161. Edguy / Burning Down The Opera. 2003. 4/5.

The first live release by this excellent power metal band, highlighting the best of their years in the business.

I am very impressed by their live performance. I must admit that before I heard this, I didn't think they would be able to pull it off live – especially the vocals.
Silly me. Tobias is a gem, and hits every note that he needs to without losing a step.

This double disc contains a lot of their best material, including Tears Of The Mandrake, The Pharoah, Vain Glory Opera and Painting On The Wall. Every song is pulled off almost note for note as they appear on the studio albums, along with the added live atmosphere and crowd support.

It is difficult to believe that Edguy are not better known in the metal industry. Everything they have done has been fantastic, and they are one of the best in the power metal genre. I know we are isolated in Australia, but more Australians must start listening to this band.

Rating : You could do worse than start off with this album if you are a beginning. For those that love live metal, this should be another addition to the collection. 4/5.

160. Ark / Burn The Sun. 2001. 4/5.

I’m going to say here that it would have been very easy to have missed the band Ark when they were out and about around the turn of the century. The five piece came together from a number of different bands, all looking to find a place where they could create an album that could combine their varied talents into something that would be a unique look at the music scene of the time. In that regard, they would succeed handsomely.
Ark came together in what some people titled a ‘supergroup’, with the artists having all proven their worth in other bands before being brought together for this project. Guitarist Tore Østby came from the band Conception, meeting with former TNT and Yngwie Malmsteen drummer John Macaluso. The core of the band was completed by the recruitment of lead singer Jorn Lande. With all of the players well known in the Nordic communities, the band released their self-titled debut album in 1999 to a reasonable response. Following the tour to support the album, the band brought in bass guitarist Randy Coven from Holy Mother and another former Yngwie Malmsteen player (and there have been a few of them) in keyboard player Mats Olausson to come on board to strengthen the musical base they were looking to create.
Moving on to their follow up album, the band stepped outside of the normal conformities of an album and pulled out all of the stops to create something that would be unique. Though primarily a band that settled into the genre of progressive rock and metal, they took into the studio a desire to infuse a number of other genres into their music hoping to create something that would be a counterpoint to what was happening around them at the time. The attempt to utilise pieces of jazz, folk, fusion and even reggae was a bold move, one that could easily have blown up in their faces. Did they succeed in bringing something unique to their music? All would be revealed on their second album, one where the quality of musicianship could not be questioned, but the direction of their art perhaps could be, that was released under the title of “Burn the Sun”.

One of the main things to consider when coming into this album is the great degree of differentiation in the style of music that is found on these songs. Because even though there are songs here that draw out like a normally structured metal track, and others that draw out like a typical progressive metal track, there are others that utilise more interesting characteristics than you would necessarily be prepared for.
The opening of “Heal the Waters” combines the progressive style with a funky bass and guitar riff to drive into the middle of the track. Jorn’s appearance on vocals immediately settles the song, but the rises and falls in the music and vocals throughout this opening stanza does set the platform for what is to come. Macaluso’s drumming is perpetual, colliding into rolls and hard driving motions, pulled along by Ostby’s unique guitar style that ranks favourably alongside the other greats of the era. His offset duel with Oloussen on keys in the middle of the track offers a wonderful portent of the collaboration of all the band members from the outset. “Torn” immediately changes up to a slower and moodier setting by the bass and syth while Jorn croons in his way over the top, before the middle of the track becomes almost a jungle beat on the drums and a frenzied kaleidoscope of guitar an synth while Jorn continues on unabated. The sudden conclusion is greeted by the start of the title track which follows a more studied heavy combination of guitar and drums, combining spoken word with Jorn’s more determined vocal. “Resurrection” draws the tempo and mood even further, moving between the dark and mysterious to the increased energy and emotional output through the guitar solo into the back half of the song, before the frenzied guitar conclusion brings us home. The opening four tracks have offered a wide arrangement of styles to enjoy.
Then take a listen to “Absolute Zero”, whose greatest feature is the whacked out Stewart Coupeland-esque drumming from Macaluso that is the mainstay of the song, and the somewhat sublime beginning that stretches to outlandishly fast tempo guitaring and vocals in the second half of the song. It is a song that takes some time to break down and enjoy for what it is. “Just a Little” opens and is based around a Spanish flamenco acoustic guitar arrangement that still retains the power and energy of the songs that have come before it, finishing off in a style reminiscent of Dream Theater. Jorn’s vocals here, as they are throughout of course, are just amazing. “Waking Hour” travels down a similar path to “Torn” with latent melodies combined with an off beat crashing of parts by the conclusion of the song.
“Noose” bangs back in from the outset, finding its rhythm from the start and holding course, before Ostby breaks out of the chorus into his solo that leaps right off the page and takes on a world of its own, separating from the keys riff underneath to wrap itself into another musical dimension. Here again can be found similarities to those great progressive metal bands of the era, with each member of the band showcasing terrific talent. It is probably the heaviest song on the album.
”Feed the Fire” moves along with the most mainstream guitar riff and rhtythm of the entire album, and Jorn’s vocals go to their highest part of their range along the way. The result of this is almost a commercial feel to the track – well, the closest anything on this album could come to having a commercial bent at least. Again... I hear bits of The Police here, though this time it is in the vocals rather than the drums. Anyway... “I Bleed” follows, in a slower tempo and a far more David Coverdale type vocal line from Jorn on this occasion. When he croons like this, the resemblance is uncanny. The album then concludes with “Missing You”, the slightly unfortunate rock ballad of the album, which Jorn sings amazingly, and the keys offer the exact emotion for the track they are looking for. At nine minutes in length, for me, it goes too long, despite the increase in power and heaviness as it reaches its conclusion. It’s fine, the conclusion saves it, but for those who have their pet hates like me it doesn’t quite cut to what has come before it.

