463. Motorhead / Hammered. 2002. 3/5

Backing up after an excellent live album release as well as a thoroughly more aggressive and heavy album in We Are Motörhead, as well as fighting off two best-of compilations that were released in competition with each other, and the threesome of Lemmy, Phil and Mikkey had plenty of positive vibes heading into the writing and recording of their next album. The only question left to be answered was how would the material going forward sound in comparison to that which had been in the past.

One wonders just how influenced the music on Hammered was on what was happening around the band at that time. All three members in various interviews have mentioned how Phil and Mikkey flew into LA on September 10, 2001 to start writing for the album, and the following day saw the various attacks now known as 9/11. A quick listen to the lyrics on some songs as well as the titles leads you to believe there was quite a bit of that going on in their heads.
For whatever reason, the songs here are not as aggressive in musical tone as those from the previous album, and while I find that disappointing because I found it to be excellent there is still plenty to like here. In essence they return to the more natural rock ‘n’ roll formula that the band prefers than the outright heavy metal sound some people crave (myself probably included). I’m never quite sure if I like the experimentation with Lemmy’s vocals and the layered harmonies in the opener, “Walk A Crooked Mile”, but I still like the song. The same with “Down the Line”, but both opening songs are just a bit too samey, with the same riff running for the whole 4-5 minutes of the song. It does get a little repetitive. Both “Brave New World” and “Voices From the War” have a better pace and gallop about them and are more fun to listen to as a result.
“Mine All Mine” and “Shut Your Mouth” and “Dr. Love” have that rock formula to work on, but “Kill the World” and “No Remorse” have a more sinister sound about them, and one I can get on board with as well. To finish off the album we have the fastest song of the track list, as “Red Raw” races along and allows the band in my opinion to showcase the best of their wares. This is my favourite song on the album and does tend to allow me to overlook some of the weaker parts that come before it. This is followed by the spoken word track “Serial Killer” that also has the wrestler Triple H involved. On some versions of the album this is then followed by “The Game” which is the song that he used as his entry to the ring, and which Motörhead occasionally performed live at big events for him.

Over the course of their long career, one thing Motörhead has not been afraid to do is release new material. They have done it more often than most bands of a similar vintage, and they consistently put out albums that challenge their fans. Some may think this a strange thing to say, but it is accurate and you can see it in the various ratings of their albums along the way. Not everything they have done has pleased the critics or the fans. Hammered is another better-than-average release from this band, and while it may not have the same things that draws me so heavily to their previous album it has enough to ensure that fans of the band will again be pleased they have made the effort to listen to it.

Rating: “Don't say nothing shut your mouth, out of time work it out”.  3/5

462. Iron Maiden / Hallowed Be Thy Name [Live] [Single]. 1993. 5/5

Released off the back of A Real Dead One, this features four live tracks from that tour. When buying singles these days, I will usually only purchase them if they have additional tracks (formerly B-side tracks) that have not been released. The three here are fare that we have all heard a billion times before – “The Trooper”, “Wasted Years” and “Wrathchild” – but damn if they still don’t just sound brilliant in the live environment. A good mix with the crowd getting involved as well.

Rating: Still sound great after all these years. 5/5

461. Gary Moore / Grinding Stone. 1973. 2/5

This is close enough to the point where Gary Moore started out, and it shows. Slow and wistful, written for a different audience and different era. It’s interesting to listen to, if only because you can see the differences between this era, into his rock era, and then into his blues era.
This collection of songs is not overly bad, but they just offer so little when you are listening to them. Your immediate urge is to skip to the next track. Within a minute, you’ve reached the end of the album. Not a great recommendation.

Rating: The music probably doesn’t deserve this low a rating, but when you’ve got nothing to offer, what do you expect? 2/5.

460. King's X / Gretchen Goes To Nebraska. 1989. 2/5.

I don’t even remember how I first got this album, or exactly when I got it. I’m sure it wasn’t too long after it had been released, and it would probably have been passed onto me by my mate Kearo, who no doubt got it from our mutual friend Dale. The music is certainly his style. What I do remember is the fact that at the time I was taken by it, and thought it was great – unusual, and different from most of the stuff I was listening to at the time, but still good.

Flash forward almost two decades, and I have dug this out of the mire to review it. To be honest I wasn’t even sure if I still had a copy of the album, apart from the crumbling cassette version another friend Scott had taped for me over a decade ago. In my search a CD-R copy emerges, and goes into the stereo.

Now comes the difficult part – attempting to rediscover what it was that so enthralled me about this album all those years ago. And I don’t think I did find it, but that’s not too unusual, because my taste in this genre has definitely shifted over the years. While I can still appreciate the music here, it no longer caters to what I am looking for in music.
Given the great length of time between the present and the last time I really listened to this album, I was surprised to find how much I had forgotten of it. There is no doubting the quality of Doug Pinnick’s voice, nor of the music contained on the album. When the album was released it was really ahead of its time, in an era when music was changing rapidly. Listening back to it today, it feels to me as though it is now stuck in that time period. What I no doubt thought of at the time as being unusual in a great way, I now hear as being different in an average way.

Rating: My music mood has outgrown what this offers. 2/5.

459. Megadeth / Greatest Hits: Back to the Start. 2005. 5/5

It would be very hard to stuff up a Megadeth greatest hits album. Most of the tracks suggest themselves. Of course, you wouldn’t fit them all onto one disc, so more will miss out than will (or did) actually make it. Still, no harm done. This album does a pretty good job of covering every era of the band. The songs you would expect are there - “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due”, “In My Darkest Hour”, “Wake Up Dead” and “Hangar 18”. Of course some personal favourites were going to miss out – “Looking Down The Cross”, “Reckoning Day” and “Set The World Afire” – but you live with that decision making process.

As with all greatest hits albums – and because of the order I am reviewing all my albums, I’ve listened to a few in recent times – it’s hard to argue with the quality of tracks here. I would have done it a little differently, but the quality would still have been the same.

Rating: Best of the best. 5/5.

458. Billy Joel / Greatest Hits Volume I & II. 1985. 4.5/5

A very nicely put together collection from back in the mid-1980’s, encompassing Billy Joel’s career to that point in time. I originally got this on double vinyl for Christmas when it was released. A decade later I updated and bought it on double CD, which included bonus tracks that I hadn’t had before, which made it even better.

While it was “Uptown Girl” that initially got me into Billy Joel, it came to pass that it was his older stuff that I probably enjoy more, and it was this collection that brought together all of his best stuff for me to listen to. “Captain Jack” and “The Entertainer” for me are just great. The diversity of his music, let alone the instruments he employs for his songs, and their style, is one of his features. Okay, there are the odd songs that I can quite happily skip past – “Always A Woman To Me” is the best example – and some songs seem strangely absent - "An Innocent Man" for instance, but the package is terrific.

