1305. Mötley Crüe / New Tattoo. 2000. 2/5

The 1990’s had not been kind to bands of Motley Crue’s ilk. Having spent the previous decade at the top of their game, living the life of excess in every imaginable way, while being at the forefront of the hair and glam metal movement, and at times setting the template for other bands to follow and replicate their success, the change in the rules in the 1990’s was the first keystone that loosened on the path. This was followed by the volatile working relationships between certain members of the band finally falling into ruin, requiring changes to both the way the band approached their music, and also who would be involved in their music going forward. Five years had stretched between the high point of their career with “Dr Feelgood” and the follow up, the self-titled “Motley Crue”. This album had seen the departure of lead vocalist Vince Neil and the recruitment of John Corabi as his replacement, and the bluesier sound envisioned on the album was critically acclaimed and yet mostly rejected by the fan base, or of that which remained. The same line up began to write songs for the follow up to that album, but their record label, who feared another hit to the album sales and therefore their own profits, engineered a reunion with Vince Neil coming back to the fold, and Corabi being moved aside. The resulting album, “Generation Swine”, saw what was described as a ‘return to form’ by the record label, though the songs mostly had Corabi’s stamp over them, and were obviously composed for his vocals and not Neil’s.
The reunion was not universally loved, and drummer Tommy Lee was the main hold out. The ill feeling between Lee and Neil had not dissipated, and it was also during this time that Lee had many domestic disputes with his then wife Pamela Anderson, which led to him serving jail time for domestic violence. While in jail, Lee had decided that he wanted out, and following his release from prison, and completing a greatest hits tour the band had booked, Lee left the band.
In his place, Motley Crue recruited former Ozzy Osbourne drummer Randy Castillo to take his place. Castillo was a proven performer, a professional, and bringing him into the band at this time seemed like an excellent proposition.
The band spent three months in early 2000 writing and recording the new album. In recent interviews, following the acrimonious split between the band and guitarist Mick Mars, Mars was quoted in an article for Rolling Stone magazine as saying that he didn’t write any of the material on “New Tattoo” nor barely played on the album, and that he was being held accountable by the band because of the poor performance of the previous album “Generation Swine”. "I didn't write any of those songs, since I wasn't invited," said Mars. "I think I played one lick on that album”. Nikki Sixx, interviewed for the same article, dismisses that claim, saying Mick played all lead and rhythm guitars, and whatever else he wanted to. Mars also has three co-writing credits on the album, so it is hard to know exactly what the real truth to the matter is. In any case, the album was released in July 2000, at a time that fans were looking for music from their favourite 80’s artists that more reflected the music of that time. This was Motley Crue’s chance to deliver on that statement.

The opening track “Hell on High Heels’ hits the brief immediately when it comes to providing a song that gives the listener the feeling that they are back in the heyday of the band. No, it isn’t spot on, because the band is older now and it doesn't have that same intensity and energy that those original songs did, but it does provide exactly what the fans and record label would have been hoping for, a song with some similarities to that era.
From here, the lyrical content of the songs of the album begins to take shape, and for the most part it comes across as... unseemly. “Treat Me Like the Dog I Am” just immediately makes you think ‘what the hell are these guys up to here?!’ It is also the start of the writing partnership between Nikki Sixx and James Michael, a musician and producer who would be tied closely to future projects that involved the two of them, including Brides of Destruction and Sixx AM. Here the music is of the right attitude, but it is hard to sing along with the lyrics without either laughing or cringing. In most cases, both. Then they offer us a country acoustic based ballad, the title track “New Tattoo”. Now somewhere along the line this became something that Motley Crue wanted to do, and they are all the worse for it. The band’s point of demise can almost be pinpointed to the success of “Home Sweet Home” from “Theatre of Pain” that was reviewed here on a recent episode, because that led the band down the path to chase that success and it has ruined so many of their songs in the process. This is rubbish, with no redeeming features. It should be played to kids in school in detention to punish them, because it would certainly stop them from ever doing anything to be sent back there again. Even then, it is better lyrically than what is served up on “Dragstrip Superstar”. The music is fine, sounds good even, but lyrically this is another Nikki Sixx clanger. “Jailbait playmate, freakshow masturbate, fuel inject carburette, underage penetrate”. Jesus Nikki how old are you? Actually, don’t answer that. If it wasn’t for the good riff and great solo on this song is would be at the bottom of the barrel. In many ways, it still is. But then you come to the next great instalment on the album, “1st Band on the Moon”, a straight Nikki Sixx song, but you wouldn’t need to take long before you came to that conclusion. Seriously, once again the music is good enough. It isn’t ground breaking, but it is good. Vince sounds great. But the lyrics are puerile trash. Great sounding guitar Mick, I like the solo in the middle of the song. Just... c’mon... it can’t be that hard to come up with something else to sing about. Well... apparently not, because there is more of this to come on “She Needs Rock N Roll”. On the surface it’s just a typical teenager needs to listen to rock and roll music, but the connotations – well, not connotations because the lyrics are straight to the point – just seem like they should have been locked in a box in the past and forgotten. Sure, maybe I’m just old and don’t need to hear this stuff anymore, or feel like I WANT to sing along to it anymore. That part is true, but goodness me there must be a way to be more inventive in songwriting.
Yes, all of this will continue for the remainder of the episode. You have been warned.
The generic side of the band’s music comes to the fore with “Punched in the Teeth by Love”. Firstly, musically. There isn’t a great effort here to create something that is different from anything that hasn’t been done before. Before we even get to the lyrical content, if the music had been more inspiring – you know, offering a great riff or bass line or scintillating solo – then this song may have been better than just generic fluff. But it doesn’t. But then the lyrics: “Flash a smile like an alligator, move her hips like a generator, all over town like an oil spill, if there’s meat on the bone she’ll wag her tail”. This song is credited to all four members of the band, which truly makes it worse. And the repeated concourse of the song title through the last few minutes of the song is overbearing. Not that the follow up is any better, as “Hollywood Ending” is the power ballad that desperately tries to recreate the success and depth of feeling that their ballad hits of the past have provided. In this case though, it is a pretty half hearted effort to do so. Even the quick fade at the end of the track seems like it is an afterthought, a way to stop the pain from going on any longer. It is almost a country acoustic ballad much like the earlier one on the album, that’s the depths that this song falls to, replete with the background singers in the chorus. The band’s writers are trying to pull out all the tricks to create the illusion that this album is bringing back the best of the band from its greatest era, but it is a poor facade that they hare building on. This is a god-awful song.
I can’t work out if “Fake” is an autobiographical song, or if it is actually trying to proclaim that the band is different from the people that they discuss within the lyrical content of the track. They are obviously having a crack at record labels and critics alike, but are they owning their own excesses or blaming them on others? Are they trying the accept that they haven’t always done the right thing, or are they just trying to drag everyone else into the mire with them? There are two ways of interpreting the lyrics. What IS true is that musically, again, this is fairly average fair, unexciting, stuck in a rut and stuck in a rhythm, without the great music that drives the best Motley Crue songs. It may be a statement but as a song it doesn’t do much to advertise that fact. Still, lyrically it is like Shakespeare compared to Nikki Sixx’s offering on “Porno Star”, which is exactly as you would expect a Crue song with this title to be about. Listen to this marvellous composition: “Dot com, dot cum, web cam super scam triple x cyber sex, shoot my rocks on the box, peeping tom on the net, down I’m going down going down, I’m a cyber junkie what a freak”. Welcome to the new millennium everyone. The album then concludes with the cover of The Tubes song “White Punks on Dope”, a song title that is probably very appropriate for some members of this band.

