686. Bruce Dickinson / Skunkworks. 1996. 3/5

By the time Skunkworks came into being, there was a lull going on in the music being released around the world. Grunge was beginning to wind down, metalcore was starting to reel in some influence, power and speed metal was ramping up throughout Europe, and traditional heavy metal was diverging, not the least with Metallica's complete about-face with albums such as Load and Reload. Bruce Dickinson, having moved on from Iron Maiden, and now having lost his previous backing band that helped produce Balls to Picasso, pulled together three new musicians and wrote this album. His original process was to call the band Skunkworks, but the record label was having none of it and insisted it be released under his solo name.
Perhaps the label hadn't listened to the album, because the music here is nothing like anything Bruce had ever recorded and released before, and perhaps by doing it under a band name rather than his own it would have been received more favourably. As it turns out, the significant style change realised here was a difficult thing for many fans to accept.
Why? Because this is not heavy metal, which is what Bruce is best known for. Most fans were able to accept Tattooed Millionaire because the album was rooted in the hard rock of Dickinson's influences of the 1970's bands he grew up listening to, and because it was a fun album to listen to, as well as having terrific guitar and drumming. It 'rocked' so it fit okay. Balls to Picasso probably wasn't so much fun, but with Roy Z and the Tribe of Gypsies it still worked.

But here, Bruce and his band have slipped into very alternative territory. Songs like "Dreamstate" and "I Will Not Accept the Truth" from the middle of the album seem to be going for an emotional response, but come off as boring and perhaps a little self-indulging. These songs go for the slow drum beat, the bass almost non-existent, and the clean quiet guitar. In other songs, we have many of the lines in the choruses which are stretched out interminably (for example, "Back From the Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeedge" and "Ineeeeerrrrtiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" and "Insiiiide the Machiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine"). And it isn't as if Bruce is really stretching his range either. I mean, here is a guy with one of the finest singing voices in ALL of music, not just the metal side of the business, and he hasn't really gotten out of second gear in these songs. Everything has been toned back from his most famous releases - the softer alternative approach, the narrower vocal range and stripped back simpler sound.
The tempo of the album rarely changes. Certainly the first half a dozen songs on the album appear to be closer to a hard rock feel, with some semblance of what most would expect of a Bruce Dickinson release. "Space Race" and "Back From the Edge" and "Inertia" start the album off on an even keel, even if while listening to them you feel as though there is something that is not quite there. The second half of the album though becomes even less inspiring, with the songs slipping further into this musical exploration which has been approached. The closing song "Strange Death in Paradise" just doesn't really gell. It has all of this thrown into the mix, and for me just doesn't work.

For me, it is not as though I hate this album, or that I even dislike it. It's just that at no time during this album, no matter when or where or how many times I listen to it, do I ever get excited about any of it. There isn't a song that makes me stop what I'm doing and sing along, or air guitar or air drum to - not a riff or a fill or a lyric. It just seems so bland, right across the board. There's no doubt that "alternative" material can be a bit that way, unless there is a hook that drags you in. In assessing it's impact, I imagined taking away the vocals. What are you left with? Some fairly formulaic, straight forward drums, bass and guitar. There are no hooks, no tantalising riffs to drag you into the song. It has a mellow Soundgarden or Pearl Jam kind of feeling to it, but without their characteristic moments that define their music and make it a familiar and comfortable experience, a burst of energy and innovation that creates defining moments in the music and the album. Skunkworks fails to deliver any of that. I hesitate greatly and for a long period before saying this, before I can no longer ignore the fact that, for the most part, this album is just plain boring.
Bruce is a brilliant artist, a fantastic singer, who has been at the forefront of music for a long time. This album is a real change from just about anything he has produced in his career, and while he should be applauded for trying something different, I can only say that in my opinion it was a flawed effort.
One can only wonder what may have happened if Roy Z had not reappeared on the scene and helped him back from the abyss. The fact that he also brought in another Maiden alumni who had had his own crushing attempts at trying to make it on his own with similar results (Adrian Smith) for this album's follow-up probably suggests he is most responsible reigniting both of their careers. But that's another review.

685. Skid Row / Skid Row. 1989. 4.5/5

Back at the end of the 1980's, when heavy metal bands were beginning to break through to some mainstream recognition, and hard rock and hair metal bands were about to face some stiff competition from a new genre of music called grunge, there came a band and their debut album that crossed the genres and took the music scene by storm, selling hundreds of thousands of units purchased by teeny-boppers and headbangers alike. It was something that had been pioneered by Guns N' Roses with their debut “Appetite for Destruction” a couple of years before, and this album and band looked to be on the same trajectory.
And as yet another debut album comes up for review here on this podcast, we again delve into how the band formed and traversed the path from start up gig to recording that first album. In the case of Skid Row, it was initially formed back in 1986 in New Jersey, when guitarist Dave Sabo met bassist Rachel Bolan in a local guitar store where Sabo worked. As they shared musical influences - Sabo from Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, while Bolan’s roots were in The Ramones – their styles complemented each other, with Kiss and Van Halen being shared loves, and they began rehearsing in Bolan's parents' garage. Guitarist Scotti Hill was drafted in and came from Bolan's previous club band, and Sabo picked up drummer Rob Affuso.
What became the band’s biggest influence on their early success was the connection with the band Bon Jovi. As was brought up on the previous episode of this podcast that relates the story of Bon Jovi’s debut album, Sabo was a childhood friend of Jon Bon Jovi and they had agreed if one of them succeeded in the music business, that they would look to help the other out. That initially came from being able to support Bon Jovi on their “Slippery When Wet” tour in 1987, at which time they caught the attention of Bon Jovi’s manager Doc McGhee. It was he who suggested that they replace their lead singer, as he lacked the drive of the rest of the group. When they did indeed follow through with this, they then had to find another front man who could fulfil their requirements. It was then at a wedding reception that Jon Bon Jovi’s parents attended that a band played with a lead singer who seemed to be a possibility. His name was Sebastian Bach. He was invited to meet with the band, and while some doubts and tensions remained, both sides agreed to come together.
After completing the lineup, the group then signed with Richie Sambora's and Bon Jovi's publishing company Underground, unknowingly giving them the majority of the group's royalties. How this occurred goodness knows, but it did cause a lot of friction for some years. Eventually negotiating some years later returned the royalties for their work, though not retrospectively, so the Bon Jovi element made a fair amount of money on Skid Row’s success.
With the band set, they entered the studio to record their album, a move that went smoothly apparently firstly through the fact the band made a pact to stay dry during the recording sessions, and secondly because they had been playing the songs for some time, and knew exactly how they wanted them put down on vinyl.

This album comes out rocking hard from the start. The hard guitar riff of "Big Guns" makes for a big statement start to the album, simple, hard hitting and a great opening track, that extends swiftly into the fast paced "Sweet Little Sister". “Sweet Little Sister” is dripping with the attitude of the lyrics perfectly attuned to Seb’s vocals, but for me the star element is still Rob Affuso’s drums, a song that I still cannot help but air drum along to even today. Don’t get me wrong, his drumming is brilliant throughout this whole album, but they just stand out proud on this song. One thing Skid Row have done well here through Sabo and Bolan’s terrific songwriting are repeatable and singable choruses, ones that everyone knows and can sing along to. The rhythm section on all of these songs is magnificent. Each song has its own timing and beat, which (while you are singling along) you can't help but find yourself banging away on the desk or table or knees in time. Affuso's drumming is clean and clinical and lends itself to this kind of air drumming. I find this especially so in the aforementioned “Sweet Little Sister”, but also tracks such as "Rattlesnake Shake" and of course "Youth Gone Wild". All are great songs to drum along to.
"Can't Stand the Heartache" is a mid-tempo song that transitions between the heavier and lighter songs beautifully, led by the chorused vocals throughout. "Piece of Me" ramps up the attitude of the guitars and the vocals once again, Seb once again belligerently singing what he knows the band’s fans are thinking and want to both hear and say themselves. The same happens in songs such as "Here I Am" and "Makin' a Mess", both have the same vibe and attitude and are great heavy songs with Snake and Scotti’s guitars ripping through the speakers as Seb's spitting lyrics wail over the top. The middle of the album takes all of the collective building in drive and power and unleashes the best of all in the songs “Rattlesnake Shake” and the forever youth of 1989 anthem of “Youth Gone Wild”. By the time the band reached Australian shores they had already outgrown the local clubs and pubs circuit, but I still imagine just how these must have sounded in those smaller venues of the time, sweat dripping off the walls from the energy dispensed by both band and crowd. They still pack such a punch today. The closing song "Midnight" is also particularly awesome, a slashing conclusion that perhaps gives a real insight as to what was to come on the band's follow up album a couple of years later.
The main winners on the album for the band in regards to radio play and singles sold are the two power ballads, "18 and Life" and "I Remember You", which dominated the airwaves during their release. Now as most of you who read my reviews are aware, I am no lover of power ballads. They invoke themselves to becoming a part of the hair metal and power metal genres, but unless they can bring something worthwhile to the table I believe all they do is suck the momentum and life out of an album at an inopportune time, and can damage said album irreparably. On Skid Row however, that is not (totally) the case. Both of these songs are driven dramatically by Seb Bach's amazing vocals, in such a way that you can't help but like the songs, and also sing along. "18 and Life" is not really a ballad in the sense of the word or in the way it is written anyway, but it is drafted into that category by many. It fits in nicely with the whole flow of the album, and the energy and passion brought through in Seb’s vocals help it rise well and truly above the pack when it comes to any discussion of the ballad. "I Remember You" is certainly a power ballad, but again it is performed so well vocally that it doesn't feel like a ballad. Bach's efforts on this song are sensational, and help to offset any sense of imbalance with the rest of the album.

