1277. Various Artists / We Wish You a Metal Xmas and a Headbanging New Year. 2008. 4/5

I’m sure that you, like me, have been bombarded each and every December with the same old Xmas carols that have been around for time immemorial. Sadly, in fact, due to the onset of social media and weird people’s obsessions, we now have their occurring in November as well! The decorating of the outside of the house and yard with Xmas lights and displays, the Xmas tree being put up in early November rather than a couple of weeks before Xmas Day, and the endless parade of Xmas carol CDs being played at home, at the workplace, and at shopping centres around the world. Honestly, even for a Grinch like me, it borders on what Australian cricketers used to call mental disintegration.
Now, I can’t stop the onward progression of Xmas light displays and my lovely wife wanting to put up decorations and the tree in September, but at least one part of this horrific confluence can be offset just a little, with the discovery some years ago now of a Xmas album that is designed especially for people like me. An album full of Xmas carols as performed and metallised by heavy metals finest artists.
In the years before this, the two Xmas CDs we had would come out every year in the mid-2000's, and our kids who were all under the age of 10 before I found this album, would sing along and know all the words. And then they would participate at the local Carols by Candlelight every year at Albion Park High School, with glow sticks and Santa hats and ‘come all ye faithfulling’. It was great to see all three having such a wonderful time. But it was a punish.
And then, this album came into my life. And it really was ‘joy to the world’ because now I could put on a CD of Xmas songs, and sing along with each and every one of them, and show the kids that GOOD versions of these songs DID exist!

The great thing about this album is that it contains versions of traditional Xmas carols, the ones everyone sings at Carols by Candlelight and other such events, as well as more current Xmas themed songs written and performed by other well known artists. The album was produced by Bob Kulick and Brett Chassen, who had been involved in several tribute albums over the past decade, putting together artists to cover other artists best songs. So once again here, they have done a terrific job in bringing together the great musicians of the genre to contribute to this album.
A very rocking version of “We Wish You a Merry Xmas” opens up the album, the spine of the track provided by brothers Bob and Bruce Kulick, along with Chris Wyse on bass and Ray Luzier on drums. The vocals are provided by the always excellent Jeff Scott Soto who gives the song the energy it needs. The Chuck Berry song “Run Rudolph Run” follows with the excellent triumvirate of Lemmy on bass and voclas, Billy Gibbons on guitar and Dave Grohl on drums. Lemmy is in a very Xmas spirit throughout, and it is an enjoyable version, surely better than Chuck Berry’s! Alice Cooper then lends his perfectly sinister vocals to a great rearrangement (slightly) of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”, with Claus spelt CLAWS. John 5, Billy Sheehan and Vinny Appice offers their excellent contributions to this track as well.
Then, welcome to this well known doom metal Xmas favourite. The foursome of Simon Wright, Rudy Sarzo, Ronnie James Dio and Tony Iommi serve up the perfect doom anthem with their take on “God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen”, and it is as surprising as it is fantastic. Who doesn’t want a bit of doom at Christmas time?! Haha. The tempo heats up again with “Silver Bells”, a great rocking version from Carlos Cavazo on guitar, James Lomenzo on bass and Ray Luzier again on drums, and Geoff Tate on vocals looking to reach for the ceiling. Carlos is the star of the track, with shredding rarely heard on any previous version of this song, certainly not the Burl Ives version. This is the longest song on the album, stretched to infinity by Geoff’s crooning and Carlos's riffing. Then comes “The Little Drummer Boy”, with the drumming handled by Simon Phillips, thoughit isn’t as inventive as it probably could have been made given the title of the song. Doug Pinnick’s vocals probably don’t inspire a great deal of entertainment either, Billy Sheehan is almost non-existent, and it isn’t until the 2.5-minute mark that George Lynch gets to unleash and mark his mark on the song. Oh well, I’ve never liked the song anyway so I guess that could also have some bearing on my feelings of this version. It just seemed like a missed opportunity to allow the drummer to really cut loose.
Given the biggest selling Xmas album of all time is “Elvis’s Christmas Album” then it seems a given a song would be chosen off it, and it is, with the opening track from that album “Santa Claus is Back in Town” given the true metal makeover with Steve Morse on guitar and Tim “Ripper” Owens on vocals, pulling out all the stops. Morse’s guitar work in particular is terrific here and makes the track, while Ripper always makes his songs interesting to hear where he is going to take you. And now that we’ve had doom metal, it's time for death metal with “Silent Night”, given the complete overhaul by Chuck Billy’s fully developed growling vocal, supported by Scott Ian and Jon Donais jumping around and having the time of their lives on guitars. Traditionalists will NOT enjoy this version of the Xmas classic, but it's a great version to put on when you are sitting around with the in-laws to scare the bejeezus out of them. “Deck the Halls” is a very 80’s metal involvement with Oni Logan on vocals and his Dio Disciples bandmate Craig Goldy on guitar with Tony Frankling and John Tempesta also adding their weight to the 80’s styled version.
The novelty Christmas track “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” doesn’t quite make the grade, which is a surprise given the freedom these artists surely had in recording these tracks. To be fair, it is probably a song that requires either a Tenacious D or a Stormtroopers of Death vibe about the artist to get the most out of it. I don’t know the original very well, but it seems as though, done well, it could have been a highlight of this album. Joe Lynn Turner then joins the backbone of the Kulick brothers, Rudy Sarzo and Simon Wright to offer a reasonable version of “Rockin’ Around the Xmas Tree”, though it did not seem as joyous as when you hear it in the iconic scene in the movie Home Alone. And covering any Beatles or Beatles-individual song is always a tough gig, and trying to do justice to John Lennon’s “Happy Xmas (War is Over)” here seems a thankless task. It’s fine, Tommy Shaw, Steve Lukather and Kenny Aronoff offer the 70’s 80’s vibe it probably requires, but without the impact it needs to lift it above the pack.
There are four bonus tracks for those of you out there that are looking for even more Xmas for your buck, but the extra four songs are not a necessity. “O Christmas Tree” extends beyond its normal length, and while Doro does a great job on vocals, and Michael Schenker offers us a slight shred, it is a par for the course rendition. So too Girlschool’s shot at “Auld Lang Syne”. And the final two songs - “Frosty the Snowman” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” are also less exciting songs, though laughing at Lips from Anvil doing “Frosty the Snowman” is perhaps worth your while checking out.

As I may have mentioned earlier, I came across this album a few years ago, when it became obvious I couldn’t survive another Xmas listening to the same old Xmas songs CDs that we had, and have to put up with those old traditional songs, and listening to Burl Ives and Gene Autry and others of that vintage, along with the modern day must-listens such as “Last Christmas” by Wham and “Do They Know it's Christmas” by Band Aid... it's a tough ride. So I had to find something else, and I rather quickly came across this album which then came on to regular rotation during December at the dinner table. And it worked well, because my kids were old enough to know what kind of music I liked and so recognised it for what it was, and even my lovely wife felt some of the versions were good modern versions and updates.
I’ve listened to the album a couple of times today, a little ahead of schedule but in order to do this review, and I still find the first third of the album is really good. Jeff Scott Soto’s “We Wish You a Merry Xmas”, Lemmy’s “Run Rudolph Run”, Alice Cooper’s “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”, Dio and Iommi’s “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” and Geoff Tate’s “Silver Bells”. Add to those Ripper’s “Santa Claus is Back in Town” and Chuck Billy on “Silent Night” and you have a diverse and interesting Xmas addition to your collection.
Will you play it at any other time of the year? No. I doubt it. I don’t. Will you play it every December? My word you will. Will it make an appearance on Xmas Day as you have brunch or open presents? Wel, it damned well SHOULD!!!

1276. Slayer / Live Undead. 1984. 4/5

In December 1983, Slayer had released their debut album “Show No Mercy”, the episode on which you can find on this podcast in Season 5. On the back of this the band began a short tour to promote the album and begin to expand their audience with the album in tow. Then in February of 1994, guitarist Kerry King joined Dave Mustaine’s new band Megadeth. No one really knew what was going on, not even King himself. The other three members of Slayer, bassist and vocalist Tom Araya, guitarist Jeff Hanneman and drummer Dave Lombardo were somewhat in a state of limbo, not knowing whether or not King was going to return to the band or whether they were going to have to go out and find another guitarist. As it turns out, King lasted five gigs in Megadeth before quitting, saying that it was taken up too much of his time. This created some tension between King and Mustaine for years afterwards.
By mid-1984 Slayer had recorded and released the three track EP “Haunting the Chapel”, with the sound increasing the thrash style that the band was moving towards. More turning followed, and in playing club venues across the US while travelling around in Araya’s Camaro and towing their gear in a rented U-Haul trailer.
On this tour, WBAB Fingers Metal Shop, a radio station, held a contest to meet and hang out with Slayer during a live recording. The album was recorded at Tiki Recording Studios in Glen Cove, NY in front of around a dozen people. The recording was originally intended to be done in front of a live audience, but things didn’t work out as planned. It has been questioned in many areas over the years as to whether the live noise heard on thw album actually took place on the night of the performance. The album’s producer Bill Metoyer was quoted in Joel McIver’s excellent book, “The Bloody Reign of Slayer” when asked about this that, “I don't know if I should tell you [if the crowd noises were faked]! Isn't that one of those great industry secrets? Let's just say that when you're doing a live record, you want live sound — even if perhaps the microphones didn't pick up the audience properly."
In the long run, it is a question that bears little meaning if you enjoy the performance. And given the band had only released one album at this point of their career, it was a perfect way to showcase what the band produced in the live environment, with their first live release “Live Undead”.

