Hello,
This list is taken from a Rdio.com playlist, created by a Bryon Thur from The Edge 102.1 FM. This is a great list that has helped me discover a lot of great, recently released rock music.
Any opinions expressed are my own. Looking at The Edge 102.1's website it seems like they are a real rock music station. Who even knew those were around any more? Sadly they don't have that kind of station in Salt Lake City, that I know of at least. Even if we did have that kind of station I wouldn't listen to it. Corporate radio is full of commercials and way too much talk. When I listen to my CDs I don't hear any of either.
When picking videos I try to pick actual videos made by the band. That way you can see the members of the band and find out more about what they are about. Of course I realize the group's manager, the record company, the video's director and who knows who else has an impact on the video as well. Here's the songs that I like the most from this Rdio playlist.
Are you looking for a fairly recent band that kicks some butt? Then I would highly recommend Pop Evil. If you just wanted one CD to listen to I would suggest "Onyx" over "War of Angels".
Pop Evil's "Torn To Pieces":
Yes, Linkin Park is still releasing good music, I just don't think they'll hit quite the same heights as "Hybrid Theory" or "Meteora" again. Those truly are two great CDs.
Linkin Park's "Guilty All The Same":
I honestly don't know much about the next couple of bands. However I like both of these songs, thus I'm glad I discovered this great Edge 102.1 Rdio playlist.
Adelita's Way "Dog On A Leash":
Theory of a Deadman's "Drown":
The always reliable Black Keys "Fever":
I'm a big fan of Redlight King, the below song is from his second CD "Irons In The Fire". While that's a perfectly good CD, it's nowhere as good as his amazing first CD, "Something For The Pain". That CD is one of the best rock CDs released over the last few years. About half of it's songs are on my iPod.
Redlight King's "Times Are Hard":
I've listened to Five Finger Death Punch a few times and haven't been real impressed. They go too far towards the screaming over singing. However I really like this take on the Animals classic "House of The Rising Sun":
Kongos "Come With Me Now":
This is one of my favorite songs on the entire Rdio 102.1 playlist.
Starset's "My Demons":
Black Stone Cherry's previous CD was "Between The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea", it's an amazing CD chock full of great songs. Sadly their recent release, "Magic Mountain", isn't quite as good. This is the best song on the CD.
Black Stone Cherry's "Me and Mary Jane":
There's just something about a woman who's vocals shred through a song. For instance both of the following songs:
We As Human's (featuring Lucy Sturm) "Take The Bullets Away":
This is the full "Rise" album.
Skillet's "Rise":
One of my favorite rock bands released a CD recently. One week ago Rival Sons released "Great Western Valkyrie". I hope to listen to that today, also some of The Pretty Reckless, You Me At Six and perhaps some Royal Blood.
themusicaddict
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Saturday, June 14, 2014
themusicaddict's Greatest CDs of All-Time: "Led Zeppelin III" (Finished June 16th, 2014)
Hello,
Led Zeppelin's first 3 CDs were all amazing, but they still hadn't released their best CD yet. "Led Zeppelin IV" (aka "ZOSO") would be released on November 8th, 1971.
"Led Zeppelin III" was recorded between January to August, 1970. This CD showed Led Zeppelin was expanding it's musical palate, they just weren't only a hard rock band. Of course from the opening howl of "Immigrant Song" this CD also shows that Led Zeppelin still rocks. Indeed "Immigrant Song" gives the title of one of the mighty Zep's definitive biographies, Stephen Davis' "Hammer of The Gods". (Thanks to Wikipedia for much of the information in this blog.)
The initial reaction to "III" was less than enthusiastic. Some people didn't like the acoustic songs and some didn't like the heavier rock songs. I'm sorry, but I don't see how this CD can not be considered a classic. Any CD that has "Immigrant Song", "Gallows Pole", "That's The Way" and "Tangerine" is a classic. Even a lesser known song like "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" is a great song. Although it's an amazing CD, it's only on a few top albums of all-time lists.
"Led Zeppelin III" was released on October 5th, 1970. It went to #1 in the USA, where it stayed for 4 weeks. It's sold over 6 million copies here in America.
