Travis Sheldon Posted March 11 Posted March 11 5 hours ago, Curt McGirt said: I didn't notice until now but the headpiece makes him look like a member of Rick James' Stone City Band. Bob Mould is supposed to be a big wrestling fan. If my memory is correct, he was part of the WCW writing crew for a spell in the 90s. I remember thinking "The Bob Mould?!" when I found out about the gig.
Curt McGirt Posted March 11 Posted March 11 Oh yeah, he was! That's another gem from the Nitro book I forgot about.
zendragon Posted March 12 Posted March 12 On 3/11/2025 at 4:32 AM, twiztor said: Jillian Hall – A JINGLE WITH JILLIAN 1. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (3:15) 2. Jingle Bell Rock (2:30) 3. I’ll Be Home for Christmas (2:54) 4. Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree (2:17) 5. The Christmas Song (3:28) https://www.discogs.com/master/993600-Jillian-A-Jingle-With-Jillian https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlzDkH6pjuc Ring Introductions: Released in 2007, this was put out “in character” for Jillian Hall’s terrible singing gimmick. I wasn’t watching SmackDown! at the time, but remember seeing some segments on PPV or crossbranded shows. This was re-released in 2010 with a couple of bonus tracks, but I couldn’t find those (not that I spent much time looking). I’m not looking forward to this one. The Match: ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ started out bad, but ok for about 30 seconds. Then it just gets grating. Holy shit this is REALLY bad. And I get that it’s bad on purpose, but that doesn’t make it any more listenable. ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ is a more playful number. That’s my nice way of saying that Jillian doesn’t conform to the regular rules of timing, or tone, or tune, or anything else that starts with “t”. This is terrible, and has no redeeming qualities. ‘I’ll Be Home for Christmas’ is the worst one yet. Fucking awful. ‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree’ is more dire shit. The “joke” is beyond played out at this point. ‘The Christmas Song’ in her softer tones (AKA when Jillian isn’t purposefully overdoing it) this approaches OK. But then she goes deep with the falsetto and it plunges right back into the deep end of SUCK. The Finish: What the fuck is this? Why would anybody actually spend money on this? It’s fucking awful. I’m seriously wracking my brain trying to figure out why WWE would actually put something like this out, rather than just kayfabe it (like they did with Jeff Jarrett’s song). These don’t even work in a “play them as a novelty” way, and I say that as somebody who loves novelty songs. This gets a straight 0 on my scale of 5 ringbells, and that’s only because I’m not dipping into negative territory. Between this and hearing about Mohammed Hussan being on DSOTR, I was just thinking about all the terrible creative of that era. Jillian had the singing gimmick along with the giant mole, The Bashams had some ill defined S&M gimmick, technical wizard Nick Dinsmore becomes Eugene, A legit athletic 7 footer Matt Morgan gets the stuttering gimmick (way to make anyone who actually has a speech impediment feel not welcome), The Johnsons or Dick or what ever that would ejaculate baby oil 1
Curt McGirt Posted March 13 Posted March 13 The birth of Mae Young's Hand just ran through my Facebook feed for no reason and I hadn't seen that since it happened. Positively surreal. Wrong era I guess, but it just reminded me of that; there were... precursors.