For those that would like to see what all the fuss is about with Billy Joel, this is a good starting point. It’s pretty much where I started…

Rating: A great collection from a terrific artist. 4.5/5.

457. L.A. Guns / Greatest Hits and Black Beauties. 1999. 3/5

When L.A. Guns arrived on the scene in the late 1980’s, I was just finishing high school, and so was probably at the peak of my malleability in regards to music. L.A. Guns first two albums left an impression.
Here we have their greatest hits album, with a few odd bits and pieces thrown into the mix, most likely to help sales to people who already had all of their material. Their best and most well known stuff is here – “Never Enough”, “Sex Action”, “Rip N Tear”, “No Mercy” and the still awful “Ballad Of Jayne”.
As with so many greatest hits albums, sometimes you are better off just getting the original albums and listening to them. That is certainly the case here. I would suggest to anyone likely to go out and get this to just get the first two albums instead.

Rating: Good enough for what it is. 3/5.

456. Queen+ / Greatest Hits III. 1999. 2.5/5

OK – now we might just have pushed this concept a little bit too far. Whether the band agreed to this release, or it was just record company eyes lighting up with dollar signs, I don’t know, but I think their luck ran out.
That’s not to say all of the material isn’t worthy of the album. If for no other reason, this release may well have come in order to rectify the almost blasphemous effort of leaving off “Princes of the Universe” from Greatest Hits II. It also came with the final Queen single to feature John Deacon, “No One But You (Only The Good Die Young)”.
The rest comprises a number of songs done at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert with various singers lending their voices, some solo work from both Freddie and Brian, and a couple of the final album, Made in Heaven.

So, in all fairness, rather than a greatest hits compilation, this is a collection of songs drawn together from the final stages of the band’s career with Freddie Mercury before his untimely death. It isn’t the kind of thing I pull out often and listen to. There are better examples of all of this work than what is found here.

Rating: Reasonable without being exciting. 2.5/5

455. Queen / Greatest Hits II. 1991. 5/5

Not many bands could ever realistically imagine releasing two Greatest Hits albums, but Queen is certainly one of them.

Spanning their great albums of the 1980’s and into the (very) early 1990’s, this release showcases the majesty and changing styles of not only Queen’s music, but all music, during that decade. One of the interesting facts is the almost total and complete ignorance of material from the Hot Space album. It is probably the most maligned of all of Queen’s albums, and with only “Under Pressure” able to make the cut here, it doesn’t help to raise its awareness in the community.

Once again, as with Greatest Hits this is a superb collection, featuring an absolute array of classic songs. And as with the first collection, there are just as many great songs that haven’t made the cut. The mark of a truly wonderful band.

Rating: Almost impossible to argue with again. 5/5

454. Queen / Greatest Hits. 1981. 5/5

The mother of all greatest hits packages. To me, this is the quintessential Greatest Hits Album, with every song a certified winner. Released at what many fans consider to be the end of Queen’s Golden Age (I beg to differ, but that’s another story), this album is filled with brilliance from start (“Bohemian Rhapsody”) to finish (“We Are The Champions”).

There will always be arguments that personal favourites didn’t make the cut. From A Night at the Opera alone you could have had tracks such as “Death on Two Legs”, “I’m In Love With My Car” and “39”. What you can’t argue with is the quality of the songs that did make the album, and it truly is representative of the best work that Queen has produced – or at least had up until that point of their career.

Apart from the radio, this was my first real compilation of their great songs, and it still get a flogging in our household. Whenever we are searching for some music to pacify every generation, this is still the best album to grab.

Rating: Perfect. 5/5

453. Guns N' Roses / Greatest Hits. 2004. 3/5

Isn’t it somewhat presumptuous to release a Greatest Hits album when, in reality, you have only released two albums? There’s Appetite For Destruction of course, and then Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II which to me constitutes one album (they were released more or less at the same time), and then the awful The Spaghetti Incident which is trash.

Anyhow, here it is, and while it does have some great songs on it, it also has some less justified tracks. You can’t argue with “Welcome to the Jungle”, and “Sweet Child o’ Mine”, and “Civil War” and “You Could Be Mine”. But what is the deal with the plethora of cover tunes? On a greatest hits package? C’mon guys, (some of) the versions may be good, but they aren’t your songs! Way to pad out an album that really shouldn’t have been released in the first place!

Quite honestly, before I ever reached for this I would go for Appetite For Destruction because most of their great songs are contained there anyway.

Rating: Lots of great songs, but just so unnecessary. 3/5.

452. Dream Theater / Greatest Hit (... And 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs). 2008. 3/5

Let me say from the outset that the band and/or the record company have labeled this as Greatest HIT, and some other ‘cool’ tracks. There is nothing here that really says this is what could be considered as a true ‘greatest hits’ package.

What we do have is two discs jam-packed with songs from a band that has made the extremely long song into an art form. Twenty two songs, eleven to each disc. One disc labeled “The Dark Side”, suggesting heavier material, and one labeled “The Light Side” suggesting an opposite quality. That’s all fine.
Perhaps, then, you can explain to me why it is that this package doesn’t seem to have the best of Dream Theater on it? Is it because my opinion of this band’s best material is so much different from everyone else I the world? Or has the decision making process just gone a little haywire?

Where is "Caught In A Web"? Probably the second song to get me into Dream Theater. I can probably excuse the omission of "A Change Of Seasons", but I think it should have been included. What about "The Glass Prison"? C'mon guys!
To help out those of us that already have all the albums, we have a couple of remixes and a couple of radio edits. They are fine. And let's face it - most of the time I'm not going to delve into the Light Side, because that just isn't my style.

So it's a nice thought, but sometimes greatest hits packages won't suit everyone. I'd rather just pull out Awake or Scenes From A Memory or Train of Thought.

Rating: More for the person who may be just getting their Dream Theater feet wet. 3/5

451. Anthrax / The Greater of Two Evils. 2004. 4.5/5

Another unique and excellent way of releasing what is basically a greatest hits package.
Coming off the back of the excellent We’ve Come For You All the boys decided to update some older material. Taking the best of the stuff that the band had recorded with previous singers Neil Turbin and Joey Belladonna, they re-recorded them with their current line-up, including John Bush on vocals. Not only did they re-record them, they changed most of them just a little – a bit heavier, or a bit slower, or a bit faster – to complete the transformation.

In most cases, they work. The update of “Deathrider” and “Panic” are especially great - a thousand times better than the original versions, and John Bush smokes on the vocals. It really is a wonder that Anthrax haven’t ever re-recorded the entire Fistful of Metal album at some stage, giving it the polish and heaviness that it truly deserves. But that’s another review, and one I’ve already done.
The rest of the album, I guess, fans will either love or hate. I think it has its place.
There are some of the songs that are pure Belladonna (“I Am The Law”, “Be All, End All”), and even though the versions done here are great, you can’t help but know that it sounded better with Joey on the microphone.
Other versions are so good (“Gung Ho”, “Lone Justice”, “Madhouse”), you can just see JB as the original vocalist of the song. Of course the songs have been tooled around a bit to suit John’s vocal chords, but there’s nothing wrong with that. The most important part is that they still sound great.