As I related very recently on the episode dedicated to the “Theatre of Pain” album, my introduction to Motley Crue came reasonably early on in my conversion to the heavier side of music. I had asked my heavy metal music dealer to record me an album that had become the next in my line of requirements. He asked me what I wanted him to put on the other side of the cassette, to which I said to him to choose something he thought I might like. The cassette came back with “Shout at the Devil” as the chosen second side album, and I never looked back.
I got a copy of this album reasonably soon after it was released. At the time I hadn’t heard the “Generation Swine” album, and though I was disappointed that Tommy Lee had left the band I was also pleased to hear Randy Castillo had joined in his place, and was looking forward to what he would add to the album. I still had an overall positive mindset when it came to the band and was hoping that what they produced would be worth the wait. And as it turned out, when I did get the album, I wasn’t disappointed in it terribly. It wasn’t “Dr Feelgood” or “Shout at the Devil”, but it was mostly upbeat and sounded as good as I had thought it might without any outlandish expectations. The band hadn’t turned to nu-metal or industrial metal, so most of it seemed above board. After the requisite number of listens, it moved into the usual pile to be found some time in the future.
This has had the very occasional play since. It isn’t something that I go to when I am in the mood for Motley Crue. A couple of times in the years since I have worked my way through the catalogue and this has come up again, and I listen to it and move to the next album. And mostly through that time I have avoided the obvious question that arises from my podcast episode today. And that is - how did Vince Neil bring himself to sing some of this crap? Because overall, I don’t mind the music. The two country ballads are complete and utter rubbish, don’t get me wrong. Whenever I have listened to this album since, I always wonder if Nikki Sixx had a desire to go down the route Def Leppard did at one stage and collaborate with country and western artists and make that kind of music. Because that is what those songs remind me of. But apart from those, and though some of the songwriting is slightly generic in the way it comes across, the music is mostly good, and I can listen to it without any qualms whatsoever. But the lyrics... my goodness, there is some utter crap there. Though the band has only released one album since this, they have still done a lot of touring, at least up until the aborted Final Tour status that they must have stolen from Kiss. And apart from the tour to promote this album, they have never played ANY of these songs live again. And it is no surprise, because even though in this day and age it is difficult to understand anything Vince Neil actually sings anyway, I’m sure he just drew a line under these songs and said “Nikki, the lyrics are shit, I refuse to sing them”.
So yes. Music is fine, lyrics are crap. That is the best way to sum up “New Tattoo”. Even when listening to it this week, I find myself enjoying about half of the album, and groaning loudly about the other half.
Motley Crue were booked to tour Australia on this album, but unfortunately firstly Randy Castillo got sick, a duodenal ulcer requiring surgery that then discovered cancer, which killed him less than two years after this albums release. Then his replacement Samantha Mahoney from Hole also had problems and the tour never happened. Perhaps that was for the best. The album still resides in my collection, but it is one of the ones that will remain in ‘near mint’ condition as the years pass.

1283. AC/DC / Stiff Upper Lip. 2000. 2/5

AC/DC. Kings of the world. Certainly, they had built their brand up wonderfully over the 25 years they had been recording and releasing albums, being able to move on from tragedy and behind the scenes troubles to create a market that not only wanted but NEEDED the band and its material.
Even in the 1990’s, the decade where music had morphed into so many different varieties of metal and grunge and hard rock and alternative, AC/DC managed to stay relevant. 1995’s “Ballbreaker” had still performed exceptionally well despite the time period it was released in, and the demand for concert tickets never ebbed during this decade. And as the turn of the century approached it felt as though that may never change.
Indeed, the preparation for the follow up to “Ballbreaker” occurred much earlier than may have been expected. Malcolm and Angus Young actually began writing new material for a new album as far back as mid-1997 when they were based in London and the Netherlands, mostly with Malcolm on guitar and Angus bashing away on the drums. Some may have thought this superfluous, that a drum machine could have done the same job, but there you go. After eight months the brothers had a dozen songs completed. When it came to recording the album, the Youngs’ had decided to fall back on producer Bruce Fairbairn to helm the controls. Fairbairn had been the produced on the extremely successful 1990 album “The Razor’s Edge” as well as the follow up live album titled simply “AC/DC Live”. However, his schedule meant that there was some waiting time required to secure his services, and then tragically he passed away in May of 1999 before the two had ever entered the studio. Instead, the band fell back upon a familiar face and known quantity in George Young, elder brother of both Malcolm and Angus. George of course had been co-producer of the band's earliest albums alongside his former band mate Harry Vanda. On this occasion however, George was producing on his own, no doubt with his brothers looking over his shoulder. Brian Johnson was one who commented that he felt that the recording of the album was far more streamlined with just George at the console.
The album was recorded and mixed at Bryan Adams' Warehouse Studios in Vancouver, Canada between September and November 1999. The band recorded 18 songs in total, from which they eventually chose 12 to go on the album. From all reports the recording went smoothly, with Cliff Williams saying in an interview on VH1's Behind the Music in 2000, "It's a killer album. It was a very easy-to-record album in as much as Malcolm and Angus had everything ready to go, so we basically just had to come along and perform as best we could."

20 years on from their massive breakthrough album with “Back in Black”, Brian Johnson’s first outing with the band, there was the hope that AC/DC could produce something that came close to matching its impact. Perhaps that was pressure that was misplaced. Including that album, this would be the band’s eighth album with Johnson on lead vocals recorded over that 20-year period. In contrast, Bon Scott had helmed six albums in a five-year period. As a comparison, it had been five years between the release of “Ballbreaker” and “The Razor’s Edge”, and five years again between “Ballbreaker” and “Stiff Upper Lip”. Angus would turn 45 a month after this album’s release. Malcolm had just turned 47. Brian was 52, Cliff 50 and Phil 46. Looking back now, it is somewhat hard to believe they were this young when this album was released. They were theoretically still in their prime, though obviously at a point of their careers where they were able to feel comfortable with whatever material they wanted to write and record.
It’s a new century, and it is the same old AC/DC. Or is it? The songs on this album from the very start are what naysayers of the band’s music claim has been happening since time immemorial. That rhythm, that solid timing structure that is a hallmark of AC/DC’s music, is there from the start. The difference that actually punctuates the music here from their most recent albums “Ballbreaker” and “The Razors Edge” is that it for the most part noticeably slower in tempo throughout. And while this plays a part in making you believe there is also less energy in the tracks because this tempo has dropped, it is noticeable that those energy levels are missing from quite a bit of this album. Where do you actually hear it? Well, pretty much in the songs that were released as singles. Those three songs are the title track and opening number “Stiff Upper Lip” and “Safe in New York City”. This doesn’t necessarily make them the best songs, because a lot of this album suffers from very real ageing problems.
“Stiff Upper Lip” offers you what you would expect from an opening track on an AC/DC album that is also the lead single from the album. Well, with the possible exception of an AC/DC hook that gets you in and grabs your attention. It’s a rumbling track but without any real fireworks. “Meltdown” follows but doesn’t really live up to the title of the track at all. It is a slightly harder tempo than the opening track, where the final thirty seconds of the track is the hardest part about it. “House of Jazz” harks back to the sound and tempo of a couple of songs from that afore-mentioned “Back in Black” album, specifically “Let Me Put My Love into You”. The tempo, the way the lyrics are sung, almost the music itself, could almost have been drawn from that song and the sound of a couple of other tracks like that. Am I the only one who has picked up on that? I’m not sure, but the similarities are there. “Hold Me Back” on the other hand reminds me of “The Razor’s Edge” in places, with a change in style for the drum beat by Phil Rudd all through the track, and Malcolm’s rhythm guitar mirroring that era. It’s a mix up of styles through this part of the album that doesn’t stop here.
“Safe in New York City’ is just... a strange song, though it fits the calibrations that are set by the band on this album. The rhythm sets its mark, Angus does his pieces over the top when it is appropriate, and Brian sings his vocals, the populist piece being an oft-repeated tome of the title of the track as the so-called chorus of the song. Phil Rudd’s faster 4/4 drumming actually sets the song up nicely to give them a platform to really explode out of the blocks with song, but it never really reaches that point and is mor restrained that it probably should have been. “Can’t Stand Still” reactivates the more blues rock direction this album takes. Even Brian’s vocals draw from the blues even more than you would expect, and with a rare Malcolm Young solo interjection which sounds just like a blues guitarist riffing off the rhythm and vocals in an old blues basement night club. The morbid like tempo continues into the interestingly titled “Can’t Stop Rock ‘n’ Roll”, because this isn’t the kind of slow death show that rock ‘n’ roll was known for. Rock and roll is supposed to be uptempo and vibrant, not settled into a death march from which this song barely struggles out of at any point. Look, the feel of the song sounds great, Brian’s vocals are terrific, and the others play their parts well. And there is no denying the band has played tracks like this all through their existence. So perhaps I’m the one out of order here. It wouldn’t be the first time. “Satellite Blues” tries to get the bounce of the album back out of the quicksand. This was the third and final single released from the album, which suggests why the tempo here is an improvement of some of the songs that have come before it. It is toe tapping, but is it any more than that?
“Damned” has that standard AC/DC beat that the fans are after, with the rhythm of bass and guitar grafted on, as Brian and Angus do their thing in their designated areas. Then “Come and Get It” feels as though it should be a breakout track, one that hits roof tempo wise again and brings the album back to life. Instead, it is the same dreary tempo, deep diving into the blues riff and just clomping along like someone wearing concrete shoes. While there are several moments on this album that feel as though they would benefit from a more active and engaging song, they all end up like this.
“All Screwed Up” is the longest song on the album at a little over four and a half minutes, and surprisingly feels like it. It drags on too long, and that could well be because the standard rhythm that backs the song, along with a standard Angus guitar fill and Brian lyrical vocal delivery, just gets too much if it goes on longer than three and a half minutes. Or is it because by the time you get to this point of the album you thin maybe it is time for something different. That could also have occurred far earlier than this. However, there is some light at the end of the tunnel, with the arrival of the closing track “Give it Up”, which finally delivers more of what a casual or even middling fan of the band would be looking for. Energy! Tempo! Energy from the whole band! Yes, it did take some time, but finally the final track on the album delivers something that everyone can enjoy and at least gives the album an ending that is worth waiting for.

