't quite work for Mellencamp. "In Our Lives" is a nice closing epitaph and summary about there being no right way to live your life and how Mellencamp comments on his own behavior and feelings about his world right now. So, another solid entry from Mellencamp who, in my humble opinion, has far outshined comparisons to Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan as a talent.

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Out of print in the U.S.!American Rock icon and Rock 'N' Roll survivor, John Mellencamp has been creating some of the finest roots-based Rock music for over 30 years.This 2001 album is no exception. 10 tracks. Sony/BMG.--This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

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Swallow This Live Review

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(More customer reviews)This Poison release, 'Swallow This Live' really dates back to 1991. It was originally a double album, with four new studio tracks recorded specifically for this affair. 'Swallow This Live' was notable in that it was the final Poison effort before guitarist C.C. DeVille left the band (he later returned). This version here is a recent reissue of that previously released album.
Here, 'Swallow This Live' is now a single disc which omits several of the cuts from the double album. These include the new studio cuts, such as "So tell me why." The average fan isn't missing too much, because some of those studio tracks were not top notch. They sounded like left overs from earlier Poison albums. The double disc version of 'Swallow This Live' also contained both a drum solo and guitar solo, two very pointless tracks that took up a lot of running time. These did not survive the trip.
On their own, the live tracks are a good retrospective of Poison in concert. If you don't already like Poison, this one won't convert you. However, the Poison performances here are very entertaining. While some tracks sound a little sloppy, all of your favorites are right here.
If you are a devoted fan of Poison who doesn't already own this, skip it. You will want the 1991 double cd version of 'Swallow This Live' by Poison, not this single disc copy. While this streamlined reissue trims a lot of fat from the earlier copy, this stuff that is left off is a necessity for a Poison completist. Some people might even argue that 'Power to the People', a similar Poison album combining live cuts with a few new studio tracks, is a better purchase.


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Sweet Oblivion Review

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(More customer reviews)I hadn't heard of the Screaming Trees in the Summer of 1993, after I'd just gotten my driver's license. My sister told me she'd buy the ticket for me, if I drove her up to the Orange County Fairgrounds to the Screaming Trees, Spin Doctors and Soul Asylum concert. I balked for a couple of reasons, but mostly because I hadn't heard of the Trees and the Spin Doctors made me nauseous. The Spin Doctors did little to turn me around that night. The Screaming Trees, however, did good work. Very good work. I picked up Sweet Oblivion the next day.
Mark Lanegan's hoarse voice, which at times is barely audible, gives this essetially Seattle grunge band a full force push in the right direction. "Nearly Lost You," (off of the Singles soundtrack) is the obvious standout here. However, I was just as impressed with several of the other songs on the album, including "Dollar Bill," "Winter Song," and "Shadow of the Season." They are an extremely talented band, with the Connor boys backing up Lanegan on guitar and bass.
The Trees never reached the height of popularity they should have, based mostly on poor timing. Sweet Oblivion was released prior to the Singles soundtrack, rather than the other way around, which didn't allow the band to build anticipation for a new release. Add that to a 4 year break before releasing a new album. Mix liberally and you have a band that was musically capable but unfortunately didn't become as successful as they should have.
What you do have here is a great album with a great sound, solid guitar work and a bonafide would-be hit. Buy this album.

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Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. 1992 album from the Alt-Rock band considered to be one of the Godfathers of Grunge. Although they were one of the best Seattle bands of the early '90s, they never achieved the commercial success of bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains. Lead singer Mark Lanegan started a very successful solo career after the Screaming Trees, working with the likesof Queens of the Stone Age, Greg Dulli (Afghan Wigs), Isobel Campbell (Belle & Sebastian) and UNKLE.--This text refers to the Vinyl edition.

