Top 10 Albums of 2008.

Time for my annual best albums list. Not unusually for me I guess, there is a lot of material here from artists I grew up with. Some of them produced great comebacks, others sank in their own mediocrity.

It was a year of comebacks of a sort.
Fifteen years in the making, Axl Rose… sorry… ‘Guns ‘N Roses’ released Chinese Democracy. The questions were abundant – how could the songs be good if they took fifteen years to be recorded? Without a stable recording line-up, wouldn’t it be a complete mishmash? Not surprisingly, Chinese Democracy is uninspiring, boring, and just plain dull. Though most people had lost any hint excitement at the pending release about a decade ago, it would have been nice for it to have worked. Axl’s only hope is a reunion with his former partners who now make up Velvet Revolver.
Iced Earth forsook Tim Owens and recalled Matt Barlow to the fold for The Crucible Of Man – Something Wicked Part 2, and found that the change in vocalist still doesn’t help ordinary songwriting. Jon Schaeffer needs to go back to 1998 and remember what Iced Earth songs are supposed to sound like.
Brian May, Roger Taylor, Paul Rodgers and company finally released their awaited-for album of new material under the banner Queen + Paul Rodgers. Unfortunately, The Cosmos Rocks is a sad mix of 1970’s pop-rock and slower ballads that lack the inspiration and power of either Queen or Rodgers’ former bands. Perhaps it is not surprising given the nostalgia trip the band has been on for the past five years, but there was hope of something special. No such luck.
Def Leppard forced a new selection of sugar coated crap down our throats with Songs From The Sparkle Lounge. They were great live in November, but their new material is still just awful. Whitesnake also returned with Good To Be Bad and proved that the title was inaccurate. This should have been something special but fell down in almost every department.

All was not completely lost. Alice Cooper brought out another solid release with Along Came A Spider proving he is almost incapable of putting out bad albums. Michael Schenker brought vocalist Gary Barden back into the fold to release In The Midst Of Beauty, and though not able to recapture the magic of their initial partnership 20-odd years ago, it still makes for good listening.
Almost the release of the year, but not actually included on my list, is Exodus’ re-recording of their debut classic Bonded By Blood. Renamed here as Let There Be Blood, it was recorded to allow today’s modern recording techniques give it the power it deserves. Controversial in parts, I think it is a triumph, and shows Exodus are as relevant today as they ever were. However, I didn’t include it in my list, as it is just a re-release. It would have ranked very high had I used it!

So that’s the preliminaries. Here’s this year’s Top Ten.

10. Motorizer / MOTORHEADAnother year, another Motorhead album. And like every other release they have made, you know exactly what it is going to sound like. OK, a couple of the songs are really cheesy, even for Lemmy. But overall, the good thing about this album is that it feels familiar even though it is new. Easy to put on and listen to.

9. Lonely Are The Brave / JORN
Jorn Lande left Masterplan two years ago, and this is his first solo album since that split. With vocal chords like his, it was only a matter of what direction his song writing was going to go in. Fortunately for me, his inistincts kept him in the metal genre, and this is a great effort. Easy to spot the Whitesnake and Dio influences too. The cover of Deep Purple’s “Stormbringer” is stunning.

8. Shogun / TRIVIUMAnother solid release from one of the leaders in the current metal crop. Very interesting to me is the fact that there is a lot less growling on this album and a lot more clear vocals from Matt Heafy. Is that a response, perhaps to lengthen the band’s longevity. I don’t know. A good album that to me still lacks the killer punch to make it a bellringer.

7. The Man Who Would Not Die / BLAZE BAYLEYBlaze is back, and while this mightn’t quite reach the heights of his previous three albums, there is still enough here to make it a great release. With a whole new band it must have been difficult to pull together in the writing process, but overall it works like a dream. This guy deserves a higher profile in the metal world that he currently holds.

6. Death Magnetic / METALLICA
The fact that I am able to put this in my Top Ten albums of the year is a win in itself – the first time since the black album I have been able to do so. A much better feel to this album, and with about half the songs I can put on and listen to at any time. Still has some rubbish – “The Unforgiven III” is the standout – but at least they have gone in the right direction for the first time in almost two decades.

5. Perpetual Flame / YNGWIE MALMSTEEN’S RISING FORCEAs good as Unleash The Fury was, this is a brilliant return to form for Yngwie. Having recruited Tim Owens on vocals, this reminds me so much of Trilogy it’s not funny. Great singing from Ripper, who succeeds by not over-extending himself. Yngwie’s licks and riffs are still killer. This was a surprise in the good way.

4. Killing Season / DEATH ANGELAnother great release from the reformed San Francisco thrash merchants. Not quite the same fury that they produced on their previous album, but this still shows off their best qualities – good vocals, awesome guitaring, blinding drumming. Now tour Australia you bastards!

3. The Formation of Damnation / TESTAMENTThis led the way for most of the year as the best album of the year. The return grouping of Alex Skolnick, Eric Petersen, Greg Christian and Chuck Billy, with Nick Barker on drums, brings the full force of Testament to the fore, and they don’t let anyone down. Heavy metal has returned, and the five members all make sure that Testament is here for the long haul.

2. Saints of Los Angeles / MOTLEY CRUEI personally would never have believed they could have done it, but Motley Crue have righted the ship, and produced an album that ranks with their best from the 1980’s. Based on their autobiography “The Dirt”, they have told their story in the songs and also resurrected their sound from that era to produce an absolutely brilliant album. Vintage Crue.

1. Hell Yeah! The Awesome Foursome Live in Montreal / GAMMA RAYBack at their rightful place at Number 1 after finishing second last year. This live album (which is also on DVD) contains the absolute best that this band can produce, covering all era’s, and especially the recent era with lots of their newer stuff live. This proves once again why they are one of, if not, the premier metal band in the universe.

So there you go. My annual contribution. Feel free to discuss.

535. Michael Schenker Group / In The Midst of Beauty. 2008. 3/5.

With the return of Gary Barden to lead vocals and the good vibes of Michael Schenker’s recent releases, I was looking forward to hearing this album, and seeing what they could do together again. Would the result be a brilliant and revealing current sound? Or a trip down memory lane with a 70’s rock feel? As it turns out, it is the second option.

While I guess I was hoping for Michael Schenker album for the new(ish) century, these two have reverted to their comfort zones and put together an album that wouldn’t look out of place in the late 1970’s. While it is enjoyable enough to listen to, there is nothing new here. In fact, it does lack the blistering Schenker solos that highlighted the pair’s work together in the early 1980’s. Rather than extending themselves, they have put out a safe, almost AOR album, a far cry from the metal attack of earlier releases.
Despite this, it has its moments. While it may not be a peak, nor an album you would give someone for their first taste of MSG (no pun intended), if you are a fan you will get enough out of it to make the purchase worthwhile.

Rating: Nothing new here, but occasionally that's what you are looking for. 3 / 5.

534. Jorn / Lonely Are The Brave. 2008. 4/5.

After the age-old cliché response that he and former band Masterplan were parting ways through musical differences, this is Jorn’s first solo album following that decision. Given that he left Masterplan when he wanted to go in a more melodic direction away from their heavier direction there was a fair indication of what to expect here.

Surprisingly then, this is probably heavier than I expected. Jorn’s wonderful vocals are the centerpiece of every song, and while the songs here are structured differently from those of his Masterplan and Ark past, they somehow still suit him well. There is a nice mixture of faster material and slower material, but none of it lacks the metal element. You can easily pick up the Whitesnake influences in his songs (most obviously in the opening title track), but there is a whole lot more to it as well.
Having taken the step to go out on his own again, he has done a great job here, given that you not only have enjoyed his earlier material but like your music with a twist of Whitesnake and Dio, because that’s what this most reminds me of.

Favourites for me here include “Lonely Are The Brave”, “Night City”, “Promises”, “The Inner Road” and brilliant version of Deep Purple’s “Stormbringer”.

Rating: Surprisingly good, and though not at his Masterplan peak, still a worthy release. 4 /5.

533. Iced Earth / The Crucible of Man (Something Wicked Part 2). 2008. 1.5/5

Having been a fan of ‘Ripper’ Owens while he was in the band, I admit to being one of the faithful who thought that the return of Matt Barlow to the fold would be the right thing for Iced Earth. I also believed it would make The Crucible Of Man a stronger album than their previous effort. I guess all of this could have been true, except that one thing got forgotten – write some bloody decent songs!

Barlow is back, and his vocals cram themselves out of the speakers at you, but is there any real feeling or power there? Has he lost his touch? It’s difficult to say, but it really isn’t the same man who sang on Iced Earth albums ten years ago. However, he can only sing the material he has in front of him, and here it seems the band has slipped dramatically. Where have the heavy songs gone? Where is the intense riffing that once was so prevalent in their music? Have they left speed for good? This is where all the conflict is. You can’t have a good album without good material, and in trying to tell a story it appears that the music has been dealt a savage blow.

It is possible that this is such a massive disappointment because all of the talk leading up to it was the return of Barlow? Actually, no. The elements of Iced Earth are there, but they just feel watered down. Or are they just outdated? Surely the time has come to just go out and get back to the basics, and bring back what made Iced Earth such a formidable band. Big fans will probably still get enough out of this album. I did not.