Discovering this album would never have occurred for me if it was not for the band Masterplan. That band had come together after the dismissal of Roland Grapow and Uli Kusch from Helloween following “The Dark Ride” album, who then went on to form Masterplan and release a self-titled debut album, which I followed and bought. It was there that I discovered the amazing voice of Jorn Lande, who had left a band called Ark to do this project. So captivated by his voice did I become from this album, that I had to try and track down the music of this other band to see what he had done prior to Masterplan. Even in the days of file sharing this wasn’t an easy thing to do. Discovering the name of the band had been far easier than discovering any way to find a way to listen to the album. Eventually, I found a way to get the band’s second album. Which is where we are today.
Listening to the album when I first got it, back in 2005, it was a journey. The combination of sounds and genres was something that, just a few years earlier I probably would have had a difficult time coming to terms with. However, having spent a few years prior to this listening to more progressive metal bands such as Dream Theater and Symphony X along with the European power metal scene, I was much better placed to take in what this album offered. And a lot of it is different, which can be confronting when listening to an album. It’s nice to have a similar thread between the songs on an album, but that doesn’t necessarily exist here. It is hard to judge it now, knowing what Masterplan have done since. This is a very diverse effort, with a lot of conflicting styles interwoven.
Even now, I am not certain about how to take this album, and whether I love it, like it or just admire it. I I have had it on at work for the past few days, and have had one listen to it at home in the Metal Cavern on the stereo. And as always, I have enjoyed listening to the album. It is quirky. It moves through varied styles and tempos, which are both interesting and entertaining, and a little bit too much on occasions as well. I have spent some time going through each song as well in attempting to review it in my way, sifting through in order to find how they differ, perhaps why they differ, and how I feel about each of them. And again, my emotions are stretched. On the one hand I appreciate what the band did with each song, the changes in tempo and offbeats and guitaring and find it fascinating, and on the other hand I find that it can get a bit tiresome with all of those changes coming at you all the time. Listening to the album just as the album, I still really enjoy it. In trying to break down each track, it got a bit less exciting.
But you cannot deny that the musicianship is top shelf. Tore Ostby on guitar here is fantastic, and John Macaluso on drums is wonderful throughout. And Jorn Lande is still the out and out star of the album. His voice is tremendous and soars here throughout. With all things considered, I do have to continue to say that this is a terrific album. But it probably remains an album that I am torn about, because everything here screams ‘brilliant album’, and yet even now there is a nagging doubt in the pit of my stomach that maybe it isn’t as good as I think it is. It is hard to explain. I think in the long run that no matter how good this is, it is still a hard album to listen to.
As you will no doubt have gathered by now, this was Ark’s final album. When Jorn left to follow the Masterplan, the band broke up. Jorn’s quest for success has continued almost unabated since, with Masterplan and then his solo career as well as contributions to Avantasia, another super group. It leaves an album that showcases the excellent qualities of the musicians who played on it, and music that offers an interesting observation on one of the side shows of the early 2000’s.

159. Deep Purple / Burn. 1974. 5/5.

Following on from the success of the album “Who Do We Think We Are”, the episode of which you can find on Season 4 of this podcast, the final throes were enacted for the Mark II line up of Deep Purple. Firstly, lead singer Ian Gillan resigned from the band, and then a little later bass guitarist Roger Glover was also let go. As was related in that other episode, Gillan had said in a 1984 interview that the band had been pushed t record and tour and record and tour, despite the fact all members needed a break. This of course led to growing tensions, none more so than between Gillan and guitarist Richie Blackmore, which culminated in Gillan’s decision to quit. In interviews later, Lord called the end of Mark II while the band was at its peak "the biggest shame in rock and roll; God knows what we would have done over the next three or four years. We were writing so well."
Glover was apparently dismissed from the band on the insistence of Blackmore, however, according to drummer Ian Paice, Glover had told both he and keyboardist Jon Lord some months earlier that he wanted to leave the band. This had actually led to Paice and Lord dropping in on gigs played by a band called Trapeze, who at that time had a lead vocalist and bass guitarist called Glenn Hughes as their frontman. With both Gillan and Glover now gone, the band hired Hughes, and at the time they apparently debated continuing as a four piece with Hughes filling both vocals and bass roles. Hughes himself recalls that he was told that the band was going to bring in Paul Rodgers from the band Free to act as co-vocalist, as both bands had just toured Australia together, while Rodgers has admitted that he was asked to join, he instead continued with his plan to form a new band that became Bad Company. Auditions instead brought forth the figure of a then unknown young vocalist named David Coverdale, who eventually became the man to replace Ian Gillan in the band.
Recording of the album once again took place in Montreux during November 1973, and with two of the writers and performers being replaced in the band, it led to exciting new combinations being formed, and a change in the overall direction of the music that was to be the hallmark of the newly crowned Mark III line up of Deep Purple.