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Dr. Feelgood Review

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(More customer reviews)This should get more play on classic rock radio. Motley Crue had pretty much given up being a mid-80s hairband and had abandoned the whole leather, devil-worship image from the earliest days. Still there's prejudice against the Crue from rock n roll radio for whatever reason.
I remember fondly being 13 years old in 1984 wearing the pentagram Crue tee shirts with my mullet and having people think I was a demonologist. Fun times.
As far as this album goes, it's kind of the Layla of my generation. Pure classic rock. In a league of its own. Beyond mere metal. Still a favorite among strippers. That's about a perfect album.

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Open Up & Say Ahhh Review

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(More customer reviews)After doing a more or less straight cover of KISS's "Rock And Roll All Nite" for the Less Than Zero soundtrack, the bad boys of Poison released their second album, Open Up And Say Ahh!, which got into a bit of a controversy because of the album cover. So what's the big deal about a scraggly haired demonic green-eyed woman with a long tongue sticking out? Apparently a lot to the censorship folks. The edited album cover was a narrow strip that merely showed the eyes and orange slightly below and above. Fortunately, I manged to snag the unedited cover.
"Love On The Rocks" recalls Motley Crue and Cinderella, only not as hard as those two groups, but a good enough dose of rock and roll and swaggering bedroom antics. Another track Diamond Dave would be proud of.
"Nothin' But A Good Time" was a good choice for the first single although not as rowdy as the first single from their debut. The theme of blowing one's hard-earned money for a good time to compensate for an unsatisfying job is shown clearly here. The part before the final chorus run-through is a favorite. After CC's solo, comes the rhythmic thumping of the drums in measured time.
Going "Back To The Rocking Horse" seems like a good idea to me. After a brief been-there, done-that explanation, the narrator longs not only for a simpler time but to start all over again. Gosh, the things I'd do if I had the chance, and the world had better look out! A worthy rocker.
A bluesy harmonica and beats owing nods to to "Sweet Emotion" and "Walk This Way" is displayed on "Good Love," which is to the girl of the song what petrol is to a car. The lifestyle led by the couple in this leads neighbours saying "the things you're doing ain't natural, boy."
The naughtiest and hardest rocking non-single track here is "Look But You Can't Touch" about his trying to seduce a young thing who later doesn't seem quite as innocent as all that. When he sings "I didn't plan on spending money just to get a piece of mind", he emphasizes the word "mind", making me think, "Yeah, as opposed to something rhyming with mass." The guitar squeals in time when he sings that he gets slapped in face for making an illegal move.
"Fallen Angel", the second single, is about a small-town girl whose dreams of show business includes a life in the fast lane, "rolling the dice of her life."
A heartfelt sigh opens the heartbreaking "Every Rose Has Its Thorn", their first #1 song and a mature ballad looking back at a blown chance to make or break a relationship. After words like "like the knife that cuts you/the wound heals, but the scar, that scar remains," I thought, "And these guys did 'Talk Dirty To Me' two years ago?" This really set the standard for their other great ballad, Flesh & Blood's "Something To Believe In"
Then comes a cover of Loggins and Messina's "Your Mama Don't Dance," which is good old fashioned rock and roll from the 70's. By the time this single came out, hard on the heels of the previous one, the album had run its course, hence its failing to make the Top Ten.
Things get slower, the sound lacking the ferocity of Look What The Cat Dragged In, which results in a few filler tracks, compensated for by "Every Rose..." but Bret Michael's swaggering bad-boy, play all night with beautiful women tone, is still here. Worthy followup to their debut. And when is EMI going to reissue that original cover for everyone?

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Arena Review

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(More customer reviews)WHAT IS IT? The 20th anniversary reissue of Duran Duran's live CD, digitally remastered and with two bonus tracks: the live versions of "Girls on Film" and "Rio."

THE PROS: Thanks to the remastering, the sound quality is a huge improvement over the original 1984 recording. The bonus tracks, especially the dynamic live version of "Girls on Film," are so good that they're almost worth the price of this CD. It makes you wonder why they weren't included in the first place. And, of course, we have the Nile Rodgers-produced "Wild Boys," a killer studio track that went to Number Two in the fall of 1984.

