rhino

(8/10) Grunge was invented in Seattle and that's where iconic bands like Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains and many more came from. In parallel a rock outfit was formed in San Diego, California that started with a similar sound. Scott Weiland, Dean DeLeo, Robert DeLeo and Eric Kretz began under the banner of Mighty Joe Young, which was changed to Stone Temple Pilots rather quickly. The quartet successfully surfed on the grunge wave with their debut entitled "Core", which was published in 1990. This first album pushed the band from zero to hero in no time. "Core" had chart entries in the US and Europe, including brilliant songs like "Sex Type Thing" and "Plush". "Core" is still the best album the band ever released, at least in my humble opinion.

What followed was a period of ups and down and luckily fans can welcome the band's seventh album this year. Simply entitled "Stone Temple Pilots" the new album features twelve songs of which "Meadow" was the first single that was unveiled in November last year. The interesting thing with the name of this longplayer is the fact that it's the second one in a row that comes with the bands name only on the cover. I guess that this is something really unique and I can't remember a band that did something like this before.

"Stone Temple Pilots" is the first album with new singer Jeff Gutt and the first one without the band's original vocalist Scott Weiland who passed away in 2015. "Stone Temple Pilots" doesn't look back so much. The quartet looks forward and the self-titled album expresses this approach very well. "Stone Temple Pilots" (the first one) closed an era of the band and the second strike starts a new one.

"Middle of Nowhere" is the grooving opener of the record with the slower paced "Guilty" being the next hit on the list.  Grunge roots are partly included in the latter even though the tune itself comes with a wider style expression. "Meadow" is the earlier mentioned first release from the album and has some hit potential, while "Six Eight" brings back the rocking foundation. The gently swinging "Thought She'd Be Mine" takes over and also "The Art of Letting Go" represents a calm moment on the album with a solid portion of melancholy weaved into the tune. The end of this longplayer gets closer and it's the acoustic "Reds & Blues" that ends an album that presents well-crafted alternative rock music.

"Stone Temple Pilots" doesn't get close to the iconic debut and the sophomore "Purple" record. However, it's a strong rock album that finds a good balance between rock bursts and soulful moments.

(8/10)

Tracklist:

1. Middle of Nowhere
2. Guilty
3. Meadow
4. Just a Little Lie
5. Six Eight
6. Thought She's Be Mine
7. Roll Me Under
8. Never Enough
9. The Art of Letting Go
10. Finest Hour
11. Good Shoes
12. Reds & Blues

Label: Rhino / Warner Music

Genre: Alternative Rock

Release Date EU: March 16^th, 2018

(*/10) After having released “The Purple Album” in 2015, David Coverdale and band mates hit the road for promoting the new release, an album that pays attention to Coverdale’s Deep Purple days. “Burn” and “Mistreated” have been some classic of MK3 and MK4 that acted as a centrepiece for “The Purple Album" and it’s songs from those days that also have been part of each of the shows.

Whitesnake recorded some concerts of this tour, leading to a live album entitled “The Purple Tour”. The newest Whitesnake offer comes in different formats. Base for this review is the audio version (the album is available as CD, LP, CD/DVD and CD/Blu-ray).

Like with the studio album it’s Deep Purple milestones such as “Soldier of Fortune” and “Burn” that have been performed and captured. No doubt, if you haven’t lived under a rock over the last decades you know these rock anthems by heart. However, it was a good idea to vitalise and cherish these songs that fundamentally shaped rock music in the 70’s.

Since it was a Whitesnake tour also some hits from David Coverdale and Co. have been part of the setlist. There can’t be a Whitesnake show without playing ”Still of the Night”, “Is this Love” and “Here I Go Again”.

All in all “The Purple Tour (Live)” is a well-done live release with classic rock highlights that are timeless.