Rating: If going back to the past is their ideal, then they need to go further back. 1.5 / 5

532. Queen + Paul Rodgers / The Cosmos Rocks. 2008. 2/5

No one who has heard anything of Queen + Paul Rodgers recently will have any thoughts that either party will reach the heights that they once did. While their coming together has been a good thing for them, allowing them to tour and play a whole variety of songs, they are a new band. In fact I would preferred to have seen them take a new name for the band, so as not sully what have been great careers to this point.

Anyway, the first release from this trio and their band partners is here, and it is a departure from what one would have liked to have heard, but is unsurprising that it is not. Gone is the innovation that is one of the hallmarks of Queen’s background, and gone are the strong vocals that Paul Rodgers has in his earlier incantations. What we have instead is a selection of songs that are disappointingly average. What ‘rock’ songs there are on the album tend very much toward the pop side of rock.
The presence of Brian May’s scintillating guitar is toned down into the wash, where it rarely comes into its own. Ditto Roger Taylor's drumming. The beauty of Queen’s album’s was that they were always interesting, and they always tried new ideas. It is the lack of anything outstanding or new here that drags it into the mire. It feels almost like a 70’s pop album.

So no. It doesn’t work, and that’s a shame. No doubt there are people out there who will enjoy this, but it just doesn’t feel right from the first time you put it on. There is no spark, there is no fire. As an easy listening album you might get marks, but for guys that have set the bar so high in years gone by, it ranks as a fizzer.

Rating: Disappointingly average. 2 / 5.

531. Guns N' Roses / Chinese Democracy. 2008. 1.5/5

It came as absolutely no surprise to me that this album was such a disappointment. Let’s face it – we were all waiting for it for so long, at least ten years. In fact, since the release of both of the Use You Illusion albums, we’ve been waiting for the follow up. Almost two decades later, and years of promises, and the day finally arrived. And after such a build-up, what could you possibly expect.

It doesn’t help that it also isn’t Guns N’ Roses – it’s Axl Rose and some other musicians. No disrespect to them, but Slash’s guitaring was as much G N’ R as the vocals ever were, and it does seem to be missing a bit in that respect.More than anything else, the songs are lame. Having been written and recorded over such a long period of time, the album is disconnected and for the most part tremendously boring. There is little hard or heavy, or even rock, about most of the songs on this album. Axl still wails where he finds it necessary, but has little in common with what the original band released back in its day.

For the record company’s sake, at least it has been released. The world can now stop worrying about whether it was ever going to happen, and move onto other matters.

Rating: Only what is to be expected, but not what was hoped for. 1.5 / 5

530. Danzig / II: Lucifuge. 1990. 3.5/5

The follow up to the well received debut album continues on in much the same vein. If anything, this gets a bit heavier and a bit faster (I shy from using the term ‘rockier’).

Probably for the first time, Danzig cross into a territory where they can be listened to by a number fans from different genres. The fact that they do this without compromising their own style is a victory for their music.
For me, the album starts off fantastically with “Long Way Back From Hell” into “Snakes of Christ” and then “Killer Wolf”. All three songs blend together excellently, and kick the album off well.
Probably my main gripe with the album is that for me it just slows down at the end too much, when it could continue on an upward spiral (that given that it does actually click back into gear for the final 60 seconds of “Pain in the World”).

This was another step up for Danzig, who proved here you can appeal to the masses without tinkering too much with the furniture.

Rating: Moody musical madness. 3.5/5

529. The Offspring / Ignition. 1992. 2/5

When I saw this in the local record store I got very excited and bought it immediately. It wasn’t until I was perusing the cover when I got home that I realised that it wasn’t the new album from The Offspring, it was in fact an earlier album that I wasn’t aware even existed. This was back in 1995, after I had devoured Smash to its limit, and was looking from more from the band.
OK, I thought, let’s give it a whirl. I put it on, played it a few times, and lost interest in it. To me, it wasn’t what I had come to love from the band, and I wasn’t taking to it. It went back into the CD cupboard, and fell into a dark recess.

Fast forward to 2008, and it makes its reappearance for this long winded review process. Ignoring the thoughts of thirteen years ago, I put it on with an open mind and an interest in the outcome.

Now there is no doubt who the band is. It is very much the musical and vocal style of The Offspring. However, even after half a dozen listens to the album, it still isn’t grabbing me. I can’t even really pin point what it is that doesn’t do it for me. Is it that there just isn’t enough ‘oomph’ in the songs, or is it just that because I came into the band (like so many others) on Smash that I can’t quite make the transition back to the earlier material? Really, I’m not sure. The one thing I do know is that I find this to be only average, and not the above-average stuff they did for the next three or four albums.

Rating: Still unable to like it much after all these years. 2/5.

528. AC/DC / If You Want Blood, You've Got It. 1978. 4/5

There’s a point in every band’s career that they need to record and release a live album. There are any number of reasons why this is the case, but in the main it is something that is required in order to showcase to the fans who have not seen them in concert exactly what they can do in a band’s natural environment. It can also be a handy move in order to give a band a break from releasing albums year after year, as was the case during this time, and offer them a bigger break away from either touring or recording or both.
Also during this time frame, live albums would often be double albums, in order to have all the songs played on the night or nights of recording on the album. Here though AC/DC have gone for the short and sharp version, with just the single vinyl album containing 10 tracks. The setlist on the night this was recorded was only 12 songs, which meant that a part of the encore was not put on, as well as the song “Dog Eat Dog”, which is a shame as it is a terrific song. N the end does it detract from the album as released? No, it doesn’t.
What you are left with here is the band on stage, arguably at their absolute peak when it comes to their performances, at the very least with Bon Scott at the helm. As a result it is a gem of an album to put on and bathe in the gloriousness of AC/DC live on stage.

There are some quite brilliant songs on this album, and they sound superb. They are pulled from most of the band’s albums to this point in time, and just rock the house down. The opening salvo of “Riff Raff” and “Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be” is a tour de force, the blistering assault from Angus Young on lead guitar and the bombastic vocals from Bon Scott out front. Behind them the trio of Malcolm Young, Cliff Williams and Paul Rudd provide the best rhythm section in the business. “Riff Raff” in particular here is dominating, the true high voltage that the band sang about in the song of the same name. Just brilliant. “Bad Boy Boogie” also works well here, a drawn out section that allows the band to showcase its talents further.
I have never really been a fan of the song “The Jack”. For me it is ponderously slow, it is repetitive throughout the chorus, and delves heavily into the blues guitar, something that I can take or leave at the best of times. Obviously here in the live environment, t used as a crowd motivator and to include the crowd in the song, so as a live tool I guess it does its job. Personally, I would preferred to have heard any of two dozen songs played instead of it. “Problem Child” here actually proves that point as far as I am concerned, as the tempo switches back into top gear immediately, Bon’s vocals hit back to their best and the band is re-energized. It’s a great contrast of those two parts of AC/DC and for me shines a light on the positive aspects with force.
The second side of the album comes at you with similar ferocity in the best possible way. The fantastic joy of “Whole Lotta Rosie” lights up the stereo as it jumps out of the speakers, followed by “Rock n Roll Damnation”, the high voltage that is “High Voltage”, and then the power chord extravaganza of “Let There Be Rock”. A brilliant punch by punch collection of the best of AC/DC one after the other. The other song I’m less than fond of here is “Rocker”, which ends the album and was the encore on this tour. It’s a fast paced song that would no doubt have been a crowd favourite at the time. But again there were many other songs that could have been substituted in for it that would have been at least as good if not better. These are picky things here, and no doubt not the thoughts of a majority of AC/DC fans. It just seems like a missed opportunity to me... some 45 years on...

There are two things I’ve mentioned about live albums on past episodes, and they are these: one, any live albums should immediately be a 5/5 album because it should contains the band’s best songs of the era in their best environment. For the most part, this album does that really well. Two, while there are generally reasons why a band would put together a live album that has the songs in a different order than what they were played in, would really prefer they didn’t change the order. I prefer to hear the setlist as it was played. That isn’t the case on this album, with a couple of songs omitted from the release, and the others put together in a different order, probably to have them marry up nicely for the two side of the vinyl. Whatever the reason, they do have the songs join together nicely here so that if you didn’t KNOW it wasn’t in setlist order, you would never notice.
I don’t even recall when I actually got this album. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t until after 2000, as I still only had the basic AC/DC collection up to that point, despite having seen them four times (all from the front or second row which was as big a fluke as you could wish for). It would definitely have occurred during my period of making sure I had copies of every album the band had released, which was around that time. I know I’ve always enjoyed it, mainly because, what’s not to like?
The following year the band released the seminal “Highway to Hell”, climbed to the very top of the hard rock tree, and then found tragedy awaiting. But that story is for another episode.

527. Billy Idol / Idol Songs: 11 of the Best. 1988. 3/5

Sometimes - not always, but sometimes - it is just far easier to go out and buy an artists' Greatest Hits album than to get all of their albums, because in the long run all you want are two or three songs. Of course, in this day and age, you can just go to iTunes and buy only the songs you want! However, in a previous age that wasn't possible.

Thus the reason I own this CD. Because in the long run, there was only two songs of Billy Idol that I HAD to have in my collection. One is “White Wedding”. The other is “Rebel Yell”. Sure, they now appear more as 80’s cliches and the kind of radio fare that could be found in the day. But to a middle-aged 1980's teenager they are both still great songs, no matter what you think of the rest of his career. They still bring out the fist whenever they come on the radio, or someone's stereo, or more disturbingly at club karaoke.