“Live Undead” is basically just an EP, with seven tracks in total with the running time a little over 23 minutes, and most of the material comes from the band’s debut album. The exceptions are the excellent “Captor of Sin” which came on the previously mentioned “Haunting the Chapel” EP a few months earlier, and “Aggressive Perfector” which had been on the “Metal Massacre Vol 3” compilation album and was then given a re-release on the future “Reign in Blood” album. Both versions here are absolutely stomping, especially “Captor of Sin” which is a truly fabulous song in the band’s discography.
The album begins with an extended introduction of "Black Magic", which sounds marvellous here as the opener. As with all of the tracks on this album, it is heavier and faster than its studio version, resulting in a much better showing for the song. This segues into the awesome “Die by the Sword” via Tom’s engagement, stating “They say the pen is mightier than the sword. Well, I say fuck the pen, cos you can die by the sword!", and away we go. Another excellent version of a great song. “Captor of Sin” follows, and then into “The Antichrist” which is given its best life by increased tempo. One small thing though – I guess I prefer Tom’s vocals on this track on recordings following this, where he doesn’t go for the high screams in the middle of the chorus, but sticks to the same register throughout. They’re both good but I think it sounds better when he doesn’t overextend the high-pitched screaming. That’s just a personal preference. From here the album moves swiftly through terrific versions of “Evil Has No Boundaries”, “Show No Mercy” and the aforementioned “Aggressive Perfector”, and tops off 23 minutes of velocity and aggression that perfectly encapsulates where Slayer the band was at this stage of their development.

My memory is usually pretty good when it comes to where and when I first heard an album or purchased an album, but I’m not 100% sure of the case with this album. My best guess is that I got this sometime after I first purchased the band’s defining live album “Decade of Aggression” in 1991, because that really blew me away. And I know when I did hear this album, I was trying not to compare versions of songs that appear on both. So that fits with that scenario.
I do know I’ve always enjoyed this album, short as it is. It isn’t as fast and thrashy as “Decade of Aggression” is, and I always thought that that is a great point between 1984 and 1991 with the band, especially considering what the released with “Reign in Blood” in 1986 and how fast the band had progressed in such a short time then. And it only doesn’t get played as often as it could because of its length, that I can go to other lengthened live recordings of the band and get the same experience.
In listening to this again in preparation for this review, I’ve actually listened to it a LOT, because I have been getting to the end of it and thinking “Wow, that’s just too short, I need to listen to that again!” and so I do. And it still holds up to this day, these four kids as they were at the time, still really just starting out, and showing the world (or apparently 12 people in a room) just what they had.
If you are a fan of the band you already own this and know it. If you have not heard it, it is an interesting listen worth 23 minutes of your time. About how long this podcast episode has gone for.

1275. Iron Maiden / The Soundhouse Tapes [EP]. 1979. 4/5

Arguably the most famous demo tape ever released to the wider public is Iron Maiden’s “The Soundhouse Tapes”, recorded at the end of 1978 and distributed by the band through bass guitarist and band founder Steve Harris to various outlets through 1979, before finally being self-released by the band in November 1979.
Having been formed in 1975, it took over three years and numerous band member changes for Iron Maiden to get to a position that they decided to record their first demo. Four guitarists, three lead vocalists, two drummers and a keyboardist had all walked through the band before they got to December 1978. Steve Harris had of course remained the mainstay, alongside guitarist Dave Murray, who had also had his own short vacation from the band before a change of mind brought him back into the fray. All of these changes are discussed at length in the excellent band documentary “The History of Iron Maiden, Part 1” released in 2005. By the time the band reached the winter of 1978, Harris and Murray were joined as members in Iron Maiden by lead vocalist Paul Di’Anno, drummer Doug Sampson and guitarist Paul Cairns, also known as Mad Mac. According to Sampson, Cairns did not fit in the band properly and left after three months. Cairns himself stated that the band dismissed him as they did not like his stage performance. It is interesting that Cairns is generally uncredited as having appeared on the recording of “The Soundhouse Tapes”, with interviews on the History DVD cutting out any reference to him. Despite this, it is acknowledged that Cairns did indeed play on the demo, though given he had left the band some time before it was released as “The Soundhouse Tapes” there is some understanding as to why his name does not appear on a release promoting the band as they approached their first record contract.
Harris had decided the band needed a demo tape in order to distribute to venues in order to gain gigs, but given that most of the band members also worked day jobs, and that they little money in order to fund the project, they would have to find a way to do it, but without sacrificing quality for cheapness. The band decided to record at Spaceward Studios, Cambridge after hearing a demo tape recorded there by former vocalist Dennis Wilcock's band, V1. In the History doco, Harris says “The only way we could afford it at the time was to go on New Year’s Eve, because no one else wanted to then. We were gonna kip in the back of the van [but], because it was snowing, it was so bloody cold. We were in this pub and Paul pulled this young nurse. She invited us all back to kip on her floor. She only had a bedsit, but we were very grateful.”
The two day session cost the band £200, but when they asked for the master tape, they were told they would have to part with another £50 to do so, which they didn’t have. They instead took the tape that had been recorded for them, but when Steve came back the following week with the £50 required, they found that the master had been wiped. Thus, as they were unable to create the editing and embellishing they had been hoping to do, they instead had to settle for what they had done on those two days.

The band recorded four songs during those sessions - "Prowler", "Invasion", "Strange World" and "Iron Maiden". In Mick Wall’s excellent and contemporaneous biography of the band “Iron Maiden: Run to the Hills”, Harris is quoted, "We didn't know what to expect, going into the studio for the first time. We just hoped the engineer was gonna be good enough to record us, and that was it, really. We just went in there with a naïve attitude and, as it happens, it was pretty good. The songs were very together already. We didn't have to arrange much. They were very tight, 'cause we were doing them live all the time. We knew exactly what we needed to do. It was just a question of whether we could record it all in time. But we went in and the tracks went down really quick. I think we did most of them in the first take."
The most famous story of this demo tape is when it came to Neal Kay who was the main man at the Bandwagon Soundhouse in Kingsbury who, after almost blowing it with Steve Harris (a great story retold on the History doco) began playing the tape heavily, which led to the song “Prowler” topping his Soundhouse charts, which then was being published in Sounds magazine. This helped lead to the band being found by manager Rod Smallwood, and through him their first record deal with EMI in December 1979, a year after those recording sessions.
Between this time however, while waiting to sign their EMI contract, the band decided to self-release their demo, for a not unobvious reason. As Harris said, “because everywhere we'd go we'd do really well at the gigs, and then afterwards there'd be, like, all these fans asking where they could buy one of our records and when we told 'em there wasn't any yet they couldn't believe it. They'd seen the charts in Sounds and a lot of 'em just assumed we must already have a record deal of some kind, but we didn't. Not then. So then, they'd be, like, 'Well, where can we get a copy of the tape?' And I think that's when we really got the idea of putting the Spaceward demo out as an actual record."
Though the demo tape contained four songs, the band decided to only release three, with “Iron Maiden” being the Side A of the EP, and “Invasion” and “Prowler” on the B Side. “Strange World”, which along with the eponymous track and “Prowler” would eventually end up the debut album, was considered ‘not up to quality’ in its current recorded version, and was left off as a result.
When you listen to these three tracks compared to the versions that came later on, there are some noticeable differences. Which of course in the long run makes this EP worthy of owning or at least listening to. They are rawer in both music and vocals, with a different timing throughout. Doug Sampson’s drumming gives them that slightly different feel from the versions that would appear later, but are no less impressive or enjoyable. Di’Anno’s vocals, even though they had been performing all of these songs for some time at their live gigs, are still developing into what they would become. And, when you listen to it, for a demo tape, you have to say that it is amazingly impressive. Think about the demo tapes you have made with your first band. You couldn’t possibly have released it in this format. Iron Maiden, or course, were a different breed even then.
The band decided to press 5000 copies of “The Soundhouse Tapes”, and had them for sales through mail order and their fan club. The demand was outrageous, and retail chains tried to order quantities of up to 20,000 each. However, the band and management refused to budge. As Smallwood said "we could have really cashed in at that point. It was our record, not EMI's, and we could have made enough to clear our debts, if we'd wanted to, maybe got it in the charts, even. But there was just no way. It really was something special for the true die-hard Maiden fans, and we'd already made that quite clear. If we'd changed our minds, just to get our hands on a bit of cash, it would have been selling out the kids who'd gone to all the trouble to send in for one of the original 5,000 copies. We thought, 'No, we'll wait until we can do it properly with EMI.'