As a variation on the same tired ‘greatest hits’ package, this is another pearler. As they were all pretty much played in  a 'live' setting in the studio, with the band thrashing out and Bush coming in later to clean up, you can hear the fun the band was having in recording them. It gives the fan an incentive to actually buy the album rather than say “I already have all these songs”. Which is what I did, and I still love it.

Rating: A great concept with wonderful execution. 4.5/5

450. Metallica / Great Western Forum 21-12-96 [Bootleg]. 1997. 3/5

One of the soundboard quality bootlegs that Metallica put up on their LiveMetallica site a few years ago, so the sound quality is exceptional. It is also from an era of Metallica that I find quite tragic, and thus you will see a rather low rating.

The rating simply comes from the material that is found here. The songs are not my favourites. The bootleg itself is interesting, for the fact that you get to hear so many of their songs live that - to be fair - are very average. Of course, when I first got the boot I thought that perhaps, in a live environment, they would improve. That was not the case, unfortunately.
Songs that find themselves here include "Ain't My Bitch", "Bleeding Me', "King Nothing", "Devil's Dance", "Until It Sleeps" and the deplorable "Kill-Ride Medley", which is an abomination to the Metallica legacy. Of all of these, "Until It Sleeps" at least holds its form. The others, along with my long time nemesis "Nothing Else Matters" are really nothing more than dust fodder.

The other tragedy is that the older material feels undervalued, both by the band's performance and Hetfield's clear vocals, with no emotion in them whatsoever. I think by this stage they really had lost what had made them great.

Rating: Sound quality is great. The mark is probably as high as it is just for that. 3/5.

449. Metallica / Gothenburg Sweden 13-2-87 [Bootleg]. 1987. 5/5

Another gem from the Metallica bootleg world, this A quality boot is on the Master of Puppets tour, and is one of the early gigs featuring Jason Newsted after the death of Cliff Burton.

The band are back on top and at their peak here. Leading off with the title track from the album, this contains the best of their material from their first three albums, and it is just a treat. Hetfield's vocals are superb, his goading of the crowd to join him all the more humorous because I am only listening to him here, and not actually trying to go with him for almost three hours like I did in 1989. Lars and Kirk are of course also superb, while Jason has fitted in nicely, and is already contributing to the backing vocals.

This is just about the best bootleg I have found from this tour, and it is always a joy to put it on and listen to it. Great performances of great material.

Rating: As good as bootlegs can get. 5/5

448. Whitesnake / Good to be Bad. 2008. 3.5/5

It’s a long time to wait between albums, and there is little doubt that there is a tendency to build up a new release thus spoiling it when it arrives. After all, it had been the better part of two decades since Slip of the Tongue had been released. It’s tough to not be a little bit excited about it…

So, as long as you approach this album knowing what you are going to get, you will find it enjoyable. If you are looking for something it is not then you will be disappointed.
The album contains the band’s usual mix of hard rock songs and soft rock ballads. Coverdale’s voice is as good as ever (in the studio, at least). He pretty much knows what he can do with it now, and doesn’t look to strain it for any high screeching or notes that he cannot capably reach anymore.
The star of this recording is the amazing Doug Aldrich, whose guitaring in recent years with both Whitesnake and Dio has surely impressed everyone who has heard him. His immaculate riffs and solos flood this album in all the best places. He is well supported by Reb Beach, but it is Aldrich who makes this above average. He is a chameleon with the guitar, able to translate his talents to the sound of the band or artist he is playing with, without losing his own individuality. Listening to this you’d think he had been in Whitesnake all of his career.

So it might not all be attractive, but it continues to grow on me every time I listen to it. Some of the songs I would like to have seen progress to a heavier level, but that’s just my preference.
Favourites so far probably include “Best Years”, “Can You Hear The Wind Blow”, “Good to be Bad” and “All for Love”.

Rating: There is still some magic left. 3.5/5

447. Exodus / Good Friendly Violent Fun. 1991. 2.5/5

Live album from the lads, their first, after some positive studio releases. For me it detracts from that product, however, as I don’t think it is one of his best performances.
In my opinion, the great material doesn’t quite come off on this occasion. The guys are obviously enjoying themselves and putting on a performance, but to me it doesn’t capture the true essence of the band or their songs. The vocals are somewhat messy, and all over the place – and yes I know it is thrash, but the vocals are just as important in a live atmosphere, and they don’t mesh here.
One of my main beefs is that I believe they completely trash one of the classics, AC/DC’s “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”. If you are going to cover a song live you need to do it justice, not tear it apart.

I was really disappointed with this. If you are going to do a live album, then get it right, because otherwise you are just wasting everyone’s time.

Rating: A mish-mash. 2.5/5.

446. Scorpions / Gold Ballads. 1984. 3/5

Mmmmm… ballads…

Why put this compilation together? To make money, why else?
Contains the big ballad hits of “Still Loving You” and “Holiday” and “Always Somewhere”, which are all great songs. But why?!!? Just buy the damn albums they were released on!!!

Rating: Good enough, but not something I pull out to listen to all the time. 3/5.

445. Godsmack / Godsmack. 1998. 2.5/5

Well, whether or not they are trying to be Alice In Chains (because there are major similarities), or whether they are in that genre, there is little doubt about where the root of Godsmack’s music lays. The question is – does it work?

I decided to look up Godsmack after their exceptional Judas Priest medley performance at the VH1 Rock Honours show a couple of years ago. Obviously their own material is different from that. Like everyone else, though, I guess I picked up on the similarities (in some areas anyway) that they have with the late great Alice In Chains. That’s not to take away from their music – they aren’t a cover band. The grunge/nu-metal scene has dozens of bands that sound the same as each other, and that doesn’t (necessarily) make them bad.

As it stands, I do enjoy most of this album. Sure, by the end of the album you sometimes feel you’ve been listening to the same song a few times over, and the guitars are probably not as powerful as they could be given the progression of some of the material. To me, they could have really amped it up – but most of them stay in that same tempo as (again with the comparison) Alice In Chains. “Bad Religion” has a great guitar/drum riff to get into the start of the song, but doesn’t advance past that. “Now Or Never” feels as though it is building to something, and then never quite arrives. “Stress” feels like it is going to explode, but it only has an incendiary burn. These songs are enjoyable enough, but it just feels unfulfilled, as if the next stage of evolution doesn’t arrive.
Having heard these guys do stunning versions of the Judas Priest songs, as well as of Black Sabbath’s “Sweet Leaf” on the Nativity in Black II: A Tribute to Black Sabbath album, I guess I expected a whole lot more. I’m not sure if that is unfair or not.

