WANTED: Iron Maiden – Eddie’s Archive box set (2002) – updated 8/14/16

(Originally posted on April 10, 2008)

WANTED

Iron Maiden – Eddie’s Archive box set (2002)

Back in 2002, I was very poor. I was working but my wife was pregnant with our second daughter and money was extremely tight. Living on one income was extremely rough and cuts had to be made! I had a $75 a week CD habit but I had to cut that down to maybe one CD a week…..if at all. Collecting ground to a serious halt for more serious life issues: like survival, like another child. I set priorities and kept a WANT list for when things got better.

Of course I’m poor and Iron Maiden decides to release Eddie’s Archive: six CDs, a shot glass, and a numbered family tree in a nice embossed metal casket box with Eddie’s head and band logo. The 6 discs are coupled into 2 CD sets and are: The BBC Archives, Beast Over Hammersmith, Best Of The B Sides.

I wanted it badly but I passed. Fast forward to a couple years later and I find an Eddie’s Archive at a record store 30 minutes from my house. It’s still sealed, priced at $100, and collecting dust on a shelf! I didn’t buy it but promised myself I would with my next paycheck. Go back a week later…..gone! I haven’t found one since…..

…..but they are all over Ebay! This set was re-released after the initial limited numbered edition ran out and demand by fans skyrocketed. I don’t care if I get a numbered set, I just want the music. I’ve had opportunity to buy this for $150 – $200 but I pass everytime…..I think of all the other albums on my list and how far I could stretch that kind of money. I’ve been watching this set on Ebay for 3 years now and the prices soar over $200 at times! I’m going to get it but hopefully at a decent price.

UPDATE – 8/14/16

After 16 years since it’s release, and 8 years since this original post, I finally acquired Eddie’s Archive! It was the one glaring omission in my collection and it’s been at the top of my want list so I figured that 2016 would be the year, either I buy it or I don’t. Thank you eBay! This year I have had serious interest in 6 different auctions but the prices have all gone over $150 and that’s been my top dollar limit. Lucky auction #7 started at $100 plus $7 shipping…..so I waited…..and waited…..and waited. No bidders with 24 hours to go, I minimum bid $103. With 5 minutes to go, I was still the only bidder. 10 seconds left, I bid up to $151…..I was still the only bidder. I won for my original bid of $100, got it withing a few days. Mint condition, original pressing and numbered. 16 years…..finally!

Whitesnake & Whitford/St. Holmes in concert at the House Of Blues (Boston, MA) – 6/25/16

It’s been a few years since I’ve posted a concert review here at the site but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been seeing bands live. I’ve seen a ton of bands live over the last few years and I had the pleasure of seeing Whitesnake in Boston last Saturday night on their 2016 Greatest Hits Tour. I’ve seen Whitesnake live many times, including a show last year in support of The Purple Album, so I knew what to expect but I had the added bonus of the reformed Whitford/St. Holmes supporting their new album, Reunion. Brad Whitford (from Aerosmith) and Derek St. Holmes (from Ted Nugent’s classic band) together again since 1981 and, from what I’ve read online, kicking ass!

Whitford/St.Holmes setlist

Shapes
Rock All DayHell Is On Fire
Gotta Keep Movin’
Shake It
Medley: Last Child (Aerosmith cover), Hey Baby (Ted Nugent cover), Train Kept A Rollin’ (Aerosmith cover), Stranglehold (Ted Nugent cover)

I’ve never seen Whitford/St.Holmes in concert and I’ve never owned their 1981 debut album but I did know a couple of songs: ‘Whiskey Woman’ and ‘Sharpshooter’. That said, I’ve seen both Aerosmith and Ted Nugent live more than a few times and I own all their records. Basically, how can I go wrong? First thing that needed to be done was to pick up the band’s new album, Reunion. I knew they were selling it at the shows so I figured I’d buy it at the venue instead of Amazon. $15 bought me the new CD that included a bonus disc of the debut album AND the band was signing the CDs between sets? That’s a deal! The band came on to a packed Boston crowd and immediately started into their set by playing five new tunes of the new album. I hadn’t heard any new songs yet but every single one just sounded like pure classic Hard Rock. Derek St. Holmes still has a great voice and Brad Whitford was able to stretch out on guitar and really let loose. The band was tight, sound was dead perfect and I had a perfect spot right up front between Holmes and Whitford. Watching these two musicians go back and forth on guitar was just awesome! Brad Whitford announced that they were going to play some songs from their “day jobs” and the crowd went crazy when started into ‘Last Child’. Keyboardist Buck Johnson took over the mic for the vocals (he’s Aerosmith’s touring keyboard player & background singer) and sounded EXACTLY like Steven Tyler! St. Holmes took the mic back for ‘Hey Baby’ and ‘Train Kept A Rollin’ and then brought the house down with an abbreviated ‘Stranglehold’ with Whitford giving Uncle Ted a run for his money. That’s it, done. A quick 30 minute set…..no solos, no bullshit, no flash…..just a band absolutely killing it on stage!

Whitford/St. Holmes official website
Whitford/St. Holmes Facebook page

Whitesnake setlist

Bad Boys
Slide It In
Love Ain’t No Stranger
The Deeper The Love
Fool For Your Loving
Sailing Ships
Judgement Day
(Guitar solo by Reb Beach)
(Guitar solo by Joel Hoekstra)
Slow An’ Easy
(Bass solo by Michael Devlin)
Cryin’ In The Rain (includes Tommy Aldridge drum solo)
Is This Love?
Give Me All Your Love
Here I Go Again

Encore:
Still Of The Night

What can you say about a setlist like the one above? Whitesnake is on a greatest hits tour and David Coverdale and company have aimed to please by only playing the hits from the band’s multi-platinum ’80s triumvirate: Slide It In, Whitesnake & Slip Of the Tongue. The last tour for The Purple Album had greatest hits and some David Coverdale era Deep Purple classics mixed in but this tour is all business and all hits. I held my spot at the front of the stage, thus opting out of the Whitford/St. Holmes CD singing between sets, and I was treated to a ferocious performance by the band and especially frontman and founder David Coverdale. He may be 64 years old but Coverdale can still sing and scream as great as he always has. The band was solid as expected with the likes of Reb Beach and Joel Hoekstra on guitars and Tommy Aldridge on drums…..all classic musicians! Bassist Michael Devlin, a Boston native, was also equally great and even handled a few vocal lines here and there along with Mr. Coverdale. Not a lot of talking, just hit after hit like a sledgehammer! Big surprise for me of the night was hearing ‘Sailing Ships’ from Slip Of The Tongue. My only critique is having 4 solos in a 13 song set…..nothing bores me more than guitar, bass and drum solos but, with musicians of this caliber, giving them a spotlight to shine is understandable. I wouldn’t have minded hearing a couple Deep Purple songs or maybe a couple deeper Whitesnake songs but, overall, the show was fantastic. At the time I publish this review, the North American tour is over…..hopefully Coverdale and company will record a new record and tour here again soon.

