Vinyl Review: John Corabi - One Night In Nashville (Rat Pak Records)

Artist: John Corabi
Title: One Night in Nashville
Label: Rat Pak Records RPR603090
Release Date: December 14, 2018
Other: Limited Edition - 300 pressed

As I left the house on Saturday morning, I was not expecting any new vinyl to show up that day.  When I was informed that a record arrived at the house I scrambled to find out what it could be.  I checked my Amazon.com account and there was nothing there.  I racked my brain trying to figure out what it could be.  Once I returned home that afternoon, I looked at the package and was immediately overcome with excitement.  Rat Pak Records the return label said.  I knew exactly what I was receiving, but before we get into the package itself let's go back and tell you why I was so excited about this delivery.

The year is 1994 and the news has just hit the wire that Vince Neil has been replaced as lead singer in Motley Crue.  Neil had quit the band, or maybe he was fired, in 1992 over a spat with his bandmates.  His replaced is announced as a little known singer from a band called The Scream, John Corabi.  Motley Crue was coming off a massive success with Dr. Feelgood and a very successful hits release called Decade of Decadence.  They were on top of the hard rock world even though the music scene had changed and moved away from hard rock and heavy metal in favor of grunge and alternative rock.  This was before the explosion of the Internet, so finding out any information on John Corabi was virtually impossible unless you knew of his previous band, The Scream.  It wasn't until March of 1994 that Crue fans finally got a chance to hear the new singer in action when Hooligan's Holiday was released to radio and a video to MTV (back when they played videos).  Corabi was a major departure in style and sound from Neil.  He had a deeper, more soulful voice that was perfect for the heavier direction Crue seemed to be taking.  Some loved it, some hated it.  I was one of those that loved it.

1994's self-titled album cover

Motley Crue's self-titled album was released on March 15, 1994.  The direction of the album was heavier than anything Crue had done before.  Corabi's vocals were in your face in some places, and soulful in others.  I was a fan of the album immediately, but my fandom increased when I saw them live in August of that same year.  The band felt full of energy and Corabi knocked all of the previous era songs out of the park.  They looked excited to be playing, even if it was to smaller crowds in smaller venues.  So when news came 3 years later that Vince Neil was returning to the band, I was one of those people who was very upset with the move.  I couldn't wait to hear the new album with Corabi, titled Personality #9, and now it wasn't happening.

Fast forward twenty years and I am now collecting vinyl records.  As with anyone who starts collecting vinyl, you try to get all your favorite albums on that media format.  Sadly, the 1994 self-titled Crue album is hard to find, and when you do it's very expensive.  After months of looking, and months of crying when I saw the prices, I resigned myself to the fact that I would likely never own this album on vinyl.  In November, I came across a post in one of my vinyl groups stating that Rat Pak Records would be releasing 300 copies of John's One Night in Nashville album on vinyl.  I knew about the album, which was originally released in February 2018, but it had a very limited vinyl release.  I missed out on the initial run of 300, so when I saw that they were doing a second short run I knew I had to get one and placed my order that night.  This past Saturday, it arrived.

What's inside?

Personally autographed record flat

When you hear what was included in the package you might lose your mind, but when you hear it only cost $29.99 you might explode.  So what came inside the box you ask? Let's take a look, shall we?

The first thing you see when you open the packaging is a nice poly sleeve holding all the goods inside nice a tightly.  Then you see this beautiful, personally autographed flat featuring a photo of John (see right).  A very cool thing to put right on top of the album itself.  It really gets you excited from the get-go.  Under the flat is the digital download card, and then the album itself.  Sealed with hype stickers and your individual copy's number (mine is 263 out of 300).

Album cover

The cover matches the artwork you see on the CD version on a beautiful gatefold that opens up to some cool pictures from the show recorded on Oct 27, 2015.  Inside the gatefold we find two custom sleeves housing the records themselves with track listing on the back sides for each record.  Now, I love a cool custom sleeve, but I hate leaving my records in them and immediately add a poly lined sleeve to protect the records from static and wear.  Also inside is a second flat with album credits and more photos.

Brilliant translucent red and black vinyl

Now, this is where things get cool.  The records themselves are a thing of beauty.  Many record collectors have many opinions on colored vinyl.  Some say the sound quality isn't that good, but I haven't run into any issues with any color vinyl releases I have purchased myself.  This record comes in a translucent red with black splatter vinyl that just looks stunning.

How is the album?

Back cover

The album itself is a cool concept that many bands have been doing in recent years, and that is playing a full album as a sort of anniversary.  Bands like Megadeth, Judas Priest, and others have all been doing shows like this in recent years, but to hear that John was doing this with the '94 Crue album was super exciting because Motley Crue will never and have never played any of the songs off this album since John was relieved from the band.  Plus, the songs on the album are played in the same order as they appear on the original release, which I think is super cool.

After drooling over the packaging, the song list, and the sweet colored vinyl itself, I had to immediately immerse myself in the album itself.  It was on the turntable immediately and the rest of the world was nonexistent as I took in every last note, every lyric and every story told on the album.  In all, the concert is awesome.  Where I would have made some changes is in the spots they decided to switch the tracks.  One second I'm listening to Corabi introduce a song and then the record ends and needs to be flipped.  Not a huge deal, but in the case of Dropping Like Flies it is just odd to hear Corabi introduce the song and then have to flip the record over to hear the song itself.  It's a minor issue, but I'm sure it will bug others too.  This happens on both records, but all is forgiven because the sound quality is fantastic.  Corabi is still at the top of his game, and he nails these tunes.  It felt like I was going back in time as I listened to the album, and once it was done I had a huge smile on my face.  I don't know if you can ask for better than that from a single record.  Thank you John Corabi, and thank you Rat Pak Records.  You have made this massive 1994 Crue fan very happy.

In closing, I want to say that if you are a fan of the self-titled Crue album then you owe it to yourself to get this record.  As of this writing, there is a limited number of albums still available for purchase on Rat Pak's website.  Click Here to order it because they won't last long.  If you are unable to procure the vinyl, you can always get the CD or digital version of the album.  As for me, I will cherish my vinyl copy and rock the digital version as well.

Thanks for reading this blog.  Please share it with your social media followers.  Follow me on Instagram or Facebook, and please subscribe to the Brian's Vinyl Records podcast which is available on your favorite podcatcher. 

Photo Gallery

Inside gatefold cover

Flat side A

Flat side B

Record one sleeve front

Record one sleeve back

Record two sleeve front

Record two sleeve back