I can totally understand if kids, or adults I guess in 2024 put this album on and just want to tear shreds off it. It is most definitely tied to its era, when hair metal like the bands such as Ratt and L.A Guns and W.A.S.P. were at their peak. Could a teenager in 2024 really get this? I was 19 when this was released, and it was one of those albums that really spoke to what my youth and to what my future may be, and as a result it will always be a part of my makeup. It could turn misery to joyousness in 40 minutes just by listening to it, and albums like that are very special. Too bad if you might sneer at a 54 year old jumping around the lounge room, singing "Youth Gone Wild" at the top of his lungs to his own kids. These songs still have this same meaning to me now, as much as Alice Cooper's "School's Out" and "Department of Youth" still do. While those that didn't grow up with this album might not be able to understand what it is that I find so wonderfully brilliant about it, I can assure you that for me, and others like me, that it is still one of the best albums of our youth, and invokes the same joy today as it did all those years ago.
This was an amazing album when it was released, alongside other well performed hair metal albums of 1989 such as Motley Crue's “Dr Feelgood” and Alice Cooper's “Trash”. But even though “Skid Row” was a debut album from the band, it more than holds it own against these established acts. The music is energetic and bouncy, the guitars squealing in all of the right places, and Sebastian Bach's high energy vocals make every song sound exciting. As it turns out, I saw all three of those bands, touring on all three of those albums, in a period of just eight days in early 1990, and they were three of the best gigs you could imagine.
I got this album on the recommendation of two unusual people, the sister of one of my best friends and the girlfriend of another of my best friends, who both said I should get this album and listen to it, I would like it. And I did. And I BLOODY well enjoyed it! More than that. It went into high spin rotation on all of my devices for… I don’t know how long. A long time, long before I saw them in concert and long after as well. Because these became the anthems of my life, and became moreso than I would ever have imagined. As I said, I saw them on this tour, their first tour of Australia. And they played the whole album because it was all they had to play, and added in some cover songs they loved, and even played a brand new song “Get the Fuck Out” that they had never played live before, that eventually appeared on their following album. And it was outstanding in every respect. I was standing side by side with my best friends from school, friends who all still remain my best friends today, our arms linked around shoulders, jumping up and down singing “Youth Gone Wild” along with the band. It is one of the strongest and still most heartfelt moments of my life. All the more because we are all still together as friends 30-odd years later. It was an amazing gig, and the album spoke to us. It’s OUR album. I might be 54 years old as I do this episode, but whenever this album is on, I’m still 19, and every song is of my generation. All of it sends me back to 1989. And no one can ever take it from us.
As much as the band as a whole are terrific here, and even better on the follow up, the thing that makes this such a terrific album is Seb Bach’s amazing vocal chords, the attitude and energy he puts into all of that, that really takes these above average songs and makes them the superstar elements that they have. The band needed Seb to take them to this level, and Seb needed this band to do the same.
For me, this is still one of the greats. Yes, it is all because of the memories it invokes, of where I was in life when I got this album, and of how the album and songs speak to the generation of the time. And that’s me. No matter how old I get, I will always be the age I got this album whenever I listen to it.
And we will forever stand and will not fall, we are forever one and one for all. We are still the youth gone wild.

684. Guns N' Roses / Use Your Illusion I. 1991. 4/5

Following the enormity of Appetite for Destruction it was always going to be interesting scenario to see what Guns N' Roses would do in order to equal or top its popularity. It would be safe to say that it would have been difficult to predict that the response would be to write, record and release TWO albums, both on the same day. An impossible task, you would say, to do so and to be able to sell both in appropriate numbers. But they did, and for the most part they succeeded in doing so with both albums.
This is a real eclectic mix, showing that their music cannot be categorised in a single genre. But, they are able to mix it into a format here that, for the most part, makes the album a winner.
The good songs are terrific, top-shelf stuff. They are songs you can easily walk around singing in your head for days afterwards when you have thrown the album on for a whirl. The lesser songs on the album are, well, average at worst, and OK on most scales. The album survives on a whole because these songs - good, average, fast, slow, heavy, soft - all mix themselves in to the playlist such that whatever your tastes or likes of each song, you can be sure that it will be offset by the next song in order. It means that, even though some of these songs could be considered "skip" songs, you have no desire to do so, because it all seems to fit together rather nicely.

It kicks off with brilliant "Right Next Door to Hell", a breezy mix of lyrics and guitar shovelled in until it bursts through the speakers, a song that could easily have come from their debut opus. This is followed by "Dust N Bones" which slows the tempo down immediately and also introduces the piano into the mix as well.
The cover version of Wings' "Live and Let Die" is a real treat. It pays homage to the original but not straying too far from its formula, but it gives it a real hard rock edge, and the energy that comes out is just awesome. "Don't Cry" (this version being dubbed the "Original Version" rather than the "Alternate Lyrics" version on Use Your Illusion II) is tolerable without being anything above average. I feel as though this is this album's "Paradise City", a song that most others seem to love, but that I find quite average.
"Perfect Crime" is what I would consider the best type of Guns N' Roses song. It is short, sharp, taxing vocals, great riff and solo break and terrific drumming, all at a cracking pace. Great stuff all round. This is followed by "You Ain't the First", an acoustic song in the same style as what was done on G N' R Lies. Now, while that stuff was OK for an EP release, I don't really see the need to revisit it here on a new album a couple of years later. If you wanted to write this song, then do it at THAT time! Sure, that's just my opinion, but it did seem a little odd at this time of the album. "Bad Obsession" reinvigorates the piano here, as well as bringing in the harmonica, so that it has a real rockabilly feel to the song. Another song for me that isn't bad, but it doesn't appeal either. "Back Off Bitch" is a much more straight forward hard rock song, with typical Axl attitude. "Double Talkin' Jive" is a really subtle under toned kind of song, featuring Izzy Stradlin on vocals and an extended guitar solo from Slash that leads out the song.
"November Rain" was the overblown lengthy single, and the video it spawned is by all accounts one of the most expensive ever produced. To be honest, when I first listened to the song on the album I was less than excited about it, but, having had it played on the radio for six months straight, and having seen the video for the song a thousand times, it did begin to grow on me. Though I would never call it once of their greatest songs, I do now find myself enjoying it whenever it comes on. "The Garden" follows this, which features Alice Cooper on vocals on part of the song, and it is written in a very Alice Cooper-type way. You could easily mistake it for one of his songs, such is the mood and tempo it is played and sung at. "Garden of Eden" moves the album back into fourth gear, driving along at a frenetic pace that had been missing from the previous couple of songs.
"Don't Damn Me" starts off with a great rock riff and Axl at his best, spitting out lyrics in an incomprehensible tone and without taking a breath, which seems literally impossible if you try and sing along with him. It has a great solo from Slash and is one of my favourite songs on the album. I cannot understand why they have never played it live, it just feels like a great live song. "Bad Apples", dominated by the piano of Dizzy Reed, sounds as though it could be being played in an old western bar, the band in the corner playing while everyone around them sips whisky and plays poker. "Dead Horse" is of a similar vein, although there is not the dominating presence of the piano here that there was on "Bad Apples" it is much more driven by the guitars.
The album wraps up with the 10 minute sleeper, "Coma". In so many ways, certainly when I first got the album and listened to it, this song really did almost send me into a coma. It really dragged out the conclusion of the album, and on two occasions during the song it feels like it is finished, only to kick start again (no doubt much like a coma victim). In recent times I have come to enjoy it much more than I did in those days twenty years ago, though i still think it is dragged on far longer than is necessary.

I have always felt, probably like a majority of people, that if the band had just taken the best parts of both Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II, and fused them together, they could have made one album that may have reached legendary status. As it turns out, both of them stand up on their own. Use Your Illusion I has something for just about everyone's musical taste, and all with a distinctive Guns N' Roses flavour about them, which is quite an achievement. To me, there are a lot of songs here that I like rather than love, and a numberof others I can tolerate rather than like. With an album so long and with so many songs of varying styles, you might be able to find a lot that you enjoy, but there will also through sheer volume be a few that you are ambivalent about. In an overall rating of the album, this is what costs it getting full marks.

