R.S.D Scores-April 2024

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.

First stop was Encore Records out of Kitchener Ontario.

The Stones with this killer 7 song album featuring a few oldies (Tumbling DIce, Shattered) and some cool new tracks (Angry, Bite Your Head Off). The Stones rock out on this release which you can find on the streams.

Every so often I need to fill my head with some dumbo arena rock. Motley Crue always delivers that for me and “Supersonic and Demonic Relics” does not disappoint which  up to this point only had been out on CD. This one features Nikki Sixx and his posse with cover tunes (Teaser, Rock N Roll Junkie) some old school studio leftovers (Sinners & Saints) and some goofy Tommy Lee crap (Planet Boom). The real selling point for me though is the inclusion of “Primal Scream” and “Angela” which are only available on 91’s “Decade of Decadence” release which I don’t think has ever been reissued and I’m sure as hell not paying eBay or Discog prices for it.

Another place I ended  up online was Le Noise in Montreal. Once I saw my pal Snowman show the world on his fabulous YouTube show The Collection that he had scored the Def Leppard, I wanted it and my online search took me to Quebec for these two purchases.

Def Leppard “Live At The Leadmill” is a cool live album as they included those old school songs (Wasted, Let It Go, Mirror, Mirror) which was the real selling point but I don’t need another version of “Pour Some Sugar On Me” but its here for the skipping. For that blip on the radar they do a killer version of “Slang” on here. So I forgave them with my wallet.

Mr. Big releasing a live album recorded at the Budokan in Japan and calling it “The Big Finish -Lean Into It Live”. Funny thing is a few years back Mr. Big released the 30th anniversary of the studio version of “Lean Into It” which I had zero interest in but I do love me the live album. Recorded in July 2023 these songs sound way better in front of an audience as guitarist Paul Gilbert zips and zags on that fretboard like a Boss. Their all good players in this band. “Alive And Kickin'” and The Beatles mash up with Van Halen on “Green Tinted Sixties Mind” are awesome tracks.

Coney Hatch ….I do love the Hatch and for RSD they put out there recently released CD “Postcards From Germany” on double vinyl. Dead Dog Records in Toronto had two copies. I bought one and my brother in law purchased the other copy. Much to my surprise 3/4’s of Coney signed it which was an added bonus when I  unboxed it.

Now for a bonus album bought on RSD but not an actual RSD release is…..

Pearl Jam with “Dark Matter”. I streamed this before I took the plunge at the cash register as Eddie Vedder and his whole schtick of singing can wear me down at times. Andrew Watt who produced this has been at the helm of the last Ozzy album (Patient Number 9) and The Stones (Hackney Diamonds) which are both killer records. I like Watt’s production on all three albums I have mentioned as he makes those guitars sound crunchy and the bass at times distorted which I really dig.

“Dark Matter” I bought at Sunrise as it was 20% off on RSD and I figured what the hell. It’s not that long of an album which was another selling point.

Well, they’re ya have it folks. Thinking I wasn’t going to get anything on RSD but I think I did pretty well and it was nice to support three out of town local record shops.

I will add that all of them had very quick shipping as I purchased and within hours they were sent out.

Le Noise gets a special motion as if you spend more than $99, shipping is free which is at least a $20 savings.

Check em all out folks….

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.

Eddie Van Halen steals the show here (no shocker) as Ed makes it sound like the studio yet, live at a quicker speed due to the party treats being consumed I’m sure. The man is no pun on fire. What a treat it would have been to have caught these guys on that debut tour. Even squeezed in the 36 minute is a bass/drum solo and of course Eruption. The band even debuted D.O.A which would not come out til the following year (1979).

The sound of this  Manchester show is mint and it gives us the listener a chance to go back in time and hear what it was like to see a band headed for the top!

Gotta love bootlegs as look at those pictures from the 2003 tour below as well a pic taken from the “Hide Your Sheep Tour” back in ’83 used on the back cover.

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.

Could it be after three previous albums doing not really much in North America could this be the breakthrough and push Mikey and his band of pals over the top. The bad news was the album stalled at 95 on the Billboard album charts. I originally bought “Perfect Timing” on cassette tape for the trusty Walkman for those commutes to and from my job.

