Top Ten Albums of 2015 Part 5 (Final Part)

2015 is about to wrap! Over the last few days of the year Young Ears, Fresh Perspective is doing a Top Ten Albums of the Year series! Each day we will be discussing two albums that set themselves head and shoulders above everything else that was released this year. The albums are in no particular order though as it is too difficult and unnecessary to rank them.

 

2. Saint Cecilia EP, by The Foo Fighters

Saint Cecilia EP, by The Foo Fighters may not be a full length album, but the tunes on it kick enough of a driving groove to put it up on the list. It was released on their website for free just after the terrorist attacks in Paris this year and is dedicated to the memory of those who lost their lives that fateful evening; though initially the EP was meant to be released as a sign of gratitude to all of their long time fans.

Lots of what you have come to expect from the Foos is on this record. There are punchy guitar riffs, meaningful lyrics, and rhythms that make you want to drum along to every last track on it. Dave Grohl seems to only get better with age, it seems. He and his band seem to still have as much energy and spirit as any young up and coming band today.

 

1. Rattle That Lock, by David Gilmour

The final album on my Top Ten Albums of 2015 list is Rattle That Lock, by former Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour. This is material that he worked over the last five years to put together, though it contains a piano piece that was recorded in his living room 18 years ago. Lyrics were written by Gilmour's long time collaborator and wife Polly Samson and also features the recording debut of his son Gabriel Gilmour.

The musical direction of Rattle That Lock is rather diverse; ranging from funk, to jazz, to pop, to rock, to ambient. Then again, I would expect nothing less from one of the masterminds behind most of Pink Floyd's greatest albums. It is eclectic and creative in all of the most fascinating ways possible. Definitely something for you to pick up if you are yearning for anything more since the final Pink Floyd album came out last year.

Wrapping things up:

That's a wrap, folks! That is all for 2015! I hope you liked what all I had to offer you this year. I will be taking tomorrow off (as it is a holiday) but will be returning to you Sunday night for the first post of the new year! In the mean time, enjoy time with your family and friends; turning up your favorite rocking tunes as loud as you possibly can!

Top Ten Albums of 2015 Part 4

2015 is about to wrap! Over the last few days of the year Young Ears, Fresh Perspective is doing a Top Ten Albums of the Year series! Each day we will be discussing two albums that set themselves head and shoulders above everything else that was released this year. The albums are in no particular order though as it is too difficult and unnecessary to rank them.

 

4. Tell Me I'm Pretty, by Cage the Elephant

Garage rock band Cage the Elephant put out their fourth studio album Tell Me I'm Pretty only a couple of weeks ago. However, even though it hasn't been out that long it still has worked its way into a Top Ten spot for this year. This time around the band had Black Keys front man Dan Auerbach produce their album. You can definitely hear his touches if you are familiar with The Black Keys at all.

While the riffs and melodies are fuzzy and resonating, the lyrics are where the band truly hits the mark this time around. They are chocked full with so much emotion that you will need a permission slip from your parents to get on the bus for the big class feel trip. Definitely something good for fans of raw guitars and emotional messages.

 

3. The Book of Souls, by Iron Maiden

Metal legends Iron Maiden put out their 16th studio album The Book of Souls this year. Running over 92 minutes it's their longest one to date. Quite frankly it's the longest album I've ever heard of ever. Definitely a lot of music packed into it. Then again, this shouldn't be that big of a surprise considering Maiden has been known over the years to do power metal tunes that just go on and on and on and yet never get even the least bit boring.

The Book of Souls features the band in top form. I'm not even saying they're good considering how old they are, but REALLY good. Seriously, Iron Maiden have only gotten better with age. You can tell they are firing on all cylinders and are putting out some of the best metal that anyone has in the longest time. It will make you feel like you're back in the mid-80's getting your rocks off with the Powerslave album, but on steroids.

Top Ten Albums of 2015 Part 3

2015 is about to wrap! Over the last few days of the year Young Ears, Fresh Perspective is doing a Top Ten Albums of the Year series! Each day we will be discussing two albums that set themselves head and shoulders above everything else that was released this year. The albums are in no particular order though as it is too difficult and unnecessary to rank them.