683. Blind Guardian / Tales From the Twilight World. 1990. 4/5

Having started my introduction to Blind Guardian with a later album, and not having been able to really see what all the fuss was about, it wasn't until I started going backwards and hearing their earlier material that I began to discover what made this band tick. In particular, it was this album, Tales From the Twilight World that really began to make me see the great qualities that this band and their music contains.
I have always loved songs that are written about or based on books, stories, TV shows, movies... or all of these. They are perfect things to write about, because people then already have a reference point to the songs before they even know whether they like the music. Iron Maiden and Anthrax have been two bands who have done this with great success. It is an approach that Hansi Kursch has followed in writing the lyrics to this album, and which helped me to relate to the songs and music much more intently than I may otherwise have done.

The album kicks off with the pacey and double-kick driven "Traveler in Time", based on Frank Herbert's "Dune" series of science fiction novels. It is a great way to start the album, showcasing the fact that the band's heavy style is still prominent. This is followed by the song that got me into Blind Guardian, and still ranks as one of my favourites, "Welcome to Dying", a brilliantly energetic song, punctuated all the way through with the anthemic chorus with all hands on deck in regards to backing vocals. The solo break is also brilliant, and Hansi's vocals just perfect. This song was based around Peter Straub's great novel, "Floating Dragon" which I also love. this still gets played at high volume very often.
The short and unusual instrumental break of "Weird Dreams" follows, and we are then treated to the slow and acoustic ballad of "Lord of the Rings", combining gentle keyboards as well. Now power ballads are not my cup of tea, but this is not really one of those, it is a quieter, less loud version of Blind Guardian's song writing, and while it may not appear so on initial listenings, once you have heard this album a lot of times, it really does just seem to fit in, which surprised me as much as it would surprise anyone else.
From here we bust back into power metal mode with "Goodbye My Friend", a song based around the events of the film "E.T.". It reinvigorate the album, speeding along at a cracking pace. Another of the highlights of the album is next, with "Lost in the Twilight Hall". The lyrics here are based on what happened to Gandalf the Grey after defeating the Balrog in the mines of Moria before his reincarnation as Gandalf the White, as described in "The Two Towers". What really energises this song is guest musician Kai Hansen, of Helloween and Gamma Ray fame. Along with lending his vocals in both a lead vocal and backing vocal capacity, he also contributes a guitar solo to the song, which is instantly recognisable and brilliant. Great stuff.
The lyrics of both "Tommyknockers" and "Altair 4" are based on the Stephen King novel, "The Tommyknockers". Both songs are good, again driven along by Thomas' excellent drum work, but they are less memorable than those songs preceding them. I guess, in some ways, the songs are very similar which may account for this. "The Last Candle" completes the album, with another Kai Hansen guitar solo and appearance on backing vocals.

While I enjoyed both of the first two albums that Blind Guardian released, I think that this is the one that starts it all off for the band in the right direction. There are two or three songs here that can be considered as some of the best they have ever done, as well as being surrounded by more than credible other material. One of my favourite Blind Guardian releases.

682. Venom / Welcome to Hell. 1981. 4/5

In the last few weeks it has come to my attention that I may have missed a trick back in my late teenage years, something that when it comes to my music tastes I don't think happened too often. However, there are probably reasons why Venom slipped beneath my radar. Unless you were often frequenting specialist record stores in Australia, you would never find these albums, because the mainstream record stores would not have a bar of keeping such stuff. Of course, it's all different these days, what with the internet and online music stores and the ability to easily buy albums from overseas, but in the 1980's for us a lot of it was guesswork or becoming friendly with an overseas student who brought new music in your life. So in recent times I have done a lot of chasing down of bands from the early 80's that I had little knowledge of, and venom was on that list. this was the first album I bought, being their debut.

Reviewing this more than thirty years after its release is not easy. Because it's style is so familiar and recognisable, mainly because it so obviously inspired so many bands that came after them, I felt comfortable with the album from the first time I played it. It is different from most of the other NWOBHM bands of the time, most of whom looked for melodic guitars and more progressive elements in their music. This is heavier, generally faster, with a real emphasis on deeper and darker vocals and guitars. The production is only average, and there is little precision in any of the instruments (the myth has been raised that the band thought they were recording a demo when in fact it was what became Welcome to Hell), so it sometimes comes off as clunky and just a wall of noise rather than superb song recording. But in some ways that is the charm of the album. It's not perfect, and given that it was apparently all recorded in three days compared to some bands today taking two years to get every single note perfect... well, that's what is so different about music these days. But why would you want this to be any different? If you aren't as precise as Dream Theater when it come to your instruments, then you sure don't need to have high fidelity sound, and overall this has similar production values as other albums of the era.

The raucousness of "Son of Satan", the chugging guitar, rumbling bass and solid drum timekeeping of the title track "Welcome to Hell", the Motorhead-like rock 'n metal of "Poison", the awe-inspiring "Witching Hour" - the album has great songs coming at you one after the other. Like I said, it is great now, having only heard this album and band for the first time in the last six months. i can only imagine what it must have been like to the average punter when it was first released.

Had I discovered this album back in my high school years, I am willing to suggest that it could well be rated a whole lot higher than I have rated it today. Everything about it hits the right nerves in me when I listen to it, and if I had been playing it over and over for 25 or 30 years it would most likely be in a list of my all time classics. Despite this, Welcome to Hell is still a classic, a standard bearer to the thrash and black metal bands to come who obviously drew so much inspiration from it, and while it may seem a little tame in comparison to some of those bands today, that doesn't detract from how good this album was in the day, and still is in the present.

681. Night Ranger / Midnight Madness. 1983. 3.5/5

Following up the hard rocking debut of Dawn Patrol was always going to be a difficult task, and maintaining the balance on this album was also going to be a task in itself.

Opening with the American anthem "(You Can Still) Rock in America", as an International listener and buyer of the album this song still makes me annoyed even to this day. Yeah, sure, you are Americans who live in America, and can apparently still Rock in America. And the song itself sounds great, a fast rock track with plenty of scope for the guitars to turn their trade. But for those of us who aren't American, it makes it REALLY hard to sing along, because in the long run we aren't rocking in America! In the same way that John Mellencamp's "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A" annoyed the crap out of me when it was plastered over Australian radio for twelve months, this does for the same reason. Yes, it's a petty gripe, but one that non-Americans I'm sure can relate to. I mean, do Americans sing "I come from a land Down Under" with passion? Anyway, enough of this. A good song to open the album with.
"Rumours in the Air" is a softer, slower song than I would have expected in following up this opener. I never really understand what leads some bands to think that jumping between fast and slow songs on a album won't affect the 'listening pleasure' of those that buy the album. Having jumped into the album with a great hard rock number, this holds everything back again.
"Why Does Love Have to Change" follows similar themes, but back at a faster pace, with Jack's dominating vocals searing through over the top of the keyboards and guitars. While the solos again here are terrific, showing off the best that Brad and Jeff had to offer, the song would have been harder had the guitars not been turned down so much in the mix throughout the whole song, Apart from the solos it is the keyboards that  dominate most of the melody through the song, which to me is a shame.
The radio-friendly, rock power ballad hit "Sister Christian" is next. This is arguably Night Ranger's biggest single success, but is so far out of my sphere of love of music that it, for me, just stops the album in its tracks. Plenty of people were probably drawn to Night Ranger by this song, and I'd bet many of them would leave disappointed having heard the majority of their other songs, just because they all aren't like "Sister Christian". If you love the rock ballad you will probably love this. When I used to record this from vinyl to cassette, it was one song I would always omit.

After this slow and sullied end to Side One, Side Two kicks into gear straight away with the brilliant "Touch of Madness", easily the best song on the album. A punchy drum beat and guitar riff led by terrific vocals makes this the star of the album. This is the kind of song that, for me, would have made Night Ranger an even more formidable band if they had concentrated on this style. Singles success somewhat disproves this theory, but I know I would like to have heard more songs in this kind of genre. "Passion Play", while still a good song and more than listenable, bring the album back to that almost pop rock kind of style, one that works for Night Ranger through the sheer talent of the band's members. Moving on from this comes "When You Close Your Eyes", which I sort of like despite myself. It's a love song, no doubt, and its success as a single shows that it was certainly written as radio-friendly, but it is catchy, and you can't help yourself but sing through the chorus loudly. "Chippin' Away" continues along in this vein, not really jumping out of second gear, when it could really have been a guitar-driven hard rock song. Instead it is a serviceable song in the mood of this album. It is all concluded with the quiet, silent, acoustically harmony of "Let Him Run", which almost destroys and semblance of the hardness of the band and lets you drift off into a coma. While I would not be a fan of this song wherever it was placed on the Album, making it the last thing you hear before the needle comes off the vinyl seems a really strange decision.