Whitesnake official website
Whitesnake Facebook page

Vinyl Scavenger Hunt – 6/12/16

To make the rebirth of Heavy Metal Addiction complete, why not post some great vinyl treasures I found while on the hunt at the Newbury Comics in Norwood, MA…..

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April Wine – The Nature Of The Beast (1981) – $.99 (was $5)
Blackfoot – Flyin’ High (1976) – $.99 (was $4)
Foghat – Rock And Roll Outlaws (1974) – $.99 (was $4)
Foghat – Tight Shoes (1980) – $.99 (was $4)
Glider – s/t (1977) – $.99 (was $4)
Helix – Long Way To Heaven (1985) – $.99 (was $10)
Lucifer’s Friend – Mind Exploding (1976) – $5
Molly Hatchet – Beatin’ The Odds (1980) – $.99 (was $6)
Molly Hatchet – Lightning Strikes Twice (1989) – $.99 (was $10)
New England – s/t (1979) – $.99 (was $4)
The Babys – Head First (1979) – $.99
Trapeze – Hot Wire (1974) – $.99 (was $5)

A big day for bargains on the vinyl hunt today! I immediately headed for the bargain bin and I started pulling out used vinyl gems all for a mere 99 cents! All the vinyl itself was in mint condition, maybe a few fingerprints but otherwise pristine with no visible marks or scratches. The covers and jackets had some wear & tear, a couple cut-out marks or punch holes but overall in very good condition. Hey, for 99 cents I want the perfect record inside! Out of these 12 records, I only own 2 on CD (Helix and New England) but both records were so perfect I couldn’t pass on them for a buck each! I did splurge on the Lucifer’s Friend album at $5 but you better jump on any release from Lucifer’s Friend if you see it, very rare to find here in the RI/MA area.

Best Bargain: Helix  – Long Way To Heaven & Molly Hatchet – Lightning Strikes
Used Price = $10
Sale Price = $.99
Saved = $9 on each

Best Find: Lucifer’s Friend
Like I said before, if you see any Lucifer’s Friend records, buy them because I never see them in my travels. Looking forward to listening to this one a lot!

Total LPs – 12

Total spent – $16

Total saved – $46

 

A change of address…… Heavy Metal Addiction.net

May I have your attention please!

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted here, February 2015 to be exact! In that time a lot has happened and my life has changed completely so I haven’t had much time to write. I won’t bore you with the details but, needless to say, there’s been some neglect here at Heavy Metal Addiction. So much so that I never renewed my domain name and some kind person bought the .com web address at auction and is holding it and doing nothing with it. I basically lost my original web presence but there is new life!

Please change your bookmarks, favorites, etc to…..

Heavy Metal Addiction.net

That’s right, heavymetaladdiction.net is our new home…..hopefully I’ll be around to post!

Thanks,

Steve

CD Scavenger Hunt – June 2014 update

In keeping with trying to catch up with my shopping sprees from 2014, here’s the update for this past June. It’s a longer list this time around, hopefully some interesting albums here…..

Ebay

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Y&T – s/t (1976) – $21.50 used
Mother’s Army – Planet Earth (1997) – $4 used
Mother’s Army – Fire On The Moon (1998) – $4 used
Decline of Western Civilization Pt.2 – The Metal Years (Soundtrack) (1988) – $4 used
Livesay – s/t (1996) – $13 used
Glory Bell’s Band – Dressed In Black (1982) (vinyl LP) – $15 used
Glory Bell’s Band – Century Rendezvous (1984) (vinyl LP) – $15 used
New England – s/t (1979/1998 reissue) – $8.50 used
Robin Zander – Countryside Blvd (2011) (bootleg CDR) – $44
Wishing Well (featuring Greg Leon) – s/t (1997) – $4.75 used
Cage – Astrology (2002) – $2.50 used
Parlor Trixx – Step Into My Parlor (2002) – $67 used

Starting off with my Ebay purchases for the month…..it was a good month to say the least! I grabbed a few albums that were on my wish list and some that weren’t necessarily on there but kicking around in my head. First thing was to kill off the gaping hole in my Y&T collection by acquiring the debut album on CD. $21.50 is not a bad price at all considering I’ve seen it go for $50 – $75+ over the years. Keeping with the same seller, I ended up scoring the 2nd and 3rd Mother’s Army (featuring Joe Lynn Turner) releases  and the rare Decline of Western Civilization Pt.2 soundtrack for $4 each…..complete steals! I was reading an old Metal fanzine and saw the ad for the Livesay album, I grabbed an old, hand written wish list that was years old and there it was. A little research showed this album has gone for $25+ so I scored it for what a regular CD SHOULD go for at $13. The two Glory Bell’s band LPs have been on my list for a while so I picked them up from a very reputable seller I’ve dealt with before. Near Mint overall on both records so I didn’t mind paying $15 each. The New England, Wishing Well and Cage discs were all found by doing research on other releases and I scored them for great prices.

That leaves the two most expensive CDs I purchased: Robin Zander and Parlor Trixx. I’ll go with Parlor Trixx first…..back in 2002, I read a few great reviews about this independent release and I put it on my list but with no major priority. Of course it was a limited release, the band eventually disbanded and there were no copies to be had. I’ve been watching this CD since 2002 on Ebay and I’ve watched it go for $100+ at times! This auction started at $25 and I went as high as $50 but someone had to outbid me with 12 hours to go! I ended up sniping this album in the last few seconds at $67 based on wanting it and thinking that 13 years on a want list is long enough.