Several things become obvious when you listen to this album compared to the ones that come before it. The addition of both Coverdale and Hughes firstly gives the band an amazing vocal duo that they haven’t had to this point in time. Coverdale is a terrific vocalist, one that brings a bluesy element back to the band in his voice. But behind him he has Glenn Hughes, the man who in the years since has been dubbed The Voice of Rock. Here is a guy who is simply supreme, the smooth, resilient and high-pitched gem of a voice gives the band something it had never had – two vocalists capable of singing lead, which they do switch between through the course of the album. Secondly, there is a noticeable transformation occurring in the music being written, moving away from the hard rock focus the band had used in Ian Gillan’s term with the band, and to a style incorporating more soul and funk through the rhythm section. It is not a total change, but those elements creep in more here than they had on earlier albums. Along with this, there sounds like there is an increased focus back on Jon Lord’s keyboards and a lesser influence of Ritchie Blackmore’s guitar. The dominant instrument on most of the songs is the Hammond organ, while Ritchie’s guitar solo piece is mostly the only time you really notice him in the foreground of any song. When you listen to “Burn”, it becomes easier to understand just why Blackmore was in the throes of deciding he needed to move on from Deep Purple to form another band, because while he was a writer on all of the tracks here it does sound at times that his own contributions are becoming less important to the music.
None of that takes away from the fact that this is a remarkable album. The opening title track, the first of the next era of the band, remains one of its finest. “Burn” is a masterpiece, from the opening guitar riff, into Ian Paice’s amazing drumming. Seriously, take a good listen to what Paice is doing throughout this entire song. It is next level. He has always been an amazing technician but is often underappreciated for what he does on his instrument. On “Burn”, the song and the album, he is a star. The dual vocals from Coverdale and Hughes, Lord’s wonderful Hammond riff alongside the guitar, and Roger Glover’s bass line underneath it all. This is one of the band’s greatest, one that hasn’t been played live by the band since 1976, though has remained in the setlists of both Coverdale’s and Hughes's bands since. “Might Just Take Your Life” is a more sedate track, with heavy influence of the Hammond organ and the bluesy vocals from both singers. It has a great groove and wades along wonderfully well and is well served with the new harmony vocals of the young gun vocalists. “Lay Down, Stay Down” picks up the pace again with more switch in lead between Glenn and David. The familiar Deep Purple rhythm riff underneath, that you can often pick up in many of their songs, also has Ritchie’s solo through the middle to appropriate that he is indeed in the mix.
“Sail Away” is the first of two songs composed by Coverdale and Blackmore, and it has a that familiar Coverdale sound that he took with him when he moved on with Whitesnake following Purple’s demise. The blues base here, along with his lower range smooth vocals is well complemented by the bass of Hughes combining with Lord’s Hammond organ to create a terrifically atmospheric song. “You Fool No One” opens the second side of the album, with Ian Paice’s drum work again taking centre stage throughout, it is spectacular again, along with that amazing vocal duo again producing a sensational performance – especially when Glenn Hughes comes in with that higher pitched awesomeness, he is always so obvious when he makes an appearance. “What’s Goin’ On Here” is very much in the blues bar theme, with tinkling ragtime piano and blues riffing guitar. It’s another interesting track given what the band had produced prior to this album.
Ritchie’s fingers are all over the classic song “Mistreated”, with his guitar regaining some of its prominence that is buried on other tracks and Lord’s keys being supporting rather than dominating. This also allows Coverdale to showcase his own amazing vocals in singularity throughout. “Mistreated” was written solely by these two, and it is noticeable listening to the song because they are the two that hold the top end of the song. Blackmore’s guitar riff is the star, and his mournful solo through the middle of the song and a far more energetic one to close out the track are both beauties. This is another of Purple’s great tracks, one which Ritchie did live when he formed Rainbow, and I must say that Dio’s vocal for me does outstrip Coverdale here... but this is a much more bluesy version than what Rainbow played.
However – what the hell is the final track on the album? The psychedelic, synth based, LSD trip inducing instrumental track “’A’ 200” has always confused me, and made me wonder what the thoughts behind it were. Sure, this was the era for such a song, but I just didn’t expect it from Deep Purple. It sounds like a jam session between the three composers, Paice, Lord and Blackmore, and they just thought “OK, we’ll use that”. With two great vocalists to utilise, couldn’t they have just written another great track using them? Then again, what would I know.

Deep Purple was one of those bands that I think I always sort of knew about, and who didn’t know “Smoke on the Water” and even “Black Night”, even if you didn’t know the band. So once I started listening to heavier music in my mid-teens in the mid-1980's, Deep Purple was one of the bands that was almost immediately there on the horizon. The arrival of those 80’s Mark II reunion albums of “Perfect Strangers” and “The House of Blue Light” combined with “Machine Head” and “In Rock” gave me a basis for what the band was like.
I eventually joined a mail-order record and CD club, who sent me out a catalogue every two months, filled with new releases and callbacks and rarities, as well as cheap new blank C-90 and C-60 cassettes, which was my main purchases from that club. But on one occasion they had a CD box set of the Deep Purple albums stretching from “In Rock” through to “Come Taste the Band”, and I had to get it. And it was then that I first listened to the full album of “Burn” rather than just the two songs I knew off the greatest hits album I had. And it was amazing. I had by this time already also had some Whitesnake albums, so I knew Coverdale’s vocals well, but hearing him in all his glory on this album, with Glenn Hughes alongside him, was a real eye – or ear – opener. Their combination when I first heard it was groundbreaking, something I had been completely unprepared for. The changing of the lead vocalist for verses was done so perfectly, and was such a breath of fresh air, as good as Gillan is. And while some may say the style of music the band played n Mark III was the real change, the real change was the harmony vocals combined. And the album just opened a whole new section of music for me.
As I do, I have been listening to this album again for a couple of weeks in preparation for this episode, and not only have I fallen in love with it all over again, I have actually heard more of what the band does on these songs than I have ever noticed before – things like how amazingly good Ian Paice and his drumming is on “Burn”, it feels like I should have known this before now, but I have really noticed it more now than ever. Just how piercing Glenn Hughes’s vocals are when he gets his chance to shine, they cut through the speakers and make you admire his talent all over again. And how commanding David Coverdale is as lead vocalist, in his first real big break, in one of the biggest bands in the world. The pressure on him to replace Ian Gillan must have been enormous, and yet he sounds like he has been in the band for years.
It wasn’t until a decade after its release that I first heard this album – being four years old at the time surely I can be forgiven. But I have made up for it since then. This is a truly fantastic album, one that sometimes gets lost in the band’s history because it ISN’T of the Mark II era. And given that this album is now fifty years old, it is as good a time as any for everyone to take a listen, and discover for yourself just how awesome it is.