THE CONS: With a few exceptions, the audience is eliminated from the recording. As a result, you don't really feel a connection between the band and their fans. Also, the live versions are, for the most part, note-for-note replicas of the originals, although the kickass "Careless Memories" is a true standout.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Worth a purchase only for Duran Duran fans, even if they already have the original release. While its flaws remain, the remastering is top-notch, and the two extra tracks are worth checking out.

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Limited Edition Japanese pressing of this album comes housed in a miniature LP sleeve. 2008.--This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

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Let It Bleed Review

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(More customer reviews)There was only one version of Let It Bleed. This is it. It was released simultaneously in the UK and US on Dec 5, 1969. The Stones had the guts to leave off their July megahit Honky Tonk Woman and instead (much to the chagrin of record company execs) put a countrified satire of their own hit on the album. The Let It Bleed sessions also produced 3 of their finest works that are not on the album (Honky Tonk Woman, Sweet Virginia, and Sister Morphine).
The album contains a huge chunk of the work that made the band famous for this era....Gimme Shelter, Love in Vain, Let It Bleed, Midnight Rambler, and You Can't Always Get What You Want have all pretty much defined not only the Stones but this era of English-speaking history to the world. The album is a staple in every serious rock collection.....it's that simple.
The album has several notable facts:
.....Brian Jones died the same day the last tracks were recorded in London
.....M.C. Escher and photographer Man Ray were both invited to design the cover (they declined)
.....it includes the 1st song not sung by Mick - You Got The Silver, sung by Keith (Mick's version was left in the can)
.....Gimme Shelter was written by Keith while he waited in his car for girlfriend Anita Pallenberg who was starring with Mick (and actually making love instead of only acting) on the set of Performance
.....the Stones have long been accused of stealing many of the song bits from Ry Cooder who was involved in the early sessions and laid down basic tracks that developed into many of the songs
The tracks were recorded between Feb 9 and Jul 2, 1969 at Olympic Sound, London, with final mixing done at Sunset Sound and Elektra Studios in L.A. between Oct 18 and Nov 3. You Can't Always Get What You Want dates slightly earlier, first recorded on Nov 17, 1968 at Olympic with Al Kooper on French horn, producer Jimmy Miller on drums instead of Charlie, and the 35 member London Bach Choir. In addition to the 9 tracks that made the album, the Let It Bleed sessions also produced:
.....the entire jam session on April 23, 1969 that became the album Jammin' With Edward
.....Honky Tonk Woman (released as a single - Mick Taylor's 1st session with the band)
.....All Down The Line (released on Exile On Main Street)
.....Stop Breaking Down (released on Exile On Main Street)
.....Sweet Virginia (released on Exile On Main Street)
.....Shine A Light (released on Exile On Main Street)
.....Loving Cup (released on Exile On Main Street)
.....Sister Morphine (released on Sticky Fingers)
This information comes from "It's Only Rock And Roll: The Ultimate Guide To The Rolling Stones" by Karnbach and Bernson and from my own collection.

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Destination Anywhere Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought this CD when it first came out a few years ago. I have to admit, when I first listened to it, I did not like it. At all. I guess I thought it was too...different. Unfortunately, I think I kind of put it in one of my "reject" CD piles. It must have been months later that I eventually dug it out and started listening to it again. After hearing it a few more times, I finally realized "Wow this is really good".
This album is COMPLETELY un-Bon Jovi, but that's probably one of the reasons it's so good. As always, Jon succeeds in blowing me away with his songwriting talents.
I guess you could say the songs are more mellow; don't expect any Livin' on a Prayers, Bad Medicines, etc. But it's a nice change to hear Jon sing (with the band it can be more like yelling) and without the blaring guitars. Don't get me wrong, Bon Jovi wouldn't be Bon Jovi without Richie or those amazing choruses, but this IS a solo album.
As a whole, this album is probably one of the best I've heard. I could get into detailing every song but it would take me forever because there are so many good things I could say about each one. In fact, this is one of only two CDs I've ever encountered (the other being Cross Road of course) that I can just put in the CD player and let it play. I really don't think there is even one bad song on it.
Do I recommend this album? Absolutely. BUT, if you go into it trying to compare it with Bon Jovi the band, you will likely have the same reaction I did at first. If you can accept it for the great music that it is, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