The original "Led Zeppelin III":
This is the bonus disc attached to the June 3rd, 2014 Deluxe Edition of "Led Zeppelin III":
The tracks on the above bonus disc are:
1."The Immigrant Song" (Alternate Mix) Page, Plant 2:25
2."Friends" (Track, No Vocal) Page, Plant 3:43
3"Celebration Day" (Alternate Mix )Jones, Page, Plant 3:18
4."Since I've Been Loving You" (Rough Mix of First Recording) Jones, Page, Plant 7:16
5."Bathroom Sound" (Track, No Vocal) Bonham, Page, Plant 4:00
6."Gallows Pole" (Rough Mix) Traditional, arr. Page, Plant 5:17
7."That's the Way" (Rough Mix with Dulcimer & Backwards Echo) Page, Plant 5:22
8."Jennings Farm Blues" (Rough Mix of All Guitar Overdubs That Day) Jones, Page, Plant 5:54
9."Key To The Highway/Trouble In Mind" (Rough Mix) Big Bill Bronzy, Charlie Segar, Richard M. Jones
Here's the original "Led Zeppelin III" track list:
1) "Immigrant Song" 2:26 (Written by Page & Plant)
"Immigrant Song" (Live):
2) "Friends" 3:55 (Page & Plant):
3) "Celebration Day" 3:29 (Jones, Page & Plant):
"Celebration Day" (Live):
Here's the full 2007 Reunion Concert, which is titled "Celebration Day":
4) "Since I've Been Loving You" 7:25 (Jones, Page & Plant)
"Since I've Been Loving You" (Live):
5) "Out On The Tiles" 4:04 (Bonham, Page & Plant)
6) Easily one of my favorite Zep songs: "Gallows Pole" 4:58 (Traditional Arr. Page & Plant)
"Gallows Pole" (Live) the sound quality is poor:
Page and Plant's "Gallows Pole":
Led Zeppelin were a student of the Blues, that's where they borrowed/ stole some of their greatest songs. Some songs like "Gallows Pole", they took a traditional arrangement and improved considerably on it. Nirvana covered Leadbelly's "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" for their MTV Unplugged show. This is Leadbelly's "Gallows Pole":
7) "Tangerine" 3:12 (Page):
"Tangerine" (Live):
8) "That's The Way" 5:38 (Page & Plant):
"That's The Way" (Live):
9) "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" 4:20 (Jones, Page & Plant):
10) "Hats Off To (Roy) Harper" 3:41 (Traditional Arr. Charles Obscure aka Jimmy Page):
themusicaddict
Led Zeppelin's first 3 CDs were all amazing, but they still hadn't released their best CD yet. "Led Zeppelin IV" (aka "ZOSO") would be released on November 8th, 1971.
"Led Zeppelin III" was recorded between January to August, 1970. This CD showed Led Zeppelin was expanding it's musical palate, they just weren't only a hard rock band. Of course from the opening howl of "Immigrant Song" this CD also shows that Led Zeppelin still rocks. Indeed "Immigrant Song" gives the title of one of the mighty Zep's definitive biographies, Stephen Davis' "Hammer of The Gods". (Thanks to Wikipedia for much of the information in this blog.)
The initial reaction to "III" was less than enthusiastic. Some people didn't like the acoustic songs and some didn't like the heavier rock songs. I'm sorry, but I don't see how this CD can not be considered a classic. Any CD that has "Immigrant Song", "Gallows Pole", "That's The Way" and "Tangerine" is a classic. Even a lesser known song like "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" is a great song. Although it's an amazing CD, it's only on a few top albums of all-time lists.
"Led Zeppelin III" was released on October 5th, 1970. It went to #1 in the USA, where it stayed for 4 weeks. It's sold over 6 million copies here in America.
The original "Led Zeppelin III":
This is the bonus disc attached to the June 3rd, 2014 Deluxe Edition of "Led Zeppelin III":
The tracks on the above bonus disc are:
1."The Immigrant Song" (Alternate Mix) Page, Plant 2:25
2."Friends" (Track, No Vocal) Page, Plant 3:43
3"Celebration Day" (Alternate Mix )Jones, Page, Plant 3:18
4."Since I've Been Loving You" (Rough Mix of First Recording) Jones, Page, Plant 7:16
5."Bathroom Sound" (Track, No Vocal) Bonham, Page, Plant 4:00
6."Gallows Pole" (Rough Mix) Traditional, arr. Page, Plant 5:17
7."That's the Way" (Rough Mix with Dulcimer & Backwards Echo) Page, Plant 5:22
8."Jennings Farm Blues" (Rough Mix of All Guitar Overdubs That Day) Jones, Page, Plant 5:54
9."Key To The Highway/Trouble In Mind" (Rough Mix) Big Bill Bronzy, Charlie Segar, Richard M. Jones
1) "Immigrant Song" 2:26 (Written by Page & Plant)
"Immigrant Song" (Live):
2) "Friends" 3:55 (Page & Plant):
3) "Celebration Day" 3:29 (Jones, Page & Plant):
"Celebration Day" (Live):
Here's the full 2007 Reunion Concert, which is titled "Celebration Day":
4) "Since I've Been Loving You" 7:25 (Jones, Page & Plant)
"Since I've Been Loving You" (Live):
5) "Out On The Tiles" 4:04 (Bonham, Page & Plant)
6) Easily one of my favorite Zep songs: "Gallows Pole" 4:58 (Traditional Arr. Page & Plant)
"Gallows Pole" (Live) the sound quality is poor:
Page and Plant's "Gallows Pole":
Led Zeppelin were a student of the Blues, that's where they borrowed/ stole some of their greatest songs. Some songs like "Gallows Pole", they took a traditional arrangement and improved considerably on it. Nirvana covered Leadbelly's "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" for their MTV Unplugged show. This is Leadbelly's "Gallows Pole":
7) "Tangerine" 3:12 (Page):
"Tangerine" (Live):
8) "That's The Way" 5:38 (Page & Plant):
"That's The Way" (Live):
9) "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" 4:20 (Jones, Page & Plant):
10) "Hats Off To (Roy) Harper" 3:41 (Traditional Arr. Charles Obscure aka Jimmy Page):
themusicaddict
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
themusicaddict's review of "Murder In The First"
Hello,
This is my review of the TNT show "Murder In The First", a show that follows a single police investigation from start to finish over 10 episodes. The show premiered on Monday, June 9th, 2014 and I watched it last night.