I suppose what I would like to say now is that, yes, I own a copy of the original “The Soundhouse Tapes” EP on vinyl. As I’m sure you are aware, I do not. I have a copy of it digitally, which I have burned to a CD and keep in my collection that way. I have often trawled through Discogs, and found copies for sale for about £1900, which is about A$3300... and that’s when I stop dreaming.
If you are a Maiden fan, you have heard this EP at least once. You may not be as obsessive about it as others, and that’s okay. Because being a fan isn’t about owning the most stuff from that band, or listening to the most stuff released by that band, or collecting the most memorabilia or bootlegs of that band. You don’t even have to know the history of the band. It’s about loving the music.
However!...I love this kind of stuff, the history and the releases and all of those things. I don’t always enjoy them, but this has always been a really interesting period of history of the band that intrigues me thoroughly. The changes to the band. The travelling around together in the Green Goddess. Those early gigs. All leading up to the recording of this demo and then to this EP. It’s all fascinating, the time of the band when they were still poor and working gig to gig, hoping to pull off something special and maybe get a recording contract, and then maybe get a few more fans. Looking back from this point in time, it's still hard to believe that they could have been that small, just beginning to explode.
So here it is, “The Soundhouse Tapes”. Yes, it’s worth a listen. And yes, it is interesting to hear Paul Cairns on guitar even though it is never mentioned anyway. And hear Doug Sampson on drums before he was forced to give the role away. And hear Paul Di’Anno before he truly commanded his own personality. It’s worth a listen, and to think about its place in history. Because without it, Iron Maiden may never have traversed to the peaks they now reside at.

1274. Cinderella / Still Climbing. 1994. 3.5/5

1990’s “Heartbreak Station” had somewhat pre-empted what was on the horizon with music generally around the world. Having served up two albums where the image of Cinderella the band had screamed glam metal but had contained songs that fit more into the hard rock motif than anything else, “Heartbreak Station” had followed what other bands around the world were travelling, stripping back all of the overblown effects and getting back to what they called ‘the basics’. It produced an album that tended to split the band’s fandom, with mixed reactions as to its output and direction.
Following the tour to promote the album, the band began to put together ideas for their follow up album. However, they were then hit with the problems that beset band leader, guitarist and lead vocalist Tom Keifer. It was during this time that he was diagnosed with vocal chord paresis which eventually required surgery and a lengthy recovery time, which put the band in limbo for a two year period. Now while that is a considerable time to be out of action, it certainly became more so when you consider that those years were 1991 and 1992, when the music world was turned on its head by the escalation of grunge, a phenomenon that is almost the sole reason that glam metal was forcibly removed from the music scene. However, Cinderella had already begun a move away from that with their previous album, and perhaps both this and the break from releasing an album at the height of this new movement ended up working in their favour.
In an interview some years later, Keifer was quoted as saying "I am writing for the record, and I don't know what voice I am writing for because I don't know if I am going to have a voice." Keifer also stated, "I really didn't ever get to the point where my voice was fully retrained, back and functioning properly, even while we were recording that record." In the long run, Keifer had to adopt a different way of recording his vocals, singing the same line over and over in order to get the sound he wanted. “On Still Climbing, I was going in and singing one line over and over and over, and trying to get my pipes to work right and get the sounds that I wanted. It was just a weird record to make. It was not an easy record to make, but a lot of the songs, I really like. And you know, it is what it is."

For this album, partly to do with the long break, longtime drummer Fred Coury had gone on to pursue other interests, with Kenny Aronoff taking on the drum duties in the studio. The remainder of the band, Keifer, bass guitarist Eric Brittingham and lead guitarist Jeff LaBar remained together.
An interesting part of this album was the use of a couple of songs that had been around for years. Both “Talk is Cheap” and “Freewheelin’” had been played by the band live as early as 1985, though both were slightly different from the versions that ended up on this album. Also, "Hot & Bothered" had first appeared on Wayne's World soundtrack in 1992.
Perhaps the most surprising part of this album is that, unlike so many other bands albums that were released in the same era, they have not felt pressured into changing their sound to match what was going on in the music world around them. “Heartbreak Station” had been a subtle change in direction prior to this, and perhaps that helped the band keep that mindset, despite what had happened to delay this album coming out and what music was like swirling around them.
The opening track “Bad Attitude Shuffle” has a slow start, taking its time to move into the main section of the song and begin its bluesy influenced traction. Theis follows nicely into “All Comes Down”, a great hard rock song, one where you wouldn't know that Keifer had had any trouble with his vocal chords. There is perhaps less grinding in his voice, and he hits some impressive notes throughout, and the trade-off guitar licks and solos are terrific. It holds the same vitality that their songs in the late 1980’s do and kicks the album up a gear from the outset. It’s a ripper, and it segues perfectly into “Talk is Cheap” that keeps that hard rock momentum going. “Blood from a Stone” has a great opening riff and terrific attitude based vocals. These are the kind of songs that Cinderella made their own, on first inspection they mightn’t sound special but the more you listen to them the more they row on you, and you pick up the great pieces that make the track special, the doubled vocals pushing the intensity and the great solo through the heart of the track. The title track “Still Climbing” is a slow burner, very blues influenced by the guitar and keyboard within, sitting in a slow mid tempo and Keifer crooning over the top, which immediately segues into the far more upbeat and faster tempo of “Freewheelin’”. It is a segue that really shouldn’t work at all, at yet here it does beautifully without disturbing the platform laid by the previous track.
It wouldn’t be a Cinderella album if you didn’t have the soft rock ballads, and they appear here once again. “Hard to Find the Words” concentrates heavily on the slow blues based back track, reverberating from the low almost spoken vocal to Keifer’s more recognisable higher pitched squeals, and those atypical ballad based solos. “Through the Rain” heads down the usual route for such a track, based on a more acoustic level song with some light keyboards attached, and vocals sung in a register that tries to attack the heartstrings for an emotional response.
The final throes of the album are just as entertaining as the majority of this album. “Easy Come Easy Go” settles into a similar rhythm that the album endures and is more than listenable. “The Road’s Still Long” is a slow burn which mixes blues guitar with touches of country rock, threatening to break out into a much faster tempo with greater energy than it eventually decides to do. It’s a tease most of the way through. The album then concludes with “Hot and Bothered”, a song that reverts to their earlier sound, a definite AC/DC sounding hard rock song both guitar-wise and vocally, which brings the album to a close in a pleasant and enjoyable tone.

My own love affair with Cinderella had had a few hiccups over the years, and as much as I had enjoyed “Night Songs” and then most of “Long Cold Winter”, I must admit that I had found “Heartbreak Station” a hard sell. There is a real change in the direction the band took with the sound of that album, and at that time I had found it a bridge too far. So, when this was released in 1994 it was not an album that came on to my radar. None of my friends had bought it and I was unwilling to risk the 30 bucks to buy the CD and find it was only going to collect dust on the shelves. So, it wasn’t until the early 2000’s when I began to go back and chase down bands and albums that I hadn’t thought of for a while that I came across “Still Climbing” and decided to give it a go. And it wouldn’t be untoward of me to say that I was mildly surprised with what I found. True, it wasn’t the sound of their early albums, but it was nowhere near as bad as I had imagined it would be. Now, it isn’t an album I have taken out very often over the preceding years – and that is as much to do with the voluminous collection I now have when it comes to choosing an album to listen to when I want to hear some music than anything else – but I have never been disappointed whenever I have,
I’ve had this album on again for the past week, and again have been pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoy it. And what I have thought of most when listening to it is how determined the band must have been to stick to their guns in a musical environment that was a totally different landscape than from a decade before, and they still composed and recorded music that was in their wheelhouse, and did not try to adapt that to what was going on around them. It may not have brought them the commercial success that they would have craved, but as a fan of the band it did gain them my respect as an artist. In fact, the band’s label dropped them after the lack of sales of the album, and the band went into hibernation for a short time to refocus and determine what the future held for them. As it turned out, it was to be a future with constant obstacles ahead of them. While they did tour often, alongside other bands of their late 1980’s heritage, they recorded no new material as a band again. Their final show was in 2014, at which point it was reported that tensions between the members of the band made it unlikely they would tour or record together again. The passing of Jeff LaBar in 2021 seems to have finally closed the door on that ever being explored again.
As a final homage to the band then, “Still Climbing” is not a bad way to conclude their recording career. An album that retains their integrity and stays true to what they believed and enjoyed. In the long run, that is the best any band can hope to achieve.

1273. Deep Purple / Stormbringer. 1974. 4.5/5

Following the demise of the Mark II lineup of the band, Deep Purple had moved onward with their new recruits and released the album “Burn” in February 1974 to critical acclaim and fan delight. You can hear all about that album on the episode featured in Season 6 of this podcast. After its release the band had embarked on a US tour that included co-headlining the California Jam festival at Ontario Motor Speedway in southern California in April 1974. Attracting over 250,000 fans, this festival also included 1970s giants such as Black Sabbath, Eagles, Seals & Crofts and Earth, Wind & Fire. Portions of the show were telecast in the US, exposing the band to a wider audience and showcasing the new lineup with David Coverdale on lead vocals and Glenn Hughes on bass and backing vocals. During the show, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore doused his amplifiers with petrol and set them on fire, which ended up blowing a hole in the stage.
One of the reasons for the break up of the Mark II era of the band was that they had no time off whatsoever. Constantly on tour, they even had to resort to writing and recording albums on two week layovers from tour dates. It all proved too much, and eventually the tensions between certain bandmates created rifts that meant members were moved on. And yet, despite all of those signs, and the obvious need to set out their calendar better in order to have time off, Deep Purple returned to the studio in August 1974 (just 6 months after “Burn” had been released) in order to star writing and recording the follow up album. It was a grinding schedule, and surely it must have been questioned why the band needed to release an album less than nine months after their previous effort, especially one that had done well in sales, and of the further exposure the band had been receiving because of its live schedule. Or, indeed, is this the reason the band was pushed to the studio, to back it up with another album in order to cash in on this all? Whatever the actual reason was, the band spent two months in studios in Germany and then Los Angeles putting together the follow up to “Burn”, a time that would bring further desperation to the future of the band, but also give the world some of their best songs, in the form of the album “Stormbringer”.