I’ve been on a MAJOR Cheap Trick kick for the better part of a year so I’ve been devouring anything I can get my hands on, including solo efforts. Countryside Blvd was released online in 2011, lasted one day, and was pulled from purchase. I’m not sure why this is but an original copy is completely rare. Some copies did get sold and shipped but for some reason it was pulled after one day. I was doing my research on the album and found a copy on Ebay, contacted the seller with multiple questions and was assured this was an original release. More research, more questions to the seller, more assurances that this was an original copy. Last few minutes of the auction, I outbid someone with a high bid of $50 and scored it for $44. As soon as the CD arrived, I saw it was a bootleg! At this point, there was nothing I could do but report it to Ebay and contact the seller. $44 wiser but, on the bright side, I have the music and the sound quality is excellent.

Newbury Comics

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Mystic Prophecy – Regressus (2003) – $3 used
Mystic Prophecy – Savage Souls (2006) – $4.50 used
Mystic Prophecy – Satanic Curses (2007) – $6 used
Epica – Feint (single) (2004) – $4.50 used
King Diamond – The Graveyard (1996) – $4.50 used
King Diamond – A Dangerous Meeting (1992) – $6 used
Nashville Pussy – From Hell To Texas (2009) – $6.75 used
Sabaton – Heroes (2 bonus tracks) (2014) – $7.50
New England – Explorer Suite (1980) – $9 used
U.D.O. – Steelhammer: Live In Moscow (2CD/DVD) (2014) – $12
Night Ranger – High Road (CD/DVD) (2014) – $12.75
Saxon – St. George’s Sacrifice: Live In Manchester (2014) – $16.50
Tesla – Simplicity (2014) – $9.75
KISS – 40 (2014) – $15
Epica – Quantum Enigma (Deluxe Edition) (2014) – $15
Dio – Live In London: Hammersmith Apollo 1993 CD (2014) – $11.25
Dio – Live In London: Hammersmith Apollo 1993 DVD (2014) – $12
Alice Cooper – Super Duper Alice Cooper DVD (2014) – $9
Ted Nugent – Ultralive Ballisticrock (2CD/DVD) (2013) – $9 used
Gamma Ray – Skeletons & Majesties Live (2012) – $7.50

Arch Enemy – War Eternal (Deluxe Edition) – $16
King Diamond – Abigail 2: The Return (2002) – $7 used

Big purchases on only two visits to the record store. The first visit was on a mid-month 25% off all CDs, DVDs & Blu-Rays sale so I just had to stock up! The second visit was a routine stop at the end of the month to just check things out. The routine stop found the latest Arch Enemy album on sale and a used copy of King Diamond’s Abigail 2 that filled a hole in that collection. Just a quick stop to round out June but let’s get to that big sale in the middle of the month…..

Nothing is better than a sale and I always take advantage of them. One of the strategies I like to use is to get those higher priced releases, the box sets, the deluxe editions on these sales to save maximum dollars…..the other strategy is to pad the collection by scooping up albums I would normally pass over for more important items. On this sale I was lucky to grab  some deluxe editions from Epica, Ted Nugent, Night Ranger, KISS, U.D.O and Sabaton at better prices than when they were originally on sale as new releases. The cool thing was that the Nugent and U.D.O. albums had regular priced copies and used copies so I was able to score the used copies and get 25% off the used price for maximum savings! I also scored a lot of 2014 albums and DVDs with some of those deluxe editions, as well as, from Tesla, Dio, Alice Cooper and Saxon. I obviously grabbed a lot of used releases too but let me highlight my biggest bargain and my best find on this special sale trip.

Best Bargain: Ted Nugent
Regular price = $22
Used price = $12
Sale price = $9 (saved a total of $13)

Best Find: New England
I never see New England albums even on vinyl so to score a second New England CD this month was a cool find.

Totals

Total (June) = $407.75

Total (year) = $1476.30

Average Price (per item) = $10.55

Total CDs (year) = 132

Total LPs (year) = 5

Total DVDs/Blu-Rays (year) = 3

 

 

 

CD Scavenger Hunt – May 2014 update

I’d like to keep this train rolling by busting out another post really quick…..and it will be a quick one because May 2014 was a low shopping month by far. Here’s last May’s Hunt!

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California Breed – s/t (Deluxe Edition) (2014) – $16
UFO – Headstone (Japanese Import) (1983) – $7.50 used
Deep Purple – Stormbringer (35th Anniversary Edition) (1974/2009) – $18
Rubicon Cross – s/t (Deluxe Edition) (2014) – $11.75

Ok, let me run this down quick: I bought the California Breed CD at the local record store, the UFO and Deep Purple albums on Ebay and Rubicon Cross through Best Buy online.

If Glenn Hughes is singing on an album then that’s an album I have to own! California Breed was Glenn’s “new” band that came from the ashes of Black Country Communion, but let’s be honest, it’s all the same thing. California Breed…..Black Country Communion…..it’s Glenn Hughes! Had to pick up the deluxe version for the bonus tracks so I got it on sale for $16 and saved $6 off regular price and that ended my record store trips for the month. I went to Ebay and did some research on many an album and I stumbled on the Headstone compilation for UFO for a wicked cheap price at around $5. Add the $2.50 shipping and it was a straight bargain! Usually, Headstone goes for $25+, especially for a complete two disc Japanese import, but I scored the awesome price because the seller misspelled “Headstone” as “Haedstone”. Stormbringer was the last album I needed to complete my collection of Mark II through the present lineups of Deep Purple (I don’t have the early albums with Rod Evans on vocals). Of course, I wanted the rare and expensive 35th Anniversary Edition. Why? Well because all of my other Purple CDs from In Rock onward are Anniversary Editions! I’ve been watching and waiting, not willing to pay $35+ for a 35th Anniversary CD and my due diligence paid off when I found an BUY IT NOW with a price of $15 plus $3 shipping…..SOLD!

My last CD this month was actually the first CD I ordered…..Rubicon Cross featuring C.J. Snare, the lead singer of Firehouse. I forget which podcast I was listening to (I’m addicted to podcasts!) and they were going on and on about Rubicon Cross but they didn’t play any songs. I wrote down the band’s name and that was it. Then another podcast I listen to mentioned the band and that you could get the deluxe edition from Best Buy.com for $9 so I figured I’d just get the album because it’s such a good price and I like Firehouse. I get online, order the album, try to pick it up in-store…..nothing. In order to pick up in-store, I’d have to travel to a Best Buy almost an hour away! Forget that! So I decide on just getting it mailed to the house, pay the $2.75 shipping and it’s done. A week goes by…..nothing. Two weeks…..nothing. Three weeks…..now I’m mad! I get on the phone with Best Buy and they tell me it shipped but there’s no confirmation of delivery and it should have arrived in a week the latest. So they look up every store in my area and they find one newly stocked copy in a store 15 minutes from home. They reserve it and I have 48 hours to pick it up. No problem, I leave immeadiately! I get to the store and they can’t find it. So I do what any other customer would do, I take the store clerk by the hand, go to the “R” section of the small Music area and pull the CD off the shelf. They never pulled it off the floor even though they said they did and made me wait close to 20 minutes while they “checked the backroom”. Needless to say, last time I order from Best Buy but I got the CD and the adventure for May is over…..