As to the remainder of the album, all of his ‘hits’ are here, and the majority of it is still quite listenable. Songs such as “Flesh For Fantasy” and “Hot in the City” and “To Be A Lover” are still catchy enough that I can find myself singing along to them, and not always when I am alcohol-induced. For me however, he was always hard pressed to beat the success of the first two tracks I mentioned, and in many ways that has always coloured my perception of his later work. In the long run, the average rating of a greatest hits album can only reflect somewhat poorly on the majority of available material.

526. Judas Priest / Idaho Bootleg [Bootleg]. 2004. 4/5

After an absence of more than a decade, Rob Halford reunited with Judas Priest in the new century, and to celebrate the band went out and played a semi-world tour. This bootleg comes from that tour.
Containing a setlist comprising as many great Priest tunes as you can fit into a couple of hours, this was the reintroduction of Judas Priest reformed. Now, as good as this setlist is, it really is disappointing that everything in-between – i.e. the two albums the band recorded with Ripper Owens – looks as though it will now be confined to the “never to be played again” file. And that is a shame. I mean, wouldn’t you like to hear Halford singing some of Ripper’s songs?

Anyway – there is nothing out of the ordinary here, apart from the fact Rob doesn’t try to hit all those notes that he did twenty years ago. He is content to modify his vocals to almost-human levels.

Rating: An A grade bootleg recording of a band looking to reclaim the past. 4/5.

525. Doug Anthony All Stars / Icon. 1990. 4/5

The Doug Anthony All Stars, named in parody after Doug Anthony who had been the leader of the Country Party and also been Deputy Prime Minister in the Fraser Government, first came together in 1984, busking in the streets of Canberra. Richard Fidler had been playing guitar when he met Tim Ferguson, both of whom were attending university. Ferguson joined Fidler for an impromptu and energetic version of “Wild Thing”, a performance that filled the coffers from the passing parade. They decided to begin performing together, and along with another friend Robert Piper formed the group. After a year Piper left due to his increasing commitments, something that has led him to a career with the United Nations and roles in coordinating the peace processes of the middle east and in occupied Palestine. In his place, fellow performer Paul McDermott was brought into the group.
The All Stars were a comedy parody group, creating songs of humour with a dark edge to them. With McDermott’s drafting into the group, the material became edgier, with Fidler suggesting he changed the group’s dynamic. They moved to Melbourne following their success in winning the top award at the Adelaide Fringer Festival in 1986, in the hope of saving enough money to make an assault on the holy grail, the Edinburgh Fringe festival. They found that Melbourne audiences were initially not responsive to their show, something that began to draw a reaction from the group on stage. Ferguson and McDermott in particular began to adopt more abusive characters as their stage personas, while Fidler remained the happy and unaware character, which led to Fidler’s character being the butt of jokes from the other two. This growing part of the act, along with the biting tales being incorporated into their songs, gave the group their unique style, and on reaching the Edinburgh Fringe in 1987, they played to sold out crowds. This led to further success in the UK and being nominated for the Perrier Comedy Award the following year at the Edinburgh Fringe. With great success in the UK and having toured Canada and the US and Germany as well, they returned as conquering heroes to Australia in 1988, where they were met with... silence. In fact, things were so bad that they had to revert back to busking on the streets to make ends meet.
This all changed the following year in 1989, when they were invited to appear on a new comedy show on the ABC called “The Big Gig”, a live hour of comedy every Tuesday night that featured the best standup comedians and groups in Australia. The Doug Anthony All Stars appeared each week – indeed, they were on every episode of the show for its first three years. Their abrasive candour on stage, combined with their hilarious original songs and amazing voices were a huge hit. Accompanied only by Fidler’s acoustic guitar, the three combined their excellent voices to create comedy and music that was the highlight of each week of the show.
With so much material now built up, the group decided to release an album of the songs they had written. It was to be a test of their popularity both in Australia and abroad. Their subject matter could be biting yet humorous, and there was always the chance that they would offend groups on a large scale. But it was also possible that they could find an even wider fan base with the project. Thus came the album “DAAS Icon”, and the next phase of the band’s career.

This is an album of its age, and there would be those people out there that believe that this album could not be recorded in 2025. If that is the case, then it would be a sad day for comedy cynicism and parody. The Doug Anthony All Stars are not afraid of making fun and pointing the funny bone at political and religious establishments, nor should they be. Some have said in the past that they find the group childish and unfunny, that their material takes cheap shots and is disrespectful to the institutions it is aimed at. These people are the ones who have no sense of humour, and are unable to laugh at clearly comedic outpourings on what they consider serious topics. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but whether that opinion should be able to suffocate another's is a different matter entirely.
The band’s first foray into their quest of defining all religion comes from the opening track “Commies for Christ”, which also acts as an introduction of the three personas of the band. Once through that we take a trip combining the communist regime and the DAAS boys view of their version of God, beautifully expressed in comedic ways. This is just the first of many songs on the album that address god and his many religions. “Krshna” is just a terrific song, with wonderful parodying of the religion but while coming from a position where they are speaking in a positive way about it, from the point of view of a new convert. Some of my favourite lines are in this track, including, “And I’ll pray all night to Krishna, cos he’s a damn good listener, and he never ever ever answers back”, and, “and when Irish eyes are trying to make the Pommie’s pay, we’ll get krishna and his shotgun to join the IRA”. This line got this song and album banned in the UK on its release, though it was soon overturned in court.
On the other hand, “Little Gospel Song” is precisely that, a beautiful song that would not be out of place in a gospel church, with only Richard’s acoustic guitar accompanying Paul’s lead vocal and the backing from Tim and Richard. Songs like this prove that their talents as performers are real and not put on, that they could write and perform material that is not comedic or politically charged. “Go to Church” rides at the other end of the spectrum with the band’s slightly overblown thoughts on where the church has headed in those years with the increased advent of the televangelists and their less than moralist conventions.
And yet despite this, there are plenty of other songs here that have no connotations of that at all. “My Baby’s Gone to Jail”, replete with horns section to fill out the song, tells the story of a girlfriend who has been carted off to jail for any number of incidents, all listed in the song’s lyrics. “Jack” is an almost gospel piece, created only by the three vocals of the band, beautifully combined to tell the story of Jack the coal miner, and the weight on the shoulders of his craft. It is another example of the talents of the three and the differing styles they use in their songs throughout. “Change the Blades” does the same but in a rollicking fashion, talking of the burden and sorrow faced with the elements and changing factors in one’s life, again bringing the horns in to push a sound that you wouldn’t expect with the lyrical aspects of the song. “Shang-a-Lang" is a politically motivated song fused in racism, and uses a passage from Martin Luther King in the middle of the song to highlight the pointedness of what they are implying. Tim takes lead vocal on this song and really nails it home. On the other hand they also have the song called “Dead Elvis”, where they sing about performing a dance called the Dead Elvis. It radiates with their comedic talent with lines such as “You don't move your arms And you don't move your legs You just do the do the dead Elvis, You don't grind your pelvis It's the dance of the dead C'mon and do the, do the dead Elvis”. This moves into the wonderful “I Want to Spill the Blood of a Hippy” which was released as a single. Channelling the sound of the 60’s psychedelic songs, Tim takes on lead vocals again to give the movement and those trying to revive the time a spray, the violent overtones of the song apparently not pleasing some groups out in the world. However, it is the comedy tones that should override this and which make it such an entertaining song and performance.
“Rat” mimics “Little Gospel Song” in that it is just a beautiful combining of vocals over backing keyboards, once again in a gospel fashion. This is then followed by the wonderfully laconic and traditional one-up-manship storytelling of broad lic nic, with tall tales becoming taller as the song progresses. Sung with a touch of the Scottish about it, this again rates as one of the best songs on the album, and the most singable lyrics, my favourites being “Well, I severed my leg to win a One-legged race, And when I won I stitched it Right back into place. I fought Mohammed Ali, I've seduced Mata Hari, I've even worn a sari When I impersonated Gandhi. And I dare any man here To call me a liar, But I swear I've seen Ezekiel, I swear I've seen Isaiah, Toasting marshmallows in Beelzebub's fire”
“2x” is an instrumental that then leads into “Motorcycle St Sebastian”, another rollicking ride led by Paul’s vocals. The final track on the album is the second single, “Bottle”, a really perfect tale about an alcoholic and his battle with the bottle, his love and desire for the drink though he knows it will kill him. It’s another example of a track that has not comedy, no agenda, but just a beautiful song on a touching and pertinent subject, where the Doug Anthony All Stars again showcase their talents on another level.

