To Hell With Love

"Highway To Hell", AC/DC's fifth (international) album and their last to feature their late vocalist Bon Scott, is arguably the best of the Bon Scott era and certainly the most commercially successful. It is also my personal favourite of all of the albums they made with Bon and the first of three consecutive works they recorded with legendary producer, Robert John "Mutt" Lange. I think it's fair to say that, sonically, they had never sounded better on record before this point, as Lange gave them a punch that they hadn't quite managed to capture in the studio prior to this record. Having said that, the compositions are very similar to those from all of their previous releases, so it is a case of "more of the same" from the band… not that that is a bad thing, if you like AC/DC.

Chase Rice’s sixth studio album is not so much a reinvention as it is a reveal, as the Asheville-born singer-songwriter serves up 13 tracks that offer a deeper glimpse into his life and artistry than on any previous release. That newfound vulnerability is hard-earned for Rice, who confronted some personal demons during the pandemic. Accordingly, he tells Apple Music, he believes I Hate Cowboys & All Dogs Go to Hell</i> to be his best work yet. “I would put my stuff up against anybody now,” he says. “And if it’s not as good as theirs, then at least I know it was the best that I could do.”

Few bands in the history of rock have undergone a more radical transformation than TSOL. In the early 1980s, TSOL (whose name stands for Today's Sounds of Liberty or True Sounds of Liberty) was a hardcore punk unit known for its angry protest songs and left-leaning politics. But when Strange Love came out in 1990, TSOL were long-haired headbangers with a commercial hard rock/metal style along the lines of AC/DC, Dokken and Accept.

John D. Loudermilk - The Open Mind Of John D. Loudermilk (1969) {Omni Records OMNI-105, Reissued & Expanded 2006}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 451 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 167 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 33 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1969, 2008 The Omni Recording Corporation | OMNI-105
Rock / Nashville Sound / Psychedelic Country Rock / Psyche-Pop / Singer-Songwriter

Best known as a stellar songwriter (Tobacco Road, Indian eservation, This Little Bird, Break My Mind etc etc, ad infinitum!!!) John D. Loudermilk was also an accomplished, inspiring singer-songwriter before the term even existed. The Open Mind of John D. Loudermilk is his 1969 psychedelic Nashville opus! Sitars blaze and otherworldly voices rail on the opening cut Goin' To Hell On A Sled, but this is no mere wigged-out cash-in record. With a palette ranging from the gentle organ tones of Laura, to the striking relevance of The Jones' and Peace of Heart, few records of such wit, compassion and intelligence have ever been committed to tape.

Alice Cooper has been deemed "The Godfather of Shock Rock". He is notorious for his theatrics and compelling, and often shocking, stage antics. It seems that these things may have, to a fair degree, overshadowed his prowess as a songwriter. Many have simply dismissed Alice Cooper as a shock rocker more along the lines of KISS than Dylan or Bowie. To me, he is more akin to the latter two. Cooper's songwriting brilliance wasn't lost on Bob Dylan either, who regarded him as an overlooked and under-appreciated songwriter. Or John Lennon who said his favorite song was Cooper's "Elected". Or Frank Zappa, who signed Alice Cooper to his label. As a kid with a love for rock n roll and horror movies, Alice Cooper and KISS both captivated me, but it was the music of Cooper that stood the test of time as I grew older.