Grab a Stack of Rock / LeBrain Train

Ranked! ALL the Deep Purple Studio Albums, with Ryan Gavalier

Whew!  That was a rock marathon, but Ryan and I crossed the finish line with a complete ranking of all the Deep Purple studio albums (excluding the covers album Turning to Crime).  This was not an easy task.  We both immersed ourselves fully in the music all week.  In the end, some albums struck us harder than others.  While our Top Fives were both very similar, but the rest of the lists were widely varied.

Thank you to Ryan Gavalier for this awesome jump through the Deep Purple catalogue.  Not only was it an electrfying week of music, but it was also a week for re-appraisal.  I always knew my first and last albums, but the middle was quite fluid.

While we did attempt to spend a good deal of time discussing each album, we really only scratched the surface.  The best thing to do would be for you to check out the music yourself.

Thanks for watching, and we’ll see you tomorrow for another episode of Grab A Stack of Rock (Special Editon).  Stay tuned!

My list can be seen at the bottom of this post by highlighting the hidden text.

 

22  The Book of Taleisyn (1968)

21 Shades Of (1968)

20 Abandon (1998)

19 The Battle Rages On (1993)

18 The House of Blue Light (1987)

17 Rapture of the Deep (2005)

16 Bananas (20030

15 Slaves and Masters (1990)

14 InFinite (2017)

13 =1

12 Who Do We Think We Are! (1973)

11 Deep Purple (1969)

10 NOW What?! (2013)

9 Burn (1974)

8 Come Taste the Band (1975)

7 Whoosh (2020)

6 Stormbringer (1974)

5 Machine Head (1972)

4 Perfect Strangers (1984)

3 Purpendicular (1996)

2 In Rock (1970)

1 Fireball (1971)

 

Ranking ALL the Deep Purple Studio Albums, with Ryan Gavalier – live tonight at 8:00 PM

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 69: Ranking ALL the Deep Purple Studio Albums, with Ryan Gavalier

Please welcome Ryan Gavalier from Gavalier Productions for his show debut!  We have been wanting to work together for about a year now.  For Ryan’s first topic, he went big:  we are tackling the complete Deep Purple studio albums and ranking them.  (We are excluding the covers album Turning to Crime, and the Concerto since it was a live album.)  That’s 21 albums, so buckle up.  We are giving you extra this long Labour Day weekend.

Both Ryan and I have spent the last week listening to Deep Purple, in chronological order.  I always knew what my first pick would be, and I knew my last pick from the start.  Now, it is a matter of filling in the blanks.

Be sure to join Ryan and I live, as you’ll want to play along in the comments.  See you then!

Sunday September 1 at 8:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 9:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook!

Tim’s Vinyl Confessions Ep. 553: Salute to AEROSMITH! TOP 5 Albums from the Bad Boys of Boston [VIDEO]

Today August 26 at 3:00 PM EST!

 

Aerosmith have called it a day, at least insofar as playing live is concerned.  While we know a series of reissues is coming, it is likely that Aerosmith are done as an active band.  I never got to see them live, but at least I did get to participate in this great Top Five album ranking with Tim, Jex and Will!  (The same team that did a “least favourite Kiss list last year.)

The task was simple:  Pick our top five Aerosmith albums, and two runners-up.  This time, Jex didn’t go wild and pick, like, Just Push Play as his #1.  In fact we think these lists were pretty rock solid!  Some lesser-appreciated albums were given love, and the “big ones” were well represented.  Studio only, no live or compilations.

Please enjoy this show as much as we enjoyed making it.

Ooh! Aah! Do you wanna see some Def Leppard CD Rarities with @RockTheseTweets and @2Loud2OldMusic?

It’s always a special night when I see something on the show from a guest’s collection, that I never saw before and want very badly.  That happens periodically…but on this show, it happened on every round!  This was a classic “random and chaotic” Grab A Stack of Rock episode and one of the most exciting to date.

First of all:  thank you to John T. Snow of 2Loud2OldMusic for powering through illness to be here on this night.  “I didn’t want to miss this,” he said, referring to the mighty Def Leppard collection of megafan Chris Preston.

Second:  thank you to Chris from @rockthesetweets for sharing your awesome collection with us!  The “oohs!” and “aahs!” from John and I were audible multiple times in this show.  Chris had CDs of many varieties:  3″, Japanese 3″, promo, French, German, US, video…so many kinds.  Not shockingly, he also had one track that seems to be exclusive to a promo CD for “Action”, that I do not have.  I anticipated that would happen.  Adding it the “wantlist”.

John had some cool bootlegs, singles, European releases, and plenty more stuff that made Chris and I jealous.  There were some live shows he had from the mid and late 1990s that are highly desirable.  He also had recordings from earlier times, such as the Pyromania tour and the Pete Willis/Frank Noon years.

As for me, you know I have Japanese imports, including two that the other guys didn’t have.  I also had some singles from the Hysteria era to show, a 24k gold Mastersound CD in mint condition with original jewel case, and my original CDr that provided the live tracks heard on Def Leppard Rarities Volume Four, with the original cover I made on my parents’ printer back in the day.  This is the original CD that Def Leppard used for music on that collection.

I can’t thank these two diamond gents more for doing this show with me tonight.  Definitely some of the best stacks of rock ever seen on this show!

Next week:  Deep Purple Album Ranking with Ryan Gavalier, Sunday Sept 1 at 8:00 PM EST!

