100. Deep Purple / Bananas. 2003. 3.5/5.

The first ever Deep Purple album without Jon Lord – who would ever have thought that would happen? Don Airey is, of course, a great replacement.

Before I got this album, the word was that it was different, heading in a different direction as their most recent albums had gone. It concerned me a bit.

Of course, I then got the album, and all fears were washed away. This is another great effort from Purps, and continues their resurgence since the acquisition of Steve Morse as guitarist. The band continues to keep up with the times, almost 40 years after their formation. They do it by writing songs such that appear on Bananas – rocky, with a beat, and perfect assimilation between drums, bass, guitar and keyboards. No instrument stands out, but it would not be the same if one was taken away.

Rating : Still able to cut it in the 'modern' world. 3.5/5

99. Bruce Dickinson / Balls To Picasso. 1994. 3.5/5.

If you believe press, sometimes it will lead you up the garden path. When Bruce left Maiden to record this, Steve Harris was quoted somewhere as saying he had heard this, and that he had gone soft. This steered me clear of this album, until much later (explained below).

And so – we have a different album again from his first effort, Tattooed Millionaire. It is a mixture of average and brilliant, with Bruce appearing to be trying to move in a different direction from his Maiden days. Songs like Cyclops and Hell No, Laughing In The Hiding Bush and 1000 Points Of Light are still in the heavy direction, while the brilliant Tears Of The Dragon is probably the song that made his solo career.

I can admit that when I first got this, I was suitably unimpressed. Why? Well, now, I can't tell you. It was one of those albums that just didn't pass muster on the first round of listening (there have been a few like this that are in the top eschelon – Megadeth's Youthanasia was one, if you can believe it...). Perhaps, on maturing, I accepted it for what it is, rather than trying to judge it with the words of musicians I held almost complete respect for foremost in my thoughts.

Memories : Working at Shell Select Ryde, always listening to metal. One of my regulars spent six months trying to talk me into buying this album. “It's bloody brilliant! I can't believe you haven't got it yet!”. I finally relented, listened to it, didn't like it, and told him so. He now, of course, has the last laugh...

Rating : 8 years ago, probably 1 or 2. Today...3.5/5.

97. AC/DC / Ballbreaker. 1995. 3/5.

The years are beginning to lengthen between new albums for AC/DC, and no doubt there were a number of reasons why this began to occur. Importantly though, it was surely one of their main talking points to ensure that the material for a new album release was up to the standards they required to keep their fans happy, and their bank accounts increasing.

The 1980's had been a tumultuous time for the band, with varying degrees of success, and a rise and fall in popularity as a result. The good press for their previous album The Razors Edge would have heartened the band, and after an exhaustive touring schedule and well earned breaks they returned with Ballbreaker.
The songs here are generally strong. The opening track and first single "Hard as a Rock" gets the album underway in a solid way, exhibiting all of the elements that make the band what it is. That rhythm section is hammered into place, where it sits at the same tempo for the majority of the next 45 minutes, never straining itself and never losing a beat along the way."Cover You in Oil" may only be an average follow up, but I have always enjoyed "The Furor". "Boogie Man" is rooted very much in the blues. "The Honey Roll" is as basic as it gets for AC/DC, the backbeat  rumbles along for five and a half minutes, while Brian's vocals magnetise themselves over the top, except for the 45 seconds or so that Angus plays his basic and formula solo. You could feed the basic AC/DC components into a computer, and it would write this stuff for you. As has always been the case with this band, this could be seen as a positive or a negative. Truly, in this case, this song has no inspiration, and any kid with a guitar and a drum machine could have composed it.
Things improve a little with "Burnin' Alive", which is still simple, but with an improved tempo and a better melody line throughout it gets your feet tapping more enthusiastically. So does the next song, which was the second single from the album, "Hail Caesar". "Love Bomb" doesn't really excite me at all. "Caught With Your Pants Down" settles into formula music and lyrics again, just to show that it isn't something you can easily escape. "Whiskey on the Rocks" leads into the album-concluding title track "Ballbreaker", which at least gives off some energy before we wave goodbye.

Ballbreaker is a reasonable effort for a band in their third decade. I may well be proven wrong, but the final peak of this band's career may well have been their previous effort. I don't know what the future holds for them, but one can still find enough good stuff on an album like this to believe that they may have more left in the tank, if they can just push harder at the faster songs than they necessarily do here.