When “The Big Gig” started on ABC TV on Tuesday evenings in 1989, it became a must watch. It was an entertainment show that showcased the best up and coming Australian stand up comedians, comedy groups and music. It introduced me to so many brilliant acts, many of which I then went to see in their own live shows, such as Glynn Nicholas (whose brilliant stage show ‘Kissing Frogs’ is still one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen), the Empty Pockets (of whom Matt Parkinson was one half of the duo, who went on to win Sale of the Century and is now Goliath on The Chase Australia), Jean Kittson, Anthony Ackroyd and so many others. But the one who really stood out was the weekly appearance of the Doug Anthony All Stars. They were anarchic, out of control, belligerent... but above all brilliant and funny. They blew up the stage every week, and all of this was AFTER they had already made a huge splash overseas at the Edinburgh Fringe. Amazing.
When this album was announced and released, I grabbed it immediately. In the long run, I was hoping that all of the songs they had played on The Big Gig would be on here so I could enjoy them all over again. And for the most part, they were. And yes, it is most definitely the comedy songs that I bought it for. “Commies for Christ”, “Krshna”, “Dead Elvis”, “I Want to Spill the Blood of a Hippy”, “Go to Church”, “Broad Lic Nic”. They all jump off the CD and out of the speakers. But as you listen to the album, you gain an appreciation for their talents with songs like “Jack”, “Little Gospel Song” and “Bottle”.
I’ve had this album on again for the last week and it has been fantastic singing along to all of these songs again. They are better to watch the band performing them as a part of their act because that is in their best element, but this album has never disappointed whenever I put it on.
DAAS parted ways in 1994, ostensibly for all three members to go and do their own projects. It wasn’t until an interview in 2010 that Tim Ferguson revealed they had parted because he was unable to do the physical side of the comedy their act required. It wasn’t until two years after they split that he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis which he still lives with today. In the end, their ending did allow the furious fire and focus of their material in that short space of time to remain relevant even to today.

524. Iced Earth / Iced Earth. 1990. 3.5/5

This is the initial foray into the world of Iced Earth, and for a debut it is a pretty fair effort. Improvements were to be made, but the basics are all here from which the building blocks could make their foundation.

I guess it is a common discussion point amongst fans of Iced Earth, but here we go again. While the music itself is terrific, with some great riffs and excellent drum and bass lines, the vocals let it down a little. That’s not to load vocalist Gene Adam with any blame for some shortcomings, but there is little doubt that future vocalists (and I guess here you immediately think of Matt Barlow) were betted suited to the material. This argument becomes almost gospel when you consider that many of these songs were later performed by Matt Barlow on other Iced Earth releases, and there is no argument that he performed them better.

Concentrating on this release however, the vocals are adequate and the music is great. “Iced Earth” and “Colors” rank as my favourite songs on the album, and though it probably does tail off toward the end, it is still a good listen, and worth it if only to see how they started out.

Rating: A better than average debut. 3.5/5

523. Iced Earth / I Walk Among You [Single]. 2008. 3.5/5

First taste of Iced Earth reunited with Matt Barlow as lead vocalist from the forthcoming album The Crucible of Man (Something Wicked Part 2).
The new song sounds good. Barlow’s vocals suit it nicely, and there is some power to the song. If this is an indication of the new album then bring it on.
Also here are two songs from Framing Armageddon (Something Wicked Part 1) which have been redone with Barlow singing instead of Ripper Owens. Probably not the songs I would have chosen, if they were trying to prove anything. I still think Ripper’s versions sound better.

Rating: Is there better to come? 3.5/5

522. The Offspring / I Choose [Single]. 1997. 3.5/5

This was the final single from the Ixnay on the Hombre album.
Containing the title song, it also mixes another song from the album, “Mota”, along with a live version of “All I Want”.

Rating: Average enough for the time. 3.5/5

521. Yngwie Malmsteen / I Can't Wait [EP]. 1994. 3/5

I Can’t Wait indeed. At a time when Yngwie continued his push for commercial success, this EP found its way into the record stores.
In almost all respects, this is the same old average stuff that Yngwie produced during the 1990’s – harmless fluff with the odd blistering solo thrown in to remind everyone that he can play guitar a bit.

It is the two live tracks which show up the difference. “Rising Force” sounds fine, but the vocals prove just how important it is to Yngwie’s work that, if he must have a singer on his tracks, he needs to be a good one. Vescara is shown up here – badly. On the other hand, the live version of “Far Beyond The Sun” is just brilliant, and a full reminder of the magnificent material he did release in the 1980’s. If only he had realised that there was no reason to change and chase commercial glory.

Rating: Nothing overly special to be found here. 3/5.

520. Iron Savior / I've Been To Hell [Single]. 2000. 4/5

This single comes from the Dark Assault album, and apart from the excellent single itself, it also has another track from the album, “Never Say Die”.
As also found here is a great cover of Judas Priest’s “The Hellion” and “Electric Eye” and Krokus' “Headhunter”.

Rating: Excellent single package. 4/5.

519. Anthrax / I'm The Man [EP]. 1987. 4/5

Here’s another album that certain friends of mine got tremendously excited with when we first came across it not too long after its release. I never really understood why they got so worked up over it, because although the title track – a humorous heavy metal rap performed by the band – is funny enough, its novelty value wears off fairly quickly.

Anyway, here we have three versions of “I’m The Man” – a censored version, and uncensored version, and a live very uncensored version. Believe me, after you listen to this three or four times over, you are quite happy not to have to hear it again for awhile…
The bonus material here is the clincher though. A great cover of Black Sabbath’s “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath”, and live version’s of “Caught in a Mosh” and “I Am The Law” are superb, and well worth the price of the EP alone.

Rating: A little overkill on the single, but otherwise great. 4/5.

518. Def Leppard / Hysteria. 1987. 4/5

On the back of the excellent “Pyromania”, Def Leppard’s third studio album, there’s no doubting that the band felt that they had a real opportunity to springboard off that success, and parlay that into a bigger and more conclusive success with their next album. No doubt the idea was to get it written and recorded, and out among the masses, to funnel back into the next big world tour. Of course that wasn’t to be.
The album process was marred by several different incidents that caused the lengthy delay between albums. Firstly the band’s successful producer and collaborator, Mutt Lange, pulled out of the album early on, citing exhaustion from a never ending schedule he had been keeping. This meant a change that the band hadn’t been expecting, and they went through several producers in a short space of time – Jim Steinman (of Meat Loaf’s ‘Bat Out of Hell’ fame), Neil Dorfsman (of Dire Straits’ ‘Brothers in Arms’ fame) and Nigel Green (a future co-producer of Iron Maiden albums) were all brought in, and all three were found not to be conducive. All of the initial recording sessions were eventually scrapped.
Secondly, drummer Rick Allen flipped his Corvette on a country road on NYE 1984, and eventually had to have his left arm amputated as a result. This was a massive trauma for Allen and his bandmates, but from the outset he was adamant that he would return to his drumkit and continue with the band, and the band was fully supportive of this. Along with the time it would have taken for his convalescence, it meant coming up with a combination acoustic and electronic kit that he would be able to play to trigger snare and tom beats that he would normally have played with his left arm. All of this took time and tweaking, which slowed up the actual writing process as well. In some ways this was fortunate, as because of the length of time taken to get the album underway, Mutt Lange reappeared on the scene and agreed to produce the album again. Of course, this couldn’t be the end of it, and Lange then was away for a period of time due to his own car accident, and then singer Joe Elliott contracted mumps which put him out of action for another period as well. This might all seem like a normal time period of albums in the modern age, where bands can go 3-5 years between releases. But in the 1980’s, record companies were pushing bands to release albums every 12-18 months in order to get their vial of blood from their contractors. So for a band to go four and a half years between albums was almost unheard of. And the hype for the release of the album was real, and the first single “Animal”, that came out the week before “Hysteria's” release, was pushed on music video shows heavily to promote it. Now it came time to wait for the fans response to what they had been waiting so very long for.

One of the most interesting quotes from the band in regards to how they wrote “Hysteria” came from Mutt Lange, who was quoted as saying that the band wrote every song as though it was going to be a potential hit single. So not just writing songs and riffs and lyrics, but the actual aim for each song to a chart topping single. In the end, seven of the 12 songs on the album WERE released as singles, so I guess they succeeded in their plan. But it does actually explain a lot about the album and the songs it holds, when you listen to them both collectively and on their own. Because there are similar qualities in each of the songs that bind them together to this album and this era of the band, and then if you throw them into a playlist and press random, you can actually here them as individual songs that have those qualities to be released as singles.
The album can be divided up into three sections, in my opinion at least. You have the pop songs, the ones that are specifically designed to be attractive to the radio-listening public, and in the majority the female fans. Because they are the pop ballads, or soft rock songs that are inoffensive to those kinds of fans. And you know what those songs are - “Love Bites”, the full on soft rock ballad, “Pour Some Sugar on Me”, the more rock variant of the genre, and the final song written for the album, the title track “Hysteria” and the closing track “Love and Affection”. All but “Love and Affection” were released as singles for that radio-friendly market. They are evenly spaced throughout the album so that they don’t dominate it but are obvious in their appearance. Then you have the middle ground songs, the ones that stretch that ground between the soft rock tracks to the hard rock tracks. And again, know which ones they are – the opening track “Women”, the follow up “Rocket”, the last track on side one “Armageddon It”, and the side two track “Excitable”. All but “Excitable” were released as singles, no doubt to counteract the soft rock singles to show their older fans that they still had the ability to write the kind of songs they had in the past. And then there is the final group of songs, the ones that for the fans of “High N Dry” and “Pyromania” are probably still their favourite songs from this album – the first single “Animal” that hinted at the album being as rocking as the first three albums, the brilliant “Gods of War” that combined the brilliant atmosphere of the bass and drum beginning into the guitars riffing in and Joe’s vocals combining to create such as great song, “Don’t Shoot Shotgun” that picks up the energy immediately following it, and then “Run Riot”, the fastest, heaviest song on the album that truly proves that def Leppard still had plenty to offer that side of music. Is it a coincidence that these final three songs start off Side 2 of this album, picking everything up and driving you through the middle of the album? I don’t know, but as I said, the track list does have a hot and cool kind of vibe throughout, with high octane thrills followed by cool down vibes, and then back again. Perhaps this is part of the reason that it has held its charm for all of these years.

