735. Rainbow / Long Live Rock 'n' Roll. 1978. 5/5

As brilliant as their previous album Rising was, for Rainbow to then follow it up with an album that is so inspired, so ground breaking and so influential to so many who have come since, is quite an achievement. And yet that is what they have done with Long Live Rock 'n' Roll, an album that has legendary songs performed and written by some of the greats of all time.
Here then is Long Live Rock 'n' Roll, a pinnacle in the still fledgling heavy music genre, at a time when Deep Purple was on hiatus, and Black Sabbath appeared on its last legs. It was the third album for Rainbow, by which time the chief contributors Ritchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio had found their groove, and produced a collection of magnificent tracks that roll effortlessly into a majestic album.

It all starts with the title track, the anthemic "Long Live Rock 'n' Roll", which starts the album off with a bang. The lyrics say it all, the riff stands the test of time. Ronnie stands at the front and centre and leads you in the verses and into the chorus. Ritchie rifles through the chorus before sending his guitar through the solo break. This is followed by the highly underrated "Lady of the Lake". This has another great Ritchie riff, simple yet powerful, while Ronnie's layered vocals come through the bridge strong and forceful, pushing it into your chest, and forcing you to sing along as powerfully as he is delivering it to you. Just a great song.
I've never understood the reasoning behind "L.A. Connection" being released as a single. Was it just to keep the album's most noticeably brilliant songs only for those that forked out for the whole album? I don't know, but certainly this would probably have been the last song I would have thought of releasing to promote the album. It's a good song, but only good. It isn't anywhere near as strong lyrically or musically as the other brilliant songs found around it.
Case in point - "Gates of Babylon". This is high on my list of the best songs ever written. Utterly magnificent, firstly by the energy, drive and passion of Ronnie's vocals, then drawn away by Ritchie's brilliant guitar solo through the middle, along with Cozy Powell's enormous drum work, only for Ronnie to return and finish the job. Then you can also add on to that list "Kill the King", yet another brilliant composition of guitar riffs from Ritchie combined with the emotive and powerful vocals from Ronnie. Everything about this is a speed metal song that isn't speed metal, but you can sure hear how it inspired those bands in Europe and especially Germany to follow that path.
"The Shed (Subtle)" is the other song on the album alongside "L.A. Connection" that is a standout for the reason of its averageness rather than its brilliance. Once again, it is a good song, but surrounded by the gems that this album holds, it just seems to take a back seat to them. The band takes the rock 'n' roll element seriously on "Sensitive to Light", a song with a real rock beat, and a rolling, rollicking feel to the song.
The closing song, given the way the whole album has preceded it, is completely unexpected, and 180 degrees apart from them in regards to the performance. But it is a masterpiece, and an amazing musical experience. Combining Dio's amazing vocal range, and Ritchie's talent on the guitar, "Rainbow Eyes" completes the circle for this band. Incorporating flute and violin, this song illustrates the versatility of these two artists. Dio's vocals are just awesome. He hits the notes, he sings the emotion, he just blows minds with his vocal chords. The pureness of his voice is unbelievable.

This album is a masterpiece, one that has stood the test of time and is still just as brilliant today as it was when it was released. Ritchie played most of the bass guitar on this album as well (being 'between bassists' at the time), and he is spectacular. Ronnie's vocals are just amazing. His range in belting out songs like "Long Live Rock n Roll", "Gates of Babylon" and "Kill the King', to the joyous subtleties of "Rainbow Eyes" capture perfectly the brilliance and magnificence of his voice. Of all the recordings he has been a part of, Long Live Rock 'n' Roll is the snapshot in time of his amazing talent. Add to this the marvellous drumming from the incomparable Cozy Powell, and you have an album that is at the very top of the tree in all-time releases.