Have you ever gotten the feeling that a band has just put out an album for the hell of it? That they just felt it was time that they did some new material and threw it out there? There’s no doubt that in the case of “Stiff Upper Lip”, that is NOT the case. The writing, planning and recording of the album came together over a 2+ year period, so the planning could not have been more thorough. But as mentioned earlier, there was a five year period between their previous album and this one – and it was to be another 8 years until their next album “Black Ice” surfaced. It has become more the norm over the years to have such gaps in releasing albums, as file sharing became more prevalent and the way to make money was no longer from album sales but concert ticket sales and merchandise.
However, even for AC/DC, this is as formula driven song writing as you can come up with. It's very laid back, there's no speed in the music to speak of, and while it sounds great coming through the speakers of headphones with big thumping drums and guitar riffs, it just doesn't have the drive that the best AC/DC albums have. It is missing key ingredients, ones that were either being sifted out over time, or that the band decided, with the changing landscape of the music world and their place in it, that they just didn’t need. I think it was a mistake. No doubt all of the songs would sound better live, but here on the album they mostly seem to drag out well beyond necessary with the available lyrics in each song. And it is probably fair to say that as with all of AC/DC through the years, they don't actually have a bad album. Some are far better than others.
I didn’t have this album when it was released. The purse strings were tight in 2000 when my lovely wife and I were back living with my parents as we tried to save for our first home, and this was not a priority. I knew the singles and was not overawed by them, and the album was on repeat in the car of a good mate of mine whenever he drove me to and from cricket which we played together. So I knew it. I just didn’t feel I needed to own it. Eventually down the track I found a second-hand CD of the album which is the copy I still own today.
That CD has been out again for the last few days, along with having it playing at work. And as always, it is not unpleasant. It is AC/DC after all, and their style is pretty much etched in stone. It’s just that there are a lot more dead spots on this album than there are on others in their discography. The biggest fans of the band won’t hear them, they will probably just hear what they like and like it all. I’m slightly more discerning than that, which comes from being a fan of the band for so long, and having a love affair with albums much earlier in the catalogue. And though of the 17 albums in the band’s discography I rank this at #17 it should not allow you to think this is a worthless album. It is however an average album. I saw AC/DC for the fourth and final time on this tour in 2001. I had seen them three times previous to this, all from the front row of the Sydney Entertainment Centre, and had decided that for me that would be good enough. Then my friend I mentioned earlier who had this album in his car said he had a spare ticket, and would I like to come. I thought, well, I wonder what they sound like from the middle section of the complex, and agreed. It wasn’t until we were on our way to the gig that I asked where we were sitting. “Front row!” my friend informed me enthusiastically, which is why I have seen this awesome bands four times from the front row. And they were still great on this tour. It was the last time they played in smaller venues before reverting to stadiums, and they still knew how to deliver. Why wouldn’t they? They are AC/DC after all.

1234. Bon Jovi / Bon Jovi. 1984. 2/5

The band Bon Jovi, like all bands throughout time, came together over a period of time and through the coming together of like minded people who were looking for the same thing – fame and fortune. Jon Bon Jovi, who started life as Jon Bongiovi, was no different, growing up and playing music as a teenager and being in several different school type bands along the way. Eventually by mid-1982 he was out of school and working part-time, and he also got a job at the Power Station Studios, a Manhattan recording facility where his cousin Tony Bongiovi was co-owner. Jon made several demos and sent them to record companies, without success. In 1983, Jon was convinced to allow his local radio station include the song "Runaway" on their compilation album of local homegrown talent. Though reluctant he eventually gave them the song, which he had re-recorded in 1982 (following a rough early recording in 1981) with local studio musicians. With airplay occurring it was picked up by other stations in major cities.
In March 1983, Bon Jovi called David Bryan, who had quit the band that they had founded together in high school in order to study medicine. While in college, he realized that he wanted to pursue music full-time, and was accepted to Juilliard School instead. When Jon called his friend and said that he was putting together a band, and that a record deal looked likely, Bryan followed Bon Jovi's lead and gave up his studies.
Bryan in turn called bassist Alec John Such and an experienced drummer named Tico Torres, both formerly of the band Phantom's Opera. Tapped to play lead guitar for a short tour supporting "Runaway" was Bon Jovi's friend and neighbour, Dave “The Snake” Sabo though he never officially joined the band. He and Jon promised each other that whoever made it first, would help out the other. Sabo later went on to form the group Skid Row. Instead Jon saw and was impressed with hometown guitarist Richie Sambora who was recommended by Such and Torres. And so the group came together, were signed to Mercury Records, and went in to the studio to write and record their debut album.

The album opens with “Runaway”, the song Jon had written some four years earlier and had been the reason that he had gotten his name out on the radio, and forged the way for the band to come into being. The version here is the one originally recorded in 1982 with only Jon himself from the now formed band actually playing. That seems to be an oversight, but there must have been a reason for this. “Roulette” can be considered the true start to the album, the one where Bon Jovi the band actually begins. It has the choruses backing vocals, and Richie Sambora’s guitar making its presence felt for the first time. Sure, it has the commercial attitude in there as well but it is a more solidly hard rock core to the track than the opener, whose key synth riff was its major musical base. This is followed by the god awful soft rock ballad “She Don’t Know Me” and is a big a disappointment as you would expect. I mean, it’s not even written by the band, it comes from Mark Avsec, and is the only song in the band’s catalogue that doesn’t have one of the band members as a writer. This is the song of a band who is looking for commercial airplay, not writing an album to give its new fan base an anthem to grab a hold of. Horrid, junky rubbish. A skip song if ever there was one.
“Shot Through the Heart” is the next song, and yes, there’s that keyboard riff again, almost the same one note for note that was used for the opening of “Runaway”. It follows a similar life span, though for me at least Richie’s solo saves the song. Then comes “Love Lies”. And ‘oh dear’ is very much the vogue saying here. It starts off just as you would expect, with the solo keyboard and Jon telling us his sad love story over the top. And it doesn’t get any better. Honestly, where’s that bloody skip button? This is another of that era’s radio click bait songs to draw in that small section of music listeners that they wanted. The end of the song is a relief. Oohhhh, there’s that keyboard synth start again in “Breakout”. You sometimes forget how important and overused this instrument was in 1983 and 1984, and it is very clear on listening to this album again. I’m only now remembering how little I have actually listened to this album, and the reasons why that is the case.
“Burning for Love” is next. The song titles are a dead giveaway for how this debut album is progressing really. This is stock standard for the album, following the same lines and lyrical content that has come before it. “Come Back” is, on the other hand, one of the better songs here, mostly for the tempo being in the right range, the vocals and lyrics in singalong mode and a little of that Sambora magic, but mostly the synth being the dominant ruler of the song again where more guitar would have been a better angle. “Get Ready” might just be the best song on the album. Faster paced, good beat, good vocals. The same downside exists with too much keys and not enough guitar, but at least the album concludes on the front foot.