I guess in some ways I’ve been fortunate in that I was involved in the great Def Leppard love-fest that occurred with the release of this album back in 1987, and was one of the people that pushed my non-heavy metal loving friends into enjoying it too. And I am also the older, slightly more cynical listener of the album today, having experienced what has followed this album in the past 35 years. Time and insight can certainly provide different perspectives, or at least allow those perspectives to change through that passage of time.
From the perspective of the 17 and 18 year old back when this was released, I thought it was just brilliant. It wasn’t as heavy as the other bands I was infatuated with at the time, and it was certainly different from their earlier releases, but hey, they’d had a few dramas in recording the album, and their drummer had lost an arm, so give ‘em a break! Still, even then it was the heav(ier) tracks that grabbed my attention, and the softer ones I tolerated because I loved the album so much. Again, perhaps because they had made that track list so well that it managed to cover up any real qualms that I may have had with a couple of the songs, I eventually owned all three formats of this album – cassette, vinyl and CD, and it was played on rotation for probably a good 12 months before it finally found other material replacing it. It was a gem.
That is the retrospective.
Swing back to the present, and the two dozen or more times I have again listened to it over the last few weeks, coincidently along with their brand new album that I reviewed a few episodes ago, and one from 20 years ago that will have its own episode coming up shortly on this podcast. And there are a few things that still stand out for me now, 35 years later. There is no denying that the album is still catchy, and that a few of the songs still hold their own after all these years. “Rocket”, “Animal”, “Gods of War”, “Run Riot” and “Don’t Shoot Shotgun” are still my favourite songs from the album, which was the case back in the day as well, and given they are what I have classified earlier as the hard rock tracks on the album I guess that is no surprise.
If one was to try and pinpoint when the slide for this band began, perhaps it was the super success they had with the slower and sugary songs that came from this album – “Pour Some Sugar On Me”, “Love Bites”, “Hysteria” and “Love and Affection”. Sure, they are fine in their place, but they certainly don’t rate in the higher bracket on this album for those that enjoy their music hard and heavy. But their success must surely have directed the band down the path that their music has taken in the past 35 years, and in many ways that is a real shame, but that direction can be seen occurring here on “Hysteria”, and if that’s what the band wants... well... you can only admire them for sticking to their guns, so to speak.
Back to Hysteria however. I know I now rate this album slightly lower than I did all those years ago – partly through a change in the style of metal I prefer, and partly through my disappointment in the direction the band has taken since. Would Steve Clark’s head be spinning? I don’t know. "Hysteria” still brings back great memories of the band and the time for me, especially as yet another album from the year of 1987, where every listen brings back great memories of that time of my life. And having seen them play this entire album live prior to covid in Sydney, with my then 11 year old son singing every word beside me... well, you can’t argue with that, can you...

517. System of a Down / Hypnotize. 2005. 2/5

Whatever these guys are on, I think I need to either avoid at all costs, or get me some at all costs…

I can alternately (no pun intended) enjoy or hate this. It really does depend on what mood I’m in. Actually, it probably depends on how much alcohol I’ve had, because I seem to enjoy it more after half a dozen beers. It really isn’t an album I can enjoy sober, or while driving in the car, or while at my desk at work, or while sitting back on the lounge at home listening on the stereo. So, seeing as most of my time is spent in one of these positions, it is difficult to give it a positive rating.

There is no doubting the uniqueness of the music and the band. The similarity in some songs to the Dead Kennedys (or, in particular, the vocals of Jello Biafra) is startling, and does throw you off.
Then again, take a song like “Holy Mountains”, which is probably my favourite on the album. It is unique in its own way, and as close to an SoAD epic as they are likely to compose, which is immediately followed by the completely off-beat “Vicinity of Obscenity”, which is just complete madness. How on earth can you write songs like this?!

In the long run, it is just a little bit too far out there for me to absolutely be able to take to heart.

Rating: Send in the crazed, hepped-up loonys. 2/5.

516. Scorpions / Hurricane Rock. 1990. 5/5

Another of the 40 000 greatest hits packages that seem to have been released of the Scorpions material, but at least this one is a pretty good one.

Covering most of the hits the band had between the start of their career and the mid-1980’s, this has everything that any fan could want to hear. As an album to put on at a party night to hear the best hits this band can offer, or as a starting point for someone who wants to experience one of the best bands out there, this wins on all counts.

Rating: Close to outstanding as a greatest hits package. 5/5.

515. Scorpions / Humanity: Hour 1. 2007. 5/5

It's a Saturday afternoon. I'm at home at the computer, and it's time to put on a new album. I take the disc, put it on and press play. What comes out in the first 30 seconds blows me away. Have I made a mistake? Is this really the new Scorpions album? OK, there's Klaus Meine's vocals - it must be Scorpions!

But what the hell?!? So here's the deal - I expected much the same that the band has released in recent years, okay stuff without being exceptional. Well bugger me, instead they've come out and rocked the house down!

This is what I wrote when I first heard this album when it was released last year, and to be quite honest my opinion has only strengthened in the time that has passed since. The arrival of this album, and the astonishing return to form of this band is quite magnificent. Following a number of disappointing efforts where there were obvious attempts to change their musical formula, Humanity: Hour 1 effectively returns the band to their solid roots of melodic heavy metal, and the result is stunning.
There is a definite heavier feel to the songs than has been present for some time, as is shown during “Hour 1” and “The Game of Life”, “You’re Lovin’ Me To Death” and the excellent “321”. Each show the best of the faster side of Scorpions.
Backing these up are the amazing Scorpions ballads, as only they can do, “The Future Never Dies” and “Your Last Song”. Just terrific examples of how to do a power ballad with power, and not weakness. Then to finish it all off are the brilliant “The Cross” which features Billy Corgan from the Smashing Pumpkins, and “Humanity” which tops the album off on a great note.

Concept albums are tricky things to get right. Not only does the story have to be relevant, and the songs able to recreate the mood of the piece, they need to retain their individuality as well. No qualms here about all that, this is superbly done. The guitaring of Rudolph Schenker and the brilliant Matthias Jabs is magnificent, as is the drumming of James Kottak. Magnificent stuff.

What impresses me most about this album is that I feel more strongly about it now than I did in the first months after its release. To me, that indicates its strengths and appeal. At the time I rated it very highly, about 4 or 4.5. I truly believe it now belongs in the top echelon of Scorpions albums.

Rating: One of the best albums of this decade. 5/5.

514. Various Artists / Humanary Stew: A Tribute to Alice Cooper. 1998. 4.5/5

Tribute albums can be done well, and be a fitting tribute to the person or band that is being honoured. This would rank as one of the finest I have heard, mainly for the fact that there are great musicians taking part, and all of them have an obvious affection for the man to whom they are paying tribute to – Alice Cooper.

While it is always good to hear your favourite artists doing cover versions of another of your favourite artists songs, the truth is that most of the time they don’t match up to the original. Here though there is a strong argument for a couple of these versions being the equal, if not better, than the originals! Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith’s version of “Black Widow” is terrific, and Ronnie James Dio just tears apart “Welcome To My Nightmare”. Dave Mustaine sounds like he’s enjoying himself on “School’s Out”, and even Vince Neil on “Cold Ethyl” is worthy of note here.
Sure, they could never replace the originals, but the versions here have an updated feel, and sound great. Glenn Hughes probably takes it a little far in “Only Women Bleed”, but not everyone has the kind of voice that he does!

This is a fitting album to pay homage to one of the innovators and great showmen of music. It’s so much more enjoyable because you can feel the enjoyment the artists involved are having in recording it, and it comes through in the music.

Rating: Worth a listen, whether you know any Alice Cooper material or not. 4.5/5

513. Hughes Turner Project / Hughes Turner Project. 2002. 2.5/5

I guess it was always going to be a given with these two singers, and their past history, that this album wasn’t going to be quite as good as I was hoping. There is no doubting the vocal chords of Glenn Hughes and Joe Lynn Turner, and their combined work in previous bands such as Deep Purple and Rainbow also proves they have what it takes. What it also proved is that both singers like to write their music a little on the softer side of hard rock, which creates a problem for me and my musical taste.

The songs here are caught somewhere between a pure rock ‘n’ roll and what I guess you’d call soft metal. They aren’t the kind of songs that are going to get radio airplay in most countries, and yet they would alienate most heavy metal fans for being just a bit too wussy. And in the long run, that’s how I feel listening to the album. I just wish they’d put some grunt in the instruments and really let fly with some heavier stuff. Instead, they have an album full of almost pop songs that don’t do a lot more than make me cringe.