The opening blast of the title track “Stormbringer” is the perfect start to this album, highlighting the vocals of Coverdale and Hughes, the organ of Lord and timekeeping of Paice, that wonderful sounding bass of Hughes and the trademark Blackmore riff and solo. It’s a brilliant song, matching the awesomeness of the opening title track of the previous album “Burn”. From here though, the true new focus of Deep Purple’s progression comes to the fore. “Love Don’t Mean a Thing” is the immediate best focus of this sound, coming after the bombastic nature of the opening title track, moving into that tight blues funk groove which sounds so natural, but of course is so different from what the Mark II lineup had produced. And as much as Coverdale and Hughes’s vocals can sing that earlier stuff, they are made for what they write together here. This has a beautiful combination of their vocal strengths and serene guitar solo that suits the song perfectly from Blackmore which fades out the track. “Holy Man” has Hughes taking on lead vocals, and he just kills this with his vocal chords. One of the most amazing voices in music history, and Blackmore’s guitar is again superb on this track. “Hold On” continues on this musical path, but also almost adds a small taste of gospel in the backing vocals of the chorus, all of it combined together in another perfect session. Apart from the opening track, the first side of the album is such a world apart from what Deep Purple had done previously that it is okay to believe that it is a different band altogether. In fact, the more you listen to the first half of this album, the more you hear the direction that the beginnings of the band Whitesnake took on, and begin to understand where that direction began. Both Hughes and Coverdale had brought elements of other genres with them to the band, Hughes with funk and Coverdale with blues, and that all begins to come more into focus on “Stormbringer” than it did on “Burn”. And as Blackmore himself was not involved in writing either “Holy Man” or “Hold On”, you begin to hear why they sound the way they do, and perhaps why Blackmore’s disillusion with the direction of the band was building.
The second side of the album heads back to a much more upbeat and energetic way with “Lady Double Dealer” coming out of the blocks with a similarity to Led Zeppelin, combining the blues elements with the higher velocity vocals and guitar. Blackmore’s solo also brings back memories of his best days on the guitar and a sectioned off Lord solo as well to remind fans of when they formed that lasting partnership. “You Can’t Do It Right” mirrors what a harder version of an old styled blues track would sound like, but comes across as so much more than that. “High Ball Shooter” continues down this same path, a true Blackmore rocking riff throughout with great vocals again from Coverdale and Hughes that is punched higher with Jon Lord’s first true organ solo of the album after the opening track, one that truly reminds you this IS a Deep Purple album. “The Gypsy” falls back to mirroring the songs on the first side of the album, while the last track on the album, “Soldier of Fortune” is the acoustic ballad written by Blackmore and Coverdale that while never released as a single has become one that has reached folklore status within the Deep Purple fandom. Not only has it been covered in latter years by Coverdale in Whitesnake and Blackmore in Blackmore’s Night, but also by many other bands. Given the way the album had progressed to this point, it feels as though it is a strange choice in which to close out the album, though its overall popularity seems to suggest that the band knew what they were doing, and not this reviewer.

When people think about or have promoted to them the band Deep Purple, it is basically the Mark II lineup that is highlighted, with Blackmore and Gillan as the central pieces of the puzzle. It generally brushes over the first three albums and that Mark I lineup, and often ignores the band of this era with Coverdale and Hughes, and eventually Tommy Bolin. And that is a huge disappointment because the two albums of the Mark III lineup are especially brilliant in the Deep Purple discography.
There is so much different here from those hard rock albums of the Mark II phase of the decade, but this is a transformed band with two main songwriters gone and two more brought in in their place, and with a different focus. But that doesn’t make them any less excellent at what they do. The double change though perhaps brought in a faster incorporation of a different sound than would have been the case if just one of the writers and players had been substituted between albums.
Despite this, what is not to love on this album? Don’t compare it to other albums, just sit there and enjoy the wonderful musicianship, the amazing blending of vocals, the guitar, the organ and the excellent songs.
What interests me most about this album, and the subsequent tour, is Ritchie Blackmore’s involvement. Blackmore publicly disliked most of the album, suggesting in later interviews that it was "shoeshine music" out of his distaste for its funk and soul elements. And of course he was already in the process of preparing to leave Deep Purple to start his own band that would become Rainbow, and band that moved back to a sound that concentrated on... Ritchie Blackmore. But having said that - is this Blackmore’s triumph? It his time in Deep Purple he had gone from the first three albums where he was important but playing second banana to Jon Lord on organ, to being the centre focus with his duels with Lord on keyboards on those seminal Mark II albums, and yet here proves he can still provide an amazing sound on guitar on tracks that provide funk rather than hard rock, and still be as impactful on each song without the bombasticness that he had become renown for. It really is a triumph for his craft, even though he decided to leave because of the direction the music was going in. And certainly, he revived his stature in Rainbow as a result.
I first came across these Mark III and IV albums around 35 years ago, getting all of the Deep Purple Mark II, III and IV albums in a box set on CD from a mail order record club I joined at that time, which for a while was a great source of old albums on the newest format. And I enjoyed all of them. Even then the difference in the music was noticeable from one to the next, but that didn’t deter me in the slightest. And just as “Stormbringer” brought a change from “Burn”, so again did “Come Taste the Band” after this album.
I’ve probably already explained here in this spiel that the style of this album doesn’t bother me. In fact, just a few weeks ago I was at our local record store Music Farmers in Wollongong, buying some albums on my birthday as my own present to myself, and came across an original 1974 Australian vinyl pressing of “Stormbringer”, and bought it immediately. And it has barely left my turntable since. It is remarkable timing given its anniversary and therefore requirement for me to do a podcast episode on it... fate has a funny way of coming around when required... but it has been a joy to sit in the Metal Cavern and have this playing often, and continued to enjoy it each and every time.
Blackmore’s departure almost spelled the end for Deep Purple at that point in time, but a determination to try and make the band work meant that they went on the search for a new guitarist, and then to conjure up another album. That story of course is yet to come, and that further storm was just on the horizon.

1272. Foo Fighters / There is Nothing Left to Lose. 1999. 4/5

Foo Fighters had approached the end of the 1990's decade with a high degree of success and adulation coming their way. After the debut self titled album, written and almost completely self recorded by Dave Grohl, had brought about a sense of a new dawn in alternative rock after the demise of Nirvana, and the follow up album "The Colour and the Shape", which had spawned several high charting singles and put the band firmly on the path to superstardom, there were still roadblocks to overcome. When guitarist Pat Smear had left the band halfway through the tour to promote "The Colour and the Shape", Grohl had brought in his mate Franz Stahl to replace him for the remainder of the tour. Stahl has made clear in interviews since, and on the documentary Back and Forth, that he already had ideas he wanted to bring to the band for their follow up album. Unfortunately for him, as was also presented in that same doco, Grohl felt that his style wasn't quite complementing what he wanted in the band, that it just didn't fit. This led to Grohl having to inform Stahl that he was fired from the band. At this point the band remained as a three piece, alongside drummer Taylor Hawkins and bass guitarist Nate Mendel. This would again leave Grohl to perform double duty on the album as he had done with the previous album, although that had been on drums and guitar, whereas here Hawkins would have his first recording effort with the band, while Grohl played all guitars on the album.
With just the three members, Grohl decided to convert the basement of his new home into a recording space, and the album was written and recorded there with little influence from the outside world. While there was an obvious amount of pressure on the band to create an album worthy of the two that had come beforehand, with the three members writing as a trio, as a group, rather than Grohl taking the full hands on approach, they were able to conceive and compose the music that the three of them wanted, and be in total control of the direction the new album was going to take. With this greater degree of collaboration, Foo Fighters were able to come out with an album they felt was ready to back up their success so far, with "There is Nothing Left to Lose".

