Summertime Spin-Top 10 Albums Too Listen To Before The End of Summer.

How about a SummerTime Spin compilation post? I thought it would be neat to compile what I have been streaming and spinning recently as well as this post is an request from a good pal of mine…

One of the first guys to follow my blog a bunch of years ago was my good pal RockStar Supa Paulie whom a few years  back moved to Southern Ontario after being placed in the  Witness Protection  Program!

Just joking…

But Paulie did reach out to me  to check in and that he still enjoys my nonsense and asked if I would be willing to do a Top 10 list of what I have been listening to this summer.

That’s a damn fine idea and to appease my huge audience (insert laughter here), why not tell you all what I have been streaming or spinning  the last few months.

Some of these I have reviewed and a few I haven’t yet but may do so at some point.

Without further ado here we go…

Styx- Crash of the Crown (2021)– Styx go all late 70s early 80s prog and deliver a stellar album with a ton of acoustic guitar but enough snap crackle n pop in the tracks to keep you coming back for more. All Hail Gowan. The best thing that Shaw did was hire Larry. Take that all you Dennis DeYoung fans. Fight Me!

Mammoth WVH (2021)- A real fine rock record that proves Wolf is his own man and will forge his own path of Rock. Great catchy songs plus added points as Wolf is a hoot on Twitter.

Polychuck-Shadows Exposed (2021)- This fine 5 song EP has some wicked playing and has a total different vibe then what is out there currently. Polychuck also told us when we talked to him that his first full-length releases may be a concept album. This dude not only has balls but he will kick your ass as well!

George Lynch- Seamless (2021)– In a what took ya so long to do. One of my favourite guitar hero’s George Lynch is about to release a full length guitar  driven instrumental record. I’m not big on these albums, but considering George is one the best  he gets a pass. George looks like a great interview (dry sarcastic humour) as I just watched one the other day and he can’t remember the name of the guy who played bass on this record lol.  First single  “Death By A Thousand Licks” you should all check out. Great song. Mr. Scary is coming for ya!

Lee Aaron- Radio On! (2021)– Does Lee Aaron age? Wowzer’s man and Radio On! is an album with a lot of rock swagger especially when you have guitar slinger Sean Kelly co writing and laying down big bombastic riffs of rock over and over!

The Tragically Hip- Saskadelphia (2021)– The Hip don’t mess about on this 6 track EP, 1  live tune and 5 (and I’m not calling them leftover) studio tracks from 1991. These tracks are Gold! Stream this one, buy this one on vinyl or buy it on coaster(CD’s). Just get it dammit!

Stone Temple Pilots-Tiny Music ..Songs From The Vatican Gift Shop (1996/2021)–  I always will and still do dig STP. Great live act when they opened for the Stones back in ’94. Great studio act that had a great run of albums  throughout the ’90s as well. This reissue is mega with a bunch of outtakes and a live show from ’97 which is the real deal for me. I loved the look of this band as you had a drummer (Eric Kretz) who looked like a surfer. You had a lead singer (Scott Weiland R.I.P) who was not only  a great vocalist/frontman but a slick dresser as well. Plus you had two brothers. One being on bass (Robert DeLeo) who looks like a slick D.E.A officer while his brother on Guitar (Dean DeLeo) who looked like a member of the Narcos Cartel. Somehow they made it work.

KISS-OFF THE SOUNDBOARD(2021)– Gene and Paul do the right thing and release a KISS show from way back in 2001 with the real Ace and fake Peter in the lineup and it’s a stellar listen. Like many I hope Eric Carr gets his long overdue with one of these live ‘soundboard’ releases at some point.

Metallica- The Black Album(1991/2021)– Crazy to think that The Black Album is 30 years old. Where does the time go? Metallica is reissuing this in a huge way. Every single format possible. Demos, live stuff, the whole nine yards. Myself I have preordered the double vinyl of the The Black Album which I have never owned except for on coaster (CD) upon its original release back in ’91. I will be streaming all the extra stuff from Apple Music as I want to hear all this music  and how they built it up from scratch!

IRON MAIDEN- The Writing On The Wall (2021)– September 3rd 2021 drops the new Maiden 82 minute  opus “Senjutsu” and we all will be better off. Debut single ‘The Writing On The Wall’ written by Bruce and Adrian have Maiden doing what they do best. Writing 6 minute plus like tracks that continue to push the band  on the ledge known as Prog Rock yet still retaining that Maiden Sound!

Jared James Nichols- Shadow Dancer (2021)- I love this guy as JJN has a throwback sound yet an ear to whats current in the  hard blues rock genre. “Shadow Dancer” is a 4 song EP that will drop in early September yet Jared has put out a couple of cool tracks beforehand.  “Skin N Bone” and “Bad Roots”. “Bad Roots” I have to say is bad ass  as I love that fuzzy Geezer Butler like Bass vibe that is laid down with Jared doing what he does best over top of it! Rawk!

How about a bonus 11th pick….!

Night Ranger- ATBPO (2021)– You would have thought Tbone was lurking around these parts with a Night Ranger pick popping up on this page. Night  Ranger I do like, well the rock stuff is good whereas I always found there ballads were a ploy to sell records so to me there “meh”. In 2021 with a new album calling itself “ATBPO” whatever that means is a pretty good kick at revisiting the hey day of the 80s. What I mean  by that is you still have Jack Blades singing about “school girl” and “cocaine” so I guess 2021 isn’t all that bad.

Two more “SummerTime Spin” coming up on the next couple of weekends than thats a wrap for another summer!