There are a couple of songs on the album that are OK – and that’s the best I can give them too. Even those you are just waiting for the burst of real energy and grunt to take them to the level that would make them real catchy. I guess for those of us who knew JLT from Rainbow, and how their music softened considerably with his introduction to the band shouldn’t be so surprised. But I was hoping for more. If you are looking for something akin to what Rainbow had become by the end of JLT's reign, then you will probably enjoy this more than I did. In the end my expectations probably got the better of me, which has harmed the way I feel about the album.

Rating: A tad disappointing. 2.5/5.

512. Suicidal Tendencies / How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today. 1988. 4/5

It isn’t unusual for a band to change its thematic sound over a period of time, whether through a desire to ‘keep up with the times’ or by a gradual build of the band’s members to move in that direction. Any number of bands for instance made changes to their core sound as they moved from the 1980’s into the 1990’s and made a change to remain hip and relevant, most without success. The band Suicidal Tendencies definitely changed the way they were making music by the time they reached the point of making their third studio album during 1988. Their debut album five years earlier had been a hardcore punk release, utilising all of the core elements of that genre of music and making a mark as a result. Their follow up album didn’t appear for four more years, and with the addition of Rocky George on guitar. This album, “Join the Army”, had begun the change in the band’s sound, dialling back the outright hardcore punk sound to include a more crossover theme beginning to involved a metal sound, something that had a lot of their long term fans less than happy with the results. There was less of the punk antics and screaming from vocalist Mike Muir and a more songwriting-centric feel about the songs, something that began to find new fans as the older fans found disillusionment.
Despite this, more changes were afoot as the band came off the road and began to prepare for their new album, “How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can’t Even Smile Today”. Muir had joined the speed metal band No Mercy as well, who released one album before the other members apart from band leader Mike Clark departed. Rather than continue on, Muir, who was becoming more excited about heading down a more metal path than the band’s previous punk ideals, recruited Clark to join Suicidal Tendencies as the guitar partner for Rocky George, who had already shown his metal influences in his writing on the “Join the Army” album. This then resulted in original bass guitarist Louiche Mayorga being moved on, as he was trying to keep the band’s original punk influences in the songs against the flow of the torrent that was coming against him. Clark took on the majority of the band’s songwriting for the new album, with his speed metal leanings becoming the dominating factor along with Rocky George’s electrifying solos. The term ‘crossover thrash’ probably wasn’t coined solely for Suicidal Tendencies in this era of the band, but it certainly tied in nicely to the sound that was about to be released on their 3rd album.

Even for the era that this was released, it was a pretty impressive upgrade in the music that the band had produced on their previous two releases. It isn’t a genuine thrash metal album, and there is very little of the band’s initial punk influences here either. But in a combination of the two styles, Suicidal Tendencies have created an album that meshes two high velocity genres into something that transcends both. The more complex writing and guitaring paths, along with timing changes that create this new collective, are a winner. Mike Clark’s introduction to the band as a co-writer on the majority of the tracks with Mike Muir is superb, and with the writing allowing for a better use of Rocky George and his soling. By creating places within the songs for him to freeform in that way, it highlights the points of difference from the band’s earlier material and allows this to be an album that breaks their mould and begin looking over the horizon to the future.
The album opens with the mind-blowing “Trip at the Brain”, the first single from the album and whose music video was a favourite on all music videos shows. There’s a bit of everything on this track, from the punk to thrash to rapping-like vocals in the middle of the song. It has always been a fan favourite and is still great fun to listen to. “Hearing Voices” follows this and does so in great style, again raging against the warriors and featuring great heavy music at a pleasing pace reminiscent of that speed metal that Mike brings to the album in his writing. Then comes “Pledge Your Allegiance”, which incorporates the chants that crowds would give to the band at their live shows, and encapsulates them in a song that gives the crowd their opportunity to be a part of the band.
The title track progresses from the serene-like beginning of the song to the hard core lyrical crowd chanting of the chorus, and then highlighted by the amazing solo section in the middle of the song that screams all of the best aspects of the thrash metal template. That middle section is one of my favourite parts of the album, as both Rocky and Mike left fly in a cacophony of guitars that has even well-past-middle-age fans jumping around. “The Miracle” again melds the past and present, a song that has a real thrash metal edge to it but is sung and played in a hardcore punk style of yore, before expanding itself into a progressive thrash-type middle section, and then crashing back into the high speed hard core back third of the song. Just awesome. “Suicyco Mania” repeats the thrash crossover style, at a faster and harder pace that is summed up in the title of the song.
“Surf and Slam” is an amazing revival from the 60’s surfing sound, a song that perfectly encapsulates the surf rock sound that bands like The Atlantics used in their music, and upgrades it markedly to the present day. Without the use or need of lyrics apart from a couple of chanted lines, this song is engaging to the skate/punk tribalism that the band first attracted, and puts the foot down to increase that feeling. It’s a great song that nicely merges the past and present of Suicidal Tendencies.
The closing four songs on the album don’t let up in intensity. “If I Don’t Wake Up” is a great song dominated by Rocky’s lead through the middle of the song and a great riff-and-drum based rhythm through most of the track, with Mike Muir wonderfully on song with his vocals. “Sorry” is one of the best, fast paced apology songs ever written. Power metal bands would make a cock up of this kind of track and make it into a power ballad, but here Rocky and Mike just go faster and harder and allow the apology of the track to be utilised as a headbanging song. Perfect if you ever need to express your regret at some time in life. “One Too Many Times” is more of the same, with Muir’s vocals again expressing regret in the lyrics but escalates it to an emotionally charged upbeat song. And the album concludes with another ripping song “The Feeling’s Back” that takes those same kind of emotions and then unleashes them in a positive thrashing song, letting out all pent up feelings and delivering a sensational conclusion to an amazing album.

I came into Suicidal Tendencies a bit later than others, and indeed didn’t really know of them at all until the guys in the band I was in during the late 80’s and early 90’s told me – not asked, told – that we were going to play “Trip at the Brain” by Suicidal Tendencies, to which I replied... I don’t know any of their songs. The tape duly arrived, and we did end up playing that song, and it was fun and raucous. Good times. About a year later I was visiting my grandmother neat Maitland and I popped into a nondescript record store there, and the first CD on the shelf under “S” was this album, which I purchased immediately. And thus, a love affair began.
It’s funny how this album comes out to be played. It can be a few years between it coming out, but when it does, I remember all over again what a terrific album it is, and it then invariably stays in the CD player for more than a few listens before it goes back to the shelf, waiting for the next time it comes into my peripheral vision. And despite the fact I think the band is great, this is still the only Suicidal Tendencies album that I own. I have had this playing over and over once again for the past month as I go through these albums to review, and not once has it failed to lift my spirits or make me think “wow, that is still a great song!”.
This album proved to be a catalyst for the band, and they continued in this direction over the next couple of albums, which introduced the frenzied funk of Rob Trujillo on bass guitar. I saw the band live for the first time on their first tour of Australia, as support for Alice in Chains, and they were amazingly awesome, proving they could do the job live just as well as they laid it down in the studio. But surely there should never have been any doubt that they could do that.

511. Midnight Oil / 20,000 Watt R.S.L. 1997. 4.5/5

Given that the band has an enormous following not only in Australia but around the world, and a whole bunch of album packed full of great songs, it makes it difficult to try and put together a greatest hits album that truly brings together the best the band has done. And, as always, the final song selection will find individuals decrying the leaving out of this song or that song. Personal opinion can only be sated so often.

In my opinion, that fact does raise its head here, but it is not an overwhelming demand. The song selection here finds the majority of their biggest hits on board, covering the majority of their albums. It would be a harsh critic to suggest that any of the songs here don't deserve their place. Of course, I am a harsh critic, and I don't think songs such as "What Goes On", "White Skin Black Heart" and "Surf's Up Tonight" could possibly be regarded as better songs than "No Time for Games", "Short Memory" and "Read About It".

Despite this, 20,000 Watt R.S.L. is a wonderful collection from the career of a terrific band. For the Johnny-come-lately, this is a pretty good place to start if you want to learn about Midnight Oil. For the fan, it's a great trip down memory lane.

