With Dan closing up the only decent record store in town earlier this year (Spins) the only option for Record Store Day releases was our local Sunrise store at the mall. They never disappoint as once RSD comes around they get F##K All in for titles. So if I want something I need to find it elsewhere and that is exactly what I did.
The Collection With The Snowman! Talking about Queensryche!
Hey Folk’s! I got invited to do a little mini series with my good pal John Snow over at his kick ass channel “The Collection”. We decided to do a little mini run of episodes featuring Queensryche. The goal is to talk about the albums, songs, the fashion and much more. Plus we’re planning on keeping each show short! Make sure you push subscribe and follow John’s channel!!!
Van Halen: Definitive Manchester 1978
37 minutes of Van Halen scorching the stage in Manchester England 1978 opening for Black Sabbath (good luck following this band Ozz!). Nine songs from the self titled debut are played and the band does not fuck around. Roth mach 78 actually had a voice and is the ringleader while the rest of the band follows his lead as bassist/backing vocalist Michael Anthony and drummer Alex Van Halen are like a category 5 hurricane headed right your way.
M.S.G: Perfect Timing (1987)
It was a good news, bad news kind of scenario for Michael Schenker (ex-UFO) back in the year of 1987. The good news was Michael got himself a new singer (Robin McAuley) and basically a whole new group of bandmates. Producer Andy Johns whose past resume included Led Zeppelin as well as the current hot band at the time Cinderella dialled in the sonics on “Perfect Timing”. Michael also changed up the name of the band to “McAuley Schenker Group” as up to the point the band had been known as the “Michael Schenker Group”. More good news was the fact that the leadoff single from this new version of M.S.G “Gimmie Your Love” cracked that elusive Billboard Singles Top 100 sales chart.
Robert Plant : Manic Nirvana Tour Soundboard
I have always dug Robert Plant’s solo music from the 80s and really enjoyed it even more when Bobby released “Now And Zen”(1988). When the 90s came around Plant dropped “Manic Nirvana”. Up to that point In Robert’s career I would have to say that “Manic Nirvana” is perhaps my favourite of the bunch followed by the over produced yet so ridiculously good “Now & Zen”. Robert was smart as the 80s progressed as he went from having dudes in his band that were probably closer to his age to getting a bunch of younger looking dudes as by 1988 MTV was the thing. It’s about image, you know. Plant put together a young looking rock act behind him but they had the musical muscle to back it up live which this bootleg proves.
Skid Row/Buckcherry (March 20th 2024)
Who knew that when the Skid Row/Buckcherry tour rolled into Thunder Bay on March 20th (the show was postponed from October ’23) that it would be Skid Row lead vocalist Erik Gronwall’s third last show with the band. (more on that later)
KISS: Knoxville Rock City (1979)
KISS at the end of 1979 were limping home to the finish line as the Dynasty Tour was on its last legs. I’m sure it’s no secret that the band was divided into two. Gene and Paul (counting cash) and Peter and Ace ( in party mode ask Tom Synder) were coming apart at the seems but before Peter Criss got the boot in early ’80 I was recently able to acquire this soundboard show from Knoxville and hear for myself if the shows were sloppy KISS or were they keeping it together for the KISS Army.
Judas Priest: Unleashed In New York (1979)
While everyone is going bonkers over how good the new Priest record “Invincible Shield” (myself included) is, let’s check out this soundboard show from ’79 I scored a few months back at a local record fair.
Recorded March 11th 1979 at an invite (supposedly) show at the Mudd Club in NYC has Priest firing on all cylinders. Check out that setlist on the back cover.
Not too sure if this show came before the recording of the official Judas Priest “Unleashed In The East” live opus that came out later in ’79, but this eight pack track of rock solidifies that Priest were slowly taking over North America one club at a time. (they also opened for KISS in the arenas that year as well).
Vinnie Vincent Invasion (1986)
Back in ’86 I could not be bothered with the “Vinnie Vincent Invasion” debut when it first hit the streets. I borrowed it from a pal from Highschool and dubbed it from his bought cassette tape to my blank tape. I was looking for Vinnie “Lick It Up” tunes like the one he did three years earlier in KISS, but nope not close. With Vincent off the Gene and Paul leash no one could tell Vinnie what to do (although I’m sure producer/bassist Dana Strum perhaps may have tried) and armed with a $8 million (or something like it) record deal. Vinnie was gonna shred, and shred he did. I could not wrap my head around this craziness so it was quickly dismissed.
Weird thing though a few weeks back there’s the debut album staring me directly in the face on vinyl nonetheless after almost four decades at a local record fair. I bought it for a decent price. The verdict is it sounds like an album from ’86 and that’s isn’t a dig as the drums have not aged well. Vinnie takes a perfectly written hard rock pop track (“Back On The Streets”) and solos like a lunatic (plus the lead vocals of Robert Fleischman are ear piercing at times) but hey, it is what it is as 1986 was about spandex, hairspray and shredders. If Vin Man had toned it down a few notches there are some very good rock tracks on here (“Animal”, “Shoot You Full of Love ”) as Vincent is a decent songwriter.
Andy Curran-‘Whiskey & The Devil’ Album Breakdown, getting paid $10,000 cash in a brown paper bag and more…