 
6. Skeletons, by Danzig

This time around horror punk/metal legend Glenn Danzig rather than doing an all original album decided to pursue a project that he had been wanting to do since 1979: an all covers album titled Skeletons featuring music that he grew up on and inspired him to become the kind of musician that we all know and love him for being. I have to admit that there is a pretty good mix of tunes on here that sums up that era pretty well.

Skeletons features songs from Elvis Presley, Aerosmith, ZZ Top, The Troggs, The Everly Brothers, and more. It has a rough lo-fi sound, but for those who are long time fans of Danzig and know where he came from, it kind of works to his advantage. It sounds like a rough recording of a bar gig rather than something that has been worked and polished to death by a producer in the studio.

5. Shockwave Supernova, by Joe Satriani

Guitar wizard extraordinaire Joe Satriani takes us on a ripping and tearing fret board adventure in his newest release Shockwave Supernova. This time around Joe tried something a little different, which was a concept album that tells a whole cohesive story. However, while usually these kinds of albums are done with lyrics that tie the story in together Satriani does this entirely with sound from instruments. It really is something else.

The focus of Shockwave Supernova is the alter-ego Joe created for himself as a performer back in the day. It goes through the inception and eventual retirement of the character. Even if such things aren't your shindig, you are guaranteed to find at least one song on this instrumental album that you like. It ranges from pulse pounding progressive metal to walking paced swanky blues with a swing. Take this fantastic voyage with Joe and see what kinds of things he has in store for you.

Top Ten Albums of 2015 Part 2

2015 is about to wrap! Over the last few days of the year Young Ears, Fresh Perspective is doing a Top Ten Albums of the Year series! Each day we will be discussing two albums that set themselves head and shoulders above everything else that was released this year. The albums are in no particular order though as it is too difficult and unnecessary to rank them.

8. The Hollywood Vampires, by The Hollywood Vampires

Alice Cooper this year put together an all-star line-up of musicians to pay tribute to the memory of the group of musicians/celebrities who died from rock n' roll excess in the 70's that would gather in the loft of the Rainbow Bar and Grille in LA. It is a primarily covers oriented album (with songs by the deceased club members) and features musicians like Paul McCartney, Robby Krieger, Orianthi, Dave Grohl, Slash, Brian Johnson, Joe Walsh, Perry Farrell, and Zak Starkey amongst others.

Overall it is a pretty fun album. You can hear all of these big name artists just jamming away and having a good time with music they love from dearly departed friends and idols. It's essentially a jam session on steroids, which in all honesty isn't a bad thing by any means. It's everything that rock n' roll is meant to be: fun.

7. Alone in the Universe, by Electric Light Orchestra

Alone in the Universe is Electric Light Orchrestra's first new album in 14 years. That said, it's pretty damn good. It has all of the soft melodic charm that you would hope to find in an ELO album. Jeff Lynne shows that once again he is a master song writer and has A grade musicians to help him bring his musical visions to life. Plus, it's also great that long time keyboardist Richard Tandy once again got behind the keys to help out.

While you can definitely tell the songs have some modern nuances to them, they still have many of the aspects you would have heard them bring out in their music in the 70's. To be honest, I think that is the best thing you can really ask for in a modern ELO album. You don't want them to abandon what made them good, but you also want them to expand and explore as well. This is definitely worth your while.

Top Ten Albums of 2015 Part 1

Hello one and all! I hope you have all had a splendid holiday. 2015 is coming to a close this week, so I figure I would keep with last year's tradition of doing a year-end wrap up by over the last few days of the year doing a countdown of the top 10 albums that came out this year. They will be listed in no particular order because I really do hate getting down to the nitty-gritty of trying to decide where in the list something belongs. It's all opinion, anyway. That said, each day up until December 31st will have two albums listed with a short description of each. Enjoy!

10. Dodge & Burn, by The Dead Weather

Jack White is one busy guy, isn't he? This year his side project The Dead Weather released its first album in five years: Dodge & Burn. If you are familiar with the band's brand of dark magic and gritty blues rock then this album is exactly what you would expect from them. The band once again combined thundering rhythms with dark memorable riffs and vocals that howl into the pouring midnight rain.