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Limited edition Japanese reissue pressing. Mercury. 2005.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Custom Built Review

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(More customer reviews)Bret Michaels seems to be everywhere lately. The Poison front man and solo artist has done 3 seasons of Rock of Love for television, appeared on The Apprentice and a few other tv shows, received publicity for the song "Nothing To Lose" which featured Miley Cyrus and was in the hospital not too long ago. But to be honest I was always more of a fan of the music he did with and outside of Poison than I am of his newfound celebrity status. I liked the material Bret released with Poison, especially the first few albums, and to some extend his solo career. Custom Built is Bret`s fifth studio solo album, sixth if you count 2008`s Rock My World which had only 3 new songs and was mostly a greatest hits of his solo career up to that point and a promotional tool for his Rock of Love series.
I think the material here is supposed to appeal to fans of the Rock of Love series or just Bret Michaels who don`t know anything about his past music. A duet with Miley Cyrus was sure to bring Bret some attention on radio and bring him new fans who weren`t familiar with him. I don`t mean the material on the album is bad but this is almost the same thing Rock My World was, old songs with a few new thrown in and remixes. There are 12 songs on Custom Built of which 7 are new songs, there are two bonus songs included with the digital download only (other versions of new songs Lie To Me and Wasted Time). Out of those seven songs there`s the song for his new tv show Riding Against The Wind (which is a very good song, I`ll give him that) Nothing To Lose with Miley Cyrus (which depending how you view it might be good or absolute trash) plus a solo version of the same song. There`s also a cover song "What I Got", another version of Every Rose Has It`s Thorn (I don`t like this version, I thought it was such a personal song that including all those musicians kind of ruined it for me in the end) and two new songs Lie To Me and Wasted Time which are good. Bret stays with the country-rock formula that he has stuck with his entire solo career, for the most part it`s a pleasant sound and it works for him.
So here`s a summary of what Bret did on Custom Built:
-Two new mixes of Driven (that song has been on Freedom of Sound, Rock My World, Acoustic sessions and now on Custom Built) and Go That Far. The mixes are not bad but the songs are not new.
-Two versions of a new song Nothing To Lose.
-His new television show`s theme song.
-Two other new songs (total of five "brand new" songs)
-A new version of Every Rose Has It`s Thorn with other artists.
-A cover song.
-Two Songs from "Freedom of Sound".
-One song from "A Letter From Death Row".
Correct me if I`m wrong but there doesn`t seem to be a whole lot of new on Custom Built. What`s on the album is definitely not bad but I`d prefer all-new material especially considering how Rock My World had only three new songs. If you just want the new songs go ahead but otherwise you will probably be deceved.I think the two new mixes are not bad, but rather unnecessary. Plus doing a new version of Every Rose Has Its Thorn seems useless as well if it`s not going to be that great. I don`t think Michaels will really impress anyone here but his new material is true to himself which is not a bad thing. As much as I love Bret as a musicians I`d recommend this to casual fans and collectors only. I can`t give this more than two stars unfortunately.


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Includes new songs "Riding Against the Wind," "Lie to Me," "Wasted Time," a remake of Sublime's "What I Got," "Nothing to Lose" (featuring Miley Cyrus), and bonus remix of "Go That Far," the theme song from ROCK OF LOVE, and more!Happily, Bret is making a full recovery and committed to being back to 100 percent health as soon as possible and is ready to rock the world once again! On the heels of becoming a finalist on Celebrity Apprentice, Bret hit the road and will be on tour throughout the Summer and Fall. You can also see Bret in his new VH1 show, "Bret Michaels: Life As I Know It," which will begin airing this September.

