Friday, May 29, 2009

546. Led Zeppelin / In Through the Out Door. 1979. 2/5

Even though I have never been a great lover of Led Zeppelin’s music, I have always been able to appreciate it, especially their better known hits. This album, however, seems to have little or no inspiration in it, and as a result comes across as a lame and flaccid release.

Compared to the ground breaking efforts that Led Zeppelin made early in their recording career, this is just average. Not a bad album by any stretch of the imagination, but just a run-of-the-mill one that suffers more for the name of the band that recorded it than the material it contains. Certainly, listening to the album again today, none of the songs jumped out at me as memorable in any fashion. Probably its most damning critique.

This was the last in the line for Led Zeppelin. One wonders if they would have progressed on even if John Bonham had not passed on following this album. If this was what they had to offer in the future, it is probably not a bad thing to have ended when they did.

Rating: Very average fare. 2/5.

545. UFO / In Session & Live in Concert. 1999. 4.5/5

This live release is a gem, bringing together a number of studio and live performances by the band recorded by the BBC over the course of the golden years of UFO. Not only does it showcase the great music this band produced throughout most of the 1970’s, it is also a testament to the great musicians that formed this superior line-up. As always, Michael Schenker’s brilliant guitaring is the standout, lighting up each song with his own mark of genius.

Rating: A great reflection on a great band in their element. 4.5/5

544. Winger / In The Heart Of The Young. 1990. 2.5/5

The second release from Winger doesn’t bring anything new to the table, so it’s a ‘either love it or hate it’ album.

Listening to it a number of times over the past few days, there’s no doubt it is anchored to the hair metal era. Most of the songs are syrupy-sugar-sweet, very much in the same genre as Def Leppard and even Cinderella. The album itself comes together well, all the songs complementing each other. These days I have to be in the right mood to put in on and listen to it – no use being in an angry mood and looking to bleed that off with angry music! This is in the ‘easy listening’ category of hard rock/metal music.

Kip Winger’s vocals, layered as they are at times, still do the job, while Reb Beach can still cut a riff or two. As an album it doesn’t jump out into the brilliant category, but that doesn’t make it a bad album. Just an average one.
Best for me include the typical Winger anthems of “You Are The Saint, I Am The Sinner”, “In The Heart Of The Young” and “Can’t Get Enuff”.

Rating: Still worth a listen if you are a fan. 2.5/5

Thursday, May 28, 2009

543. Y&T / In Rock We Trust. 1984. 2.5/5

I guess this album was always at a disadvantage, given that it immediately follows the awesome Mean Streak which always was and remains my favourite Y&T album. In Rock We Trust was therefore always on a hiding to nothing.

None of that forgives what feels like a very unimaginative writing process for the album. Leave the "Rock & Roll's Gonna Save The World"-type songs to KISS for goodness sake! Such a bland and flawed opening. Unfortunately, it sets up the whole tone for the album, from which it never really recovers. Formulaic rock should really be beneath a band with so much talent in its ranks. Instead, at different times I feel like I'm listening to Hall & Oates ("Break Out Tonight"), KISS (the afore-mentioned "Rock & Roll's Gonna Save The World") and even Huey Lewis & The News ("(Your Love Is) Drivin' Me Crazy"). Scary times...

Some face is saved by the time you reach Side 2 (for those that remember vinyl...). "Lipstick and Leather" is followed by the much better Y&T feel of "Don't Stop Runnin'". Overall however, it isn't enough to shake the feeling of gloom and doom. The only way to wipe this taste from my mouth is to go back and throw on Mean Streak again I think...

Rating: The start of the slide of Y&T. 2.5/5

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

542. Stryper / In God We Trust. 1988. 2.5/5

As an avowed atheist, it should be fairly clear that the thing that will keep drawing me back to Stryper is not the message or the lyrics, but the music. Add to this a blantant dislike of most ballad-type tracks, and given the excellence of the previous two albums, that job became a lot tougher here on In God We Trust.

For whatever the reason may be, there is a drop in quality in the songs here compared to their earlier efforts. Perhaps it is unfair to compare it to Soldiers Under Command and To Hell With The Devil but this doesn’t stack up against them. The stronger tracks on the album can hold their own – such as “In God We Trust”, "The Writing's On The Wall" and "The Reign" – but there is far too much wimping out here for my liking. As per always, ballads have their place, but too many just detract from the overall picture.
My major gripe is that, in essence, this sounds like a poor rip-off of their previous album. Take a close listen to "Always There For You", and tell me you can't hear "Calling On You", and there is little doubt that the rather disappointing "It's Up 2 U" is a very ordinary re-hash of the infinitely better "Sing Along Song". One can only imagine in the writing process it was decided that they needed to retain the same successful formula as for To Hell With The Devil or that the band had simply run out of ideas.
Kudos to Michael Sweet, whose vocals again soar to hitherto unnatural heights. I am constantly amazed at his ability to not only sing how he does, but to play guitar at the same time as well. The other three guys are again moire than adequate in their playing, but Sweet’s vocals are the winner here.

To me this album had the potential to be as good as their previous works, but it falls down in the final direction they allowed the music to go. A shame when you actually listen to the album, and can hear for yourself where they really should have taken this material.

Rating: Disappointing. 2.5/5

541. Deep Purple / In Concert With the London Symphony Orchestra. 1999. 4/5

Having written and performed their Concerto for Group and Orchestra back in 1970, I guess it was only a matter of time before they decided to revive it in a live setting, especially given the spate of albums by bands that were recording with orchestras in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s.
What sets this apart from most other efforts is the unique idea of having work from each individual’s careers woven into the performance as well, along with songs from the band’s recent past also given the orchestral treatment.