Most of us in my age bracket had heard the single “Runaway” sometime around this time, as well as the main single from the follow up album. As to knowing this album existed, most of us, myself very much included, had no idea of its existence until the band’s third album came along and changed the world forever. It was the explosion of “Slippery When Wet” that eventually led to the question, “Wow, I wonder if Bon Jovi has any other albums?”, and then, at some time, the exploration of the answer to that question.
For me, I found both this album and “7800 Degrees Fahrenheit” at the same time, and had both recorded either side of a C90 cassette that occasionally got a listen. However, as I am sure most listeners would have worked out for themselves by now, the lack of love for just about everything done on this album pretty much always led me back to that aforementioned third studio album rather than messing around trying to find something laudable on this debut album. It really is a punish for the most part, unless you are a massive fan of this kind of song writing. Yes, it is tied to the music of its era, and it does merge into the music of that time – but it is missing some big pieces of what eventually turned the band into a super power. This is an album that is lifted by the vocals of Jon Bon Jovi, that are unarguably in fine fettle at this point of his career. They aren’t tested in their range like they are on future albums, but they still ring out fine. Richie Sambora on guitar shows glimpses of what he can do and when he does he lifts the songs that it occurs on. But there is not enough of it though, with the keys and synth being relied upon heavily to interact the songs, as was the way for the hair metal bands who utilised this instrument in their music. The development of Jon’s vocals, the greater influence of the bass and drums, and the arrival of Sambora’s guitar dominating songs, is what this first album lacks that makes their later albums great.
While I can say that having listened to this album a dozen times or more over the last couple of weeks it is what I would class as ‘listenable’, I rediscovered just why I don’t revisit this album very often, if at all. While I am of the opinion that it is probably more interesting than most of the recent releases of the band, you are best to ignore this if you want to listen to a Bon Jovi album and gain enjoyment from it.

1218. Peter Criss / Peter Criss. 1978. 2/5

In 1978, Kiss and their management, in their wisdom, decided that each member of the band would record and release a solo album, with all four to be released on the same day. It had been mandated in the band’s contract, but the recording and releasing all at once was apparently not specified. None of the members were to be involved in the other’s albums, this was a chance for each member to express themselves in their own way. The style of all four solo albums were completely different from each other, which could be seen to be either a good move to be that counterpoint to the main band’s normal sound, or one that maybe went too far.
Peter Criss had never had a problem with singing. In fact, Paul and Gene had reportedly come down to see Peter play in his band when he was trying to get the original gig as drummer for Kiss, and it was when he started singing a song while playing that the two of them decided that he was the man for the job. He had then sung vocals on some of the band’s better known songs, such as “Black Diamond”, “Hard Luck Woman” and of course “Beth”, so performing the vocals on his own solo record was not going to prove to be a problem. The direction that his album was going to take though was to be more of a talking point than it was with the other three projects. Peter’s previous band Chelsea, which had then morphed into Lips, had been a late-60's early 70’s pop rock outfit, while “Beth” had been the song he was best known for, a song that had been co-written by his former Chelsea band mate Stan Penridge, and then given the production magic by Bob Ezrin. With that kind of success, surely it made sense to continue to write songs in that direction in order to make the most of his solo opportunity? As it turned out, Peter’s musical direction was a lot more varied than anyone may have guessed at the time.

It was probably only natural that Peter looked to continue his writing and performing partnership with his old bandmate Stan Penridge for this solo album. These two co-write 6 of the 10 tracks here on the album, and Stan plays guitar on the majority of them as well.
“I’m Gonna Love You” kicks the album off and immediately shows that this was going to be of a much different style than any Kiss album. The horns and sax gave that away immediately, and it almost has a big band sound to it as a result of this and the chorused backing vocals. Then you take a left turn down the next alley and come across “You Matter to Me”, which is a solid R&B tune. You can almost see this being played on stage, with all the members of the band swaying back and forth as Peter sings the vocals. There more of this genre of music with “Tossin’ and Turnin’”, a cover of the Bobby Lewis song that topped the American charts some 15 years earlier. Peter Criss has a real Billy Joel vibe gong on vocally in this song, it could so easily have come from that artist’s later album “An Innocent Man”. Up to this point, the album had taken a step back in time, and was as far away from the hard rock scene his main band was involved in as you could imagine. That continues into “Don’t You Let Me Down”, which now flows into a soul number, with Peter crooning away in his best rendition of that style of music. By the time you get this far into the album, you can begin to imagine just how the Kiss fans reacted to it all those years ago, having bought the album hoping for four automatic repeats of the kind of music they loved from their heroes. On this album, it certainly wasn’t the case. "That's the Kind of Sugar Papa Likes" then closes out the first side of the album in a feast of repeated lyrics with backing vocals that continues to adhere to the same style as the songs that have preceded it on the album.
If you thought that perhaps side two would bring you something a bit less unexpected, then you would be wrong. “Easy Thing” comes as close to “Beth” as you are going to find on this opus, with acoustic guitar starting off slow and reminiscent, and holding that feeling through the course of the song. “Rock Me Baby”, with the use of piano, sounds like a 60’s pop-rock song without the instrument completely dominating the song as it would have if it was actually from that era. “Kiss the Girl Goodbye” again descends to the acoustic “is this the next Beth?” kind of anthem, which again misses the mark a tad. “Hooked on Rock ‘N’ Roll” again returns to the same era as “Rock Me Baby” with extended use of the sax again echoing that big band sound. “I Can’t Stop the Rain” is the piano and string ballad that brings us back to another “Beth” type clone, the kind of thing that if you don’t enjoy, will definitely bring you close to the point of complete disinterest. That it is the final song on the album may well come as cold comfort in this situation.

Despite my enjoyment of Kiss, I did not hear any of these four solo albums until about 20 years ago. I just felt no compunction to go and find them and listen to them. I didn’t know anyone who owned them, so it wasn’t until the years of downloading that I decided to get around to checking them out.
This is by far the most diverse and perhaps experimental of the four solo albums. Rather than shoot straight down the line and produce an album that more or less copied the successful format of the band he was in, Peter Criss instead goes down a far winding path and reaches back into a selection of genres to create something that is unique and, without pulling any punches, would have been abrasively abhorrent to the band’s fan base at the time it was released. But he would have known that going in, and yet he stuck to his convictions and did it anyway. And you can only admire him for that, for making an album so different and far apart from a Kiss album that it stands out like a proverbial sore thumb. He took the chance to record the kind of album HE wanted to make, not one that fans may have expected him to make. It was panned by media experts at the time, and probably harshly so, given this was exactly the case, that it wasn’t what they had expected either.
On the other hand, though, does that make it an enjoyable album? If you enjoy that genre of music, I’m sure it would be. If you do not, then like me you are going to be left unimpressed. Because, like all of those fans from 1978, I’m looking for Kiss or at least Kiss-like material. I’m not after old school rock n roll, I’m not after soul, and I’m not after R&B. It just isn’t fun for me, and thus listening to this album does become a punish. I admire Peter for his convictions, but I just do not enjoy this album on any level. And having lived through it more over the past two weeks than the remainder of my life combined, it has been a very difficult thing to get through. And I don’t say this about many albums that I listen to, but I am almost certain that this week I have listened to this album for the final time in my life.

1190. Van Halen / Van Halen III. 1998. 2/5

For over 20 years Van Halen had been one of the leading hard rock bands in the US, and with a popularity that had also spread around the world. Even with a change of lead singer halfway through their career, their popularity had never waned, and indeed could be said to have increased as a result.
Following the release of the band’s tenth studio album “Balance”, the growing tensions within members of the band were beginning to overflow. The relationship between lead singer Sammy Hagar and the Van Halen brothers Alex and Eddie was unwinding. Over a period of months, where the band was first writing and recording songs for the film “Twister”, and then over the negotiations over the release of a greatest hits package, where Hagar’s desires for its compilation seemed contrary to what the Van Halen’s were thinking, the working and personal relationship between the two parties deteriorated to the point that Hagar was no longer a member of the band. Depending on which story you choose to believe, Hagar was either fired, or Hagar quit of his own accord. Those stories have never really found a common ground in the years since.
This resulted in a short-term reunion with David Lee Roth, where two songs were written and recorded for the aforementioned greatest hits album, before he too was spurned by the band, and again the story as to what happened in that period of time has two versions.
The band had continued to try out new lead singers, and they eventually decided to hire former Extreme lead vocalist Gary Cherone as Hagar and Roth’s replacement, an interesting choice at the time, but at least someone who was a proven performer and a well-known singer in the rock and pop world, someone who had proven in his former band to be able to sing hard rock sings and rock ballads as well. Now all that needed to be achieved was to have an album to showcase his potential to add to the already known quality of Van Halen, Anthony and Van Halen.

