GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
🅻🅸🆅🅴 Episode
Episode 144: Top Five Artists Who Do NOT Rock! With Peter Kerr from Rock Daydream Nation
Peter Kerr is back! The Rock Daydream Nation host has been tearing up YouTube with mega interviews! John Corabi, Sebastian Bach, Reb Beach, and many more…but tonight he sits with Mike and Harrison about a decidedly different topic. Tonight, Peter discusses his Top Five Artists who do NOT rock!
We at Grab A Stack of Rock have diverse tastes from myriad genres. On tonight’s show, allow us to open your minds to the worlds of Pop, Disco, Jazz, Classical, Country and beyond. We will pick five each. Will there be overlap? What genres won’t we see tonight? Will Harrison demonstrate Polka dancing? We just don’t know!
For fans of physical media, tonight we’ll see releases on all four major formats: CD, cassette, LP and the mighty 8-Track cartridge. Don’t miss this live event. We love to interact in the comments, so join us at 7:00 PM EST!
Click here for the link to the live show
This will be the first COTTAGE SHOW of the 2026 season!
Friday April 24 at 7:00 PM EST, 8:00 PM Atlantic. Enjoy onYouTube orFacebook.
For only the second time in history, Harrison Kopp and Mike Ladano appear together on another show! With Rock Daydream Nation being the first to record the pair, John the Music Nut is second to know a good team when he sees one! In the past, Harrison and Mike have only appeared separately on other programs, such as Tim’s Vinyl Confessions, bicyclelegs and of course Rock Daydream Nation. It pleases me greatly to finally join Harrison on another show.
The Music Nut asked Harrison and I what albums we’d be interested in covering on his series, The Live Cut? Without much deliberation, we settled upon Boston 1981, an archival live album by Rainbow. Featuring a personal favourite lineup, it’s Ritchie Blackmore with Joe Lynn Turner, Don Airey, Bobby Rondinelli and Roger Glover. The Difficult To Cure tour featured a number of new songs, along with a smattering of songs from the Dio and Graham Bonnet eras, with one Deep Purple cover. We compare the album to other Rainbow live offers, and dissect the performances by each member of the band.
This is an album that, like many, I purchased, listened to, and filed away. It was a pleasure to dig it up and listen to it intently for a few days.
My show notes are at bottom, but please watch this awesome episode on the Music Nut Channel!
Spotlight Kid – Straightforward version, Joe in peak voice. Don Airey really shows why he was the guy to replace Lord in Purple, with his organ work off the top.
Love’s No Friend – Striking version. First Graham track and Joe handles it just fine (if not better). Loads of solos and Airey organ. Joe’s vocal is very bluesy and expressive. Roger on backing vocals? TOP Blackmore blues solo.
I Surrender – “Harpichord” intro but a straightforward version. Blacker’s solo is slow, low and fun.
Man On the Silver Mountain – first foray into Dio – nice Don Airey organ screech at the start. I hate when Joe sings “take my spirits hiiiiiiigh!” but it is toned down a bit on this version. Very short version.
Catch the Rainbow – 14 minutes. I like Joe’s vocal take on this classic. Don also sounds very regal. Slows down for long solo section around 6 minutes. Blackmore plays with band for a bit and then a true solo begins unaccompanied. Goes into Greensleeves. Band comes crashing back in for more instrumental brilliance. Lots of pick scrapes, awesome licks, drum fills. Joe has a long vocal workout (“Let it shine!”) at the end.
Can’t Happen Here – Another short fire cracker, a welcome break.
Lost In Hollywood – Starts with a cool Airey solo and then Blackmore brings the riff, faster and heavier than album. The noise solo at the end is always interesting to me in a noise-art way.
Difficult to Cure – The usual. 6:45 version. Does all the things you expect it to do. Long Bobby Rondinelli drum solo, nothing special.
Long Live Rock N’ Roll – Feels more melodic than the older versions. Joe really stretches out. Lots of jamming and instrumental work.
Smoke on the Water – Includes Lazy, Woman From Tokyo.
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
🅻🅸🆅🅴 Episode
Episode 143: Lenticular Cover Art collections with bicyclelegs talks music
When a new release is announced with a “lenticular” cover edition, do you always jump at the chance? Harrison does. Harrison loves those “three-dimensional”, moving images in his music collection. So does Mike, and bicycelegs! Together we will show you just about everything we have in our music collections with lenticular cover art.