Rating:  Sleep with the Devil, the Devil will take you away  5/5

734. Cinderella / Long Cold Winter. 1988. 2.5/5

I always thought that Cinderella's biggest problem in following up their debut Night Songs was going to be - could they produce anything different from that album? Or, if they were going to travel down the same road, could they make it good enough that it didn't matter that it was the same?
OK, so it's pretty obvious from the opening that they decided to start heading down that same old road, but the start is worth it. "Bad Seamstress Blues / Fallin' Apart at the Seams" is a reasonable opening track, easing you into the album, while the rocking "Gypsy Road" kicks it along nicely, similarly to "Shake Me" from the first album. It's the song that gets you into the album, and you need that early on. Good solo in the middle. However, having sucked you in to the album, this is followed by the power ballad "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)". Well, it's a bit early in the piece to be introducing this, but I guess this was their 'money song', the one they hoped would get the radio airplay and make them their fortune. Here though it just brings the album to a screeched halt. Again - why stop the momentum of an album by introducing the slow ballad at the wrong time? Madness. "The Last Mile" and "Second Wind" restore some order back to the album, both good tempo songs that move along nicely, which only makes it more strange that they had "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)" placed where it is.
The title track follows, and really stalls everything. This is a molasses-stretching yawn fest, a real boredom-inducing blues song that, if you like that kind of thing you will probably find is riveting. But for goodness sakes, it just reminded me of the worst of Gary Moore's 1990's blues escapism. Now this album is just mixing genres all over the place. By doing this, how did they expect to entice people to buy it? As it turns out, by the two songs I have just bagged. They were the stars of this album, and boosted its sales to the stars. Shows what I know. But that's personal taste for you.

There is enough here to like for fans of the first album. There is also an obvious movement through to a bluesier rock here as well, so if that tickles your fancy, and you like the occasional power ballad, then no doubt you will be a fan. Even fans of the harder rock side will get  kick out of songs like "Fire & Ice" and "Gypsy Road" and even "Take Me Back". For me though, there is just too much variation in the style of songs here for me to enjoy the album as a whole. I still enjoy pieces of it today, but it's like picking through a box of chocolates to find your favourites and avoid the turkish delights. I would run ten miles to avoid songs such as "Don't Know What You've Got (Till It's Gone)" and "Long Cold Winter". These really do not appeal to me on any level, and cast a pall over the album as a whole. So while the road is similar, it certainly has its diversions, and potholes. Big fans of the band will no doubt love this. I still come away dissatisfied and disappointed with the end result.

Rating:  I guess I've always been a travelling man.  2.5/5

733. Metallica / Lords of Summer (First Pass Version) [Single]. 2014. 2/5

In the absence of any new material for the last six years (if you choose to ignore Lulu, which I most definitely choose to do!), this single was released in the middle of 2014, as a portent to the possible sessions that were going on in regards to possibly putting together material for a possible new album. Possibly. So, like very other poor sap out there, I plonked down my hard earned to have a listen to what Metallica circa 2014 sounds like.
I am somewhat at a loss as to why the song that was written and released had to be over 8 minutes in length. I mean, it comes across as though they just had about six different riffs out there, so if we throw them all together in varying parts of this, then extend them as long as we possibly can, then we will have something we can sell the public on. Oh, and it's over 8 minutes long, so you know it must be quality.

Really? I mean... really?!

I don't hate this. Let's get that out there. It has merit. Or at least, pieces of it have merit. I can hear some good things in here, but I can't hear anything that really makes me want to sing, or headbang, or even vaguely tap finger-drumsticks on the table. And why the time changes? I thought they had gotten all of this out of their system long ago. In the past they fit, now we go from frenetic shredding to slow strumming then back to mid-tempo, all within about 60 seconds. That annoys me. So do Hetfield's vocals when he goes into his "St. Anger" high pitched wailing. Enough James, St. Anger sucked, let's go back to singing in mid range.

Is it the drumming that annoys me the most about this? I think so, even more so than James' vocals. Seriously, if Lars makes his drumkit any smaller he'll be playing the bones instead of the drums. And you really notice it here. It is simplified stuff, because he simply doesn't have any variety in his kit anymore to do anything else! Check out the thousands of drummers in metal bands around the world right now - the ones Lars inspired back in the 80's when he was the out and out king of drumming. They have toms galore to play rolls on. They play their double kicks at lightning speed, because Lars did it. Every drummer in the world is now more powerful and more proficient in music because of Lars... except Lars himself. He is now denigrating his own music, because he wants to play on a box and a piece of tin. I don't get it. This song is not as full sounding as it should be because Lars does not have a drumkit to play onto make it sound that way.
And the solo mid-section just goes on way too long.
Anyway...

If this song makes the next album, then beware the rest, because they need to work a bit harder if they are going to make something that captures the public's attention for the right reasons. This isn't it.