While it would be accurate to suggest that the Foo Fighters first two albums had already shown a great variety in the style of songs that the band could write, and that they found a way to mesh and stretch the track list in order to have these songs meld together n the best way possible, it would also be a reasonable statement to suggest that it was with this album that they truly showed their template, the way they would continue down the path for the next decade. Listening to this album is a roller coaster ride in itself, such are the heights and lulls throughout, the thoughtful and introspective songs and the hard core driving tracks, moving between the loud to the sublime. While this is also true of the band's first two albums, here it feels as though it is a coordinated effort with less assault on the heavy side of the music and a more directed effort towards the softer and less aggressive music for most of the album.
The opening to the album is bombastic, with the crushing hard crashing drums and riffing guitars of "Stacked Actors" a terrific start. It feels like Dave has channelled his youth and come within a whisker of wanting to write a real hard core death metal track, and at times during the song you can feel the whole band just wanting to career over the falls and let loose... but don't. I love Dave's guitar sound on this track and his vocals leaving little behind. If anyone has hear Grohl's Probot project album, some of the songs on that remind me of this song and where it could have gone if he had truly wanted it to. A great start to the album. Then comes the song that made this album, "Breakout". The song was featured in the Jim Carrey movie "Me, Myself & Irene", and the film clip for the song shows parts of that movie. The film clip is a beauty and helped pushed the popularity of this song and the sales of this album. That scream... Wow Dave can really get that out there when he wants to. And the final song of the opening triumvirate is "Learn to Fly", another song whose film clip pushed its popularity enormously, and which is arguably better than the song itself. These three songs provide the impetus to the album from the start and well and truly has the party started by its conclusion.
That softer, more easy listening side of the album includes both some of the band's most accessible tracks, along with songs that would be unknown to those that only focus on the singles and radio released songs. "Gimme Stitches" is an example of the latter, a song that focuses on Grohl's sweeter harmony vocals and is a catchy song that is firmly settled in the mid-tempo track and unobtrusive guitar and drums. So too to a certain degree is the following track "Generator", talk box and all, but with verses that are softly sung and quiet guitar, coming out stronger through the bridge and chorus but certainly not in a way that anyone who doesn't enjoy hard rock would find offensive. And the final bout of the trio is the beautifully performed "Aurora", again highlighted by Grohl's amazingly credentials vocals over the lower action guitar sound throughout. "Aurora" is a song that shows a maturity in the music being presented by this trio, utilising the opposite side of their musical roots to produce a track that few would have thought possible given the heritage. It ranks alongside "February Stars" as one of the band's crowing achievements in this alternate part of their musical universe.
"Live-In Skin" holds its own throughout with a steady tempo and strumming guitar. More of the same comes at you with "Next Year", the final single released from the album. It is the only one of these softer sided songs that got a single release, which suggests that the band knew that its base was the fans that wanted the harder rocking tracks, and they were the ones who would get pulled into the album from the singles, but that once in, perhaps these songs would present an option to their partners, or family to give them an entry point to the band as well. "Headwires" follows a similar approach to "Live-In Skin", which is followed by "Ain't it the Life" which comes off the same conveyor belt that "Next Year" was produced from. There's a real country twang in the guitars on "Ain't it the Life" which is surprisingly serene, and almost Eagles-ish. "M.I.A" again follows a path from "Headwires", the main difference being that Taylor does actually hit his drums with a bit of effort again during this track, giving the album closer a little more impetus the bring it all to a conclusion.

Listening to this album now and it becomes obvious that the straight down the line rock songs punctuated with less aggressive vocals or guitars are what actually dominate the album. The opening tracks drag you in, and the preceding tracks lull you into a sublime state of calm, which is not anything that I would have expected a Foo Fighters album to do to me when I first bought this album. And listening to this again, it really is quite a massive change that the band had made here compared to those opening two albums. It just never seemed so sudden. For a long time I was always of the belief that this change came with the albums of the mid 2000's, but having had this on again for the past 2-3 weeks, I finally myself standing corrected. It was this album that saw the savage directional change occur. Now that may have been from a collaborative writing partnership, or it may just have been the plan, to release the hard to heavy songs at the top of the track list to appease their fans, ad then travel to another part of the music appreciation society with the back two thirds of the album. Away from this, I still love this album. Sure the songs have less aggression, but they are beautifully written and performed by all three members. It is Dave Grohl's vocals that probably win the day, because anyone who can sing "Breakout" and "Ain't it the Life" on the same album has some talent.
I bought this album reasonably close to its release date, as by this time my work situation was beginning to change and I was getting to a point where I could actually buy music again. And it was another of those albums at that time where I was expecting a lot, and vey much wanted to hear an album that was exactly like the previous one. And this definitely not that. And... I must have known at the time that the mood of this album had changed, because although I listened to it I know I was rarely invested in the second half of the album. Not for a long time anyway. At the time I thought it was because I wanted "The Colour and the Shape Part 2" and as discussed this isn't that. But over time I found enjoyment in it all, even if it wasn't the harder material I would have liked. And "There is Nothing Left to Lose" ticks all of the boxes asked of it. As the next step in the bands progression this album does exactly what it set out to do.
There never seems to be a time in the Foo Fighters camp where there isn't some sort of problem or shift going on. Recent times have proven that all over again. The recruitment of guitarist Chris Shiflett before the tour to promote this album at least showed that loud guitar rock was still a part of the band's future, as did the reappearance of Pat Smear not long after. And the rocketing rise of their popularity was only increased with the release of this album.

1271. Bruce Dickinson / Scream for Me Brazil. 1999. 5/5

By the time this album came to be released, the world of Bruce Dickinson had come full circle, and the hard work that he and his various band mates had put in over the previous six years was about to come to a conclusion that perhaps in many ways always felt inevitable.
Since his split with Iron Maiden in 1993, Bruce had experienced the ups and downs of life after the biggest ride of his career. Playing smaller venues, with less promotion and hype, hoping to build something away from the spotlight that he had been a part of for that previous decade, and on the back of albums such as “Balls to Picasso” and “Skunkworks”, discovering the pitfalls of putting your heart and soul into a project, and not getting back the unadulterated adulation you may have felt it deserved. He has commented in interviews since that he was at his lowest moment at this time, and felt perhaps he needed to start looking at another profession. Then through the help of partner in crime Roy Z and former partner in crime Adrian Smith, the rise began in earnest, with albums such as “Accident of Birth” and “The Chemical Wedding” which were lauded by critics and fans alike, and the quality of both of those albums meant Dickinson and his band were making inroads and beginning to become a force in the world of music. This, and the falling album and concert sales of Iron Maiden in that time frame, and the real possibility that that band would shrink in popularity considerably should something not be done about it, led to the announcement on February 10, 1999, that both Bruce and Adrian were returning to Iron Maiden as full time members, something that the world greeting with ecstasy and excitement. Of course, this meant that Bruce’s solo career would have to be put on hold, perhaps permanently, although he publicly stated that was not something he wanted to occur.
What it did mean was that his tour following this date could be celebrated on all fronts. A tour to promote “The Chemical Wedding” album with its amazing material, as well as celebrating the fact that soon fans would be able to hear new material and the live the reformed Iron Maiden, and the excitement that would bring. With this in mind, and as a way to give this period of his career the proper ending and send off, it was decided to release a live album from this tour, to properly give the end of this moment in time with a true reflection of the band at its peak, and of songs that may never again have been played in the live environment. And so, the show played on 25th April 1999 in Sao Paulo, Brazil was recorded for this purpose and released in the sunset of the band but the sunrise of the new dawn of Iron Maiden, and appropriately titled “Scream for Me Brazil!”.

The release of this live album had to be well conceived in order to make the most of the moment in time, and it appears there was also some discussion about what to include on the final release. Given that there were two former members of Iron Maiden in the Bruce Dickinson band, it was obvious that they would cover some of those songs in their live set list. On this tour, there were three Maiden songs each night, those being “Powerslave”, “2 Minutes to Midnight” and “Flight of Icarus”. All three songs were excluded from the final album release. Whatever decision process may have been invloved in that decision, whether it was just the fact that Bruce only wanted the bands songs on the album (which would be a reasonable action) or whether they decided against having songs from the band he and Adrian were about to rejoin so close to the reunion (quite possible) or whether it was just the time constraints on only having a single CD release rather than a double CD of the entire gig (also a reasonable action), they missed the final cut. And while it would have been great to hear those versions of those songs, it was not to be. Two other songs were also cut, those being “Tattooed Millionaire” and “Taking the Queen”.
Instead, we have 12 of the 17 songs played on that night, the first 11 songs, and then the penultimate song of the night “Road to Hell” closing out the album. And the first half of the setlist is all off the album they were touring to promote “The Chemical Wedding”. Indeed seven songs in total come from that album, a rare event when bands play live. But that was the best example of just how popular Bruce’s solo work was becoming with both “The Chemical Wedding” and “Accident of Birth”, that he and his band could play more than half of that album live and be feted for it rather than criticised. And the live versions hold up spectacularly well, being at least as good as the studio versions, and in places providing even more in the live environment than those studio versions could offer. And while those seven songs they play, “Trumpets of Jericho”, “King in Crimson”, “Chemical Wedding”, “Gates of Urizen”, “Killing Floor”, “Book of Thel” and “The Tower”, are spectacular, I can’t believe they didn’t play “Machine Men”. That for me is a missed opportunity.
Beyond that, we also getting excellent live versions of “Laughing in the Hiding Bush” and “Tears of the Dragon” from “Balls to Picasso”, and “Accident of Birth”, “Darkside of Aquarius” and “Road to Hell” from the “Accident of Birth” album, rounding out a fabulous live album.
The performances here are amazing. Eddie Casillas on bass and David Ingraham on drums excel again as they have on previous albums, while the dual guitars of Roy Z and Adrian Smith are superb. And of course, the voice him, who on this album proves he could still sing every song the same way as he does on the studio versions – and more! - the incomparable Bruce Dickinson.

Here’s my usual spiel about live albums, to get it out of the way. Live albums should be automatic 5/5 albums, because they should contain the bands best songs performed in their best environment. That is certainly the case here with “Scream for me Brazil”. It is a top shelf, top rated live album that everyone should check out.
Even more than that, this album proves that Rod Smallwood had to be very canny to protect his number one priority when it came to this situation. Because there is no doubt Bruce was in the ascendancy at this time, and this lie album is the final proof of that. Neither “The Chemical Wedding” nor “Accident of Birth” could have been written of recorded in Iron Maiden. It isn’t their style and has a different set of writers and people in charge that would not have occurred in the other group. “The Chemical Wedding” is a superior album in every respect over Maiden’s “The X Factor”. And if the status quo had remained onto another album cycle... would Maiden have survived? Would Bruce and band have gained further success? This live album asserts that the band was firing on the stage, and that this scenario was more than possible. And while Rod was probably just looking to save his longest investment by insisting that Steve and Bruce meet up and see if their differences could be resolved, he probably also saw the future and knew that the true longevity lay in Bruce, and Adrian, returning to Maiden and getting that ship righted and sailing true once again.
I bought this pretty much on its release, and it has been a gem from the first day I had it. And all of those thoughts ran through my head at the time... as excited as I was to see those two return to Maiden, and hear what the reunited band would produce, I also wondered if another Bruce Dickinson album would be just as worthwhile. We did of course eventually get another album, the Bruce and Roy written-by-correspondence effort of “Tyranny of Souls” which showed that even in that environment they could produce another great album, and of course more recently the excellent “The Mandrake Project”. In essence, we have had the best of both worlds. But this album does capture a moment in time, where this band was on a high, riding on the coattails in particular of two amazing studio albums, with the surge of momentum driving them to greater heights, and also of the butterflies of expectation of what the following year would bring with the return of Iron Maiden. All of that comes through on this album, and it is all the better for it.