158. Michael Schenker Group / Built To Destroy. 1983. 3.5/5

Michael Schenker’s road to rock domination, or at least trying to find the path to that road, never seemed to come easily, although a lot of that trouble has been lain at the guitar god’s feet himself. Three albums into his self-titled Michael Schenker Group career, the eponymous “The Michael Schenker Group”, the also eponymous “M.S.G”, and “Assault Attack”, over which time the band had created some terrific work and excellent songs, as well as building a solid live reputation, and Schenker was looking to duplicate his success in the UK and Japan in the United States. The only problem was that it seemed impossible to stop the revolving door of members from entering the band and then disappearing just as fast. Lead vocalist from the first two albums, Gary Barden, had been replaced by Graham Bonnett for the previous album, “Assault Attack”, an album well received by critics and fans alike. Unfortunately, during the band’s first gig to promote that album, Bonnett drunkenly exposed himself on stage, and was immediately fired, with Gary Barden drafted back in to complete the tour dates. This led to Barden once again being made the band’s lead vocalist for their follow up album. Also brought in on this album was keyboardist Andy Nye who was an accomplished song writer, and so this five piece, alongside long-term partners Chris Glen on bass guitar and Ted McKenna on drums moved forward to record the follow up album, “Built to Destroy”. Just how it would progress in a world where heavy metal was becoming more aggressive and progressive was a question that Schenker himself had to have been asking himself at the time.

One of the more interesting aspects of this album is that there are two songs on here that Michael Schenker himself does not receive a credit for, which is a first for the Michael Schenker Group. It was a sign that perhaps the band was progressing to a point where everyone could be involved in the writing of the material, and there be a real band rather than be seen as the solo project of the self-titled guitarist. Those two songs, composed by Andy Nye and Gary Barden, are actually two of the best tracks on the album as well, which may or may not have been a bone of contention at the time. The first is the opening track “Rock My Nights Away”, considered by most fans as one of the group most iconic songs. It is keyboard dominant as you might expect, but when Schenker’s guitar does come to the front of the mix it during his solo and the riffing at the end, that’s where it really kicks it up a notch. It is a terrific song, one of my favourite MSG tracks because of its tempo and intensity and fun feeling. A beauty. The other Nye/Barden track is the penultimate song of side two “Time Waits for No One” is again dominated by Nye’s keyboard, and actually sounds like a UK new wave song, with the jauntiness of the keyboard and Barden’s happily singing over the top. Even when Schenker’s guitar does appear, it is in a very unthreatening way. Whereas the opening track has that power of the guitar coming into the song to help it along, here on “Time Waits for No One” we are actually waiting for that burst of guitar strings wailing into the mix, but it never occurs. It suffers massively as a result.
Two songs here are credited to Barden and Schenker along with Ted McKenna. “I’m Gonna Make You Mine” also includes Nye again, which has his keyboard prominent but here doubled over with Schenker’s guitar. Barden sings tough, and it is a good follow up to the opening track. It is true that it is very much tied to this era by the heavy use of the synth alongside the guitar, but Barden’s great vocals alongside Schenker riffing it up make it a terrific song. The other is “Red Sky”, this time alongside Chris Glen, a much more guitar-oriented track as a result with Schenker’s guitar and Glen’s bass being the driving force of the song. And while the keys and synths on this album are important to its sound, it’s the stringed instruments that make it better.
Four of the five remaining songs are co-written by Schenker and Barden alone, and they are of a varied output. “The Dogs of War” and "Systems Failing” continue the great vibes of the first side of the album, the songs played at the right tempo, and with Schenker’s guitar providing a nice counterpoint to the tunes. “Still Love That Little Devil” opens up side two of the album in the same style. The fourth of these collaborations is the closing track, which had a different title for each edition of the album that was released. On the original album it is titled “Walk the Stage”, but it is generally better known as “Rock Will Never Die”, which it was more or less changed to for the US edition and most versions since then.
The final song here is Schenker’s instrumental awesomeness of “Captain Nemo”, which closes out side one of the album. It is another terrific song, highlighted by Schenker’s wonderful guitar work, and showcasing his immense skill with the instrument that on some songs doesn’t get that front-and-centre distinction that it deserves. All of this combines into yet another MSG album that has all the bibs and bobs, but perhaps on some level doesn’t quite get them all in the right order to make it a smashing result.

In my first year at uni I used to save all of my sheckles so I could go down to the local purveyor of second hand records, Illawarra Books and Records, and buy as many albums from new artists that I didn’t have as I could with the few dollars I had put away, and one of those artists was the Michael Schenker Group. By the time I found them, they had ceased to be for the time being, with the next eponymous band the McCauley Schenker Group having been formed. But these first four studio albus and two live albums were gold to me.
This album was on cassette in my car for a long time, with “Assault Attack” on the other side, and it was played over and over on trips to and from uni. I lived a lot of that first year not really knowing what I wanted to do with myself, often falling into a confused state, and this album was one of many that got me out of that funk. The song “Rock My Nights Away” became a sort of an anthem for me, singing out loud “Cos when I’m sad and lonely, from day to day, I’m just gonna rock my nights away!” - which I invariably did.
Listening to the album now, I do have mixed reactions. When I first put it back on for this project, I found that the immediately familiar songs still struck a chord, but others left me wondering what I used to hear in them. Over the course of several listens, that began to change, and I once again found that love for the album that I know I had all those years ago. It isn’t a perfect album, and suited the 80’s for its time, but it still has great moments throughout. I do wonder how those who had never heard the album might think of it if they first listened to it today. I’m sure they would be less enthralled with it than I am. Overall, it is like all of those early MSG albums – some great tracks, some better than average tracks.