It would be fair to say that when “Van Halen III” came out, it was not especially what everyone was expecting. The music was less intense, less... rock. There was a more acoustic vibe to most of the songs, the energy seemed to have been cast aside. Sure, there are still some good riffs here, and some of the songs have energetic pieces in them, and occasionally you here a bit of the old Eddie Van Halen on guitar. But the album is a world away from what most people got into Van Halen for.
Over the period of time from when the album was released, and the tour to promote it had come and gone, it was Gary Cherone who was the one who copped most of the flak for the performance of the album. Many people dubbed it the Van Halen and Extreme crossover, suggesting that the success of Extreme’s “More Than Words” single a few years earlier had infiltrated the way this album was written. But the things that those critics would never have taken into account is that Cherone would have had almost zero input into the direction of the album. He was the hired gun, the one asked to follow in the footsteps of David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar, and that was always going to be a thankless task no matter how talented he was.
Cherone himself made the point that he felt that it would have been beneficial for both himself and the band if they had toured together before they went in and recorded the album. This would not only have given him a chance to be seen by the fans as a part of the band, the four band members would have found their way to bond as well and be able to take that into the studio with them.
Still, even if that had been the case, the majority of the writing and performing on the album was by Eddie himself. For whatever reason, he played the bass on almost every track, with Michael Anthony only contributing to three of the tracks, and later on Michael admitted that he had been told exactly what and how to play on those three songs, which was not something that had been a part of his playing in the past. The result of this was that Michael himself, along with others, have seen this album more of an Eddie solo album than a true Van Halen album. Though all the tracks were credited to all four members of the band, in fact the writing and arranging pretty much came down to Eddie, and he played most of it as well.
Importantly, and this is something that probably wasn’t really utilised on the album’s release when it came to album reviews and fans thoughts, it is difficult to separate what you WANT the album to sound like, and the way it is actually written. And in separating that, is it possible to listen to this with an open mind, and try to discern whether it is an average album, or just an album that is so different from what you wanted or expected that you simply categorise it as that as a result.

20 years on from their eponymous debut album crashing the charts and making a scene, as reviewed here on this podcast just a few episodes ago, this album was up against the changing face of hard rock and metal music in the late 1990’s, and Van Halen’s style was one that you suspect could still have fit into that mould of the music scene. But there is little doubt that the change in the music here went beyond even what had occurred on the last couple of Van Halen albums with Hagar on the mic, and that change was something that felt as though it was pulling away from the long-time fans the band had. The back up vocals don’t feel as lively, nor sound as convincing as in the past. Just about everything about this album makes you feel like there is something missing, but also perhaps missing a trick.
I bought this album on its release, mainly because Van Halen were finally going to tour Australia, and I was finally going to see them live. So I did my due diligence, and I listened to it on rotation for the two months leading up to that concert. They played five songs off this album live, and they were fine, but what I got from that gig was how good Gary Cherone was, and how well he sang all eras of Van Halen songs. And I thought at the time, that with a bit more of the traditional Van Halen sound, the NEXT album could be really killer! Of course, that was not to be. Eddie had his hip replacement, and they parted amicably. But it did seem like a missed opportunity. Again.
So I’ve had this album on again over the last couple of weeks, and honestly it hasn’t gotten better with age. It is too long (at over an hour the longest Van Halen album), it is too slow, it is too reflective. It is the most un-Van Halen Van Halen album. I think Cherone was unfairly saddled with the blame for that, but I’m sure Michael Anthony was closer to the truth in that this was more an Eddie solo thing, one that was to be different from what the band usually provided.
Even though there was one more album to come down the track, Van Halen effectively finished at this point. Michael Anthony was replaced by Wolfgang Van Halen at that time, and it became a nostalgia based act from then on until Eddie’s passing.

1166. Def Leppard / Diamond Star Halos. 2022. 2/5

Like the rest of the world, Def Leppard has been in covid isolation for the better part of the last three years, and while they rested up in their own parts of the world, there was no doubt a need for a reflection on where they stood in the world, and just where they wanted to head once the pandemic had receded. This is the band’s first new album since their self-titled effort in 2015, after which a world tour playing “Hysteria” in its entirety took greater precedence. Well, they know what is going to sell tickets.
We could have a whole new entry started up to discuss how the music in Def Leppard’s discography has progressed from 1979 up to the present day. And while the band has never strayed from the fact that they wanted to be a rock band, not a metal band or any other type of band, it seems as though even that statement has changed over the years. The further infusing of less heavy styles of music in their songs and albums over the years has been obvious. But through that, there appeared some hope of a recovery. “Songs from the Sparkle Lounge” actually had some really good songs on it, and a recovery of sorts stating their wish to infuse the music of their heroes from the 1970’s in their current day music, and the well-received early single released from this album, seemed to indicate that this might be the album that saw the band give us a really good hard rock album for the first time in years.

The album kicks off with the excellent rock groove of “Take What You Want”, an early indication of what style of songs this album is going to produce. It is a very 1970’s glam rock AOR beginning, in perfect Def Leppard style which gives it its relatability to the modern time. Rick Savage co-wrote this track with Joe Elliott, and also wrote the closing track on the album “From Here to Eternity” which also references that age with the same feeling of T-Rex and Queen. “Kick” is a typical Phil Collen penned track, maintaining a familiar structure of song and riff, while allowing both guitarists to showcase their exceptional solo skills for a short space of the song set aside for it. It never ceases to amaze me on Def Leppard albums, with two such fabulous and highly credentialled guitarists in the band, that on the albums at least there is not room for more soloing between the two. I know they want pop rock songs, ones that are basically radio bites, but surely the occasional break out of guitar feuding would be a great addition.
The album contains a lot of harmless songs of that same calibre that I spoke of – the Def Leppard pop-rock. “Fire it Up”, “SOS Emergency”, “U Rok Mi”, “Open Your Eyes”, “Unbreakable”. And then you have the quieter ballad-style Leppard tracks, such as “Liquid Dust”, “Goodbye for Good This Time”, “All We Need”, “Gimme a Kiss”, “Angels (Can’t Help You Now)” - the ones that scream radio airplay... well, in the late 80’s and into the 90’s at least. I’m not sure they will work the same way in this day and age. Two of them, “This Guitar” and “Lifeless”, feature guest vocals from Alison Krauss, which also brings in the country and western style onto the album. It’s all very easy listening stuff, the kind of tracks that can crossover for the band to draw fans from several genres of music loving folk. You know the drill. Def Leppard aren’t going to be re-inventing the wheel at this stage of their careers. The band knows, and the two principal writers in Elliott and Collen know, that their bread is buttered very much on one side now, and that’s what brings in the cash.

I haven’t purchased a Def Leppard album since “Slang”, and I haven’t done so again here, instead utilising the streaming music service to listen to the album. And there is a very simple reason why – because now that this review is done, and I am about to publish this review, I see no reason to ever listen to this album again. Now that isn’t a statement about its quality, or the skills of the musicians involved. It is simply that the style of music that Def Leppard has played for almost the last 30 years just doesn’t excite me at all. They have gone their own path, and I most definitely went on a different one. And the sugar coated soft metal ballads are ones that by now, when it comes to Def Leppard, you become immune to. But I must admit, when we have these country and western ballad songs, such as the duets with Alison Krauss, I really am in a quandary as to what is going on. This is where they cross over another line that surely no one ever thought they would. To be honest, I’m not sure there are any further lines they can cross.
If I am in the mood to listen to a Def Leppard album, I will always head to any of those first five studio albums. They are the ones that sit proudest on my CD shelves. Those albums and the songs are what I love about the band. Everything from that point on has been a completely different style, and not one that appeals to me much at all. And given the excitement and burst of tingling sensations I got when I first heard the two singles the band released off this album before its release, the end result is a little disappointing. But as I said, with Def Leppard, you know what you are getting, and if you enjoy what it is they are releasing then you will probably love this album, and if you are of my vintage and grew up with a different band, you will probably sigh and nod knowingly as you move on to the next band and album being released, and never look back.