To be totally honest I have no idea why this album didn’t sell. It has a bunch of great rock on it (“No Time For Losers”, “Get Out”) also some mid tempo tracks (“Love Is Not A Game”, “Don’t Stop Me Now”, “I Don’t Want To Lose”) and the power ballad (“Time”). For myself, one song that I have yet to mention which I think sums up what I like best about this version of M.S.G is the song  “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow” which has those trimmings of what I like best about this act.

Michaels playing of course is stellar, Robin’s singing is fantastic with a super duper catchy chorus with a snappy bass line as well. “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow” I loved back in 87 and I still consider it a great track in 2024.

Considering how much I dug this album back in the late 80s I never bought it on CD and it  was only this past weekend I picked this up on vinyl at a record fair. When I found it buried in a bin I thought holy smokes, here’s another one of those albums that will probably never be reissued. (take a bow Vinnie Vincent).

“Perfect Timing” is on Youtube and Apple Music so it’s out there. Sure the drums sound 80ish but I’m frozen in time musically so I’m good with this stuff  including that ridiculous  hair pictured below.

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.

 

This boot was recorded back in Oct ’90 and what a set list. Plant goes through all of his solo career plus Robert and his young band of rockers even dipped into the Zep catalog. Overall this is a great sounding soundboard show and all players involved deliver it live. One of the highlights for me is “Liar’s Dance” which features guitarist Doug Boyle on acoustic and Plant on vocals. “Liars Dance” is one of my all time favourite Plant tracks. Boyle does his part picking and strumming  throughout. Such a killer track…

One omission from this double vinyl is “Tall Cool One” but that’s how it goes with bootlegs at times. Pictures that aren’t right and songs omitted but I ain’t bitching as I love these shows as long as they are labeled as “Soundboard”.

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.

The setlist featured here is the one I heard a month later (Duluth Minnesota) for myself as a 12 year old but for some reason ‘ ‘Beth” is not on here (but was played that night). The sound is not bad considering but the sound guy at times is cranking up the guitars, turning them down, jacking up the vocals, turning them down.

But as a fan it’s cool to hear Move On from Stanley’s 78 solo album. (were they piping in background vocals during the middle section before the chorus?) The biggie disco hit “I Was Made For Lovin You ” is played at breakneck speed. Tempos are sped up throughout the album’s 15 tracks but it doesn’t matter in the end as KISS didn’t care as I’m sure they all wanted this tour to end. For myself though it’s a pretty cool reminder of what I had heard at my first KISS show around this time as a 12 year old.

(On a side note I love the cover as that’s Singer and Thayer featured in the makeup. Love bootlegs)

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).

The playing is flawless as expected and drummer Les Binks still makes the case for being perhaps the best drummer ever to be in Priest (listen to “Starbreaker”). Rob Halford soars vocally staking his claim to become the Metal God a year later in 1980!

The one funny thing is with it being a small crowd it almost sounds like when Rob introduces a few of the songs he’s mumbling into his mic.

If you’re interested this full show is up on YouTube. It’s a crystal clear recording. One of the best soundboard shows I have ever heard on vinyl.

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.

 

 

November Scores Sorta….

He may be the Mars Man to me but to the rest of the world he is known as Canadian Grooves. Mr. Grooves asked me if I was posting my November Scores. I laughed and said “No!” I mean who comes close to the Snowman in these monthly hauls?

But then for a second I thought ‘what the hell’… let’s go through what I got which was almost as much in swag as it was music!

Thanks Kev!

So there ya see my vinyl haul in one shot. I was happy to score an unofficial copy of Badlands ‘Voodoo Highway’ as there is no way I’m paying $250 bucks for an original pressing. Black N Blue’s self-titled debut is a hard one to come across but I was glad to see that Dan had it in the bins for a decent price. Some killer stuff on here as of course Ace Frehley oops  I mean Tommy Thayer formed Black N Blue.

Also from Dan’s shop I scored used ‘Firepower’ from Priest. Why was this sitting at Spins Records? Well now my house has some Firepower in it! Sven Gali’s debut as well came from Spins as it was my only purchase from RSD.

