the Dream Syndicate - Medicine Show

This month marks the thirtieth anniversary of Medicine Show, the second studio album the California alternative-rock band the Dream Syndicate. The group’s line-up included Steve Wynn (guitar and vocals), Karl Precoda (lead and rhythm guitars), Dennis Duck (drums) and Dave Provost (bass). Additional musicians on this record included Tom Zvoncheck (piano and organ), Sid Griffen, Stephen McCarthy, Paul Mandl and Gavin Blair (all four on backing vocals).

Sammy Hagar - VOA

Today (July 23rd) marks the thirtieth anniversary of VOA, the eighth solo studio album from Sammy Hagar and the last one he did prior to joining Van Halen. The Platinum seller spent thirty-six weeks on the US Billboard Album chart, peaking at number 32.

Commodores - Midnight Magic

This month marks the thirty-fifth anniversary of Midnight Magic, the seventh studio album from the Commodores. It went to number 15 in the UK, number 3 on the US Billboard Album chart (a forty-one week chart life total) and number 1 on the US Billboard R&B chart.

Stryper - The Yellow and Black Attack

Today (July 21st) is the thirtieth anniversary of The Yellow and Black Attack, the debut EP album from the Christian heavy metal band Stryper. The original 1984 release, which I will be reviewing today, only featured six songs and had a very small press run (twenty thousand copies).

Book Review: What It Was Like

What It Was Like is the debut novel by Peter Seth, coming out by the Story Plant publisher in September of this year. I had the opportunity to read an early release gallery of the novel.

It tells the story of a soon-to-be college freshman (we are never given his name) who conveys a very detailed account of how an all-consuming love affair with a seventeen year old beauty named Rachel led to the ruination of his life.

“Weird Al” Yankovic – Mandatory Fun

This week (July 15th), “Weird Al” Yankovic released his fourteenth studio album Mandatory Fun. The album quickly shot to the number one spot on iTunes. As always, there is a healthy balance between parodies of previous hit songs by other artists and his own original compositions done in the style of particular artists.

Neil Diamond - Primitive

Today (July 20th) marks the thirtieth anniversary of Primitive, the sixteenth studio album from Neil Diamond. This 1984 release hit number 45 in Australia, number 35 on the US Billboard Album chart (with a twenty-five week total chart stay), and number 7 in the UK.