ROCK THE CRADLE LULLABIES volume 1 – Dreamin’ with Def Leppard (2011 Happiness Records)
They call these lullabies, but I’m not so sure about that word. Bon Jovi did an actual album like this, and titled it This Left Feels Right, I believe.
Slowed down, acoustic bluesy and laid back instrumental versions of Def Leppard songs will be found on this CD, easily digestible by anyone. Their effectiveness as lullabies has not been tested under lab conditions but for casual listening in any age group, it should be well received. As stated on a sticker on the front, Vivian Campbell and Phil Collen from Def Leppard make guest appearances (three songs each).
The liner notes state that the technique for “lullification” of these hits involved distilling them down to their core melodies. That makes the songs both easily identifiable and readily enjoyable. A mellow slide guitar often fills in for a lead singer. Phil and Vivian’s work should be identifiable for fans to pick out. Ballads tend to work better than rock songs like “Photograph” or “Pour Some Sugar”, and there are even a few surprising selections from outside the usual Pyromania and Hysteria suspects. “Stand Up (Kick Love Into Motion)” is a particularly good mellow treat.
DEEP PURPLE – This Time Around – Live in Tokyo ’75(2001 EMI)
This shouldn’t have been the “last concert in Japan”!
Many of the old, post-breakup-issued Deep Purple live albums are virtually impossible to find today on CD. One of those is Last Concert In Japan, which was originally released only in that country. It featured the Mk IV lineup of Deep Purple: David Coverdale, Glenn Hughes, Ian Paice, Jon Lord, and the late Tommy Bolin on lead guitar. As a matter of historical releases for my collection, I also own the original Last Concert in Japan on both LP and CD.
The tragic story goes that while some members of Purple were rejuvinated with the fresh blood that Bolin donated, others were dead tired of it all. Reviews were spotty and word was spreading that Deep Purple were over. Both Bolin and Hughes were in the throes of serious drug habits. On the night of the recording of Last Concert in Japan, Bolin was shooting up and caused his arm to go numb. Frantic attempts to get him stageworthy worked and he managed to barely play the show. Guitar parts are sloppy and that’s what people remember because it went on LP. The original one-record set from the show has now been expanded to two lengthy CDs, 17 tracks. It’s been remixed and remastered. Production was supervised by Purple expert Simon Robinson, so you know that the quality level is about as good as it could be. Because of the fully expanded tracklist, some of the finer live Deep Purple moments have been restored to this album, such as a 16 minute “Gettin’ Tighter” which was too long to include on a single record.
Some flaws do remain of course. Tommy’s guitar is now barely audible in the “Burn” riff as opposed to non-existent. However the overall experience is very listenable. It’s a darkly interesting album to own, because within months Purple disbanded, and a year later Tommy Bolin would be dead.
If you already own Last Concert In Japan, this purchase gives you over an hour more of unreleased music. Even so, all of it has been remixed, so you are still in for a fresh listen with open ears. If you already own dozens of Deep Purple live albums (believe me, it’s possible), this one has five songs that you can’t get elsewhere in live versions. It’s even a better listen than In Concert/King Biscuit Flower Hour (aka, On The Wings Of A Russian Foxbat) with stronger vocals. Plus you get Tommy singing on “Wild Dogs”. Worth the double-dip.
Very few box sets satisfy the way that Journey’s Time3 satisfies. When it was released in 1992, Journey wasn’t even a functioning entity anymore. Sony’s box set still represents the kind of care and attention to detail that makes for an extraordinary listen. It is arranged (mostly) chronologically with ample rare and unreleased material. What is most remarkable is how great this rare and unreleased material is. Aerosmith did a similar looking box set in 1992 as well (Pandora’s Box), but their set isn’t as steady a listen as Time3 is. Time3‘s ample wealth of worthwhile rarities rank it easily as the superior set.