twiztor Posted March 19 Author Posted March 19 (edited) Jeff Hardy – SIMILAR CREATURES 1. Modest (2012 Remix) (3:29) 2. Another Me (3:43) 3. Ressurected (2:40) 4. Similar Creatures (Original Mix) (3:18) 5. Soul Tied in a Knot (3:26) 6. Humanomoly (2:57) 7. Enshrine (2:36) 8. Reptilian (4:09) 9. Similar Creatures (3:26) https://www.discogs.com/release/15531600-Jeff-Hardy-Similar-Creatures https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNqNLApmWIg Ring Introductions: Released at the end of 2012 during Jeff’s 2nd TNA run, I believe this is his first album. I remember that there were always rumors that Jeff was working on his music career whenever he’d take breaks from wrestling, but I couldn’t find anything earlier than this. His band, PeroxWhy?Gen is listed as having formed in 2003, but their earliest release is shown to be 2015. Anyway, this features Dale Oliver from TNA on all/most of the instruments, and is likely some sort of ‘proof of concept’ since his next album gets released under TNA KNOCKOUT MUSIC the following year. Jeff’s a weird guy. I’m not really a fan of his matches, and I don’t have high expectations for his indie debut album here. The Match: ‘Modest (2012 Remix)’ has an odd disconnect between the music and the vocals. The instrumental goes harder than I expected. The vocals are kind of a sing-songy pop-punk? I don’t dislike this, but that disconnect during the verses holds me back from fully endorsing it. ‘Another Me’ exists in the same realm as some of the 2003ish Limp Bizkit songs. I am not on board with the hate that Limp Bizkit usually receives, so I don’t mean that as an insult. ‘Ressurected’ was in a similar vein, and I enjoyed this too. Do I actually….like this album? ‘Similar Creatures (Original Mix)’ is quite catchy. I believe this is what he used as an entrance theme during this run, and I can see why. A bit repetitive, but that’s a thin line for that sort of thing. ‘Soul Tied In A Knot’ doesn’t catch me quite as hard early , as I think Jeff’s voice falters a few times throughout this one. But it improves as it goes on and by the end it’s pretty good. ‘Humanomoly’ has probably the coolest track name that I’ve seen so far. But then, I’m a sucker for portmanteaus, so YMMV. The driving drums and heavy guitar really standout here. ‘Enshrine’ is a dedication song to someone who has helped him persevere and celebrate with. It’s pretty decent, but Jeff sounds more robotic than in previous songs. ‘Reptilian’ sounds pretty similar to ‘Another Me’ and ‘Ressurected’ but has a pretty catchy hook and I like it as well. ‘Similar Creatures’ has a longer intro, so I’m assuming that THIS is what gets used as his entrance theme. I haven’t watched 2012 TNA so not sure. The Finish: This is an incredibly solid freshman effort. Jeff’s voice can sometimes sound robotic, or like he’s reading the words. He could also be overtrying to enunciate everything properly. I’m not sure exactly, but that is my biggest criticism of this release. The fact that basically every song overcomes this with ease really speaks to the effort and emphasis on display here. There’s not a whole lot of variance to the sound on this, which tells me that it was probably recorded in a fairly short timeframe. Standout Track(s): Humanomoly, and not just for the blended word title Similar Creatures, which makes sense since it is the title track I’m rating this one 4 ringbells out of 5, which is FAR from what I expected. I am a bigger fan of Jeff Hardy the musician than Jeff Hardy the wrestler. Edited March 19 by twiztor 3
DreamBroken Posted March 19 Posted March 19 Big fan of that one! While it's cool that the Hardys get to use their original theme everywhere now, I always loved the era of Jeff using his own music as themes. Similar Creatures was indeed his 2012 theme. "Modest" was his original TNA debut theme for the first few years, "Another Me" was when he turned heel in 2010-11, always thought that was an awesome song and super underrated theme as the run only lasted maybe 6 months. "Resurrected" was when he returned from suspension in 2011 while Matt used an instrumental version of "Reptilian" as his TNA theme once he came in. Jeff later made "Willow's Way" for his brief run as his Willow character in 2014 and then the great "Obsolete" for the Broken Hardys run. 1
