We continue on our monthly spotlight of Neil Diamond, the featured artist of June, by diving deeper into the chronological history of his music. This time, I’m going to look at the rest of Neil’s early days of the 1960s and review the next four albums on the list. Much like Santana, the runtime on these albums are around 30 minutes, so we will run through them in order.
We start with his second studio album from 1966, Just for you. Right off the bat, looking at the track listing, we see two songs that were previously on his debut record, “Solitary Man” and “Cherry, Cherry.” The songs were Neil’s first big hits and he wanted to re-release them to further showcase his talents as a songwriter. That being said, there is a lot of historical pop culture material on this album. The record begins with “Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon,” a song best known in the modern generation as the song from the 1994 blockbuster movie Pulp Fiction. While Neil composed and sang the song, an alternative band named Urge Overkill would revive it almost 30 years later making it a hit and and reaching #11 on the Billboard Modern Cock chart in 1994. Then there’s a little song called “Red Red Wine.” This one was a surprise to me because I basically know the song as a Regae 80s classic from the band UB40. I had no idea that this was a Neil Diamond original and that he himself wrote the fun lyrics that would become yet another all time signature song for a future group. With that being said, we get to I’m a Believer.” I do have another special deeper look into this song and its effect on the pop culture universe, but really quick, this, of course, would be a hit song for the Monkees who put their signature spin on this song and made it their own so yet another classic Neil Diamond hit. While these songs become smash hits for other artists, Neil wouldn’t get as much success with his vocal versions as the songs peaked around the middle of the Billboard 100 charts. Another notable song off this album was “Shilo,” a song about a childhood imaginary friend. This was a very heartfelt, upbeat song with a great lyrical story. This is definitely a hidden gem, and though I vaguely remember radio stations ever playing this one, this did become a top 10 hit for him. The other songs on the album are pretty good. I do get a sense of musicians like Johnny Rivers and some of those British Invasion bands not named the Beatles or the Monkees as it has that distinctive 1960s pop sound. It’s an 8/10 for sure. Again, there’s a lot of pop culture history in this album so it’s definitely fun to listen and hear some of the songs in its original form.
Next up on the chronology is the 1968 album, “Velvet Gloves And Spit.” This would be Neil’s first album under a new label, the MCA Uni record label. While there really isn’t much as far as hit songs or historical moments that come from this one, this does give us a taste of what the Neil Diamond sound would be. Unlike the first two albums which were more of a 60s pop sound, this was more kind of a serenade style and song qualities around the likes of “Cherry Cherry” and “Solitary Man,” which were still his biggest hits at this moment. Like the last album, he did re-release a previous song off his last record, “Shiloh,” but with a little faster tempo and with a heavier sounding drum line in the background. One of the notable songs from this album was “Two-Bit Manchild,” which has that upbeat “Cherry Cherry” song style with a catchy guitar riff. “Brooklyn Roads” is another good track that is a nice reminiscent song about returning to his childhood roots. He sings about his memories of school days, racing home for supper, and “building castles and fighting dragons.” It’s a well written song and probably my hidden gem from this album. On the flip side of things is a song called “The Pot Smoker’s Song,” and it is exactly what it says it is. It’s four minutes of people telling their stories about pot while Neil Diamond sings “Pot, pot. Give me some pot.* and “High high, I wanna get high.” The stories on the song actually came from testimonies from the Pheonix House in New York, a rehab center for addicts, and would inspire Neil to form the Performers Against Drugs (PAD), an organization that really didn’t get off the ground before ultimately folding. Needless to say, it’s a weird song and probably a forgettable one. All in all, this one was a drastic change and a grittier album that showed off more of his songwriting style. This album gets 5/10.
Welcome back to my review of Rolling Stone’s 100 greatest album picks of all time. Last time I hit my first snag as an experimental album was a little too hard to review. This one however is the complete opposite of that. What is probably one of the biggest albums of all time from the band that is the cornerstone of the psychedelic rock and roll era. This time we are taking a look at the debut self titled album from the iconc band of the late 60s, The Doors.
Led by infamous front man Jim Morrison, The Doors would released their first album in 1967to great success. It peaked as high as #15 in Canada and #2 on the Billboard top 200 in the US in that year. It was also the influence for Paul McCartney and the Beatles for their St Pepper album. There was a lot of praise for Jim as his ability to write songs and his one of a kind sound and dramatic performances made him a true rock legend even after his untimely death in 1971. So how good was this album and does it still hold up today? Let’s take a look.