My initial grade is a C+. It has both good things that will keep you watching and bad things that will turn you off. "Murder In The First" stars Taye Diggs as Terry English and Kathleen Robertson as Hildy Milligan, both are SFPD homicide detectives and partners. Milligan is divorced and raising a 6 year old daughter. English has the more interesting back story. His wife is dying of cancer and there's nothing else that can be done. At a doctor's urging he brings her home to die. If a show is good enough on it's own, it doesn't need extensive back stories. And I rolled my eyes when I found out a character had a spouse dying of cancer. I thought here we go again. However this show handled the battle with cancer with grace and great story telling. It's also very poignant and moving. Then I thought to myself that I hope this cancer storyline doesn't go on too long. A too long back story can suck the soul out of a show. (I'm looking at you "Longmire", can you please move on from the death of Walt's wife? Please.)
I was relieved when Mrs. English died at the end of the pilot episode. I liked that the show and Detective English allowed his wife to go home to die. Although I was only partially invested in Mrs. England, I felt a loss when she died. I hate to see cancer get another victim, even if it's only in fiction. Again the producers and writers handled this whole story line with extreme grace.
I probably will lose interest in this show if English and Milligan hook up as the trailer hints. That's so cliche now and a very tired story line. "Castle" has handled it fairly well, but that's a rare exception. If the show goes down that road, the murder case better be brilliant.
As for the case I'm not sure it's strong enough to carry the show for 10 episodes. A chief suspect is Silicon Valley visionary Erich Blunt. He's the charismatic leader of up and coming company, Applesn, but he also can be a bit of a jerk. It's almost like he has a split personality. I'm wondering how much Apple and Steve Jobs provided inspiration for this storyline?
Thomas Schlamme directed the first episode. With him involved that means there's going to be at least one character from "West Wing". Sure enough look it's Toby Ziegler, it's always good to see an actor from one of my all-time favorite TV shows. Schiff here plays David Hertzberg, a lawyer of Blunt. He needs to cut that hair at the back of his head though- ugly! Hertzberg gives such good advice as working with people so that they are peeing outside of the tent rather than inside the tent.
Other characters include Lt. Jim Koto, the very good Ian Anthony Dale. He plays his character with both toughness and great compassion for English. At first I didn't like Tom Felton as Erich Blunt. I didn't think he was a great actor. But then I realized the reason I hated his character so much is because of how good of an actor Felton is. Steven Weber also shows up as a pilot for Blunt. There's a few other main characters that we haven't seen in the show yet.
The whole "TNT Drama: Boom!" has got to go though. It sucks! The movie voiced guys doing the promos also have to go, except for Honest Trailers. I loathe the AMC movie voice guy now, it reminds me of how far AMC has fallen since it's glory days of a few years ago.
Anyway I give the show a C+ grade. It's not terrible, but it's also not fantastic. It was good enough that I plan on watching at least one more episode.
themusicaddict
This is my review of the TNT show "Murder In The First", a show that follows a single police investigation from start to finish over 10 episodes. The show premiered on Monday, June 9th, 2014 and I watched it last night.
My initial grade is a C+. It has both good things that will keep you watching and bad things that will turn you off. "Murder In The First" stars Taye Diggs as Terry English and Kathleen Robertson as Hildy Milligan, both are SFPD homicide detectives and partners. Milligan is divorced and raising a 6 year old daughter. English has the more interesting back story. His wife is dying of cancer and there's nothing else that can be done. At a doctor's urging he brings her home to die. If a show is good enough on it's own, it doesn't need extensive back stories. And I rolled my eyes when I found out a character had a spouse dying of cancer. I thought here we go again. However this show handled the battle with cancer with grace and great story telling. It's also very poignant and moving. Then I thought to myself that I hope this cancer storyline doesn't go on too long. A too long back story can suck the soul out of a show. (I'm looking at you "Longmire", can you please move on from the death of Walt's wife? Please.)
I was relieved when Mrs. English died at the end of the pilot episode. I liked that the show and Detective English allowed his wife to go home to die. Although I was only partially invested in Mrs. England, I felt a loss when she died. I hate to see cancer get another victim, even if it's only in fiction. Again the producers and writers handled this whole story line with extreme grace.
I probably will lose interest in this show if English and Milligan hook up as the trailer hints. That's so cliche now and a very tired story line. "Castle" has handled it fairly well, but that's a rare exception. If the show goes down that road, the murder case better be brilliant.
As for the case I'm not sure it's strong enough to carry the show for 10 episodes. A chief suspect is Silicon Valley visionary Erich Blunt. He's the charismatic leader of up and coming company, Applesn, but he also can be a bit of a jerk. It's almost like he has a split personality. I'm wondering how much Apple and Steve Jobs provided inspiration for this storyline?
Thomas Schlamme directed the first episode. With him involved that means there's going to be at least one character from "West Wing". Sure enough look it's Toby Ziegler, it's always good to see an actor from one of my all-time favorite TV shows. Schiff here plays David Hertzberg, a lawyer of Blunt. He needs to cut that hair at the back of his head though- ugly! Hertzberg gives such good advice as working with people so that they are peeing outside of the tent rather than inside the tent.
Other characters include Lt. Jim Koto, the very good Ian Anthony Dale. He plays his character with both toughness and great compassion for English. At first I didn't like Tom Felton as Erich Blunt. I didn't think he was a great actor. But then I realized the reason I hated his character so much is because of how good of an actor Felton is. Steven Weber also shows up as a pilot for Blunt. There's a few other main characters that we haven't seen in the show yet.