Now back in late August I believe it was The Hip announced their super deluxe vinyl set ‘Phantom Power’ which I only ever owned on CD. So when the preorder was announced I said to Sue how about this for my Birthday gift in October?  She agreed and for an extra $20 I got this slick Hip shirt to go with it!

Also in early November I did something that I had never done since 1978 when I joined the KISS Army was to join another fan club. This time though it was Iron Maiden so I could get in on the pre-sale of Maiden tickets (which I got) but of course there are perks of joining a fan club at the age of 56! lol

One of them was a discount on the merchandise. So I ordered up two official replica Piece of Mind tour tee’s as it’s the 40th Anniversary of said album and tour.

Maiden knows how to run a fan club. Got a bunch of digital downloads of their fan club magazine and not only that from the time I ordered to the time it took the shirts to get to my house was exactly 10 business days. Plus you pay for the shirts in Canuck bucks. ( on a side note I had to pay a little duty but that was it)

My pal Tbone ordered me some Coney Hatch merch as a belated birthday gift which showed up in November. Thank you dude! 

Last not least I had to get Geddy’s bio. Fascinating stuff and so far a great read as you with RUSH they left a lot of things in-house so to speak.

Thanks for reading along and if anything I guess I beat the Snowman in acquiring rock swag for the month!!

deKe’s October Scores & More!

Well, when October rolls around I turn another year older not necessarily wiser!

This month though I had a lot of action on the purchase front and also some fantastic gifts given to me. Now before I go any further, my pal the Snowman is the KING of the monthly scores. I will never come close to what that guy picks up in a month but for me this was a pretty good haul as the kids say in the vinyl world.

So Van Hagar dropped a box set focusing on the Wham Bam Thank You Sam years and Dan at “Spins” was getting it in!

So Dan told myself and my brother in  law “The FIrechief” that he could each secure us a copy of the box set for $150 Canuck bucks! My daughter Lauren said “Dad I got this for ya, don’t worry about it!” But as it turned out when the VH box set dropped on October 6th I was in Sudbury (Sud Rock) visiting (more on that shortly).

Anyways, when talking to my sister she said “The FIrechief” went to Dan’s bought both Van Hagar boxes and that one of the sets was my Birthday gift!

Insert Holy Shit here……

I couldn’t believe it. A million thanks all round.

So since my daughter was working in the United States I told her she was off the hook for the box set. She texted back saying pick another box set and let me know! So with some Birthday cash from my parents and Lauren chipping in I decided to get the Van Halen box with the six Roth studio albums. I have the VH stuff on used vinyl from the debut to ‘OU812’ and unofficial copies of the ‘F.U.CK’ and ‘Balance’ releases but I realized if I have new copies of the Sammy material why not get it all new…

Thats what I did and went ahead and ordered it from Amazon. I would have bought the Roth set at “Cosmic Daves” but he was closed Sunday and we were planning to hit the road at 3 am Monday morning. (which we did as its a 12 hour drive from Sudbury to Thunder Bay)

Speaking of Sud Rock, me and The Boss (Suey) had been looking forward going down over the Thanksgiving weekend to visit our daughter Kylee, her boyfriend Kodi and our little grand baby “Sharpie” Harpie! My daughters house isn’t really set up for extra people staying so good friends of the WordPress blogging world Kevin and Sarah offered to let us stay with them at their house. What an awesome and kind gesture which we quickly said YES!

One of things that was on my to do list was to go record shopping with Kev and Sarah and thats exactly what we did one afternoon. While Kylee, Harper and Suey were hitting the mall we were hitting “Cosmic Daves” and before that “Hook City.”

Beginning with “Hook City”. Kevin loaded up on some CD’s and as everyone knows I could care less about playable  coffee coasters except for the odd exception and that was ‘Drug Plan’.

‘Drug Plan’ is Andy Curran’s band that released this on disc back in’99. Could not believe I scored it as I think I surprised Kev and Sarah when I told them about it. Until talking to Andy about it a few years ago I totally missed this.

From there we went to ‘Cosmic Daves’. I love this place. It’s small, stuffed with great used and sealed records and the owner is a nice guy. (Its about supporting local folks). So pictured below I purchased 5 albums  with ‘The Cult’ and ‘Bon Jovi’ being double records.