(*/10)

Tracklist:

1. Burn
2. Bad Boys
3. Love Ain't No Stranger
4. The Gypsy
5. Gicve Me All Your Love
6. Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City
7. Mistreated
8. You Fool No One
9. Soldier of Fortune
10. Is This Love
11. Fool For Your Loving
12. Here I Go Again
13. Still of the Night

Label: Rhino / Warner Music

Genre: Classic Rock

Release Date EU: January 19^th, 2918

(*/10) Rock dinosaurs Foreigner are one of these bands that are in business since so many many years and always had success with what they did. Regardless if it has been the rocking 70’s and 80’s, the for rock bands challenging 90’s or the new century, Foreigner always delivered good time hardrock music that fitted very well in the respective period in time. But their sound includes more than that. Most of Foreigner’s rocking anthem’s are timeless which means that hits from the earlier days are still highly entertaining in 2017.

The band was originally formed in 1976 in New York City by guitarist Mick Jones, Ian McDonald and the exceptionally good singer Lou Gramm. Mick Jones is the only active member of this first line-up which doesn’t mean that Foreigner had to face a loss in quality over time. The current band features great musicians. Jeff Pilson, Thos Gimbel, Michael Bluestein, Bruce Watson and Chris Frazier stand for an excellent line-up with all of them keeping the Foreigner spirit alive and kicking. 

In case you think that I’ve forgotten someone; no, I did not. After Lou Gramm decided to leave the band, Jones found with Kelly Hansen a singer that fits perfect to the band’s sound and music. Having this guy in the band is like a lottery win and guaranteed a seamless transition into a new era. This was in 2005 and up to date Hansen is doing an excellent job as being singer and frontman of this powerful rock outfit.

As a special gift for their fans, the band releases a ‚best of..‘, celebrating 40 years of Foreigner. „40“, what a surprise, is the title of this two disc release that features 40 songs, leading to the subtitle „1977 - Forty hits from forty year’. My personal favourites are the tunes from the eighties. It was „4“ that marked my entry point to this band; an album that belongs to the hardest ones the band did in their entire history. Songs like „Urgent“, „Juke Box Hero“ and „Waiting For a Girl Like You“ are present on this compilation, songs that bring back many memories. 

For the rest the album covers the early days with songs from the debut as well as the later material from „Can’t Slow Down“. Towards the end, Foreigner added a new ballad to this tracklist. 'Give My Life For Love“ is a typical Foreigner ballad that sounds good, but also not much more. Next to these silent notes it’s „The Flame Still Burns“ that’s the first time available on CD while another ballad, „I Don’t Want to Life Without You“, was newly recorded.

In case you’re a big fan of the band you have decide if this release brings enough new to the table. However, rock fans that might missed the 70’s and 80’s get a pretty good overview of what Mick Jones and Co. released over a four decades period in time, songs that brought Foreigner into the Champions League of rock.

(*/10)

Tracklist:

Disc One

1.     Feels Like the First Time” (Radio Edit)
2.     Starrider
3.     Cold as Ice
4.     Long, Long Way from Home
5.     Headknocker
6.     Hot Blooded (Radio Edit)
7.     Double Vision (Radio Edit)
8.     Blue Morning, Blue Day
9.     Dirty White Boy (Radio Edit)
10.     Head Games
11.     Women
12.     Urgent” (Radio Edit)
13.     Juke Box Hero
14.     Waiting for a Girl like You
15.     Night Life
16.     Luanne
17.     I Want To Know What Love Is
18.     That Was Yesterday
19.     Tooth and Nail
20.     Reaction to Action (Radio Edit)
21.     Down On Love

Disc Two

1.     Heart Turns To Stone
2.     Can’t Wait
3.     Lowdown and Dirty
4.     Soul Doctor
5.     White Lie
6.     Rain
7.     All I Need To Know
8.     Too Late
9.     When It Comes To Love
10.     Can’t Slow Down
11.     In Pieces
12.     Fool For You Anyway
13.     Say You Will
14.     Save Me
15.     Girl on the Moon (Live)
16.     Break It Up (Live)
17.     I Don’t Want To Live Without You - New recorded
18.     Give My Life For Love – New song
19.     The Flame Still Burns – First time on CD

Label: Rhino /WMG

Genre: Hardrock

Release Date EU: May 19th, 2017