The whole "TNT Drama: Boom!" has got to go though. It sucks! The movie voiced guys doing the promos also have to go, except for Honest Trailers. I loathe the AMC movie voice guy now, it reminds me of how far AMC has fallen since it's glory days of a few years ago.
Anyway I give the show a C+ grade. It's not terrible, but it's also not fantastic. It was good enough that I plan on watching at least one more episode.
themusicaddict
Monday, June 9, 2014
themusicaddict's Greatest CDs of All-Time: "Led Zeppelin II" (Updated June 14th, 2014)
Hello,
With the reissues of the first 3 Led Zeppelin CDs, the mighty Zep is back in Billboard's Top Ten. Not only are they in the Top Ten, but they have 3 CDs in the Top Ten. At #7 is "Led Zeppelin 1", at #9 is "Led Zeppelin II" and at #10 is "Led Zeppelin III". (For those of you wondering the #1 CD is Miranda Lambert's "Platinum", a CD I wrote about in my May 5th, 2014 blog.)
My all-time favorite band is Led Zeppelin and this is my second in a series of blogs about their greatest CDs. This is also part of my Greatest CDs of All-Time blog series.
"Led Zeppelin II" was released on October 22nd, 1969- which according to Wikipedia is when the first single was released, which doesn't make any sense. Obviously I'm missing something there, I just don't know what. This album also has the mighty Zep's biggest hit "Whole Lotta Love", it peaked at #4. This album is also Led Zeppelin's first album to go to #1. As of now over 12 million copies have been shipped.
"Led Zeppelin II" was conceived and recorded while Led Zeppelin was in the midst of extensive touring January through August 1969. (Which includes the "Don't Mess With Texas" concert below.) Led Zeppelin was never much of a singles band and only 3 singles were originally released from the original version of this album. (One of my sons asked me the other day if Led Zeppelin had many hits, I had to explain to him that they didn't release a lot of singles.)
Interestingly enough the first single from the CD is the John Bonham centered track "Moby Dick". I'm sure when people first heard this on the radio, they were taken back a bit. This isn't the kind of song that's usually released as a single. The second single was "Whole Lotta Love/ Living Loving Maid (She's Just A Woman)." Then "Heartbreaker" was the third and last song released as a single in May of 1970. The "Whole Lotta Love (Rough Mix)" was released as a single on May 5th, 2014.
Also while both "Heartbreaker" and "Living Loving Maid" are both on "Led Zeppelin II", originally they weren't paired together as they are typically played on the radio now.
(Thanks to Wikipedia for much of the biographical information in this blog.)
Strangely the Youtube video for the original "Led Zeppelin II" isn't available, but someone has been nice enough to make a video for the deluxe edition bonus CD of this amazing CD. Here's that video:
Thanks to Wikipedia, these are the tracks on that bonus CD.
Here's a concert from about that time, this is titled "Don't Mess With Texas", the concert is taken from the Texas International Pop Festival on August 31st, 1969. I love the guy that introduced the band referred to them as The Led Zeppelin.
1) "Whole Lotta Love" This is my all-time favorite Led Zeppelin song and one of the greatest songs of all-time.
Nina Persson with Soundtrack of Our Live's cover of "Whole Lotta Love" with Plant, Page and Jones in the house. I love Persson's husky voice:
2) "What Is and What Should Never Be":
For being such an influential band I find it strange how few people have covered their music. As I'm looking for covers, I'm finding a lot of covers. However not many of the covers have broken out into the mainstream. Here's one of the few famous covers I can think off right off the top of my head, Haley Reinhart's cover of "What Is and What Should Never Be":
3) "The Lemon Song":
Jimmy Page and The Black Crowes singing "The Lemon Song" live:
Adrenaline Mob's cover of "The Lemon Song":
4) "Thank You":
"Thank You" (Live):
Chris Cornell singing "Thank You" live:
5) "Heartbreaker":
The 2014 release of "Heartbreaker" (Rough Mix):
"Heartbreaker" (Live):
The Distributers singing "Heartbreaker" (Live):
6) "Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)":
The kids have some chops, the students of Oak Park School of Rock:
7) "Ramble On":
Robert Plant is one of the greatest vocalists ever, he's up there with Frank Sinatra and a few others. However there's just something magical about a woman singing a Zep cover. I love this cover, Amanda has an intriguing voice. Amanda Lee Peers and the Driftwood Sailors singing "Ramble On":
8) "Moby Dick":
"Moby Dick" (Live):
The sad news of John Bonham's death, which happened a few years after the recording of this CD:
9) "Bring It On Home":
"Bring It On Home" (Live):
themusicaddict
With the reissues of the first 3 Led Zeppelin CDs, the mighty Zep is back in Billboard's Top Ten. Not only are they in the Top Ten, but they have 3 CDs in the Top Ten. At #7 is "Led Zeppelin 1", at #9 is "Led Zeppelin II" and at #10 is "Led Zeppelin III". (For those of you wondering the #1 CD is Miranda Lambert's "Platinum", a CD I wrote about in my May 5th, 2014 blog.)
My all-time favorite band is Led Zeppelin and this is my second in a series of blogs about their greatest CDs. This is also part of my Greatest CDs of All-Time blog series.