Rating: I believe they could have extended themselves more. 2.5/5

444. Slayer / God Hates Us All. 2001. 2.5/5

Once again some people were waiting for the next Reign In Blood and once again these same people were still waiting. What the public got instead was another angry album from a band that does it so well.

However, for me there is so much here that doesn’t quite work. The best Slayer albums – and we all know which ones they are – always seem to flow so well from song to song. Not necessarily seamlessly, but always such that they are easy to listen to. Here on God Hates Us All, many of the songs seem clunky, almost thrown together like a kid doing a bad jigsaw puzzle. The time changes don’t seem to work like they do on other albums, and Tom’s screaming being layered over itself creates a wall of noise that isn’t as palatable as is usually the case.
The great guitar riffs and licks are there, but they appear randomly, and for only a moment or so. Some of the songs just seem to bring on a headache more than an enjoyment, which is what I’m looking for. Friends of mine completely disagree with me, and say I must be mad, how can I not love this album? Well – apart from the reasons I’ve listed, I don’t know. All I know is that for me, this isn’t the best that Slayer can, or have, released.

Maybe, like so many others, I am just waiting for the next Reign In Blood as well…

Rating: I guess I just wanted more from it that it could offer. 2.5/5.

443. Original Cast Recording / Go Simpsonic With The Simpsons. 1999. 4/5

A collection of various musical pieces that have appeared on The Simpsons over the years.

Some of the musical numbers are brilliant – the songs from their eponymous record-breaking episode (where they passed the number of episode made of The Flintstones) which are brilliant take-offs from the songs from Mary Poppins are not only funny, but so very clever.

My kids love listening to it, so we do it often…

Rating: Well worth a review. 4/5.

442. Stiff Little Fingers / Go For It. 1981. 2.5/5

What is it about punk and reggae that they almost seem to go hand in hand? It truly is something I’ve never really been able to work out.

You can hardly call this album a punk album, and maybe the band and their fans don’t want to be pigeon-holed that way anyway. I can admit to being openly surprised at the style of music contained on this album when I first got it. Surprised, and not just a little disappointed. However, I can almost pass that off as part of my close minded youth. I got the album on the strength of the title track, the instrumental “Go For It”, to which I had been introduced at a Year 10 camp almost 25 years ago. From there the natural progression was to buy the album.
Now, I am no fan of reggae, and that includes when punk or alternative bands infuse it into their own music. So the fact that songs like “The Only One” have it here, frankly, just bores me to death.
Then there is “Gate 49”, which is almost like an updated 1050’s do-wop song, and “Silver Lining” which has horns and piano through it. All of this was so unexpected. No doubt many fans love it. I found it a bit disconcerting.

When I think of all of the great songs that this band released, and I hear what they have done on this album, it seems a tad disappointing.

Rating: Not what I consider to be one of their strongest releases. 2.5/5

441. HammerFall / Glory to the Brave. 1997. 4.5/5

At different stages in my life, I have come to a stage where I go out and buy half a dozen albums from bands I have never heard, just to see what they are like. Many of them ended up being duds, that now collect dust at the back of the cabinet. On one of these trips almost a decade ago, I picked up this album – and I never looked back.

OK, some of the music might be ‘messy’, but bloody hell, not everyone in the world can be John Petrucci or Mike Portnoy. If you are only going to be interested in the technical elements then you aren’t going to like much music. The tunes here are just great, they have the right feel, and many conduct the right mood. The vocals of Joacim Cans are absolutely immaculate. His voice carries this album where it may not have gone with a lesser singer.
Many of the lyrics might be cheesy, but damn if you don’t sing along with them all at the top of your lungs. Almost every song has a catchy riff, so that your head and legs can’t help but keep in tune with the music. As a band that have the obvious influence of Helloween, they do a mighty fine job for their debut outing.

In my opinion, there is hardly a weak link. So many of the songs here have intro’s that just grab me from the start, before the vocals even come into it. “The Dragon Lies Bleeding”, “The Metal Age” and “Steel Meets Steel” are the best examples of this – rollicking guitar that drags you in, and then holds you for the entire song. “Hammerfall” and “Stone Cold” are also particular favourites.
The two power ballads on the album, “I Believe” and “Glory to the Brave”, are also high on the scale of listenability for their genre. While I’m not a big fan of power ballads (how many times have I written that now…) these two songs are performed and written well enough for me to enjoy(ish).

When I first got this album, I was enthralled for weeks with it. Even now, all these years later I can easily put it on at any time, in any mood, and enjoy it. That gives it the mark of greatness. Perhaps if you aren’t a fan of the genre you won’t get as much from it as I do, but I think it is superb.

Rating: For a debut album from a band, you couldn’t ask for much more. 4.5/5.

440. Iced Earth / The Glorious Burden. 2004. 3/5

The demise of Matt Barlow, and the introduction of Tim Owens, was a major talking point at the release of this album. And as much as I enjoy Matt Barlow’s work with Iced Earth, I was looking forward to hearing what Ripper could bring to the band.

What you are immediately confronted with is this – it is still Iced Earth. OK, the lead vocals have changed slightly and been incorporated into the mix, but the music is still the same – the great drumwork of Richard Christy, the rifling guitar work of John Schaffer. “The Reckoning (Don’t Tread On Me)” is the foremost indication of this, just a typical Iced Earth performance. I love “Attila”, where Ripper doesn’t extend so much into his ‘upper reaches’, and perhaps this is where some songs just don’t feel right. These two songs, plus “Declaration Day” and the slower and softer “When The Eagle Cries” are the best for me on the album, along with the wonderful Gettysburg trilogy.

While I don’t think it is Iced Earth’s best work, that certainly isn’t the fault of any particular person. Ripper is great, and while his vocals mightn’t work in every song, when they do they are just fantastic. Perhaps the arrangement could be better, I don’t know. It is a difficult thing to marry up a different set of vocal chords to an established writing style. On The Glorious Burden there just feels like there are too many places where the two are out of synch.

Rating: Not all that it could be, but not bad by any stretch of the imagination. 3/5

439. Mötley Crüe / Girls, Girls, Girls. 1987. 4/5.

Girls, Girls, Girls is Mötley Crüe almost at their theoretical peak.

There is no doubt that the strength of the album comes from the opening two tracks. “Wild Side” is one of their best opening songs, getting you in the right mood from the very beginning. This is followed by the title track, which is also at the right tempo with great singalong vocals.

This album is probably the epitome of their ‘hair metal’ roots. Most of the songs bop along at the same beat, with a good mix of heavier and lighter tunes. All are upbeat, which keeps the album moving along smoothly. Tommy’s drumming is just as brilliant as it always was in the 1980’s. Both Mick Mars and Nikki Sixx sound great, while Vince Neil’s vocals are quite superb here, some of his best work.
It doesn’t get bogged down in the middle, which some albums of this genre can do. From “Dancing On Glass” to the slightly goofier “Bad Boy Boogie”, the harder “Five Years Dead” and “All In The Name Of…” to “Sumthin’ For Nothing”, these are the kind of tracks that Motley Crue can claim as their best – hard edged rock that can appeal to all markets.