From start to bitter 80’s breakup, every Journey member from 1975 to 1986 is included. George Tickner, Aynsley Dunbar, Robert Fleischman, Randy Jackson, Mike Baird and anybody else you may not have known were in Journey are represented in this box. There are ample liner notes and photos explaining the roots and branches. (Humorously the notes claim the early Journey instrumental “Nickel & Dime” may have been the prototype that Rush ripped off for “Tom Sawyer”.) Valuable early rarities include the unreleased jazz rock number “Cookie Duster” and an excellent vocal track called “For You” recorded with Robert Fleischman singing. Fleischman might be best known as the original singer for Vinnie Vincent’s Invasion a decade later, but in Journey he turned in a pretty powerful pop rock song. This was just before Steve Perry joined the band as its first full-time lead singer. Keyboardist Gregg Rolie took care of the vocals before Perry joined, in addition to performing several smoking organ solos included herein.
There is a distinct change between the early progressive jam rock tracks and “For You”. When they hired on a lead singer, it was with the intention to get a big break, and Steve Perry was the final ingredient. With Perry they recorded brilliant classics such as “Patiently”, “Anytime” and the unforgettable “Wheel in the Sky”, which unfortunately is only included here as a live version. Indeed, the Journey box set’s only weakness is a substitution of (non-rare) live versions for studio originals. “Lights” is another such substitution.
Just as the band were making this prog-to-pop transition, drummer Aynsley Dunbar left. His style was more progressive and frankly too highbrow for the direction Journey were going. He was replaced by another total pro, the feel-oriented Steve Smith, a jazzbo at heart who can play R&B like nobody’s business. “Too Late” from 1979’s Evolution is a perfect example of what he did to the Journey sound, as things simplified.
With Smith behind the kit, the hits kept pouring in. “Lovin’ Touchin’ Squeezin'” (also included live), “Any Way You Want It”, “Line of Fire” and many more burned up speakers across America. The band very quickly went from “point A” to “point B”, but also with several exceptional looks backward. Some of these lesser known gems include “Little Girl” from a rare Journey soundtrack album called Dream, After Dream done for the Japanese market. There is also the live “Dixie Highway” from Captured that shows off some serious instrumental chops. A rare highlight is the soulful and unreleased cover of “Good Times”, with full-on horn section, from 1978. It’s one of the songs that make it worth buying a box set like this.
Rolie left after Dream, After Dream and did not appear on the one new Journey song on Captured: “The Party’s Over (Hopelessly in Love)”. This brilliant pop rocker pointed the way towards the next era of Journey. From The Babys came new keyboardist (and sometimes guitarist and singer) Jonathan Cain. Cain forever brought Journey into the 1980’s, with modern keyboard accompaniment and serious writing abilities. He has since become an indisposable member of the band, as important as founding guitarist Neal Schon himself. Jon Cain’s first was the Escape album, which has sold nine million copies to date. Not a bad little debut. With “Don’t Stop Believin'” , “Stone in Love” and the smash ballad “Open Arms”, Journey ascended to the top of the mountain. These tracks are all included as their studio originals.
There are a number of notable and great rarities from this period included in Time3. “Natural Thing” was the soul-laden B-side to “Don’t Stop Believin'”, but feast your ears upon “La Raza Del Sol”, which snuck out as the progressive flipside of “Still They Ride”. This blazingly recalls the arrangements of the early years with an unusually contemoplative lyric. Check out Schon’s flamenco guitar solo. There is the understated and brilliant rocker “Only Solutions”, from the 1982 Tron soundtrack. These are valuable songs, that any Journey fan should enjoy completely. Moving forward, “All That Really Matters” is a synthy demo with Jon Cain on lead vocals. It doesn’t sound like Journey, but Cain fans will find it interesting. Two more soundtrack songs are indispensable: “Only the Young” from Vision Quest, and “Ask the Lonely” from Two of a Kind (both 1983). Each song was significant enough to include on 1988’s Greatest Hits, so fans are well acquainted with both. It’s incredible to think that Journey had songs of this quality to give to soundtracks.