So I’m going to do this one a little bit different because there are obviously some well known songs that speak for themselves. It starts with Break on Through to the Other Side, a true classic, and ends with the very somber and eerie song The End which has been used in tv shows and in films most notably Apocalypse Now. Of the biggest song on the record is their first #1 smash Light My Fire. This one is probably a personal favorite next to Roadhouse Blues and the memorable guitar solo is probably one of the best of all time. Again the songs speak for themselves. The album is a good mix of punk rock and with the Jim Morrison sings kind of like a lounge rock style. You really get a good psychedelic feel with the Song Soul Kitchen. The keybord mixed with a simple drum beat has a sound that reminds of of shows from that time like the Banana Splits. It has that distinct sound of the 60s that if you close your eyes you can just see lava lamps a glowing. The B side of Light My Fire, a song called Crystal Ship is a mellow jam and a very deep song dealing with the pain of a love one and it shows off Jim’s poetic attributes. You have a song called Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar) that a good ol fashioned fun drinking song that has a sound like you’re at a carnival. It’s also one of the only songs I’ve heard so far to use an instrument called the marxophone which is a sort of fretless music box. There really isn’t a bad song at all on this album. Even songs like Twentieth Century Fox and Back Door Man were good songs to keep you invested until the end of the record.
To sum it up, this album is a pop culture gem that many generations of music lovers will enjoy. The mellow tracks mixed with that psychedelic lounge/punk rock style mixed with great vocals and the sounds of the time (the organ, tambourines, etc.) makes this an enjoyable album. It’s a really nice sit back and relax kind of album that works on so many levels of awesome. Obviously this is a 10/10. Again another album in which every track keeps you wanting more.
That wraps up another album of the list. Thanks for joining me for this classic album review. Well I mentioned the Beatles next time on the 100 Classic Album Review we’re heading back to the 70s, again, to look at one of the fab four in solo form. Next time we look at an album from the one and only John Lennon. Thanks again for stopping by and as always keep on rockin!
So in the last review I said this might be a short review because this album is like nothing I’ve ever heard before. For the record, I have heard some Miles Davis songs from his ealry years, and he is one of the best Jazz trumpeters of all time. This album however is nothing like his Jazz years. This is #87 on Rolling Stone’s list of top albums of all time called Bitches Brew.
So the story behind the album is as follows: leading up to this album, the 27th of his long running discography, Miles Davis had decided to step away from the traditional Jazz that he was known for and just experiment with things similar to what Jimi Hendrix had done at the time. His quest was to try and build the biggest electric jazz ensemble complete with a saxophone, three keyboard players, an electric guitar, and two drunmers just to name a few. The idea was to have a sound like an inpromptu jam session. And that’s pretty much what this album is.
Sold originally as a two album set, after a few attempts at listening this just felt like a band rehearsal. The first four songs of this seven track super album were anywhere between 15-26 minutes of just noise. It wasn’t a bad sound it was just random jam sessions so unlike the other albums of the list, this one was hard to decipher. It’s jazz but it’s all over the place and that’s about all I have.
So personally for me I’d give it a 2 out of 10 although at best it’s a 4. I am a casual fan of jazz and love to listen to the traditional jazz sound but this just fell flat. It was an experiment so it did get mixed reactions which doesn’t mean it’s a bad album, it’s just not for me.
So that’s about it. Hopefully there’s another Miles Davis album on this list so I can do him justice. Next time on the Classic Album Review, we travel back a few years to the 60s and take a look at another iconic band that influenced rock n roll. We’re looking at The Doors. Thanks again for tuning in and remember, the light at the end of the tunnel may be you. Rock on 🤘.
Continuing on with this month’s Spotlight Artist Neil Diamond, I’m am taking a look at his big screen movie review and one of his best music soundtracks in my personal opinion. From 1980, I am looking at The Jazz Singer. Now, this isn’t the first film under this title, but actually, the fourth adaptation of the 1925 play by Samson Raphaelson. The film was directed by Richard Fleischer, the son of the infamous for iconic cartoons such as Popeye the Sailor and Betty Boop. This movie stars Neil Diamond in the lead role, and he’s accompanied by the legendary English actor Laurence Olivier, who is one of three of the biggest names in British actors of that century. Neil was also cast alongside Lucie Arnaz, daughter of two more iconic figures in the acting world, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Most of the arrangements for this musical drama were written and performed by Neil Diamond himself. This movie is similar to another franchise “A Star is Born,” however, it focuses more on the internal struggles inside the family than just a romance. While trying to come up with talking points, I ended up describing the movie in full detail, so for anyone who wants to watch it and not get spoiled on Neil Diamond movie, you might not want to read on. This was actually a good movie.
