Ace Frehley – Origins Vol. 1 [Album Review]

Ace Frehley – Origins Vol. 1
2016, Entertainment One Music

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1. “White Room”
2. “Street Fighting Man”
3. “Spanish Castle Magic”
4. “Fire and Water”
5. “Emerald”
6. “Bring It On Home”
7. “Wild Thing”
8. “Parasite”
9. “Magic Carpet Ride”
10. “Cold Gin”
11. “Till the End of the Day”
12. “Rock and Roll Hell”

Band:
Ace Frehley – Lead Vocals, Guitar, Bass
Chris Wyse – Bass
Scot Coogan – Drums, Lead Vocals
Matt Starr – Drums

Additional Musicians:
Paul Stanley – Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals
Slash – Guitar
John 5 – Guitar
Lita Ford – Lead Vocals, Guitar
Mike McCready – Guitar

Well, cover albums are usually fun, even they do have kind of a throwaway feel to them. But, hey, at least it’s not a live album, right?

Origins, Vol. 1 is a collection of classic rock songs covering the likes of Zeppelin, the Kinks, the Rolling Stones, Steppenwolf, the Troggs, and, of course, KISS. Ace also recruits a number of impressive friends to help out on the album, including his old KISS band mate Paul Stanley (lead vocals on Free’s “Fire and Water”). This album marks the first time Stanley & Frehley have appeared on a studio album together since Psycho Circus way back in 1998.

Having success with “2,000 Man”, I guess Ace figured it was a good time to cover another song by the Rolling Stones. This time he picked “Street Fighting Man”. It’s a song that’s been covered plenty of times over the years, but Ace’s version may be the best of all the cover versions that I’ve heard.

It’s no surprise that this album focuses on rock ‘n’ roll from the 1960s & 1970s, but I did find it slightly surprising that Ace chose to cover thee songs from his old band — “Parasite”, “Cold Gin”, and “Rock and Roll Hell”. Especially so in the case of “Rock and Roll Hell”, which was written by Gene Simmons about Ace and was recorded for the band’s Creatures of the Night album. Although to be fair, despite technically being in the band at that point, he didn’t play on the album at all as he was on his way out the door. It’s a song about him after all, so I guess Ace wanted to put his own stamp on it.

You could say the same for “Parasite” (which sounds FANTASTIC here) and “Cold Gin”. Ace wrote both of those songs but didn’t sing on either one, Gene Simmons did.

Enjoyable listen, as Ace always does well when covering other musicians. Looking forward to a second volume.

Highlights: “White Room”, “Street Fighting Man”, “Emerald”, “Parasite”, “Rock and Roll Hell”

The Monkees – Good Times! [Album Review]

The Monkees – Good Times!
2016, Rhino Entertainment

1. Good Time
2. You Bring the Summer
3. She Makes Me Laugh
4. Our Own World
5. Gotta Give It Time
6. Me & Magdalena
7. Whatever’s Right
8. Love to Love
9. Little Girl
10. Birth of an Accidental Hipster
11. Wasn’t Born to Follow
12. I Know What I know
13. I Was There (And I’m Told I Had a Good Time)
Digital Bonus Tracks:
14. Terrifying
15. Me & Magdalena (Version 2)

Band:
Micky Dolenz – Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Drums
Peter Tork – Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Banjo, Organ, Keyboards, Guitar
Michael Nesmith – Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Guitar
Davy Jones – Lead Vocals

Producer: Adam Schlesinger

Fifty years after their debut album, who would have ever thought The Monkees would release a new album in 2016? Without Davy Jones (R.I.P.)? With Michael Nesmith?

Smartly, the album doesn’t try to sound contemporary as 1987’s Pool It! and 1996’s Justus attempted. Instead, Good Times! offers up thirty-seven minutes of ’60s-style rock ‘n’ roll and power pop that the Monkees are known for. This sound is partly achieved because the archives were opened and a few unused songs were dusted off. “Good Time” was a song Harry Nilsson had demoed for the band. It has been turned into a duet between Nilsson and Dolenz. “Love to Love” was penned by Neil Diamond and originally recorded with Davy Jones on lead vocals during the Headquarters sessions. It was previously released as a bonus track years ago, but this version features the addition of backing vocals from Dolenz and Tork.

“Whatever’s Right” is a track from the songwriting team of Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart (these guys wrote the Monkees theme song and “Last Train to Clarksville” among other popular Monkees song). “Gotta Give It Time” and “Wasn’t Born to Follow” also were written by frequent Monkees contributors during the group’s heyday. Finally, there’s “Little Girl”, which was written by Peter Tork and intended for Davy to sing on back in the day, but was forgotten before any recording could be done.

