74 CDs of a Christian parody bands called the ApologetiX? That’s just a taste of what you get when you go through the “A” section of Johnny Metal’s CD collection!
Thank you John for joining me for this blast of an episode. In under an hour, we went through a few hundred CDs from the “A” section. Lots of Christian rock from Johnny, as well as Anthrax, Armored Saint and obscure bands I’ve never heard of before! Of course we had plenty of AC/DC between us. My stack went from Lee Aaron to Autograph.
The Aerosmith section dominated the show, with plenty of CD singles (including 3″), Japanese imports, a DualDisc, EPs, a bootleg and lots of limited collector’s editions. My AC/DC collection also included 3″ CDs, DualDiscs and bootlegs. Johnny and I showed off our Australian AC/DC albums, but not the same ones! We also saw Abba, Ryan Adams (with jokes from Pete Jones on the sidelines), some Jazz, and a few very rare coloured jewel cases.
Of note: We were drinking tonight, but things did not get out of hand!
Thanks for watching everyone…it means the world to me.
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man Episode 70: The “A” Section with Johnny Metal
Back to basics this week: we are literally showing off stacks of rock! With the CD collection being re-alphabetized, and with Johnny Clauser currently tackling the Accept albums on his music corner of the world, let’s dive into the “A” section!
CDs only this week. Let’s have a look at complete collections of AC/DC, Aerosmith and more! Lee Aaron, Accept, A.S.A.P., Alice In Chains…we’ll look at the whole section of my collection tonight. John will be bringing in select items from his.
Join us live!
Friday September 13 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy onYouTube or on Facebook!
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike, Aaron KMA and Tim Durling
Special Edition Episode: An 8 Track Holy Grail & More
This video is years in the making. More than just an “unboxing” video, this is a fun and informative episode that documents one man’s journey to collect his favourite bands on obsolete formats, and another man’s ability to find them.
About four years ago, Aaron provided Tim with a rare 8-track tape that he needed for his collection. Another one of Aaron’s tapes went to Martin Popoff. But there was one tape that Tim needed to “complete” a specific collection. And this summer, Aaron found that one too. He just has a knack for it, and it seems appropriate that it was Aaron who found this last tape. There’s a story that goes with it, and three tapes that went to me as well!
“Complete” is in quotes, because this video is far more than just an unboxing video. This is a philosophical (and fun) discussion about 8-track tapes, collecting, and genuine Australian bubble wrap. We discuss breaks in the middle of tracks, altered track listings, and for good measure, a little bit about vintage Star Wars toys. We also speculate on one tape that may still be out there, but remains unknown.
This episode is in two parts. It begins with Aaron and I unboxing three beautiful 8-track tapes, and a number of birthday gifts. Also inside that box was Tim’s tape, which I mailed immediately to New Brunswick. The video cuts and picks up with Tim, ready to open his treasure in front of the cameras.
BRUCE DICKINSON – “Resurrection Men” (2024 BMG CD single)
The Mandrake Project is a dense album. It takes a lot of time to absorb and understand. The concept goes way over my head, but the songs are heavy and the direction is metal. Bruce Dickinson is nothing if not ambitious, and of course that means taking the new album on the road. His live band this time out includes the always reliable Dave Moreno on drums, and Whitenake bassist Tanya O’Callaghan. Bruce has released two singles from the album with exclusive B-sides, and the second is “Resurrection Men”.
“Resurrection Men” is long for a single, at almost six and a half minutes. It is loaded with drama, and the acoustic intro really sets a mood. Then it goes into something more western, like from a Clint Eastwood film, with interesting percussion. That soon subsides and we go full electric. This song lunges all over the place, from slow grinding verses to quiet bass-driven parts, and a powerhouse chorus. Ultimately it’s not really single material, but that’s one thing that makes this release so interesting. It’s also impressive how Bruce continues to sing with such lung power.