Rating:  Lords of summer have returned... to mediocrity perhaps... 2/5

732. Iron Maiden / Lord of the Flies [Single]. 1996. 3.5/5

This was the second single released by Iron Maiden from The X Factor album, with Blaze Bayley having come into the fold to replace Bruce Dickinson on vocals. Written by Janick Gers and Steve Harris, the lyrics are based on the famous novel of the same name. I like the song, but it barely seems to get out of second gear all the way through. In a way, the whole of the album tends the same way.

Additional songs here are cover versions, The Who's "My Generation" and UFO's "Doctor Doctor". Both songs sound rather flat compared to the original versions by the original artists. This has been a sore point for me for a long time. The originals are energetic, full of life. And this is Iron Maiden, one of the finest bands... ever! Unfortunately, I really think they should have played these in a live atmosphere and really gone to town on them. Instead, we have a studio feeling, as though it is over produced. You can't over produced these two songs, they really needed to be let loose. While "My Generation" has an innate energy on this recording, it isn't anything spectacularly different, while I must admit I was hoping for a breakout version of "Doctor Doctor" that just doesn't arrive.
Overall, this single is satisfactory without sending shivers down the spine.

Rating:  Saints and sinners, something willing us...  3.5/5

731. Poison / Look What the Cat Dragged In. 1986. 3.5/5

At a time when it was almost mandatory to wear makeup and have teased hair if you were going to make the scene (ala bands such as Motley Crue, Ratt, Bon Jovi and W.A.S.P.), Poison came forth with their debut album Look What the Cat Dragged In, hoping to break into an already saturated market where MTV and sugar coated power ballads seemed to be the only way to make an impact. Winding back to those days, and if you ignored the physical features as they were presented to you (I was from the denim-jacketed Maiden/Metallica side of metal rather than the spandex/glam side) you could generally find something on the vinyl that caught your interest from such bands. If you could do that, you could hopefully see past the syrup-dripping ballads that came as part-and-parcel of albums like this, and enjoy it for what they were, and concentrate on those songs that had some balls about them.
When this was released it was almost impossible to ignore given the airplay on music video shows that the singles received. What was tougher was finding anything gritty enough to make it worthy of purchase. In the days where you hoped one of your mates bought the album so you could tape it to cassette for your own use, no one was jumping at this on the basis of the singles that were released. Eventually, the purveyor of all to those kids with no income, the second hand record store, provided my first vinyl copy of this album, and I was able to finally experience what was beyond the money-spinning singles.

Fast forward back to the present day, and listening to the album now still reminds me of those days in the late 1980's. It also shows the double edged sword that most hair metal / glam metal bands were working under. You could write and play the harder, faster songs, the ones that made teenagers jump around their bedrooms playing air guitar (something that it always looked like CC DeVille was doing on stage anyway). But to get on the radio, you had to have a ballad, or a pop song, thus singles such as "I Won't Forget You". Ugh. You also had to have a video to support that power ballad, in order to get heavy rotation on the music video shows.
As an album, I still get a lot of enjoyment from this. The songs are mostly up-tempo teenage anthems, preaching good times and anti-parent themes with the usual sexual innuendo thrown in. Get past some of the lyrical content, and you have some fairly impressive happy guitaring from C.C. DeVille, while the rest of the band are tight and precise. Rikki Rockett's drumming is excellent, as is Bobby Dall's bass work. There can be no complaints about the quality of the musicianship. Bret Michaels vocals convey each song's message to a nicety.
Still, some songs for me are of a better quality than others. The high energy songs such as "Look What the Cat Dragged In", "Talk Dirty to Me", "Want Some, Need Some" and "Let Me Go to the Show" are my favourites, and given they all feature on the second half of the album it probably helps my enjoyment of the album as a whole. I'm not as enamoured with songs such as "Cry Tough", "I Want Action" and "I Won't Forget You". They don't really do anything for me lyrically or musically.
There's no doubt I probably enjoy this album more now than I did back in the late 1980's, and most of that is because of nostalgia for the end of those teenage years, and what they represent. If it was only to be represented by that, this could even rate higher.