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7800 Degrees Fahrenheit Review

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(More customer reviews)I don't know why people who are Bon Jovi fans put down this album in comparison to the other three that came out in the '80s. To me, the quality of these songs is as top-notch as on any of their albums.
"In And Out Of Love" is a fantastic, catchy hard rocker to lead off the album. This is the only song that got any noteriety on this album. It stands up in quality to other, better-known Bon Jovi rockers. But then comes a couple of amazingly tuneful, emotional, yet rocking anthems. "Price Of Love" and "Only Lonely" amaze me every time I hear them with their pretty yet rocking sound. I love these songs as much as anything these guys have ever done.
Next comes "King Of The Mountain", a fun hard rocker but not overly noteworthy. Following is the great power ballad "Silent Night", which to me stands up in quality to later Bon Jovi ballads. "Tokyo Road" is impossibly tuneful and yet rocking, while "Hardest Part Is The Night" is another heartfelt, amazing anthem/power ballad.
The last three tracks are also great, from the catchy anthem/rocker "Always Run To You" to the straight ahead rocker "To The Fire" to yet another amazingly melodic anthem "Secret Dreams" (try to get that song out of your head if you play this album in order and don't play another album immediately after).
The bottom line is this: the debut self-titled effort got these guys on the map and had the breakout hit "Runaway", while the album after this one "Slippery When Wet" sold millions (rightfully so) and made these guys huge. Nonetheless, to me this album is as good as either of those efforts and any Bon Jovi album for that matter. If you like huge hooks and harmonies in your rock and roll, then you absolutely should like this album. For me, a must-have in my Bon Jovi and hard rock music collection.

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Bridges to Babylon - Ltd Ed Slipcase Ve3rsion Review

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(More customer reviews)Having read all the previous reviews slamming the Stones for their age and lack of feel, I am compelled to defend the Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World. I think it is widely agreed upon that the Stones' prime was '68-'72 (Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main Street). With that in mind, every album before and after has been inferior. Bridges to Babylon, being a good 25 years after their prime, cannot be compared to the greatness of the Great Four. The fact that a group of 50+ year old men, who have been through what the Stones have been through (drugs, alchohol, the spotlight since they were 20), can even put out an album is in itself a great accomplishment. In Bridges to Babylon, the Stones show few signs of age. They rock when they need to (Flip the Switch, Out of Control, Saint of Me) and Keith is at his best with 3 superb songs proving that at least he still has the heart rather than greed. Bridges to Babylon is not going to be like the Stones were in their prime. This is post-70's Stones at arguably their best. Anyone who disagrees either never liked the Stones in the first place or just put them down because they are old. If you people didn't know their age or past greatness, your reviews would be much better. I think we are all thankful that the Stones didn't quit in the 70s, and Bridges to Babylon proves it.

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Limited edition of their 1997 album in a special package: astandard jewel case within an etched clear & silver slipcasethat accentuates the graphic of the lion on the cover art.Contains 13 tracks, including the singles 'Anybody Seen MyBaby?' and 'Saint Of Me'. A Virgin release.

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Bon Jovi: Special Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)I was listening to these guys before they hit it big with their third album, and I like this one plenty. But I bought it without realizing I already had the remastered version, which was released a couple years back. The live concert tracks on this disc don't warrant buying the same album twice, as Bon Jovi's concert vocals leave something to be desired. However, if you don't already have the remastered disc, I do recommend getting this, as it showcases their raw talents before the industry polished their material to a blinding luster. The studio tracks are edgy rock most any fan will genuinely appreciate. And I assume the studio tracks are also the remastered versions from the previous release.