Following the tour to promote this album, Schenker pulled the plug, ostensibly from the difficulty in gaining the success he wanted and the troubled relationship between the band members. He would go on to team up with Robin McAuley and return with the McAuley Schenker Group, that is a different proposition altogether, in order to find that commercial success that had thus far eluded him.

157. Skid Row / B-Side Ourselves [EP]. 1992. 4/5.

Most people will know the backstory to Skid Row leading up to 1992. The eponymous debut album that stormed the worlds charts including the singles charts with their hair metal anthems. Then the remarkable sophomore album that went to a new kind of heavy, the brilliant “Slave to the Grind”, and the tour that followed. The band seemed to be on top of the world and could do little wrong, even in the age of the Seattle sound that was popularising the music scene.
15 months after the release of that album came this EP. Was it to keep more material out there in front of the fans? Was it to help fill a gap in a recording schedule or a touring schedule? Or was it a cash grab from the record company to strike while the iron was hot. I can’t say that I know the answer to that. Four of the five songs had been released as B-sides to the singles releases by the band, with only “Little Wing” being an unreleased song at that period.
My memory of the time was that I read an article somewhere that said that the five songs – all cover versions of other bands songs – were chosen for a reason. My memory of this article was that each member of the band chose a song for the band to cover, and that they were then recorded during the sessions for “Slave to the Grind” to be used for the B-sides, and that they were then pulled together for this release. Memory tells me that Rachel Bolan’s choice was the Ramones track, and Seb Bach’s was the Judas Priest track. But in trying to confirm that information for this podcast episode, I haven’t been able to find that out anywhere. Now, it may well have been an article in the now defunct Australia metal magazine Hot Metal, or it could have been somewhere else. So it may well be complete rubbish – but I offer it here on the off chance that my memory is indeed correct, and this is actually a solid piece of information.

Wildly different opinions are thrown around about the worth or otherwise of this EP. There are many people out there who hold it with great disdain. I’ve never really understood that. Perhaps those teenagers who came in to Skid Row through the hair metal radio friendly anthems couldn’t get the band playing covers of songs from bands they just had no idea of. Possibly. Others probably felt that the versions of the songs they played didn’t hold up against the originals. Possibly.
Personally, I think they did great versions of these songs that were faithful to the original, but also added their own style to it, and that to me is the best way of doing a cover song.
Trying to do justice to a Ramones song is going to be tough not matter what genre of music you play. Taking on “Psycho Therapy” was a good choice, and it is a rollicking version that stays true to the Ramones version while sounding like a Skid Row song. Rachel Bolan actually sings the lead vocal on this track, and sounds like he’s having a great time doing it.
On the other hand, the band’s version here of “C’mon and Love Me” is simply the best version of this song I’ve ever heard. Yes, it strips the original Kiss version by some distance. And that might sound like sacrilege, but this is brilliant. Sebastian Bach’s vocals here are perfect for the song. He doesn’t try to be Paul Stanley, he moulds it to his own vocal chords, and it is perfect. The band is also on point in this song. It’s a pearler.
We then have a live version of Judas Priest’s “Delivering the Goods”, which not only is a great idea to retain the vibrancy and energy of the track, it also has Rob Halford on duelling vocals. This was recorded at a time when Halford had either left Judas Priest or was on what he wanted to call a hiatus from the band, so it was an interesting situation for that reason. It’s another great version here.
For me, it was somewhat surprising how good the version the band does of Rush’s “What You’re Doing”. There’s nothing easy about covering Rush songs, and this is very much a Skid Row-ified version, putting a bit of the Slave to the Grind attitude in it to create the version that suits the band rather than duplicate the original. Personally I think it is a great version, even if the original still remains the bees knees.
Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing” is the final song of the five track EP, and again shows the Skid Row sounding version of the song while retaining the feel of the original. Can you ever hope to cover a Hendrix song and be better than the original? No, but this does sound like Slave to the Grind era as well (think “In a Darkened Room” and you’ll know what I’m talking about).

Having come off the brilliance of the “Slave to the Grind” album, I bought this in the first days of its release, and played it to death for weeks and weeks. It was “C’mon and Love Me” that had me hooked, but when you have an EP that runs about 18 minutes you just let it keep going around and around, until you hear the songs in your sleep. In many ways it reminded me of when I first got Metallica’s "Garage Days Re-revisited" - reviewed just a few episodes ago here on this podcast – and I often wondered whether or not Skid Row was looking to produce the same sort of excitement that that EP had produced. There is no comparison of course, but it did provide a look at another side of the band, as to where their influences had come from. And as influences go, the Ramones, Kiss, Judas Priest, Rush and Jimi Hendrix are a pretty handy quintet to draw from.
I still love this EP. Playing it again over the past couple of weeks has been great, a short and sharp burst between other albums I am reviewing for this podcast that never failed to lift the atmosphere wherever I had it on. And because it doesn’t overstay its welcome, much like the aforementioned “Garage Days”, I still pull it off the shelves regularly and happily listen to it. And it fits because it is only 5 songs long, not like other bands who release full length albums of cover songs that sometimes just overdo it.
Sadly it was the last truly great thing the band released. Tensions rose when recording the next album “Subhuman Race”, and Seb Bach and the band separated after that tour. Sometimes you wish they had just been a little more love left to give.