A quick side story behind this movie. This was one of my father’s favorite movies as he was a big fan of Neul Diamond. Growing up myself and hearing Neil’s songs, I also became a big fan, and being a child of the 80s, these songs were the first ones I would hear thus being some of my all time favorites. My father and I shared a lot of common tastes in music, a lot of my inspiration came from the music he would listen to (Eagles, Doobie Brothers, Chicago, CCR, etc….). Over the last few years, I would make playlists and him and I would hang out and listen to the playlists. Whenever a song from The Jazz Singer would play, he would always ask me, “Have you seen the movie yet?” Now, this wasn’t a big movie on my watch list, so I hadn’t seen it , and he would go on to tell me.”I think you would like it.” For the next couple of years, we would have that same conversation every time that a song would play, and it became a fun little back and forth between us. He would always chuckle because he had already known I still hadn’t watched it until today. This one is a special review. This one’s for you dad.
The movie starts off with one of his big hit songs, “America,” as it shows the different sights and cultures of New York. We see the main actor, Yussel Rabinovitch, a Jewish cantor, leading a prayer sermon. We find out that alongside being a cantor, he secretly writes songs and accompanies a four man African American band with dreams to stike a record deal. As the ceremony is going on, we see one of Yussel’s bandmates come in to remind him that they have a gig getting underway shortly. Yussel rushes through the rest rest of the song and rushes out to get to his gig. When one of the band members gets arrested, he must fill in. The only catch is that they are playing a gig in an all black club, so when the people in the club discover he isn’t black, a riot issues and the band gets arrested. Before the show, Yussel gets his wife,Rivka, to be his backup, only for it to backfire as his father ends up being the one to bail Yussel and his friends out. His father, himself being a cantor, lectures Yussel about his purpose in life. We also find out that Yussel uses the stage name of Jess Robin. Yussel’s father believes there’s only one purpose from them, and that is the way of the family. He tells Yussel that his singing voice is for God’s purposes and not his own.
We see Yussel helping a young lad practicing for his barmitzva. Then he recieves a phone call from Bubba, one of the guys in the band. They had just received a backup singing gig in a big name singer, Keith Lennox, song as he had heard Yussel’s “Love On The Rocks” and wanted to release it as a song. This would require Yussel to fly out to Los Angeles for two weeks and help with the recording. This obviously doesn’t go well with his father or his wife, as they feel like it’s foolish and that they are happy the way things are. It’s revealed a few moments later that a lot of why his father is so hesitant is because of a traumatic event that happened, and quite possibly, Yussel mother died in the process. Reluctantly, fearing he may never see his son again, he gives Yussel his blessing, and it’s off to Los Angeles.
It’s here that we meet Molly Bell, a music agent that is overseeing everything as she waits for the now Jess Robin at the airport. The two meet, and they rush to the recording studio where we hear Keith Lennox’s butchering rendition of “Love on the Rocks.”” It’s a new wave early 80s British rock sound, and it’s not good. Jess doesn’t like the direction and tells them, “It’s supposed to be ballad. It’s not supposed to be sped up.” After teasing it in an earlier scene, we hear the original ballad of “Love on the Rocks” sung by Jess himself. Unimpressed, the band gets fired. So what do you do after you get fired? We party. They go back to Molly’s beach house and drink and sing songs, and we hear another fun little diddy, “On The Robert E Lee.” Molly then hears from a friend of where a booking agent named Eddie Gibbs is having lunch and with a recording of the song on cassette, she sneaks into Eddie’s car in and get him to listen. Eddie likes the song but doesn’t hire anyone just off of a cassette. As two weeks come to an end, we see Jess getting ready to head back to New York. Not willing to give up, Molly tries to convince Jess to stay and keep trying. She then Starts to play one of his songs on the piano before stumbling across an unfinished song that would ultimately become “Hello Again.” This song moves Molly a d we start to see that she has fallen in love with Jess. Then the phone rings and Bubba tells Molly that they got a gig at a club, and they have arranged Eddie to be there. It seems as it went poorly as Eddie leaves within minutes, but it turned out that he liked Jess but hated loud noises. With that, Jess was given a chance to open for comedian Zany Grey on his television special. As he’s performing on the show his wife Rivka shows up surprisingly after his father convinced her to be by her husband’s side regardless of what happens. Here, we get the awkward moment between Rivka and Molly as tensions are high. After a crowd pleasing performance, Jess heads back to his dressing room where record producers and agents are lined up to congratulate him and talk business. He steps aside and talks with Rivka, and she tells him that she will not follow him around while he becomes a star and that she had no problem being married to a cantor. She walks away as Jess heads back into the dressing room. The next day, Jess confronts Molly, who was heartbroken when Rivka shows up, but after Jess tells her that they split up and confesses his love for Molly, they become romantically involved.