Towards the end, as bands often do, Journey began falling apart. Steve Perry had a hit solo debut Street Talk (1984) and he returned to Journey more confident, imposing a soul/R&B direction upon the band. Steve Smith and founding bassist Ross Valory were out. Randy Jackson and Mike Baird were in. Raised on Radio took forever to record and underwhelmed fans upon reception. A live version of “I’ll Be Alright Without You” with the new members indicates that Journey had sanded off the rough edges.
Even at the end, there were still interesting happenings. The liner notes reveal that even as the band was ending, they were winning awards. Journey performed at the 1987 Bay Area Music Awards with a different singer — Michael Bolton. One has to wonder where that could have gone. The last music on this set chronologically comes in the shape of two unreleased instrumentals called “With a Tear” and “Into Your Arms”. They were recorded in 1986 but not used for Raised on Radio, and so they were finished in 1992 by Schon and Cain for this box set. Sadly these instrumentals are better than most of the tracks on Raised on Radio. One is a ballad, and one is a rocker, but both are exceptional. Journey started life with instrumentals, and so it’s fitting that Schon and Cain polished off the box set with a couple as well.
This box set was reissued a number of times, but for the money you can’t beat the original 1992 printing with the long box and large booklet. The liner notes are ample but the rare photos may even top them. From the earliest days there are pictures of the band with original guitarist George Tickner and drummer Prairie Prince. Prince was invited to join permanently, but chose to join the Tubes instead, a band he found more creative. He was replaced by Aynsley Dunbar who recorded the first LP. Also pictured within are some truly impressive hair styles, clothes, and moustaches.
With tracks this strong from start to finish, great packaging, and such a wealth of rare material, it seems Time3 should be an easy 5/5 stars. However, that niggling issue of live tracks (particularly “Wheel in the Sky”) replacing studio cuts is really devious. It’s unnecessary. It all but forces casual buyers to also own Greatest Hits for the studio versions. It seems very calculated.
VAN HALEN – LIVE: Right here, right now. (1993 Warner Bros, plus “Jump” live single)
The summer of ’93 was the “Summer of Live Albums” here at LeBrain HQ. There were many live discs out to digest, several of them from “must-purchase” bands. Most notable was Ozzy’s Live & Loud which came in a metal speaker grille cover. Iron Maiden also put out A Real Live One, the first of a two-album live set. And then there was a big’un: Van Halen’s first live album, the double Right here, right now.
What did all three releases have in common? They were all boring duds.
Sad but true. In Van Halen’s case, the disappointment was acute. Sure it was “Van Hagar” and not the “real deal” if you believe in that sort of thing, but that wasn’t the issue. There are a few problems with Right here, right now but none of them have to do with the singer. The setlist is a real drag, with way too much material from For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. 10 of the 11 songs from F.U.C.K. are on this album! (“The Dream is Over” being the only missing song — you had to buy this on VHS to get it!) A F.U.C.K. song opens the set, another closes the set…it’s too much, especially since F.U.C.K. was (one of?) the weakest Halen albums to date.
Issue #2 is perhaps a bit silly, since Van Halen shows are known for their solos: but this album has too many solos. Eddie’s aside; he always going to blow your mind. Unfortunately, Michael Anthony and Alex Van Halen are, quite frankly, boring soloists. Did “Ultra Bass” need to be five minutes long? It’s best when Michael’s just playing, but as fans know his bass solo is half notes, and half noise. Immediately after that is “Pleasure Dome/Drum Solo”, nine whole minutes. The instrumental “Pleasure Dome” section is best since it resembles a song (a driving hard one at that).
The final major issue is one we didn’t even know about until recently. Sammy Hagar revealed in his book Red that this album was heavily overdubbed afterwards, and I wouldn’t doubt it. (Hagar claims that he re-sang the entire thing over again in the studio.) There was always something underneath the surface that didn’t feel right about this album, and that could be it right there. Right here, right now feels dulled, perhaps by too much studio polish after the fact.