I still like this album quite a bit, though I think it is a step down from their previous release. In a lot of ways this went just a little bit too much in the soft rock direction without actually falling into that category. It's hard to attribute that, with two such brilliant guitarists such as Brad Gillis and Jeff Watson in the band, that it is the keyboards that dominate most of the songs, apart from the small lead breaks both of them get. It's what probably made the band more accessible through the radio market, and held them back from moving into a more fully fledged metal market than hard rock. It also severely ties this album to the 1980's, and while that's not necessarily a bad thing, it does limit its full potential.

680. MullMuzzler / Keep It to Yourself. 1999. 3/5

MullMuzzler is the side project of Dream Theater's lead vocalist James Labrie, and this album was the first, released a couple of months before that band's Scenes From a Memory.

The opening song "His Voice" is reminiscent of the best parts of his Dream Theater influences, a prominent guitar riff that punctuates a keyboard-dominated melodic song, which suits Labrie's vocals perfectly. The guitar and drums do not dominate here, which probably highlights that the writers on this album are not those that are seen in his full time band. This theme continues in "Statued", where again it is the keyboard that dominate the song, along with major keyboard solo again but not so much from the guitar. In a way it is probably a good thing that Labrie and Mullmuzzler have tried to change things up from what you would normally here from the Dream Theater conglomerate, but although I do enjoy both of these opening songs on the album, I really feel it misses a real guitar and drum influence, to help balance out what is here. Perhaps that would bring too much heaviness to the music that the band was looking to avoid. I'm not sure. "Shores of Avalon" continues in this same vein, with Labrie's soaring vocals tending to paper over the oversights in the music itself. The keyboards in the middle of the song are very much front and centre here though, leaving the guitar to be almost an afterthought in the distant background.
None of that can prepare you for "Beelzebubba", the jazzy, swing tempo song that is all about the horns, trumpet, sax and trombone, mixed in with more subtle keys in a song that is so diverse and different from anything that has been heard before with his vocals attached to it that it is a real shock on first listen. Sadly, it really doesn't improve on subsequent listens to the album. It really is like a sore thumb, even sticking out amongst the different tones that are gathered together on Keep It to Yourself. This is certainly one way to garner attention to your music, but I would question as to whether it is a good thing.
The album's best song follows this hiccup. "Guardian Angel" raises itself to a better tempo, and is a more concentrated guitar and drums based song, though even here it is amazing that it the bass guitar is the main guitar in question, until we get to the guitar solo, which is the first on the album where it truly does dominate. The bass and keys also get a chance to shine on their own. A much better return than its predecessor.
"Sacrifice" is very much of the power ballad variety, with James crooning through, and even having the soft rock power guitar solo as a reference point. James sounds great, but when you are not a fan of these kinds of songs it would take a hell of a lot more to save it. "Lace" is probably my second favourite on the album, with several characteristic time changes and switching between guitar riff and keyboard riff as the headline act of the song, and even James singing with James in places with some excellent harmonies. "Slow Burn" returns to the power ballad genre, starting out slow and mournful with keyboards and guitar underneath Labrie's soaring vocals. The closing song "As a Man Thinks" is another abstract piece of music writing, one that really probably just drags on way too long. It is almost like a freeform jam, without any structure and relying on keys and computers as the lead instrumentals. It makes me think of Max Headroom for some reason, not always a pleasant thought. A very strange way to finish off.

There is a lot to like here, along with some stuff that you would have to be a fanatic to love. While it may not be to everyone's tastes, it is good to hear Labrie and his band experimenting with lots of different styles through the genre of the album, and not being locked into an album where all the songs sound the same and act the same. Mullmuzzler give you a chance to appreciate their talents through many mediums, and whether you like it will be up to the individuals taste. For me, I don't find it is an album I would drift back to very often, but when I do, as I have today, I am still mostly pleasantly surprised at the outcome. If I listen to it without "Beelzebubba" and "What a Man Thinks" I enjoy it a lot more, and would certainly rank it higher without them.

679. AC/DC / T.N.T. 1975. 4.5/5

Coming off a solid and satisfactory debut album, AC/DC return for their second opus, one that not only rates as one of the best ever Australian albums, but also as one of the best hard rock albums ever. T.N.T. is a literal hit factory, with great song followed by great song, and only a couple of moments during its 42 minutes that could be considered filler.

There would have to be very few people on the planet who could not at least cobble together a few words or hum the tune of the best known songs here. "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" is the biographical song of any band, and one that, perhaps ironically, managed to help get AC/DC to "the top". It sometimes goes unnoticed in this day and age, but the introduction of the bagpipes into a hard rock song, which actually enhances the middle bridge of the song, is quite an achievement. Less successful is Bon Scott mimed attempt to play them in the video clip of the song on the back of a flatbed truck going down Swanston Street in Melbourne. It is as popular today as it was when it was released. This is followed by the rocking beat of "Rock 'n' Roll Singer", which in a similar path to the opening track is a sort of biographical song about the path to becoming... well... a rock 'n' roll singer! By this stage of the album it is obvious that the band has got their ship in order, and know what formula they are going to follow - a solid pounding drum beat, supported by a rumbling bassline, with clear, crisp guitar riffs setting the foundations of each song, allowing Bon Scott to star on vocals and Angus Young to flail away when he feels the need to.
"The Jack" is the next song, with its simple drum and rhythm throughout the song, and its repeated chorus line making it a favourite among teenagers especially (I recall a school bus trip in high school where this album was played a lot, and this song got repeated playings joined by the chanting of the chorus by the entire population of the bus). Closing out the first side of the album is "Live Wire", which is one of my favourites. The somber opening of the bass and quiet guitar chords, then joined by the drums and eventually Bon's singing is just brilliant. The song builds wonderfully from the quiet into the pumping hard rock anthem. For me, it would be in my five best AC/DC songs. Extremely underrated.

Side Two opens up with the timeless anthem "T.N.T." which again does a marvellous job of getting the listener to join in singing the vocals. It's hard to resist singing the chorus at the top of your voice, no matter where you are when you are listening to it. "Rocker" could perhaps be classed as filler, if it wasn't for the energy shown by Bon Scott's vocals through the song. It almost feels like an on-stage jam between the band, with Bon coming up with lyrics just to fill the gaps. "Can I Sit Next To You, Girl" is a re-working of AC/DC's first ever single, back before Bon Scott was in the band. The original was sung by Dave Evans. It is patently clear that this is a much better version of the song, not only because Bon gives it a little bit more oomph than Evans, but because the band is sharper, cleaner and tighter.
"High Voltage" is a sister song to "T.N.T." and was inspired by the title of their first album. It was also the first single, released before this album came out, and as a result the single boosted the sale of High Voltage as many people thought that it was actually off that album. Good marketing and selling all round.
The final song on the album is "School Days', a cover of the Chuck Berry song. Now, while this may be an historically great song, and one can only assume that it was an influence on the band members in their youth, I feel it just muddies up the end of the album a little. "High Voltage" is really the best song to close with, letting it finish on a high. "School Days" doesn't tend to do that.

Despite a couple of moments that are a little lacklustre, this is a true classic album. It was the making of AC/DC and was followed by more great albums, a couple that even arguably match this. But for me, this is where it is all capture, in this bottle called T.N.T, the very best of everything this band can offer. The super rhythm section, the brilliant riffage from Angus and Malcolm Young, and the unique vocal capacity of Bon Scott. The complete package.

678. Gary Moore / Victims of the Future. 1983. 4/5

With solo success slowly finding an audience following albums such as Corridors of Power and Dirty Fingers, it is probably here with Victims of the Future that Gary Moore really lays down a platform for his work as both a guitarist and a vocalist, and though the style of that music is still quite varied on this release, some of his finest work can be found on this album. This is where he began to find the voice that he wanted to share, both lyrically and vocally.