Rating:  Unpack my bags, and take a drag.  3/5

98. Gary Moore / Ballads & Blues, 1982-1994. 1995. 1/5.

OK, look...this is getting ridiculous. How many Blues bloody albums did this guy do? I don't know, and I've probably got all of them!!

This hits release seems to me like an excuse to re-introduce Parisienne Walkways to another generation.

No need to go any further with this. It's average. Some may like it. I am OVER it!!!

Rating : I may be poorly biased in this respect. 1/5.

96. Van Halen / Balance. 1995. 3/5.

This was the final album for the Sammy Hagar era, and the second-last of Van Halen, unless they miraculously revive themselves in the future.

Like a lot of the albums they made with Hagar at the helm, the songs have gone to more a candy rock type of sound, which they do well. The blistering Eddie Van Halen solos are a long way in the past though, and the keyboards continue to have their presence prevalent.

Still, they had some catchy songs here. Can't Stop Loving You did some time in the charts. The Seventh Seal, Strung Out and Aftershock are also good songs.

The great thing about Van Halen is that all of their albums (perhaps apart from their final one) are albums that you can put on at any time, and enjoy. The hallmark of a good band.

Rating : Still better than Van Halen III. 3/5.

95. Iron Maiden / When It's Time to Rock [Bootleg]. 1986. 4.5/5.

It’s always interesting when you come across a bootleg of a concert by a band you love that was recorded on your birthday. It makes you wish firstly that you had been there, and secondly wonder what it was that you were doing on that day when this was happening. Well given that this bootleg was recorded on my 17th birthday on the other side of the world from where I live, I guess therein lies the reason why I wasn’t there. As to what I was doing… well… unfortunately it was a day at high school followed by an afternoon and evening of listening to Somewhere in Time. Which is the album this tour was promoting.

The album had only been out for a week or so before this concert was played so it is interesting hear both the new songs off the album, as well as the reaction from the crowd to them. The set list is brilliant, combining the new with the old and the recent. The fact that the previous tour was the World Slavery Tour that was released as Live After Death turns some people off this bootleg because they say they have heard the majority of it before. But the chance to hear songs like “Caught Somewhere in Time” and “Sea of Madness” and "Stranger in a Strange Land" and "Heaven Can Wait" live is surely too good to miss. Add in "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", "Where Eagles Dare" and "Phantom of the Opera" and you have some major epic songs in the mix. Honestly, the set list is just brilliant!

The quality of the recording is not soundboard, so if you don’t like such bootlegs then you probably won’t enjoy this. But for those that can appreciate a true bootleg, and want to experience the band in all its glory on this tour, then this is the perfect place to start.

Rating: "Caught somewhere in time".   4.5/5

94. Brian May / Back To The Light. 1992. 4/5.

Following the untimely death of Freddie Mercury, the appearance of this album was a gold mine. I had heard that Brian May had had a number one single in the UK (Too Much Love Will Kill You), but had never heard it. Then, digging through the shelves at Redback Records one afternoon, I came across this beauty.

This, then, is Brian May on everything, bar most drums. Hearing him sing an entire album, not just the odd song as had been the case in Queen, was a great change. I love the whole album, but it is the first half that really sets the world afire. Back To The Light, Love Token, Resurrection, Too Much Love and Driven By You are the real gun songs on the album, driving it through to the second half, which reverts back to general rock.

When I bought this album, it didn't leave my stereo for weeks. It was immediately catchy, and while not metal, it carries some great tunes.
Brian May spent years cobbling this together. It was time well spent.

Memories : Whe I bought this, I had just got married, and was living in a one room flat in William Street in Kiama. I spent evenings just lying in the dark with this album on repeat. Great stuff.

Rating : A worthy first solo effort. 4/5.

93. Gary Moore / Back To The Blues. 2001. 2/5.

The reason I chose to listen to all of my ALBUMS in alphabetical order, and not in ARTIST alphabetical order, was to avoid listening to one artist for several albums in succession. As you can see, that hasn't stopped it happening here...

Another blues album from Gary. Generally it is the same as his other ones. And I like his blues music. It is well written and well played. But I don't like blues that much. Especially when comparing it to the previous two albums reviewed.

Rating : Blues is blues. 2/5.

92. Gary Moore / Back On The Streets : The Rock Collection. 2003. 4.5/5.

Unlike the album just reviewed, this is a best-of collection released a couple of years ago. It seems that it was to cash in on Gary's rock years, which he had left behind long, long ago. Or to remind his blues fans that he had a rock base.