1270. Nirvana / MTV Unplugged in New York. 1994. 4/5

Nirvana had been the face of the grunge movement since they had crashed upon the music scene with their second album “Nevermind” in 1991, and had been riding the wave ever since. With the release of their third album “In Utero” in 1993 saw this trend continue, despite an album that was far from mainstream in content. The tour that followed this was their first of the United States for two years, and included the addition of Pat Smear as a second guitarist to increase the impact of their music.
In November of 1993 Nirvana agreed to record a performance for MTV Unplugged, which had been a popular addition to their music channels programming. Although the band had been negotiating to be on the program for some months, they also wanted to do something different from what most bands did when they recorded the show. Whereas other bands still wanted to be loud and energetic, Nirvana wanted it to be the intimate setting that the style suggested it should be, and to incorporate songs that suited the style that weren’t their own.
The band rehearsed for two days prior to the recording, that from reports were tense in all quarters, production, executives and band. Kurt had wanted to miss the rehearsals but eventually turned up, though the two days were said to be little fun for anyone with no humour or banter occurring during the sessions. The show was then recorded on November 18, 1993, and aired on MTV the following month.
How much would have happened following this had not Kurt Cobain taken his own life on April 8, 1994? Apart from the shock that was felt worldwide, it also led to this performance being rerun on MTV many times over the coming weeks. It also led to the record company announcing that a double album would be released, with one CD full of live performances of the band, and the other the entire MTV Unplugged performance. As it turned out, it was only a week later that this was canned, with the difficulty of the bands remaining members Krist Novaselic and Dave Grohl to be able to emotionally put together the live album cited as the reason. Instead, it was decided that just the MTV Unplugged performance would be released, as the final embodiment of what the band achieved in its short time together.

Given that there was a controversy at the time over the song choices the band made for this performance, one of the main features about this album is how well it all fits together. There may not have been the proliferation of hits that the executives had wanted, or that many fans of the band wanted. And though the and did incorporate cover songs in the performance, they are all terrific. Also, unlike most of the artists who performed on MTV Unplugged, Nirvana performed their entire 14 song setlist in one take, whereas other bands often did two or more takes of a song to choose the best performance.
Eight of the 14 songs are Nirvana songs. They open with the best known of the songs from their debut album "Bleach", the seminal "About a Girl", perhaps the ideal version of this track in the band's repertoire. This is then followed by their hit single "Come as You Are", thus allowed the performance (and the album) to begin with recognisable tracks to drag the fans in. There are three other songs from the band's best known album "Nevermind", "Polly", "On a Plain" and "Something in the Way". All three of these songs are well suited to the unplugged format, even "On a Plain" whose studio version is quite electrified and bombastic, and yet it translates well to this format. Of course, this is helped and improved by the fact that Kurt Cobain insisted on running his acoustic guitar through his amp and pedals, thus helping to create the Nirvana sound of his guitar even as an acoustic. A cheat code perhaps? Maybe, but the end result does allow the band to be who they are even in this setting. "Something in the Way" also sounds amazing on this recording. Joining these songs are three from their then current, and as it turns out final, album "In Utero". "Pennyroyal Tea" is promoted by Kurt's vocals without any other vocal backing, and sounds all the better here for it. The studio version sometimes gets drowned out by all of the instruments, but this version highlights his vocal which is superb. "Dumb" is a surprisingly good subdued version of the original studio track, while "All Apologies" comes towards the end of the set.
Beyond these Nirvana tracks, six others are played and mixed into the setlist. The cover of The Vaselines track "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam", which Cobain retitled "Jesus DOESN'T Want Me for a Sunbeam" for this performance, was the first, and is one of the songs here that probably divides fans of the band and the album the most. It's fine, but it is nothing outstanding, as a song or the performance. It is followed directly after however by one of the best tracks, the cover of David Bowie's "The Man Who Sold the World". So good is this version, and so perfect is Cobain's vocal to Bowie's original, that I still meet people today who think this is a Nirvana song not a David Bowie song, and I've even had people say to me "wow, how good is Bowie's cover version of that Nirvana song?!" I mean, Cobain even says at the end of the song "That was a David Bowie song". It is one of the outstanding tracks of this album, and shows that the odd cover song in this environment can be a great thing.
Another of the butting heads episodes for this was Cobain's insistence that they cover three songs by the Meat Puppets, who had been supporting Nirvana on their current tour. But, not only did they cover the songs "Plateau", "Oh Me" and "Lake of Fire", they also had Cris and Curt Kirkwood join them on stage to help perform them. An interesting decision, another one that Cobain insisted on and got his way with. And the final cover was the last song of the performance, the traditional American folk song "Where Did You Sleep Last Night", again one that showcases Cobain's vocal rather than anything else, and one that he was so pleased with as a show closer that when the producers tries to insiste on an encore he refused, saying nothing could possibly top that as the closing song. There's no doubt that the band and his own popularity in the music world gave him the power to refuse things that most other bands would have had to accede to.

Kurt Cobain's death and the eventual demise of Nirvana as a result was a massive thing back in 1994. It's difficult to explain to anyone who wasn't around 30 years ago just how massive that news was when it was relayed around the world. And while the MTV Unplugged episode had been recorded at the end of the previous year and been broadcast, it suddenly got played a LOT on MTV, and then the eventual release of this album with the full set list was really what fans were after. It was a melancholy time when it was however. Listening to it at the time of its release was always tinged with the regret that we would have no more music from Cobain and the band, and that this was in fact the final memoir of a band that had influenced so much.
Like most people of my age I got this album on its release, and did indeed immerse myself in it for some months. It was interesting that the following year, the dreaded and best forgotten dark year of 1995, I was often asked if I was listening to too much Nirvana and if it might be invading my thoughts. I always laughed this off, because if anything Cobain's final fate was more than enough to turn me well away from that, and in fact listening to Nirvana at the time, and this album in particular, I found rather cathartic.
For my own tastes however, I would generally get nine songs in, and then change to another album. To me, "Something in the Way" was the perfect way to stop this album, and basically ignore the songs that came after it. The Meat Puppets songs never did anything for me, and the other two songs I could take or leave. And while I don't disagree with those people who wished for more of the bands songs to be played on this album, most of those would have been very difficult to pull off. I mean, why would anyone want to hear them play "Smells Like Teen Spirit" unplugged? I mean, that would be like hearing Metallica play "Motorbreath" and "Damage Inc" unplugged, a disaster I am sad to say I had to witness at one of their concerts in 1999... I still shudder when I think of it today...
Even though the MTV Unplugged formula had been around for a few years at this time, it was this performance that actually exploded the concept, and showed that super popular enigmatic bands could do this and not be seen as sellouts or of changing their own style to suit. Some bands of course were more suited to the format, and while this album is rightly hailed as one of the best of the unplugged features, it pales into insignificance against one that was released by another band from Seattle just two years later, one that had their own tragedies occurring around them such that Nirvana had. Again, that's a story for another day.

1269. Deep Purple / Perfect Strangers. 1984. 5/5

The gradual falling apart of Deep Purple over a period of three years, with first lead vocalist Ian Gillan moving on, the sacking of bass guitarist Roger Glover, and the quitting of Ritchie Blackmore to form his own band, had seen time called on the so-called Mark II line up of the band, the most successful phase of the band. Despite the recruiting of David Coverdale to replace Gillan, Glenn Hughes to replace Glover and Tommy Bolin to replace Blackmore, and the addition of three more wonderful albums in “Burn”, “Stormbringer” and “Come Taste the Band”, the band struggled through tours with both Hughes and Bolin’s careering drug addictions proving a major stumbling block. Eventually something had to give way, and Deep Purple finally called it a day in the middle of 1976, with the band manager stating, "the band will not record or perform together as Deep Purple again".
Post-Deep Purple, most of the major players went on to successful careers away from the band, apart from Bolin's sad death by overdose just months after the band’s dissolution. Coverdale went on to form Whitesnake, which both keyboardist Jon Lord and drummer Ian Paice joined as well and built a successful following. Paice did eventually leave in 1982 and moved on to join Gary Moore’s band. Blackmore of course went on to form the band he had left Deep Purple for, Rainbow, and they released seven albums that continued to be heavy influences on the music scene. Glover had produced his “The Butterfly Ball” album, and then eventually joined Blackmore in Rainbow in 1979. Ian Gillan formed his solo band Gillan and released five albums up to 1982, and then joined Black Sabbath as the replacement for Ronnie James Dio for the “Born Again” album in 1983. Thus, each of the five members of the Mark II lineup had continued to be in the spotlight musically.
Also in the spotlight during those years was Deep Purple. Several retrospective best of releases came out, and found both the old audience and a brand new audience ready to hear all of those great songs. Then came the live albums and the wider release of bootlegged live albums, which whetted the fans appetites even more. And it wasn’t long before promotors and other such people started to wave money around and find a way to get Deep Purple, in some form, back together. But with the relative success all of the members were achieving in other bands, there was no joy in finding a way to make this happen.
Eventually, talks began, and whispers started circulating. The Gillan-helmed Black Sabbath album had not been as successful as was hoped, and there was concern about his suitability for the older tracks by the band live. Rainbow’s search for true commercial stardom had proven hard to come by. While it always appeared that Lord and Paice were amenable to a Deep Purple reunion, it was the trio of Gillan, Glover and Blackmore that had to have a reason to return, and with their stars slightly diminished during 1982 and 1983, they appeared at least willing to talk. The announcement of the reformation of the Mark II lineup was met with great acclaim throughout the music world, with the fans looking forward to the answering of two important questions. One, could the band produce an album with the success that their albums from their halcyon days had had. Two, could the egos be put aside in the recording studio long enough to allow that to occur.