"Led Zeppelin II" was released on October 22nd, 1969- which according to Wikipedia is when the first single was released, which doesn't make any sense. Obviously I'm missing something there, I just don't know what. This album also has the mighty Zep's biggest hit "Whole Lotta Love", it peaked at #4. This album is also Led Zeppelin's first album to go to #1. As of now over 12 million copies have been shipped.
"Led Zeppelin II" was conceived and recorded while Led Zeppelin was in the midst of extensive touring January through August 1969. (Which includes the "Don't Mess With Texas" concert below.) Led Zeppelin was never much of a singles band and only 3 singles were originally released from the original version of this album. (One of my sons asked me the other day if Led Zeppelin had many hits, I had to explain to him that they didn't release a lot of singles.)
Interestingly enough the first single from the CD is the John Bonham centered track "Moby Dick". I'm sure when people first heard this on the radio, they were taken back a bit. This isn't the kind of song that's usually released as a single. The second single was "Whole Lotta Love/ Living Loving Maid (She's Just A Woman)." Then "Heartbreaker" was the third and last song released as a single in May of 1970. The "Whole Lotta Love (Rough Mix)" was released as a single on May 5th, 2014.
Also while both "Heartbreaker" and "Living Loving Maid" are both on "Led Zeppelin II", originally they weren't paired together as they are typically played on the radio now.
(Thanks to Wikipedia for much of the biographical information in this blog.)
Strangely the Youtube video for the original "Led Zeppelin II" isn't available, but someone has been nice enough to make a video for the deluxe edition bonus CD of this amazing CD. Here's that video:
Thanks to Wikipedia, these are the tracks on that bonus CD.
| 1. | "Whole Lotta Love" (Rough Mix with Vocal) | Bonham, Dixon, Jones, Page, Plant | 5:38 |
| 2. | "What Is and What Should Never Be" (Rough Mix with Vocal) | Page, Plant | 4:33 |
| 3. | "Thank You" (Backing Track) | Page, Plant | 4:21 |
| 4. | "Heartbreaker" (Rough Mix with Vocal) | Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant | 4:24 |
| 5. | "Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)" (Backing Track) | Page, Plant | 3:08 |
| 6. | "Ramble On" (Rough Mix with Vocal) | Page, Plant | 4:43 |
| 7. | "Moby Dick" (Backing Track) | Bonham, Jones, Page | 1:37 |
| 8. | "La La" (Intro/Outro Rough Mix) | Jones, Page | 4:07 |
Here's a concert from about that time, this is titled "Don't Mess With Texas", the concert is taken from the Texas International Pop Festival on August 31st, 1969. I love the guy that introduced the band referred to them as The Led Zeppelin.
1) "Whole Lotta Love" This is my all-time favorite Led Zeppelin song and one of the greatest songs of all-time.
Nina Persson with Soundtrack of Our Live's cover of "Whole Lotta Love" with Plant, Page and Jones in the house. I love Persson's husky voice:
2) "What Is and What Should Never Be":
For being such an influential band I find it strange how few people have covered their music. As I'm looking for covers, I'm finding a lot of covers. However not many of the covers have broken out into the mainstream. Here's one of the few famous covers I can think off right off the top of my head, Haley Reinhart's cover of "What Is and What Should Never Be":
3) "The Lemon Song":
Jimmy Page and The Black Crowes singing "The Lemon Song" live:
4) "Thank You":
"Thank You" (Live):
Chris Cornell singing "Thank You" live:
5) "Heartbreaker":
The 2014 release of "Heartbreaker" (Rough Mix):
"Heartbreaker" (Live):
The Distributers singing "Heartbreaker" (Live):
6) "Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)":
The kids have some chops, the students of Oak Park School of Rock:
7) "Ramble On":
Robert Plant is one of the greatest vocalists ever, he's up there with Frank Sinatra and a few others. However there's just something magical about a woman singing a Zep cover. I love this cover, Amanda has an intriguing voice. Amanda Lee Peers and the Driftwood Sailors singing "Ramble On":
8) "Moby Dick":
"Moby Dick" (Live):
The sad news of John Bonham's death, which happened a few years after the recording of this CD:
9) "Bring It On Home":
"Bring It On Home" (Live):
themusicaddict
Sunday, June 8, 2014
themusicaddict's Review of Jessica Verdey's "Of Monsters and Madness"
Hello,
I was able to read Jessica Verday's "Of Monsters and Madness" before the book's actual publication date. My thanks to the nice folks at NetGalley.com and EgmontUSA. This book is due to be published on September 9th, 2014. A second book, "The Ballad of Annabel Lee" is scheduled to be released Fall of 2015.
From NetGalley.com: "A romantic, historical retelling of classic Gothic horror featuring Edgar Allan Poe and his character Annabel Lee, from a NewYork Times best-selling author."
"Of Monsters and Madness" begins with a very gruesome scene involving Edgar and Annabel Lee. Edgar is one of her father's two assistants, the one who helps him with his gruesome experiments. This gives us an idea of what's coming.
The main character of this book is 16 year old Annabel Lee. She lived in Siam, which is now known as Thailand, for about 10 years with her Mom. Annabel Lee's Mom dies. Before she dies she sent a letter to Annabel's father in Philadelphia. Her parents have been estranged for several years. When Annabel's Grandpere (her grandfather) received the letter he sent for Annabel and her mother. Annabel's mother died before they can travel.