Totals

Total (May) = $53.25

Total (year) = $1121.80

Average Price (per item) = $10.58

Total CDs (year) = 102

Total LPs (year) = 3

Total DVDs/Blu-Rays (year) = 1

CD Scavenger Hunt – April 2014 update

So far behind…..OK, 9 or 10 months behind to be exact! Hopefully I can get some momentum here but I feel the need to at least catch up on my purchases for 2014, here’s April 2014…..

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Amazon

Dio – This Is Your Life (2014) – $12
Sonata Arctica – Pariah’s Child (2014)- $10
Steel Panther – All You Can Eat (2014) – $10
Lacuna Coil – Black Crown Halo (2014) – $8

Just a quick $40 order from Amazon to get some new releases…..I know for a fact that I saved about $20 by purchasing via Amazon rather than at my local record store.

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Newbury Comics (Warwick, RI)

Devin Townsend Project – The Retinal Circus (2CD/2DVD) (2013) – $22.50
Nightwish – Angels Fall First (1997) – $9 used
Andi Deris & The Bad Bankers – Million Dollar Haircuts On Ten Cent Heads (2014) – $12.75

When there’s a 25% off sale at the record store, you make the trip. Honestly, there wasn’t much of a selection but I managed to grab a couple newer releases on sale. I’d been waiting on the Devin Townsend release because I missed the sale price when it was first released and it was a $30 regular price! With the 25% off, a done deal. Same with the new Andi Deris record, I waited because the regular price in store was $17 and Amazon was no better but $12.75 is reasonable. My find of the day was a Japanese import, and first pressing, Angels Fall First from Nightwish. Only $12 but $9 with the sale, was a steal at $12.

 

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Newbury Comics (North Attleboro, MA)

Black Label Society – Catacombs Of The Black Vatican (Ltd.Ed. +2) (2014) – $14
Anette Olzen – Shine (2014) – $13

Another quick trip to the record store for a couple new releases, this time to the closer North Attleboro Newbury Comics for the new Black Label Society and former Nightwish singer Anette Olzen’s first solo release. Both albums were on sale so I picked up the limited edition of the BLS album so I could get the 2 extra songs for $14 (saving $6) and the Olzen solo record for $13 (saving $5).

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Ebay

Crystal Viper – Posession (2014) – $9.35
Silent Force – Rising From The Ashes (2014) – $9.35
Nightwish – Once (2004) – $8.75
M.S.G. – Unplugged Live (1992) – $8.75
Triumph – Thunder Seven (1985) – $8 used

Gotta have a little Ebay action going on while you hit all the record stores, even if it’s just for a price comparison. The first four albums were all from the same seller on two separate auctions for brand new CDs and with free shipping each time. I estimate that I saved $7.65 on the Crystal Viper & Silent Force discs and $6.25 on the Nightwish & McAuley Schenker Group discs compared to record store prices. An added bonus was that the MSG disc was a Japanese import and that adds at least $10 more usually! My last winning auction was for an original pressing of Triumph’s Thunder Seven from 1985. I could have gotten the recent remaster of the record but I heard it sounds different so I’m trying to find all the Triumph CDs as original pressings for the original mixes. If I can’t find them all on CD, I’ll go for the vinyl.

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Newbury Comics (Warwick,RI)

Delain – The Human Contradiction (2CD) (2014) – $20
Iron Savior – Rise Of The Hero (Ltd.Ed. + 1) (2014) – $19
Ex Deo – Caligvla (2012) – $0
White Wizzard – The Devil’s Cut (2013) – $18
Hatriot – Dawn Of The New Centurion (2014) – $18
Huntress – Starbound Beast (2013) – $0
Pantera – Far Beyond Driven (20th Anniversary Edition) (2014) – $14
Sevendust – Time Travellers & Bonfires (2014) – $10
(free E.R. Season 2 DVD set – $10 used)
Magnus Karlsson’s Freefall – s/t (2013) – $8 used
Aeon Zen – The Face Of The Unknown (2010) – $6 used
Eclipse – Bleed & Scream (2012) – $0

Nothing like Record Store Day 2014 to get a Buy 2 Get 1 Free sale so I can stock up! I put a $100 limit on myself but I went just a bit over ($113) because I found more than a few bargains. My routine on this sale is to buy up all those higher priced sets and/or imports that I passed up earlier or missed the sale price on, that way I can save the maximum dollars. Most of these CDs were regular price but I managed to save $51 in free CDs. I had to get my wife a DVD set of the E.R. television show because it was a sweet price (free), and she really wants all the seasons, so it turned out to be a good sale for all.

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Amazon

Pretty Maids – Motherland (2013) – $7.50
Sebastian Bach – Give’em Hell (2014) – $10
Gamma Ray – Empire Of The Dead (2014) – $12.10
Krokus – Long Stick Goes Boom: Live From The House Of Rust (2014) – $10
Winger – Better Days Comin’ (Deluxe CD/DVD) (2014) – $14
Uriah Heep – Demons & Wizards (1972/2003 deluxe reissue) – $12.50
UFO – Phenomenon (1974/2008 reissue) – $9
Saxon – Heavy Metal Thunder (The Movie) (2014) Blu-Ray – $12

Don’t ask me how I had a $100 Amazon gift card this late in the year but I did. I spent that easily to the tune of $87 worth of CDs & Blu-Rays (plus shipping charges) getting a few things off my want list.