As their love blossoms, Jess is surprised in Los Angeles by his father, who is still trying to convince Jess to stop chasing his dream as a rockstar and go back to his normal life. He then finds out about Molly as she unknowingly walks into the picture. Heartbroken, Jess’ father breaks down and disowns his own son as he leaves in tears. This takes a huge toll on Jess as he goes on a downward spiral, getting upset at his band mates and Molly as she tries to talk him down as he’s storms out of rehearsals a day before another television special. He hops in a car and heads east, eventually running out of gas and hitchhiking his way through the desert. This would start a year long montage where he ends up in the South, possibly Texas, and gets a job as a country singer in a bar. I’ll admit, seeing Cowboy Neil Diamond was pretty cool. While winding down after a performance, Bubba shows up, finally tracking Jess down after a year to let him know that Molly had given birth to his son. This was the comeback moment where Jess heads home to see Molly and his son as they reunite on the beach to the song Hello Again, which by the movie standards, was his special song for Molly. All that was left is to get back on stage.
After another sneaky encounter by Molly, Eddie scheduled another television special. This time, the show will be held in New York. As rehearsals were going on, the day before Yon Kippur, Jess is told his father was in the hospital for high blood pressure and will not be able to sing at the synagogue. After numerous attempts to convince Jess to sing to the surprise of his father. After the ceremony, Jess tries to make amends with his father, who still doesn’t want anything to do with him. After seeing a picture of his grandson, he breaks down and finally accepts Jess for who he is and wants to be. The movie ends with Jess performing America” for the Zany Grey television special, as his father and Molly sit in the crowd happily cheering on.
Needless to say, this was a great movie. There aren’t a lot of big budget films that had a Jewish culture like this one, and the representation in this film for the era was well done. It wasn’t preachy, but you get to a little bit about the Jewish community. The overall story of following your dreams and overcoming obstacles was thoroughly drawn out and never felt dull. Like many musician actors, Neil Diamond did good for his abilities, and though some parts were a little cheesy, he delivered a believable performance. I feel Lucie Arnaz was the star of the show. Her bubbly counterpart to Neil and the on-screen chemistry was a big factor in the success of this movie. Overall, the movie bombed in theaters grossing $27 million on a $13 million budget. Rodger Ebert gave it 1 star out of 4. This is definitely not a blockbuster classic. This might not even be a cult classic, but for any music lover, this film is actually better than what the critics will tell ya and for fans of this style of music, this is a really good movie. I give it 8 out of 10. I’d definitely watch it again down the road for sure.
This month is a special month for me. Much like April, the spotlight artist was another one of my father’s favorite musicians who has become a favorite of mine during the years. Since this month is the month we celebrate Fathers Day and in honor of my dad, I have chosen this month’s spotlight artist to be Neil Diamond. A man with a golden voice. Someone who I would describe as a cross between Barry Manilow and James Taylor. Considered by some to be the Jewish Elvis, he not only wrote some of the most infamous songs and ballads in music history, he always put his heart into all his recordings and on stage concert performances for decades. In this month ahead, we will look at a few songs that made that impact in pop culture as well as his big screen debut film that has a great soundtrack with some of my all time favorite songs from Neil. We start off, however, like we done since I’ve started the artist spotlight deep dives. We are going to look at his debut album to see how it all started. From 1966, this is The Feel of Neil Diamond.
I couldn’t find much of anything as far as a back story about the album, so let’s jump right in. This album is known for his first three hits. The opening track, Solitary Man, which is a popularly played oldie, surprisingly only hit #55 on the charts. His melodic voice combined with a great mix of guitars, tambourine, and horns give it that classic 60s sound. Another hit that’s a little more obscure, Oh No No, is another great example of highlighting Neil’s vocal talent and his style of music. The third hit and his biggest at the time is the ever popular Cherry, Cherry. This would be his first top 10 hit and the start of a great career spanning over 50 years, having 38 top 10s and 10 #1 singles. Most of the songs after that on this album were covers of hits from 50s and 60s up to the point of the recording. One song that caught my eye off the bat was the Richie Valens classic La Bamaba, which is an all Spanish song. Needless to say, it was no Richie Valens, or in later days Los Lobos, but you can’t fault a guy for trying. Other songs on the album include the song made a hit by The Cyrkle Red Rubber Ball, The Mamas and Papas hit Monday Monday, and The Raindrops hit Hanky Panky. It sounded like he had fun with Hanky Panky adding banter starting off the track saying “No I’m not going to sing this song. I don’t care who wrote it.” and then playfully mixing up the chorus for fun. Shout out to Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich of the Raindrops for making such a fun catchy tune.