Annabel was very independent and self-sufficient while living in Siam, she served as her mother's assistant. Her mother helped a doctor with his patients. She learned a lot about medicine by helping her Mom. After being self sufficient for so long she arrives in Philadelphia and is introduced to a life of luxury with her father and grandfather. She has a dressing maid, a tutor who attempts to teach her to act with proper "decorum" and they have other servants.
But she also is introduced to a house full of secrets and a city with a serial killer. At her new house in Philadelphia she sees a raven, which in Siam which is considered a bad sign. It's also a "portent of secrets being kept". There are a lot of open secrets in this house, which everyone seems to know except for Annabel Lee. But Annabel has a lot of curiousity and isn't to be turned away from finding out what's going on. She goes to nearly any end, even risking her own life, to find out what's going on.
Among the things going on are a series of murders that are happening near the area she lives. Although nearly everything says this house and the people in it are very respectable, there's a not very well hidden air of mystery and something evil going on.
Obviously Edgar and Allan are the same person, why does no one else notice that? About the halfway point I was pretty sure I knew what was going to happen in the book.
What are the experiments her Father is conducting. Why do Allan and Edgar have so much in common, but we never see them together? Does Annabel want to find out the truth. These and other questions are answered in this book.
Unfortunately the best review I can give this book is a lukewarm review. I'd give this book a C, that almost feels generous though. Although this book ends with a cliffhanger, it's not something I'm dying to find out what happens.
themusicaddict
I was able to read Jessica Verday's "Of Monsters and Madness" before the book's actual publication date. My thanks to the nice folks at NetGalley.com and EgmontUSA. This book is due to be published on September 9th, 2014. A second book, "The Ballad of Annabel Lee" is scheduled to be released Fall of 2015.
From NetGalley.com: "A romantic, historical retelling of classic Gothic horror featuring Edgar Allan Poe and his character Annabel Lee, from a NewYork Times best-selling author."
"Of Monsters and Madness" begins with a very gruesome scene involving Edgar and Annabel Lee. Edgar is one of her father's two assistants, the one who helps him with his gruesome experiments. This gives us an idea of what's coming.
The main character of this book is 16 year old Annabel Lee. She lived in Siam, which is now known as Thailand, for about 10 years with her Mom. Annabel Lee's Mom dies. Before she dies she sent a letter to Annabel's father in Philadelphia. Her parents have been estranged for several years. When Annabel's Grandpere (her grandfather) received the letter he sent for Annabel and her mother. Annabel's mother died before they can travel.
Annabel was very independent and self-sufficient while living in Siam, she served as her mother's assistant. Her mother helped a doctor with his patients. She learned a lot about medicine by helping her Mom. After being self sufficient for so long she arrives in Philadelphia and is introduced to a life of luxury with her father and grandfather. She has a dressing maid, a tutor who attempts to teach her to act with proper "decorum" and they have other servants.
But she also is introduced to a house full of secrets and a city with a serial killer. At her new house in Philadelphia she sees a raven, which in Siam which is considered a bad sign. It's also a "portent of secrets being kept". There are a lot of open secrets in this house, which everyone seems to know except for Annabel Lee. But Annabel has a lot of curiousity and isn't to be turned away from finding out what's going on. She goes to nearly any end, even risking her own life, to find out what's going on.
Among the things going on are a series of murders that are happening near the area she lives. Although nearly everything says this house and the people in it are very respectable, there's a not very well hidden air of mystery and something evil going on.
Obviously Edgar and Allan are the same person, why does no one else notice that? About the halfway point I was pretty sure I knew what was going to happen in the book.
What are the experiments her Father is conducting. Why do Allan and Edgar have so much in common, but we never see them together? Does Annabel want to find out the truth. These and other questions are answered in this book.
Unfortunately the best review I can give this book is a lukewarm review. I'd give this book a C, that almost feels generous though. Although this book ends with a cliffhanger, it's not something I'm dying to find out what happens.
themusicaddict
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
themusicaddict's Greatest CDs of All-time: Led Zeppelin 1 (Completed June 4th, 2014)
Hello,
I'm writing this blog In honor of Led Zeppelin releasing the mastered versions of their first 3 CDs, "1", "II" and "III". All 3 CDs will come with extra tracks, but the CD I'm most excited about is "1", that's because it includes a 1969 Paris concert, when the band was just starting out and at it's hungriest. A thought that can make even the grinchiest Zep fan's heart fill up with joy. There's still no word on when the remastered "Led Zeppelin IV" will be released, only that it will be released.
"Led Zeppelin 1" was originally released January 12th, 1969, it's the debut CD of the greatest band that has ever walked the earth. The lineup featured studio wizard/ amazing guitarist Jimmy Page, the solid backbone of John Bonham's drums, the all around virtuosity of John Paul Jones and and of course the killer vocals of Robert Plant. All of which combined to be the "Hammer of the Gods" which is Stephen Davis' excellent book about the band. (I still haven't got around to reading Mick Wall's "When Giants Walked The Earth" or Davis' "(LZ '75) The Lost Chronicles of Led Zeppelin's 1975 American Tour". I own both and will read them eventually.)
"Led Zeppelin 1" was produced by Jimmy Page and engineered by Glyn Johns. Page said that the record was recorded live, although there are some overdubs.