It can’t all be perfect I guess, and that something is one song that I’m sure most Crue fans love, but which I detest – the power ballad. “You’re All I Need” is another detestable version of this rabid disease that haunt so many great metal bands. I know some people love them, and I know that most Mötley Crüe albums contain at least one – some of them are done well and I can handle. However, this one is so sugary and overdone that I could quite easily just vomit when I hear it. A real shame, given that the lyrics are not all that they seem, and not what you expect from a power ballad.

After the mismatch that was Theater of Pain this was an excellent follow-up, reinforcing Mötley Crüe's status in the world of heavy metal. This album ranks among their best three that they have released, and is a must listen for all fans out there.

438. Ian Gillan / Gillan's Inn. 2006. 4.5/5

When this was released I was very excited to hear how his planned album would come out. To celebrate his 40 years in the music industry, Gillan had compiled a list of songs from every corner of his career, and instead of just slapping them together in a compilation, he re-recorded them all. Some of them he used the artists he originally performed the songs with, and with others he had some famous friends drop by to lend a hand. I though the concept rocked.

For the most part this works well. Songs like “Unchain Your Brain” with Joe Satriani and “Bluesy Blue Sea” with original guitarist Jannick Gers are excellently updated, with a modern feel to their original tempo. So too for “A Day Late and a Dollar Short”, where contributions from Uli Jon Roth and Ronnie James Dio are valuable. Satriani again appears on “Hang Me Out To Dry”. These songs are the ones for me which benefit greatly from this release, to be exposed to fans who may never have actually experienced them. Another great track is Black Sabbath’s “Trashed”, with Tony Iommi contributing guitars. This is a, shall we say, ‘mature’ version of the song, without the wonderful Gillan soaring vocals of the original, but still a great performance of the song.

I guess the trickiest stuff was what to do with the Deep Purple material, as most of the songs that are here are still played almost every night on tour by the band and man in question. I must say that two of the songs that I would consider to be his signature tunes with Deep Purple, “Child in Time” and “Highway Star”, are not included here. Could he not improve on the originals? That is probably a pertinent point.
“When A Blind Man Cries” with Jeff Healey does the song justice, as does Joe Satriani on the wonderful “Speed King”. “Smoke On The Water” was always going to be the most difficult to pull off, I believe. No matter how you approached it, you were going to have people suggesting it should have been different. For the record – how could you ever improve on the original? I think either getting Ritchie in to play it could have been the go, or use a live performance of the song in the current day, with Steve Morse really ripping on guitar in that atmosphere.

This is pretty close to top shelf stuff. There are a couple of the versions of songs on here that I may be a bit ambivalent about, but overall it is a great triumph in recording the wonderful career of one of the greatest voices in the industry.

Rating: As a compilation that features old songs in a new environment, this is just fantastic. 4.5/5.

437. The Police / Ghost in the Machine. 1981. 3.5/5

When I first got this album, way back in the dark ages, I used to just adore it. I played it over and over again, knew all the words, loved the fact that it was different from what the band had done before. It feels a little bit darker, has different themes, and more of that wonderful quirky experimental type guitars and drums that really marked The Police as an exceptional band, and out of the ordinary.

My love for this album came from my teenage years, and to be quite honest, yesterday was the first time in about twenty years that I actually took out the album, put it on and listened to it in its entirety. I cannot recall having done so since high school, so it would therefore be longer than twenty years. I can also say that I was looking forward to it, to see exactly how it stacked up after all this time.
Obviously, the first three songs on the album will always be favourites - "Spirits in the Material World", "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" and "Invisible Sun" are the three standout tracks from the album. However, I was, and still am, fond of "Demolition Man", "Rehumanise Yourself" and "Omegaman". While the style of song here has progressed from their earlier albums, I still think it has progressed in a good way - much in the way they progressed even further with their next, and final, release. the biggest elements of change here are the addition of synth and saxophone, both of which are quite prominent in the majority of the songs on the album. "Hungry For You (J'Aurais Toujours Faim de Toi)" is a bit too samey and predictable for my liking, and while a bit of sax here is fine, I do think it gets overused in places. This is the first album by The Police where they have moved away from the music being a simple triumvirate, where all of the songs were recorded by and could be played by just the three members, without having to add members to the live band if they were to play their songs. with Ghost in the Machine that now isn't the case.

In many ways this album has probably dated over the last three decades. Certainly the things that fascinated me about this album in the early-to-mid 1980's don't tend to have the same influence on me now. That could also be because of my changing musical tastes, but I remember absolutely loving this album all the way through. Even though having listened to this again has been an enjoyable experience, the repetitive feel of some of the songs in the back half of the album does just cull that love back a bit.

Rating:   "The edge of time closes down as I disappear".  3.5/5

436. Yngwie J. Malmsteen / The Genesis. 2002. 1.5/5

I don’t know if it is just because of the sheer volume of albums that he seemed to release during the 1990’s that I had never heard until five or so years ago, or because his stuff just seemed to run to a similar pattern, but there is a growing tediousness about some of Yngwie’s work. Sure, there is little doubt that he is still a great guitar player, but there must be a question over his actual song writing ability.

Here is another collection of fairly average type of songs. There is a greater collection of instrumentals here, which should be considered a good thing, but they are basically ordinary. The songs that do have vocals have very very poor vocals, which drag the songs down even further. I was astonished when I first listened to this album. Some places had praised it glowingly, and yet I can’t see through the gloom.

Rating: This release has very little to offer to any fan. 1.5/5

435. Motley Crue / Generation Swine. 1997. 1.5/5

After a somewhat unsuccessful venture forward with John Corabi on vocals, and a similar story for Vince Neil and his solo album, the two decided to reunite again and see if there was still any magic in the concept. This they also did without drummer Tommy Lee, who had decided to dip his own toe into other projects, along with a little time behind bars.

However, despite some excitement about Neil returning to the fold, this album never really gets off the ground. The change in direction away from what they did best – the L.A. rock and hair metal scene, with fun tunes and cool beat to them – to this sludgy, almost grunge-style of music, really lacks the kind of killer hooks they used to produce. In a similar way that other bands of their generation, like L.A Guns and Ratt, seemed to try and move with the change to the Seattle grunge scene of the early 1990’s, this doesn’t suit their style and doesn’t come off. Sure, some of the songs you can still find yourself tapping your foot along to, but mostly I spend my time trying to work out what it is exactly that they tried to produce here.
What probably highlights it even more is the update of “Shout At The Devil” that gets tacked onto the end of the album. It doesn’t come near the quality or energy of the original! If you are going to ‘update’ one of your own songs, surely you would have to make sure it was going to be at least its equal!