Totals

Total (April) = $268.45

Total (year) = $1068.55

Average Price (per item) = $10.48

Total CDs (year) = 98

Total LPs (year) = 3

Total DVDs/Blu-Rays (year) = 1

KISS – 40 (2014) review

KISS – 40 (2014, Universal/Island Def Jam)

CD 1

1. Nothin’ To Lose
2. Let Me Go Rock ‘N Roll
3. C’mon And Love Me
4. Rock And Roll All Nite (Live) (from Alive!)
5. God Of Thunder (Demo) (from The KISS Box Set)
6. Beth
7. Hard Luck Woman
8. Reputation (previously unreleased demo)
9. Christine Sixteen
10. Shout It Out Loud (Live) (from Alive II)
11. Strutter ’78
12. You Matter To Me
13. Radioactive
14. New York Groove
15. Hold Me, Touch Me
16. I Was Made For Loving’ You (single edit)
17. Shandi
18. A World Without Heroes
19. I Love It Loud
20. Down On Your Knees
21. Lick It Up
22. Heaven’s On Fire

CD 2

1. Tears Are Falling
2. Reason To Live
3. Let’s Put The X In Sex
4. Forever
5. God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll To You II
6. Unholy (Live) (from Alive III)
7. Do You Love Me (Live) (from MTV Unplugged)
8. Room Service (Live) (from You Wanted The Best, You Got The Best)
9. Jungle (radio edit)
10. Psycho Circus (single edit)
11. Nothing Can Keep Me From You (from Detroit Rock City soundtrack & The Box Set)
12. Detroit Rock City (Live) (from Alive IV – Symphony)
13. Deuce (Live 2004) (previously unreleased)
14. Firehouse (Live) (from Alive – The Millenium Concert)
15. Modern Day Delilah
16. Cold Gin (Live 2009) (previously unreleased)
17. Crazy Crazy Nights (Live 2010) (previously unreleased)
18. Hell Or Hallelujah

Another year, another KISS compilation. Let’s not blame the band on this one, Universal Music owns the band’s catalog and can keep pumping them out. So what’s different here this time around? Well, KISS is celebrating their 40th anniversary and this two disc set is the latest and greatest package of the “Hottest Band In The World”. There’s a few things that might make this compilation worth it for both the diehards and the casual KISS fan.

Starting with the booklet…..it’s a smooth high glossy booklet that includes pictures of all eras of the KISS lineup through the last tour, album artwork, iconic photos and it even includes a couple of pictures of Vinnie Vincent and Mark St. John in the band. For me, a booklet is a booklet when it comes to a KISS compilation. After being a fan for 37 years, I know the songs, I know the lyrics, I know the KISStory so I don’t really pay much attention except for the initial reading. The high quality glossy pages are great and I wish more booklets were like this and I also like the fact that all lineups and albums were pictured. Basically, it’s for the casual fan to get a quick 18 page visual history of the last 40 years.

The tracklisting is pretty good with a few surprises mixed in. 40 songs for 40 years with each album represented by at least one song, including all the live albums, the Double Platinum greatest hits, the solo albums, the Killers album and even The Box Set. While some fans will debate the tracklisting, it’s a really good representation of the band’s overall catalog. You’ve got the big hits with ‘Beth’, ‘Rock And Roll All Nite’, ‘Shout It Out Loud’ and ‘I Was Made For Lovin’ You’ from the classic makeup era but you also get a single track from each solo album, ‘Shandi’ from Unmasked, ‘A World Without Heroes’ from The Elder and ‘I Love It Loud’ from Creatures Of The Night. The biggest surprise for me was the inclusion of ‘Down On Your Knees’ from Killers because I didn’t think that the album would be represented seeing that it was only released everywhere but North America. I might have replaced the proper single from the Paul Stanley solo album, ‘Hold Me, Touch Me’, with ‘Move On’, the song they played on the 1979 tour but that’s just personal preference. ‘Lick It Up’ and ‘Heaven’s On Fire’ start the non-makeup era and end the first CD. There are two demos on this first disc: ‘God Of Thunder’ and ‘Reputation’. The ‘God Of Thunder’ demo was previously released on the KISS Box Set and has Paul Stanley singing vocals while ‘Reputation’ is a Gene Simmons demo that is previously unreleased. For the casual fan, maybe the album version of ‘God Of Thunder’ would be better, the diehards that bought the box set already have it. ‘Reputation’ is a cool oddity but I believe other versions of this demo have circulated through trading circles, a nice inclusion for those people who don’t collect KISS demos.

The second CD starts off with the big hits from the mid to late ’80s (‘Tears Are Falling’, ‘Reason To Live’, ‘Forever’) and moves into the ’90s with ‘God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll To You II’ and ‘Unholy’. Let me stop right there and say that Revenge was a great album and that it should be represented by the studio version of ‘Unholy’ rather than this live version from Alive III. I also can’t stand ‘God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll…’ but it was a single and…. The Reunion era is represented with ‘Psycho Circus’ from the reunion album of the same name and we get the ‘Jungle’ single from the shelved Carnival Of Souls album that was released in the middle of the Reunion but featured the last non-makeup lineup…..more KISStory there than I want to type! The rest of the CD consists of live tracks, both of the latest singles from the newer albums (‘Modern Day Delilah’ and ‘Hell Or Hallelujah’) from Sonic Boom and Monster. Of the live tracks, ‘Deuce’, ‘Cold Gin’ and ‘Crazy Crazy Nights’ are all previously unreleased and feature the bands current lineup of Gene, Paul, Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer from the tours in 2004, 2009 and 2010 respectively. What surprised me here on Disc 2 is the major classics that were represented as live versions and the inclusion of the of both songs from Sonic Boom and Monster, especially ‘Modern Day Delilah’ because Sonic Boom was a Wal-Mart only release and Universal doesn’t own the rights to it so they had to pay for it’s use. I’m allowing myself one more rant…..there is no reason to have ‘Nothing Can Keep Me From You’ on this compilation. I don’t consider it a KISS song, even though technically it is, because only Paul Stanley performs on it and it was a collaboration with songwriter Dianne Warren to try and get a hit with a ballad like Aerosmith did with ‘I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing’ the previous year. It was a throwaway as the credits rolled for the Detroit Rock City movie and the song never charted. Personally, it’s the worst song in the KISS catalog. Rant over…..