From wikipedia.org:
"Led Zeppelin's front cover, which was chosen by Page, features a black-and-white image of the burning Hindenburg airship. The image refers to the origin of the band's name itself:[10] when Page, Beck and The Who's Keith Moon and John Entwistlewere discussing the idea of forming a group, Moon joked, "It would probably go over like a lead balloon", and Entwistle allegedly replied, "...a lead zeppelin!"[citation needed]" (I had heard the first part of that previous statement many times, but I'd never heard of the John Entwistle part of it. Not only did Led Zeppelin not crash like a "lead zeppelin", but they went on to be the greatest band ever.)
Rolling Stone magazine, which I love but rarely agree with, ranks "Led Zeppelin 1" the 29th album in their 2012 Top 500 CDs of all-time. I agree mostly with that, but them having 3 Beatles CD in their Top 5 that drives me a tad crazy. Give me Led Zeppelin any day! Here's a quick run down of themusicaddict's Top 1 CD of all-time, the monster known as "Led Zeppelin IV".
(Thanks to wikipedia for much of the above information.)
1) "Good Times Bad Times":
Dave Matthews Band attempting "Good Times Bad Times" (the sound is terrible):
2) "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You":
"Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" (Live in Denmark 1969, featuring very polite applause.)
Here's Robert Plant and his band in 2013 singing "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You":
3) "You Shook Me":
4) "Dazed and Confused":
When Led Zeppelin wanted to jam, many times they chose to do so on "Dazed and Confused". This is from the concert movie "The Song Remains The Same":
Here's the almost 10 minutes version of "Dazed and Confused" (This is explicit): (I don't want to say I'm old, but music really was a lot better back in the day.)
5) "Your Time Is Gonna Come":
6) "Black Mountain Side":
"White Summer/ Black Mountain Side" (Live):
7) "Communication Breakdown":
"Communication Breakdown" (Live):
8) "I Can't Quit You Baby":
"I Can't Quit You Baby" (Live):
9) "How Many More Times":
This seems to be what's on the live bonus disc, Live from Paris, 1969:
The songs on the above live CD are:
1) "Good Times Bad Times/ Communication Breakdown" (3:52):
2) "I Can't Quit You Baby" (6:41):
3) "Heartbreaker" (3:49):
4) "Dazed and Confused" (15:01)
5) "White Summer/ Black Mountain Side" (9:19)
6) "You Shook Me" (11:55):
7) "Moby Dick" (9:21)
8) "How Many More Times" (11:14)
Here's a bonus concert, this is the Mighty Zep at Royal Albert Hall in 1970:
themusicaddict
I'm writing this blog In honor of Led Zeppelin releasing the mastered versions of their first 3 CDs, "1", "II" and "III". All 3 CDs will come with extra tracks, but the CD I'm most excited about is "1", that's because it includes a 1969 Paris concert, when the band was just starting out and at it's hungriest. A thought that can make even the grinchiest Zep fan's heart fill up with joy. There's still no word on when the remastered "Led Zeppelin IV" will be released, only that it will be released.
"Led Zeppelin 1" was originally released January 12th, 1969, it's the debut CD of the greatest band that has ever walked the earth. The lineup featured studio wizard/ amazing guitarist Jimmy Page, the solid backbone of John Bonham's drums, the all around virtuosity of John Paul Jones and and of course the killer vocals of Robert Plant. All of which combined to be the "Hammer of the Gods" which is Stephen Davis' excellent book about the band. (I still haven't got around to reading Mick Wall's "When Giants Walked The Earth" or Davis' "(LZ '75) The Lost Chronicles of Led Zeppelin's 1975 American Tour". I own both and will read them eventually.)
"Led Zeppelin 1" was produced by Jimmy Page and engineered by Glyn Johns. Page said that the record was recorded live, although there are some overdubs.
From wikipedia.org:
"Led Zeppelin's front cover, which was chosen by Page, features a black-and-white image of the burning Hindenburg airship. The image refers to the origin of the band's name itself:[10] when Page, Beck and The Who's Keith Moon and John Entwistlewere discussing the idea of forming a group, Moon joked, "It would probably go over like a lead balloon", and Entwistle allegedly replied, "...a lead zeppelin!"[citation needed]" (I had heard the first part of that previous statement many times, but I'd never heard of the John Entwistle part of it. Not only did Led Zeppelin not crash like a "lead zeppelin", but they went on to be the greatest band ever.)
Rolling Stone magazine, which I love but rarely agree with, ranks "Led Zeppelin 1" the 29th album in their 2012 Top 500 CDs of all-time. I agree mostly with that, but them having 3 Beatles CD in their Top 5 that drives me a tad crazy. Give me Led Zeppelin any day! Here's a quick run down of themusicaddict's Top 1 CD of all-time, the monster known as "Led Zeppelin IV".
(Thanks to wikipedia for much of the above information.)
1) "Good Times Bad Times":
Dave Matthews Band attempting "Good Times Bad Times" (the sound is terrible):
2) "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You":
"Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" (Live in Denmark 1969, featuring very polite applause.)
Here's Robert Plant and his band in 2013 singing "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You":
3) "You Shook Me":
4) "Dazed and Confused":
When Led Zeppelin wanted to jam, many times they chose to do so on "Dazed and Confused". This is from the concert movie "The Song Remains The Same":
Here's the almost 10 minutes version of "Dazed and Confused" (This is explicit): (I don't want to say I'm old, but music really was a lot better back in the day.)
