Vinyl Boys

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The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (The Intended Release) – Bob Dylan

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I will start this review off by saying that I am a casual Bob Dylan fan at best with knowing his main songs, really liking those songs, but nothing much else besides that. I never really got into Dylan until the movie with Timothee Chalamet came out, I know as a music connoisseur this is probably not good of me but it is what it is.

I will take you to the scene; I am waiting outside for Record Store Day Black Friday in the cold, about 30 degrees to be exact with a slight breeze, at about 6:30am and I am third in line. I came for three things; Alice Cooper, Cage The Elephant, and Big Head Todd & The Monsters. I started talking to a lady in line who was raving about how special this new Bob Dylan release was. She was telling me it had 4 “new” songs that were initially intended to be on the original release of The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan that were not put on because of something with the label not wanting it on there, don’t know the full story just know that they weren’t included on the original release. I have an original of this album so when I saw it on the list, I had no intention of picking this up just wasn’t something that I felt like I NEEDED to have, but talking to the lady in line really swayed my opinion. It made me rethink if I did need it or not and if you know me I live on the side of if I am thinking about it I should grab it because I can always sell it if I don’t like it after the fact especially for Record Store Day where prices can get a little crazy on the aftermarket depending on the release. So I bought it and let me tell you I don’t regret it.

The four new tracks on this album are “Rocks and Gravel,” “Let Me Die in My Footsteps,” “Rambling, Gambling Willie,” and “Talkin’ John Birch Paranoid Blues.” First listen through, I will admit I didn’t know which songs were the new ones because like I said I am not a mega Bob Dylan fan, I just know the hits! So “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “Don’t Think Twice, Its Alright” are still present on this release but one that I DID know was in fact not on this new release or should I say the original intended release which is “Masters of War.”

I will say that when it comes to re-imagining of classic albums I lean towards the no thanks side of that but in this case I guess the actual released album was the re imagined one? I don’t know it gets a little confusing, but in this case this release surprised me. Like I mentioned earlier it still has the classic Dylan tracks but added a couple new ones that add a different flair to the release. “Rambling, Gambling Willie” was the first song that kind of grabbed my attention but not as much as “Talkin’ John Birch Paranoid Blues.” That is definitely the one you want to check out if you haven’t heard it before. I am not sure if it is that I haven’t listened to this album in a bit or maybe I have been listening to more modern Dylan but his voice sounded pretty good on this release.

This pressing sounds FANTASTIC. My copy is dead quiet and has a very nice punch when it comes to his vocals and harmonica at times. The guitar is perfectly toned and placed in the background when needed and brings itself to the front also when it needs to be. If you are a Dylan fan this is a must have for you.

80/100

Sister Sweetly – Big Head Todd & The Monsters

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Big Head Todd and the Monsters released their third studio album Sister Sweetly in 1993. The album has never been released on vinyl until this year, for Record Store Day Black Friday 2025, and it did not disappoint. The album was pressed on a dark turquoise color and came with a lyric insert previously released with the CD edition.

The album from start to finish is masterful. Whether it is the opener “Broken Hearted Savior” to the final track “Brother John.” The album is a perfect example of a forgotten gem of the 90s where grunge was in full swing. If you are a fan of the Blues Travelers or Gov’t mule or even Chris Stapleton you may like what this album has to offer. Todd Park Mohr does a fantastic job of blending blues rock with the sound of the 90s. His bluesy tones on his guitar and bellowing vocals make for a great listen.

The pressing for this album is fantastic, flat and dynamic, and would highly recommend this for anybody who is a fan of 90s rock or blues rock. Really hope they continue to press Big Head Todd and the Monsters’ albums on vinyl as I will continue to purchase them. If you missed out on the Record Store Day Black Friday version of this album it will be pressed again as it was a first release but the timetable for release is still TBD.

90/100

Born In the U.S.A. – Bruce Springsteen Album Review

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Bruce Springsteen’s seventh studio album, Born In the U.S.A., produced hit after hit after hit, but did not have a number one song on the chart. Over the years Bruce Springsteen struggled to get radio play do to the length of a lot of his songs, but with his breakthrough single, Born to Run in 1975, helped skyrocket Springsteen into the mainstream rock radio. After the success of Born to Run, the single and later the album, he released three more albums prior the 1984 album, and got his first #1 album with the 1980 release of The River which spawned the hit Hungry Heart. Bruce Springsteen up until this point was known for having a very hit or miss type of song writing and mainstream playability with each of his songs until 1984. Born In the U.S.A. achieved seven songs in the top 15 of the mainstream charts out of the twelve on the album which caused the album to peak at the top spot and stay on the charts for over two years. Bruce Springsteen has stapled himself as not only one of the greatest rock performers of all time, but also one of the greatest song writers of all time.