Rating: The night rolls up and I do it again. 3.5/5

730. Paul Di'anno / The Living Dead. 2006. 2.5/5

As it turns out, I have never been able to locate a copy of Di'anno's album Nomad, which would appear to be unfortunate until I found this album, and it turns out it is exactly the same tracks, though apparently remastered and shuffled in order, with a few extra tracks tagged on. It could well be that I never get to hear the original album, but it would be nice to once, just to hear if there is any difference whatsoever. I'm guessing there is not. Given Paul's dalliance with the re-recording or playing material from his days in Iron Maiden, perhaps it is ironic that now he is re-recording/re-hashing his own material, from a brief six years in the past. Putting that aside, the songs here stack up reasonably well. Much of this would compare favourably with some of the best of his other post-Maiden career, from albums such as Fighting Back and Murder One.

The playing might be great, but Paul's vocals are literally all over the place. It just feels like he couldn't decide how he was going to sing on this album, so he decided to cover every base available. I mean, he sang some parts of songs in a similar register that he used in his younger, Iron Maiden days, and he sang some parts of songs in an almost falsetto high pitched voice that defies description, except to say that it doesn't sound anything like Paul Di'anno at all. Then he sang some parts of songs with a modern day growl, that again just doesn't suit him historically at all. Now, it may well just be me, but for someone like Paul, for whom the majority of his fan base is derived from his initial recordings with Iron Maiden and whose instrument is his voice, the surely it is his selling point, and he needs to make sure it is at the peak of its form. There doesn't seem much sense in putting out an album, no matter what the music is like, if his voice isn't in there driving the songs. I have no problem with him doing something different if that is what he is trying to achieve, but it is all so uneven here that the good work done instrumentally is actually being dragged down by the vocals, and that should never be the case when you are the big name behind the recording in the first place.
The songs themselves actually have quite a lot to offer. There's plenty of hard rocking, mostly heavy material, with belting drums and riffing and solo-work on the guitars. The opener "The Living Dead" is a great way to start the album, lulling you in but its understated melody. "Mad Man in the Attic" and "War Machine" follow this up with a real metal feel. "Nomad" and "S.A.T.A.N." are the best of the rest of the album, with the guitars being the stars of the show, overshadowing the title artist's vocals.
The cover version of Megadeth's "Symphony of Destruction" seems to have fans equally divided. Many feel it is better than the original and an excellent version. Personally I think it is the epitome of the problems this album has with the vocals. They are everywhere. There is no uniformity, and no effort to be so. They are obviously meant to go for high to low and woe. I find it far too distracting to enjoy. Also tacked onto the end are another two live cover versions of Iron Maiden songs form Paul's era, this time being "Wrathchild" and "Phantom of the Opera". Neither is any better or worse than the thousands of other versions Di'anno has put out over the last 30-odd years.

Rating:  I have no future but always to roam alone. 2.5/5

729. Hughes Turner Project / Live in Tokyo. 2002. 4/5

The most exciting part about the release of the initial Hughes Turner Project album was to hear how the combination of the two partners vocals would turn out, as well hopefully producing some great material. While the vocals melded well, the great material didn't quite eventuate.
However, this live album is something quite different. Not only do we get the best of their material from their debut album in a live setting, we get a range of top shelf, classic songs from their past history, which combines some of the best songs released by the bands Deep Purple and Rainbow from their tenure in those bands.
While songs from their HTP project do come to life better in this live environment, most notably "You Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll" and "Ride the Storm", as well as the always impressive "Devil's Road", it is the songs from their past that are the stars of this release. Listening to Glenn Hughes singing to the stars in "Mistreated" and "Stormbringer" is a treat in itself. The man that the Japanese dubbed "The Voice of Rock" again proves himself here with these Deep purple numbers. So much so that it makes his track that he recorded with Tony Iommi on Seventh Star, "No Stranger to Love", seem so much more ordinary because of it. His vocals on that album don't match what he can really do, and even this version of the song pales in comparison to those great Purple numbers. Joe Lynn Turner does his Rainbow number s with justice, especially "Spotlight Kid" and "I Surrender".
Though the two albums that this duo released, Hughes Turner Project and 2 were both somewhat disappointing for me, it was never through the quality of their musicianship, but just that they were a bit generic in their writing. This live album increases their value, as well as showcasing the amazing vocal capabilities of both gentlemen, along with the guitaring of Akira Kajiyama, who is quite scintillating in places. Fans of these gentlemen's contributions to Deep Purple and Rainbow will appreciate this album the best.

