Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Weld

Weld is a live album and concert video by Neil Young & Crazy Horse released in 1991, comprising performances recorded on the tour to promote the "Ragged Glory" album. It was initially released as a limited edition three-disc set entitled Arc-Weld, with the Arc portion being a single disc consisting in its entirety of a sound collage of guitar noise and feedback. Arc has since been released as a separate title.

Weld consists of rock and roll songs by Young and Crazy Horse, duplicating seven that had appeared on either Rust Never Sleeps or Live Rust from twelve years earlier. It also echoes those albums as Young, in both cases having spent most of a previous decade pursuing different musical avenues, returned to straightforward rock and roll via the acclaimed Ragged Glory album with Crazy Horse, then celebrating that return with an accompanying multi-disc live document and concert film. An interesting cut on this album is Young's "Gulf War" version of Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind", which had air raid sound effects, check out today's tune.

Weld was recorded by David Hewitt on Remote Recording Services' Silver Truck. Neil Young claims that, while mixing this album, he permanently damaged his hearing.

There was a brief release of the concert featuring video footage on VHS, but there was no DVD release. The VHS tape is now an out-of-print collector's item. The mix on the video is by longtime Young collaborator David Briggs and is considered by some fans to be a harder-edged, superior mix, according to the book "Shakey."

The album contains warhorses as "Like a Hurricane" and "Cortez the Killer" along with a'lot of wonderful 14 other tracks, the album's songs averaged over seven and a half minutes in length, and that length was given over to extended guitar improvisations, which often were filled with feedback and distortion.

If you compare this Live recording to the previous double live album "Live Rust" there are some similarities to this one, first it's a career retrospective that includes some acoustic numbers, but "Weld" is more of a rockier album, it's harder, more distortion, an excellent expression of Young.

On this album you will get tunes like "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)", "Blowin' in the Wind"and almost a 10 minutes version of "Love to Burn", "Cinnamon Girl", "Powderfinger", "Rockin' in the Free World" and "Tonight's the Night"

Today's tune "Blowin' in the Wind", enjoy this masterpiece cover, live! This is an angry, gunshot-laced version of Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind", it's also the closest thing here to an acoustic reverie; the rest of the album offers up staggeringly intense electric versions of Neil songs.



More info @

Official Neil Young Web

Sorry no Spotify in this one, will update the link if it's ever get released here!

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Kiss - Alive!

Alive! is the first live album, and fourth overall, by American heavy metal band KISS. It is considered to be their breakthrough and a landmark for live albums. Released on September 10, 1975, the double-lp set contains live versions of selected tracks from their first three studio albums, "Kiss", "Hotter Than Hell" and "Dressed to Kill". It was recorded from concerts in Detroit, Michigan; Cleveland, Ohio; Wildwood, New Jersey; and Davenport, Iowa.

Despite their reputation and success as a live act, which emphasized theatrics as much as it did music, their notoriety did not translate to increased record sales. Fans told the band that their albums were not capturing how the band sounded live, so the band decided to release a live album. KISS was essentially surviving on then-manager Bill Aucoin's American Express card. Complicating matters was the fact that their label, Neil Bogart's Casablanca Records, was having financial difficulties of its own stemming from a major misstep. The label had released a double album of Johnny Carson monologues earlier in the year. However, the album was a flop, but Casablanca had pressed millions of copies in anticipation of it being a strong seller.

Casablanca, however, did think a KISS live album would be a respectable seller. The album outperformed expectations as it was certified gold, becoming both KISS and Casablanca's first top 10 album. Years later, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons recounted that in the weeks after the release, they saw a significant increase in concert attendance. In the documentary KISS: X-treme Close Up, Stanley remembers that at one particular show in Dayton, Ohio, "the place was packed; I mean you couldn't have gotten another person in with a shoehorn".

The album's title was an homage to the 1972 live album Slade Alive! from the English rock group SLADE, a band that heavily influenced KISS.

There has been considerable debate as to how much use was made of studio overdubs. In his autobiography KISS and Make-Up, Simmons stated that very little corrective work was done in the studio and that most of the studio time was devoted strictly to mixing down the multi-track recordings. He also emphasized that KISS could not have done extensive overdubbing even if they had wanted to; thanks in no small part to the Johnny Carson album fiasco, the extremely meager budget allotted to the band simply would not allow it. 

According to Dale Sherman's book Black Diamond and Goldmine magazine, in the early 1990s, Eddie Kramer stated there were a few overdubs to correct the most obvious mistakes: strings breaking or off-key notes, for instance. However, in recent years, Kramer has stated that the only original live recording on the album is Peter Criss' drum tracks. Stanley has noted that there is a bass mistake in the choruses of "C'mon and Love Me". He has also made comments that even though there have been live albums recorded later that make Alive! sound like it was recorded in a washroom, he has no qualms about it. Criss has also claimed, in his 2012 autobiography Makeup to Breakup, that the only original live recordings on the album were his drum tracks.