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Song Reviews 7 – Dan + Shay, Niall Horan, Justin Bieber, Arctic Monkeys + More

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In this edition of Song Review, I decided to chose some more recent releases and then some older releases that release a relaxed and chill sound. Everyone on this review is making their debut on the Vinyl Boys website. This release has an excellent mix of alternative, rap, and just feel good jams. The two newest songs on this release are those from Dan + Shay and Niall Horan which were released this past Friday and are getting rated on their first impression to me.

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X – The Driver Era Album Review

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The Driver Era, consisting of former Disney Channel star Ross Lynch and his brother Rocky Lynch, formed in early 2018 after the hiatus of their previous band, R5. The former Disney Channel star, Ross Lynch, formed R5 with his four other siblings. R5 amounted to 4 songs being placed in the Billboard Hot 100 and also having a top 10 hit in “Let’s Not Be Alone Tonight” which is why it was a shock when R5 announced their hiatus. Ross Lynch and Ryder Lynch then decided to form a new band, The Driver Era, with a whole different sound that isn’t the usual pop radio hits that R5 put out. X came out in June of 2019 and was relatively successful. It wasn’t chart topping by any means, but received a good critic score. This album has been on nonstop repeat since I found it just last week and to fully get the feeling of the album, I recommend listening to it from start to finish, but also individual songs are good as well.

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HARD LOVE – NEEDTOBREATHE Album Review

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HARD LOVE is an album released in 2016 by the Christian rock band NEEDTOBREATHE. To me, it’s doesn’t have like the stereotypical worship sound to it. It’s got a kind of electronic/rock feel which I absolutely love. I’ve only been into the band for about two weeks and I can’t get enough of them. For me, it’s like just real music if that makes sense. This is a rating of the album in my opinion now, but the more I listen to it, it could change. 

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Dr. Feelgood – Mötley Crüe Album Review

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Mötley Crüe, the infamous party rockers and crazy men of rock, sure did live up to their name. Mötley Crüe started out as a club band composed of Nikki Sixx, bassist from previous band London; Mick Mars, lead guitar; Tommy Lee, drums; and Vince Neil on vocals. The band formed on the Sunset Strip in Los Angelos in the early 1980s. A few of their songs got minor radio play prior to the big release of Dr. Feelgood due to people thinking that they were a spawn of Satan. Yes, I am being serious, people thought that Mötley Crüe was working for Satan. Dr. Feelgood took off immediately following its release in 1989 at the peak of glam metal rock. The album is coming off of a tragic accident with Nikki Sixx, who had overdosed on heroine and pronounced dead for two minutes. Thankfully paramedics were able to revive him by using two adrenaline shots to the heart. Dr. Feelgood was the first and last album the band would do as a group till their return in 1996. The album tore the band apart due to Nikki Sixx demanding that everyone go “clean” from drugs and alcohol for the whole tour and album which didn’t go over well with Vince Neil in particular causing him to leave after this album in 1992.

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At Night, Alone. – Mike Posner Album Review

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Mike Posner the one hit wonder, the artist that everyone forgot about, “the cooler than me guy” was silent for almost 5 years after the release of his album 31 Minutes to Takeoff in 2010 which included the hit Cooler Than Me. Mike Posner came back firing in 2016 with the surprise album “At Night, Alone.” Mike Posner changed his former poppy self to a more stripped down somber artist. At Night, Alone is the perfect album for well, it’s pretty self explanatory for when you should listen to it and he even releases a 15 second introduction to the album explaining just that. At Night Alone contains 10 tracks, an intro, outro, and 6 remixed tracks. For once the remixed tracks add a different sound to each track and aren’t awful. The remixes of each song are just a more upbeat and poppy version of the song which goes back to Mike Posner’s early days of an artist. For this review though, I will only be looking at the main tracks for this in depth album review. The album ended up peaking at #12 on the Billboard 200 charts and had one top 5 hit in “I Took A Pill In Ibiza.”

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