Def Leppard CD Rarities with @RockTheseTweets and @2Loud2OldMusic

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 68: Def Leppard CD Rarities with @RockTheseTweets and @2Loud2OldMusic

This has been a meeting long in the making.  For years, I have admired the music collection of Chris from MyRockAndRollHeaven on Twitter.  In particular, Chris is a Def Leppard collector, and I believe his collection is one of the best in the world.

Finally the stars have aligned, and we have Chris tonight on Grab A Stack of Rock.  Since his collection is so massive, we decided to narrow it down to rare Def Leppard on CD.  Singles, Japanese imports, EPs and more will be shown tonight.  Joining us as co-host will be fellow fan and collector John Snow from 2Loud2OldMusic!  He is currently in the midst of a Def Leppard review series, so this lines up perfect.

What will we see tonight?  The rarest of the rare Leppard on CD.  Don’t miss it.

 

Friday August 23 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook!

Rock Daydream Nation: The Best Australian Rock Songs of the 1980s? Featuring Harrison Kopp (VIDEO)

The Mad Metal Man has spread his wings!  I am proud to present below, Harrison’s first appearance on a show that isn’t our own!

Harrison wanted to do an Australia-centric topic with Peter Kerr for some time.  Peter has been wanting to put together an all-Australia panel.  This week on Rock Daydream Nation, that’s exactly what we got!  With Peter Wicks, and Bicyclelegs himself.

It was enjoyable for me to hear about familiar Australian bands, and those I’d never heard of before.  Harrison stirred the pot with some questions and comments, like a good lad!  (Do the Bee Gees count as an Australian band?)  Really proud of the “resident contrarian” Mad Metal Man.  Check out the show!

Tim’s Vinyl Confessions: Ep. 551: Deep Purple (=1 review) [VIDEO]

Deep Purple albums take time to absorb, especially in the current “Ezrin era”.  The records are not lazy with simple songs (puns intended)!  Tim and I attempted to break down the new album =1, track by track.  We tended to agree on a lot of the songs.

What’s with the artwork?  Is Simon a new Blackmore?  What the heck is Ian Gillan singing about?  Find out in this excellent episode of Tim’s Vinyl Confessions, out today.

My written review of the album will follow tomorrow morning, with the deluxe edition live discs getting the written review treatment in the coming weeks.

VIDEO: Unboxing Music and Lego from Perth, Australia!

They don’t call Harrison the Mad Metal Man for nothin’.  It must be because he keeps sending me all these amazing parcels!

  1. Unboxing from Harrison – Feb 2023
  2. Unboxing from Harrison – Feb 2024

And now, Harrison has sent me a third parcel, with heavy metal, soundtracks, Lego and more.

Harrison has acquired some “upgrades” to some albums it seems, and has passed his original copies on to me.  These are bands I have never checked out before, so let’s see if Harrison can win me over.  There were also some cool soundtrack-y CDs for Robert Daniels (Visions In Sound) and, of course, some Lego.  The saga of the Marvel Lego blindboxes continues!

Of note:  I popped some bubble wrap for ya.

Please check out the video, like and subscribe!

Was 1984 the best year ever for rock music? Peter Kerr, Mike Ladano & viewers list off some great tunes

Peter Kerr was back with a vengeance, and some great songs!  Representing Rock Daydream Nation, Peter listed off a whole lot of great songs from the year 1984, ranging from rock to metal to pop rock.  He also listed the greatest movies he saw from that year, with a handful of video games and TV shows.  I couldn’t resist mentioning a toyline/cartoon/comic book that transformed our young lives that year.

We had awesome guest lists from the Mad Metal Man (who is sick and could not attend) and Uncle Meat.  In the comments, Pete Jones, Henry Wright, Johnny Metal, Ash Geisler, and others listed off some great tunes.  Ash had about 30!  I tried to put all the comments on the screen.

There were some albums and artists to kept coming up over and over again.  Whitesnake, Metallica, Mercyful Fate, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and many more were well represented on this show.

This was a wonderful hour-plus and I hope you enjoy watching it on Youtube if you missed it live!

Top 10 Rock Songs from the year 1984! With Peter Kerr of Rock Daydream Nation on Grab A Stack of Rock

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 67: Top 10 Rock Songs from the year 1984 with Peter Kerr

We are back!  Following three weeks of chilling at the cottage, Grab A Stack of Rock returns with a roar, and a familiar face!

Peter Kerr of Rock Daydream Nation suggested this topic for his return to the show.  1984 was the year I got into rock music.  That coincided with MuchMusic’s premier in Canada.  All of a sudden, there were all these videos!  Kiss, Van Halen, Iron Maiden, Helix…and I was there with my VCR, recording everything.  For me personally, this will be a list of nostalgia…but not entirely.  After all, it was Peter who got me into Prince in 2023.  It was Tim Durling and John the Music Nut who got me buying Y&T albums recently.  It remains to be see what will make my final list, because 1984 was a completely epic year for rock music.

Peter Kerr was last on the show back in May when we unboxed the new Arkells album.  An album on which they covered “Dancing in the Dark” by Springsteen…a song released in 1984.  (It’s like poetry; it rhymes!)  Who knows what will be picked?

If you join the show from the start, you will also catch some unboxings.  Don’t miss this show, live, as we always respond to your comments!

Friday August 16 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook!