Originally Posted on December 4, 2015.
Once again, December is somehow already here, as each year goes by quicker than the last. So it’s time to start the process of crowing the winner of the 2015 Album Of The Year award.
After a very quiet 2013, 2014 picked up the pace and featured nine new studio albums for consideration. 2015 continued that trend, with eight brand new studio releases that I picked up: some from big name favorites, others from unexpected artists that I figured I’d give a shot.
Here are the contenders for the 2015 Album Of The Year.
Scott Weiland And The Wildabouts – Blaster
Release Date: March 31, 2015
In February 0f 2013, Scott Weiland was unceremoniously fired from Stone Temple Pilots. He had already been on tour with his band, The Wildabouts, performing songs from both Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver as well as material from his solo outings. The logical next step was to have this lineup put together a studio album. Scott’s solo material tends to me more on the artsy alternative side, but Blaster retains a lot more of the rock element that he’s known for. Opener “Modzilla” is a chugging rocker that sets the tone for the album before “Way She Moves” brings in the pop element, reminiscent of STP’s Tiny Music album. “Hotel Rio” continues with the pop sensibility with quite the melodic & catchy chorus. “Amethyst” is a third straight pop-rock driven song, with jangly guitars and another melodic chorus. “White Lightning,” the album’s first single, returns to the chugging rocker sound, with a driving bassline and fuzzy guitars. Things get poppy again with “Blue Eyes,” and rocky again with “Bleed Out,” but neither are stand out tracks. Thankfully things get better with “Youth Quake.” “Beach Pop” couldn’t be more appropriately titled and continues the back & forth trend of rock tracks and pop tracks. It starts a rut that carries through the end of the album, with “Parachute” (featuring a nice guitar riff but plodding chorus), a less than stellar cover of T. Rex’s “20th Century Boy,” and dreadful country-infused closer “Circles.” Two bonus tracks are also available. The first is a cover of David Bowie’s “The Jean Genie,” but it’s worse than the cover of “20th Century Boy.” Late 2015 app-exclusive release “Back To The City” is much better and should have been included on the album in favor of any of the last four tracks. It’s a solid album, and I’ll be happy to check out potential follow up releases from the band. Sadly, guitarist Jeremy Brown passed away the day before the album release, so his writing and playing will be missed.
Top Three Songs:
- Hotel Rio
- Way She Moves
- Amethyst
Art Of Anarchy – Art Of Anarchy
Release Date: June 2, 2015
Scott Weiland isn’t known for working very quickly, so to have two full length studio albums featuring him on vocals in one year is quite weird. Even weirder is how this album was announced with him being a member of the band, only for him to deny that claim, stating he was paid only to write lyrics, sing the songs, and appear in the videos. You know, like the singer in a band would. The band features twin brothers Jon and Vince Votta on guitar and drums, current Disturbed bassist John Moyer, and Guns N’ Roses’ Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal as co-guitarist & producer. The album is much heavier than Weiland’s album with the Wildabouts and features more classic sounding vocals from him. The music, however, is more in line with the very bland, generic stylings of what you hear on modern rock radio. And that’s not a good thing. “Small Batch Whiskey” is as generic as it gets. “Time After Time,” the album’s second single, is better, but borderline annoying. “Get On Down” sounds like your typical attempt at the mid-tempo commercial crossover song. “Grand Applause” starts and ends with terrible, cheesy applause sound effects, and features a horribly cliché, modern rock song in the middle. Shit sandwich all the way. First single “Till The Dust Is Gone” follows, and features vintage Weiland vocals. I can see why it was chosen as the single as it’s probably the best song the album has to offer, though that isn’t saying much. “Death Of It” is a decent track as well, as Scott breaks out the big melodic chorus. “Superstar” returns to the bland nu-metal garbage that still haunts current rock radio. More of that follows with “Aqualung,” but it’s not as bad. “Long Ago” is not good. Closer “The Drift” is better, but more of the same. Looking at the album in my iTunes, it’s full of one and two star rated tracks. I can see why Weiland wants to distance himself from this project, despite him turning in a solid performance.
Top Three Least Bad Songs:
- Till The Dust Is Gone
- Death Of It
- The Drift
December 3, 2015 Edit: The reviews above were written on November 27, 2015, barely a week ago. Tonight, Scott Weiland passed away. Rather than update the reviews, I’ll leave them as they were… Frozen in time before one of my favorite artists of all time lost his battle. I had no idea that Blaster would become the final piece of recorded music from one of rock’s greatest frontmen of all time. Rest in peace, Scott. You will be missed.
The Darkness – Last Of Our Kind
Release Date: June 2, 2015
British rockers The Darkness returned in 2015 with their fourth studio album Last Of Our Kind. Much like AC/DC, you pretty much know what you’re going to get with these guys, but they do explore some new sounds on this one. Lead single “Barbarian” is classic Darkness and one of my favorite tracks in their entire catalogue. Amazing riffs and sky high vocals from frontman Justin Hawkins. Speaking of which, we hear a new side of his voice on second single “Open Fire,” which reminds me of The Cult in its guitar tone. Hawkins takes on a new tone during the verses and you don’t hear his famous howl until the end of the chorus. Third single “Last Of Our Kind” is more vintage Darkness that features massive backing vocals from more than 230 fans. “Roaring Waters” is a mid-tempo rocker once again full of guitar riffs and huge vocals. “Wheels Of The Machine” is a short, ballady thing, but it doesn’t do much for me. “Mighty Wings” returns to the rock sound, but with a fairly restrained chorus. “Sarah O’Sarah” is pure pop, and “Hammer & Tongs” is pure Rolling Stones. Bassist Frankie Poullain takes on lead vocals for the closer “Conquerors.” In November, the band re-released the album with four bonus tracks. The first two, “Messenger” and “Always Had The Blues” were previously released as Best Buy exclusive tracks upon the original release, and both are decent tracks. “Million Dollar Strong” starts with a humorous spoken intro before a short rocker takes over. I’m not a fan of Christmas songs, so new track “I Am Santa” (their second Christmas tune) isn’t of much interest to me. Overall it’s a solid album, with the first half being the best. I’m not sure I like it more than their previous album Hot Cakes though.
Top Three Songs:
- Barbarian
- Open Fire
- Last Of Our Kind
Breaking Benjamin – Dark Before Dawn
Release Date: June 23, 2015
Breaking Benjamin returned in 2015 with their first studio album since 2009’s excellent Dear Agony. When the tour for that album wrapped, the band went on hiatus due to frontman Benjamin Burnley’s health problems. Things got even more complicated when in 2011, the rest of the band assembled a greatest hits package that Burnley wasn’t too keen on. As a result, he fired the rest of the band (except the drummer, who would later quit). After a couple of years of dormancy, Burnley assembled a new lineup, played some shows, and went into the studio in 2014 to record a new album. One might expect a change in sound due to the lineup overhaul, but Dark Before Dawn is, for the most part, classic Breaking Benjamin. There are some new sounds here and there, and the rest of the group sings backup on the record for the first time in the band’s history. Much like 2006’s Phobia, the album opens and closes with short musical themes. Lead single “Failure” dominated rock radio upon release, as did second single “Angels Fall.” The latter of which is one of the most commercial tracks the band has ever released. As usual with Breaking Benjamin, several of the album tracks are much better than the singles. My two absolute favorite tracks, “Bury Me Alive” and “Hollow,” weren’t singles, but they’re both quite heavy and catchy as hell. Other album cuts, such as “Breaking The Silence,” “Never Again,” and “The Great Divide,” are great songs as well. The only song that really doesn’t click with me is the ballad “Ashes Of Eden.” Third single “Defeated” rounds out the album quite nicely before the outro track. Dark Before Dawn is a fantastic return for Breaking Benjamin, and the new lineup is more than capable live as well. It’s a relief since these guys are one of few bright spots in today’s modern rock scene.
Top Three Songs:
- Bury Me Alive
- Hollow
- Angels Fall
Delta Deep – Delta Deep
Release Date: June 23, 2015
Another year, another Def Leppard side project. This time, Phil debuts his latest group, Delta Deep. Phil plays guitar and handles vocals… Sometimes lead, sometimes co-lead, sometimes backing. Debbie Blackwell-Cook sings lead, while Forrest Robinson handles the drums. On bass? None other than Stone Temple Pilots’ bassist Robert Deleo. It’s an odd pairing of members of two of my favorite bands. The project itself has been described as ‘Led Zeppelin with Aretha Franklin singing,’ and that is fitting for some songs. The album is a mix of styles, from so-called ‘extreme blues,’ to more classic style blues, to more straightforward rock. It’s another avenue for Phil to really let loose with his writing, much like what he did for two Man Raze albums. Speaking of which, his Man Raze bandmates Simon Laffy and Paul Cook are featured on the track “Black Coffee.” The album opens with “Bang The Lid,” a bluesy track that leans more toward the rock side with a short, catchy chorus. “Whiskey” slows things down in a classic blues style. The first song released from the album, “Down In The Delta,” is the best track on the album. Phil plays some aggressive guitar riffs while Deleo & Robinson lay down a heavy rhythm section. The chorus takes on some Leppard stylings, and there’s a classic Phil Collen solo complete with shredding before a big instrumental break that builds the song up and up. Phil and Debbi share lead vocals on “Treat Her Like Candy,” a poppy mid tempo track. The rhythm section kicks off “Miss Me,” and once again really shines. This song sounds straight out of the Man Raze songbook and it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to imagine it as a Def Leppard song either. One of the best songs on the album with Phil & Debbi once again sharing lead vocals, as Debbi takes the first verse and Phil takes the second (sounding especially good). They alternate lines on the final verse The chorus is short and simple, but really sticks in your head. “Burnt Sally” slows things down to a classic blues tempo and is filled with plenty of old school blues riffs from Phil. Who knew he could play like that? The album’s first cover tune, “Private Number,” features David Coverdale sharing lead vocals with Debbi, and it’s a great song and performance from all involved. Another rocker, “Shuffle Sweet,” follows, and features Phil & Debbie alternating on lead vocals. Once again, it sounds like Man Raze and wouldn’t take much to be turned into a Leppard song either. The album’s second cover, “Black Coffee,” is another slower tune, with quite a different sounding lead vocal from Phil. Not one of my favorites though. “Feelit” is a nice, uplifting pop-blues (is that a new thing?) track with dual lead vocals yet again. The album’s third and final cover, Deep Purple’s “Mistreated,” closes out the album and features a lead vocal from the mighty Joe Elliott from Def Leppard. It’s an epic track at over eight minutes long and Joe really shines on the song. Debbi takes the lead on the second verse. Phil really channels one of his own guitar heroes, Richie Blackmore, for an extended solo. Joe comes back in to share vocals with Debbi for the final verse and chorus, including an actual duet portion with Joe & Debbi singing the same lines. Then the song draws to a huge close with Phil, Robert, and Forrest all going off on their respective instruments. I guess I’ll mention that Delta Deep also recently released “Take Me Home For Christmas,” which is… You guessed it… A bluesy Christmas track. I’ve already expressed my disdain for Christmas music so take that for what you will. As for the band’s debut LP, it’s a really good album that was quite the surprise to me, as I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did. I was quite burned out on DL’s side projects after going so long without a new studio album from Leppard, but that was rectified this year. Having said that, Delta Deep still ranks near the bottom of my list of ‘favorite’ side projects, and it’ll be a shame if Man Raze is retired in favor of this. But I’ll gladly check out a second Delta Deep album (which is already in the works, apparently).
Top Three Songs:
- Down In The Delta
- Mistreated
- Miss Me
Hollywood Vampires – Hollywood Vampires
Release Date: September 11, 2015
This is definitely one of the strangest albums I’ve ever purchased. Hollywood Vampires is somewhat of a supergroup formed by Alice Cooper and Aerosmith’s Joe Perry, supposedly to honor the rock stars who died in the 70’s thanks to all that rock star excess. Sadly, my interest in the project also meant supporting something that douche bag Johnny Depp is involved in, since he plays guitar on this album. The album also features guest appearances by Paul McCartney, Robby Krieger, Orianthi, Dave Grohl, Slash, Brian Johnson, Joe Walsh, Perry Farrell, and Zak Starkey. Members of some of my favorite bands are included in that list! The Doors, Foo Fighters, Slash, AC/DC, and The Who!? Alright then. The majority of the album is covers, but there are a few original tracks here. The intro, “The Last Vampire,” is a spoken word track (from Dracula) performed by the late horror great Christopher Lee. The first song is an original, a very old school 70’s style rocker called “Raise The Dead.” Then we moved into the covers, kicking things off with The Who’s “My Generation,” which features unofficial Who drummer Zak Starkey. It’s a fast, almost punk rock take on the song. It’s a classic rock standard, so you can’t not enjoy it. While that cover was pretty straight-forward, the version of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” is quite different to the original… At first. Rather than kicking straight into the well known riff, it slowly builds. Then once it kicks into high gear, AC/DC’s Brian Johnson takes over lead vocals from Alice Cooper. And it’s a perfect song for Johnson. Joe Walsh and Orianthi join in on guitars while Cooper takes on the harmonica. Cooper and Jane’s Addiction’s Perry Farrell take turns on lead vocals for a cover of “I Got A Line On You,” a song I recognize but could never have told you who did the original. But it’s turned into another high energy rocker. An awesome mash-up of two Doors classics, “Five To One / Break On Through (To The Other Side),” features Doors’ guitarist Robby Krieger himself. As much as I love it, I’m also a little sad that Ray Manzarek wasn’t around to be part of the track as well. Another mash-up follows, being Harry Nilsson’s “One / Jump Into The Fire.” The first time I heard it, I could immediately tell it was Dave Grohl on drums. Plus Robby Krieger sticks around on guitar, so members of two of my favorite bands contribute to this track. Next up is a cover of “Come And Get It,” which is a Badfinger tune that was actually written by Paul McCartney… Who plays bass, piano, and shares lead vocal (with Alice Cooper) on this version. It’s also the first track to feature Joe Perry on guitar. Perry also plays on the next track, a cover of T. Rex’s “Jeepster.” It’s early 70’s glam rock at its finest. “Cold Turkey,” a big melodic John Lennon cover, once again features Perry on guitar. Joe Walsh returns on guitar for a straightforward cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Manic Depression,” a song I know well thanks to the Cybernauts. “Itchycoo Park” is a poppy number with another big chorus. In fact it’s kind of surprising how melodic this album can be at times. Next up is our third and final mash-up… It kicks off with Cooper’s own “School’s Out,” though it features the surprise of AC/DC’s Brian Johnson joining in on lead vocals for the second verse and chorus. Even better, we get classic riffing from Joe Perry and SLASH. It’s arguably the track with the most star-power on the album. After some ferocious dueling solos, the song mixes with Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick In The Wall Part 2,” much like what Cooper does with the song in his live shows. The album draws to a close with another original track, “My Dead Drunk Friends.” It’s got a bluesy verse and chorus, which calls out those rockers that passed away in the 70’s. It veers off into a weird Irish pub chanty thing, then returns with a guitar solo and final chorus. It shouldn’t be surprising that I really enjoy the album considering how many of my favorite artists are involved (despite Depp’s involvement). It’s not something I’ll want to listen to a lot, but it’ll be a fun listen when I do decide to put it on.
Top Three Songs:
- Five To One / Break On Through (To The Other Side)
- School’s Out / Another Brick In The Wall Part 2
- One / Jump Into The Fire
Collective Soul – See What You Started By Continuing
Release Date: October 2, 2015
Full disclosure: This is the first Collective Soul studio album I’ve purchased. Before this, I had the greatest his collection, a live album (which I just realized has disappeared), and random tracks from iTunes. In my opinion, Collective Soul is one of the most underrated bands to come out of the 1990’s. It’s easy to forget how many big hits they had back then into the early 2000’s. They’ve been very consistent quality-wise from what I’ve heard from their most recent albums. See What You Started By Continuing is the band’s first new album since 2009’s (second) self-titled album. Opener “This” is vintage Collective Soul and my favorite track on the album. It’s an album full of solid to really good songs with catchy hooks, as they’re known for writing. In fact, only two songs on the album were rated with fewer than three stars: “Hurricane” and “Without Me” (two stars each). Everything else was three or higher. Of course I was drawn to “Memoirs Of 2005” purely due to the track name, as it especially makes me nostalgic for my senior year of high school and all of the great memories of that time. And the song itself really makes me think of a certain someone and everything that was happening at that time. It’s this year’s surprise record and it makes me want to really dive back into the back catalogue and explore the band beyond the hits.
Top Three Songs:
- This
- Contagious
- Exposed
Def Leppard – Def Leppard
Release Date: October 30, 2015
Things sounded pretty bleak in my write up for Def Leppard winning the 2008 Album Of The Year award for Songs From The Sparkle Lounge. It seemed they had given up on the album format in favor of releasing a few tracks at a time, such as the three new songs they included on their 2011 live album Mirror Ball: Live & More. I was dead set against that method, so when the band entered the studio in February of 2014 with the intention of recording a few songs for an EP but wound up with 12 songs on the go, I was thrilled! After a second session in May 2014, they had as many as 16 songs in progress. They continued to tinker with the songs while on tour in 2014, and had one final session in January of 2015. With a few additional overdubs and vocals recorded while on tour this year, they finally finished the album. The lead single, “Let’s Go,” was released on September 15 and was classic sounding Def Leppard. It’s a cousin to “Pour Some Sugar On Me,” with the big drums and similar guitar riff. I was even fortunate enough to see the first EVER live performance of the song in Moline, IL on October 7, 2015. The album’s second song, “Dangerous,” is the successor to songs like “Photograph,” “Animal,” and “Promises.” Things go all over the place from there, ranging from songs inspired by Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, and Queen – as heard on track three, “Man Enough.” While these influences are apparent, the songs still sound like Def Leppard, hence the album being self-titled. All five band members share lead vocals on “We Belong,” and Rick Allen gets his first writing credit since the X album on “Invincible.” Other highlights included “All Time High,” “Broke ‘N’ Brokenhearted,” and my favorite song they’ve released since the Euphoria album, “Wings Of An Angel.” The song is a perfect blend of the classic Def Leppard sound and the Slang album, which is my favorite album of all time. It also contains what might be my favorite solo Vivian Campbell has recorded for the band. It’s great that Def Leppard returned to the album format at all, but it’s even better that they did it with their best and most consistent album since 1996‘s Slang album. The album does not suffer from the same weaknesses as Songs From The Sparkle Lounge, as the songs are varied in style and structure and the production is top notch. For years, I kept saying I just wanted one more studio album from Def Leppard so I could enjoy the ride knowing that it could be their last album (something that never even crossed my mind when Songs From The Sparkle Lounge came out). They delivered, and while it’s unknown at this point if they will release another album in the future, I am at least at peace with the fact that I was able to enjoy the experience of a new Leppard album at least one more time.
Top Three Songs:
- Wings Of An Angel
- Dangerous
- All Time High
The winner will be posted on the Album Of The Year page on December 31, 2015.
2015 was also a busy year for non-studio album releases. Led Zeppelin finished off their remaster/deluxe edition series, and several of my favorite bands released live albums.
Led Zeppelin – Physical Graffiti – Deluxe Edition
Release Date: February 24, 2015
Led Zeppelin (or more so, Jimmy Page) continued their remaster project that began in 2014 with remastered deluxe editions of Led Zeppelin I, II, III, VI, and Houses Of The Holy. 2015 started off with Physical Graffiti, the band’s epic double album. The remaster sounds crisp and fresh, and the packaging once again mimics the original LP release with a windowed slipcase and individual sleeves for the discs. The album itself is best known for the tracks “In My Time Of Dying,” “Houses Of The Holy,” “Trampled Under Foot,” “Kashmir,” and “Ten Years Gone.” A third disc of previously unreleased bonus tracks is included with the deluxe edition, and it kicks off with “Brandy & Coke,” the initial rough mix of “Trampled Under Foot.” Robert Plant sounds especially raw on this take. Other than that, it’s not far off from the finished album version. An early version of “Sick Again” follows, and is merely an instrumental, shorter version of what ended up on the album. The rough mixes of “In My Time Of Dying” and “Houses Of The Holy” don’t differ too much from the final versions. An early version of “In The Light,” titled “Everybody Makes It Through,” is a neat insight to the song being built. An alternate mix of “Boogie With Stu” again doesn’t differ much from the album version. The companion disc closes with “Driving Through Kashmir,” an early draft of one of the band’s most well known songs. Again, it doesn’t differ much from the final version, but hearing a rough version of such a classic rock song is still really cool.
Van Halen – Tokyo Dome In Concert
Release Date: March 31, 2015
Van Halen returned from dormancy this year with their first ever live album with David Lee Roth. Recorded in Tokyo, Japan on June 21, 2013, the album draws entirely from his original six albums with the band and 2012’s A Different Kind Of Truth. The setlist is pretty great, as it features a cross section of hits, a few deep cuts, and three tracks from their latest album. Musically, the band sounds as strong as ever. Vocally… Well, it’s Roth being Roth. He misses notes and sometimes talks his way through songs completely out of rhythm, which can be completely distracting and really hurt how much one can enjoy this. Sadly, one of the worst performances from Roth is on “I’ll Wait,” one of my favorite songs. But on plenty of other tracks, he’s not so bad, and Eddie Van Halen is the real reason anyone would be listening to this album anyway. I think Van Halen with Roth is really meant to be enjoyed in person rather than on TV or CD, but this live album serves as a nice document of their 2012-2013 tour and perhaps marks the end of the second (third?) Roth era.
Slash feat. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators – Live At The Roxy 9.25.14
Release Date: June 16, 2015
Fresh off winning the 2014 Album Of The Year award for their fucking amazing album World On Fire, Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators return with a live album recorded just days after the release of the new album in September 2014. The album features a nearly complete show recorded at The Roxy in West Hollywood, having only one song excluded (for some reason). Of course we get a handful of Guns N’ Roses tracks, which sound better with this group (especially Myles) than with what’s left of GNR. “Nightrain” and “You Could Be Mine” are always highlights. “Rocket Queen” is extended to over 18 minutes as Slash plays a super-extended guitar solo. “You’re Crazy” is a nice change, but I could do without the way overexposed “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “Paradise City.” Thankfully, the majority of the rest of the set draws from Slash’s three most recent solo albums. “Halo,” “Back From Cali,” “You’re A Lie,” and “Anastasia” are highlights, as is “Doctor Alibi” as sung by bassist Todd ‘Dammit’ Kerns. Velvet Revolver is represented by one song, “Slither.” Five of the six World On Fire songs played that night are included, with “Automatic Overdrive” being the only song cut from the entire show. Many of my favorite WOF songs are featured, such as “Stone Blind,” “Wicked Stone,” “30 Years To Life,” and the title track. I wish “Too Far Gone” and “The Dissident” had made the cut too, but I’m just glad to have the album represented as well as it is. The mix on the album is a little muddy, but the performance is top notch and I’m thankful to have a document of this tour. I can’t wait for what these guys do next, as every album seems to be better than the last.
Led Zeppelin – Presence – Deluxe Edition
Release Date: July 31, 2015
The final Led Zeppelin reissues were released on the same day, covering their last two studio albums and ahem.. coda. Presence saw Zep returning to more of a guitar based sound. The most well known songs from the album are the heavy and epic “Achilles Last Stand” and “Nobody’s Fault But Mine.” Also featured is “For Your Life,” a song played at their 2007 reunion show that I’m not sure had ever been played live before. Only a few tracks are included on the bonus disc. The first being an early version of “Achilles Last Stand,” which was titled “Two Ones Are Won.” Also included are early mixes of “For Your Life,” “Royal Orleans,” and “Hots On For Nowhere.” Perhaps the track of most interest to Zeppelin fans is “10 Ribs & All/Carrot Pod Pod,” a previously unreleased instrumental that starts with just a piano before building into a bigger song with guitars, drums, bass. The remix sounds great and the bonus tracks are really cool, but perhaps not as good as some of the other deluxe editions.
Led Zeppelin – In Through The Out Door – Deluxe Edition
Release Date: July 31, 2015
Upon its original release as an LP, Led Zeppelin’s final studio album In Through The Out Door was released in paper bag. In an effort to keep the reissues as authentic as possible, the two disc set was also released in a mini-paper bag with two small sleeves (a disc in each) and the CD booklet. The album saw the band explore some more commercial sounds, such as on the hits “All My Love,” “Fool In The Rain,” and “In The Evening.” Once again, the remastered album sounds fantastic. The bonus disc features “rough mixes of work in progress” of each of the tracks on the album. Some have alternate titles: “South Bound Suarez” is “Southbound Piano,” “Carouselambra” is aptly titled “The Epic,” “All My Love” is aptly titled “The Hook,” and “I’m Gonna Crawl” is simply called “Blot.” The tracks aren’t far off from the album versions, but once again it’s neat to hear the rough versions. It’s a shame Zep lost their drummer and called it a day, because it would have been interesting to see where they went from here.
Led Zeppelin – Coda – Deluxe Edition
Release Date: July 31, 2015
The band called it quits after the death of drummer John Bonham, but they released their epilogue Coda in 1982. The album pulls together unreleased tracks and outtakes from their entire career. Opener “We’re Gonna Groove” was actually from a live concert, but they stripped away the audience noise and re-recorded the guitars. The deluxe edition features not one but two bonus discs full of previously unreleased material and additional tracks. Highlights include the early, alternate version of “When The Levee Breaks,” which is titled “If It Keeps On Raining.” It’s a lot different and not as epic as the final version. A previously unreleased song, “Sugar Mama,” features classic Jimmy Page riffs, but a very repetitive vocal. Another highlight is b-side-turned-hit “Hey, Hey, What Can I Do.” The second bonus disc features more rough mixes of songs from the band’s entire career. I had been wanting to pick up Led Zeppelin’s studio albums for awhile, and the reissue project was the perfect excuse to actually do it. Every album was given a fresh sound and the bonus material on each adds a new layer to the songs. Well done, Jimmy. Well done.