During the program Classic Albums, the band members all stated that while many changes had been made, such as overdubbing vocals and mixing together various crowd sounds to get a more amplified sense of the "live" sound, they considered the changes minor. In particular, they stated that they only altered the noise of the crowd to better capture the feel of the actual performances, since the raw recordings only dimly picked up the audience. They also stated that they had difficulties capturing vocals due to the natural jumps, dancing, and other stage activities.

Alive! was actually the first Hard rock "Live" album that I bought when I was a kid long time ago. Ace was my star icon and I remember when I was playing air guitar to Ace riffs, magic times :)

Alive! have been played more than I could ever count, the copy is still in my collection, but it's so worn out that I couln't get a dollar for it. "Alive! remains KISS' greatest Live album ever" even if I do like Alive II aswell, but there is so much innocent, rawer sound on this one, and not forget all the memories that this Live recording have even if it seem like a joke, mainly because it contains every arena rock cliche in the book it's still one of the biggest highlights in my youth concerning the band KISS.

Alive! contains all the biggest tune from the first 3 records like "Rock and Roll All Nite", "Deuce", "Strutter", "Firehouse", "Parasite", "She", "100,000 Years", "Black Diamond" and "Cold Gin"

Sum: An essential addition to any rock collection.

Today's tune "Black Diamond", one of my favorites on the album is a song written by rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley. "Black Diamond" was written almost exactly as it is, he said, "except that the riff wasn't there; Gene Simmons brought that part in… It's all about arrangement and embellishment. That's what you're supposed to do in a band: come in and add something. But that doesn't mean you wrote the song."

The song is the closing track on the band's eponymous first album, KISS, released in 1974. It begins with an acoustic opening sung by Stanley before a furious riff enters, accompanied by Peter Criss on lead vocals. It fades out with Ace Frehley's solo, in a sort of studio trick. The song is also characterized by its noticeable use of chorus, and its ending. The taped studio version was slowed down almost to a standstill. The live version is usually sped up in tempo, combined with stage pyrotechnics and a rising drum platform.

The band would often play "Black Diamond" to close their concerts. Even after Criss left the band, the song was still performed, featuring his replacements Eric Carr and Eric Singer on lead vocals during their respective tenures with the band.

Todays tune i a live tape from Midnight Special, 1975



More info @

Official Kiss Web

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Judas Priest - Unleashed in the East

"Unleashed in the East" is a real oldie along Hard Rock/Heavy Metal live albums.

JUDAS PRIEST is the gods behind this live recording where they performed in Japan during the Hell Bent for Leather Tour in 1979. It was released in September 1979 and became the band's best-selling album up to that point and this was before "British Steel," so don't be disappointed because they didn't play "Painkiller" or "Freewheel Burning." Just nothing but the classics from the old time.

"Unleashed in the East" includes tunes like "The Green Manalishi", "Victim Of Changes", "Tyrant", "Hell Bent For Leather", "The Ripper" and "Running Wild".

To what extent the album was really live remains a matter of contention, with the album sometimes being called Unleashed in the Studio. Years later, after he had left Priest, Rob Halford noted in various interviews that the music was indeed live, but that his vocals had been ruined in the original recording and were later dubbed in a concert-like studio setting.

This live-record contains some of the best-ever-released versions of Judas Priest's 70's songs. The quality, especially of the remastered version, is very good, specially if you compare it to other live recordings from the same time period.

Released in Japan as "Priest in the East", where it featured four bonus tracks, these recordings included thrilling early speed-metal templates like “Exciter” and “Running Wild” (which forecasted the imminent New Wave of British Heavy Metal), reinvigorated romps through early career warhorses such as the serpentine “Sinner,” the morbid “Genocide” and their signature anthem “Victim of Changes.” The band’s covers FLEETWOOD MACs “Green Manalishi” and Joan Baez’s “Diamonds and Rust” were wisely chosen and reminded fans of the JUDAS PRIESTs eclectic influences.

Unleashed in the East’s Judas Priest was:
Robert John Arthur Halford ~ Vocals
Kenneth Downing Jr. ~ Lead Guitar
Glenn Raymond Tipton ~ Lead Guitar
Ian Frank Hill ~ Bass Guitar
James Leslie Binks ~ Drums

Sum: If you dig JUDAS PRIEST you should definitely add this to your collection! This album is a true proof that the 70's rock!

Today's tune "Victim of Changes" is featured on their 1976 studio album "Sad Wings of Destiny". The song was composed by fusing two earlier songs. The main part of the song, including the riffs, came from "Whisky Woman," which was written in 1972 while original Priest singer Al Atkins was still in the band. The softer passage, building up tension for the climaxing ending of the song, came from a song singer Rob Halford had written called "Red Light Lady." K.K. Downing, Glenn Tipton, Rob Halford and Al Atkins are all credited for writing the song.

The song is known for its unusual intro, with Tipton and Downing playing a twin guitar harmony which slowly fades in, then ends in the main riff. In early writing stages, the intro was different, and similar to the intro that would be used for an unreleased Priest song called "Mother Sun."