So you’ve got six tracks that are deeply rooted in prime Monkees era. They were either written, demoed, or recorded during the late ’60s by people who already had an established connection with the group and I appreciate their inclusion.

But how does the new stuff fare? Well, it’s actually extremely good, and it still captures the spirit of The Monkees despite being written (or co-written) by members of Weezer, Oasis, Fountains of Wayne, and Deathcab for Cutie. My four of my five favorite songs come from these new sessions. “She Makes Me Laugh” (written by Rivers Cuomo of Weezer) is already one of my all-time favorites from the Monkees. Another track that you’d swear was cut in the 1960s is “You Bring the Summer”. Rounding out the best of the new are the ballads “Me & Magdalena” and “I Know What I Know”. Michael Nesmith is on lead vocals for both of those tracks and wrote “I Know What I Know”.

Sadly, Nesmith is not joining Dolenz & Tork on the upcoming tour due to a book deal commitment, but has expressed he’s open to touring later this year. I hope that happens, because these guys are all in their 70’s and it’s really sad that all four members didn’t get to give the world one more tour & album before Davy passed away in 2012.

I imagine this is going to be the last Monkees album and it’s a high note to go out on. This is a must-have release for anyone who is a fan of the band.

Highlights: “You Bring the Summer”, “She Makes Me Laugh”, “Me & Magdalena”, “Love to Love”, “Birth of an Accidental Hipster”, “I Know What I Know”

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Motley Crue – Carnival of Sins: Live [Album Review]

Motley Crue – Carnival of Sins: Live
2006, Motley Records

1. “Shout at the Devil”
2. “Too Fast for Love”
3. “Ten Seconds to Love”
4. “Red Hot”
5. “On With the Show”
6. “Too Young to Fall in Love”
7. “Looks That Kill”
8. “Louder Than Hell”
9. “Live Wire”
10. “Girls, Girls, Girls”
11. “Wild Side”
12. “Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)”
13. “Primal Scream”
14. “Glitter”
15. “Without You”
16. “Home Sweet Home”
17. “Dr. Feelgood”
18. “Same Ol’ Situation (S.O.S.)”
19. “Sick Love Song”
20. “If I Die Tomorrow”
21. “Kickstart My Heart”
22. “Helter Skelter”
23. “Anarchy in the U.K.”

Band:
Vince Neil – Vocals
Mick Mars – Guitar
Nikki Sixx – Bass
Tommy Lee – Drums

Producer: Bob Rock

Even though I caught the band on this tour, I didn’t bother checking out this live album (which was recorded in Grand Rapids, Michigan) when it was released. I’m not a huge fan of live albums and something about this one seemed like a cheap cash-in. Released as a 2-CD set, it was simultaneously released as two volumes exclusively to Walmart. This was during the short-lived craze of releasing product exclusively to a single big box retailer (GNR, KISS, AC/DC, etc.). I remember the two Walmart volumes looked especially cheap, like those cash-grab budget releases you can find at a gas station (or a Walmart). This album was a success though, going platinum, while the DVD release went 3X platinum!

Of course, music is only half of Motley’s charm. They’ve always been a band that appeals to the eyes just as much, if not more, as they do to the ears. With no opener at my show, the band played close to a three hour set with its dark carnival theme featuring all kinds of additional circus performers. Motley seemed to be taking its cue from Rob Zombie and Slipknot during this era with their promotional photos and stage show.

The performance itself is a good representation of Motley Crue, and while the band fell into the trap of playing the same “greatest hits” set list with recent tours, they don’t shy away from playing earlier tunes like “Red Hot” (which sounds great), “Live Wire”, or “On With the Show” here.

Also included are “Sick Love Song” and “If I Die Tomorrow”. Both of which I thought were great songs but I remember the live crowd at my show not really caring. That’s a shame because I really like the new stuff Motley did during this time.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see the band release a live album commemorating their 2015 retirement tour, but as of now, Carnival of Sins: Live stands as the band’s final live release, and it’s a pretty good one.