twiztor Posted March 26 Author Posted March 26 Abdullah the Butcher – THE BUTCHER 1. Butcher’s Theme (3:33) 2. Butcher the Greatest (3:38) https://www.discogs.com/release/23684234-ザスープレックス-アブドーラザブッチャー-黒い呪術師アブドーラザブッ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaOTJO4WicA Ring Introductions: Released in Japan only (I can’t find a year but I would suspect early/mid ‘80s), this flew under my radar until @CurtMcGirt brought it to my attention. So let’s give this a go! The Match: ‘Butcher’s Theme’ is fucking crazy. A very disco beat. There are prominent background(?) vocals in Japanese. And then random outbursts by Abdullah. “I wanna kick you, I wanna slam you”. “my own family hates me because I’m too vicious”. ‘Butcher the Greatest’ doesn’t feature Abdullah at all. It again has a disco beat and Japanese singers (more front and center this time). It’s catchy for what it is. The Finish: Butcher’s Theme absolutely needs to be heard to be believed. I don’t know how I could possibly rate this any lower than 3 ringbells out of 3 on the singles side. 1
twiztor Posted March 26 Author Posted March 26 Leapin’ Lanny Poffo – THE POLICEMAN IS YOUR FRIEND / JAYNE 1. The Policeman Is Your Friend (4:10) 2. Jayne (3:20) https://www.discogs.com/release/8333961-Leapin-Lanny-Charlie-Beatty-The-Policemen-Is-Your-Friend-Leapin-Lanny-Can-Fly https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esg0_p3hnvM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxUxceHg4I8 Ring Introductions: This was released way back in 1979! Cagematch shows that he had already been wrestling for a few years, mostly in the south, but by early ’79 he was just finishing up in the PNW region. I’m thinking that this was recorded/released before he debuts full time for his dad’s ICW “outlaw mudshow” promotion, but that’s just a guess. Discogs lists the B-Side as a different song, but I can’t find that and it’s not by Lanny anyway, so I’ll pretend I didn’t even see that. But if anyone can toss me a link, I’d give it a go! It also lists a different 2 sided single, but that didn't immediately show up in a search either and i stopped looking. The Match: ‘The Policeman Is Your Friend’ features a spoken word narration by Lanny interspersed with singing by Johnny Vee. A weird choice to release on vinyl if you ask me. Lanny definitely sounds exactly like he would, years later, as the Genius. I wouldn’t say this is bad or good. It merely exists. But at more than 4 minutes, it overstays its welcome. ‘Jayne’ is similar, with the dual vocals. Lanny is more soft spoken here and the song is better for it. This probably should have been the “A” side, as I could see people actually liking this one. The Finish: Tough to rate. Johnny Vee sounds good. the minimalist instrumentation isn’t bad. But Lanny just throws the whole dynamic out the window. I’m going to lean on the conservative side and rate this just 1 ringbell out of 3. Jayne ALMOST pushes this to two, but I just can’t do it. 1
Curt McGirt Posted March 26 Posted March 26 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esg0_p3hnvM&ab_channel=RecordsoftheWrestlingWorld GOOD LORD THAT'S WEIRD. MDC needs to cover this with the obvious alterations to the lyrics. 1
twiztor Posted April 1 Author Posted April 1 Elias – WALK WITH ELIAS 1. The Ballad of Every Town I’ve Ever Been To… (3:43) 2. Elias’ Words (2:53) 3. Nothing I Can’t Do (4:38) 4. Walk With Me (3:17) https://www.discogs.com/release/12522682-Elias-WWE-Walk-With-Elias https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9owhHzXJE3Y&pp=ygUVZWxpYXMgdW5pdmVyc2FsIHRydXRo Ring Introductions: This EP was released in the summer of ’18. Elias (née Samson) had debuted on main roster WWE doing a sort of drifter/musician character about a year prior. I wasn’t watching at the time, but I remember people talking about him. I checked out a YouTube video way back when but didn’t really get most of the context of what was going on, so never paid much attention. Anyway, WWE released this digital-only EP. Also, Walk With Elias. WWE. Get It? Let’s give it a listen. The Match: ‘The Ballad of Every Town I’ve Ever Been To…’ is a pretty low key song to kick us off. It is just Elias doing some basic strumming on an acoustic guitar, disparaging a list of towns that he’s been to. It’s not bad in a ‘setting the table’ way. ‘Elias’ Words’ has the same vibe, but instead of Elias running down towns he’s been to, he’s instead putting down people that have tried to tell him things. It’s marginally better and funnier than the previous one, but I hope all 4 songs aren’t as one-note as these. ‘Nothing I Can’t Do’ starts off with a piano intro, and that leads into Elias actually doing some singing for the first time on this album. This song showed promise, but never got out of first gear. ‘Walk With Me’ starts with Elias using a bass-ier voice and I appreciate the variation that they’ve used within the limited scope they’re going for. That appreciation quickly dissipates when the song just meanders along, much like the previous three. The Finish: I guess this was a reasonably well done project. I suppose that if you are a fan of the character, it’s worth it to give it a listen, but it’s ultimately pretty vapid. This