Opening salvo "Victims of the Future" starts with a beautiful melodic guitar and vocal, lulling the listener in, before breaking into the heavy rock heart of the song, driving through with a great guitar riff, and driven by Ian Paice's drums and Gary's vocals. A terrific song that holds up as well today as it did thirty years ago.
"Teenage Idol" is really a bit of fluff rock, almost a pop song with ludicrous lyrics that feel like they belong in an 80's Rodney Dangerfield movie, punctuated by Gary's terrific guitar work. Honestly, if you just threw this song at me and got me to listen to it I would probably throw it back in your face. But, because I have been listening to this album since shortly after its release, and it is tied to those days, I find it to be one of those guilty please songs that you can't help but like, even though you know it really is just a little lame. Following this is an excellent cover of The Yardbirds song "Shapes of Things, where Gary really excels both vocally and on guitar.
The power ballad "Empty Rooms" is the kind of song that I really don't and shouldn't like, but Gary Moore has this way of making them unavoidably likeable, both through his excellent vocals but also the guitaring, perfectly soft and dominating in the same instance. His solo in this song is really one of his best, because it makes a soft rock ballad into a song that is more powerful than is usual for a song on this type. Just fantastic.
Side Two is kicked off by the magnificent "Murder in the Skies". The start of the song is introduced by a minute and a half of brilliant guitar shredding from Gary, showcasing his amazing talent with the instrument. It is the perfect intro before the song kicks into high gear, with a great smashing drum beat and high intensity vocals. Written about the Korean Airlines Flight 007 that was shot down by a U.S.S.R. fighter plane in September 1983, the tragedy is wonderfully highlighted by great lyrics, a terrific chorus and sensational guitaring by the man himself. This is without doubt one of his finest songs, and again shows that it is his 'protest' songs that really work the best, where he takes on a cause and memorialises it in song. One of my favourite all-time Gary Moore tracks.
It is a shame that the remainder of the album is unable to live up to this high quality song. "All I Want" reverts back to an average rock song without the sensational guitar riffs or song structure of other songs previous to this. "Hold Onto Love" feels like an attempt at a radio-friendly rock song, but lacks anything memorable in which to make it so. "Law of the Jungle" becomes a rather plodding finish to the album, a song that has both merit and potential, but seems to get bogged down with trying to be something it is not. It is not a complete loss, but it is one that more could have been done with.

Like a lot of Gary's albums, this again comes across as being a little uneven. There are the social issues songs that try to be hard hitting and as a result have the best lyrics and rhythmic heaviness, mixed with pop rock songs that seem to be looking for radio airplay. In attempting to rate this, I would say half of this is top shelf with the other half probably just average fare. Anyone listening to this for the first time in this day and age could be forgiven for dismissing it as another 80's rock album, but a more discerning listener will be able to hear what is so good about it, and why it should be classed as a much more important release than perhaps it appears on the surface. Gary's guitaring and vocals alone lift this above the average.

677. Accept / Balls to the Wall. 1983. 3.5/5

If you grew up in the 1980's, and you listened to heavy metal, then you knew the song "Balls to the Wall" by Accept, because it was one of those songs that whenever they had heavy metal videos played on music video television, it was always one of the first songs that popped up. It was the song that became the band’s signature song. Whether you knew anything else of this album is another question entirely. Many did not follow up knowing the single to checking out the album, which in retrospect could be seen to have been a poor move.
In 1983, Accept was coming off the tour to promote their fourth album, “Reckless and Wild”. Though it had been released in October 1982 in Europe, it had a delayed release in the US and UK which meant a delayed catch up in those regions to the album. Accept’s initial albums had been a bit of a formula, mirroring th sound and structure made popular by AC/DC at the time. And it’s fair to say that the first three albums are not overtly exciting. But from the opening track of “Restless and Wild”, you notice the change, that this is Accept’s moment. The energy and passion of “Fast as a Shark” is what sets this album apart from its predecessors and sets it up perfectly. And from here, the album barely takes a backward step. It’s not all as fast as the opener, but this is where the band comes together and finds its mojo.
This then was the momentum that the band took into the writing and recording of the follow up, “Balls to the Wall”. Herman Frank had come on board as an official member of the band, having been credited as guitarist on “Restless and Wild” even though he had not contributed to it. It was to be a watermark for the band, though one that was divisive on its release and still the bone of contention in some areas even today.

From the very beginning there are unmistakable homages to Judas Priest throughout, sometimes just a vocal or a guitar lick, but they are there, nonetheless. You can also catch stretches of AC/DC both lyrically and musically and given that Accept are of a similar vintage to both of these bands it shouldn't come as such a great surprise. These had been with the band since its inception, and still formed the basis of their music into their fifth album.
The album follows a solid hard rock/metal line in most of these songs. The anthemic qualities of the opening title track "Balls to the Wall" were alluded to in the opening of this episode, and they have helped to make it a crowd favourite since the album was released. It is pretty much the one song anyone can name if they are asked to name a song by Accept. The basic time format and chanting vocals make it a perfect song live. This is similarly true of songs like "London Leatherboys" and "Fight It Back" and "Losing More Than You've Ever Had", where the double chorusing on vocals lends the song that air of singing along with fists pumping the air. In regards to song writing the album included lyrical themes about politics, sexuality and human relationships. "Balls to the Wall" refers to slaves revolting against oppressing masters, while "Fight It Back" is about social misfits fighting against conformity. Drummer Stefan Kaufmann was quoted as saying "London Leatherboys" about bikers, but: "They're normal people, they just look different and they behave different. But they're normal people, another minority”.
One of the bigger minor controversies from the album was the song “Love Child”, which referenced people being gay, something that was seen as taboo in many circles in 1983. Kaufmann again was quoted in regard to this kerfuffle, stating: "It's a phenomenon that should be taken into consideration. Because it exists on a wide scale and should be demystified. In fact, this is a phenomenon of society that needs to be taken as such. For a long time gay people have been considered as sick or insane. And yet, it's time to respect these people, open our minds which are often closed”. Guitarist Wolf Hoffman played down the controversy, while adding that the media coverage was great for the band’s profile and album sales, while band manager and lyrics composer Gaby Hauke, who is married to Hoffman, also suggested it was the interpretation from certain circles that caused the controversy and not the lyrics themselves.
Returning to the album proper, and there are some other terrific songs here. The fabulous melodic lead breaks in the middle of "Turn Me On" really highlight that song, and amke it one of the best to listen to on the album. "Losers and Winners' is perhaps the paciest song of the album with a tracking drum beat and gunning guitars matched by Udo's vocals. This and “Losing More Than You’ve Ever Had” showcase the two halves of the Accept music tangent.
However, I need to raise my issues with the closing track, for regrettably typical reasons. "Winter Dreams" for me is a very strange and undesirable way to conclude the album. All those who listen to this podcast on a regular basis will know that I am not a fan of the power ballad at the best of times, but I especially find it a bit strange to end an album with one. Sure, you can't slow the momentum of an album if there is nothing to come following that song, but you can kill the mood the album is giving you by doing so. And I believe that is what “Winter Dreams” does. It softens what was a perfectly good album with a weak finish. Not a fan.

While for many who grew up with this album it has become an all-time classic, one which they will judge all other albums in history against, having first come into this album in the early 1990's I don't have the same stars in my eyes it regards to its attachment. These kinds of albums are the ones that, if you grew up when they were released and listened to them hundreds of times, over and over, you will rate at the top echelon of the scale, because they are catchy songs, which will inevitably remind you of those days. However, if you came into these kinds of albums after this stage of your life, you are more likely to think it is a solid album, but more in the mid-range kind of rating. In other words, the same album, but grabbing onto people at different times in their lives. I find for me this is especially true with “Balls to the Wall”. I can see myself loving this album to death had I been listening to it since 1983. However, having found it about a decade after this, I don’t have that true out and out love for it, the love you get from buying an album on its release, and loving it from that moment on. There is a real power to that, and while you can certainly get that from albums years after their initial release if you come into it of your own devices, I don’t for this. I still think it is a great album for the era, one with a lot of positives. Interestingly though, I am drawn to other Accept album more than this, such as “Restless and Wild” and even “Metal Heart”, but certainly the albums since the reformation of the band 15 years ago with Mark Tornillo on vocals. Those albums are far heavier than the 1980’s albums, and draw me in more than this album does.
All that aside though, don’t get the wrong impression, because I still enjoy this album a lot. I have had my vinyl copy spinning in the Metal Cavern over the last couple of weeks, and still enjoy it just as much as I ever have. Yes, it is tied to its era, and you have to enjoy the music of that era to enjoy this. But – who DOESN’T enjoy early 1980’s heavy metal?! Isn’t it what we are all here for, after all?

676. Metallica / Load. 1996. 2/5

It had been a long wait for Metallica fans between the time 1991's Metallica had faded from newness in the minds, and the time that it was announced that their next album Load was going to be released. Five years between albums chronologically, and for me probably a three year wait from the time I was ready for the next installment and the time we got it. In this time we had had the chance to digest the subtle changes that occurred with the Black album, and now I was ready to take on another full assault of the Metallica cannon.
What came next was as big a shock as my metal senses had ever had to absorb.