1143. Alcatrazz / V. 2021. 2/5

There was a trend a few years ago now where bands that had good followings in the 1980’s, but had broken up over either ‘musical differences’ or the fact their sound became less relevant in a changing market, found that 20 years on their songs were suddenly popular again, and so the bands reformed and began touring and writing again. Now, this was mostly true of the 1980’s pop and new wave bands, but it also happened for different styles of metal bands as well. Alcatrazz proved to be one of those bands. Having released three albums who, to be fair, were more famous from the lead guitarists in Yngwie Malmsteen and then Steve Vai that were playing on them than the rest of the band themselves (at least, that’s how I discovered them), the band went on a hiatus for a 20 year period between 1987 and 2006, when lead singer Graham Bonnet put a new band together under the name. This outfit toured for a number of years before again disbanding. Then in 2019, original members in Jimmy Waldo on keyboards and Garry Shea on bass guitar joined back up with Bonnet, along with guitarist Joe Stump and drummer Mark Benquechea, and the band released their fourth album titled Born Innocent. In essence, this could have been the album I was reviewing here today, but just a few months after the album was released, the band announced a split amongst their ranks, reportedly due to conflicts with the band’s management. Graham Bonnet was out, and in his place the band recruited veteran band hopper vocalist Doogie White in his place. Not only that, they didn’t muck around waiting another 34 years before they released their NEXT album. Indeed it was only ten months later that this album arrived. So the questions that arise are obvious. What does a band from the 1980’s have to offer in the 2020’s when so much time has passed from their heyday? And given that Bonnet had been the frontman that everyone knew from the band, and who had sounded so great on the Born Innocent album, could they find a way to make this an album that pleased all aspects of the fan base?
This album is a much more traditional heavy sound than the albums from the 1980’s actually are, which were recorded and released in the middle of that era! It’s an interesting development that this album is harking back to a popular era of heavy metal music, but ends up being a heavier release than the band actually recorded in the 1980’s. Perhaps in this day and age that isn’t that unusual.
In regards to the songs, they are all a good solid mix of hard rock sound with some nuances to both heavy and hair metal. “Guardian Angel” is a solid opening track giving all of the band members their chance to introduce themselves, before moving into the further up-tempo of “Nightwatch”. “Sword of Deliverance” is a funny one for me. The vocals appear to be at an awkward level. It almost seems to be offkey the way Doogie is getting the lyrics out at an unusual pitch. And for the most part this feels the same on “Turn of the Wheel”. It is a strange way to sing those songs. Doogie can sing, we all know that, but on these couple of songs it is an interesting and slightly off putting expression. What is also off putting for me is that part of the solo break by Joe Stump in “Turn of the Wheel” is a dead ringer, almost note for note, of the solo in Yngwie Malmsteen’s “I’ll See the Light, Tonight”. It just has to be deliberate it is so close, so is it being done as a tribute to the former Alcatrazz guitarist, or is it simply being stolen? I can’t answer that, but maybe I’m the only one who has listened to this album that has picked it up. But it isn’t the only case of this being done on the album, because the solo riff in “Alice’s Eyes” is also, for me, taken from Blaze Bayley’s “Ghost in the Machine”. Now music is not an exclusive artform, there are going to be times when riffs and melodies are borrowed from other songs in creating new songs, but sometimes it feels like it is too much of a coincidence. Anyway...
I guess if I’m going to continue to be picky, I’d best get back to the vocals. “Return to Nevermore” again has a vocal melody line that seems out of focus, and the chorus does tend to drone a bit. But you know, maybe that’s just me. Beyond that, the album ends with some good tracks. “House of Lies” really is a Bonnet song, you can imagine him singing this with gusto, it has that sound about his era of Rainbow, and despite the repeating lyrics has a great upbeat tempo about it that Doogie does well. “Alice’s Eyes” utilises a great guitar and bass rhythm with solid drum back beat that drives the song along. And the closing track “Dark Day for My Soul” rounds out the album in a less hectic but high level tone.

To be 100% honest with you, I would probably have not given this album a second thought when I saw it had been released except that it came in a lull of material for me to listen to. It has sat on my playlist for a good six weeks, getting its dues every day, but without ever really grabbing my attention to listen to more. In the long run I guess I have done this review on it more for the fact that it has paid its dues and probably needs to be moved on.
The band plays well, the musicianship is great, and like I have mentioned the songs themselves are less pop oriented hair metal than the band wrote almost 40 years ago. But they aren’t scene stealers, and even that one major attention grabber in Graham Bonnet no longer resides in this version of the band. Alcatrazz never really appeared to be huge in their day, and anyone who didn’t have a clue who they were would not have given this album a second glance. The fact that their main point of fame is Japan is probably where this market will lie. Unless you are a hard core fan of the band from your youth, in the long run I think you can safely look elsewhere for your next new album to listen to.

988. Metallica / Reload. 1997. 2/5

I wrote a review for Metallica’s previous album Load about four years ago. You can find it both here on Rate Your Music and on my blog Music From a Lifetime. It was a lengthy piece, where in essence I decried the complete revamping of the band’s sound and standing in the metal world to put out such a disappointing load of old bollocks. You could save yourself some time here by either reading that and applying it also to Reload or by just ignoring both. Because there is no joy here from the rubble of that release.

The fact that this album came out fairly soon after Load, and was titled Reload was a concern. Was it all written together? Whether it was or wasn’t, a mere 16 months passed between the release of the two, whereas five years had passed between Load and Metallica, and there had been talk of releasing the two as a double album. The danger then was always that given they decided against that idea and released them as separate albums the band had chosen the best songs they had written at the time and placed them on the first release, leaving the second choice tunes to be collated here on the second album. If that is indeed the case, it doesn’t say much for the whole writing sessions.
“Fuel” is the one song – the only song – that could hold its place on a Metallica album from the previous decade. Even then, it isn’t as fast and furious here as it is when it is played live, but it opens the album on the right foot, and no doubt there were millions of fans all over the world like me who, when they first put this album on, thought that this was the return of the band they knew, that the previous album was perhaps just an aberration.
But from “The Memory Remains” onwards, there is a real constant groove, and by that I mean it isn’t fast and it isn’t overtly heavy, it is more a pattern where the drums and guitar find their groove and sit with it. Does it sound good? There’s no doubt it is catchy in places, and James’ current vocals suit the style. But is it heavy? My word no. Or is it anything like the kind of stuff that we grew up with? My word no. “Devil’s Dance” takes a similar approach, really focusing on the downward pitch of the vocals to implicate a slow and steady line throughout.
“The Unforgiven II” is most definitely unforgiven. It is an abomination. I don’t care how much they loved the first transition of this song on Metallica. It had already been a running joke in our circle of friends that Metallica would do a sequel to their other brain numbingly boring song “Nothing Else Matters”, and call it “Something Else Matters”. How close were we with the arrival of this song? And this is truly a whole pile of rubbish. There is nothing here that inspires the senses, it really does just make you run screaming for the skip button. “Better Than You” would probably be okay if it had and speed at all, forcing its way through the averageness to be a heavier faster song. Alas no such luck.
“Slither”. Is it a groove? Is it a crawl? I don’t know but it is just a borefest. “Carpe Diem Baby” honestly lulls you off to sleep, such is the lack of inspiration and the soothing flow of guitar and vocals. Yes, soothing flow. Doesn’t sound like a metal record does it? Sounds like an easy listening collection. “Bad Seed” is much like “Better Than You” in that with a burst of energy perhaps it would be better than it turns out to be. “Where the Wild Things Are” is most definitely NOT where the wild things are, because we have a really dull, boring and lifeless rhythm riff throughout the whole song with whatever vocal technique James wants to use here. And it goes on forever! It’s just not an aesthetically pleasing song in any way shape or form.
“Prince Charming” is pretty much the most upbeat song on the album. Not that that is saying much, but after the meandering snoozefest that has come before it, at least you start to wake up once this song comes on. However, “Low Man’s Lyric” fights hard with “The Unforgiven II” for worst song on the album. Honestly, is this what we’ve been reduced to, judging worst songs on a Metallica album instead of how do we choose a favourite? This is rubbish of the highest order. “Attitude” tries to convince us that the band still has it. ‘Born into attitude’ is what James sings to us, but who are they kidding? There’s no grunt here, no high paced drums or guitar, just lyrics over a mid-tempo song without any aggro or bent. Seriously, are they trying to have us buy into this? It’s a groove, not a thrash. It’s not even really heavy, it’s a standard hard rock song that AC/DC could do better. “Fixxxer” closes out this collection of songs in much the same way as the rest of the album. Too long, too slow, reflective not reactive.

This is unrecognisable as a Metallica album. Truly, play it back-to-back with any of their first four albums, and you could only make the assumption that this is two completely different bands. And the length of time between those two eras isn’t that damn long. This came out in 1997, just eleven years after Master of Puppets, and nine years after ...And Justice for All. It is a huge leap between genres in such a relatively short space of time. But this was the way metal was heading in America at the time. Thank goodness for Europe, which was embracing speed and power in their metal rather than head down the track of stripped back Southern influence bluesy groove alternative grunge music. It’s a far cry from the pantheon of metal to the depths that this album dives to. Perhaps even more tragically, the bottom for Metallica’s music (but certainly not popularity) had perhaps not even been reached yet.