gave me some mild disappointment, so I wouldn’t feel right giving it any more than 2 ringbells out of five. Elias – UNIVERSAL TRUTH 1. Amen (I’m Going In) (3:06) 2. Street Light (2:42) 3. Lead Me Home (3:13) 4. Amazing Grace (2:23) https://www.discogs.com/release/16137571-Elias-Universal-Truth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NgeFEtm1J0 Ring Introductions: OK, the first EP by Elias left me a little flat, but I didn’t think it was a bad album. Since it was so short, I’m going to go ahead and double up with his second EP, released two years later in 2020. Way better cover art for sure. The Match: ‘Amen (I’m Going In)’ already feels more fully fleshed than anything from the first album. There’s more instrumentation, and background singers, and it actually feels like a real song. ‘Street Light’ has a slower and more soulful sound than we’ve heard from Elias yet. I think it works pretty well for offering a fuller song but still feeling wistful. ‘Lead Me Home’ is the first song that I can say that I legitimately like. Has a great sound, the music and his voice all blend in well together. Chorus is a bit repetitive, but that’s a minor squabble for something that has impressed me to this point. ‘Amazing Grace’ sounds a lot like “House of the Rising Sun”, which is a comparison I didn’t expect to be making. But (un?)surprisingly, it really works. Good song, and again I can’t believe I’m going to say this, could have stood to be a bit longer. [I did a quick read on discogs, and it looks like Alan Price of the Animals is credited as a writer, so I guess the House of the Rising Sun similarity was intentional.] The Finish: I feel like this was a marked improvement over the first album. Better in every conceivable way. I probably would have gone 4 stars if there were more tracks. 1
Curt McGirt Posted April 1 Posted April 1 He actually wrote his own song and named it "Amazing Grace" What a heel move. They're missing the boat on not Cactus Jack-ing him in TNA and having him come back as a homeless, train-hopping busker, looking worse for wear and doing deranged stuff for drug money.
caley Posted April 2 Posted April 2 On 1/31/2025 at 6:50 AM, twiztor said: ” ‘Captain Lou’s History of Music’ is an acid-trip of a song. Captain Lou is exploring music’s evolution. A fine concept, but in a 4 minute track, it is more of a chaotic audio assault, with key/pitch/timing changes constantly. Extremely disjointed. Kevin Dunn took the lessons of this song and adapted them into camera work. Notably, it was produced by Mona Flambé (aka Cyndi Lauper). As with the Hulk song being a recycled Bonnie Tyler song, the Piper song being a remade song, this is ALSO a remake, of sorts, of an insane NRBQ song about Captain Lou https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyjAqBy4keM 1
twiztor Posted April 2 Author Posted April 2 1 hour ago, caley said: As with the Hulk song being a recycled Bonnie Tyler song, the Piper song being a remade song, this is ALSO a remake, of sorts, of an insane NRBQ song about Captain Lou https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyjAqBy4keM haha, i literally just typed up my review for NRBQ's album over this last weekend. it'll still be a month before it gets posted, but thank you for pointing this out because i DEFINITELY didn't make the connection. I am learning that The Wrestling Album is WAY deeper than i gave it credit for. It certainly doesn't make it a better listen, but i fully appreciate the context!! 1
caley Posted April 2 Posted April 2 40 minutes ago, twiztor said: haha, i literally just typed up my review for NRBQ's album over this last weekend. it'll still be a month before it gets posted, but thank you for pointing this out because i DEFINITELY didn't make the connection. I am learning that The Wrestling Album is WAY deeper than i gave it credit for. It certainly doesn't make it a better listen, but i fully appreciate the context!! As a kid I could NOT figure out the Roddy Piper song, I liked it but could not figure out how the chorus of "For everybody" made any sense (I DID figure out that "kiss my trash" was a cover for "Kiss my ass" even when I was 11 or so) but the chorus completely baffled me "For everybody? Does he mean that the song is for everybody? Is he saying he's standing up for everybody? So whey does it sound like an insult" and it wasn't until many, many, many years later that someone on here hipped me to the original version.i' Since just about everything on there is a cover song/reinterpretation, I've often wondered the same for 'Grab Them Cakes' because it seems way more, uh, adult (?!) for this album ("Once you get started then it's hard to stop you just go for your partner's you-know-what") than anything else, but I never found one.