Lenticular art is nothing new. For centuries before its invention, humans have been trying to create moving images. Lenticular art involves taking two or more images, interlacing them, and presenting them behind a piece of glass or plastic with ridged lines throughout. The result is a moving, three-dimensional image.
Tonight we’ll look at some items that you’re familiar with, and many that you are not. From newer releases to old classics from the 1990s, we have a variety to show. Please join us tonight for this fun and educational episode! We will be live, and we love interacting in the comments.
Click here for the link to the live show
Friday April 17 at 7:00 PM EST, 8:00 PM Atlantic. Enjoy onYouTube orFacebook.
A reunion was in order! After our very fun Live Cut episode with Robert Lawson on Steve Earle’s Shut Up and Die Like an Aviator, I hooked up with John the Music Nut once again to dig into some cool country. The topic this time is Steve Earle’s Washington Square Serenade, a different album for him that took many by surprise. After a move to New York city, and falling in love with singer Allison Moorer, Steve shifted gears. Working with John King of the Dust Brothers, Earle incorporated loops and electronic elements into his music for the first time. The results were nothing short of astounding. “Purists” may balk at the idea, but what Earle recorded here is a very special album.
Please join John and I for an in-depth episode on this album and its contents. In his words:
On the latest episode of the Latter Day Albums series, our friend Mike Ladano from @GrabAStackofRocK returns to the channel as we discuss Steve Earle’s 12th album entitled Washington Square Serenade. Released on September 25, 2007, this would be the first of several releases on New West Records and would win the Grammy award for Best Contemporary Folk/Americana album in 2008. What do you think of Steve Earle’s music as well as this album? Please let us know in the comments!
A special 🅻🅸🆅🅴 episode – 15th Anniversary of the Santiago Chile concert!
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK #142
Another Maiden live album? Another 50 Years of Iron Maiden live episode. Hitting the skies in a brand new Ed Force One jet, our heavy metal heroes embarked upon “the road” once again. With the new space and science fiction-themed Final Frontier album providing new Eddies and new songs, the Maiden live show evolved once again. With six new songs (including intro “Satellite 15”) and an alien hybrid Eddie, Iron Maiden roared into Santiago, Chile intending to record a live DVD and Blu-ray. Recorded on this day, 15 years ago, April 10 2011, history was made and documented. The album was released almost a year later, on March 26 2012.
Join Mike and Harrison live, as we celebrate the 15th anniversary of the En Vivo! concert. Another double live CD and DVD or Blu-ray set, we will take you through the entire track list song by song. The visual aspects of the show will be accounted for, and the unique split-screen editing will be assessed. The bonus DVD includes a music video (and a short behind the scenes clip) and a 90 minute documentary called “Behind the Beast”. We will take you through each in our usual detailed manner.
Is this just another Maiden live album? What tracks stand out? How does it compare to other live albums? We’ll assess the whole thing and let you know.
Please join us live if you can. We love interacting in the comments, and these live albums give us an excuse to do these Maiden episodes as live ones. You make it worth it!
Friday April 10 at 7:00 PM EST, 8:00 PM Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTubeor Facebook.
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Special 🅻🅸🆅🅴 Episode at a Special Time – Good Friday Afternoon! 1:00 PM EST
Episode 141: Top Five Albums that Make Us Feel Good! With Dan @OffTheCharts
We’re back! It’s the Fourth Annual Good Friday Afternoon show on Grab a Stack of Rock! We have done this every year since 2023, and this one is a special one for us! It is a little different from past Good Friday episodes. This time it’s less a hangout, and more a list show with lots of physical music!
Episode 141 trailer – Top Five Albums that Make Us Feel Good
We decided to bring the sunshine by talking about music that makes us feel good. Top Five Albums. Some of the greatest music we’ve ever heard in our lives. We’ll also be playing a song from each our lists: music videos of great songs that make us feel great!
Special guest Dan Chartrand will be joining to discuss our Top Five lists. As always you can count on physical product on all three major physical formats: Cassette, CD and LP. These formats are the tangible versions of the music that brought smiles to our faces so many times over the years. We’re talking music that goes back with us for decades in some cases. Other music is newer. What you will get from us this afternoon is going to be pure love for the albums that always bring us joy.
This is a show about physical music! We will also be doing a MASSIVE, $550 unboxing – stay tuned!
Please join us 🅻🅸🆅🅴 for this annual tradition. There will be music, videos, and surprises in store!
Friday April 3 at 1:00 PM EST, 2:00 PM Atlantic. Enjoy onYouTube orFacebook.