It’s not all bad of course, how could it be? “Poundcake” and “Judgement Day” start it off strongly. Then they went and dropped a ballad (“When It’s Love”) and a shitty song (“Spanked”), and all momentum is stopped. The duo of “You Really Got Me” and “Cabo Wabo” are pretty damn great though. There are a couple Hagar solo tracks in set which add some spice to the mix. The acoustic ballad “Give to Live” is just Sammy alone, but “One Way to Rock” is the whole ass-kickin’ band. Of all the Hagar tracks the band has played live, “One Way to Rock” sounds most natural as a Van Halen song. The final surprise is “Won’t Get Fooled Again”, which Eddie does not play keyboards on. Instead he mimics Pete Townsend’s synthesizer part with his guitar. Who purists will hate Sammy’s take on it, but fuck it. It’s a pretty damn good version of a hard to cover classic.
There are a couple other decent tracks to be had. German and Japanese versions contain two bonus tracks: “Mine All Mine” (from the OU812 tour) and another Hagar track, “Eagles Fly”. They can also be found on the “Jump” live single. Unlike much of the rest of the album “Mine All Mine” has some bite to it. It’s a great example of synthesizer working well in a hard rock song. (Unfortunately it fades out early.) As for “Eagles Fly”, this is a song Sammy played acoustic on the occasions he didn’t play “Give to Live”. Although it was played less, “Eagles Fly” edges out the other just slightly by a nose. These two bonus tracks are worth tracking down the single for, or an import version of the album.
I traded up my original copy of LIVE: Right here, right now for a US import that came in a cardboard digipack. Although it has no bonus tracks, it does have some bonus photos, which is still pretty cool.
It’s not fun to say any Van Halen album isn’t essential, but Right here, right now is not essential.
ACE FREHLEY’S COMET – Milwaukee Summerfest Live 1987 (2015 Echoes radio broadcast)
In 1987, Ace Frehley had just begun his comeback. He recorded a well received debut as Frehley’s Comet, with a notable appearance by drummer par excellence Anton Fig. Anton had been working steadily for the Letterman show since 1986 and so was not on the tour this CD was captured from. This version of the Comet featured new drummer Billy Ward. They were recorded live in Milwaukee at Summerfest on June 29th of that year. It was taped for broadcast and somehow survived. Live radio broadcast CDs are so common now that you can even find them at Walmart. Some are worth the cash, others less so. A Frehley’s Comet broadcast from the first tour is automatically interesting to Kiss collectors.
Unfortunately what buyers will discover is that this CD is a harsh chore to listen to. Vocals are back in the mix, bass way up front, and there is a thin haze of staticky air over it. Ace’s perennial opener, “Rip It Out” (from his 1978 solo album) is but a shadow of the better produced version on the Live + 1 EP. This is through no fault of the band, featuring mainstay bassist John Regan, singer/guitarist Tod Howarth, and Ward.
Ace sings lead on most of the material, but Tod Howarth has a couple songs from the first Comet LP. “Something Moved” and “Breakout” (co-written by the late Eric Carr) are fast paced action, while “Calling to You” is anthemic pop rock. Howarth was in excellent voice that night, this much is certain. Ace sings a handful of Kiss tunes as well as solo and Comet material. Gene Simmons originally sang “Cold Gin”, but Ace took it back for himself by singing it live. At the same time, Kiss were also playing “Cold Gin” live (a song Ace wrote) and fans will have to decide who pulled it off best. Ace even tackles “Deuce”, a song Gene wrote. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander?
It really is a shame that the audio hampers the listening experience. It sounds like a legitimately great Ace performance. Having a guy like Howarth in the band enabled Ace to have multiple lead singers like Kiss did. On the Kiss covers, Howarth takes the Paul Stanley role. Billy Ward and John Regan make the songs a little more complex rhythmically than the Kiss originals, but Ace also adds in new and extended solos. The end results are enhanced, Ace-ified covers. No notable tracks are missing; it is a really solid set list of Ace Frehley classics.