One of the more savvy parts of this album are the songs that open each side of the album. Both are the real heavy hitters of the album, and get the mood moving from the outset. The album opening "Knocking at Your Back Door" is laden with Gillan's double entendre lyrics, and others that aren't so well hidden. It's the perfect start to the new Mark II era, and the band's first album in 9 years. The organ and drum intro from Lord and Paice that leads into the opening riff from Blackmore and the subtle undertones of Glover's bass before Gillan's amazing vocals chime in to begin the song proper. Everything fits together perfectly, and while it is all a triumph it is the return of the duo and duelling of Lord and Blackmore on guitar and organ that is a true delight. "Under the Gun" has a terrific mood about it, with Gillan's doubled vocals through the verse and the chorus adding a great depth to the singing on this track. It's obvious from the start that Gillan has lost nothing in his absence from the band, and this song in particular brings to the fore that the music and sound has lost nothing from their glory days, and indeed fits into the modern acerbic perfectly, with the lyrics defining the pressure of being soldiers in war expertly brought to the surface. A passage of Blackmore's solo mimics the 'keep the home fires burning' parable, though I can' confirm if this was deliberate or not. This is followed by "Nobody's Home" which is again led out by Lord's organ riff into Blackmore's guitar and the cowbell from Paice's drums. This a jauntier song that again utilises double meaning in the lyrics and has the attitude energy about it. "Mean Streak" crashes in with drums and guitar to begin, but it is Roger Glover's bass guitar roaming up and down throughout the song that provides the main impetus of the song. He is at his best on this song, with the bass and Lord's Hammond organ creating a great atmosphere throughout, while Gillan's vocals lyricise about the well told tale of the woman with a mean streak, bitter sweet. This opening side to the band's first album with this line up in a decade is as strong as any they had put together in their first iteration.
Then comes the title track which opens the second side of the album, the star attraction, and one that is still played live to the present day. It has an amazingly haunting atmosphere throughout, again created and derived from the organ and guitar, perpetuated by Gillan's vocals, and the majesty of the tempo of the track mounted marvellously by Glover and Paice. One of the key parts of the song is that Blackmore does not perform a guitar solo, instead the instrumental passages are held together by the organ and the chugging riff. It's unusual for the band, but perhaps that is what makes it so interesting and iconic to this day. Following this comes "A Gypsy's Kiss", another of the high tempo tracks on the album. Blackmore's guitar takes centre stage on this song, with the solo break a beauty, and also a long guitar led passage that fades the song out to its conclusion. The lyrics weave between historical references and cryptic observations that make a great tale. "Wasted Sunsets" goes down a different road, a ballad of sorts in the style that Deep Purple likes to create them, introspective with a slower tempo. Painting a portrait of lost opportunities and feelings of reflection and regret, it gives Blackmore's guitar the opportunity to weep rather than showcase power. The album then concludes with "Hungry Daze", back to the height of the tempo on the album, almost middle eastern in its composition. This song is about the struggle of the band in its early days, and reflecting on the tough time it took to establish themselves. It touches on pieces of the Mark II history, with lines such as "We all came out to Montreux, but that's another song". The concluding cacophony of instruments and vocals crashes to a perfect finish, and brings to a close one of the best albums of the band's discography.

"Perfect Strangers" was released around the time I began to find my musical tastes beginning to mature and change with the times. While it was still to be just over 12 months from the release of this album to the time my conversion truly began, this album was one of the first that came to me during this initial phase. I had noticed songs such as "Black Night" and "Smoke on the Water" on compilation albums around this time, and knew of them even if I didn't know them very well. But when I was eventually handed a copy of this album by my heavy metal music dealer in early 1986, as a part of the answer to the question I asked at school one lunchtime, "Are Deep Purple any good?", I was almost immediately in love with it. The fact that this became my introduction to Deep Purple the band for me is quite significant, because it was their (then) modern iteration, and the return of the band's most well known formation, and they produced an album that, I believe, is as good as anything they produced before or since.
This album is another perfect embodiment of the amazing partnership that was the Blackmore/Lord duo. Their combination again on this album is spectacular, the swapping of solo slots between them, something that made those 1970's albums so special, is again here in spades. Lord's Hammond organ has that unique sound that immediately let's you know this is Deep Purple, while Blackmore's trademark guitar licks are again back in a form that is far more preferable than the commercial sounding way he was heading in the final throes of Rainbow. Ian Gillan's vocals top this trio, and at on point for this whole album. As wonderful as the Coverdale/Hughes Mark III and IV era with Tommy Bolin is, Gillan is the voice of Deep Purple at its finest, and these three are sensational here. Add to that the presence of Roger Glover's bass and Ian Paice's excellent drumming - both of whom are not in any way in anyone's shadow on this album - and you have a brilliant release.
I have had this playing for the past month, weaving in and out of the other albums I have been listening to, and each time I have been ecstatic to do so. I got this on vinyl... Again... A few years ago and it sounds superb on the turntable in the Metal Cavern. I have been singing along again, and being reminded of my latter high school years when I first got this album, as it always does whenever I listen to it. It reminds me of our mate who was dubbed Wagon, who continued to claim that Ritchie Blackmore was the only original guitarist in the history of music, and would always proclaim Deep Purple was the height of the music tree. I personally don't think there is a weak track on this album, from the opening strains of "Knocking at Your Back Door", to the genius that is "Perfect Strangers", from the hard rock attack of "Under the Gun" and "Mean Streak", the subtle change of "Wasted Sunsets" and the conclusion of "Hungry Daze", this is a superb album for the day.
The reunion tour that promoted this album put Deep Purple back in the spotlight and proved to be a major resurgence for the band and its members. Though the road remained rocky, even after the years where they had been apart, the 1980's would prove to be a time of stability and success that surely none of them could ever have dreamed of.

1268. Dream Theater / Metropolis Pt 2: Scenes from a Memory. 1999. 4/5

Over the previous decade, Dream Theater had begun to break the mould of what progressive metal could achieve, especially through one of the most difficult decades that that style of music had ever had to negotiate. Against the tide of grunge, and then alternative metal, and all of the other changes during the 1990’s, Dream Theater had stuck with what they knew and what they were great at and kept putting out albums that continued to be noticed despite the mass of opposing rapids. With albums such as “Images and Words”, “Awake” and “Falling into Infinity”, not to mention the game changing EP “A Change of Seasons”, Dream Theater mad their music and captured their audience with their excellence.
Moving into their new album, and two major events occurred to set the direction that their next LP would take. Firstly had been the insistence from their fans to produce a sequel of sorts to their song “Metropolis - Part 1” from their “Images and Words” album, though the band had no intention to do so, as the Part 1 had been added as a joke by guitarist John Petrucci. Despite this the band recorded a 21 minute instrumental demo called “Metropolis - Part 2” for the “Falling into Infinity” album which subsequently didn’t make the cut. However, there were musical pieces within this demo that would eventually become parts of the following album, one that the record company had given the band free reign on, and which they then decided to create as a concept album on the basis of the demo and the story that became entwined with it.
During this process, the band also made another change. Derek Sherinian, who had been a part of the band as the keyboardist since Kevin Moore had quit after the “Awake” album, had found his own differences of opinion over the direction and music that the band was headed in, in the same way Moore had previously. At the same time, both Mike Portnoy and John Petrucci had been in a side project called Liquid Tension Experiment with keyboardist Jordan Rudess, and once this was completed, they convinced both John Myung and James LaBrie that they needed to make a change, and Sherinian was sacked by phone hookup not long after, with Rudess his replacement.
It was from this that Dream Theater then entered the studio to record the album that firmly established their credentials as one of the leading progressive metal bands in the world, with “Metropolis Part 2: Scenes from a Memory”.