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Bon Jovi re-releases their classic studio albums as "Special Editions."Each of the band's first 10 albums--Bon Jovi, 7800° Fahrenheit, Slippery When Wet, New Jersey, Keep The Faith, These Days, Crush, Bounce, Have A Nice Day and Lost Highway- will feature the original studio album tracks plus era-specific live recordings included as bonus tracks. The bonus live tracks include songs taken from sound checks and concerts held in venues from all over the world, ranging from 500-seat theatres to massive football stadiums.Each "Special Edition" collection features new packaging, including images from each period, and new liner notes documenting the band's success through each stage of their twenty-five year career, as well as reproductions of laminated tour credentials.Additionally, each "Special Edition" will provide fans with the ability to gain "backstage access" to The Bon Jovi Virtual Tour Experience -- a website being created to offer exclusive virtual content, including photos, tour memorabilia and additional live audio tracks.

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Long Cold Winter Review

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(More customer reviews)Cinderella's debut featured bluesy rock which was reminiscent of AC/DC. On their follow up they up the rootsiness factor while still rocking in late 80's fashion. The result is a winning album that is an overlooked classic of 80's hard rock.
The album starts off with some harmonica and a national steel guitar while Tom Keifer sings a blues as an intro to "Fallin' Apart At The Seams". It works wonderfully. It's worked so that the key riff of the hard rocker is alluded to and then played on intentionally "historic" sounding guitar. "Gypsy Road" follows which is another riff rocker with a riff Keith Richards probably wishes he wrote. Following that is the excellent "Don't Know What You Got Till It's Gone" which is a fantastic power ballad. Probably the best thing about it though, not to detract from the song, is Tom Keifer's excellent solo. Another standout rocker in "The Last Mile" follows. Other standout tracks include "Long Cold Winter" which is in the vein of Led Zeppelin's "Since I've Been Loving You" with some stirring guitar and "Coming Home" which is a great country rock ballad. "If You Don't Like It" is the kiss-off/screw you song that every good rock album needs and works on that level. "Second Wind" and "Fire And Ice" recall the band's debut "Night Songs" with the latter being the superior track. "Take Me Back" rounds out the album with some kickng drums with cowbell and a great slide riff, and a rootsy upbeatness.
The thing about this and Cinderella's next album ("Heartbreak Station") is that they started showing a way out of being pigeon holed in the "hard rock" scene. Cinderella were stretching the boundaries of what the hard rock and mainstream audiences would accept. At the same time though there were rockin' out with a fury. Tom Keifer's Janis Joplin/Brian Johnson voice may not be for everyone, but the guy always played a mean guitar, and here with Jeff LaBar is just a great rock CD. It's been lumped in with dreck for so long. It stands up a lot better than many of the stuff that was on "Headbanger's Ball" at the same time. And maybe oneday "Long Cold Winter" will be acknowledged as the great rock album it is.

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No Description Available.Genre: Popular MusicMedia Format: Compact DiskRating: Release Date: 30-AUG-1988

