50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 13: Maiden England
A special 🅻🅸🆅🅴 episode
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK #103
50 Years of Iron Maiden arrives at the cottage for the first time! Like we have for past live albums such as Live At Hammersmith and Live After Death, Harrison and I will be doing this episode for Maiden England as a live broadcast. Much like Live At Hammersmith, this album often falls under the radar. It was recorded for a home video release, directed by Steve Harris. Unusually, this home video spawned one single, “Infinite Dreams” live. A live album was an afterthought and was not even released as one until Bruce Dickinson was out of the band in 1994, and even that CD was missing two songs from the VHS for time reasons. It was finally reissused as a full show in 2013; an expanded 2 CD set with the encores restored.
The band were recorded on the Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour, over two nights in Birmingham, playing a number of new songs from the album. They also resurrected a couple from Somewhere In Time, and Piece of Mind, that were a delight to hear. Reaching back to the Di’Anno years, they provided a pleasing setlist full of fresh songs and refreshing oldies. Harrison and I will break it down for you, and hopefully entice you to give it a listen.
For physical media, we have a CD copy of the “Infinite Dreams” single from the First Ten Years box set, the 2013 double CD reissue, and the 1994 CD/VHS combo pack.
Please drop in and say hello for this special live analysis and appraisal!
🅻🅸🆅🅴 Friday May 23 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. Enjoy on YouTube and Facebook.
I am humbled. Though I had planned this episode as a tribute to the co-hosts and guests, I was gladdened to see record views and a lively comments sections from old friends and new ones too.
This episode was a celebration of the people who help bring Grab A Stack of Rock to life. I was joined by Jex Russell, John Clauser, and the Mad Metal Man himself, Harrison Kopp. Together we too a trip down memory lane, spotlighting highlights from the entire history of the show.
In the comments section, Broadway Blotto himself congratulated us on 100 episodes. It was quite a surprise and I could not be further humbled, but here I am. Thank you Broadway for your support. Your correspondences have been invaluable and the show is only the better for it!
Finally, we showed off some new arrivals in our collections, and did an unboxing. Because that’s our roots and the kind of stuff we used to do!
Join us next week for the return of 50 Years of Iron Maiden!
List of everyone who has ever joined me on Grab A Stack of Rock to date:
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
EPISODE 100
With Jex Russell and Johnny Metal
Back at the cottage for the first time in 2025, together we celebrate the 100th episode of Grab A Stack of Rock! With Harrison Kopp back and better than ever, 2025 has been a landmark year for the show, featuring our big series 50 Years of Iron Maiden. This episode celebrates every era of the show: from its “random and chaotic” beginnings, to the “heels era”, and today. To celebrate with us, we have three of the hardest working co-hosts a guy could ask for: the Mad Metal Man, Johnny “Homework” Clauser, and Jex Russell himself. Each of these guys played a critical role in keeping the show going steady since October 2022.
Since day one, Grab A Stack of Rock has been a fun and frivolous celebration of physical media and products. CDs, DVDs, vinyl and more obscure formats have always been at the forefront, but we have showcased physical collections far and wide since our very first episode. We struggled to find direction, but had fun getting lost along the way. And here we are, ready to acknowledge it all! The current Grab A Stack of Rock show intro is the first version to include every guest and co-host we ever had along the way. To me, this show has always been just as much about the people, as the music. Every collection of CDs, LPs and cassettes comes with a multitude of stories, often including great lengths we go to in order to acquire them. Along the way, we met friends of varying temporal longevity, from brief sparks to deep connections. It has been a hell of a lot of fun.
On the menu tonight: Leaning into the “Mix Tape” format a little bit, we will play some clips and outtakes you’ve never seen before. These include some of the key characters in the story of the show so far, and a sneak preview of a forthcoming episode of 50 Years of Iron Maiden. Of course, I will have something in terms of physical memorabilia that you have never seen before. We may also have an Amazon delivery to unbox – stay tuned!
Please drop in and say hello!
Friday April 25 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy on
List of everyone who has ever joined me on Grab A Stack of Rock to date:
RECORD STORE TALES #1171: The Best and Worst of 2024
‘Twas another interesting year here at Grab A Stack of Rock HQ! Remember that old curse? “May you have interesting times.” We sure did in 2024.
Jen’s health started the year on a low note, but she bounced back. With the right help, she’s had her best year in a long while. There’s a lot of work still to be done, but has been a year of leaps and bounds for her health!