We stayed at the record shop for well over a hour as Sarah tackled the $1 -$5 bin’s like The Champ she is whereas I enjoyed running up Kev’s ‘Cosmic Dave’ tab by tossing albums his way that he needed to get!

Because…Thats what friends do to friends….

Speaking of friends, Kev and Sarah snuck a copy of Motörhead’s  ‘No Sleep Til Hammersmith’ in my vinyl bag without this old buzzard noticing until I got back home. Well played and thanks a bunch!

On a side note the Motörhead album will come in handy as if Suey is running late too work in the morning I will blast Lemmy, Eddie and Philthy which will drive her out the door once the needle hits the groove!

More stuff I got from Dan at ‘Spins’ as I grabbed these two vinyl albums  below… Keef and ‘Arry…

That’s not all how about Books, books and more books….

Plus the only magazine I buy which comes straight from jolly old England. I’m not a huge collector of things  but I do have every issue of Rock Candy which for me is saying something. Can’t beat those old writers from Kerrang writing for this mag.

October was a great month for various reasons and it went up a notch getting to spend some time with lil Harpie as well as Kev and Sarah. Great times with awesome folk!

Here’s the Bonus Section of things I picked up after our Sudbury trip posted below….

Fresh off the road trip from Sud Rock here comes my pals at “Spins”, Dan and Kurtis whom I got these records from. Ok, who needs a little ballbreaker in there life?

More from Spins…AC/DC “Black Ice” (hidden in the background) as well as Bruce Dickinsons “Accident of Birth”. I had requested The Stones latest “Hackney Diamonds” a good week before it was released  which for some reason on vinyl has been an issue with distribution or something. Kurtis told me they ordered three and only got one in. Good thing I asked and thanks boys for holding it for me!

What the hell, a few more books showed up. I currently have 8 books now to read…

That’s it ….That’s all…

 

Warrant: Dog Eat Dog (1992)

By late 1992 bands like Warrant were finding it tough to survive as just over two years earlier they were filling arenas, selling records, dating models and baking cherry pies. Then overnight it seems like some dude named Kurt and his tattered cardigan came along and the cherry pie was then burnt in the oven.

Warrant though who by this time toughened up their sound (which I liked) made a very good hard rock album at times bordering on metal. Yeah, I just typed that.

Let’s rewind back to September 92 when ‘Dog Eat Dog’ hit the streets and I bought it on CD. Gone was the whole glam rock version of the ‘Cherry Pie’ vibe from 1990. Jani Lane wrote a batch of heavy rock tunes along with a couple of mid tempo songs (not saying power ballad) and delivered a no frills album that over the last three decades has stood the test of time.

It finally showed up on vinyl at ‘Spins’ records here in town and I decided to pick it up on vinyl as it has been reissued. (not paying ridiculous prices for it on Discogs). Lane, I guess figured it was time to really toughen up the Warrant sound and kick off the album with a tune called ‘Machine Gun’. Have to give props to producer Michael Wagner who dialled in a great sound as the drums sound huge  and the guitars sound metal.

I can’t begin to  imagine the pressure Lane was under to come up with material as he was the main songwriter in the band. No wonder the dude cracked under pressure and you have to feel bad for him. But  for a moment in ’92 he delivered an album that should have got more attention (it went Gold though).

Hell,  I remember that ruckus  in Kerrang about guitarists Joey Allen and Erik Turner not playing the solo’s on the debut record .(‘Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich’ and maybe the ‘Cherry Pie’ release as well but I’m not sure on that one)

But on ‘Dog Eat Dog’ testimonials from Jani and Wagner confirm  that Joey Allen did all the solos 100% on this record. On a side note lot’s of bands had this kind of craziness going on but for some reason Warrant got crucified for it…

‘Hole In The Wall’ even has a talk box showing up and even the big  power ballad (‘The Bitter Pill’) was a very well written track. ‘Inside Out’ is a killer tune that has Warrant playing at about 120 miles per hour which proves there was more substance than those other tunes from the previous albums. Bummer that the masses rejected this record but that’s how the biz works at times kid

deKe’s Vinyl Score of Warrant Dog Eat Dog….9/10