Part of the major outrage at Load from the long time Metallica fans was the huge change in musical direction this album took. Even given the changes that are obvious between ... And Justice For All and Metallica, even that could not possibly prepare the listener for the changes between that album and this. It is enormous, and I would think almost unprecedented in music, certainly in the heavy metal genre. There is no semblance of thrash metal nor speed metal on this album, but a lot of that had been watered down before we got to this point in time anyway. What really jumbles the pot here is that this isn't really a metal album of any description. This could be considered a hard rock album, mixing in a grunge element that by this release was beginning to fade out of existence anyway, and then some other unfamiliar elements as well. Call it anything else but Metallica, and you could probably sell it to some of the older fans. But this isn't Metallica. Barely a scrap of the music on this album is what anyone before this release would call Metallica. It might have been written and performed by the four members of the Metallica band, but it just isn't Metallica.
The tempo of the whole album is wrong for a start. I mean, you could pretty much fall asleep listening to this such is the flow. It's like a slow moving creek in a summer field, not the fierceness of a flood ravaged river bursting its banks. Songs start and end in a lull. There are very few song-defining solos shredding through the speakers, banging that head that will not bang. James' vocals have completely transformed to the lower, brooding variety, which no doubt he had to do to stop his voice blowing out again, but has taken away his energy from previous albums.
The crowning glory here in regards to change is that, six years previous to this release, Lars was hailed as the finest and most brilliant drummer on the planet, and with good reason. He was the innovator, the standard bearer, the one everyone was following. All kids playing drums were practising their arses off to be able to play the drums to his time changes and double kick on ... And Justice For All. Now, here on Load, it was simplified, untroubled 2/4 timing that a child could play with their eyes closed. It is the biggest and most audible change to Metallica's music, and one that does it no justice.

From the very beginning, this album lacks the energy and drive that all of its predecessors exuded. "Ain't My Bitch" might be a reasonable rock song, one that could almost find itself onto commercial radio, but it isn't anything like what you expect as an opening to a Metallica album. This is followed by "2 X 4", another simplified rock beat with repetitive lyrics. Already the album has signified a big shift in style, which continues to be enhanced by "The House Jack Built". The dreary and sludgy pace feels like walking through quicksand, it just never really kicks into a higher gear, even when James tries to lift the listeners impact in the chorus. It feels like a poor copy of a Soundgarden song, missing the ingredients that made that band one of the leaders of the Seattle sound.
"Until It Sleeps" was the first single, and for most people their first inkling of what was to come on Load. I still don't mind the song, most likely because it was imprinted in my mind before the album was released, and also it is a failsafe fallback having gotten three songs into this album without any great joy, this song comes in. "King Nothing" was the final single from the album, and one many fans enjoy, but it does nothing much for me (no pun intended). This is followed by another of the singles, "Hero of the Day", which to me is a really weak song. The slow, quiet casual build up at the start of the song just destroys it for, and even when it seems to build for about thirty seconds in the middle of the song, it falls back to the same style soon afterwards. It never fails to disappoint me when I hear it. What is then even more disparaging is that, for all intents and purposes, the best part of this album has now passed.
"Bleeding Me" is a long winded, overblown and frankly boring song, starting slow and soft and ending slow and soft. Is it emotive, or emotional? I don't know, because all it does for me is to wonder when it will ever finish. "Cure" goes on the same way, as with a number of songs on this album, as though it is one long jam session, and the song doesn't end until someone finally gives up, while James sprouts words over the top at random. "Poor Twisted Me" has a musical sound with a southern U.S.A twang, one which makes me almost expect to see rattlesnakes and banjos and slide guitars and people sitting on rockers on the front porch. "Wasting My Hate" must have been written knowing how this album was progressing, given that I'm probably wasting my dislike for this album on anyone in the band, because they obviously wanted to head in this direction. By this stage of the album I am really finding it hard to come to terms with the song and musical direction this Metallica album has taken. And, then, "Mama Said" turns up.
In the history of Metallica, we have progressed from "Fade to Black", a classic song that loses none of Metallica's metal roots, to "Nothing Else Matters", which to me was weak, radio-friendly fodder, to "Mama Said", this country-styled, steel guitar driven, vomit inducing spewfest.
I don't have a problem with bands and their members experimenting with their style of music, or in trying something different (no matter how different), or indulging in their passions. This whole album is a change of musical direction. But surely - SURELY - if James had wanted to do this, to write and perform what is nothing more or less than a country & western song, he could have put it on the B side of one of the singles from the album. Rather than creating a song that is so far from Metallica's fan base that it can only really drive a huge wedge between them and the band and putting it on their album, they could have indulged themselves with this, but put it somewhere where the real fans will still access it, but not be completely put off by it, because, (after all), it's just a B side song. No doubt they would say to me that it is their decision, and that they felt this was the right thing to do. I respectfully disagree.
"Thorn Within" is probably my favourite song on the album, but I have no basis on which to explain why it is. A combination of the groove and the rougher vocals from James probably lends itself to me more than the other songs on the album. Or perhaps it was always just the shock of "Mama Said" that any song following it HAD to be better...
"Ronnie" soon shoots any welling of good tidings through the heart. A return to the country rock vibe here is again as mystifying as it has been for most of the album. I truly begin to wonder where this complete change of musical direction occurred in Metallica. The album concludes with another monster freeform jam, "The Outlaw Torn", a song that mournfully drags itself out to almost ten minutes with nothing more than basically Lars play a simplified drum beat for the first seven minutes, James moaning out some lyrics, and Kirk and Jason almost rendered superfluous, until they appear to get a run in the back end of the song, but without any structure or orders to stop, so they just keep going until someone finally decides to fade them all out.

For all of the people who came into Metallica around this time, and grew up with this album, I still can't totally understand how they would love it and have trouble with how many people cannot "get" Load. In some ways I guess I wish I could enjoy this album the way they do. But for those of us who grew up with a different Metallica, this is such a quantum leap from what we knew of the band that it becomes impossible to digest it. It wasn't the last time I was lulled into buying a Metallica album in the hope of something brilliant only to be crushed in disappointment, but it is my most vivid.

675. Alice Cooper / Pretties For You. 1969. 2.5/5

The road leading up to the Alice Cooper Band coming together, and then releasing their debut album, is one of many varied paths and distinct differences in the way each member got there. Vincent Furnier, who would eventually come to take on the moniker of Alice Cooper as his own, guitarist Glen Buxton and bass guitarist Dennis Dunaway, came together in high school as a part of the cross-country running team, forming an act for an end of session show. Dressed to resemble the Beatles, and performing parodies of their songs, they won the contest, and this convinced them to start a band for real. The problem was, Buxton was the only one who really knew how to play, so they bought instruments from the local pawn shop and he proceeded to teach them. This first group, the Spiders, played around for two years, at which time they graduated from high school, having also recorded their first single “Why Don’t You Love Me”. The band’s other guitarist was then replaced by Michael Bruce who had been a football player for a rival high school, and a second single, “Don’t Blow Your Mind” was released in 1966. While making regular trips to other cities to play gigs, the band changed their name to Nazz, recruited Neal Smith as their new drummer, relocated to Los Angeles, and released a third single.
By 1968, they discovered that the name Nazz was being used by Todd Rundgren, and along with believing that they needed a gimmick to increase the power and marketability of their music, they decided they needed another change. An urban legend suggested that the name the band came up with to change to, Alice Cooper, had come via a seance with a Ouija board. Furnier many years later in an interview suggested this was false. Instead, he said, "What if we sounded like we were somebody's aunt?" It was kind of like the all-American, sweet little old lady name. And I wasn't Alice Cooper. I was just the singer in the band Alice Cooper, like Manfred Mann. Pretty soon everybody called me Alice, they just assumed that the singer's name was Alice. So, at that point, I legally changed my name to Alice Cooper. It was a total outrage at the time. Now it's a household name".
After a gig in 1968 where most of the audience had left after hearing the band play just ten minutes, they were approached by music manager Shep Gordon, who felt they could turn that promotion into a positive. The band auditioned for Frank Zappa, turning up at 7am rather than the 7pm Zappa had actually organised. This actually impressed him enough to sign the band to a three album deal. And thus became the start of the Alice Cooper Band, and their debut studio album, “Pretties for You”

This is where it all began for the Alice Cooper Band, and it is mostly unrecognisable from the material that made them famous, and from what the namesake lead singer went onto in his solo career. It is an interesting step back in time to listen to, hearing the kind of music that was prominent when the Alice Cooper Band started back in 1968, to the material that has been published through the various decades that followed.
This is a very psychedelic album, much as was the style in the late 1960's. Most of the album is very much influenced by the differing styles of the age. In places, and on some tracks, the music is almost Beatles-esque from that era, especially from the sound they were putting out with “Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band”, the experimenting that was going on in both music and sideline habits, but it is also reminiscent of that era's Pink Floyd and Frank Zappa and other 'flower power' artists. On almost every level, it is a real effort to get through this album in a normal setting. Unless you are a big fan of the style and genre of music that this is composed in, then It just isn't the kind of album you will put on for enjoyment value to listen to. Now, perhaps if you dropped a couple of tabs of acid beforehand, you just may get a great deal more out of it! In general, with this kind of psychedelic mish-mash, it would have to be the norm.
When listening to the album, there is some information that you need to know upfront before you diss it or dismiss it. In an interview in latter years, the band's manager at the time Shep Gordon has stated that the album actually contains mostly what was recorded in one long rehearsal session. Zappa had left his brother in charge of recording, was then told later that afternoon that the album was done, and Zappa himself never listened to the end product. The only track on the album not a part of that session was a live recording of the song “Levity Ball”. Gordon suggests the band had no full songs written, and that what is put down on this album is what was done on the spot in many instances. With that knowledge in mind, it does make what you hear when you listen to the album can be taken with a different perspective. There is so much going on in all of the songs, and it doesn't always feel as though there is any rhyme or reason to what is being played. In some songs, such as "Sing Low, Sweet Cheerio" it feels like they are just doing a Spinal Tap free form jazz experimentation. It sounds just like a rehearsal room jam session which they ended up liking and putting on the album. Drums, guitars, bass, even the harmonica, all seem to be coming in and out as the musician pleases. That's not to say it's bad, but you really need to be in the right frame of mind to listen to it. And with the information in that interview, you can know relate exactly to that.