Rating: "Give me fuel, give me fire, give me that which I desire"  Which isn't this. 2/5

978. Serious Black / Mirrorworld. 2016. 2/5

I came into the first Serious Black album on the coattails of Roland Grapow being involved, and at the end of that first album I hoped for a follow up to judge the progress that could be made from that. That has come to pass with Mirrorworld, but without the continuing presence of Grapow who has moved on back to his other projects. Despite this, I was happy to go forth and give this its chance to grab my attention.

The first mystifying piece of this album is the two minute opening instrumental "Breaking the Silence". If you don't have your stereo up loud enough, you would imagine you have forgotten to press play. It's just a waste. Eventually we come into "As Long As I'm Alive", the opening play of reasonable power metal, driven by guest muso Alex Holzwarth from Rhapsody on drums and Urban Breed's vocals leading the way. Following this solid start comes "Castor Skies" that again leads off with the drums and vocals pushing the song along, before the twin guitar harmonies come within the middle. It's a harmless addition to the catalogue that doesn't raise to any great heights but doesn't offend either. "Heartbroken Soul" cartwheels into power ballad territory, a sure sign that by song three on the album they are already running out of ideas. "Dying Hearts" is probably a dead giveaway in the title, and while it remains on that track it does have a bit more oomph to it that the previous song. "You're Not Alone" creates new hope in the heart however, with a fast paced opening containing true melodic guitars over the double-kick drums and Breed's layered vocals throughout. This is far and away the best song on the album, and one that to me shows the true potential this band has when they do the good things right.
The title track "Mirrorworld" is catchy enough but it is pure AOR without pretense and if you love that style then you should enjoy this song- but for a power metal band I would have been hoping for a bit more grunt behind it. It's a similar story in "State of My Despair", where the drums may be trying liven things up as best they can (thanks Alex Holzwarth) but the rest of the song just sounds... weak. The vocals are almost in the background and certainly not making their presence felt at all, while the rest of the band barely seems to be making an effort. Disappointing. The final track "The Unborn Never Die" moves along a similar track, never really defining itself from the motley of other songs here that just seem to be missing the engine room. And then, almost before you know it, the album is over. And to be honest, it comes as a relief to find there is nothing more to follow.

For those that like their power metal really watered down to the point of being like weak tea, then you will probably get the most out of this album. And I really wanted to like this, because I think both this album and its predecessor has some good things about them. But in the long run, it just can't get past the fact that the vocals are fine but have no power, and the band just doesn't seem inspired enough to put down something with enough individuality to make this stand out from the crowd.

Rating:  "Too many die alone, don't die without a fight". Much like this unfortunately.   2/5

910. Billy Joel / Storm Front. 1989. 2/5

For an album that contained a number one hit single, one that was adored by fans most of the way around the world, you would expect a lot from the album that it was taken from. At the very least, you would have expected that it would have been able to equal the enjoyment of the most recent releases, which though they may have had the odd flaw they wound up being a good within the total package. You may have expected that, but it isn't what is delivered.

The obvious stand out here is the single "We Didn't Start the Fire". Perhaps what stands out most about it is that it is more the lyrical gimmick of the song that makes it memorable, than anything to do with the music or the vocals. Without that, it could well have been a very average song. Some believe it is anyway. What surrounds it doesn't increase the anticipation either. The opening track "That's Not Her Style" drags in all the elements, the horns, a little funky guitar, a bit of jazzy piano, and while it is enthusiastic it isn't particularly awe inspiring. "The Downeaster 'Alexa'" has the potential to be one of those Billy Joel songs that becomes memorable, but just lacks something that ten years previous he may have been able to make happen. "I Go to Extremes" also tries to make a purse out of a sow's ear, but again just comes up short in providing a song that becomes a classic Joel song. "Shameless" is the start of a back half of the album that fails to live up to even these lowly standards.
Whether this second half of the album lacks in motivation or inspiration or new ideas, what we have is a lot of songs in the same tempo, sung in the same key, the same drum beat all the way through, the piano left to being a background instrument, and songs that are at the worst boring, and at the best are bland. The title track "Storm Front" is another that harks back to the past, to influences of Billy's favourite artists. But honestly, this just drags along like a long hot summer heatwave. It drains you of any desire to do anything - tap your feet, do a jig, sing a little. Just dreadfully dull and lifeless. "Leningrad" plods along, lost in its place on the album, wanting to revitalise the Billy Joel piano and vocal combination but without being able to bring the energy required to the song. "State of Grace" warbles through four and a half minutes without any deviation in its framework. I may not be a song writer, but just on observation and listening to this song, it really couldn't have taken much to put it together. I'm afraid that "When in Rome" doesn't do a lot very different either. The solid 2/4 drum beat barely changes tempo throughout, a few horns are thrown in for variety, and the song goes for a little longer. The album is completed by the piano ballad "And So It Goes", the softly spoken final song that still shows Billy can do it when he wants to, but for which comes less often.

After twenty years of writing some of the most popular music out there, this album for me is where the cracks really started o appear. Even given the massive sales of the one song on the album, what surrounds it is less exciting and lessening the attention span with every listen. Quite simply, in one word, this album is boring.

Rating:   "No we didn't light it, but we're trying to fight it".  2/5.

866. Diamond Head / Borrowed Time. 1982. 2/5

When all is said and done, despite arguments to the contrary, while this may be Diamond Head's first album with a major record label, it will always be regarded as their second album, after the "this is a demo" "no it is not" release of Lightning to the Nations. As such, taking that album as the debut, and comparing it to this album, dutifully the follow up, makes it a tough task for Borrowed Time in regards to any review or rating.

I cannot claim to know what the band or the label decided upon when it came to releasing this album. Two songs have been 're-recorded' from the 'first' album and placed here. Around those two songs come five other new tracks, all of which are lengthy and of a different style than the first album took. In fact, there is quite a difference between the heavy and fast pace of the debut album, to the toning back of the riffs and more progressive nature of the songs on this album. it is a quite dramatic change if you listen to the two albums back to back, and one which is somewhat startling.
The album starts off with "In the Heat of the Night", a song that takes a little time to get going, but progresses through the basic drum beat and bass line to a reasonable lyrical performance from Sean Harris and decent middle solo section from Brian Tatler which stretches out to the end of the song. To be honest it took me a while to warm to this song, as it was totally unexpected as to its style, but once I moved past this and had a number of listens I was able to enjoy it for what it was. This moves into "To Heaven From Hell", which is held in check by the stagnant drum beat that tubs its way through the first half of the song, without any change in the guitar riff and the vocal range. When we get past the halfway mark the drums break out to a different pounding, and the guitar solo break picks the song up from the everyday hammering that had come before. The first half of the song is most definitely missing the breeze of metal guitar and freedom that the second half of the song shows off. It could have been a much better song if it had changed that way. "Call Me" comes across as wanting to be a commercial rock song, but without wanting to alienate their core fans, which in the end probably means it does neither. The crooning vocals and back up support don't go far enough if they really wanted that commercial success, while the base of the song also doesn't show anything like what would be needed. Yet by attempting this, they seem to leave their original fans out in the cold, wondering how exactly this song fits into their catalogue. "Lightning to the Nations" completes side one of the album, and only confuses the issue as to the sound this album is going for with an example of the sound from the previous album.
Side two presents two seven-minute-plus plodding tracks to start off with. something that again reveals the developing style of the band. Both songs are progressive in nature, stretching out beyond a typical length song, and incorporating the typical drawn out middle sections where the vocalist will croon over the top of a sullied rhythm section and a slow and stifled blues guitar riff. Certainly when done well these kind of songs are good to listen to, but did Diamond Head need to go in this direction? To me it seemed to go against everything they had done in their initial song writing and recording. I feel as though "Borrowed Time" is what the band is on listening through it once again, while "Don't You Ever Leave Me" is somewhat the worse for wear, slower and even more painful to sift through. The terrible lack of energy or intensity or anything to do with this song is even further exposed by the final track, the amazing "Am I Evil". Sure, it may be unfair to compare a track that has its own place in heavy metal history, but it shows up the stark difference between the inspiration of the track that were first written and performed by the band on the 'previous' album to what they came up with for this album, and especially the two songs which proceed it.
Brian Tatler's guitar breaks are the highlight of the album. Even when the songs themselves aren't able to draw much enthusiasm, his guitaring still elicits a smile and some passion in their slots. Sean Harris' vocals are again serviceable, but unfortunately have little to work with from the way these songs are put together. Colin Kimberley on bass and Duncan Scott on drums are similarly solid if uninspiring.