Live from Sao Paolo comes “Afterglow of Ragnarok“, the first single from The Mandrake Project. A song about “what happens after the end of the world,” according to Bruce. It is tight, and does not deviate far from the original cut. The live setting is unforgiving, but even without multitracked vocals, Bruce nails it. The stage energy is palpable, and Moreno kills it on drums.
The most exciting track is the very first live version of “Abduction” from Tyranny of Souls. This one absolutely smokes, with breakneck pace, lightning drum fills, and melodic guitar harmonies. A lot of solo Bruce stuff could almost be considered Iron Maiden made modern, louder and more intense. “Abduction” falls into that category. This live version has some really cool guitar solo work, very different from Roy Z’s on the album.
It is truly wonderful to see artists such as Def Leppard, Deep Purple, and Bruce Dickinson releasing physical singles with actual B-sides in 2024. Keep it up.
RECORD STORE TALES #1151: An Egg of a Day: End of August Scores
I have a coworker whose parents recently passed. This is always sad, but the time came for my coworker to purge her mom’s music collection. Periodically when this happens, people come to me to ask my opinion. Essentially, she wanted to know: “is there anything here that I shouldn’t take to the local Beat Goes On because it might be worth more?” She didn’t think much of her chances, but wanted to be sure.
“Sure, I’ll pop over and have a look,” I said. “I can’t promise you anything but I can at least have a look.”
That was good enough for her.
“I bet I find a bunch of Lawrence Welk!” I joked to Tim Durling and Jex Russell. You know the kind of record collection I mean.
Indeed, I did find Lawrence Welk in the very first box of vinyl. I had a laugh and kept digging. To everyone’s surprise, I found things that might indeed have been valuable, and they had no idea how it got into that collection.
First of all, she had a really nice stack of 78s. Big Crosby was the first one I saw. I have no idea on value of 78s, but this were stored well and all seemed in good condition. It might have been my first time handling a stack of 78’s like that. They are thicker than an LP, and much heavier. They require a special stylus as well as a turntable that can go up to 78. I used to have that equipment. She even had a cylinder, whether Edison or a competing brand, that was out for professional appraisal. So, this collection I was looking at had these formats:
LPs
45s
78s
Cassettes
8-tracks
CDs
and one cylinder
Pretty wild scope. The genres were all over the place, from easy listening and country (the usual suspects) to disco, jazz, oldies, and even progressive rock and heavy metal, as you’ll see. This, I did not expect.
Then I spied an album called Egg. Something about it jumped out at me. I flipped it around and there were black and white photos of long haired guys jamming. That struck me as out of place in this collection, so I set it aside. Somebody looked it up, and it can sell for easily over $100. Everyone seemed really impressed by my ability to sniff this out. I am no expert, folks. Not at all. But it looked out of place, which is why I took a second glance. It turns out Egg were an English progressive rock band, and the album was released in 1970. Very surprising, but they felt that this one find justified me coming over and looking at their records, so I was happy.
Original price: $6.99
I found some things I wanted for myself and made an offer. I left with the following titles:
Guns N’ Roses – “You Could Be Mine” 1991 Geffen cassette single. I own it on CD, but never on cassette. Why not? In this day and age of owning everything on every format, why not?
The Best Of ZZ Top 1977 Wea Music cassette. A staple, but one that I somehow have never owned before on any format. Stone cold classic compilation.
John Williams and the Boston Pops – Pops In Space 1980, Philips, made in Holland. This contains music from some of Williams science fiction classics: Superman, The Empire Strikes Back (which was brand new in 1980), Star Wars, and Close Encounters. I haven’t seen this one before.
Oscar Peterson – The Trio – Live from Chicago 1961 Verve/1986 Polygram CD. My second Oscar Peterson score this summer. You rarely find Oscar in the wild, and never this one.
Johnny Cash – His Greatest Hits, Volume II1971 Columbia 8-track. This was the Cash album I grew up with in the car with my dad, albeit on cassette. This cartridge is in great shape, and resides in a bright red shell. This is my first red shell 8-track tape.
