The Riverside Times

Blue Oyster Cult - Take Me Away RANDOM THOUGHTS ... Great song. In fact, I think I like this one more than any of their other, more well-known singles like "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" and "Burnin' For You". The guitar riff (0:11) is amazing. The chorus is great. A lot of really cool guitar stuff going on here.  ...  The song was released in 1983, as the first track on BOC's ninth studio album,  The Revolution By Night . The album may not have been a massive success, but this song is a keeper.  ... This tune was written by Aldo Nova and Eric Bloom, who sings lead vocals on it. Aldo Nova also plays guitar and synthesizers on this one, and the mere fact that he's involved here makes me like the song even more.  

Collective Soul - Hollywood (Live) RANDOM THOUGHTS ... Awesome performance by Collective Soul on Leno in 2007. "Hollywood" is my favorite CS song of the post- Disciplined Breakdown era, but only when I hear it like this: Loud, and with guitars. The album version features keyboards more and doesn't pack the same punch as this live version. I like this version much better. ... Top notch stage show by the band, too. The guys are moving all around and being visually interesting. I saw these guys play a show in Milwaukee back in 2001, and they rocked. Great live band. Long live Collective Soul.

Artist:  Motley Crue   Album:  Dr. Feelgood Year:  1989  TRACK LISTING 1. T.n.T. (Terror 'n Tinseltown) 2. Dr. Feelgood  3. Slice of Your Pie 4. Rattlesnake Shake 5. Kickstart My Heart 6. Without You 7. Same Ol' Situation (S.O.S.) 8. Sticky Sweet 9. She Goes Down  10. Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away) 11. Time For Change  RANDOM THOUGHTS • This is an awesome rock album. Let's talk about The Big 4 right away, because this album contains four of the pantheon Motley Crue songs: " Dr. Feelgood ", " Kickstart My Heart ", " Same Ol' Situation ", and " Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away) ". They're hall-of-famers, and it's not uncommon for someone to say one of those four is their  all-time   favorite Crue song. I won't spend much time on them, but I like them all and "S.O.S." and "Don't Go Away Mad" are both in my personal Top 3 Crue Songs. The strength of The Big 4 alone mak...

Green Day - Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Live) RANDOM THOUGHTS ... Stellar performance by Green Day at the 2005 MTV Video Music awards, in the midst of their American Idiot hysteria. The "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" single went double-platinum and the song won a Grammy for Record of the Year in 2006.  American Idiot  sold over 6 million copies in the U.S. alone, and it was really a resurrection for the band. A decade after Dookie took America by storm, they did it again, with a whole new sound. Rock operas aside, to me, this song and "Holiday" really exemplify the 'new' Green Day sound heard throughout American Idiot : Chord changes we weren't used to, and interesting sonic voices (such as this song's tremolo-infused intro and wah-wah-soaked guitar stomp at the end) added to the mix. Something new, but something excellent as well. One of their most iconic songs, it remains a staple of their live sets. Two thumbs up.