coloured vinyl

REVIEW: Led Zeppelin – “Rock and Roll” / “Friends” (2018 RSD remix single)

Unreleased Led Zeppelin?!  You don’t say!

LED ZEPPELIN – “Rock and Roll” / “Friends” (2018 Atlantic Record Store Day single)

The hype for Record Store Day exclusives is as strong as ever, but most of these releases are just empty cash grabs.  Coloured vinyl reissues of this, that or the other thing…nothing will compete with a mint original.  Sometimes you’ll see vinyl releases for albums that used to be exclusive to CD, but rarely will you be able to buy exclusive music.

Led Zeppelin saw to it that your Record Store Day dollars did not go to waste.

And as if you thought Led Zeppelin had “cleared the vaults” of unreleased material!  Here’s two more unheard mixes.  These cannot be found on the Zeppelin deluxe editions.  If you’ve collected all those already, then prepare to add two more tracks to your collection.  This is a pretty clear indication that Jimmy Page is not finished dusting off old tapes to sell.

There are no liner notes to explain when these mixes were done or by whom, but “Rock and Roll” was mixed at Sunset Sound.  Alternate mixes are fun for a fresh sound on an old favourite.  You can hear different nuances.  “Rock and Roll” has a nice clear heavy sound and maybe a little more echo.  “Friends” (from Olympic Studios) has a harsher sound, with the percussion part prominent in the mix.  The old intro is trimmed off in favour of a clean start with the acoustic guitar.

The yellow vinyl is a gorgeous bonus.  Add it to your Zep treasure chest.

4/5 stars

 

Thanks to Mr. James for picking this up for me.  You are a true gentleman, with a creepy Facebook avatar.

REVIEW: Accept – The Rise of Chaos (2017 coloured vinyl)

ACCEPT – The Rise of Chaos (2017 Nuclear Blast blue and orange splatter limited vinyl edition)

Over the past decade, Accept have joined a rare pantheon.  They are among the few metal bands with “replacement singers” that have continued with honour, and without constant clamouring for older lineups.  Mark Tornillo has, over the course over several great albums, earned his place without question.  The Rise of Chaos (with producer Andy Sneap) continues the journey, full steam ahead.

The blue and orange swirl vinyl edition is a double record set, limited to 700 copies.  Not only do they look stunning, but they sound vibrant and crisp.  A 46 minute album could easily have fit on a single LP, so the fact they did a double means they wanted to ensure maximum musical reproduction for vinyl buyers.*

Wolf, Mark, Peter, Uwe and Christopher crush it throughout.  “Die By the Sword”, the initial assault, is a lightning strike of sharp riffing and Baltes’ bass undercurrent.  This is pure Accept:  gothic backing vocals and overhead screams!  “Hole in the Head” boils over with animosity, delivered molten.  Then, like a Panzer division at full speed, “The Rise of Chaos” rips the heads off anything still standing.

Flip sides.  “Koolaid” retells the story of Jim Jones and the cult of the damned, a topic previously explored by Manowar.  With a riff written as if out of 1984, it takes on a mid-tempo groove rock march.  Yes, it’s possible the best song on the Accept album is named “Koolaid”!  Then the heat put off by “No Regrets” will blister the skin, if the drums don’t give you a concussion.

Flip sides.  Taking it back to a sharp metallic groove, “Analog Man” is an amusing look at our high tech world.  “Now there’s flat-screens and 3-D, my cell phone’s smarter than me!” They go for an anthemic style with “What’s Done is Done”, and plenty of guitar harmony solos to go around.  “Worlds Colliding” has the “classic metal” sound, brilliant riff and chorus combined for a slick mercury-like sound.

Flip sides one more time.  Neither “Carry the Weight” and “Race to Extinction” let up.  It’s 10 more minutes of fast, heavy metal.  Make no mistake, this is one punishing metal album.  Is it a little paint-by-numbers?  Yes — Accept albums are getting that way.  Riffs might be interchangeable.  But when the albums are still this good, it matters little.