What makes Dodge & Burn special is that in an age where so many mainstream artists stick to what is short and catchy, The Dead Weather are not afraid to dip back into older forms of exploratory music that are unique and almost take you on a journey. It's stuff you can get lost in the groove of while letting the rest of the world kind of slip away. Definitely a must grab for those who are interested in the darker side of things.

9. The Purple Album, by Whitesnake

When I heard that David Coverdale was going to be putting out an album of covers from his years in Deep Purple I had mixed feelings of excitement and concern. I was THRILLED because that was the music that got me into him in the first place, but I was wondering how well he would be able to sing them given the fact that it's been 40+ years and his voice has aged tremendously. Fortunately I was for the most part pleasantly surprised by The Purple Album.

The Purple Album has its strong and weak points, but overall these are fresh sounding reinterpretations of these classic songs. Some were done better than others in my opinion, but if you remove yourself from the knowledge of what these songs originally sounded like then you might have a bit more fun. Overall the songs are a LOT heavier than the originals due to the fact that Whitesnake is more metal than Deep Purple ever was. Even so, those who have been long time fans will still find at least a few tunes that they feel do the originals some form of justice.

Scott Weiland Died of Drug Overdose

 
Former Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver singer Scott Weiland died weeks ago (December 3rd), leaving many people incredibly heart broken. Now after an investigation and autopsy of the singer's body, it has been confirmed that Weiland died of a drug overdose.

Weiland was found on his tour bus in Bloomington, MN having died from a combination of cocaine, ethanol and the amphetamine MDA having stopped his heart. Weiland had a history of cardiovascular disease, as well as asthma and multi-substance dependence according to the medical examiner.

Police had found cocaine on Weiland's band The Wildabouts tour bus in bassist Tommy Black's bunk. The bassist was subsequently arrested for the discovery.

All that said, maybe it's time rock stars and celebrities start re-examining how they party or just deal with their problems. If after all these decades people still haven't realized that drugs are not the way to go for either of those things then maybe we as a human race are sort of failing to a certain extent.

Throwback Thursday: Burn, by Deep Purple

 
In 1974, Deep Purple once again made a big change in their sound by switching out personnel. This time they swapped out bassist Roger Glover for bassist and backing/co-lead vocalist Glenn Hughes and lead vocalist Ian Gillan for David Coverdale. The band had been building up a great deal of momentum at that point and many people wondered if they would survive with the tension and change of line-up. With the release of Burn, they showed that they were still the rock powerhouse they have always been and then some.

Where the band's material with the previous line-up had been more prog/hard rock oriented, Burn had more elements of blues, funk, and soul. That is not to say that the music isn't still loud and proud with a great deal of classical influence as it had always been up to that point. There is still plenty of that old school Deep Purple sound to be found in the record among the other different sounds that were brought to the table with the new guys.

Burn is one of the single greatest title tracks and ways to start an album as well as concert (as they did a lot during the Mark III and IV era). It has one of those ripping and running Ritchie Blackmore guitar riffs while David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes absolutely howl away on vocals and Ian Paice goes manic on his drum kit. I think my favorite part of the song though is probably Jon Lord's organ solo. It is filled with squalls, melody, and a sense of class that only Lord could bring.

Mistreated is one of Deep Purple's crown jewels. It is a slow, but intense blues song. It is emotionally and musically powerful on so many levels. Plus, Blackmore really struts his stuff in both slow and shredding ways throughout different parts of the song. Coverdale pours his heart and soul into the vocals. You can truly tell he means and feels every last word he sings. It is truly touching and able to be empathized with.

While I wouldn't suggest starting with Burn if you are looking to give Deep Purple a try for the first time, it is a great one to have in your collection after you have listened to some of the previous albums with the classic line-up first. There are all kinds of fun, pleasant surprises throughout the record. Every track in some way or another has something good to offer. If you like hard rock, it's there. If you like prog, it's there. If you like blues, it's there. If you like funk, it's there. Definitely a must have.

Burn, by Deep Purple receives 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Tracks List:

1. Burn
2. Might Just Take Your Life
3. Lay Down, Stay Down
4. Sail Away
5. You Fool No One
6. What's Going On Here
7. Mistreated
8. "A" 200

Buy the album on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Burn-DEEP-PURPLE/dp/B0007ZEO4G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450425457&sr=8-1&keywords=Deep+Purple+Burn