When I called my dad to tell him of my musical scores, he was surprised at the 8-track. While he clearly remembers that Cash album, he asked me “Do you have anything that plays an 8-track?” This is a common question that we collectors get. No I do not. I don’t have a way to play a Minidisc, a DAT, or a DCC either but I would love to have some in my collection. My collecting desires are no longer strictly just to have music to play. Now I collect music I can’t even play too! Just to have a piece of history.
After we completely examined the collection and left some advice, I departed with my treasures. Since we were in the neighbourhood, I decided to visit the old Toys R Us/HMV store. There, I finally decided to pick up Iron Maiden’s Powerslave on vinyl, edging me closer to completing the 1980s collection. Now, all I should need are the first two Di’Anno albums (I think). Powerslave was $36 and hard to pull the trigger on, since I can distinctly remember a time when Sam the Record Man was swinning in new copies for $6.99 each, and that sticks with you. I finally have it now.
A successful Saturday. Time to listen to some music!
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!
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 onYouTube or on Facebook!
Here it is: One of the biggest rock album events of the summer! We have the Deep Purple =1 Super Deluxe Box Set in hand, and we go through all its contents. Have a watch.
Some albums just fall by the wayside. Here’s a CD that came out 35 years ago, and I just never got around to.
This album, from a new hard rock band, was on my radar due to involvement from some people in the circles of Bon Jovi. It was scarce in these parts, either unseen on the shelves of local stores, or left sitting in favour of other purchases.
Another thing about the summer of 1989 is that there were few quality record stores at the cottage 35 years ago. Now, I just have to find what I want on Amazon, and new music is on its way to me while I wait for it on the front porch. Absolutely amazing. Tell that to 17 year old Mike in July ’89!
RECORD STORE TALES #1141: 100 Years Old and Counting! Weekend Report – Parties Complete, CD Re-organizing Continues
It’s official! Grandma turned 100, and she had not one but two parties. Seems appropriate given the circumstances! It was a whirlwind of a weekend and difficult to sum up.
Friday afternoon began with a reunion of cousins! I have not seen Cousin Geoff in over 10 years and I swear he is still growing. I gave him a big hug, and the chitter chatter did not cease for the entire time. It was like no time had passed, even though we had so much to catch up on. He’s now a dad with two kids.
That day, we had a birthday party at the home for Grandma. She was fashionably late, as is her right. She received some nice gifts and plants, but was not impressed with her letter from King Charles. The plants she got from people she knew meant a lot more than the King. I am sure that Charles is now weeping at this rejection. He certainly tried!
Funny thing about 100th birthdays. They are very difficult to find cards for. In fact, Grandma received three identical cards due to lack of selection!
We had a barbecue for family that night, and resumed the 100th birthday party the following day. This party was for family only, which didn’t stop a couple people from the old folks’ home from trying to gatecrash! I can’t say I blame them. The food and cake were incredible. The cake was probably the best I ever had, while I also stuffed myself with six sandwiches. By the end of the celebrations, I think I was as exhausted as Grandma. But that wasn’t the end of the weekend for me.
Who knew that a 100th birthday party would be so exhausting? I’ve never even met a centenarian before, let alone partied with one. I can tell you that centenarians like cake.
As for me, I had CDs to file. I bought a third shelf, assembled it, and began filing. I am done A and B, moving onto C.
It feels good to have all of A and B on shelves again. I keep finding the odd A and B within the rest, but we’re getting closer every week. I’m going to buy a couple more shelves in the near future, but here’s what the situation looks like this week.
I have also repaired my Metallica Live Sh*t box set lid.
It’s not perfect, and you can see the glue from the inside easily, but it’s solid again.
Things are finding themselves in order again, though it will likely take the rest of the summer to get everything organized again. Which is good, because when Grab A Stack of Rock returns for its 3rd season in the fall, I’ll be really ready to grab stacks of rock once again – in alphabetical order!
Next party: mine! Join us Friday at 3:30 PM EST. Let’s keep it rolling.
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