I don't know what the whole reasoning behind it was, but it is an excellent album. The collection contains most of his best hits, and even gives you the better, live versions of Wishing Well and Back On The Streets, whihch was extremely well thought out.

So why, you may ask, does it only get four and a half? Well, they forgot Victims Of The Future and Hiroshima, to name two glaring omissions. There were probably a couple of others also, but those two especially.

Apart from that, as good a best-of collection as you could make to honour Gary Moore's best years.

Rating : Great music. 4.5/5.

90. Dokken / Back In The Streets. 1979. 3/5.

The first release for the Dokken boys, an EP recorded an eon ago.

There is nothing startling on this release. It is a band still trying to find their feet, and is of interest mainly from a historical perspective, and of what they became.

Rating : Just starting out. 3/5.

91. Gary Moore / Back On The Streets. 1978. 3/5.

This was released a long, long time ago, back when Gary was still (basically) thinking like a rock star, and not a blues star.

There's a lot to like about this release. For a start, it has Phil Lynott playing bass and helping out with vocals. Secondly, most of the songs are good. The title track is a typical Gary Moore rock song, and is helped along with other such songs on the album. Thirdly, he shows he is not afraid of playing instrumentals, of which there are a number on the album. And fourthly, there is his most famous ballad, Parisienne Walkways, which probably launched his career to a new level, and gave him the kick along he needed.

I like the raw production of the album (somewhat to be expected in the era and the cost), and looking back (listening back, I guess...), you can see all of the elements that made Gary the star he soon became.

Rating : Not bad at all. 3/5.

89. AC/DC / Back In Black. 1980. 5/5.

I was too young in 1980 to know or hear anything about AC/DC, their successes with original vocalist Bon Scott, or his sudden demise very early in that year. I don't recall anything about the band then recruiting a new vocalist named Brian Johnson, on the insistence of Bon family that they not disband and continue on, as he would have wanted. I only vaguely recall hearing a song about being shook all night long on the radio around that time. It wasn't until a couple of years later, as I reached my teenage year and my own search for music of my own to enjoy began that I came across the legacy of AC/DC, the story of that fateful year, and the album Back in Black.

Has there ever been a better known or more appropriate beginning to an album than the gong ringing off at the very start of the first track, "Hells Bells"? What a brilliantly atmospheric song to start off a new album, and a new era of the band. One can only imagine what the fans thought back when this was released when they first heard this coming out of their speakers. i know when I first heard it I was hooked from that moment. "Shoot to Thrill" has always been my favourite song off the album. I love the pace of it, how it starts off at that cracking pace, before the quieter more sedate guitar part in the middle of the song, before exploding into the conclusion. It's a great song. Then there is the high energy vocals from Brian in "What Do You Do for Money Honey". It is the perfect follow up to the first two tracks, keeping the drive of the album rushing along. Phil Rudd's drums crash here in earnest. The continuity of the album is exacerbated with "Given the Dog a Bone", with the rhythm section continuing to pump out that jaunty backbeat that is the staple of the album. Side One finishes with the slower impact of "Let Me Put My Love Into You".
Side Two begins with a bang, straight into "Back in Black" with its distinctive staccato style and Brian pulverising you with his words. Terrific stuff. This is followed by "You Shook Me All Night Long", one of their biggest and most popular singles, one that everyone sings along to even today whenever it comes on. "Have a Drink on Me" was always a favourite for those I socialised with whenever we went out somewhere, singing it in the pub to whomever's shout it was to get him up to the bar. This is then jacknifed by the hardest and fastest song on the album, "Shake a Leg". This comes screaming out of the speakers after an average paced start, really showcasing the old fashioned Aussie pub style fast rock that the band grew up on. Angus lets fly at the end of the song, you can almost see him jumping around the studio as he is playing that solo break. After this session of speed, the album ends more sedately with the anthemic "Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution", which was often sung around school halls when teachers complained bitterly of music being played too loud.