156. Alice Cooper / Brutal Planet. 2000. 4/5.

As the calendar clicked over to the year 2000, Vincent Furnier was about to enter his fifth decade in the music business, quite an achievement for someone with the rather unusual name of Vincent Furnier. You of course know him better as Alice Cooper, an artist who had found many of the potholes along the road to success and yet continued to roll through this as he toured extensively and released new albums on a regular basis. In 1994 Alce had released his first concept album since “DaDa” in 1983 called “The Last Temptation” on Epic Records and toured to support it. However, after this he asked to be released from his contract with the label so that he could sign with Hollywood Records. Bob Pfeiffer, who had originally signed him to Epic Records prior to the release of the “Trash” album, had just become the President of Hollywood Records, and in the words of those closest to him, Alice ‘just wanted to go where his friends are’. This was agreed to, but it also coincided with the longest stretch between albums of Alice’s career to that point. Six years stretched between “The Last Temptation” and his next studio release.
He had not been inactive during that period. He still toured every year, and on the back of this released his live album “A Fistful of Alice” in 1997, along with a best of retrospective over four CDs “The Life and Crimes of Alice Cooper”, which also contained his authorised biography called “Alcohol and Razor Blades, Poison and Needles: The Glorious Wretched Excess of Alice Cooper, All-American".
The period between albums had seen that big change in the music scene that I have often warbled on about that occurred in the 1990’s. From the end of grunge to the beginnings of alternative that was happening in 1994, music in the heavier genre had morphed into several strands such as nu-metal, industrial metal, alternative metal and the like. And the one thing Alice Cooper had always been exceptionally good at was either flowing with the musical trends, or creating the musical trends. But six years is a long time to be out of the game recording wise, and the drastic changes in the music scene were exactly that – drastic. Could Alice find a way to incorporate all of this in his own music, and once again be the creator and the conductor of the genre? Opinions will differ, but the release of “Brutal Planet” certainly raised a lot of eyebrows for a variety of reasons.

“Brutal Planet” has, for the most part, moved away from the tongue-in-cheek shock rock style that had been Alice’s modus operandi for much of the preceding 15 years for an approach that mirrors the times industrial metal sounds to address the many socio-economic attitudes that he felt were enveloping the world around him. Musically, this delivers one of the biggest changes in his illustrious career. The new sound is deceptive on first listens, it is heavier than any album he had produced to this point in time, and for some fans no doubt at first it would have felt inaccessible. But once you listen to the album a few times, it is obvious that the melodies are still there, and that lyrically he is as hard hitting as he has shown he can be in the past. It is almost as if Alice had decided Marilyn Manson had been given too much clear air in the shock rock modern metal sound, and this was his way of returning fire.
The opening riff of the title track rips out of the speakers, and while the music world had changed massively since Alice’s last released album, it hasn’t stopped him from producing an opening track that is awash in the sounds of the time. And lyrically, he is absolutely giving it to the human race, and the Christian metaphors of looking down on paradise from above while on the surface the sinful acts of man abound is hard hitting and in places cruelly succinct. The character of god is sung by Natalie Delaney who notes the beauty of the planet, while Alice tells us the home truths. More follows with a similarly heavy riff throughout, as Alice tells us all about the “Wicked Young Man” where he croons on about racial hatred and violence that is prevalent in society. But his best lyric in this song is the most apt, where the protagonist cuts through the excuses that seems to be the usual way of shredding blame from the individual and putting it back on upbringing, when Alice sings “It's not the games that I play, the movies I see, the music I dig I'm just a wicked young man”. Just so. While he continues: “I got every kind of chemical pumpin' through my head, I read Mein Kampf daily just to keep my hatred fed, I never ever sleep I just lay in my bed, Dreamin' of the day when everyone is dead”. The song itself channels Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie, and again is another Alice special. Then “Sanctuary” bursts out of the speakers like a bomb expldong. I can’t fault the lyrics, we all need a sanctuary, and I have my own in the metal cavern, and there is nothing I like more than blasting this song as loud as I can while sitting in there. Alice breaks down the metal anguish we can all feel at times in life as slaves to a corporate world, and gives us a great song to use as an anthem against it with frenzied intensity.
The social themes that Alice is funnelling through here come quick and fast as the album continues. “Blow Me Away” settles on bigotry and intolerance of race, colour and creed, things that are obviously things on Alice’s mind. “Eat Some More” attacks the wanton waste of food in the western world while people starve to death in other places around the world. “Pick up the Bones” is Alice’s victims of war song, and is not for the faint hearted. He sings: “There are forces in the air, Ghosts in the wind, Some bullets in the back and some scars on the skin. There were demons with guns who marched through this place, killing everything that breathed they're an inhuman race”. Alice is not mucking around on this album. It may have been six years since his previous release, and this one is as hard hitting lyrically on a number of issues as the increase in heaviness of the music. There’s nothing light hearted about this album.
“Pessi-Mystic” opens up side two of the album in the same sort of depressingly fatalistic language, with Alice ranting on the constant harking on bad news and death and destructive ways of the world around us, especially during what comprises the chorus with “I'm pessimystic, I'm so fatalistic, I'm pessimystic, I don't believe a thing, I'm pessimystic, I'm so nihlistic, I'm pessimystic, Of what tomorrow brings”. It is amazing how much of what Alice talks about n this album from 25 years ago is suddenly so relevant all over again. Taken the next song "Gimme" as another example. The promises offered by politicians and companies on the same level, that they can solve all of your worldly problems, highlighting how so many people feel they are being hard done by and that they deserve more for doing nothing, which they will get simply for their loyalty. Or so they believe. “It’s the Little Things” is the closest to recent history Alice Cooper lyric wise you are going to get, name checking snatches of lyrics and song names from the past incorporated into the track to create his story. Then “Take it Like a Woman” is a modern take on his classic ballad “Only Women Bleed”, following the same story of domestic violence of women that he harped on in that song. There is a similar structure to the way the track is crafted but with the modern musical style adopted for it, a little like “Might as Well Be on Mars” from the “Hey Stoopid” album. The song is a good one but is the most diversified compared to the other tracks on the album. The album finishes off with an Alice classic crafting, “Cold Machines” a science fiction love story of unrequited love, stuck in the future and treated like the title Cold Machines. Like everything else on this album, it has been crafted to suit the time, musically especially but with songs and lyrics that delve far deeper than Alice Cooper albums had done for almost two decades. Some may have not enjoyed the change, but others like me found it to be a refreshing and enjoyable change.

