MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE / Living With Ghosts (2016)

The version of The Black Parade included in the same package as this is no different from its original release.

Feel free to check the link below, if you’re curious about that masterstroke.

These rough mixes and live demos very blatantly contain the DNA of numerous songs on Parade and Conventional Weapons. That’s appropriate, as they were recorded during the sessions that birthed both of those albums. They’re all very sloppy, but that is admittedly part of their charm. I have to wonder if Gerard was intoxicated during some of these takes. It’s definitely possible. The best track isolates the most satisfying part of Welcome to the Black Parade; it’s as if they chose to crawl inside an orgasm and have a dance party there for four minutes. It consistently defies the lyrical expectations you’ve unknowingly held for over ten years and I adore every second of it.

I’d say if you’re only a Revenge and Parade kind of person, this is an easy pass. If you own and love everything...fire at will.

Songs of Note: The Five of Us Are Dying [Rough Mix]; Not That Kind of Girl [Live Demo]

2 (Really Not So) Sad Motherfuckers out of 5

TOM PETTY / Full Moon Fever (1989)

After seven studio albums with The Heartbreakers, Tom made his first 'solo' album (that some of The Heartbreakers actually play on). It wasn't a big departure from what we were used to; it's largely the production that makes it sound different, a change that was no doubt heavily influenced by Jeff Lynne (of ELO fame, and a fellow Wilbury). Lynne's contribution to production lessened the traditional US Rock vibe of the band line-up and instead accentuated keyboards and sugary-ness. At times it even has a distinctly 1960s British pop influence.
It's a little too polished for my tastes these days, but once upon a time I adored it, granting it semi-permanent residence in my CD player for days at a time. Sadly, I never had it on vinyl; I suspect it would've sounded better on the format.

Songs of Note: Runnin' Down a Dream; The Apartment Song

4 valley vampires out of 5

SINÉAD O'CONNOR / The Lion and the Cobra (1987)

Years before a media shit-storm (involving a torn photograph) thrust Sinéad into people's homes, her début album, released when she was just twenty-years-old, established her as a formidable force in the minds of people who were there for the music. Right from the get-go it attempts something greater than simple Pop/Rock songs, and, although oft-times hidden in the lyrical composition, a heartfelt honesty is nestled in each and every track. But it's her remarkable voice that gives them real power. Whether being soft and airy or tragic and yearning, it's the element that binds the shifting moods together and prevents them from fighting each other. Some of the music may sound dated today, but the conviction that drives them is something that won't ever be diminished by time.

Songs of Note: Jackie; Troy

5 ghostly tears out of 5