DreamBroken Posted April 2 Posted April 2 1 hour ago, caley said: Since just about everything on there is a cover song/reinterpretation, I've often wondered the same for 'Grab Them Cakes' because it seems way more, uh, adult (?!) for this album ("Once you get started then it's hard to stop you just go for your partner's you-know-what") than anything else, but I never found one. It's a cover of the original by Captain Chameleon from 1981, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWCJOvhFHHQ same as Slick's "Jive Soul Bro" being a cover of their original "Jive Ol' Fo". 2 1
caley Posted April 2 Posted April 2 17 hours ago, DreamBroken said: It's a cover of the original by Captain Chameleon from 1981, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWCJOvhFHHQ same as Slick's "Jive Soul Bro" being a cover of their original "Jive Ol' Fo". Haha, that's amazing! Also, somehow the original is dirtier-sounding, like you could get chlamydia from listening to it. 2
HarryArchieGus Posted April 2 Posted April 2 17 hours ago, DreamBroken said: It's a cover of the original by Captain Chameleon from 1981, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWCJOvhFHHQ same as Slick's "Jive Soul Bro" being a cover of their original "Jive Ol' Fo". Wow, nice find! I need to know everything there is to know about this Captain Chameleon. 1
DreamBroken Posted April 2 Posted April 2 53 minutes ago, HarryArchieGus said: Wow, nice find! I need to know everything there is to know about this Captain Chameleon. Apparently it was a David Wolff project that only did those two songs which is how they ended up reused on the wrestling albums. Guitarist Vernie Taylor said Jive Soul Bro was originally to be titled "Jive Mo' Fo" but the company wouldn't release it with that title. 1
Curt McGirt Posted April 3 Posted April 3 Uh oh. I found another album for you. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mestarit_salilla 1 1 1
twiztor Posted April 4 Author Posted April 4 9 hours ago, Curt McGirt said: Uh oh. I found another album for you. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mestarit_salilla it's on YouTube too. oh goddammit. *adds to list 1
Curt McGirt Posted April 4 Posted April 4 My most sincere apologies. I saw it on the Dark Side episode and couldn't resist.
twiztor Posted April 4 Author Posted April 4 haha, it's all good. i can't imagine it being worse than Jillian Hall's album. I definitely appreciate any and all releases that i've missed. I am, after all, a glutton for punishment, and i want to be as complete as possible. 1
twiztor Posted April 8 Author Posted April 8 posting this a few hours early. Dröch Fhöula – ALTER DEUS 1. Aquelarre (“Witches’ Sabbath”) (2:38) 2. Blood Fight (4:19) 3. Burning (3:36) 4. Peepshow (3:54) 5. Mainline (3:29) 6. Evil vs. Evil (4:57) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPpZhmzeOAE&list=OLAK5uy_noNJec9ZurXO216kefn-PKv21TV32FACM Ring Introductions: Vampiro is the lead singer for this gothic metal band. He previously played bass in some punk group, but I’m having a hard time finding any solid information about that. (This is separate from the belief that Vampiro joined the Misfits for a short stint during their WCW run). Anyway, this album was released in 2008, with a 2 track EP seeing the light of day the year prior. Now, I say “released”, but I can’t actually find that this was pressed onto a physical media at all, and neither of these albums are on discogs, so I dunno. The Match: “Aquelarre” is a mood-setting instrumental piece. Dark and heavy. It works well to set the tone. “Blood Fight” keeps the heavy vibes up, but now includes Vampiro shouting some pretty basic lyrics. It’s a bit repetitive on the vocals side, but shows promise. “Burning” infuses a guitar that adds almost a sci-fi feel to the whole ordeal. The vocals are a step up from the song before as well. There’s a 10 second guitar solo towards the end that, while it sounds good, feels very out of place. “Peepshow” was a weird one for me, as it showed promise early on, but as the song went on, I felt like it never really lived up to that potential. But by the end, my feelings had come back around and I enjoyed it quite a bit. “Mainline” feels like an adrenaline shot to your veins. Comes in hard, grabs you by the cochlea, and doesn’t let go. “Evil vs. Evil” starts out as a good instrumental behind Vampiro cutting a promo in his distinctive riff of a voice. After about 2 minutes, the song kicks in and it is another banger. Plays into the horror theme more than we’ve seen through most of the album. BONUS TRACK (from the EP of the same name): “Give Me Fire” sounds more like a demo, as it’s a bit muffled and unfocused. Still decent, but I can see why they didn’t include it on the main album. The Finish: This was a fun listen, and quite a departure from the last few albums I’ve listened to. Certainly different from the fare most wrestlers have put out. I had fairly low expectations but enjoyed it quite a bit. I’m going to rate this 3 ringbells out of 5. @Curt, i would be interested in your thoughts on this one, as it's the closest we're going to see to your actual tastes.
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