In particular, songs such as “Flush”, “Confessions”, “Beauty” and “Glitter” are so unlike Motley Crue that I have, at times, actually checked the disc to make sure it who it says it is. Moving with the times is OK. Forgetting who you are is unforgivable.

Rating: A crying shame from a once-great band. 1.5/5

434. Gene Simmons / Gene Simmons. 1978. 1/5

I’ll let you into a little secret here. Having listened to this album two or three times late last week, I had to go back, grab some Kiss albums, and listen to them to convince myself that they were not as lame as this piece of rubbish is. I can tell you I was scared that my entire existence was going to implode, and that I would discover that the Kiss that I loved were actually crap.

No – I didn’t discover that.

This, however, really is a stinker. No power in the music, no power in the vocals. No inspiration, no glory. If this is the best that Gene Simmons can come up with on his own, then he should be thanking his lucky stars that he fell into the band situation that he did. OK, perhaps he was trying to do something in a different direction from what he had been for the previous decade. I have serious reservations about that at the best of times, because you will just alienate your own fan base. From the opening bar to the very last chord of the corny and dreadful version of “When You Wish Upon A Star”, this is the kind of album you listen to, and then file in a deep dark corner. Which is exactly where it is now being returned to.

Rating: Please, no. never again. 1/5.

433. Helloween / Geisenkirchen, Germany 6-7-86 [Bootleg]. 1986. 5/5.

There are countless moments in life, in regards to music and concerts, when you wish that a band had thought to get a high-class recording of their work to share with the world. Thank goodness for bootleggers or many moments would have passed us by.
This is a B quality bootleg recording of Helloween on the Walls Of Jericho tour, with Kai Hansen on guitar and lead vocals, and the band in all of their glory. The copy I have has deteriorated over time, and the transfer to other media has somewhat affected it as well. However, once you adapt to the bootleg quality, and raise the level of volume a tad, it still sounds just awesome. More than anything else, it is great to hear songs like “Gorgar”, “Reptile” and “Guardians” live as they were at the time, along with the classics such as “Ride The Sky”, “Victim of Fate”, “Metal Invaders” and “Heavy Metal (Is The Law)”.
Everyone here is in top form. Kai is especially brilliant on vocals, but the dual guitars of Kai and Michael just sizzle, Marcus’ brilliant basslines are also at the forefront, and really take the breath away with what he does. Add in Ingo’s wonderful drumwork, and you have a sensational album.

Rating: The essence of what you want from a bootleg – a great band, great musicians and great songs. 5/5

432. Testament / The Formation of Damnation. 2008. 4/5

After nine years without new material, and the return of some major players into the ranks, Testament have come screaming back to the forefront with their new album, The Formation of Damnation.

Probably what is better is that I missed all the hype of the return of the old boys, which seems to have coloured some people’s opinion of the album. I just got it and put it on, and was immediately taken by the opening riffage. In much the same way as last year’s releases of Humanity: Hour 1 by Scorpions and Paradise Lost by Symphony X grabbed me from the opening bars, so did The Formation of Damnation with “For The Glory Of…” and “More Than Meets The Eye”. Straight away the head started gong and the feet started tapping, and I was taken.
I really think this is a killer album. Generally I am a bit cautious about my initial instincts when listening to albums. I believe it usually takes some time for the true reality to sink in. However, after giving this a fairly solid workout for the past week, I think it has the right stuff.

The return of Alex Skolnick on guitar is a bonus. Back with his old sparring partner Eric Petersen, and alongside Greg Christian on bass again, they have put together some great riffs. Nick Barker’s drumwork is also superb, a real revelation. Chuck Billy’s vocals are just awesome – take “F.E.A.R” as just one example. Especially toward the end of the song, when he really puts the grunt into it, he sounds absolutely brilliant. He is in peak form after recovering from his cancer, and it is great to hear him sounding so good. His range is as good as ever.

Favourites for me include “More Than Meets The Eye”, “The Evil Has Landed”, “The Formation of Damnation”, “Dangers of the Faithless” and “F.E.A.R”.

Rating: A magnificent return from one of the best thrash bands around. 4/5.

431. Testament / The Gathering. 1999. 3.5/5

OK, so the band may well not have all of its original components, but this is still a mighty release. Certainly, those who have been drafted in to the band are no mugs, and they all perform at the top of their game for this release.

For me, this was always going to be an interesting album, following the excellent Low and the average Demonic. At the time it was released I remember being fairly ambivalent about hearing it. However, having been accosted by a friend who insisted I had to hear it, he lent me his copy, and I was enthralled from the opening bars.
Listening again over the past couple of days, I probably am not as enthused about it as I was back in 1999, but it is still a very good album. (That may well be coloured by the fact I have their brand new album playing on high rotation at the moment). Punctuated by great rolling guitar solos, Chuck Billy’s vocals still bring that edge to every song. There are also moments when the bass lines are prevalent at different stages, especially for instance in “Riding The Snake”. There is the brilliant thumping “Eyes of Wrath”, and the mood changes of “True Believer”.
As soon as you start listening to the album there is no doubt about whose drumming style it is. Dave Lombardo came on board for this album, and he stamps his trademark tubbing well and truly across the face of every song. For me it is probably the highlight of the album.

This was a better return after Demonic. For the fans, the problem lay in the fact that it was to be nine years before their next offering.

Rating: Another solid release. 3.5/5

430. Gary Moore / The Collection. 1990. 3.5/5

This album is an interesting collection of songs from Gary’s early career, and before his jump in status during the mid-1980’s.
Most of the songs originate from his Dirty Fingers album, which suffered delays in being released, and was apparently at one time thought to never see the light of day.
So, in essence, half of the songs here are, in my opinion, some of his best. Others however do not rate that highly. There is little doubt this was a shoddily put-together collection with a muddled thinking behind it.

Rating: The good balances the average here, but ‘collections’ have been done better since this release. 3.5/5

429. Metallica / Garage Inc. 1998. 4/5

Following the release of both Load and Reload in the mid-1990’s, Metallica did a great deal of touring of the world. Whether or not this inhibited their ability to come up with new material, or whether they just felt as though they needed a break from writing new material, or they had come to the realisation that their newer material was a little average, it set the stage for a couple of different releases from the band toward the end of the decade. Garage Inc. was one of them.

Comprised entirely of cover songs, the album came as two discs. Disc One contained songs specially recorded for the publication, while Disc Two contained previously released songs, the majority of which were b-sides of the singles that the band had released over the years.

Disc Two is a classic. It contained the ‘original’ Garage Days Revisited, which was “Am I Evil” and “Blitzkrieg”, which came from the “Creeping Death” single. Also, the entire Garage Days Re-revisited EP is here, while the rest of the great covers came from singles, including the live renditions of the Motorhead songs they played for Lemmy’s birthday bash. Every song here is a classic, and excellently redone.