As will be obvious to those that listen on a regular basis to this podcast, my introduction to Alice Cooper came through his latter 80’s albums that were released around the time I made my entry into the hard rock and heavy metal arena, especially the albums “Constrictor” and “Raise Your Fist and Yell”. Alice had made his comeback to music and was coming from a new direction – not for the first time in his career – and it grabbed me from the start. From those albums onwards, I was always one of the first in line to get each new release as it came out. This one of course had been quite the wait, coming six years after “The Last Temptation” which I had enjoyed thoroughly when it came out. However, like surely every other Alice Cooper fan in existence, I was completely unprepared for what awaited me when this album finally hit the shelves.
I didn’t get “Brutal Planet” on the day of its release. At the time we were furiously saving to buy a house, and any frivolous spending on albums was paused for a time. It wasn’t until about six months later that I got it, and it was within a month of moving into the first house we ever bought, so it is eternally tied to that time of my life for me. So we’ve moved into our new home, and I finally have Alice Cooper’s latest album, and I put it on. And in one of those moments that very occasionally came to me through my life of listening to music – I thought I had been given the wrong album. That first riff that comes out of the speakers is unlike anything I had heard from Alice in his career. It was, as the title suggests, brutal. And then the rest of the album that follows, it was a real game changer. Alice had changed as circumstances required over the years, but surely never in such a massive way than this. This was going to take some time to process, but it was something I looked forward to doing! And the more I listened to the album the more I enjoyed it. To be fair it was of a style of that I was always going to enjoy, and though a lot of Alice Cooper enthusiasts (mostly those that had come on board in the “Trash” era) had some trouble accepting what had been offered, I was more than happy with what Alice had come up with.
Flash forward to the present, and how does the album stand up today? I have had this album back out and playing over the last couple of weeks, indeed my vinyl version that I have just recently been able to pick up along the way. And it has been just as exciting and intriguing and thought provoking as it was 25 years ago. It is of its time, but is such a significant change to what Alice had done, really at any point in his career to this time. Shock rock, new wave, hard rock and hair metal and even bordering on metal at times, but never to the point he and his band reach on this album. It’s quite a statement, and one that seems less endearing to most of his fan base. But to me, like everything else he had done, it is essentially Alice Cooper, and I still think this is a wonderful album.
More was to come, as Alice always seemed to pair up his albums nicely, which was good news for fans such as me. And his ability to continue to not only move with the times but even be ahead of the curve remains intact for yet another era of music through his long reign as the king of us who are not worthy.

155. Sonata Arctica / Broken [EP]. 2003. 3.5/5

OK, it's just the single, but the songs are great! It contains Broken in full and edit mode, along with Dream Thieves and The Gun. A good little buy.

Rating : Good single release. 3.5/5.

154. Judas Priest / British Steel. 1980. 4.5/5.

Judas Priest had been on a constant build through the back half of the 1970’s decade, with each album revealing another layer of the music platform they had been constructing. Classic tracks had built themselves into classic albums, all of which had been topped off by the magnificent live album “Unleashed in the East”, that not only showcased the best of those songs but also the ‘killing machine’ (pun definitely intended) that Judas Priest live on stage had become.
The lead up to their follow up album was beset by interesting phases that the band had to work through. The influence of the punk movement in the UK in the back half of the 1970’s had brought about a change, depending on your point of view. Priest had already begun to tone down the progressive nature of their songs and move to a more defined short and sharp design of their song structure, in some way mirroring what punk had brought to the table. At the same time was the rise of the NWOBHM, that was bringing a heavier aspect to music that had in fact been inspired by bands such as Priest and Motorhead. The previous album “Killing Machine” had already seen Priest begin that slight metamorphosis to their music. Here on “British Steel” they probably perfected it.
The fate of drummer Les Binks was more convoluted than it probably should have been, but it does fit in to the scenario when it comes to bands, managers, record companies, and money. Though Binks was acknowledged by the fans as a member of Judas Priest for two studio albums and one live album, he was still being paid as a session drummer, paid for his performance and nothing else. This included his live performances. However, when it came to the release of the “Unleashed in the East” live album, there was a conflict in ideas. As Binks related in an interview that is posted on KK Downing’s website:
“I had no prior arrangement with Dolan to record. When the band went into the studio to record I would negotiate a fee with the manager beforehand. I received a one off session fee for each album as I wasn’t contracted to the record company and therefore would not receive royalties from record sales. I asked Dolan why he hadn’t informed me in advance so we could agree on my fee for a live album. He brushed it off by saying, “don’t worry, it’s just for CBS/Sony’s benefit. We’ll sort things out later.” Little did I know, I was making the next album. These recordings became “Unleashed in the East”.
This one is a touchy subject for me as the live in Tokyo album “Unleashed in the East” caused a rift between me and the band’s manager and ultimately led to my decision to leave the band. I just didn’t see the point in continuing to work with a band whose manager didn’t want me to receive any payment for that live album. A completely ludicrous scenario. It’s a classic heavy metal live album which I believe eventually went platinum and he didn’t want me to receive a penny for it. Crazy f–ker!!! But that’s what happens if a band allows someone like that to manage them, they lose members. So exit drummer number four”.
This was not the first nor last time that Mike Dolan’s management came under question, and his dealings have since been shown to be less than honourable. Binks went on to say:
“As you can imagine, I was feeling disappointed and undervalued so I left and went back to the session work. What disappointed me most was that no one in the band bothered to call me to say we hear you’re leaving. What’s the problem? Is there something we can sort out cause we don’t want to lose you? That didn’t happen. After I’d left, I read all kinds of made up reasons given to the media as to why I left. I guess “he left because we didn’t want to pay him for the live album” didn’t look too good in print. So there you have it. The real reason Les Binks left Judas Priest”.
In his place the band recruited Dave Holland who would go on to be the mainstay behind the kit for the 1980’s decade, and be the pounding beat that set the rhythm pattern of what would be one of the milestone albums for the band, the one that is full of “British Steel”.