Much of the experience of the Alice Cooper Band, especially in these early days, was the stage show, and the antics that occurred during live performances. As a result this first studio album doesn't really convey to the listener what they would have been missing visually, and in this respect it would be easy to just write this off and dismiss it. But to do so would be hasty. Given an ability and desire to sit back and listen to the album a few times, you can find plenty to appreciate here. Once you are acquainted with the methodology of the structure of the album, it becomes easier to relate to, easier to accept the meshing of instruments in a random kind of noise, easier to come to terms with the fact that Alice sounds a little spookily like John Lennon in places (“10 Minutes Before the Worm” in particular), and easier to find where all of this develops from this starting point into what soon became a band that took hard rock by storm, with songs like "BB on Mars" and "Reflected" especially sounding this way. "Reflected" was eventually reworked and became recorded as "Elected' a few years later, so the roots of what the band became are certainly present here.
I discovered Alice Cooper in the mid-1980's, and eventually went back to the original albums of the Alice Cooper Band, all of which are far different from the modern version of the solo artist. And this album was more so than the others. It’s another planet, another universe. Nothing about this album really corresponds with anything you would know after this. But I persisted with it initially, because I love Alice and I admire the original band. And it is still weird. Even this past week or so reliving it for this podcast episode, it has been a battle. I still get snatches that I enjoy, and I can appreciate it for what it is in the time it is from. But I just am never going to reach for it when I have the urge to listen to an album fro this band. There are so many many better albums than this one.
For those who are familiar with Alice Cooper's later work, listening to this for the first time would be like hopping into a different dimension. And though you may never come to really like this album, it is certainly worth listening to it if for no other reason than to see what progression was made through the years by this most enduring artist. It’s a trip, in many senses of the word.

674. Sweet Savage / The Raid - The Ripper [EP]. 2005. 3.5/5

The songs on this single/EP/whatever you want to call it, were recorded back in 1980, when Sweet Savage had their core group together of Haller, Campbell, Fleming and Bates. Though rumours abound that it was released, or was supposed to be released, as a single back in 1984 or 1985, it had never been confirmed. this "EP" as it is called was released in 2005 with the original songs. Both of these songs, "The Raid" and "The Ripper" are the original 1980 versions, while a demo version of "The Raid" is tacked on as the third song to make it look like value (I guess). Before listening to this, I had visions of "The Ripper" being a cover version of the classic Judas Priest song, but it is in fact its own enjoyable version of the age old story.

Both songs here are as enjoyable as most of the smallish repertoire the band had prior to 1983, and if you enjoy those songs then you will certainly enjoy these as well. Perhaps you will also reflect as I often do as to how they were unable to make it with the talent they had in this band.

673. Sweet Savage / Caught in the Middle - Teaser [Single]. 1983. 4/5

Such is the scarcity of being able to drag up original material from Sweet Savage, given that the original incantation of the band was unable to break into the recording market, it has only been in very recent times that I have been able to track down a copy of this, their second single. More is the pity, because not only is it terrific, it brought with it some very enjoyable surprises.

Take "Straight Through the Heart". It starts off with a sensational riff, a riff that really gets you going straight away. The thing I knew instantly was that the riff had been written by lead guitarist Vivian Campbell. How did I know this? Well, if you listen to Dio's first album Holy Diver, released not too long after this single by Sweet Savage, and play a song called "Caught in the Middle", then you will be amazed that, yes... it is the same riff. Far from being disappointed, I think it's great. The song itself is completely different apart from that opening riff, and it kicks along terrifically. New lead singer Robert Casserly lends his lead vocals to both these tracks, and he shines, showing off a more pure vocal than Ray Haller, who did vocals on the first single. The B side to this single is "Teaser", and perhaps lends itself closer to a Def Leppard-type sound than earlier songs had, but it too is a good rocking song.

Campbell left the band apparently only a couple of weeks after recording this has been completed, and the band soon folded without him. Although they were revived in the 1990's, it is a shame that they were unable to make it work it this time period, given the strength of the material they had, which this single showcases nicely.

672. Sweet Savage / Take No Prisoners - Killing Time [Single]. 1981. 4/5

This is the first single release from Northern Ireland's Sweet Savage, which to all intents and purposes should have been the springboard to further success. For whatever reason may have eventuated, that success was never forthcoming, which I find remarkable.
"Take No Prisoners" is a smart song, led by the vocals of bass guitarist Ray Haller, and driven by the twin guitars of teenager Vivian Campbell and Trevor Fleming. This is backed by the B side "Killing Time", which also showcases the best of the band, with a speedy pace rocketing along with both guitars and drums. Both songs here are good, solid songs from the NWOBHM era, and perhaps this was drowned out by all of those bands who were clambering over each other at the time to try and 'make it big'.

Sweet Savage was never able to make it unfortunately, although this single did manage to influence others. Campbell eventually left to join Dio and later on Whitesnake and Def Leppard. Meanwhile, a young band called Metallica had discovered this band, and played "Killing Time" in their early rehearsal days, and some years and millions of record sales later, they recorded a cover version of the song for the B side of their "The Unforgiven" single in 1991. Recognition just a few years too late perhaps.

671. Sweet Savage / Demo 81 [EP]. 1981. 4/5

It can be a tough gig trying to nail down a recording contract as a band. No doubt there is a lot of luck, and of being in the right place at the right time, when it comes to actually making it in the music business. With this being the case, it is still an amazing thought that Sweet Savage was unable to crack it during their formative years between 1979-1984. There were a couple of singles, and this multi-track titled simply Demo 81 in which to enjoy their craft. There is conjecture over whether or not this actually ever existed, and that perhaps it is just a name under which someone threw together these songs when they themselves collected them. Whatever the case, this is the collection I have discovered and have collated it as such.

"Killing Time" has become the band's most famous song, simply through it being covered by Metallica as a B-side to their "The Unforgiven" single. Sweet Savage's original version more than holds up. The great thing to me is that, though this is a terrific song, it does not overshadow the others on this album. "Eye of the Storm" has always been another big favourite of mine, driven along by the fast pace of the song and Vivian Campbell's excellent licks. The other three songs here follow a similar vein. In fact, "Sweet Surrender" follows the song structure of "Killing Time" extremely closely, with different words and a slightly changed riff progression fitting in to all the same crevices. It slightly amusing to check out the first time, though eventually you get used to it actually being a different song. "Into the Night" and "Queens Vengeance" are also upbeat songs, all with what is that signature Sweet Savage guitar sound that Campbell and Trevor Fleming have cropped together.

I like all of the songs here, and it again makes me wonder why the band was unable to take that one further step into 'music career'. Despite that, this is still as enjoyable today as it would have been when it was first written and recorded over thirty years ago, which speaks volumes for its freshness and writing background.

670. Metallica / Soundwave Festival Sydney 24-2-2013 [LiveMetallica]. 2013. 5/5

This is another of the ever-popular releases by Metallica from their LiveMetallica conglomerate, where you can purchase every live show they do.
This one was from their headlining set at this year's Soundwave Festival in Sydney, which I attended. As it turned out however, I did not actually see Metallica that night. Apart from the ridiculous crush to get into the stadium, and the impossibility of finding a seat or even a standing room position in which to see them, I had decided that I should head out to the outer stages and check out some bands that I had not seen before. The only songs I actually heard that night were "Orion" (which sounded awesome) and "One", as I walked around the outside of ANZ Stadium on my way to my next 'gig'.

I got this anyway, as I like to collect gigs that bands have done in Sydney. And the setlist here is a virtual who's who of Metallica's best, with songs that Australian's haven't heard live from the band for a long time, such as "Hit the Lights", "Holier Than Thou", "Ride the Lightning", the aforementioned "Orion" and "Fight Fire With Fire". Terrific stuff. Throw in classics like "Master of Puppets", "Creeping Death", "Blackened" and "Fade to Black" and you have a great gig list. OK, so James mightn't be able to sing those songs like he used to, and Lars doesn't even pretend that he can play the drums on those songs like he used to, but it is still great to hear them live.