Overall, this was a fun album to listen to. I think it was a nice presentation and introduction to the style and sound of Neil Diamond would be throughout his career. Even though about half this album is nothing but covers of 60 hits, Neil found a way to add a little of his own flashy spin on it to make it just as good as the original. As far as his original songs, his mix of perfectly crafted melodies combined with great lyrics and that golden, velvety voice of Neil Diamond makes this a good album. I’d give The Feel of Neil Diamond a 8/10.
It’s time again to look at the album that Rolling Stone listed as the 98th greatest album of all time. Like I’ve mentioned in prior entries, although some of the genres of these albums might differ from my own opinions to others, I will try to be as fair as possible but give you my honest opinions on each one. A lot of these are not only albums I’m hearing for the first time but artists I’m listening to fir the first time. This album checks both of those boxes.
I don’t remember when or even if I’ve ever heard of Lucinda Williams before but in the recent years her name has popped up here and there. I did not realize this album dates back to 1998, right around the time I was listening to country music and transitioning over to rock and metal. Cat Wheels on a Gravel Road is what’s considered Alternative County which is like Rebel County music which is more electic guitars and rock beats. This album is pretty much that. At first listen, I’m reminded of names like Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders and more or less like Cheryl Crow. While the beats are great, there were a lot of things I wasn’t a big fan of with this one.
The first couple of songs fell a little flat for me as the vocals sounded okay but it didn’t really have any passion to it. Again it just sounds like Sheryl Crow. Even the title track just didn’t sound like a hit song especially when there’s a lot of repetitiveness in the song, which would be a reoccurring theme in the album. Now doing research, I know this was kind of a telling of her life living in the south and all the hardships she’s endired, but I feel she sang pretty much the same tone through the entire album…which again sounds like Sheryl Crow. All is not bad though as when I get to track four, Concrete and Barbed Wire, we get a nice little old fashioned country song reminiscing of the days of Hank Sr and Loretta Lynn. It’s the first time we hear a little country twang on the album. Lake Charles, one of many songs named after southern towns, has another catchy beat but once again sounds too much like Sheryl Crow. Probably the best track on the album is Greenville which has a beautiful faint accordion melody in the background that adds to the song perfectly. The final song on the album is another beautiful melody called Joy, but suffers for literally every single lyric is repeated twice in a row which to me just gets irritating. I will add that it was vocally done well with a nice blend on two soft vocal ranges that complement each other very well.
Overall I guess where I’m going to go with this one. While the music and the beats and melodies of the songs had that good rebel country, electric guitar, rock and blues sound that sounds great, it falls real flat vocally mainly on the sole reason that it sounds like a general store Sheryl Crow album. It wouldn’t be so bad if she didn’t sing the same key on almost every single song. And in a lot of repetitiveness in the lyrics and it’s just a swing and a miss of an album. I give the album a 4/10. It’s probably one I won’t listen to again.
This blog is a special one for me and is written at different time frames (before and after the event). I guess you can call this a mini documentary to get the whole story and the in the moment reaction to something that has come full circle for me.
I’ve been a wrestling fan for over 35 years…at least that’s about as long as I can remember. My earliest memories, being a Texan, is staying up late Saturday nights watching World Class Champion Wrestling which originated from Dallas, Texas. Yep I was a fan of the Von Erichs and the Freebirds. Throughout the years I went from the local area WCCW in the 80s to the Flair and Hogan dominated eras of WCW and WWF respectively. My school days spent with my best friend, a guy I’ve known since grade 1, talking about the shows and arguing who was better, Hulk Hogan (me) or Ric Flair (him). As the later part of the 90s came around and wrestling was on the rise, I got to experience a new sensation, a new atmosphere, a new side of pro wrestling I had never witnessed before…live events.
