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[fallenangel]

Glad you like 'em (Velvet Revolver). Their album was #1! Woo!

I really need to start savin' some cash...

Young Lust Anthology
Artist: Aerosmith

Cover: Definitely an eye catcher. A chick's back, wearing a black lacy bra with two male hands reaching around to unfasten it, and an Aerosmith tat logo on her back. Simple, yet effective. The back cover is what I like. It's got the bra layin' there, and it's a double disc, so instead of disc one and two, they're called "Left disc" and "right disc" with arrows to the bra.

Booklet: Nice and thick! Long mini-bio of the band's career with Geffen, including the albums, how they did in the charts, and where all the songs are from. Lots of pictures, especially a couple good ones of Steven.

Songs: If you like Aerosmith, ya can't go wrong with this. Especially if you're not fond of the most recent releases. Some cool live tracks and all their best tunes. It's a double disc, so it's not cut down into the big hits like Dude (Looks Like a Lady) and Walk This Way. Livin' On the Edge is painfully catchy. Ah.
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"I care about people as much as I care about lawn furniture" - Dexter/Michael C. Hall

[ragingflea002]

Velvet Revolver was awesome. It was between Nirvana or them, but the only C.D they had left was an edited version and I don't buy edited albums.
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Not all who wander are lost.
"The separation between spirit and logic is reasonable because spirit is defined by faith and logic forces others to think about what they have faith in."

[fallenangel]

I went on a sliiiiight shopping spree in amoeba music. Just one for tonight, though.

First up, Hanoi Rocks 'cause they actually had Hanoi albums, which was most awesome.

[b]Twelve Shots On the Rocks[/b]
Artist: Hanoi Rocks

Cover: Cool cover. The logo (rose and snake) with Twelve Shots On the Rocks beneath it. Eye catching enough.

Booklet: One of the best booklets I've seen in a long time. The case itself (one of those digipaks) is cool with a couple big pictures of the band on the inside and a panel of thanks. The booklet is full of good pictures and lyrics. The pictures of Mike Monroe, especially, are great. My only bitch is the pack has nowhere for the booklet.

Songs: Now this is a comeback. It sounds like classic Hanoi and they're all on top of their game. I've always loved Michael Monroe as a frontman, and his voice sounds top notch here. The lyrics ain't bad. Much less cliche and tired than most current artists with pro songwriters. If you aren't familiar with old Hanoi, they influenced tons of people, including Guns n' Roses. They weren't really a hair band and don't sound like one in the way of Winger or Bon Jovi, but if you like the glam metal scene, definitely check them out. Their stuff has more balls than some of the more heavily produced radio acts, it's upbeat, dirty rock n' roll.

song-by-song...

Intro - It's an instrumental thingy by Michael. Interesting way to kick off the album. Only 27 seconds long, so it's cool by me.

Obscured - Like I said, if ya like upbeat, driving rock... I dig the vocal melody on this one. It's fun.

Bad News - This one's got a good guitar vibe going, but I'm not crazy about the "baaaaad news". Dunno why, maybe it'll grow on me. Other than that, the verses are great. And when the upbeat kicks in, great stuff.

New York City - Mike's vocals on this rock. Sleazy rock n' roll at its best, very appropriate for the song.

Delirious - Great song. It's all these little pop-punks' "nobody understands me" whining done right. Or maybe it's just the fact Michael can actually sing and there's some real guitar work besides a couple power chords.

Day Late, A Dollar Short - One of my favorite tracks here, heard it before so it's had longer to grow on me than some of the others. The chorus is catchy as hell and the verses are easy to sing along to. There's a sax solo, for those who are into that sort of thing. Michael makes it cool.

In My Darkest Moment - Aw, a ballad. Nice little piano intro... Have I mentioned I love Michael's voice? Starts out all soft and pretty (not counting Mike's kinda sexy vocals, despite the lyrics) before the power ballad kicks in. Something about Hanoi is even with softer songs like this with piano n' all that crap, the songs aren't boring.

People Like Me - Another I'd heard before and love muchly. Back to catchy melodies n' rockin' guitar. This chorus gets stuck in my head every now and then.

Whatcha Want - One of the stronger songs on the album. I so thought of Lasher when I heard this, in regards to the "who the fuck are you" thread. You'd just have to hear it to know why.

Moonlite Dance - A bit softer and more...groovy.

Gypsy Boots - Yay for harmonica. One of the less memorable tracks, though.

Lucky - Another of my favorite songs. I don't even know why.

Watch This - The chorus is more fitting with the music than the verses are. But it's a cool song and kinda fun.

Extra Tracks:

Designs On You - another soft one. Michael's voice is real nice over just a little instrumental. It'd be nice if he was this high in the mix on some of the other tracks.

L.A.C.U. - An instrumental. Basically just a drum solo into the next track.

Are You Lonely Tonight - Sound like a sappy ballad? Nope. Probably could be, but it's far from orchestras and baby grands. The lyrics aren't the best, but it's still cool.

Winged Bull - This's a cool song. Very...epic. Starts out with some futurish sci-fi sounds then a big ole ballad. Great vocals. Never been crazy about 6 minute pauses of silence just for some little ending bit. It's funny, but dude... just make it a separate track or something. The slight pause before the Charlie Manson song on Gn'R's Spaghetti Incident was ok, but this is a huge pause for a little not even minute long bit. Meh.

Overall it's a really solid album. If you don't know of Hanoi, it's a decent way to get into them, since it's the most likely to be in stores. The songs are great, and after nearly two decades they still sound like they did then. Is it as good as some of their earlier work? Not quite, but what group always outdoes their previous records? More on the way later...
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"I care about people as much as I care about lawn furniture" - Dexter/Michael C. Hall