Rating:  No point running, cos it's coming your way.  4/5.

728. Helloween / Live in the U.K. 1989. 5/5

There are few bands who could claim to have had such amazing success over the course of their first three full length albums as the band Helloween had in the mid to late part of the 1980’s. Having first released their debut self-titled EP, they followed that up with three truly amazing albums in “Walls of Jericho”, “Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1” and “Keepers of the Seven Keys Part 2”. The band was on a rising tide, a king tide at that, and there appeared that little could be done to stop them.
Riding high on that success, it was decided that Helloween's tour of the UK in 1988 would be recorded in order to produce a live album, something that could preserve for all time the band’s ultimate line up and their live presence at this stage of their career. They had already supported Iron Maiden that year on their Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour, but this was their first headline tour of the UK, and as such was a big move for them. It was also a time of tension within the band and with their record label, Noise. There was discontent with how much the band was being paid, compared to the amount they were bringing in with album sales and merchandise sales, along with the constant touring the band was doing, something that founding member Kai Hansen had tried to address on a number of occasions in the recent two years. The problems with Noise would eventually lead to a lawsuit between the two entities, while the tension within the band itself was also close to reaching boiling point, and the consequences of which were also close to coming to fruition.
Despite all of this, the tour was a great success, with the band playing a full setlist that covered all of their amazing work to this point of their career, and a snapshot of that was to eventually see the light in the form of the live album entitled “Live in the UK”.

This album was taken from recordings over two consecutive nights at the Edinburgh Playhouse in Scotland in November 1988. The seven songs featured here cover the three full studio albums that Helloween had released to this point. And each of them are perfectly brilliant versions of the songs, with the band and its members all firing on all cylinders. Each brought the right attitude and sense of occasion to each song. The sense of fun in the lyrics of "Dr Stein" and "Rise and Fall" come through perfectly in this live setting, with lead vocalist Michael Kiske playing the perfect role. "A Little Time" and "Future World" sound just as good as their studio versions, powerful and forthright in the rhythm section of drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg and bass guitarist Marcus Grosskopf, setting the platform for the star guitarists in Michael Weikath and Kai Hansen to lay down their riffs and solo pieces. The soaring melodic tones of both guitars and Kiske’s vocals during "We Got the Right" send chills down the spine, which is repeated in the closing "How Many Tears", with Kiske wringing every last piece of angst and passion out of the song. It is an amazing version of this already brilliant song, and a version that perhaps has never been bettered. Just brilliant. And of course there is “I Want Out”, the forever fan favourite that again is a perfect rendition here on this live album.
Perhaps the only criticism I can find of this release is that it is far too short. In times where the majority of bands releasing live albums were doing so on double LPs (or by 1989 beginning to be double CDs), in order to capture the entire gig, this seems to be over with just as it is warming up. The actual concerts that this album was recorded at had double this number of songs. I mean, this is terrific, but imagine these seven songs being paired with equally brilliant live versions of the other songs on the setlist - "Eagle Fly Free", “March of Time”, “A Tale That Wasn’t Right”, "Halloween", “Follow the Sign” into "Keeper of the Seven Keys" and "I'm Alive" alongside “Livin’ Ain’t No Crime”. It would truly be a masterpiece. I don't know the reason behind this - perhaps their record company felt a single album was the best way to go (for them) in terms of sales. There are bootlegs of these gigs, of which I have a couple, and they do sound terrific. You can actually hear an excellent one on YouTube if you want. It is totally worth it. The other reason it is a shame we didn't get a full recording is because this is the only official live release with this line up, the "Keepers" line up. Despite this slight falling down, what is presented here is a great live album full of terrific tracks, showcasing the best that this band had to offer. Top shelf.