Bottom Line:
I’m a diehard KISS fan with 37 years of service so I buy new releases by the band when they come out but I’m very picky when it comes to these compilations/greatest hits packages. I like this one though and I definitely dropped my $15 at the record store for my copy! The book is great because it shows some care and effort. I haven’t analyzed it for errors but it’s a nice montage of KISStory. 40 songs for 40 years on two CDs, that’s value for $15 and you get a pretty good overview of the band’s career. There’s a few misses in my opinion as far as the tracklist but the powers that be kept it to the hits/singles with a few curveballs thrown in. This was a must buy for me because of the four unreleased songs, especially the live tracks. Ask most KISS diehards and they probably bought this too. Definitely one of the better releases in a long line of KISS hits packages. Here’s to another 40 years!

KISS (complete member history):
Gene Simmons – Bass & Vocals
Paul Stanley – Rhythm Guitar & Vocals
Peter Criss – Drums & Vocals
Ace Frehley – Lead Guitar & Vocals
Eric Carr – Drums
Vinnie Vincent – Lead Guitar
Mark St. John – Lead Guitar
Bruce Kulick – Lead Guitar
Eric Singer – Drums
Tommy Thayer – Lead Guitar

Country: USA

KISSonline

Buy the 2 CD set at Amazon.com
Buy the digital download at Amazon.com
Buy the digital download at iTunes

 

Linda & The Punch – Obsession (2014) review

Linda & The Punch – Obsession (2014, Escape Music)

1. What A Shame
2. Cold Cold World
3. Welcome To London
4. Wake Up Dreaming Of You
5. Nothing Of Anything
6. Bite
7. Looking Out For Number One
8. Kill The Lights
9. Lost For Words
10. Love Kills Me
11. Because The Night

Band Lineup:
Linda – vocals
Torsten Asemann – bass & vocals
Tim Edler – keys & vocals
Ralf Heyne – guitars & vocals
Oliver Ross – drums & percussion

Producer: Michael Voss

Country: United Kingdom

Total Time = 39:50

Linda & The Punch on Facebook
Escape Music

Buy the digital download at Amazon.com

When Obsession, the debut album from Linda & The Punch, crossed my desk I wasn’t really sure what to make of it. I read the press release and it described Linda’s singing as a cross between current Pop superstar Pink and Rock icon Pat Benetar…..reading that made me unsure if this hardened Metal heart would enjoy that type of combination. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised.

Just a quick rundown of some of the major players here: Linda is a fresh faced 21 year old that has a serious voice, the kind of Rock singing that you wished was on today’s radio, she is definitely the focal point. The rest of the band, The Punch, provide a solid musical foundation that blends early ’80s Rock, Pop, Melodic Rock and a slight Punk edge. I definitely hear that early ’80s Rock sound from having grown up listening to the radio back then so I can understand the Pat Benetar comparison. The producer here is Michael Voss, who you can hear on Michael Schenker’s Temple Of Rock album, and he also adds in his writing skills along with ex-Scorpions drummer Herman Rarebell, Tommy Denander, and the talents of songwriters Jeff Franzel and Steve McEwan. That’s a pretty solid team.

As I mentioned, this is straight up melodic Hard Rock with a Power Pop and Punk feel to it. I can hear contemporaries like the Hard Rock band Halestorm, Pink, Kelly Clarkson and some of the other Pop princesses out there but Linda has a Rock ‘n’ Roll grit and power to her voice that channels Pat Benatar  or even Chrissie Hynde from The Pretenders. The band plays a great contemporary style of guitar driven Rock and the melodies and grooves just stay stuck in your head! The opening track ‘What A Shame’ has that Pop-Punk sound to it with an infectious chorus that reminds me of a musically superior alternative to The Donnas crossed with Pink. My favorite tracks are the melodic ‘Welcome To London’ and ‘Looking Out For Number One’, two songs that had that instant sing-a-long quality to them and I really haven’t been able to stop repeating those songs on my iPod. I just like that melodic ’80s Rock sound both tracks have but they are complete rockers. I also really like the ballad ‘Wake Up Dreaming Of You’, a song that could easily be a hit on any Billboard chart, a real showcase for Linda’s vocals. I’m not really sure I like the addition of a cover song at the end, especially Patti Smith’s ‘Because The Night’, a song that everyone seems to do. Everytime I hear the original song, the Natalie Merchant version, this version, any version…..all I think about is Keel doing a cover, and a video, for this track. At least the song was left to the end so it can be skipped but I will say that the band does a slower powerful version that’s not too bad.

Bottom Line:
Linda & The Punch are definitely a new band that will be on the rise. Out of the ten original songs on the album, I really like eight of them and would pull them up in my daily music playlist for months to come. Strong band musically, solid beautiful vocals and catchy well written songs…..what’s not to like? This album is definitely one of the biggest surprises of 2014 for me!

Favorite Songs:
‘Welcome To London’, ‘Looking Out For Number One’, ‘What A Shame’, ‘Wake Up Dreaming Of You’, ‘Nothing Of Anything’

 

CD Scavenger Hunt – March 2014 update

Another late update but I’m catching up…..here’s the hunt for March…..

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Newbury Comics

House Of Lords – Precious Metal (2014) – $14
Battle Beast – s/t (2014) – $12
KXM – s/t (2014) – $10
GWAR – Battle Maximus (2013) – $10 used
Gus G. – I Am The Fire (2014) – $12
Savage Messiah – The Fateful Dark (2014) – $13

March was a slow month for record store trips, I only made two and I only went because I was in the immeadiate area. Call me old, call me lazy but I don’t leave the house unless I really have to in the winter. March was still nice and freezing here in Rhode Island and I hate the cold so I spent most my time watching online prices and waiting. I had to run some errands so I ended up being so close to the record store both times that I just went in. The first trip netted me the new House Of Lords, Battle Beast and KXM. The prices were just about the same as Amazon, they were all at sale prices so I saved $12 total. The second trip was a week later and I scored  a used copy of GWAR’s latest album, Battle Maximus, from last year and the new albums from Gus G. and Savage Messiah. Again, the Gus G. and Savage Messiah albums were on sale and the prices were comparable to Amazon so I saved a total of $9 off regular price. The GWAR album was a bargain at $10 used because I’ve seen it as high as $17 regular price and $12 used.