50 Years of IRON MAIDEN bonus episode: From Fear To Eternity – The Best Of 1990-2010
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK bonus episode
Iron Maiden have certainly done many compilations since the reunion era began. Last time we looked at Somewhere Back In Time, which covered the 1980s. Leaving no loose ends, the followup album From Fear To Eternity covers 1990 to 2000. It is Maiden’s sixth compilation album, and fourth 2 CD set of that kind. It follows a blueprint set by Somewhere Back In Time, but with some notable inclusions and exclusions.
The cover art on this album is given a special inspection in this episode, as Mike and Harrison point out every Easter egg and reference to prior albums. We also take a good look at the inside cover, a nice piece of art in itself. This episode is a feast for the eyes!
Not quite long enough to make into an officially numbered episode, but informative and interesting nonetheless, From Fear To Eternity is a good solid look at an era of Maiden that snobs often ignore: the underrated 1990s, the glory of the reunion era, and some of the best epic long-bombers of Maiden’s career. Don’t believe us? Join tonight for the fun. It’s all for the love of Maiden. Up the Irons!
Friday March 27 at 7:00 PM EST, 8:00 PM Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube.
50 Years of IRON MAIDEN bonus episode: ‘Hot Metal’
Featuring Tim Durling from Tim’s Vinyl Confessions
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK bonus episode
This special bonus episode of 50 Years of Iron Maiden would not be possible without the efforts of Tim Durling of Tim’s Vinyl Confessions, who years ago informed us of a long-forgotten Iron Maiden cassette release from 1986. On TVC episode 351 (“Rare CDs”), during a portion where I was showing of my Iron Maiden First Ten Years box set, Tim told us of a cassette release exclusive to the A&A Records and Tapes chain in Canada. Mike has a long history with A&A, being something of a home base for him during his highschool years. Tim acquired and sent Mike the cassette of this odd release: Iron Maiden – Hot Metal, an A&A three track “sampler” exclusive, on Capitol Records.
In this episode we take a good look at this release, which featured a nice three-page foldout with lots to look at. The tape is clearly geared to new fans who are still buying Iron Maiden catalogue releases, as you’ll see when we dive deep into the innards of the tape. Priced at just 99 cents, the cassette is essentially a “cassingle” of the “Wasted Years” 12″, but with a twist. Join Mike and Harrison for a mini-episode suited to this mini-cassette!
Join us for some memories of A&A Records and Tapes (and Compact Discs!), and a close look at a really nice cassette release with quality music and content inside. Special thanks to Tim’s Vinyl Confessions for providing the video content from his episode providing background on the tape, and actually sending us a copy!
This special episode will run at a special time, see below and hope to see you in the comments.
Wednesday March 25 at 7:00 AM EST, 8:00 AM Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube.
Joining Peter and I are a special Rock Daydream Nation YouTube panel featuring Reed Little, bicyclelegs, John the Music Nut, Parish of Rock and Brandon Battick (Disturbing the Priest). It’s a seven-person panel and the topic is epic enough to warrant it. It’s our favourite guitar duos of all time!
With seven people, and two picks each, that’s 14 amazing guitar duos. Plus another 14 runners-up. 28 guitar duos for you to check out, including some obscure ones from Australia, and one from Canada. This is a show you do not want to miss.
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Special Re-Run
Top Five Album Closers – LeBrain Train Re-edited
This was a great episode! Originally run on October 15, 2021, the live stream was roughly two and a half hours long. Far too lengthy to watch in 2026, we have brought this episode down to a perfect hour. Where was Harrison that night? Active in the comments, and watch out for a memorable “Bleep!” comment from Uncle Meat to the Mad Metal Man!
On hand that night were Tim Durling from Tim’s Vinyl Confessions, and his fellow Contrarian, Marco D’Auria, along with original cast member Uncle Meat. The show was a sequel to Top Five Album Openers, two weeks prior. We decided to follow up with the Top Five Album Closers of All Time, and with the input of these fine panel members, this was an entertaining show that we are very proud of. The chat was brisk and informative. The lists (at bottom, if you don’t feel like watching, although you should!) were diverse and full of great closing songs that you may not have heard. It was a more challenging set of lists than Album Openers was, and there was very little crossover. Many excellent selections from the mainstream to the obscure. We also included a number of “bonus tracks” at the end: the runners-up that were just as exciting as the songs that made our lists.
Thanks Tim, Marco and Meat for helping to create a must-watch episode. Enjoy!
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