5) "Your Time Is Gonna Come":
6) "Black Mountain Side":
"White Summer/ Black Mountain Side" (Live):
7) "Communication Breakdown":
"Communication Breakdown" (Live):
8) "I Can't Quit You Baby":
"I Can't Quit You Baby" (Live):
9) "How Many More Times":
This seems to be what's on the live bonus disc, Live from Paris, 1969:
The songs on the above live CD are:
1) "Good Times Bad Times/ Communication Breakdown" (3:52):
2) "I Can't Quit You Baby" (6:41):
3) "Heartbreaker" (3:49):
4) "Dazed and Confused" (15:01)
5) "White Summer/ Black Mountain Side" (9:19)
6) "You Shook Me" (11:55):
7) "Moby Dick" (9:21)
8) "How Many More Times" (11:14)
Here's a bonus concert, this is the Mighty Zep at Royal Albert Hall in 1970:
themusicaddict
Sunday, June 1, 2014
themusicaddict's Review of Micol Ostow's "Amity"
Hello,
"Amity" is scheduled to be released August 26th, 2014. Thanks to EgmontUSA Publishers and NetGalley.com I was able to read this book prior to publication. This novel is recommended for fans of Stephen King and fans of "American Horror Story". (I'm a big Stephen King fan, but have never seen "American Horror Story"). If I were to compare it to another book, it reminds me more of the very good novel, Mark Z. Danielewski's "House of Leaves". It also does share a bit with "The Shining".
"Amity" is the story of a living, breathing house and two different families that lived in it 10 years apart. The families are very similar in many ways, both families only lived in the house for 28 days before being forced out. The stories revolve around the two oldest kids of each family. The first family is the Webbs, their story is centered around 17 year old Connor and Jules (aka Julianne and Annie), who are twins. One difference between the two families is the Webbs have a 3rd child, Abel. He's 11 years younger than his older brother and sister. The family previously had a dog named Butch, but once he died he was not replaced. Connor ran over Butch's tail, which Connor claims was an accident.
The family came to Amity in an act of desperation, their Dad had to sell off his Ford Dealership quickly due to shady financial dealings. They came to the small town of Concord because they liked it being a respectable town and Amity came cheap.
Ten years later the Hall family came to Amity. Again the story centers around the two kids, Gwen and Luke. Luke is one year older than Gwen. This family fled to Amity to get away from bill collectors chasing their father. Neither kid like their father, who's a jerk. Both families and stories are limited to only a few members. Aunt Ro is one of the other characters mentioned with this family. However for the Halls, we also meet Murray, who loves Luke. He loves Luke until Luke has a transformation, which leads to the book's finale.
After living at Amity both Connor and Gwen end up in an asylum. Amity took advantage of some of the mentally weakest members of the family to sink it's teeth into.
To give a sense of the atmosphere of this book, here's a sample of Ostow's spooky writing. "This was a burial ground, I know. It was where the witches hid, and where the crazies were locked away. It was lots of things, and Amity shows me them all. But the truth is, this space- it's more than any of these stories. It's the rotted, black heart of Amity herself."
Overall I would give this book a B, Ostow looks to have a bright future as a writer. While this was a good book, I expect her to grow leaps and bounds from this book.
themusicaddict
"Amity" is scheduled to be released August 26th, 2014. Thanks to EgmontUSA Publishers and NetGalley.com I was able to read this book prior to publication. This novel is recommended for fans of Stephen King and fans of "American Horror Story". (I'm a big Stephen King fan, but have never seen "American Horror Story"). If I were to compare it to another book, it reminds me more of the very good novel, Mark Z. Danielewski's "House of Leaves". It also does share a bit with "The Shining".
"Amity" is the story of a living, breathing house and two different families that lived in it 10 years apart. The families are very similar in many ways, both families only lived in the house for 28 days before being forced out. The stories revolve around the two oldest kids of each family. The first family is the Webbs, their story is centered around 17 year old Connor and Jules (aka Julianne and Annie), who are twins. One difference between the two families is the Webbs have a 3rd child, Abel. He's 11 years younger than his older brother and sister. The family previously had a dog named Butch, but once he died he was not replaced. Connor ran over Butch's tail, which Connor claims was an accident.
The family came to Amity in an act of desperation, their Dad had to sell off his Ford Dealership quickly due to shady financial dealings. They came to the small town of Concord because they liked it being a respectable town and Amity came cheap.
Ten years later the Hall family came to Amity. Again the story centers around the two kids, Gwen and Luke. Luke is one year older than Gwen. This family fled to Amity to get away from bill collectors chasing their father. Neither kid like their father, who's a jerk. Both families and stories are limited to only a few members. Aunt Ro is one of the other characters mentioned with this family. However for the Halls, we also meet Murray, who loves Luke. He loves Luke until Luke has a transformation, which leads to the book's finale.
After living at Amity both Connor and Gwen end up in an asylum. Amity took advantage of some of the mentally weakest members of the family to sink it's teeth into.
To give a sense of the atmosphere of this book, here's a sample of Ostow's spooky writing. "This was a burial ground, I know. It was where the witches hid, and where the crazies were locked away. It was lots of things, and Amity shows me them all. But the truth is, this space- it's more than any of these stories. It's the rotted, black heart of Amity herself."
Overall I would give this book a B, Ostow looks to have a bright future as a writer. While this was a good book, I expect her to grow leaps and bounds from this book.
themusicaddict
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