I have told my tale of my discovery of Helloween on other podcast episodes scattered throughout this internet, but suffice to say that if we hadn’t had our Norwegian exchange student Hans Hoie show up in Year 12 back in 1987, then it could have taken me a lot longer to discover this band than it did. And for that I am forever grateful that he graced our Australian shores that year. And from his influence and cassette tapes recorded for me, I found an amazing band.
I loved this album on its release. Not only is the track list just terrific (despite my already revealed reservations on its relative short length), it showcases just how good this band was live at a time that would have to be considered their peak, at least for this line up. Michael Kiske's vocals soar, in a way that few could say they could equal in a live environment. Mention him in the same breath as Dickinson, Dio and Halford and you won't be denigrating this group. The iconic happy guitars of Kai Hansen and Michael Weikath complement each other beautifully throughout the album. Markus Grosskopf on bass rumbles through each song, his crazily underrated running basslines such a part of what makes their music so wonderful, while Ingo Schwichtenberg's drumming in reality is the complex timekeeping that ties the whole album together while the other subjects go about their business.
I found this at an out-of-the-way record store at Warrawong shopping centre, the name of which I don’t think I ever knew. But they had amazing material there that I couldn’t find at your everyday record store in those days, so it was always worth a visit. And I played this for months at the time, just loving every song, and always wishing it had more songs on it. A double album with the setlist from this concert? It would have rivalled Live After Death! And this is the perfect example of my oft-quoted… quote… that a live album should always be a 5/5 album, because it has the best material recorded in a band’s best environment. On that, “Live in the UK” stands up wondrously well.
Kai Hansen moved on after this tour, in fact quitting the band just a few weeks after this album was recorded, and it was really the end of the first great era of Helloween. The band had lots of struggles over the coming few years as the fallout to this and their record deal, and while they have come out the other side and with the current reunion line up are storming the world once again, this was the end of its greatest era. And while this album is a sterling reminder of their brilliance, it could have been a ripper with a full set.

727. Sonata Arctica / Last Drop Falls [Single]. 2001. 3/5

I can't (but can) understand why this was released as a single. I mean, it's a slow, mourning ballad. The kind of song Sonata Arctica do so well, and the kind of song I really don't enjoy. So from a personal point of view, I wish they had released another song from the album as a single. However, when you are looking for single sales and hopeful radio play, then this is the kind of song that may attract that kind of attention. For a start, the lyrical content may not be a persuasive argument to a radio executive that it should be played!

In buying singles, you generally buy them for the other songs attached to them. This is the case here, with an excellent cover version of Iron Maiden's "Die With Your Boots On". This again showcases the amazing talent in this band. Following this is an acoustic version of "Mary-Lou" to round it off.
Worth getting your hands on for the maiden cover alone.

Rating: I have found the whore in you. 3/5

726. Adrenaline Mob / Dearly Departed. 2015. 3/5

I jumped at this in excitement, thinking that it was the new album from Adrenaline Mob. I loved Omertá on its release, and was a little less excited by its follow up Men of Honor. Then I discovered this was a mixture of covers and acoustics and the like, and not an actual new album. Oh well. Still, I went ahead and made the purchase, and here we are.

In a similar vein as Covertá I believe almost all covers albums have only a limited listening half-life. If the songs are any good, you'll always go back to the original versions. All of the covers here are done well, and I enjoy the Mob's interpretation of them. The Pat Travers Band's "Snortin' Whiskey" is performed in a high energy style, an honorable rendition. Choosing to reinvigorate a classic such as The Charlie Daniels Band's "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" - also without a fiddle, which perhaps can be seen as little difficult - was a somewhat brave move. With lead guitars taking the place of the fiddle, it's a reasonable effort that perhaps just proves how good the original version is. The "Black Sabbath Medley" is much more in the genre that Adrenaline Mob feels comfortable in, and their homage to the songs within the medley here are terrific. The same can be said for Queen's "Tie Your Mother Down", and good rocking version of the song that generally doesn't come near the original version, but is more than listenable.
The three acoustic version of Adrenaline Mob songs - Crystal Clear", "Angel Sky" and "All on the Line" are open to the listeners' preference. For me, why would a band like Adrenaline Mob want to have acoustic versions of any songs, let alone their own? Sure, instrumentally it sounds great, but it isn't my style, and I'd rather hear the full on version of these songs than these versions any day. The album is rounded off by the old fill-in standard of "Radio Edit" of "Dearly Departed" (perhaps allowing them to segue into the title of this album) and an unreleased song, "Gets You Through the Night", which is better than average for a cast off.

Like I said, I was expecting a new album. I've enjoyed this (for the most part) but again it is going to be an album that gets played while it is still new and current, before being placed back in the CD rack, possibly only to be thought of when you are looking for that rare jewel at a party, when you say "Oh, you know that song "The Devil Went Down to Georgia? Well I bet you haven't heard THIS version!"

Rating: "Killing yourself to live!" 3/5