Disc One, on the other hand, is a bit of a mishmash. Had it been released as a single disc, the sales for this album would have been cut to about 20% of what they came to. A lot of the songs are from a different genre than that which most would consider Metallica to be in. The obvious songs in this category would be Nick Cave’s “Loverman”, Lynard Skynard's “Tuesday’s Gone”, Blue Oyster Cult's “Astronomy”. Even though they released it as a single, Bob Seger’s “Turn The Page” is one that I really dislike and have trouble stomaching whenever I hear it. Metallica (at this point of their career) probably had enough credits in the bank to try something like this and get away with it, but these songs for me really let down this album.

The good, of course, is very good. “Sabbra Cadabra” and “Mercyful Fate” are just brilliant. “It’s Electric” and “Die, Die My Darling” are good updates on the originals, while “Whisky In The Jar” is a vast improvement on the original Thin Lizzy version.

Very few bands in the world could get away with putting out a double disc album full of cover versions of their favourite songs. I guess it shows the power Metallica had at that time. One wonders if they could ever reproduce that again now.

Rating: In the end, rating the entire album is a difficult thing to do, so I can only do it by taking an average of the two discs.
Disc 1: 3/5. Disc 2: 5/5. Total rating: 4/5.

428. Metallica / Garage Days Re-revisited [EP]. 1987. 5/5

Way back, when this was released, I was in my final year of high school, and though there were many of my friends who were also into heavy metal, this EP became the single greatest converter of music listeners to heavy metal music in our year.
The five track EP of cover songs is a classic, not only giving Metallica fans an idea of where the band’s roots lay, it also provided some excellent updating of some very good songs. It also gave the world its first hearing of Jason Newsted on bass, the replacement for the tragically lost Cliff Burton. At the time we were suitably impressed.

Perhaps it was just a ‘right place at the right time’ thing for me. Sometimes EPs of this type can be either hit or miss. This was certainly a hit.

Rating: A great moment in my personal metal history. 5/5

427. Metallica / Garage Days Pt II [Bootleg]. 1998. 4.5/5

An excellent collection of cover songs recorded live in varying quality over the existence of Metallica.
Early highlights are “Mechanix” and “Killing Time” with Dave Mustaine on vocals, as well as “Let It Loose” and “Sucking My Love”, continuing their love affair with Diamond Head’s Lightning For The Nations album.
It also contains extra tracks from the birthday bash they played for Lemmy’s birthday, with additional Motorhead tracks such as “The Chase Is Better Than The Catch” and “We Are The Road Crew”, and a cover of Judas Priest’s “Rapid Fire” with Rob Halford dueling on vocals.

Rating: Another excellent collection of great quality bootleg tracks. 4.5/5

426. Metallica / Garage Days and More [Bootleg]. 1998. 3/5

Basically a collection of the demo versions of singles released in the 1990’s, which everyone will have if they bought all the single releases. Which I did. As with all demo versions, they are worth listening to once or twice to hear how the songs sounded while in production, but after the novelty wears off, you don’t really need to ever go back to them.

Rating: A somewhat interesting collection. 3/5.

425. Metallica / Garage Barrage [Bootleg]. 1998. 4.5/5

During the period when Metallica had either run out of inspiration or knew they were big enough now to decide what they wanted to do and when, they released the double CD Garage Inc. full of previous and new cover songs. They then went out and did a short tour, playing all of these songs live. From that came this A quality bootleg from their show in Detroit, which was broadcast on FM radio in the US at the time.

As I said, the sound quality here is perfect, radio broadcast quality. The setlist comprises songs from the double CD, and as can be noted from my review of that album, there is the brilliant mixed with the average. Most of the average doesn’t make the cut here. In fact, I probably have only two queries about the entire setlist. “Am I Evil” has been in their set for as long as they have been playing. While it’s still a great song and great version, surely they could have substituted something that they DON’T always play. And “Turn The Page” I just don’t like. Average.
Apart from that of course, it is quite brilliant. “The Small Hours”, “Mercyful Fate”, “Sabbra Cadabra”, “The Wait”, “Blitzkreig”. All just sensational.

Rating: Well worth grabbing, even if it isn’t their own songs. Or maybe BECAUSE it isn’t their own songs. 4.5/5.

424. Queen / The Game. 1980. 4/5

While it is impossible for me to agree that this is the last great Queen album, as has been bandied about in some areas, there is little doubt that this is one of their best. With some of their best singles mixed with the solidity of the rest of the album, The Game is a classic.

In some ways, this reminds me of A Night At The Opera, with a great mix of styles on the album, and the variety of lead vocals from Freddie, Brian and Roger.
While it is the high profile songs that boost this album, the peripheral songs are also important in retaining interest. "Dragon Attack" is a favourite, as well as "Rock It (Prime Jive)" with Roger Taylor's vocals proving to be a highlight for me on the album.
An album that contains such classic songs as "Another One Bites The Dust" and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "Save Me" already has the material to make it great. Perhaps not every song is in that catagory, but in my opinion none of the songs are 'filler'. Like the majority of Queen albums, you can put The Game on and enjoy it all the way through, and then out it back on again. I know I have - 32 times in the past four days as I listened and reviewed, and I never got sick of it. Surely an album's greatest pre-requisite.

This really is an album that anyone can enjoy. All four members have again contributed so much in both writing and performing, and their individual performances are again just startling.

Rating: A triumph in almost every way. 4/5.

423. Gamma Ray & Helloween / Gambling In Osaka [Bootleg]. 2008. 5/5.

The internet can be a wonderful thing. You can find things that, even ten years ago, you would never have found, and their existence would be just a rumour in the wind.
In preparation for Helloween’s first tour of Australia in February of this year, I trawled the net to see if there was perhaps a bootleg out there of their current world tour. After only a short time searching, I came across this gem, which was the complete set played in Osaka this year. Not only did it have Helloween’s set, it had their support act’s set, which just happened to be Gamma Ray.

So here we have the three disc Gambling In Osaka, an A- quality bootleg, which is just spectacular. The first disc carries the entire Gamma Ray set, where the lads just tear it up with a great list of songs. Two songs off their latest album Land of the Free Part 2 are included, and both sound great live. Another great addition was “Heaven Can Wait” from Heading For Tomorrow which is still as good as it ever was. Favourites are still “Rebellion In Dreamland” and “Somewhere Out In Space” which still sound fabulous. One wonders how you could watch Helloween after watching Gamma Ray. It’s like wanting to eat anything after a beautiful Lamb Madras curry - it would almost spoil the taste.