On February 17,1998, I attended my first ever WWE live show. Still called the World Wrestling Federation at that time or WWF, it was also my first nationally televised show I was a part of. I remember my eyes getting big with excitement seeing the big Titantron and witnessing the pyro going off and just feeling like that was the happiest day of my life. The feeling of joy getting to see a house show only match with Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Rock. Seeing the legendary Leigon of Doom implode in front of us. Oh yeah and I can’t forget about Dustin Rhodes tribute/mimic of his dad Dusty when he dressed up to look like him. That was a fun night and to think for the next 20 years I was able to attend several more live shows in my hometown and make so many memories. From Austin and the Rock, Dx to the New Day, John Cena to Randy Orton,Triple H, Shawn Michaels, the Dudleys the Hardys, WCw guys, ECW guys, and the a very huge Big Show, I’ve seen my share of the who’s who of wrestling superstars and legends of the last 30 plus years. I’ll adimit some of the shows were hit and miss, I mean when the main event is RVD vs Test then you know not too many of the main eventers came out, but overall every show was special. I’m happy to have pretty much experienced it all from the Wyatt Family and the Fireflies to the Shield standing atop the concourse ramp just a few feet away, to the unexpected unannounced arrival of the Undertaker that blew the roof off, there’s so many good times. My last hometown show I actually got a taste of the floor seats as I sat 4 rows back from rungside. I thought that was my swan song, my cherry on top of a 20 plus year experience. But little did I know what was to come.
As I write this in February, my sister, my childhood best friend, and myself have just made it official. We’re going to Wrestlemania!
Six years ago was the last time Wrestlemania was in Dallas. Back then it was only a thought as Wrestlemania is the end all of shows, but at the time money and a lack of available wrestlers kind of made me say “eh, I’ve got the Network.” Even today Wrestlemania was just a thought, but when I was offered a once in a lifetime opportunity to go to the biggest show with my day 1 wrestling buddy, I thought why not. And so my swan song, my cherry on top, is happening this year with a phrase I never thought I’d say….”I’m going to Wrestleman
While that’s a no brainer, the main factor is the interest in the modern era talent. Being a fan during both the Von Erich/Freebird Era, the Hogan/Warrior/Macho Man Era, and of course the imfamous Attitude Era, wrestling in the WWE today while still decent has a different feel from the past eras so the hype factor is there, it’s just not as hyped as say Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels or Austin vs Rock. Of course I know all that will change come event time as just like any show or any sport being live is a far different atmosphere from watching it weekly on television. Another thing worth noting is that although I am a Texan and live two hours out of Dallas/Arlington, this will be the first time stepping foot inside AT&T Stadium. For those who don’t know, AT&T Stadium is home to the Dallas Cowboys but I’m a baseball guy so I venture to that other Stadium down the road. I’m not sure where I’ll be sitting but being the first time I’m sure I will be in awe and hopefully I meet a few nice folks while I’m there so we shall see how this turns out.
April 2, 2022
Well the time has finally come. It’s Wrestlemania weekend and as I’m writing this I have just experienced my first half of Wrestlemania. Although I’m not in full fanboy excitement but the excitement was there for sure. As we left the hotel and hit traffic heading into Arlington the blood started pumping, I was starting to feel it. With AT&T Stadium looming in the foreground it was finally hitting me “I’m actually going to Wrestlemania.” As we made the lenghty walk from lot 13 to the entrance gate, I soaked in all in. The fans dressed to the nines like their favorite wrestler, kids in their favorite shirts with signs in hand. The closer we got, the more pumped I was getting. Then passed the security and through the gates we are in, and I had made it.
As we made our way to our seats, we get the first look at the set for the biggest event of the year and immediately I was blown away. The seats were nice and even though we couldn’t see the entrance ramp entirely, we did get to see some behind the scenes stuff and particular spots for the special entrance spots that Wrestlemania is known for. Surprisingly there was no kick off matches, just a DJ, so although we got there early, which as the test run to see how long it takes to get to our seats, the first hour and a half was just taking in the stadium and the crowd.
Then it’s time to start the show.
As customary, we start of with America the Beautiful which was done brilliantly as they always do, and then we get the first taste of pyro. So as I mentioned, we were set behind the entrance stage which is where some of the big pyro goes of, and forgetting that fact I was caught off guard….jump scare 1 of many that night. The matches for night one were the heavy hitters and to be honest there wasn’t a bad match that night. We saw a couple good crowd warmers, followed by a excellent women’s match that gave us the first big crowd pop of the night for both Becky Lynch and Bianca Belair. The night was going great and it only got better.
