Newly Purchased Cd's

[RJhog]

What cd's have you purchased lately? Tonight I bought:
1. Crooked X - Self Titled
2. Uriah Heep - Wake The Sleeper
3. Blackfoot - Strikes
4. Dokken - Lightning Strikes Again
5. Nazareth - The Newz
6. King's X - XV
7. Alice Cooper - Along Came A Spider
8. Mastodon - Crack The Skye

Last week I bought:

1. Journey - Arrival
2. Neil Young - Greatest Hits
3. Black Sabbath - Paranoid
4. Heart - Dreamboat Annie
5. Def Leppard - High 'N' Dry
6. Eagles - Long Road Out Of Eden
7. Night Ranger - Midnight Madness
8. Night Ranger - Dawn Patrol

Some of these I've had before and somehow managed to lose (probably that ex-wife). Most are totally new to me and I can't wait to listen. These will be on my iPod tonight and in my ear starting tomorrow. Maybe I'll actually start posting some reviews one of these days.

[Niels]

Last week I bought:

RUSH - Grace under pressure
RUSH - Signals
RUSH - Power windows
Van Halen - VHII
Van Halen - Women and children first
Van Halen - Mean street
Supertramp - Anthology

The RUSH-cd's were rather "new" to me, but the Van Halen-cd's, I have known since '79,'80 and '81, when I last bought them.

This week or the next, I'm PLANNING to buy:

Whitesnake - Saints and sinners
Whitesnake - Slide it in
Ozzy - Bark at the moon
Rainbow - Straight between the eyes
Rainbow - Bent out of shape

I bought all of these, when they were released, but I have'nt got a recordplayer any more, and I wanna hear them (loud) again.

[Gordon Williams]

My recent purchases

Rev Theory - Light It Up
Theory Of A Deadman - Scars And Souvenirs
Uriah Heep - Wake The Sleeper
Michael Schenker - In The Midst Of Beauty
Dokken - Lightning Strikes Again
Ashes Of Soma (independent release)
Tesla - Forever More

On the list to get: Queensryche - American Solider, and at least one of the Kiss DVD's released in the last couple of years

Would also be interested in hearing about what you guys think of some of your new purchases...Rjhog, interested in what you think of the Heep, Dokken, and Kings X (I like them all!)...but I do not have the Mastodon or the Nazereth, and they are both under consideration for me. Thanks.

[RJhog]

Gordon, so far I have listened to a little over half of the Dokken cd. I like the songwriting so far (a couple could really have been on "Under Lock And Key" way back when, especially Give Me A Reason. The bass guitar really takes me back to "The Hunter"). The drawback so far is Don Dokken's vocals. He sounds really weak to me. He sounded really great back in the 80's, but then again 20 years probably takes a toll on your voice. I'll let you know about the others once I have listened to them. I'm gonna try to start posting some reviews. So far I've only gotten to Whitesnake's Good To Be Bad.

[Gordon Williams]

Yes, he definitely has lost some vocal range over the years, but I would say that is mostly inevitable, as with most singers. I still like the band though...and the guitarist now in the band, Jon Levin, is a good player, whose style actually reminds me a good bit of George Lynch. Not quite at the same level as Lynch, but still very good, and a good addition to the band.

On a side note, I once read where Don Dokken said it was very helpful to the band to have a lawyer actually in the band! Jon Levin is a lawyer, as well. Maybe their dealings with record companies, promoters, etc. have gone better for them (especially financially!) since Levin joined the band. It may have been an interview I read here on this web site.

[rockertilldeath]

Just wanted to throw in my 2 cents worth;-) The new Uriah Heep is really good. I enjoyed it very much. It's cool how they can still "sound" like Heep after all these years. The new Heaven and Hell is THUNDEROUS, a great listen. The new Nazareth is next on the list to buy, and I am waiting for the new Wildhearts to be finished (can't be soon enough). How is the Schenker release ?

[Gordon Williams]

Rockertilldeath, I know this is way late in responding, but did you ever check out Schenkers "In The Midst Of Beauty"? If so, what do you think?

For me, I like it, but feel it could have been even better. Two main negative points (and its not really all that negative...) 1 - Gary Bardens vocals sound a little flat, not in key, but in terms of range...he tends to stay in a somewhat "unemotional" flat, even range...does not seem to hit many highs...no "style" changes throughout the record, so to speak. His vocal work has gotten better to me though, with repeated listens. 2 - Michael keeps his guitar tone virtually unchanged throughout the whole record, which is surprising and a little disappointing. Dont get me wrong, his guitar sounds good, but other than 1 slower tune, the entire disc maintains the same guitar sound. The playing is great, the songs are good, so if you are a Schenker fan, it is still well worth the money. I just think his guitar tone should have been changed up some throughout the record.

As an example, if you check out the guitar from Nuno Bettencourt, on last years Extreme release, "Saudades De Rock", you will hear a rock record where the tonal quality of the guitar was changed quite a lot during the record, which makes it an even better listen. Not just good songs, not just good playing, but changing the sound a little during a record can make it flow from track to track.

[RJhog]

Last Tuesday I bought:

Queensryche - American Soldier
Great White - Back To The Rhythm

Yesterday I bought:

Duff McKagan's Loaded - Sick
Burn Halo - Burn Halo
Hurt - Goodbye To The Machine

and 1 country cd

Jason Aldean - Wide Open

[Jon]

Last couple weeks I've picked up:

Queensryche--"American Soldier"
Mastodon--"Crack The Skye"
Russ Ballard--"Anthology"
and finally got my hands on Warrior--"Fighting For The Earth"

[RJhog]

Jon, what do you think of the Mastodon cd? I can't really get into it.

[Jon]

Haven't listened to it yet, but will this weekend and will let you know. Check out the allmusic.com review (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:ajfexzukldse), the funny thing is that the first line is exactly what I do with every new album I get. Their last 2 took a few listens to get into, maybe this one is the same?

[Jon]

I really like it! "The Czar" really grabbed me when I first heard it, I went back and listened to it again when the CD was over. I think listening with headphones brings out a lot you might miss. Incredible drumming too. Parts of it reminded me of Tool, Opeth and a little bit of King's X. Maybe it'll grow on you after a few listens?

[TageRyche]

I've picked up just two CDs recently.

Queensryche's American Soldier and In Flames' A Sense of Purpose.