Am I disappointed I didn't actually get to see this set live? Yes and no. I'm glad I saw the bands I did at the time, and the fact I can listen to this now whenever I want makes up for that in my mind.

669. Queensrÿche / Queensrÿche. 2013. 3.5/5

12 months after the acrimonious split between band and lead singer, and twenty years after what appears to have become their theoretical peak, this album, the eponymous Queensrÿche can settle most of the arguments that have floated around for most of that time. There will still be two sides to the arguments, but no doubt one side will be more heavily populated with this release.
Led by new lead vocalist Todd Le Torre, a man whose own voice lends itself almost remarkably to his predecessor, this is the first album released by the Queensrÿche band in their new era. The lead break on the opening song makes it clear immediately that this is the real deal. This is just a part of what has been missing for so many years, and here on "Where Dreams Go to Die" you immediately open your eyes and say to yourself "There it is... THAT'S Queensrÿche!". There is more urgency in all of the songs, each one different from the next, but none allows the album to drift into an ineffective sleep, which has been a real bugbear of mine over recent releases. The strength comes from guitaring that exudes more energy, a drumkit that appears to have rejuvenated itself and begun to emit the kind of power drumming that it was once renown for, and a vocal capacity that is at the forefront of every song, be it slower and melodic or faster and powerful, and not reedy or seeping into the background.

In comparison to the album released by Geoff Tate under the Queensrÿche moniker, Frequency Unknown, it really is no contest. Put more succinctly, that album headed in the same direction as the previous three or four full Queensrÿche albums, albums that were written by Geoff and others outside the band, and are almost universally shunned by the majority of Queensrÿche fans. This album, written entirely by the band members including Le Torre, is much closer to what most Queensrÿche fans would relate to as a Queensrÿche album. The band SOUNDS like Queensrÿche again, and Le Torre's vocals are driving the songs, not halting them in their tracks. Want to really notice the difference? Play this back-to-back with Frequency Unknown or Dedicated to Chaos or American Soldier. The music doesn't lie. This album has energy bursting throughout, and compared to the dull and lifeless example of the other three albums mentioned there is no contest.

But here's the bottom line. This is a major recovery of sorts, and it is enjoyable to listen to and to realise that this band still has more to offer than the past decade or so has shown. But even having said that, there are no songs here that really make you sit forward in your chair when you hear them begin, ones that snap you to attention in anticipation of what is to come. From a personal point of view, this album is faithful to the progressive style of music that the band played on their early albums, but I think the opportunity for some more firepower in some of the songs was missed. That may well have been what the band was looking for. A song like "Vindication" is probably the fastest song on the album, but to me could have had a bit more grunt in it. Still, this is a small, personal taste conclusion. The song is still great, and is one of the pointers towards the two halves of the Queensrÿche play that has been going on. Another is "A World Without", one of the slower songs on the album, but executed with the real Queensrÿche presence so that it doesn't become a dreary ballad-type.

The more you listen to the album, the better it gets. I don't want to sound like a broken record (no pun intended) but this is the first time in a generation when I can honestly say I love listening to a Queensrÿche album. I didn't have to try hard to love it, and then failed. If anything, I was as hard on this during my first listens as any new album release in recent years, because to me the band had to prove that they really could produce something to show that the past twelve months, the past five years, the past fifteen years, was really worth it. And they HAVE done it. They have produced an album that not only shows they can still be a force in the music world, but that the future may even be brighter.

668. Megadeth / Super Collider. 2013. 2.5/5

With Dave Mustaine being the fairly opinionated guy that he is, one wonders what his response might have been if, back in 1983, before Megadeth had formed, he had been offered a copy of 2013's Super Collider and asked what his opinion of it was. I'm guessing that his response would have been in the negative, perhaps even a violent negative. I just can't see that the man who was about to write such classics as "Wake Up Dead" and "Hook in Mouth" would think that there was very much of virtue in the album that he had been asked to listen to.
Given this, I can really only agree with that opinion. I'm not sure what I expected from this album, given what I felt was the unevenness of the last few Megadeth albums. What I didn't expect was the almost total lack of grunt and power. I mean, Megadeth was at the forefront of thrash metal, wasn't it? You'd have a hard time convincing anyone of that if they had heard nothing of Megadeth except this album. Honestly, this would be like putting on what you thought was the new Foo Fighters album, but finding out it is actually the new Nickelback album. That is the difference between what I would consider Megadeth to be and what I found on Super Collider.

Is it bad? Well, no I guess not. But wow it is different. The opening song "Kingmaker" is OK, a decent riff and it moves along at a reasonable pace. "Super Collider" is a drifter, in that it never really kicks into gear, and Dave's vocal just wanders through the song with out ever gaining any momentum. "Burn!" almost sounds like a reject song from Countdown to Extinction or Youthanasia, one that didn't have enough to be considered for those albums... but it makes it here. The same could be said for "Built for War". Having made it this far into the album, you really begin to wonder what the motivation was for the band this time around. Sure, there are some reasonable licks and solos in the mix, but where is the energy and emotive moments, the ones that get up out of your chair and start pumping your fist in the air, or playing that air guitar or drum kit? They can't be found here. I mean, "Off the Edge" is a boring, repetitive hard rock song that goes nowhere musically or vocally. It is lifted by the solo break, but then it is back to monotony.

"Dance in the Rain" is OK, it too reminds you of those previously mentioned albums with Dave's monologue replacing singing for much of the song. "Forget to Remember" is my favourite song on the album, but I'm not really sure what attracts me to it. My next favourite would be "Cold Sweat", the Thin Lizzy cover that concludes the album. It really cements the whole experience as a very un-Megadeth release. There is basically no metal on here at all, it is a very hard-rock oriented album, albeit with that Megadeth sounding twist. And seriously, what the fuck is with the fiddle and other assorted instruments in the song "The Blackest Crow"?! That song really makes me question where this band is headed. I don't have anything against artists trying some innovation in their material, but I do question the setting. B-sides of singles, or one-off EP's between albums, would be the perfect place. Megadeth has already had its Risk and I'm not sure they need to go down that path again.

Whatever Dave was looking to achieve with this, I guess only he knows. It is Megadeth's highest charting album since Youthanasia which only goes to prove that good marketing can get people to buy almost anything. As for its musical direction, as a lifelong fan of the band almost since their inception, this album is the one that has caused me the most concern. Perhaps it is a one off, where some new things were attempted that will not be the case the next time around. Or perhaps this is the beginning of Megadeth's journey to commercial hard rock, and the attempt to pander to hard rock fans. Whatever the answer is, all I can suggest is that while this is not a complete dead loss, it has drifted into what I would term as "easy listening hard rock". It is up to the individual as to what they like, but for me, this isn't it.

667. Masterplan / Novum Initium. 2013. 3.5/5

Following on from what turned out to be the rather lukewarm previous album Time To Be King, Masterplan has again parted ways with lead vocalist Jorn Lande, which may well turn out to be a blessing in disguise, given that the band probably needs to find its own identity away from that of their oft-quoted and adored former singer. This brought on a real reformatting of the band, with Martin “Marthus” Skaroupka (drums), Rick Altzi (vocals) and Jari Kainulainen (bass) coming in for this album to join original members and writers Roland Grapow (guitar) and Axel Mackenrott (keyboards).

From the very beginning of the album, it is obvious that Masterplan has regained their mojo. It is immediately obvious in both the music and the singing. Rick Altzi sounds much like Jorn Lande without being a clone or copycat, and as such his vocals fit very snugly into the Masterplan edict. Songs such as "The Game", "Black Night of Magic" and "Return from Avalon" are top shelf songs, up with the best this band has produced.

So, if I stick to my usual power metal album checklist, I think you'll find that all the boxes are ticked.

1. Fantastic drumming throughout, punctuated by some at times superb double kick that really drives the songs along (kudos " Marthus")
2. Awesome European power metal vocals, reaching the heights and stretching my own singing beyond its limits as I try to sing along. I have not heard of anything else that Rick Altzi has done in his career, but he is the absolute perfect fit for Masterplan, and his work here is incredible. Take a bow.
3. The power ballad, laden with keyboards which dominate. Yep, we've got a couple, and yes for me they just slow the momentum of the album at the wrong times. Look, for power metal ballads the ones on this album aren't so bad and they are well done so I can forgive them a little.
4. Lots of guitar driven songs. Roland Grapow's magnificent guitaring and great soloing here continues to produce the goods.

Truth be told, I am surprised by how good this album is. It's not that I expected it to be awful, but with Masterplan they are always going to have the unenviable task of being compared to their first two album, which they are unlikely to be able to match. Their next two albums were good without ever touching those heights, and with a lot of the band moving on before this albums release... well... who was to know what would come. What HAS come has been the trademark Masterplan sound, excellent songs that showcase the best that this band has to offer. The new members all produce the goods, while Roland and Axel continue to lead this band into new territory. One of the best albums so far in 2013.