As it turns out, the storyline of this concept album does not truly follow the path as a sequel to the original track “Metropolis - Part 1”, but more closely mirrors the story told in the 1991 film “Dead Again” that starred Kenneth Brannagh and Emma Thompson, the plot of which deals with past life regression through hypnosis, and of a tragedy in one lifetime occurring once again in the future. That is how the story of “Scenes from a Memory” plays out.
The basis of the story is as follows: Nicholas, going through regression, discovers that he was a woman named Victoria in a past life who was murdered, and she is trying to show him who that murderer was. The story of the album shows that Victoria was pulling away from her lover Julian, and began an affair with his brother Edward. According to a newspaper article and eyewitness Julian murdered Victoria and then himself, but Nicholas begins to doubt this. He also realises he must solve this or never be able to move on with his own life. Nicholas believes he has solved the mystery, where Julian begged Victoria to forgive him, and when she didn’t, he killed both her and Edward and acted as the eyewitness. Nicholas, believing he is now free, bids farewell to Victoria’s memory, even as she tries to call him back.
The story then cuts to Edward’s perspective, which sees Victoria looking to reconcile with Julian, and Edward instead killing them both, and becoming the eyewitness. Back in the present, Nicholas is followed home by the hypnotherapist who it turns out is the reincarnation of Edward, and Nicholas is startled by a request to ‘open his eyes’, before he is murdered, thus closing the circle once again.
Sounds confusing? Perhaps. As it turns out, there is a book being released in time for this 25th anniversary of the album’s release that relates the tale, so perhaps you could read that and see if it does the story more justice than me.
To create the story and lyrics is one thing. Putting it to music is another, and that task is masterfully done here. In saying that, the length of some tracks, extended by long winded solo breaks of keyboard and guitar, may not be to some people’s liking. The plateaus of rising and falling moods in music, and of the softly spoken emotional periods of the music to express the change in the story, and then the more expression energised pieces of songs where the story is on the crux of discovery, makes for a journey in itself.

Dream Theater is another band that was introduced to me by my heavy metal music dealer, who had discovered them on this album (I think... I’m sure he will correct me if I am mistaken). And what I remembered most about that time was him saying to me almost every time we got together for a three month period “Have you heard Dream Theater?! You have to. They are amazing!” Which of course I eventually did. The album that actually grabbed me the most though was “Awake”, an episode on which you can catch on this season of this podcast if you are so inclined.
But when it came to this album, something didn’t always click. The fact that it is a concept album didn’t phase me, and the opening tracks are just amazing, the musicianship and the music, and the vocals from James LaBrie, are wonderful. And that stretches throughout the entire performance. But I don’t deny that when I first got this album, a number of the songs didn’t grab, didn’t find what I wanted from the music. Progressive metal does sometimes do that to me. Often, I love it all, but there are certainly albums and/or band of this genre that I find are not for me. And when I first got the album, it is how it felt to me then. I even bought the DVD where they performed this in full, along with “A Change of Seasons”, and it is just terrific... but it didn’t make me feel any more enamoured about the WHOLE album. To me, it didn’t compare to another concept album, Queensryche’s “Operation: Mindcrime”. And it is probably an unfair comparison because that is one of the finest metal albums and concept albums of all time. But on that album the story flowed easily, and the music from song to song offered the perfect mood and music to create the atmosphere required to tell the story. And on this album, I don’t think that is quite the case. And it is quite possible this has always played in my head when it comes to this album. Like I said, not a fair comparison.
So here we are, some 25 years after this album’s released, and I am sure there is a great deal of fawning going about its 25th anniversary, and so there should be, because it is a landmark album in the band’s discography. And I have had this album going around again over the last two weeks. And you know what? Nothing much has changed for me. Those songs and parts of songs that I have always loved, I still love. And those other songs and parts of songs that left me slightly ambivalent in the past? I guess I feel the same way about them now as I did then. It is not a bad album, and it contains no bad songs. To listen to the musicianship of the entire album is to appreciate just how amazing these individuals are on their instruments. None of that has changed. But for me it just doesn’t hold my interest like other albums do. And I am sure that for the big Dream Theater fans out there, what I have said here would be considered blasphemous. I am happy to accept that. Immersing yourself into the story that is being told does actually draw you in to the album more, making you more attuned to the music and lyrics as they are playing around you, and over time I have found that actually following the story has improved my enjoyment of the album as a whole.
For me, the truly great Dream Theater albums were still to come, the ones where there was more songwriting in the style that I enjoy more. This may be the band’s landmark, but for me it is what followed this that truly caught my attention.

1267. Yngwie Malmsteen / Trial by Fire: Live in Leningrad. 1989. 5/5

Yngwie Malmsteen, Yngwie J. Malmsteen, or Yngwie J. Malmsten’s Rising Force, or any of the other names that Yngwie has released his albums under over the last 40 years, had been on a hot steak from the time that their eponymous guitar prodigy had moved on from stints in bands such as Steeler and Alcatrazz and struck out on his own with his own band in tow. After three amazing albums in “Rising Force”, “Marching Out” and “Trilogy”, he had teamed up with lead vocalist Joe Lynn Turner to produce the “Odyssey” album, one where the band gained their first charted single, and continued with rising album sales across the world. So, what comes next after you see a constant rise in popularity? Well, you go out and record a live album, don’t you? To showcase how good your band sounds on stage, and hopefully also bring in more fans to your music and have them consider buying tickets to your concerts as well.
The album was recorded during the band’s gigs in Leningrad in the old Soviet Union in February 1989 and features arguably the band’s best line up showcasing material from arguably the band’s best four albums. Over the years it has been noted often that Yngwie was a difficult person to work with, always looking for perfection, but with an ego that would also be difficult to work with. During the tour for the “Odyssey” album, on which this live album was recorded, there were reported differences of opinion between Malmsteen and Turner, both of whom felt they were the person to take centre stage. Turner should have been familiar with this given his time in Rainbow alongside Ritchie Blackmore, who was Malmsteen’s idol and another ego centric character. Despite these perceived differences, this album contains performances that do indeed showcase the best of what the Rising Force band were able to produce at that time, and as such is a terrific live album to listen to.

The album has 11 tracks to it, which offers you a taste of each piece of the Yngwie Malmsteen puzzle. The songs of the album that the band is touring on to promote are heavily featured, with “Deja Vu”, “Heaven Tonight”, “Dreaming (Tell Me)” and “Crystal Ball”, all of which are fantastic. Joe Lynn Turner gives a great vocal performance on them. The album also has some chosen tracks from the earlier albums, such as “Liar” and “Queen in Love” from “Trilogy”, and “You Don’t Remember, I’ll Never Forget” from the “Marching Out” album. The strangest choice here is the cover of the Jimi Hendrix Experience song “Spanish Castle Magic”. Sure, it is another opportunity for Yngwie to shred his way through a song by a fellow iconic guitarist, but with so much material of his own on offer to put out there to satisfy his fans, he chose to play this instead.
Then we have the instrumental, guitar riffing laden tracks that Yngwie has made his own. Two of these from the first album, “Far Beyond the Sun” and “Black Star”, are the songs that truly brought him to prominence, songs without vocals that are still just as amazing to listen to today as they were when they were released, and these live versions of the tracks are no different. Yngwie’s guitar solo spot in the middle of the set contains pieces of different various classical suites and stretches to over ten minutes. These three instrumental tracks take up a little over 25 minutes of the 65 minute album. And yes, they are important because they showcase who Yngwie Malmsteen is and what he can do. So, bravo for that. BUT... possibly, could it have been better if they had put some more actual songs onto the album to help maintain that side of the album? The video released with the same name as this album contained three further tracks, which would have added to this album immensely. “Rising Force”, “Fury” and “Riot in the Dungeons” are all terrific songs and while they were no doubt edited out to keep this as a single album and not a double, it is a shame not to have them. It is worth watching the video not only for these songs, but to see Yngwie capture the camera and the stage with his guitaring. It is something to behold.

Yngwie Malmsteen has been a part of my music life since very early on in my heavy metal existence. My heavy metal music dealer was very kind in furnishing me with those first three albums when they were released, and “Odyssey” is one that was purchased very close to its day of release. I am fairly certain that I actually saw the video of this concert before I got the album, once again with that same old metal dealer inviting me over to watch it one day. Jason Kearin certainly has a lot to answer for, or more precisely to be thanked for.
The video and album of this live release are both terrific, and had a lot of airplay back at the time of its release. At that point in time Yngwie had not toured Australia, so this was what we had to imagine just what it would be like to see him play live. And this band was terrific. The brothers Johanssen, with Anders on drums and Jens on keyboards, along with Barry Dunaway on bass guitar, do an admirable job of backing up the two stars of the show without trying to outshine them (though on the video Jens does look like he would prefer to be more in the action). Joe Lynn Turner croons and emotes through the whole set list in his inimitable style, while Yngwie himself takes the centre stage and holds it throughout.
I’ve been listening to this album again for this podcast episode, and it has been enjoyable, but I have different feelings about it now than I remember doing when it was first released. Back then I know I loved it, and spent weeks and months playing it over and over. And it is still a good album. But, unlike a lot of live albums, I found my interest waning quickly when I’ve had it on this time around. And for me now, the excess of the instrumental tracks, the Jimi Hendrix cover, all of that is a bit much. They are great, especially “Black Star” and “Far Beyond the Sun”, but if they had removed the other two and hit me with those three songs that are on the video, I would be enjoying this a hell of a lot more at this point of life that I am. Now it is an album that I could have listened to a couple of times, and been happy to stop there. But, because I am dedicated to this podcast and the episodes I produce, that just wouldn’t have been good enough. And so you have my more accurate position on this album 35 years on from its release. It sounds good, and it is more than worth a listen. But then, go back to the actual studio albums. They will retain your interest far longer than this.
When the tour concluded, the band imploded, and everyone moved on to other projects. Yngwie brough in new band members and continued on, including a tour of Australia following the next studio album. But that story must wait for another episode.