On Grab A Stack of Rock, we had a strong start to the year, but in February, Harrison got sick. Sometimes you don’t how much you need someone until they’re fighting their own battles. Fortunately Harrison fought hard and has made a recovery, but the timing for me wasn’t ideal. I was trying to increase my YouTube presence by doing two shows a week, but without the Mad Metal Man, I found myself despondent. I tried out a couple new co-hosts to fill in for him while he recovered, but struggled. I almost cancelled the show. Twice.
Still, I carried on, until the great shelf disaster of 2024. That almost broke me. I told people I was going to sell my collection and quit this hobby for good. Because, ultimately, that’s what this is: a hobby. I don’t get paid enough to motivate me to produce content. Advertising and T-shirt sales help fund my WordPress and Streamyard fees, but I don’t make a profit. I don’t break even. I’m about $10 in the hole every month. I almost replaced Grab A Stack of Rock with a food show, after a review of a Chef Ramsay microwavable meal got some hits. Grab A Stack of Eats?
But I didn’t quit. I kept going. Why? The power of friendship. They kept me going. They know who they are.
Thanks to fellow music fans like Grant Arthur, Johnny Clauser, Marco D’Auria, Rob Daniels, Tim Durling, Peter Kerr, Harrison Kopp, Jex Russell, John Snow, Aaron Stewart, Metal Roger and many more, I pushed onwards. I feel like we are now part of a larger, less insulated world. I owe these folks a debt of gratitude for including me in that world. All I have ever wanted, for better or for worse, was to be a part of something, with people who wanted me there equally as much. I feel like I’m in a healthier space again. We have built a bigger, more metallic and welcoming Community. Long live the Community!
I think the thing that brought me the most happiness in 2024 was simply making videos. I’ve been making videos for 35 years, and there have been peaks and valleys. In 2024, drones were incorporated into some. Jex Russell encouraged me to utilise more angles and edits. In one of the 2024 videos, I used six cameras, a record for me!
Since we already did our Top 5 Albums of 2024 on Grab A Stack of Rock, this year I thought I would pat myself on the back and pick my Top 5 Videos from my own channel! I called it the 2024 Narcissus Award!
NARCICCUS AWARDS 2024
FAVOURITE VIDEOS OF THE YEAR
In no particular order.
1. The Battle of ’84: Defenders of the Faith vs. Powerslave with Pete Jones
To have the Professor himself join me for the this epic battle was quite the honour. We tore these albums inside and out, and ultimately picked a favourite. Harrison even joined us at the end, which was a delight. It was hard to pick just one episode of Grab A Stack of Rock for this list, but I think this was the deepest dive of the year.
2. Our Journey Collections on Six Formats with Tim Durling
From the brief period where I was trying to do two episodes a week. I woke up one Saturday morning with the idea to do my entire Journey collection, but realized I didn’t have the historic knowledge of the band to do it justice. Tim Durling happened to be online, and so we did this episode with zero preparation. I think it turned out pretty cool.
3. Mike and Aaron Return to Toronto 2024.
Long overdue. Of all our Toronto videos, this one is the best. I think I just went into it with a clearer idea of the end product, and everything turned out as great as I’d hoped. Plus, the Toronto trip was a total success as you’ll see with the scores we brought home with us. A very special video to me personally. Also, look for the drone shot!
2. An 8-Track Holy Grail discussion with Aaron and Tim Durling
Aaron texted me one day from Harriston, Ontario with photos of 8-track tapes he found. One of them happened to be a very rare “Holy Grail” that Tim Durling needed for his collection. Aaron sent it to me with some other cool scores, and then I sent the Grail to Tim. We made this video in two sessions separated by several weeks, but with the magic of editing, it’s all seamless. This is a very special video for anyone interested in 8-track tapes.
5. 30 Years After the Beat Goes On with Robert Daniels from Visions In Sound
I think this is my proudest achievement in 2024. I had an idea. It had been 30 years since I was hired at The Beat Goes On in Kitchener Ontario. It would be cool to go back to the mall and see how much it has changed in those three decades. Rob Daniels was the perfect guy to join me, since we reconnected at the front counter at The Beat Goes On. We hadn’t seen each other since highschool. He was an avid soundtrack buyer, and I was the new employee. Together, with Jen on camera, we toured the mall landmarks and shared memories of the way it used to be.
I would have had better audio if I used external microphones, but never having done this before, I am incredibly proud of the way it turned out.