There are some who will happily purchase anything with Ace’s name on it (guilty!) and there are others who can live without. Decide who you are and spend your money appropriately.
This review is for reader Juan, from Spain — thank you for reading!
KISS – Monster (Japan Tour Edition, 2013 Universal Japan)
In my 32 years of collecting music, I have learned a number of immutable laws of the hobby. The Three Laws of Collecting are:
The First Law: Japan shall always get the best stuff. The Second Law: Anything worth releasing is worth re-releasing. The Third Law: Kiss fans shall buy anything, often more than once.
The Three Laws of Collecting are why I now have purchased my fifth copy of Kiss Monster. The album came out in 2012, meaning I have bought more than one copy per year since its release: Original CD, vinyl, iTunes, Japanese CD, and now this 2 CD Japan Tour Edition, which has all the tracks from all the versions, and then some.
This is not a review of Monster; we have reviewed that album twice now (once by Mike Ladano and once by Tommy Morais). Rather this is a review of the Tour Edition’s second disc, which is a pretty cool “best of” collection covering a very nice chunk of Kisstory. What can another greatest hits possibly offer? Believe it or not, the Monster Tour Edition has a slightly different slant that might be interesting to die-hards.
This is the first time “Psycho Circus” has opened a Kiss compilation. It was their tour opener in 1998-99 and so naturally fits this slot. It was one of the stronger tracks from Psycho-Circus itself, which was otherwise a pretty disappointing reunion album. Mainly because Peter and Ace barely played on it. Indeed, on this track you will get Kevin Valentine on drums and Tommy Thayer on guitar, uncredited. That said, the track still kicks ass and has proven to be the only song from that album that still gets played now and then.
I’m always happy to hear oldies like “Let Me Go, Rock ‘N’ Roll” on a hits CD. The same goes for “Black Diamond”, one of the more epic Kiss tracks. These old album cuts might not be as well known to casual fans and might surprise even Kiss haters. However, no casual fan or Kiss hater is going to be hearing the Monster Tour Edition. So the die-hards again will be hearing “Shout it Out Loud”, “Rock and Roll all Nite”, “Detroit Rock City”, “God of Thunder”, “Love Gun” and “I Was Made For Lovin’ You” for the umpteenth time. Mixed in among these are some of the second-tier hits from the 80’s: “I Love it Loud”, “Lick It Up”, “Heaven’s On Fire”. The exact mixture of ingredients is different, but these songs have been on best-of CDs by Kiss before.
The one unique inclusion is “Say Yeah” from 2009’s Sonic Boom, its first appearance on a hits disc. Its place here is deserved. Sonic Boom represented a strong return to the studio for Kiss after a decade long absence. “Say Yeah” was one of three songs played live in concert, and sounds the most like a timeless Kiss anthem. (Sonic Boom was represented on the last greatest hits compilation, Kiss 40, by “Modern Day Delilah”.)
Finally there is the riffy “Right Here Right Now” which was previously the iTunes bonus track for Monster. A physical copy is always better, and a Japanese high quality HMCD is even better than that. And don’t worry — the original Japanese bonus track, a live version of “King of the Night Time World” from the Rock the Nation tour, is still intact on disc one. (More on that in the video below.)
This version of Monster is finally the definitive one with all the tracks in one place. The bonus hits disc is some pretty awesome icing. When you have as many hits discs as Kiss do, you may just wonder “what’s the difference”? Each one is different in its own often minor ways, and fans who appreciate this stuff will enjoy hearing a couple unique tunes for a change.
The only flaw with this HMCD reissue is that it lacks the original 3D lenticular cover. That is a bummer. I simply kept my original cover (it is a separate piece you can take out) from a prior version of Monster which I later gifted to a friend. In fact that friend reviewed the single disc Japanese Monster!