The song opens with a fade-in dual guitar passage that flows into the song's main riffs. A linear pattern is followed until the staccato section in the bridge. The song's first main guitar solo follows afterward, played by K. K. Downing. The bridge section finishes and goes into a lighter, more mellow section that soon intensifies. The second solo, played by Glenn Tipton, comes during the heavy section. The song returns to the main riff and finishes with Rob Halford's banshee-like screams. The lyrics are about a failing relationship due to a woman's alcoholism. The song is written in the key of E Minor.

The song's lyrics have been debated by Priest fans. The song seems to focus on a woman who is past her prime, which leads her to drown her sorrows in alcohol when she can't find a man anymore. At first glance, she might seem like the "Victim of Changes," but later in the song, the "I" of the lyrics (a man speaking to the woman) reveals a certain affection for her, and a dissatisfaction because he's lost her and he can't have her back, making him the victim. This has never been cleared up.

This song strongly added to Rob Halford's reputation as the "Metal God," as his singing and especially screaming has become legendary and largely influential. When Tim "Ripper" Owens auditioned to be Rob's replacement in 1996, they had him sing over a live version of the song with the vocals taken out. Said Owens: "I sang the very first line of 'Victim of Changes,' and Glenn (Tipton) said, 'Alright Owens, you've got the gig!" (Thanks to Michael Toney, who interviewed Owens for the book Tales From The Stage.) Various bands have covered this song, including the German Power Metal band Gamma Ray. (thanks, Jon - Sweden, for all above)

More info @

Official Judas Priest Web

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Rainbow - Live In Munich 1977

"Live in Munich 1977" is a live album and DVD released by the British hard rock band RAINBOW in 2006.

The concert was recorded in Munich on October 20, 1977, originally filmed to air on the German Rockpalast TV show. Repeated airings have led to numerous bootleg video and audio tapes of the show being available through the 80's and 90's. The set is not from the same tour that produced the previously released live album "On Stage" (which was mostly culled from their 1976 Japanese tour), but from their 1977 European tour, a few months prior to the release of "Long Live Rock 'n' Roll", with a different bass player and keyboardist.

The DVD release also features the three promotional videos for RAINBOWs "Long Live Rock 'n' Roll" album, and interviews with Bob Daisley and former tour manager Colin Hart.

On April 26, 2010 a double 180 gram limited edition gatefold vinyl reissue of the album was released through Just For Kicks Music (Germany).

On May 6, 2013, the CD and DVD were reissued by Eagle Rock and Eagle Vision respectively. The only difference being the addition of "RAINBOW Over Texas '76", a short 13-minute feature, to the DVD, and revised track timings to the CD tracks. Many of the titles on the original 2006 issue CD were edited, cutting almost 15 minutes from the total length of the concert; the 2013 issue restores these edits, making the total running time closer to that of the concert film.

On "Live In Munich 1977" you get the classic tunes that were 3-5 minutes long in the studio, but live it's something totally different, the tunes are stretched out exponentially with solos, jams and the occasional foray into another song, exactly what I want as a listener, I want to feel it, Live with it and sense it. "Live In Munich 1977" is pure "Live" rock, a complete live concert without any real production. It's simply the band playing their asses off in October 1977. The line up during this evening consist of man with the big voice Ronnie James Dio along with the string bender Ritchie Blackmore, the drummer and percussionist Cozy Powell, bass and backing vocals by Bob Daisley and David Stone on keyboards.

"Live In Munich 1977" reminds of the RAINBOW live recording "On Stage" but there are some differences, first the order of the tracks. Like today's tune "Sixteenth Century Greensleeves" that is almost a minute longer here and it's shreds the "On Stage" version, as does the thrashing opener "Kill the King". "Man on the Silver Mountain" is a beast on this live recording, 3 and half minute longer that the "On Stage" version, is it better, well yes!. "Catch the Rainbow" is a real beauty on this recording, Ronnie James Dio sings with a such a feeling that is this might be his prime time on stage. Then we also have the 25 minute "Still I'm Sad" and the closing killer "Do You Close Your Eyes" where we hear Blackmore's skill at his highest peak when he plays the hell of the whole band.

This a really mindblowing recording, the sound is really good and it's freaking tight and raw, a record that you need in your collection if you are a RAINBOW, DIO fan!

Today's tune "Sixteenth Century Greensleeves"

When performing this song with RAINBOW, lead guitarist Ritchie Blackmore would lead into it with the original "Greensleeves". Running to 3 minutes 21 seconds, it was co-written with lead vocalist Ronnie James Dio who said "Sixteenth Century Greensleeves" is Blackmore's idea of a castle where the black knight lives. The black knight of course being Ritchie and the black knight periodically comes out of his castle and captures a young peasant maiden from the village.

Blackmore appears to have lived out this fantasy in his personal life; after lengthy spells with DEEP PURPLE, RAINBOW and DEEP PURPLE again, he formed Blackmore's Night and began writing, playing and recording traditional Olde Englishe music. The other half of the duo, the former Candice Isralow, met Blackmore when she was still a teenager. In October 2008, after working together for more than a decade, the two married. On stage, the stunningly attractive American blonde - Blackmore's fourth wife - has the appearance of a true Mediaeval damsel, and in spite of their age difference, this appears to be a marriage made in heaven.


More info @

Official Rainbow Web

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