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Contraband Review

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(More customer reviews)So I just bought the new Velvet Revolver CD. It showed up yesterday. There is a sticker on the package that says:
This CD is protected against unauthorized duplication. It is designed to play on standard playback devices and an appropriately configured computer. If you have questions or concerns visit www.sunncomm.com/support/bmg
Whatever. So I pop the CD in the computer so that I can rip it and put it on my iPod. The CD starts playing some auto play stuff and then an embedded Windows Media Player comes up in a web page and allows you to play the songs. Exit. I went into iTunes and hit Import to rip the tracks. When it finished I went to play the tracks and they were all garbled. What's going on? Guess I ought to read that web page.
So on that Sunncomm site it basically says the CD is protected. It will only allow you to play it on a computer with its technology. You cannot rip tracks from the CD. It specifically states that you cannot move the songs to an iPod because they (in so many words) don't like Apple and Apple isn't working with them so screw Apple. Huh? No, screw you. I like Apple and I just bought your music. But by the way, this album is available at the iTunes Music Store.
After doing some research, it turns out that this company is putting their copy protection on more and more CDs. This one happens to be the first one that I have bought. So now what? How does this work? Turns out that when Windows starts to auto-run the CD, it quickly installs a hidden driver on your machine that is used to garble the sound of CDs protected by this technology. So now my computer is "infected" with this driver. Some grad school student figured this out a while back and let the world know if you just hold down the shift key, Window's auto-run does not run and you have ready access to the CD. They threatened to sue him.
That solution is too late for me, I already have this installed. More research and system scans pointed me to a hidden driver on my machine called SbcpHid. You will find it in your Windows\System32\Drivers directory. So all you have to do is go into the Windows device manager, find it, stop it. Now you can rip. If you want it off your machine, you can uninstall it from there too.
While there was a sticker on the front of the CD, I found this to be very sneaky. I mean installing hidden drivers on your computer. The driver is not marked with any company name or details so you don't know what it is. The timestamp of the driver was manually adjusted so you couldn't tell that this was installed today. This sounds like most of the spyware that we are all trying to rid our computers of.
So where does that leave us? If you buy the music in a store, you can only play on these certain devices? If I would have bought this music at the iTunes music store, I am limited to what Apple wants me to do. So in this case, if I wanted a good old CD case and disc plus the music on my iPod, I would have to buy the same music 2 times according to the record company. That isn't right. Fair use law dictates it. If the industry doesn't get this figured out, we are going to be in trouble. For now, I guess you and I need to be selective about how we buy our music.

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The debut release from VELVET REVOLVER features Guns N’ Roses founding members Slash and Duff, as well as Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland.The complete line-up is below...SCOTT WEILAND – Stone Temple Pilots SLASH – Guns N’ Roses, Slash’s Snakepit DUFF – Guns N’ Roses MATT SORUM – Guns N’ Roses, Slash’s Snakepit, The Cult DAVE KUSHNER – Infectious Grooves

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Sports Review

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(More customer reviews)This is one of my all-time favorite albums; it certainly brings back lots of memories of 1984. My favorite track would have to be "The Heart of Rock and Roll," followed closely by "I Want a New Drug" and "If This is It," which, coincidentally, were the three biggest singles.
However, this "re-mastered" edition, which was released in 1999, is very, very poor. I purchased this edition in the summer of 2003, at which time I was taking an internship in audio engineering. This "24-bit re-master" is an engineer's worst nightmare. The engineer who re-mastered this disc has taken some pretty tasteless liberties with the bass and treble.
On most of the tracks, there is too much low end bass, which makes them sound muddy and overbearing. There is also a lack of treble (high-end), making this an extremely poorly-balanced re-master. The best example of this is track #4, "I Want a New Drug." The bass drum pounds and pounds away, ready to break my car stereo speakers at any given moment. The high-end is not as airy or clear as it sounds on the old CD edition. And the following track, "Walking On a Thin Line," opens with a synthesizer bassline that is overbearing in its intensity.
At first, I thought that this was intentional, but after downloading mp3s of each track, presumably ripped from the original CD release, I can safely say that this release was severely botched up. The mp3s, particularly "I Want a New Drug," sound much more balanced out and tighter.
Again, a great album, but a very poor re-master. To think that this edition was intended to replace the original CD release is unthinkable.
Also, Chrysalis/Capitol Records missed an opportunity to include the extended 12" remix of "I Want a New Drug," as well as the very rare 12" remix of the first single, "Heart and Soul." I would have listened to those more than once, which is more than I can say for the existing bonus tracks, which consist of alternate session takes for "The Heart of Rock and Roll" and "Walking on a Thin Line," respectively, as well as live, concert versions of "If This is It," "Heart and Soul," and "I Want a New Drug."
It's a shame that the album's 20th anniversary has come and gone; they should have made an effort to release a better-sounding edition.

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Limited Edition Japanese pressing of this album comes housed in a miniature LP sleeve and includes five bonus tracks. EMI. 2008.--This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

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