I must add another law to my Three Laws of Collecting:
The Zeroth Law*: You shall always have some buyer’s regret.
It is true. I had all these songs before. The only one I didn’t have physically was the iTunes download “Right Here Right Now”. But I “had” to have it. I could question that. “You could have put that money towards some new tires”. The CD could have paid for a week of lunches at Harvey’s. A fool and their money?
I’m fine with that.
$/5 stars
*I didn’t make that word up. Isaac Asimov added theZeroth Law of Roboticsto his Three Laws in 1985.
There have been a few times in Cult history when it seemed unlikely they would be making any more albums. Thankfully, these fears were unfounded. Thankfully, because The Cult are so damn great at making albums.
Their latest is Hidden City, and it continues their upwards trajectory. Teamed up once again with Bob Rock, the band created a powerful recording, very Cult-like and loud. It is a cohesive and impressive collection of songs that tend to defy individual description. It is easy to pick our favourites such as “No Love Lost”, “Birds of Paradise” or “Hinterland” (my personal fave), but Hidden City is more than the sum of its parts. Its components are strong compositions that highlight the strengths of the band: Ian Astbury’s powerful and unique voice, and Billy Duffy’s unmistakable riff stylings. Hidden City collects the light and shade and presents them as a multi-coloured hue.
Its grooves are huge but textured. The songs reveal more hooks the more you listen. The Cult’s performances are top notch. The album is electrifying. Hidden City must be considered a latter-day high water mark, an album that builds on the last few records and continues pushing forward. The Cult rule again.
BLACKJACK – Worlds Apart(1980 Polydor, Universal Japan reissue)
Blackjack (Bruce Kulick, Jimmy Haslip, Sandy Gennero and some unknown guy named Michael Bolton) made a grand total of two albums before splitting. Michael went on to a fairly successful solo career (two Grammy awards), and a few years later Bruce joined Kiss. Neither guy is really sweating the fact that Blackjack had no impact. The albums are long out of print, except in Japan.
Their second album, unfortunately, lacks the memorable hooks of the first one. Starting off with a cover is rarely a good sign. The Supremes’ “My World is Empty Without You” is as ham-fisted as you can imagine, with heavy handed bass forced into what is usually a fine soul song. Bolton oversings. It’s a misstep from the get-go, and it’s not a good sign that this is one of the better tracks on the album which is otherwise mostly written by Bolton and Kulick.
“Love is Hard to Find” works well as an early-80’s Bon Jovi blueprint. The ballad “Stay” certainly sounds like Michael Bolton, or more accurately, it sounds like Michael covering an over-dramatic Rod Stewart ballad. “Airwaves” passes as a rock song, but it certainly is a weak one even compared to similar bands from the era such as Journey. Ironically what it needs is Michael to let loose with those pipes, the way he does on the ballads. Even a title like “Maybe It’s the Power of Love” lacks the kind of vocal power you want (though Bruce does get a tasty little solo with a dual harmony part).
The hardest rocker of the album is the side two opener, “Welcome to the World”, which bizarrely opens with an actual recorded baby birth. That aside, it’s a pretty solid rocker with more of those Kulick harmony licks. Strangely, Kulick had nothing to do with its writing. This works into the very 80’s sounding “Breakaway” with its programmed keyboards and soft-rockisms, and among the worst tracks on the album. “Really Wanna Know” is almost as bad, so cheesy you can smell it coming by the opening synths. “Sooner or Later” works better, again perhaps a precursor to early Bon Jovi. Good track, and Michael lets the voice rip like you want to hear it. And then the album craps its own pants with the closer, “She Wants You Back”, lighter than light rock. There’s a lick that borrows from Steve Miller’s “Swingtown”, but the Miller song is better.
The second Blackjack album has no surprises, no progression and little impact Even though the second LP is a soundalike to the first, it’s weak. And so they split. Bruce Kulick’s brief foray into “moustache rock” ended and he was on to other things. Blackjack and Worlds Apart are interesting mostly to Kiss fans and collectors. As for Bolton fans, I know he still has many, but I think only these two fellas would buy Worlds Apart (they celebrate the guy’s entire catalogue).