510. Kiss / Hotter Than Hell. 1974. 3/5

In February of 1974 Kiss had released their self-titled debut album, rising on the back of their hard touring schedule and the marketability of their costumes and make up which were beginning to give the band some traction. Touring on the back of the album’s release saw them gain a core following, something that their management and record company looked to take advantage of. With this in mind, just six months after that debut album’s release, Kiss, was back in the studio, writing and recording the follow up album. In the modern day and age, it seems like a ludicrously short time between albums. Releasing albums every year must have been difficult enough, but creating another album in a timespan shorter than that surely would create some problems. In recent episodes of this podcast, we have seen the result of bands who have had to create new material under such time constraints as this, and the general feeling about those albums is that, given a little more time to compose and refine the material those albums may have ended up being better than they were.
Kenny Kerner and Richie Wise were again chosen as producers, but as they had just relocated to Los Angeles, the New York based band followed them to the west coast, something that didn’t take long to not sit well with them. They were out of their comfort zone, something that may have affected their mindset in that regard.
How much pressure would have been on the band to come up with an album that could be a worthy follow up to their debut just months after they had finished recording that album? To know now, looking back, at the number of iconic tracks that album contains, it feels as though it was always going to be a difficult proposition. Added to relocating to unknown territory to record the next album, the whole situation in retrospect looks as though it was a pressure cooker. IN fact, one might say that it was “Hotter Than Hell”

This album has been described as moody and darker than the debut album, and in a way that is channelled by the plodding pace of many of the tracks here as well. “Got to Choose” leads off that way, Gene’s bass taking prominence, and Paul’s vocals are in his lower range than his best tracks where he hits the high range which in most cases brings the enjoyment to the song. Here it is a slower and less energetic start to the album, brightened by Ace’s guitar solo through the middle of the song. “Goin’ Blind” is a reworking of a Wicked Lester song, that musically drags the mood down to the depths and the lyrical content about a romance between a 16 year old girl and 93 year old man hardly engendering itself to anyone. The title track on this studio album mirrors the opening song, barely getting out of second gear as the music plods along to a morbid drum beat and Paul’s vocals not being pushed at all. When it has been played live it always sound better, but the bones of the track remain as a slow tempo mood stomper.
The one major exception to this is “Parasite”, probably not surprisingly written by Ace given what is happening around this song on the album. It brightens up the album immediately after the slow start and jumps out of the speakers at you as one of the top shelf songs from the album. Ace’s guitaring is fabulous, and Gene’s vocals are at their best with the galloping beat. Ace wrote three songs on this album, handing one each to the other band members to take on the lead vocals of the track. His confidence in his own vocals at this point in time was visibly low. In the case of “Parasite” at least, the choice of Gene to sing it is perfect. Alongside this, the middle album tracks of “Let Me Go, Rock ‘N Roll” and “All the Way” show some enterprise and energy. “Let Me Go, Rock ‘N Roll” has a 1950’s rock and roll sound to it, with Ace’s guitar shadowing that era’s sound during his riff and solo, and Gene again getting up front and energetic in his vocals. It is only a little over two minutes in length, but it is a good pick me up. “All the Way” is a typically upbeat Gene song to follow it, with great support vocals during the chorus and another Ace special in the solo section. And yet another Gene song “Watchin’ You” follows in the same wake with a great drum beat from Peter helping to drive the track. After the downside mood in the first third of the album this middle section lifts the album, even if lyrically it isn’t Shakespearean.
“Mainline” is written by Paul but sung by Peter, and this combination gives the song a very early 70’s contemporary sound. At times Peter sounds like great Australian rocker Billy Thorpe, and on this song the resemblance is almost uncanny. This is followed by “Comin’ Home” with Gene’s bass line coming through as a dominant force, and Paul’s vocals sounding the most Paul-like for the album. One thing that is unusual on this album is that of the ten tracks, Gene sings five, Peter two, and Paul only three. “Strange Ways” is the second of those Peter sung tracks, with a tempo reminiscent of the earlier tracks on the album. Musically it is a strange choice to close out the album. Reverting back to what had come at the top of the album, and then having an abrupt end to the song and therefore the album, feels like a less than satisfactory conclusion.

Yes! It’s Kiss again! And my entry story remains the same. (I wonder if my cousin David ever actually listened to my podcast – which he definitely won’t - if he would actually remember his days living at our grandmothers and his walls covered in Kiss posters and me outside his bedroom door listening to him playing these albums at high volume...).
Anyway... yes... a foray from my cousin, to the singles on the radio and “Crazy Nights”. Most of you will know the story by now. And the discovery of the 1970’s albums was what came after all that. And when I started going back for those albums, there were some that grabbed me immediately, fastened themselves onto me, and clung on for dear life. And there were others that... just didn’t make the cut. “Hotter Than Hell” was certainly one of the latter. Through no fault of its own, it didn’t have the components that I was looking for in a Kiss album by the time I got around to listening to it. I like music with a good tempo, with energy. I like the vocals to be expressing themselves, not just going through the motions. And for the most part here, “Hotter Than Hell” can’t offer that. Compared to others such as the debut album and then “Dressed to Kill” and “Destroyer”, it was less enticing. I did listen to the album when I got it, but in the queue to be the Kiss album I chose to listen to when that desire came, it was a long way back.
As I have had my CD copy back in the stereo over the last couple of weeks, I have wondered if I would feel differently about this album if I had been old enough to listen to it when it was released, rather than trying to come to terms with it in a future time. And I still come to the same conclusion, even after giving this another dozen or so at least listens for this episode. That of those first four albums in particular, this is the weakest, where the material overall just doesn’t compare to those other three albums. And my tastes also want those opening songs to be faster and more energetic, such as they would have played them live on stage. Because then I think they would have all sounded far better than they do here.
In conclusion? I don’t mind “Hotter Than Hell”. Perhaps I have sounded harsher here than I need to be, and that is just my own musical bias coming through. In the Kiss catalogue, this is not a top 10 album. For me it is probably nearer the bottom than the top. That doesn’t make it a bad album, just one that I find less great than others. Far better was just around the corner for the band, including the live album that was to be the single greatest influence on their fortunes for the rest of their career.

509. Queen / Hot Space. 1982. 3/5

Even though I wasn’t old enough or interested enough in the history and the rolling development of bands through the 1970’s and the early 1980’s, it is pretty easy to trace just how the burgeoning career of Queen moved throughout that period. Their popularity grew with each album, and singles such as “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions” gained plenty of airplay. But it was the single from their album “The Game”, John Deacon’s “Another One Bites the Dust” that outsold them all, and is seen as the reason that the band went down the path that eventually led to “Hot Space”. The popularity of that single, especially in dance clubs and as a dance track, directed much of the writing for the band’s next album after “The Game” and “Flash Gordon”. In many ways, the album just heads in the same direction music around the world was going at that time. The emergence of both disco and new wave following the rise and fall of the punk movement dictated a popularity phase that you can only imagine band front man Freddie Mercury found very much to his liking, and John Deacon’s preference for music that was not as heavy as that preferred by the other members of the band, drummer Roger Taylor and guitarist Brian May, gave that momentum towards that sound.
In recent years, it has also been postulated that Freddie’s ‘personal manager’ Paul Prenter had been encouraging Freddie every step of the way to go down this path, which helped to convince the singer to move in that direction. Roger Taylor is hilariously quoted as saying “Prenter wanted our music to sound like you'd just walked in a gay bar...and I didn't".
The use and experimentation with new devices though helped to bring that sound to the album as well. There was a greater emphasis on synthesizers, as well using a drum machine for the first time. The style of music is a definite change in direction from the general rock and hard rock that had been their staple, now introducing and concentrating on the disco and dance new wave genre that was so prevalent in that age. I mean, for goodness sake, even Kiss dabbled in it with their “Dynasty” album. So they weren’t on their own in mixing up their sound for this album, but it was at the risk of alienating everything they had done up until this point of their careers.

OK, so let’s get this out of the way from the get go. This is a Queen album, so if you like Queen, then you have a reasonable idea as to what you are walking into. Now, think about Queen, but heading more towards a disco angle than a rock angle. Got it? Well now you have a better idea of what awaits you. It’s quite the eclectic mix of tracks,
“Staying Power” and “Dancer” start the album off with plenty of energy, but it takes some getting used to. “Staying Power” has synth bass played by Freddie rather than John’s bass (he actually plays guitar on the track) and with horns dominating the track with the drum machine. On “Dancer” the bassline is actually just Brian on synth, so it’s quite a change from that rock base the band had utilised on previous albums. “Back Chat” is one of John’s tracks and he plays bass rhythm and synth on it. It has a very R&B sound to it, utilising that groove to manoeuvre its way through the track, before Brian’s solo provides the best part of the song, almost as a retaliation to it. “Body Language” cuts even further back, helmed by a bass synth and Freddie’s vocals and little else. This was released as the second single from the album, and I literally have no idea how it managed to have the reasonable sales that it did... oh wait... there are some gay overtones in the lyrics aren’t there... and the video for it was quite... provocative... so I guess that’s your answer. All of these songs have a sound that to me reminds me of the dancing troupe “Hot Gossip” who appeared on the various Kenny Everett TV shows of the time. Hot Gossip could only have improved them, I feel. “Action this Day” closes out the first side of the album and is very tied to the era, with the drum machine and the saxophone, drawing in those new wave elements.
The second side starts off with Brian’s “Put Out the Fire”, the one song on the album that resembles the band’s earlier work. Great vocals, great beat, great guitar. Yep, still like this song. This is followed by “Life is Real (Song For Lennon)”, written by Freddie and sounds remarkably like a John Lennon song, even the vocal in places is sung to resemble him. A nice touch. “Calling All Girls” is a straight forward rock track that was the fourth single, while “Las Palabris De Amour (The Words of Love)” is a Queen rock ballad that was also released as a single and was regarded much more favourably than the first single. “Cool Cat” has all instruments almost completely performed by John. This is a lounge act song, I can imagine the stage and the piano as the singe on stage croons along. It is about as far away from Queen as I could imagine.
The album concludes with the Queen and David Bowie song “Under Pressure”, a song that doesn’t fit in with the style of this album at all. In fact, it was recorded well before the writing for this album really took place, and it is noticeable. Was it a cynical inclusion here in order to increase the sales of the album, with a song that had already proven popular and would draw people in – or was it always going to be a part of this collection? I don’t know the answer, but it feels more like the first answer than the second.