There is a lot to like here, though Steve Morse doing his old Dixie Dregs tune is a highlight, along with the appearance of Ronnie James Dio to do his two tunes from Roger Glover’s Butterfly Ball album. The ‘Concerto’ itself sounds much better than its original performance from 30 years previous. And not forgetting the Deep Purple songs that are performed – though I’m not sure that the orchestra actually adds anything to them.
Interesting to note is Dio obviously forgetting the lyrics to “Smoke on the Water” when he is singing it with Ian Gillan. Guess that is forgivable given that he probably had never sung it in his life before these performances.

Thus, for the fan this is a great listen. A bit of everything from Deep Purple. Not something you will take out and listen to time and time again, but it is worth the effort on occasions.

Rating: Great musicianship and songs, but not one you'll play a lot. 4/5

540. Deep Purple / In Concert. 1980. 4.5/5

When it comes to live albums from the seminal era of Deep Purple, this one rates in the top echelon. It does in fact cover two separate concerts in two eras of the Mark II line-up, both with their positives and negatives.

The first disc is from 1970, with the second from 1972. The recordings are just wonderful, capturing the full array of musicians in full flight and at their theoretical peak. Ian Paice’s drum work along with Roger Glover’s bass lines work magically together. As per usual, the duelling between Jon Lord’s keyboards and Ritchie Blackmore’s guitaring is the driving force behind the show, while Ian Gillan’s vocals soar just as magnificently live as they do in the studio.

As with all of their live shows in this era though, there is a lot of freeform instrumental breaks within the framework of most of the songs. While this was a popularist thing to do in the era, it does tend to get tedious after a while when you are listening to live albums. I can appreciate the cleverness of it all, but I’d much rather just hear the songs being played as they were written!
Outside of that issue, this is a joy to put on and listen to. The songs are some of the band’s best and the performances are outstanding.

Rating: Purps in their element. 4.5/5

Monday, May 25, 2009

539. Exodus / Impact is Imminent. 1990. 3.5/5

When it comes to legitimate thrash albums of the late 1980’s, this one ranks as one of the last. With most of their contemporaries allowing their style of metal to move away from straight out thrash, Exodus stick with what they know and deliver it with venom.

Listening to the album again today, it’s amazing how similar some riffs of some of the songs are to other bands of their era. It’s not surprising to hear pieces that remind me of Slayer and Anthrax – and the song “A.W.O.L” is just unmistakably Metallica of that era – given the shared history these bands have, but sometimes I had to check what I was listening to just to be certain is was Exodus.
In retrospect this album still holds up after 20 years. It doesn’t command the respect that other albums of the era do, such as …And Justice For All and South of Heaven and State of Euphoria and Rust in Peace, but it is still a solid entry in the Exodus production line. While the entry to the next decade did not bring the same sort of joy, Impact is Imminent keeps alive the thrash name for another release.

Favourites for me include “Impact is Imminent”, “A.W.O.L.”, “The Lunatic Parade” and “Within The Walls Of Chaos”.

Rating: Still plenty to enjoy after two decades. 3.5/5

538. Blind Guardian / Imaginations From the Other Side. 1995. 3/5

Given who Blind Guardian are, and the genre of metal they fall into, and the fact they have this amazing obsession with their own fantasy world, they can sometimes appear to be a little off-centre. All that taken into account, this album is one I can still put on and enjoy for all those reasons stated above.

This album doesn't take itself too seriously, and the music itself lends a more positive air to the songs than it has a right to. My major problem with the album is the double take most of the songs take. Rather than being straight-out heavy metal tunes, or slow power metal ballads, they try to fit both into the same song, almost all the way through. I must admit that I had trouble with this for some time. Now, older and wiser, I can accept them for what they are, but I still wonder if they could have been done better.

Casting that aside, this album is a middle-of-the-road Blind Guardian release.

Favourites for me include "I'm Alive" and "A Past and Future Secret"

Rating: Average fare for the Guardian. 3/5.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

537. Dream Theater / Stargazer [Digital Single]. 2009. 4/5

A pretty good update of the brilliant Rainbow song. A tough gig trying to take on this task. For the most part they remain faithful to the original, which is no mean feat, especially in trying to recreate the aura and magnificent feel that the 1975 version has.

As much as I respect this band and the individual musicianship of each of them, what comes to pass here is this - John Petrucci is no Ritchie Blackmore, Mike Portnoy is no Cozy Powell, and James LaBrie is a million miles away from being Ronnie James Dio.

Rating: Well worth a listen, but cannot approach the original. 4/5.

536. Dream Theater / Images And Words. 1992. 4/5

This is truly where Dream Theater hit their straps and come to attention as a band to be reckoned with. Having sifted through the debut, things seem to come together a lot more coherently here on Images And Words.

What still grabs my attention when I listen to this album is the freshness of the music. Everything that comes out of the speakers to you has a mark of quality in it. OK, so perhaps a lot has gone into the production of the album, and the crispness of the playing suggests that a lot of time was spent getting just the right nuances in all the right spots. But that doesn’t detract from the music itself – it obviously enhances it. You can tell Portnoy must have spent ages getting the drum sound he has, perhaps even obsessed with it, much like Lars Ulrich’s on …And Justice For All. No doubt the same is true for the guitars and keyboards.

What impresses me most is LaBrie’s vocals – they are quite staggering here. He does his best work in the studio, and though he may not always carry it on stage, here I feel he sounds amazing.
OK, so a couple of the songs are far too slow and mellow for my taste. That is generally expected from this genre of metal. Overall however it has all the elements required for enjoyment in listening.

Favourites for me here include "Pull Me Under", "Take The Time" and "Metropolis Part 1".

Rating: An album that still holds its mystique. 4/5