Highlights: “Shout at the Devil”, “Too Fast for Love”, “Ten Seconds to Love”, “Red Hot”, “Live Wire”, “Sick Love Song”, “If I Die Tomorrow”, “Kickstart My Heart”

Jorn – Heavy Rock Radio [Album Review]

Jorn – Heavy Rock Radio
2016, Frontiers Records

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1. I Know There’s Something Going On
2. Running Up That Hill
3. Rev on the Red Line
4. You’re the Voice
5. Live to Win
6. Don’t Stop Believin’
7. Killer Queen
8. Hotel California
9. Rainbow in the Dark
10. The Final Frontier
11. Stormbringer
12. Die Young

Musicians:
Jorn Lande – Vocals
Trond Holter, Jimmy Iversen (“Rainbow in the Dark”), Tore Moren (“Rainbow in the Dark”), Jorn Viggo Lofstad (“Stormbringer”) – Guitars
Francesco Iovino, Willy Bendiksen (“Rainbow in the Dark” & “Stormbringer”) – Drums
Thomas Bekkevold, Nic Angileri (“Rainbow in the Dark”), Sid Ringsby (“Stormbringer”) – Bass
Alessandro Del Vecchio – Keyboards

Vocalist extraordinaire continues to pay respect to the old gods with his latest release. It’s no secret that Jorn is a HUGE fan of Ronnie James Dio, or that has covered Dio’s songs many, many times (and even devoted an entire album of cover songs to him), but now he’s expanding. Heavy Rock Radio has Jorn covering Journey, Paul Stanley (from his 2005 Live to Win solo album!), Queen, Eagles, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Foreigner, and, of course, Dio and Dio-era Black Sabbath. There’s also tracks originally recorded by Kate Bush (“Running Up That Hill”) and some ’80s pop (Frida’s “I Know There’s Something Going On”).

Okay, so “Don’t Stop Believin'” isn’t exactly lacking for cover versions, but what I love about this album is that Jorn didn’t go for the obvious choice for some of these musicians. I mean, a cover of a Paul Stanley song from 2005? Or an Iron Maiden song that was released in 2010? Or a Deep Purple song that isn’t “Burn” or from the Gillan era?

Having said that, I would be completely satisfied if Jorn recorded every song Ronnie James Dio ever sang on from his days in Dio, Rainbow & Black Sabbath. I’m not kidding. No one can ever replace Ronnie, but Jorn shows great love and appreciation for Ronnie’s work and he always sounds completely amazing on Dio covers as evident by this album’s versions of “Rainbow in the Dark” and “Die Young”.

Jorn absolutely slays all of these songs. I couldn’t care less for Kate Bush, but his cover of “Running Up That Hill”? Amazing. Heavy Rock Radio is another fantastic album from Jorn Lande.

Highlights: “I Know There’s Something Going On”, “Running Up That Hill”, “Live to Win”, “Hotel California”, “Rainbow in the Dark”, “The Final Frontier”, “”Stormbringer”, “Die Young”

40FT. RINGO – Funny Thing

40Ft. Ringo – Funny Thing (2003, Atenzia Records)

1. “Anyway”… 2:41
2. “Wired” … 3:31
3. “Inside Your Head” … 2:38
4. “Big Fat Smile” … 3:25
5. “Origami Mommy” … 4:26
6. “Book Of Virtues” … 3:52
7. “Be My Fix” …
8. “A Freak Like You” … 3:01
9. “Unbroken” … 3:14
10. “Miss You Blue” … 4:00
11. “Anti-Zero” … 3:15
12. “Fanatic” … 3:25
13. “Tough” … 3:07

Band:
Steve Brown – Vocals, Guitar
Maz – Guitar
P.J. Farley – Bass
Brian Gabriel – Drums

Producer: Steve Brown & P.J. Farley

Early last decade, I had a great affinity for modern power pop/hard rock music. I loved the music that was being put out by Marvelous 3, Tsar, American Hi-Fi, Zebrahead and 40Ft. Ringo. I’ve been familiar with most of this album for nearly 8 years now (I think most of it “leaked” much earlier than the album’s release) but it was only recently I finally snatched up a used copy on Amazon.com for only a few bucks.

Much like Marvelous 3, 40Ft. Ringo has a hair metal connection — both Steve Brown and P.J. Farley are members of New Jersey hair rockers Trixter. I’m not too familiar with Trixter’s work, they came along as the scene was dying and never got glowing reviews so I haven’t bothered to sample much other than their singles.

As for this album, it’s an infectious rock & power pop album complete with a bit of the punk pop sound that was popular about the time this album was released (Blink-182, SR-71, Eve 6… Why all the numbers ?!?). There’s so many great radio-ready songs on this album. While this is an indie release that I’m sure had an extremely limited marketing budget, I’m also certain the fact that half the band was from a “hair band” didn’t help them at all. It’s sad but that’s just the way mainstream entertainment industry operates.

It’s great to finally have this album in my collection as I hadn’t heard these songs in years and still remembered most of them!

Highlights: “Anyway”, “Inside Your Head”, “Big Fat Smile”, “Origami Mommy”, “Book Of Virtues”, “Be My Fix”, “Anti-Zero”, “Tough”

http://www.mojovegas.com/40ftringo/