This review was always going to test me. Just about every band that you love has that one skeleton hiding in the closet, the closet you rarely frequent, and when you do it is with a deal of trepidation. And for me “Hot Space” was definitely that moment in the Queen discography. Because when I first heard the album, I wasn’t even sure it was a Queen album. I’m pretty sure my first reaction to it was that it had to be a joke, a bunch of demos collated together of tracks the band had dabbled with and then rejected for better material. But no, it was the real deal, and it really was released. And even when I went through and eventually bought all of the albums on CD so I had copies of my own, I did think twice or three times as to whether I would buy “Hot Space”, because I just couldn’t imagine when I was ever going to go to my shelves and take it off to put on and listen to it.
That being said, I’ve never enjoyed this album more than I have over the last four weeks. And that would no doubt come from the fact that I listened to it at least once or twice every day at work during that period, the whole album through. In the past when I have listened to it, whether it was at home or at a friends house, it would be on in the background, and I mostly would not have been in the mood for its quirky tones, and probably thinking I should be listening to just about any other Queen album instead. But for this month that has not been the case. I have had it going around on my playlist with up to six other albums, such that it becomes a part of the mix. And it certainly is plain when it comes on because its style is so very different from the other albums I have been listening to at during this time – check out the recent podcast episodes to see what those albums were, and you'll see what I mean.
So I can honestly say that I appreciate “Hot Space” a lot more now than I did up until a month ago. Which does prove why I do this podcast and that for some albums it has the desired effect. Does that mean it will come back off the shelf again any time soon? Well... perhaps for its 50th anniversary...

508. Kiss / Hot in the Shade. 1989. 3/5

Since the band had decided to go sans-makeup, and with a couple of departures from the band, the line up of Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Bruce Kulick and Eric Carr had been able to create a solid foursome, and in the process through the mid-1980's had recorded and released albums that began to bring the fan base back to the band. “Animalize”, “Asylum” and “Crazy Nights” had not only increased record sales around the world, but also produced singles that had attracted attention on the charts both in the US and worldwide.
There is a deliberate step away from the synth driven tracks that the band delivered on “Crazy Nights” to what is composed here for “Hot in the Shade”. Whether the band through its two main writers in Stanley and Simmons could feel the wind of change in the air, and were looking to steer the band into the faster waters in open to question. What is obvious is that, in the same way that many bands were looking for a more stripped down sound when it came to their albums as the 80’s decade was about to close out, Kiss were thinking along the same lines. That didn’t mean toning down any of the vocals in the way they had been performed in the band’s history, but with the guitars at least being doused down to a more basic level. Bruce Kulick, in his article review of the album on its 25th anniversary, mentioned that to further this effect, the band elected to use the demos they recorded and polish them up via overdubs instead of re-recording the songs. This was not information that was about in the days when the album was released, but with hindsight, it actually explains a lot about the album and the sound it has. Given that Kiss albums have almost always been highly produced, in order to give them the glossiest finish they could possibly have, this decision by the album's producers, who also happened to be Stanley and Simmons, on the surface appears to be a measured one. It could also explain why they decided to have 15 songs on this album, perhaps unable to decide which songs perhaps needed to be removed at the end of the production. Whatever the case may have been, this was an album with a change in direction, with these ingredients coming out of the oven with the title of “Hot in the Shade”.

This album has 15 tracks on it, which is a lot. The most of any Kiss album. One of the longest of any Kiss albums at almost an hour in length. For a band that had spent their career writing catchy songs that sit in that 3.5 to 4.5 minute range, this album is a real extension of that. The song lengths remain the same, the number of songs does not. And the writer combinations on “Hot in the Shade” are like a who’s who of Kiss song writers. Co-writers on songs on this album include the ever-present hit maker Desmond Child, Bob Halligan Jr who had helped write with Judas Priest and many other bands in the past, future Kiss guitarist Tommy Thayer, and former Kiss producer and composer Vini Poncia, along with Bruce Kulick and Eric Carr as well. These writers all swapped and jumped around with Stanley and Simmons to help create the album that this became. And it all became very much split down the middle vocally, with Paul singing lead on seven songs and Gene also singing lead on seven songs, with the other sung by Eric.
All of this leads to the question as to how the direction of the album could be maintained with so many outside influences coming into the album. Obviously, Paul and Gene were still the main songwriters and would have kept a strong hold on the reins, but then to listen to the album does raise the odd eyebrow.
I mean, what is with the slide guitar opening to the album as a part of “Rise to It”? Are we going for a Bon Jovi sound now? Is that the direction Kiss wanted to take? Fortunately, it is all a sham as the song breaks out into the kind of song that Kiss has made a living out of writing and performing. Double down on this for “Betrayed” which follows the same course, in a typical Gene vocalled track and the heavier drum and bass rhythm throughout that always provide the best Simmons led songs. Then we have “Hide Your Heart”, written by Paul along with Desmond Child and Holly Knight during the “Crazy Night” sessions, but not used until this album. Of course, it was also recorded by several other artists in this 12 month period, including former guitarist Ace Frehley! As I mentioned in that episode, I prefer Ace’s version of the song to this one, but this version still has good qualities.
The middle section of side one of the album levels off a tad, with songs that don’t truly grab the attention you would expect of a Kiss album. Gene and Bruce’s “Prisoner of Love” has an upbeat vibe about it but never really takes off, Paul and Bob’s “Read My Body” sounds like a Def Leppard rip off song, and Gene and Vini’s “Love’s a Slap in the Face” sounds like something Gene has experienced a few times in his life, and the drum machine taking the place of Eric Carr is a terrible decision.
“Forever” is the single off this album that charted higher than any other for Kiss during their non-makeup years, reaching number 8 on the US charts. It was co-written by Stanley and Michael Bolton – yes, that Michael Bolton. And yes, you guessed it, it is a sugar sweet power ballad, so much so that you can almost hear Bolton singing the chorus himself. Like I said, it was a hit, and it funnelled fans into buying this album, so you can’t really blame them, can you? Or even suggest it should have been the first song cut off the album. Can you? This is followed by “Silver Spoon” that is a far better track, much more on the Kiss plane, and ends the first half of the album on a high note.
The second side of the album dishes up more atypical songs from the writers as you would expect. Paul’s tracks have the more commercial sound, the songs that could be hits about himself, such as “King of Hearts” written with Poncia. He sings in a different style on “You Love Me to Hate You”, and it sounds as if he is trying to change things up, which for me doesn’t really work. Gene’s have the attitude he likes to bring through in his vocals, but with a very 70’s style in “Cadillac Dreams”, the street-smarts and De Niro like portrayal in “The Street Giveth and the Street Taketh Away”, and one of his weaker efforts lyrically and musically in “Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell”. “Little Caesar” is co-written with Eric Carr and another Kiss writing alumni in Adam Mitchell, a song which Eric also sings, and again has 70’s tinges about it (tell me the bass riff isn’t from Stevie Wonder’s ‘Superstition”). The album is then closed out by Gene’s “Boomerang”, one of the most upbeat songs of the album, which at least give it some momentum as its finally reaches its conclusion.

As I related in the previous episode of this podcast, this album came out within days of Ace Frehley’s “Trouble Walkin’” album, and it was this one that I plumped for when I went to my record store to load up on a new album. I adored “Crazy Nights” - still do – and I was pumped to hear what the band was going to offer me as a follow up. Well, it wasn’t “Crazy Nights”, and I still remember the intense disappointment that I had over what I heard when I listened to it over those first couple of weeks. It was a different style to that 80’s synth-based rhetoric that “Crazy Nights” gave us, and obviously at that moment in time, that was not what I wanted from Kiss. Many years later I dragged it out again, and though I was not averse to what I heard, it still had nothing that interested me.
Flash forward another few years, to a decade ago, and I had begun to start working my way through band discographies again, looking for albums I may have underappreciated in the past. And I came to Kiss and felt my way through their albums in order of release. And having once again gone through complete joy on reaching “Crazy Nights”, I came to “Hot in the Shade” with trepidation. Could this album convert me to what it has to offer, or was it destined to continue its life on the shelves collecting dust for eternity? The short answer is, I found more than I had in the past, mostly because now I wasn’t trying to judge it against the other albums I was listening to at the time. The style of song on this album had definitely changed again which I still know is why it threw me for a loop back in 1989, but the album was now better to listen to.
To the past few weeks, and “Hot in the Shade” has come out of its CD case again (my original vinyl copy having been lost in that flood from 24 years ago) and has been doing the rounds at work and at home. And it hasn’t been a difficult task, but it also hasn’t been an easy one. Most of the albums I review for this podcast are ones that I really enjoy listening to while I am in the zone, and some become firm favourites for a time after I am done with the episode. “Hot in the Shade” was not one of those albums. It was a tough slog. Is there a case to be made that this album needed to be shorter, that the band could have put a line through a few songs to bring it back to say 45 minutes, thus not only making it an entertaining listen but just cutting out some of the chaff from the wheat?
There are some catchy songs and some tracks that are fine to listen to, but overall it just tends to drag out. Is it uninspiring? Is it the multitude of writers? Is it just that in 1989 the band didn’t quite fit the profile of what was going on? Or is it just an average album. Given my history with the album, and the fact that I have just never ever been able to get on board with it, I would suggest that... it is just an average album. I can listen to this album, and have done for this episode, but I gain no inspiration from it like I do so many of the band’s albums and songs. How I felt about it 35 years ago is pretty much how I still feel about it today.