Ebay

Filthy Lucre – Popsmear (1997) – $23 used
Cutty Sark – Die Tonight (1984/1997 reissue) – $22 used
Cutty Sark – Regeneration (1998) – $31 used
Overdrive – Metal Attack (1983/1997 reissue) – $15 used
Overdrive – Swords & Axes (1984/1997 reissue) – $13 used
Railway – s/t (1984/1997 reissue) – $10 used

Ebay was an expensive outlet for my CD addiction this month, no serious savings here! First up was the Phil Lewis (L.A. Guns) project, Filthy Lucre. I remember seeing the album, Popsmear, advertised in one of the old Metal zines I used to buy and I read something online about the album real quick…..that’s all it took, I needed it. Two copies were on Ebay, I ended up high bidding this CD at $25 and won it for $20 + $3 shipping. The next five CDs were all bought from the same seller, all were low starting bids and four were High Vaultage reissues that I have been collecting since 1998. The two Cutty Sark albums I got into bidding wars for so I paid top dollar. Die Tonight was a bargain at $22 (price includes shipping) because I’ve seen the same CD copy for at least three years from another seller listed at $69.99 and, for some strange reason, it never shows up on Ebay. You can buy it on vinyl but never the High Vaultage reissue. Regeneration was Cutty Sark’s last album from 1998 and I never see that around so I wanted it and paid and expensive $31 total. The two Overdrive CDs and the Railway disc were all High Vaultage reissues and I got them for decent prices with the shipping, nothing like the Cutty Sark discs!

When it’s all said and done, I bought 6 CDs at the record store and 6 CDs on Ebay…..but I only spent $71 at the store and a high $114 on Ebay!

Totals

Total (March) = $185

Total (year) = $800.10

Average Price (per item) = $11.60

Total CDs (year) = 66

Total LPs (year) = 3

CD Scavenger Hunt – February 2014 update

It’s the end of April but here’s the February purchases…..late as always!

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Newbury Comics

Primal Fear – Delivering The Black (CD/DVD) (2014) – $15
Red Dragon Cartel – s/t (2014) – $13
Def Leppard – Slang (2CD Deluxe Edition) – $14
Starship – Loveless Fascination (2013) – $9
Behemoth – The Satanist (CD/DVD) (2014) – $13
Exodus – Bonded By Blood (1985) – $10
Prong – Cleansing (1994) – $4 used
GWAR – Carnival Of Chaos (1997) – $6 used

The first hunt in February took me to the Newbury Comics in Norwood, MA…..the only trip to the record store the entire month! I had a few new releases that I needed to purchase and a $100 budget to use, that includes sales tax. First three albums on the list were the new Primal Fear, Red Dragon Cartel and Def Leppard. I was able to get the new Primal Fear on sale $3 less than regular price and the Red Dragon Cartell as well for $4 off sale price…..not bad deals but the deal was the deluxe edition of Slang. I expected a 2CD set to be close to $20 and, with all the deluxe editions of albums coming out, I expected it to be as high as $30 like those pricey Thin Lizzy deluxe editions I’ve been eyeballing. Regular price was only $14! That’s a steal for 30 tracks (1 bonus disc). Keeping an eye on my list, I found two copies of Mickey Thomas’ Starship lastest record, Loveless Fascination, for $9 and $15 new and sealed…..guess wich one I bought? I’ve always had a soft spot for Starship because I like Thomas’ vocals so I snagged the album and paired it with the deluxe version of the new Behemoth record, The Satanist. Talk about two opposite sides of the spectrum! I saved $5 off regular price for the Behemoth so I still had some money to play with and I replaced two old cassettes picking up the classics Exodus – Bonded By Blood and Prong – Cleansing, topping it off with GWAR’s Carnival Of Chaos to fill a hole in the GWAR collection.

Amazon

Chastain  – Surrender To No One (2013) – $12
Adrenaline Mob – Men Of Honor (2014) – $10
Ian Gillan & Tony Iommi – Who Cares (2012) – $15
Altitudes & Attitudes – s/t E.P. (2014) – $5

While I was shopping at Newbury Comics, I found a couple albums on my wish list but I had to compare prices. Back in the early 90s, I dreamed of having something in my hand that had my want lists, collection and availability…..we call that the smart phone. With my phone out, I had my new release list for 2012, 2013 & 2014 and I saw both Chastain and Adrenaline Mob listed and in stock at the store. Unfortunately, I’m not paying regular price so I opened the Amazon app, scanned each bar code and found both albums much cheaper (saving $5 each) so they went in the cart. When I got out of the store and into the car, I remembered the new project with Dave Ellefson (Megadeth) and Frank Bello (Anthrax) called Altitudes & Attitude. It’s only a 3 song E.P. but it was also only $5 so that got thrown in the cart. I was going to checkout but I went to my Amazon Music wish list and one of the first CDs I added way back when was the Ian Gillan/Tony Iommi Who Cares project that I never bought when it first came out. I bought the single but not the full album and it’s been an expensive $20+ price tag for the CD but here it was with a price reduction of 25% off since I added it…..into the cart! So I spent $42 on top of the $100 in the record store.

Ebay

Kix – Midnight Dynamite (1985) – $10 used
Jack Blades – s/t (2004) – $5 used
7th Heaven – USA-UK (2008) – $5 used
Ted Poley – Greatest Hits Volume 2 (Ltd Ed) (2014) – $23
Axxis – Utopia (Ltd Ed + 2) (2009) – $7
Blackberry Smoke – The Whippoorwill (2012) – $8.60 used
Persian Risk – Rise Up (1986/1997 reissue) – $11 used
Tysondog – Painted Heroes: The Anthology (2002) – $20 used
Bret Michaels – Jammin’ With Friends (2013) – $10
Revamp – Wild Card (Ltd Ed) (2013) – $22.50

Ebay has been a go to destination for me since October 1999 and, close to 15 years later, I still find bargains and rare CDs. Nothing is better than finding a CD you want and searching the seller’s other items only to find MORE CDs you want/need. I recently found one such seller who had been kind enough to list his/her collection on Ebay in portions…..lots of CDs I don’t own too! The Jack Blades solo album, the 7th Heaven, Blackberry Smoke, Persian Risk and Tysondog CDs all came from the one seller and it was all because I was searching for the High Vaultage reissue on CD of Persian Risk’s Rise Up. Once I found that at a decent price, I checked the other items and found the rest. I’m not happy about paying so much for the Tysondog anthology but it is the first two albums the band released and the E.P. they had from 1984 through 1986. I had put a high bid of $20 in and I was the only bidder with 10 seconds to go and someone who was watching it went just under $20. I thought I already owned Kix – Midnight Dynamite but I was wrong and you wouldn’t believe how much this CD goes for on Ebay! Upwards for $20+! I got a bargain for $10, same with the Axxis CD for $9 brand new and that replaced one of the first promotional downloads I ever received doing this site. Another $10 went to the latest Bret Michaels solo CD so I could hear just how bad it is…..I know I shouldn’t have bought it but I’ve been dying to hear it because everyone says it’s a train wreck. The two big purchases was the Ted Poley – Greatest Hits Vol. 2 and the limited edition version of the last ReVamp album, Wild Card. Wild Card is an import so normal channels had the price $30+, I’m a big fan of Floor Jansen so I wanted to hear this project. The Ted Poley CD came straight from Ted himself on Ebay and autographed to me personally.