4.5/5 stars

 

 

 

* You could also choose from:

  • 45 RPM, 180 gram black vinyl.  “limited edition”.
  • 45 RPM, 180 gram vinyl – blue and red splatter.  300 copies, USA.
  • 45 RPM, clear vinyl.  300 copies, Germany.
  • 45 RPM, 180 gram red vinyl.  300 copies, Germany.
  • 45 RPM, 180 gram vinyl – green and gold splatter.  300 copies, mail order from Nuclear Blast only.
  • 45 RPM, 180 gram vinyl – orange and red splatter.  500 copies, mail order from Nuclear Blast only.
  • This one is 33 RPM, 180 gram vinyl – blue and orange splatter.  700 copies, USA.

 

 

 

 

REVIEW: Bon Jovi – Red Hot and 2 Parts Live (1985 EP)

 

All hail the mighty Aaron of the KMA.  He is a very generous man.  He is known to send parcels to friends all over the world, and he always keeps an eye out for things that people look for.  He’s incredible that way, and he deserves a tremendous amount of recognition for all he does for the Community.

 

BON JOVI – Red Hot and 2 Parts Live (1985 red vinyl Polygram EP)

Preamble:  Although I forgot about this, back in the fall Aaron did his regular Toronto shopping excursion.  He found a Bon Jovi 12″ single that I’d never seen before.  But I was tapped out, cash wise.  I had done my own Toronto trip to pick up an an absolutely massive toy for my collection.  Apparently he texted me about the Bon Jovi, and I asked him to leave it there because I couldn’t afford it.  Naturally he bought it anyway and secretly stashed it away.

Aaron sent me a big box of goodies for Christmas (and reviews of those will come too!) but the Bon Jovi was the centerpiece.  I didn’t actually open this box of goodies until Easter.  Due to illness and circumstance, our family finally just got around to celebrating Christmas.  I saved his box until then.

This three song EP, on brilliant clear red vinyl, has two live tracks and one remix.  “Hardest Part is the Night” (from 7800° Fahrenheit) was mixed by David Theoner though the differences are minor.  Interestingly, it was also issued as its own single with “Always Run to You” on the B-side.

The other two tracks were recorded live in Japan in 1985.  “Tokyo Road” was later released on the remastered 7800° Fahrenheit as a bonus track, but that CD doesn’t look nearly as pretty as this vinyl.  It’s a little odd hearing Jon introduce it by saying, “Welcome back to ‘Tokyo Road’…” when in fact they were the visitors in Tokyo, but whatever!  Jon’s the professional frontman, not me.  “In and Out of Love” is the real treat, featuring an extended guitar solo, and a different version from the one on 7800° Fahrenheit.  The track is still over 10 minutes long with all that (smoking) noodlin’, but Sambora fans who miss him will want to have this.

Fans of early Bon Jovi — hunt down this EP.  Get it or live your life without this awesome live Bon Jovi that you won’t get otherwise.

4.5/5 stars

 

Gallery: Overload of Van Vinyl!

My pal Craig Fee has returned from Jerry’s Records in Pittsburgh with a bag full of goodies for me!

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Craig strongly recommended a two to three day stay at Jerry’s Records should I ever find myself in Pittsburgh.  That’s how much vinyl they have.  He also told me that they had a whack of old Van Halen picture sleeves.  I said cool, bring ’em back to me!  So he did, every single one that they had.  He also picked up a promo Helix 12″ single for “Wild in the Streets” on red vinyl!  That and some Triumph 12″ promos, plus a surprise that I think tops them up.  I think the real treasure may be David Lee Roth’s “Stand Up”, from Skyscraper — a 12″ remix vinyl single that I was previously unaware of!  Pretty exciting huh?  Additionally, the Van Halen “Best of Both Worlds” contains the live version from the Live Without A Net video on the B-side.

Total expenditure?  $45 bones.  Craig is a great shopper.  Thanks man!

All of these will come in handy in the future, because they coincide with a couple different series ideas that I was already going to work on.  Now, those series will be even cooler.  Stay tuned.