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It’s a sad week for the rock music scene with the passing of Jeff LaBar, best known as guitarist for Cinderella, one of the standout acts on the mid-80s Philly rock and roll scene. He was 58 years old. The band, which also featured singer/guitarist Tom Keifer, bassist Eric Brittingham and drummer Fred Coury, were... Continue Reading →
Load, the follow-up to Metallica's squillion-selling Black Album, was widely considered to be a bit of a letdown when it came out 25 years ago. That's not exactly a fault of the band, look at any other landmark effort in an artist's catalog and the LP that came after it rarely lives up to the... Continue Reading →
Come the late spring of 1991, it had been just over three years since a new album by Van Halen was released. It was long overdue then when the single "Poundcake" dropped ahead of the upcoming For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge LP that June. Starting with the sound of a drill raking over the strings of... Continue Reading →
One of the fascinating stories I discovered in recent years was how Jimmy Page jumped onstage with a couple of different bar bands in Lake Tahoe back in 1991 while he was there to work on material with David Coverdale for their collaboration together. Versed in the history of all things Led Zeppelin as I... Continue Reading →
Sylvester Stallone wasn't just the biggest action star of the mid-80s, he was the most popular actor at one point. It was during the run when the Rocky franchise delivered hit after hit and Rambo was seemingly following in the same footsteps that he took the lead role in Cobra, about a loner cop fighting... Continue Reading →
When it came to double - and triple - crossing, lots of sex and bizarre subplots, there really was nothing better than mid-80s late night soap operas. Dynasty, Falcon Crest and, of course, the crown jewel in Dallas were all comfort food for the brain that was oh so good to indulge. It was Dallas... Continue Reading →
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced it’s 2021 induction class this week with a mixed bag of genres represented by alt-rockers Foo Fighters, rapper Jay Z, pop punkers the Go-Go’s, R&B star Tina Turner, singer/songwriter Carole King and Upper Darby’s own Todd Rundgren all getting the nod as performers. Also on deck for... Continue Reading →
Aerosmith had their breakthrough record in 1975 with Toys in the Attic, but it would be the next year's follow-up, Rocks, that remains the fan favorite to this day among hardcore fans. It sees the Boston outfit at their most, well, rocking, on classics like "Back in the Saddle" and "Rats in the Cellar," alongside... Continue Reading →
The resurgence of the horror genre was in full swing by 1981, and the slasher subgenre led the way. It was also a prime time for sequels, and the first one for Friday the 13th came out that spring. This time, however, it wasn't Mrs. Voorhees who was stalking the sex-crazed, heavy partying camp counselors,... Continue Reading →
According to the most hardcore of Van Halen fans, the fourth album, Fair Warning, is unquestionably their best. It's pretty safe to say I fall into that lot, so it only made sense for me to do a track-by-track of the record for Ultimate Classic Rock. The piece can be found here, but it's worth... Continue Reading →
The Chronicles of Michael Christopher 