While this album still often receives praise for its place in history, it really suffers greatly from the raw energy and uncompromising attitude of the collection of songs from the first album, something this album has none of (apart from the two songs here that came from that era).

Rating:  Through delirium of a tortured mind, her face gave me strength to this day.  2/5

847. Chickenfoot / Chickenfoot III. 2011. 2/5

Following on from the success of the first album, Chickenfoot came back together to record the follow up, titled for whatever reason you may like to come up with as Chickenfoot III. The initial album and subsequent tour had gone well, and that success and enjoyment of the four members together enticed them to see if the lightning could be captured in the bottle twice.

In the long run, this album is more of the same that was produced on the first album without a lot of change in the vibe or the style or the songs, but occasionally just enough to make you wonder just what was going on. I honestly thought the opening track "Last Temptation" was a Soundgarden song. Not only the music, but Sammy even sing the first few bars in a very Chris Cornell register. Not a bad song but just not what was expected. "Alright Alright" gets a little repetitive, while "Different Devil" settles comfortably in that soft rock genre, where you can almost be lulled into believing you are listening to a Van Halen song from Sammy and Michael's final days in the band.
The songs follow a simplified path, with a tendency to throw in a more bluesy feel in some places than was necessarily the case on the debut album. "Big Foot" and "Dubai Blues" show the biggest influence in that regards. "Something Going Wrong" is the token soft rock ballad of the album, tapping into that almost country rock feeling with harmony vocals over the top of the guitar. Heading very close to Bob Segar country, which is a little disturbing. If this was the closing number on the album it would be somewhat of a travesty. Fortunately, the 'Hidden Bonus Track' entitled "No Change" is the closer in most aspects, and its up tempo high energy collateral helps to wipe the bad taste from the mouth and end the album on a much better and deserved note.

While I enjoyed Chickenfoot for what it was without ever really developing a great love for it, I have found with Chickenfoot III that I am unable to find the same level of harmony. While the band obviously has the talent and the people to make some really top shelf albums, their style just hasn't grabbed me. It's funny that the final track on the album is the one I find the most love for, and it was supposed to be a hidden track. Those that enjoy this style of hard rock will find plenty here to like. Others like me who were looking for more would probably do best to give this a miss.

Rating: They lied, on high about YOU and ME, baby!  2/5

802. Queensrÿche / Tribe. 2003. 2/5

After an artistic and creative break and a long touring schedule, Queensrÿche returned to the studio to write and record their new album entitled Tribe. And in a way, the tribe was (almost) back together, with the return of Chris DeGarmo and the promise of a band putting aside any differences they may have had and getting back to what made them the band they once had been. Of course, as with many stories like this, the ending isn't quite a perfect as the initial picture is painted.

The fact that Chris DeGarmo had made a return was highly publicised and pushed when this album was released. In fact, it was what made me go out and buy it, having given the previous album Q2K a wide berth to that point of time. Of course, by the time the album was released, DeGarmo had already left the band again, apparently during the writing and recording process over 'differences of opinion' with Geoff Tate. That was somewhat disappointing, but I was encouraged enough to see if this album could salvage something from the wreck that Queensrÿche had become over recent years.
The long and the short of it is that it could be worse, but it could also be a lot better. In keeping with recent releases, there is little to none of the progressive metal element that drew people like me into becoming fans of the band in its initial stages, and while there are some places where some experimentation is done, and (thankfully) none of the sax and cello that had been prominent on other albums, the band has continued along in this alternative sound that was dead in some places, and where it was alive it was being done so much better by other bands.
"Losing Myself" is probably the most accessible song on the album. It has an better up-tempo feel to it, and though it feels commercially drifting I can still listen to it without completely cringing. "Desert Dance" moves along similar lines, with the end of the song almost imitating a hard core chant, yet still on an alternative level. It's not bad but still a little strange. Things fall apart a little from here. "Falling Behind" reminds me (terribly) of the songs that are contained on Helloween's abysmal Chameleon album, surely one of the harshest things someone could say about a song. "Great Divide" drags itself out of this complete mediocrity, but really only enough to get a nostril above the waterline. "Rhythm of Hope" follows the same bloodline, desperately deprived of some go-forward, but instead seems to drift along in an aimless circle. "Tribe" tries to rectify this, but on such a small scale it hardly feels worth it. The drift continues, through "Blood", to "The Art of Life" and finally into "Doing Fine". It's like being on a slow moving train, there is nothing to get you going, and all you are doing is filling in time until you reach your destination, with no way to get off.

Who can know how much the writing and recording of this album was disrupted by the reappearance, then disappearance, of DeGarmo. Who knows if the music direction of the album, which fluctuates within, was severely distorted through all of this, whether it was still maintain despite the changes. Only those in the band will truly know. Still, everyone has dipped their toe in if you go by the credits to the songs, which means that either everyone was in agreement with the direction, or the fluctuations here occur depending on who was involved on each song. What eventually comes out of this is that the trademark Queensrÿche guitars are pretty much non-existent again on this album, and the lethargic speed the majority of the songs have fallen into does nothing to inspire any love or joy of the album. After four studio albums in succession that I could barely bring myself to listen to again, it was time to start questioning whether this was ever going to change.

Rating:  We reach out for the sky, and we're never coming down.  2/5

785. Scatterbrain / Scamboogery. 1991. 2/5

After the somewhat phenomenal success of their debut and previous album Here Comes Trouble, it was a fait accompli that I was going to buy their follow up, with the absolute expectation that it would be as good, if not better, than that album.

Error.

This isn't a bad album by any stretch of the imagination, but it isn't any different either. Well, it is different in a couple of ways. There is no song here that grabs you like "Here Comes Trouble" or "Down With the Ship" or "I'm With Stupid". They are all performed well, they all fit together like an album should, but there is no hook, nothing to grab you and insist that you MUST listen to this album again and again and again. And perhaps the best indication of this is that it was their second and final release.
Perhaps the gravest error they have made is that the songs SOUND like the songs from the first album, and in some cases, such as "Tastes Just Like Chicken" and "Scamboogery" they even have the same song format as some of those from the first album. Now, is this just because this is what the band's style is, and so the songs are similar? Or were they looking for a similar sound so as to link to the first album and hopefully have fans of that album love this one just as much? Or (and possibly closer to the truth) did they just not have any huge ideas for a follow up, and stuck to the same game plan in the hope it would sound original and a progression from the first album?

Overall, you would think this would be as much fun as their previous album, and it just isn't. It's probably a pretty good indication that Scatterbrain was a one trick pony, and that lightning couldn't strike twice. In the end it is a shame more than a disappointment.

Rating:  Odds stacked against you, tough odds to beat.  2/5

754. Anvil / Hard 'n' Heavy. 1981. 2/5

Anvil's debut album is one which is typical of debut albums of the era. Put together with the best of the material the band had been playing at gigs over the past five years or more, this is a mixed release of songs that don't always congeal together. Because it is written over several years, there is not the same tightness over the course of the album that happens when the writing process occurs over a short period prior to recording. In this instance, the style of songs isn't as defined as it would be in future releases. It was originally released independently under the band's original name of Lips, but when they were signed up by their record company, they changed their name to Anvil, and it was re-released.

Much of the lyrical content is questionable, if only because it is quite inane, suggestive and downright forthright in its "have sex with me in fifty different ways" message. Really, bands that followed like Motley Crue and Ratt and Poison all at least tried to be amusing in covering their lyrics with clever insinuations, but most of the stuff here is just right in your face. The lyrics here aren't really even comical. Who knows... maybe they worked and they got what they were asking for? I don't know, but these songs are difficult to sing along to because you feel so stupid even saying the words.

Steve Kudrow handles the majority of the singing, though "I Want You Both (With Me)" and "Oh Jane" have the lead vocals performed by second guitarist Dave Allison. The guitaring by the two is fine, if a little uneven. At times it can feel as though they just choose to go off and do their own thing, and completely forget that there is a song going on that requires each to be playing the same chords. Robb Reiner's drumming however is exceptional, holding everything together no matter what is happening in the other departments.
Apart from the opening track "School Love", "Bedroom Game" and a quite reasonable cover version of the Rolling Stones' "Paint it, Black", the remainder of the songs here would barely class themselves in the metal category. It was following the release of this album, and before Metal on Metal arrived the following year, that Anvil found their mojo, and the style of music they began to produce became, for a short time, a benchmark in the metal scene. Very little of that can be found here on Hard 'n' Heavy, which though not completely devoid of harder rock tracks is completely barren of non-childish lyrical content.

Rating:  Feeling each other 'cause that's your style  2/5.