Thank you Marco from the Contrarians for this honour. I really loved doing this interview, and I really appreciate the chance to talk about myself and the things I love the most. I got to tell some of my favourite stories, and plug Grab a Stack of Rock with the Mad Metal Man. I also did a horrific Australian accent. Please enjoy!
And Marco…thanks again, this meant the world to me.
Thank you to Marco from the Contrarians for your awesome contributions to this week’s discussion: Alice Cooper Deep Cuts! And thanks as always to co-host Harrison the Mad Metal Man! Harrison really came out of the box with some obscure but still notable songs that you need to check out. The thing about Alice Cooper is…he’s so prolific, and even on the albums you might not like as much, there are always a standout song or two. I was surprised to find so much love for certain songs (“Roses On White Lace”, “Aspirin Damage”, “Make That Money (Scrooge’s Song)”, “Fresh Blood” and more). Alice’s albums were well represented on these lists, with only a handful going unmentioned. Even so, our runners-up lists covered the shadowy corners of the discography.
More thanks: Holen & Buried On Mars with two more lists of great songs that need to be heard and appreciated more often.
If you watched this episode live, I appreciate you too! Another great Friday night for the books!
The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike Ladano and Friends
Episode 107 – Alice Cooper Deep Cuts – Nigel Tufnel Top Ten lists
Tonight, please tune in to a list show over a year in the making! Harrison the Mad Metal Man has been asking to do this theme for ages now, and we finally got the right trio to do it. Marco from the Contrarians will be completing the panel tonight as we list off our Alice Cooper Deep Cuts. No singles, no live concert staples. Each of us will be listing 11 tracks for the full Nigel Tufnel Top Ten experience.
Think about it a minute. There are all the classic Alice Cooper Band records, including the obscure opening duo of Pretties For You and Easy Action. Not long after the classic run, the “blackout” albums that Alice doesn’t remember making. The late 80s had their fair share of great deep cuts on Coop’s horror-themed Constrictor and Raise Your Fist and Yell. Then we have Cooper’s entire output for the last 30 years with plenty of hidden gems. Add in some pretty cool soundtracks and B-sides. Yes, there will be a wealth of Alice riches tonight.
Your live participation means all the world to us, so I hope you can make it. Go Leafs?
Friday May 6, 7:00 PM E.S.T. on YouTube, Facebook and also Facebook!
Creating your own “Worst Of Kiss” album is a fun concept. I could certainly come up with some variations on that theme! In this Contrarians episode, Marco and Bret each picked five songs for their Lazy Nights: The Worst of Kiss compilation. Marco did one side, Bret the other. And Bret is right that you could pick all Gene songs! But that wouldn’t make for a real Kiss compilation.
Marco and I have some disagreements here. I’m more in tune with Bret. See what you think!
It’s the episode I’ve been waiting forever for! Tim Durling vs. Martin Popoff on Def Leppard’s legendary Hysteria! I’ve been consistent in my love for this controversial album since its 1987 release. So has Tim! Meanwhile, Martin gave the album a pounding 0/10 score in Riff Kills Man! “Hysteria sucks righteously!”
Let’s see how Tim holds up in this episode, shall we?
Tomorrow in the Def Leppard review series, Tim will be returning to talk about the Soundtrack From the Video Historia. Don’t miss it.
Last week, I asked Marco from the Contrarians to sit in with us for our Top Five Tony Martin albums. Unfortunately he could not join us live due to a taping of the Contrarians that night. Instead he sent us a great video that allowed him to participate, a highlight of the show. And as an added bonus, Marco asked me to participate in his Contrarians taping! My very first Contrarians appearance. The subject was Judas Priest’s Rocka Rolla, an album I have been playing a lot recently due to my recent acquisition of the 50 Heavy Metal Years of Music box set. My part is right near the beginning. After watching the in-depth analysis the group did, I wish I had contributed something a little more insightful. However, this is such an honour and privilege to participate. I can’t thank you enough Marco!
Great set of lists tonight from Harrison and Marco as we dug deep on our favourite Tony Martin albums! With Thorns fresh on store shelves, and the prospect of Martin-era Sabbath reissues, it’s the perfect time to talk Tony.
We also played an old track from Slam Glory, featuring Marco’s uncle Ray D’Auria on lead vocals. Great band from the Raw M.E.A.T Vol 3 CD.
The comments were terrific once again, and thank you all for watching! See you next time!
Tim Durling from Tim’s Vinyl Confessions, and his fellow Contrarian, Marco D’Auria, were the special guests on this week’s LeBrain Train and they absolutely nailed their lists! The topic: Top 5 Album Closers of All Time. This was probably a more challenging set of lists than Album Openers was. There was very little crossover, but many excellent selections from the mainstream to the obscure.
Insightful and entertaining banter abound. Watch the show to the end to get the “bonus tracks”: the runners-up that were just as exciting as the songs that made our lists. Another bonus: Our picks for worst album closer of all time!
Thanks Tim and Marco for spending your time with Eric and I tonight. We had a blast. Let’s do it again!
The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike and the Meat Man
Episode 84 – Cinco De List-O: Top 5 Album Closers with Tim and Marco
A couple weeks ago, the LeBrain Train charted the Top 5 opening tracks of all time. (Thanks to Harrison Kopp for your participation in that episode!) That set of lists inspired Tim from Tim’s Vinyl Confessions to suggest a logical followup — Top 5 closing tracks!
The Meat Man and I decided to invite Tim and his fellow Contrarian, Marco D’Auria, to go up against the two of us for this list show. (Sorry Harrison, but you will be back soon!) We have not talked to Marco since March so we have a lot to catch up on. We’ll ask him for an update on his film project about the band Mystique, and congratulate Tim for fully funding his book Unspooled: An Adventure in 8-Tracks!
Friday October 15, 7:00 PM E.S.T. on Facebook: MikeLeBrain and YouTube: Mike LeBrain.
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