It’s Bruce Kulick week here at mikeladano.com! Check in for some cool releases featuring the extremely talented former KISS guitarist.
BLACKJACK – Blackjack (1979 Polydor, Universal Japan reissue)
The Kiss family tree is a fascinating tangle of disparate roots and branches. One of the most intriguing branches is that of Bruce Kulick (Kiss guitarist 1984-1996) who has played with a number of fantastic artists over the years. After completing a tour with Meat Loaf, Bruce was invited to form a new band with a hot young rock singer out of New Haven, Connecticut. This singer was a powerhouse with a Seger-like rasp, mixing soul and rock in equal measure, and able to write songs too. In fact today, this singer has sold 75 million albums with his name on them. Or at least the shortened version of his name. Back in 1979, his last name was spelled “Bolotin”. Today, he’s known as Michael Bolton.
Today, Bolton is probably best known for covers (“When a Man Loves a Woman”), but in 1979 he co-wrote every song on Blackjack’s debut. Both Kulick brothers (Bruce and Bob) have credits on a number of songs. And shockingly, they are generally pretty good! Fair warning though, this isn’t hard rock or heavy metal. Look at Bruce’s moustache. This is 1979 moustache music. It actually sounds bang-on in tune with the 1978 Kiss solo albums.
Bolton’s blue-eyed soul had a remarkable youthful energy. Check out the powerhouse chorus on the lead track “Love Me Tonight”. It’s hard to recognize the chops of Kulick, who was just beginning his evolution. The focus is undoubtedly on the singer, who impresses on every song. Second in line is “Heart of Stone”, a dusky soul-funk-rock number with some unbelievable singing. Unfortunately the ballads are less interesting then the rockers. “The Night has Me Calling for You” lacks the focus of the prior two songs. Following it with “Southern Ballad” makes it seem like we’re listening to a Peter Criss solo album at times. The side resumes to rocking with “Fallin'”, a great little tune that again sounds like it could have fit on one of the Kiss solo albums.
They even made a music video!
Although this is a remastered Japanese HM-CD, the second side of the original LP would have commenced on “Without Your Love”, a catchy and hit-worthy rock song a-la Journey (the members of whom helped out Bolton on his hit 1987 album The Hunger). Although “Countin’ On You” counts as a ballad, it’s better than the two on side one. It bears a strong chorus with urgency, and some cool finger picking by Bruce. The chorus of “I’m Aware of Your Love” is awkward but also catchy. I mean, who says “I’m aware of your love”? Is that a thing people say? If it works for you, sing along with Michael!
For soul ballads, “For You” is quite good, and Kulick complements it well. Finally the album ends with energy courtesy of “Heart of Mine” another strong soul-rocker with some powerful Bolton pipes. This is good stuff, horribly dated but if you like the cheesier side of late 70’s rock, then dig in. Who knew that Michael Bolton could rock? Kiss fans, that’s who. Because of Kulick, fans have been aware for years that Michael Bolton did rock at one time. Now with both Blackjack albums re-released in Japan on super high quality CDs with LP style packaging, you can get in on the fun too.
To promote their new album Rock It Science, Helix released this set of five custom guitar picks. It is available at their site for only $10, and they feature the excellent album art (by Brent Doerner) on the front. On the back, each pick has a photo of a band member: Brian Vollmer, Daryl Gray, Greg “Fritz” Hinz, Kaleb “Duckman” Duck and Chris Julke.
Guitar picks are great to collect and here at LeBrain HQ, we can always appreciate a cool set of custom plectrums. They’re fun, they don’t take up a lot of space (I’ll be storing mine inside the CD case) and they just look cool. Feast your eyes upon these beauties and if you decide to go for a set, don’t forget to order the Rock It Science CD to go with ’em!
mikeladano.com 