It was finally time for the special mystery match with Seth Rollins going up against an opponent to be named on the night of the match. It was really no surprise at this point who it would be but hearing 70,000 fans chanting “Cody, Cody…..” was a awe inspiring moment. They milked it, and milked it, leaving fans wondering could it be him? Then the pyro goes up, the famous opening phrase hits and the music plays and The American Nightmare himself Cody Rhodes rises through the smoke to the loudest pop of the night.
It was a wonderful return and another great match that kept the fans hot all match. Then was the Flair vs Rousey cooldown match, which was okay but Rhonda cannot wrestle or sell good so there’s that. Then it was time for the other big anticipated return as Kevin Owens called out the legendary Texas Rattlesnake Stone Cold Steve Austin, not just to talk but to fight. It’s been 19 years since Austin’s last wrestling match but more importantly it was a hometown return. As KO worked the crowd he stretched the anticipation out perfectly to when the glass shattered, the roof on AT&T Stadium blew off. Between Cody Rhodes, The Undertaker’s Hall of Fame acknowledgement, and the return of Stone Cold, the excitement level was an all time high and the noise level was just as loud as the fireworks. The most amazing thing was the fact Stone Cold actually wrestled a good match for being out so long, even though a lot of it was nothing more than a brawl, it was fun to watch. And just like the good old days it was fun to see the Stunner, the win, and the post match beer bash that only Steve Austin can do.
To sum up night one and the first experience of Wrestlemania…it was awesome! The love of the fans, the cosplay, the sing a longs before and after the event on the walks in and out of the arena, it’s fun. The set was amazing and the pryo from what I saw and the secret behind the entrance stuff was cool to see. Night one down let’s see what night two does.
As we wake up the next morning, we have time to go run around for a bit as check out time at the hotel where we spent the night was at 11 a.m. Since the gates don’t open until 4 p.m. we decided to find a place to eat lunch, and what better place than J Gilligan’s. If you’re in the Dallas/Arlington area this is a great place to go for great steaks, hamburgers, and so much more at a great place. The service was great and the food was cooked and served quicker than I had imagined so I was happy.
After a quick lunch just a little way down the street was a nice little retro arcade called free play. Jokingly I said “Well it’s Wrestlemania. It’ll be funny to play a little Wrestlefest before the show.” They had Wrestlefest.
After a few hours of arcades and pinballs it was time to head back to AT&T Stadium and Wrestlemania. We got there early enough to walk around the stadium and not only see what luxuries the Cowboys fans get every home game, but to see the other side of the set from where we were sitting at. Pretty impressive I will say. As time drew closer we made it back to our seats and night 2 would soon begin.
Now I thought they put most of their heavy hitting, main event matches on night 1 and there was no expectation for this card on night 2, but WWE always finds a way to surprise you. As the night opened, we started off with that all too familiar sound of Motorhead and the place went completely nuts. Triple H, after months of recovering from a life threatening illness, made it back to the ring to officially call it a carrer without saying the words and welcomed everyone to Wrestlemania. The bar was already set for the night. We started off with a decent tag team triple threat and it was a good opener for things to come. Next up was Omos vs Lashley which was like a Giant vs a bodybuilder. It was a match that’s all I can really say about it…again no big expectations. The match of the night surprisingly was the Johnny Knoxville vs Sami Zayn match which featured cameo run ins by the Jackass crew including Chris Pontius, and Wee Man who actually threw a pretty good body slam. In a match filled with Jackass pranks which resulted in a giant mouse trap, it was an very entertaining and fun match. The next match was a four way women’s tag match and again it was a match nothing special. Then there was the disappointment of the night as two legands AJ Styles and Edge fought a slow, grueling, dragging match that I just couldn’t get into. After that and a waste of time I will not discuss, it was time for another surprise match of the night, Pat MacAfee vs Austin Theory. The whole angle around this revolved around Vince McMahon and after an impressive match, the excitement grew as Vince teased an in ring return after his understudy lost to MacAfee….and then the suit jacket comes off, the tie comes off, and then the dress shirt gets ripped open to reveal the iconic black tank top vince always wrestles in. Even though he in his 70s, it was exciting to say I witnessed Vince McMahon wrestle even if it sucked. The match was nothing but it was a set up to the last big surprise of the weekend. Yep the glass shatters again and ol Stone Cold come back to clean up the mess in the ring, and once again the roof explodes. A few stunners, including what’s considered the worst stunner ever, and one more beer bash and were done. Finally we come to the big main event. Roman vs Brock. Title for title. This match was not the best but it was fun to watch, and hearing the fans split over who should win was fun to sit through. Of course I represented the Bloodline and had my Head of the Table t shirt on so I was happy with the results. So after 2 days and about 12 hours the Wrestlemania experience is over.