Bonus: Mike’s Birthday Video by Jex Russell
I can’t really count this for the Narcissus award, because I didn’t make it. However, my favourite video of 2024 was this kind gift. Jex assembled a cavalcade of surprise birthday greetings from many of my friends, family, and a few special rock stars. Jex put a lot of work into this video, not only with getting the guests, but editing it together with his own theatrics. Probably the greatest birthday gift I’ve ever been given. If I ever feel down in the dumps, I just need to watch Martin Popoff call me a “Canadian legend”.
I can’t say how grateful I am for this thoughtful gift.
I am excited for what 2025 has in store. Buckle up. If 2023 and 2024 couldn’t kick me down, then I still have a lot of gas left in the tanks.
List of everyone who has ever joined me on Grab A Stack of Rock to date:
An exhaustive two hours with Johnny Metal took us through almost everything we own in the “B” section of the CD collections! From Sebastian Bach to Bryan Byrne, we looked at everything on CD, except a few box sets. As such, we did not see all my Beatles, Black Crowes, Black Sabbath, Bon Jovi, or Blue Rodeo on CD. We saw pretty much everything else.
Johnny Metal’s collection, as usual, featured some really cool and rare Christian metal, and other assorted metal and blues that most of us might not have heard of. Many of his CDs included collector’s cards or autographs. John excluded (most of his) Black Sabbath and all of his Beatles for this exercise.
Speaking of the Beatles, halfway through the show, I realized I didn’t have any Beatles in my stack, which is just not right. I have lots of Beatles besides the Stereo and Mono box sets. Then viewer Ashley mentioned I had no Jeff Beck. Well, obviously I do! I reviewed two of them here on this site! I realized I had a whole stack I left behind!
That’s how much B stuff I have. Bon Jovi was the majority of it, and a lot of it turned out to be Bon Jovi I don’t even like. There was, however, some Bon Jovi that I really really do like, and I hope you enjoy having a look at them.
We saw a lot of CD singles, remasters with bonus tracks, deluxe editions, remasters, digipacks, Japanese imports, and even one 3″ CD.
Thanks for watching this show, which might take you two viewings to finish, but that’s it – that’s the B section, done n’ dusted.
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man Episode 74: The “B” Section with Johnny Metal
Johnny Metal Homework is back for the third week in a row, to grab some stacks of rock! As a sequel to our “A” section show, this time we are diving into some killer “B’s”. You’ll be seeing my Black Sabbath, Bon Jovi, and yes…Blaze Bayley. This episode will exclude box sets which have been shown off before on their own dedicated episodes. CDs only; no vinyl, cassettes or 8-tracks on this week’s episode.
John says it won’t be as crazy this time (no 74 CDs from a Christian parody band), but it will be heavy! The big section is loaded with “Big” bands (Wreck, Sugar, House), and plenty of “Black” (Sabbath, Country Communion, Label Society, Star Riders, Jack). Let’s take a deep dive into some Japanese imports, rarities, and heavy hitters.
Join us live!
Friday October 11 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy onYouTube or on Facebook!
Johnny Metal earned a new nickname tonight: Johnny Homework! His meticulous research and notes provided a solid backbone of knowledge on which we arranged an awesome discussion. The topic: the now-classic Christopher Guest mockumentary A Mighty Wind!
Together with Uncle Meat and Dan from Off the Charts, we tried to cover every aspect that we love about this movie. We went deep on the following topics:
The cast
Our favourite bands
Our favourite songs
Favourite scenes
Fred Willard
The Kiss at the End of the Rainbow
The ending
Additionally, we looked at CDs, vinyl, and a very nice songbook from Johnny Homework. Gotta get that physical product in.
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man Episode 73: A Mighty Wind Appreciation, with Dan Chartrand, Uncle Meat & Johnny Metal
In 2003, Christopher Guest unveiled his third improv comedy movie, following Waiting For Guffman (1996) and Best In Show (2000). While each film has its focus (a small town play; a dog show), it was 2003’s A Mighty Wind that “tapped” into the spirit of music that made Guest a fan favourite in the first place. This time it’s folk music!
The Folksmen are a fictional folk band that actually opened for Guest’s “other” band, Spinal Tap. Ironically, all three members are the same: Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer. Together with Mitch & Mickey (Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara) and the New Main Street Singers (Jane Lynch, John Michael Higgins, Parker Posey, Paul Dooley et. al.), the bands have reunited for a big folk show in New York City. As he often does, Fred Willard stole the show in this film.
This hilarious comedy boasts an incredible soundtrack of originals and one cover (“Start Me Up”), and tonight I’ll be joined again by Dan Chartrand and Uncle Meat to discuss it. With them will be John “Johnny Metal” Clauser, who has wanted to do this topic with us for some time now.