Johnny Lima website

Johnny Lima – My Revolution (Ltd Ed) (2014) – $23

I’ve been a big Johnny Lima supporter after I heard, and then immeadiately bought, his 2009 release Livin’ Out Loud. That was one of the best albums of 2009 and I still spin it today so I always have an eye on Johnny’s website. Sure enough, I checked the website and there was the announcement for the new album, My Revolution, but only as a limited edition CD release and regular download. I’m a physical media freak so I had to have the actual CD so I sent Johnny my $23 and he sent the CD same day! Hit the link above and check Johnny Lima out.

Totals

Total (Feb) = $271.10

Total (year) = $615.10

Average Price (per item) = $10.79

Total CDs (year) = 54

Total LPs (year) = 3

Lover Under Cover – Into The Night (2014) review

Lover Under Cover – Into The Night (2014, Escape Music)

1. A Fight
2. Into The Shadows
3. Miracle
4. Toy Soldier
5. Crushing Stones
6. Life Is Easy
7. Playboy No 7
8. The Game Is On
9. Fantasy Man
10. Closer To The Truth
11. No Place Like Home

Band Lineup:
Mikael Carlsson – (Rain) Bass, Guitars, Keyboards and Backing Vocals
Mikael Erlandsson (Last Autumn’s Dream/Salute) – Vocals, Keyboards
Martin Kronlund (Gypsy Rose, Phenomena, Salute) – Guitars
Perra Johnsson (Coldspell) – Drums

Producer: Martin Kronlund

Country: Sweden

Total Time = 45:20

One of the things I love most about running this website for the last 8 years is that I get to discover new bands and new music on a daily basis. Sometimes an album crosses my desk and it completely takes hold of me and captures my complete attention…..Into The Night from Sweden’s Lover Under Cover is one of those albums. Lover Under Cover is a name I’ve heard before but never really investigated. The band is a Swedish melodic rock “supergroup” of sorts with all the members being in well known bands like Coldspell, Last Autumn’s Dream, Salute and more but the music put to record is not a bunch of guns for hire playing their respective parts but an actual band rocking it hard and playing flawlessly.

Opening track ‘A Fight’ kicks the album off in high gear with a quick keyboard intro that rolls straight into some blazing guitar work. Mikael Erlandsson’s voice immeadiately commands your attention and he kind of reminds me a bit of Tony Harnell (TNT/Westworld), very melodic sounding and forceful when needed. ‘A Fight’ is infectious with it’s big harmonies on the chorus and I found myself singing along right away. ‘Into The Shadows’ continues the initial assault with another infectious chorus and plenty of harmonies, the song takes me right back to the ’80s when I was growing up when Rock music was an art of perfectly blended musicianship. And the melodic assault doesn’t stop because ‘Miracle’ is high energy powerhouse that reminds me of a combination of Westworld, Treat and Bon Jovi and it’s definitely my favorite song on the record. Martin Kronlund has some great solos on this track but the main riff, combined with the keyboards complimenting, really drives the song.

Time to slow it down a little with the album’s first ballad, ‘Toy Soldiers’. Now I’m listening to the album in the car when I first heard this song and I knew most of the words…..what? Turns out this is a cover of ‘Toy Soldiers’ by Martika from 1988 and, as a high school teenager glued to MTV back then, I remember that song well. Actually, my wife loves the Martika song. So I’m thrown off a bit by the Martika cover but it’s done really well so I can’t really fault the band for recording it. I’m not a fan of cover songs on studio albums but this is a really good one. ‘Crushing Stones’ goes back to the solid melodic rock of the first three songs and I especially like the keyboard line that holds it all together but it all comes down to the guitar for me and I’m really enjoying another great performance that brings a bit of an edge to the track. ‘Life Is Easy’ is a Bon Jovi sounding song but absolutely better than anything Bon Jovi has released in a decade (Jon take notice!). It’s just another great tune, an album favorite for me, another catchy song that immeadiately grabs you but it’s a bit more mellow, more  mid-tempo, and I like the way the band has mixed it up. ‘Playboy No. 7’ is another uptempo Hard Rock song and it’s good but it sounds a little repetitive of what’s played before it.

A second song with a bit of a crunchy edge is ‘The Game Is On’ and ‘Fantasy Man’ follows ‘Life Is Easy’ a little as far as that easy melodic tempo goes. Both are really great songs but ‘Fantasy Man’ joins ‘Miracle’ and ‘Life Is Easy’ as my stand out tracks. Add ‘Closer To The Truth’ to that list as well because that’s another effortless melodic rocker that has me singing along and doing my air-drums. This is another example of an great old school ’80s sounding song done perfectly. Ending the record is a cool mid-tempo/ballad style track, ‘No Place Like Home’, that Jon Bon Jovi wishes he could write (steal!) and, even though it ends Into The Night on a softer note, it’s a great song.

Bottom Line:
If your a fan of good melodic Hard Rock with a lot of ’80s influences, great vocals, great guitars and sing-a-long lyrics, then Into The Night is definitely for you. The entire sound of the album is excellent, great production by Martin Kronlund, and it sounds like what I remember from my younger days…..an album from a bygone era maybe? This is my first proper album review for 2014 but I’ve listened to a lot of albums so far this year and Lover Under Cover has captured my listening time more with this new album than other new albums I’ve acquired so far. It’s really that good and, like I mentioned earlier, I love it when an album crosses my desk and surprises me by hooking me in immeadiately. I highly recommend people picking this album up.

Favorite Songs:
‘Miracle’, ‘Life Is Easy’, ‘Fantasy Man’, ‘Closer To The Truth’

Lover Under Cover
Escape Music

Buy the CD at Amazon.com
Buy the digital download at Amazon.com
Buy the digital download at iTunes