Discs two and three carry the entire Helloween gig, and there is no disappointment here. There are a handful of songs from their latest release Gambling With The Devil and all sound better live than they do on the album. Opening with the eponymous “Halloween” also sets the tone for the gig. The new songs are interspersed throughout the gig, and the mix of new songs with those from the classic era in the late 1980’s is very well done. “March Of Time” is just magnificent, and well received by the crowd after such a long absence. “King For 1000 Years” sounds just as good as it did on the last tour. Perhaps a bit of a letdown is the medley they play toward the end of the set – all the songs deserve the full treatment, but I guess you can’t always fit in everything.

No doubt the highlight if you attended the gig – and still is here – is that Kai Hansen and his bandmates return to the stage for the final encore with Helloween, with Kai and Andi playing duelling vocals on “Future World” and “I Want Out”. Again, this is just great, and you can hear how much fun everyone on stage is having, with guitar solos being traded between everyone.

Of course, this will never be released as an official live album, or even as a DVD. More’s the pity, because they are two great individual gigs, and fully worth the recognition an ‘official’ release could bring.

Rating: However you do it, get a copy of this. You will not be disappointed. 5/5.

422. Helloween / Gambling With The Devil. 2007. 4/5.

There was quite a bit of hype over the release of this album, with suggestions that Helloween were going to revert back to a darker, heavier style such as was found on The Dark Ride. A big call indeed, considering two members of the band left after that album, mainly because of its musical direction.
When this album first came out, I will admit to being taken in by the hype. Despite this, I felt it was a strong album, different again from the previous three albums. I wasn’t sure it was different in a good way or a bad way, but for my initial listening period I felt positive about it.
Come the time to relate and review for this project, and I had a slight double take. On numerous listenings, I found myself questioning my original judgement. Does this album really have the magical Helloween touch? This was difficult, because it is in my workplace, where it is not always possible to appreciate the music being played. So I put it in the car, and drove around, and also played it at home with my 5 year old and 2 year old daughters at a better level of volume. And I rediscovered what I was missing.

In places during the middle album, I feel myself singing along to a song – “As Long As I Fall” and “Can Do It” are the best examples - and I feel almost dirty, like when you start singing along to one of those daggy 1980’s songs that come on the radio, and you only know the words because you grew up with it. It’s an automatic reaction – “I shouldn’t like this!!” Perhaps that’s just me, but it scares me a little that I should feel that way about a song by Helloween. I haven’t done that since Chameleon, and we all know how that turned out.
Then we have songs such as “Paint A New World”, which has all the ingredients of a good metal song, but for some reason just doesn’t sit well with me – and I don’t know why. The chorus seems to annoy me.

That’s not to put all the songs down. “Kill It” is a heavy starter to the album, in a similar vein to “Mr Torture” on the aforementioned The Dark Ride, followed by the faster pace of “The Saints”, which sets a cracking start to the album.
The end of the album redeems any negative thoughts that have gone on earlier. “Dreambound” and “Heaven Tells No Lies” are probably my favourite songs on the album, with great dueling guitar breaks from both Gerstner and Weikath, and the best range of vocals from Deris.

Suffice to say, this is not the next The Dark Ride nor is it like any other Helloween album. It is a mixed bag, and as some people have commented, it probably lacks the consistency of other releases. Breaking the album down, you can see that. Taking the package as a whole, it is another high quality album from one of the best bands around.

Rating: Still at the top of their game and willing to gamble a little. 4/5.

421. Gary Moore / G-Force. 1979. 2.5/5

Very early stages of Gary Moore’s own work, and it is noticeable. Though he obviously tries hard, the songs don’t have the magic quality of his work during the 1980’s.

Apart from the excellent “White Knuckles / Rockin’ and Rollin’”, and other reasonable efforts like “You Kissed Me Sweetly” and “Dancin’” – which are both just a little too close to pop for my liking I must admit – this album doesn’t really make it. It feels like Moore is still trying to find his own niche. That came after this album.

Rating: The best was yet to come. 2.5/5

420. Gamma Ray / Future Madhouse [EP]. 1993 3.5/5

Three song EP, containing the single “Future Madhouse”, the self-titled and extended version of “Gamma Ray”, and an interesting demo version of “Dream Healer”, the original of which appeared on Sigh No More.

Rating: Not terribly exciting. 3.5/5

419. Rainbow / Bent Out Of Shape. 1983 2.5/5

Bent Out Of Shape was a turning point for the fortunes of Rainbow, with a major change in the style of music the band was playing.

There is little doubt that most of the material here is a lot softer than anything they had released before. The hard edge that had been prevalent with Dio and Bonnet was now being washed away into what became known in the 1980’s as ‘soft rock’. “Street of Dreams” is the perfect example of this. Not a bad song in itself, but with no real power or energy pushing it along. Even Ritchie’s guitaring on this song is average, without inspiration. Other songs, such as “Drinking With The Devil” and “Make Your Move” are a bit closer to the best style than this line-up had, pacier and rockier types of numbers, with Joe Lynn Turner and Ritchie Blackmore combining at their best.

What is obvious is a change in the song style and lyrics. No longer does the Dio mysticism exist, it is now fully into the JLT female-oriented lyrical content. That in itself signals a deep change in the outlook of the band.

This is probably my least favourite of Rainbow’s releases, and the fact its content has significantly changed direction is pretty much the major factor in that. The fact that it was the final album for this line-up before Blackmore and Glover went to reform Deep Purple shows that they probably thought it had run its course as well.

Rating: Following up some much better albums, this one can only reach average. 2.5/5

418. Tony Iommi & Glenn Hughes / Fused. 2005. 4/5.

After a number of years, Tony Iommi finally got his head around what he wanted to do, and so came forth this collaboration with Glenn Hughes.

Following on the demise of the Black Sabbath era with Tony Martin and Cozy Powell, the one-off Iommi album with many guest musicians and the annual reunion of the original Black Sabbath to play at Ozzfest – but not to record – Iommi really needed to find a project that was outside of this Sabbath scene. By coming together with Glenn Hughes again, there was an opportunity for them both to do something that was different.

I love this for the fact that it isn’t a Black Sabbath album. It is the coming together of two wonderful musicians, and gelling their different styles into one album. It isn’t like Seventh Star, where they tried to sell it off as a Black Sabbath album, which it quite obviously wasn’t. This has been packaged and released as a separate entity, which is exactly correct.

So settle back and listen to this NOT expecting Black Sabbath, and I think you will be pleasantly surprised for how good it really is. Glenn Hughes has one of the most amazing voices in all of music, and it is showcased here again. Combined with those awesome Tony Iommi riffs and you have a terrific album. The album’s tempo and mood are constant all the way through, which helps to set it apart from the previous work of both these artists. I think the best songs are the ones that bookend the album, “Dopamine” and “I Go Insane”. Both are perfect examples of where Hughes’ vocals and Iommi’s guitaring are the leading features. “The Spell” and “Face Your Fear” and “Wasted Again” are others that I believe are standout tracks.

Rating: Not what you expect, and probably better for it. 4/5.