Is this the perfect hard rock album? Arguably, it is. The lyrics of all of the songs deal with those things that young males of all generations relate to. The music, as always with AC/DC, is spectacular in its amazing rhythm section which doesn't miss a beat, and is solid and hard in its base, making it easy to keep time in whatever way suits you best - tapping your foot, playing air drums on the table, or just banging your head along with the beat. Angus Young's solo's are perfectly positioned in each song, enhancing each song without dominating them. The final piece of the puzzle comes to be Brian's vocals, which given how he came into the band could have been heavily scrutinised. However, he fits in perfectly, and his obvious love of blues rooted rock n roll is the same place the rest of the band came from too. The strongest songs that are most referenced here - "Hells Bells", "Shoot to Thrill", "Back in Black", "You Shook Me All Night Long" and "Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution" - make the biggest mark, but it is the songs around them that help make it a top shelf album. They are still strong songs that help enhance what they fit around, maintaining the excellence without necessarily being as heavily recognised as those songs mentioned here. That's what makes this (probably) the finest moment of the AC/DC story.

Rating:  Shoot to thrill, play to kill, I got my gun at the ready, gonna fire at will.  5/5

88. Dokken / Back For The Attack. 1987. 4/5.

For the life of me, I will never know why I wasn't listening to Dokken in their heyday, the wonderful 1980's. I was in Year Twelve when this was released, the glory years of hair/glam metal were upon us, but I hadn't quite discovered that yet. And what a shame, cos this would have ROCKED those days!!

This is Dokken at their very best. The whole album reeks of their finest performances. This album had everything, from the hard rockers to the ballading slower tunes. This is also their finest line-up, the classic Dokken/Lynch/Pilson/Brown era.

If you hear nothing else from this band, at least give this album a try. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it is the best example of their music for the beginner.

Rating : Great era. 4/5.

87. Masterplan / Back For My Life [Single]. 2004. 4/5.

Singles are hard to rate – and I am only including them because to leave them out would make this process feel incomplete.

This contains two songs from the album Aeronautics, which are both great. It also includes two songs not on the album, one which is great, the other which is average.

Rating : Good for a single. 4/5.

86. Live / Awake : The Best Of Live. 2004. 3/5.

When Live first came along, I became a big fan, especially of the album Throwing Copper. It was new, different, and a style of its own.
With each subsequent release, I have found less to enjoy. I thought the following two releases were good, but since then it has been very opaque.

This collection contains what they claim to be their best, but is generally just a singles package. Not that that detracts from its release, just that many of their singles I wasn't beholden to, and some of their other songs I believe are a lot better.

Rating : About average. 3/5.

85. Dream Theater / Awake. 1994. 4/5.

There are examples everywhere of bands made up of wonderful musicians, but who can't wrire a song for shite. (Listing them here may be unfair, as a couple of them appear later on...). Dream Theater are not one of the aforementioned bands.

Awake is a brilliant mix of song and instrumental. Caught In A Web was one of the first songs from Dream Theater that caught my attention. It is, to me, a quintessential Dream Theater song.

As an album, it took me some time to appreciate its complexities. It wasn't an easy “sit down, listen twice & love” kind of album for me. However, over time, it grew on me, as did the band themselves. The rest is history, of one type or another.

Rating : How do these guys play this stuff?! 4/5.

84. Audioslave / Audioslave. 2002. 3.5/5

When Audioslave came together, there were quite a few people around who wondered if it would work. Could the two extremes - the voice of Soundgarden, in Chris Cornell, and the band formerly known as Rage Against The Machine – come together to form a partnership?

As it turned out, the answer was “Yes”.

This debut album is a good start for the new band. Everyone's tastes are catered for throughout, without any undue strain. There was even chart success, especially with Like A Stone.

As a first up effort, it is a good album. Word from the concert was that they were even better live, which one would expect.

Memories : The first time the clip for Cochise came on, I was at Kearo's watching Rage at an ungodly hour of the morning. The start of that song was what got me excited about getting this album.

Rating : Pretty good. 3.5/5

83. Yngwie J. Malmsteen's Rising Force / Attack!! 2002. 4/5

Another Yngwie album means more of the same thing. Great guitaring, including riffs and solos. A great vocalist, who suits the written songs to a T. A teriffic band around him, who are great musicians themselves.

Earlier in his career, Yngwie longed for commercial success, and began to write songs with verses and choruses. To a degree, and it is here in this effort, he has gone back to guitaring, and writing guitar pieces, and fitting in the vocals to the gaps. It still works, but sometimes the songs feel like instrumentals with lyrics thrown in to make it a 'song'.

This is another great album from Yngwie, who seems to have grown more comfortable with himself in recent years, and just keeps pumping out great material.

Rating : Excellent stuff. 4/5.