So how was this once in a lifetime experience? Well it was great. Like I mentioned ealier, had this been 10 or 15 years ago, I’d probably be more excited, not that I wasn’t I got that feeling like I did back in 1998 in my first experience, but man it is a draining experience. I had a lot of fun, met some cool fans from around the country, and got to experience this with the same friend I grew up with in the wrestling business. I say once in a lifetime but if it came around agian and the opportunity presented itself, would I go? Who knows. It did give me a new perspective on the WWE today and though not all the decisions as of late have been good ones, it’s still a great entertaining show. I write this weeks later and I still am in awe in disbelief that I got to go to what has been the biggest show ever for the last 38 years. I’m thankful for the experience, I’m happy I got the chance, and every year when I watch that show back it will always hold a special place in my mind as I can say I was there.
Welcome back to another classic album review. For those who aren’t aware I am listening to and reviewing the top 100 albums of all time as ranked by Rolling Stone Magazine and I have made it to #90. This time we will be heading back to the 70s, 1970 to be exact, as we look at one of the icons of folk music Neil Young. This one was a challenge for me and I’ll do my best to review it because much like Bob Dylan, Neil Young has that signature sound that is an aquired taste, but after a few listens I may be able to put a little something together.
So a quick little rundown about Mr Young, this album comes off the heels of his successful album made alongside David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash (the quartet known as Crosby,Stills,Nash, and Young obviously). This is Neil’s high-profile albums realeased by the group individually as all four albums charted within the top 15 on the Billboard charts. The inspiration for After the Gold Rush was a screenplay Niel had read of the same name that never was produced. Some of the songs on this album were for the original concept of a movie soundtrack in which he agreed to make. So let’s dive in and see how this album plays out.
It starts quite quickly with Tell Me Why which is a simple acoustic track with that classic Neil Young folk sound. I tried to follow the lyrics to this song, and all the songs, but it was too sophisticated for me. Don’t get me wrong though, Neil was a heck of a storyteller and a songwriter. This with a lot of songs on this album were kind of bland, flower power style music and again, you have to have a taste for certain genres. Overall it was a nice sound and harmony but nothing to write home about. Next is the title track After the Gold Rush which to me was the song of this record. Although you can interpret it many ways, it was like a ode to a golden era in fears of what’s on the horizon. With lyrics that paint a picture of knights in armor and fanfare to laying in the basement awaiting doomsday, it was sung in a eerie methodical way that made this song good. The piano played an intricate part of this as well as it’s beautiful melody plays out. Next up is Only Love Can Break Your Heart. It’s pretty much what is sounds like, a bland love ballad. Southern Man is a little bit better as he introduces the electric guitar used in only a few tracks in this album. It had a nice generic 70s rock feel to it but other than that nothing to write home about. There was one track that was a familiar tune as it was sung by a couple of different singers throughout the years. Oh, Lonesome me is a fun catchy tune about a guy down on his luck but unfortunately the slow Neil Young version was underwhelming at best as it just didn’t sound as good as other versions. After that the album is pretty much lather, rinse, repeat as all the songs had the same slow, drawn out sound that is synonymous with the folk country genre. There were a few tracks, Till the Morning Comes and Cripple Creek Fury, were awfully short at around 2 minutes a track compared to the 3 1/2 to 4 minute tracks songs usually have. After having one more listen I will say the songs Birds is another beautiful piano song with good harmony and the bird phrases used to tell the story in the song was well done so I’m going to give this one a plus.
So how do I rate this Album? While it wasn’t my cup of tea and it did take a couple of relistens to get my overall opinion, it wasn’t a terrible album. There were a few hidden gems, After the Gold Rush and Birds, but again for someone who’s not a huge fan of the folk music genre, it just fell flat on me. The songwriting was good but the dull, flat leveled melodies of most of these songs just didn’t get me intrigued in the album. I have to go 5 out of 10. This album was critically acclaimed but of the other albums I’ve reviewed so far this one is probably the second to the bottom for me…I was going to say bottom but it’s tough to beat that Stooges album.
So that wraps it up for this review. So far it’s been a wild ride but there’s still a long way to go. Next time on the 100 album review, we’re flash forwarding out of the 70s and into the exciting times of the 1990s with another first time artist for me, Miss Erykah Badu. Until then as a wise man once said “Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.”
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