You might not be as family with A Mighty Wind as you were with This Is Spinal Tap, but you won’t regret spending an hour with us tonight. It may not be heavy metal, but good music is good music, and this soundtrack is loaded with great songs. Join us tonight!
Friday October 4 at 8:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 9:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy onYouTube or on Facebook!
A huge thank you to Marco D’Auria of the Contrarians, Dan Chartrand of Off the Charts, and the near-legendary Uncle Meat for comprising our expert panel tonight. The subject was Spinal Tap, the band and the music. It may be fair to call Dan a “superfan”, as he had some Spinal Tap rarities that I don’t. Dan provided some cool physical product, including CDs and LPs of This is Spinal Tap, Break Like the Wind, and he even unfolded his Back From the Dead CD packaging to show us what it looks like when it’s a little paper stage set.
Taking a cue from another big Spinal Tap fan, Peter Kerr, I stole a tactic from Rock Daydream Nation and did some discussion questions in rounds. Here’s what we tackled:
Were you ever in the blissful unawareness that Spinal Tap was a fake band? Or were you always in on the joke?
Evaluate the musicianship of Tap.
Pick a favourite song from the soundtrack.
Pick a favourite song from Break Like the Wind.
And a quick discussion of Back from the Dead.
Along the way we discussed the history of Tap, both real and fictional. We had a look at the DVD for the Return of Spinal Tap, and had a chat on that subject. I peppered the panel with trivia throughout the night. We had an insightful discussion about talent, and the three actors who played the central characters: Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer. We speculated on director Rob Reiner’s role in the songwriting, and technical aspects of the writing and playing. Did Harry Shearer play fretless bass on “Break Like the Wind”? I don’t know, but we do know he can play upright bass thanks to his role in A Mighty Wind. In short, the music and movie were given as much appraisal and analysis as we could do in an hour.
Meanwhile in the comments, Pete Jones provided quote after quote after quote, from a variety of Tap interviews and performances. Thank you Peter! And thank you to everyone who watched and joined in.
I started the show with a quick unboxing, from Australia’s Ash Geisler, who has been a huge supporter of the show. Thanks again Ash for watching, and for sending me this awesome package. I guarantee some of them will be getting a review.
One topic I didn’t get to mention on the show, but did come up among the viewers: Spinal Tap II is coming to theaters in 2025. How do you feel about this? Let us know in the comments. I for one don’t think it’s necessary or a good idea. The cameo-laden cast seems gimmicky, but Rob Reiner is back is the director’s chair.
Thanks for watching, and if you didn’t, the link is below. This is one I’ll be watching over again.
NEXT WEEK: A Mighty Wind with Dan Chartrand, John Clauser & Uncle Meat!
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man Episode 72: 40 Years of Spinal Tap: The Music with Marco D’Auria, Dan Chartrand and Uncle Meat
Tonight we’re gonna rock ya, tonight!
Formed as the Thamesmen in 1964, Nigel Tufnel and David St. Hubbins scored a hit with the single “Gimmie Some Money” / “Cups and Cakes”. The band soon employed bassist Derek Smalls. After a name change to Spinal Tap, the band wandered through progressive rock, jazz fusion, funk, reggae, hard rock, and heavy metal. In 1984 they became a household name with the release of the documentary film by Marty DiBergi, called This Is Spinal Tap. It is hard to believe it has been 40 years since that film brought Tap to the silver screen.
Tonight, Contrarians Marco D’Auria and new face Dan Chartrand will join Uncle Meat and I, as we Tap into the history of this great band’s music.
From rock and roll (“Gimme Some Money”) to hippie flower power (“Listen to What the Flower People Say”, “Rainy Day Sun”) to heavy metal (“Stonehenge”), few bands have struggled to find a direction like Spinal Tap has. Now with DiBergi back on board, the band are primed to release a new documentary film on their more recent exploits. Our panel tonight will try to avoid talking about the drama (puppet shows, air force bases, girlfriends) and focus on the music. And what music it is! Nigel Tufnel is one of the most critically acclaimed guitar players in the world, not just for volume but also for pioneering the art of double his guitar solos with voice. David St. Hubbins is such a legendary lead singer, that Ronnie James Dio wouldn’t allow him to sing lead on Hear N’ Aid’s “Stars” for fear of breaking the board. And Derek Smalls? His solo album Smalls Change proves he’s not a one-trick moustached pony.
Join us tonight, and Tap into the music of Spinal Tap.
Friday September 27 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy onYouTube or on Facebook!
mikeladano.com 