Aerosmith – Rocks Donington
Release Date: September 4, 2015
Aerosmith headlined the Download Festival in Donington, England on June 15, 2014… And out of that, we get their first proper live album and DVD. The full concert is included on both, and the performance is every bit as great as you would expect from these guys. To have the original five band members playing as well as they do 41 years into their career is amazing. The album sounds pristine, but my one complaint would be the setlist. The set is appropriate for a huge festival, but as a die-hard fan, it leaves something to be desired. Too many pop-hits, not enough 70’s rockers and post-comeback deep cuts. It would have been nice to have more hard rockers in the set at a rock festival rather than songs like “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” and the dreadfully overplayed “Cryin’.” “Jaded” is not a good live song, and “Livin’ On The Edge” is just as overplayed as “Cryin’,” though the crowd eats it up. Only one song from their most recent album, 2012’s Music From Another Dimension!, is included: the Joe Perry sung “Freedom Fighter.” Humorously, after the band had finished their set, the audience started chanting “Fuck Curfew!” at Steven Tyler’s encouragement, and the band put their instruments back on to close things out with live classic “Mama Kin.” Aerosmith’s last two live DVDs were terribly assembled partial shows with random footage and interviews spliced between songs… It’s about damn time they finally release a proper show.
Rush – R40 Live
Release Date: November 20, 2015
Rush hit the road in 2015 for their R40 tour, celebrating 40 (technically 41) years as a band. The tour was described as “likely their last tour of this scale,” and drew from tracks spanning their entire career. I caught the tour in May, and it was an amazing show. The band recorded their two shows in Toronto in June and the result was a two disc live set with an accompanying DVD. As with all Rush live records, the sound is fantastic, and the setlist draws from the majority of their studio albums. It starts with songs from the most recent album, 2012’s Clockwork Angels, and works its way back chronologically to their debut, self-titled album. Highlights include openers “The Anarchist” and “Headlong Flight,” as well as”Far Cry,” “Animate,” “Between The Wheels,” “Losing It” (being played for the first time ever!), “Xanadu,” and “What You’re Doing/Working Man.” The CD version features several bonus tracks, including classics like “One Little Victory,” “Distant Early Warning,” “Red Barchetta,” and an alternate performance of “Losing It.” You can’t go wrong with a live Rush album. Hopefully they’ll play more shows in the future, but if not… This is a great document of them going out on top.
Foo Fighters – Saint Cecilia – EP
Release Date: November 23, 2015
A mysterious countdown was posted by the Foo Fighters in October. On November 23, all was revealed: an EP of brand new songs! First of all, it’s awesome just unexpectedly getting five brand new songs out of nowhere. Second… It was FREE! The opener & title track, “Saint Cecilia,” is awesome. It’s a tight race between this one and closer “The Neverending Sigh” for my favorite of the five. “Saint Cecilia” is more mainstream, but it’s catchy as hell. It reminds me a bit of Wasting Light, like “These Days” or “Walk.” To be compared to that album is one hell of a compliment. Track two, “Sean,” is a short rocker that is like a mix of their first two albums and “Something From Nothing.” Another awesome track. The chorus makes me laugh a bit since it’s just a random shouting of “SEAN!” “Savior Breath” is another rocker with very raw production and a sound once again similar to the band’s first album. The fourth song, “Iron Rooster,” is a bit of a mid-tempo track similar to something from the second or third album. It’s my least favorite of the five, but it’s a solid track. The closer, “The Neverending Sigh,” was built on a leftover/unfinished track called “7 Corners” from 20 years ago. So it naturally shares similarities to the first album, but with modern qualities as well. It’s a riff-heavy rocker. The opening reminds me of “Miss The Misery” from Wasting Light, before the riffs kick in and the song takes off. Once again, the song has a raw quality to it. Had the band combined the best parts of this EP and the best parts of Sonic Highways, they would have another home run of an album. Dare I say this EP is better than the actual Sonic Highways album? Perhaps. “Something From Nothing,” “The Feast And The Famine,” and “Outside” withstanding, of course. Hopefully this EP inspires the band to get back to basics by going into the studio to hammer out a rock album rather than chasing concepts like Sonic Highways.
It was another awesome year for rock, with some surprises and a few tragedies.
TurnToDust86 