One of the great annoyances for me of albums by many bands during this era is the differences in cover art and song list and even name of albums between the US and the rest of the world. As a music listener and podcasting reviewer, it makes my job just that little more difficult for no reason. The farce that occurred with the first few AC/DC albums is one example. Judas Priest is another. It wasn’t enough that the US distributor wouldn’t accept the name “Killing Machine” for the previous album because of the connotations of violence – somewhat ridiculous given the disproportionate level of people killed by gun violence in the US compared to the rest of the world – but then there was the different track listing. Here on “British Steel” they at least accepted the name, but instead of the perfectly good opening listing of “Rapid Fire”, “Metal Gods” and “Breaking the Law”, the US decided to move “Breaking the Law” to the opening track, and also flipping the opening track of side two of the album. JUST LEAVE IT LIKE THE REST OF THE WORLD FOR FUCKS SAKE!!! Anyway... rant over.
The album OPENS with the excellent “Rapid Fire” with a great drum fill to introduce Holland from the outset. He and bass guitarist Ian Hill lock in from the opening and keep the control centre of that Judas Priest rhythm section humming from the opening bars. Holland’s drumming on this track is a great kickstart, and one of the main reasons why this had to be the opening track of the album, because the pace of the song gives the album its heartbeat out of the blocks and showcases Holland’s skills immediately. Grafted onto this of course are those twin guitars and Rob’s scintillating vocal delivery, and the entrance into the new album is complete.
This beautifully segues with the sound of metal being created into the legendary “Metal Gods”, a song that does perfect justice to everything that is Judas Priest. The heartbeat of Holland and Hill sets the tone again, the pounding of the drumbeat and the thumping of the bass strings grinds and grooves the trail into the steel, laying the platform for the twin guitars to follow. Even just listening to the track, it compels you to raise your fist and pump it in time as Rob’s vocals arrive and draw you into singing along, no matter where you are or what you are doing. A masterpiece in composition and performance, with the phasing of the chorus and the guitar riff that sounds like it came from a Birmingham steel mill. Would anyone go to see a Judas Priest gig if they didn’t play this song? It would certainly be the lesser without it. The end of this classic track is then immediately compounded by another in “Breaking the Law” it its rightful position in the track list (No, I will not let this go!) Everybody in the world, no matter what your music persuasion is, knows “Breaking the Law”. Whether you learned it at school as an anthem r were just pumped with it being played over and over on MTV and other music video shows, everyone knows the riff, everyone knows the chorus, and everyone wants to play air guitar to it like the cop does on the music video. The riff and melody of the track might be simplified, but my word it is catchy, and fun. Who would have thought that singing a song about the affected youth of the world rising up and breaking the law in order to shake their fist at the world as they know it would be such a powerful anthem? On an album full of anthems that are solid heavy songs, the video for this song (released as the second single) gave it the airtime to make it a hit.
Then into “Grinder” we go, with more of the same when it comes to tempo, rhythm and great singalong lyrics. Holland and Hill lay down the pathway and Downing and Tipton follow in kind. It follows along the template that has been crafted for this album. Perhaps those that overcook their opinion on the tracks here are looking for the progressive nature of earlier albums, but this is the sleeker and shinier version of the band, with polished production and military styled precision in recording. This is brought further to bear in “United”, with the stop start guitar riff and lyrics based around the people standing up against the government, it has an anthemic feel about its construction enhanced by the repeating of the chorus to emphasise its power. Much the same connotations can be made about “You Don’t Have to Be Old to Be Wise”. Musically it holds its pattern throughout, structured through the 4/4 timing and rhythm riff as Rob sings over the top, with the song extolling the virtues of the title by describing someone standing up and realising they don’t have downtrodden but can think for themselves and find their own way forward. This then leads straight into another youth anthem and first single from the album “Living After Midnight”, one that has been sung and acted out by fans for 45 years. With a better structured singalong chorus and brighter vocals from Rob it suits its release as a single, one that could enlighten the airwaves and be an attracter of fans as a result.
A pair of the longest songs of the album combine to close out the time together. “The Rage” slows the tempo back and is driven in power and energy by the excellent guttural guitar riff against the sludgy slow tempo of the track. In many ways it acts as a precursor to a song that was to come some albums down the track in “Heavy Duty”. Given the livelier output in the song selection up to this point, “The Rage” is very much a counterpoint to the style of the rest of the album. “Steeler” then finishes off the album, moving back towards the other half of the album content wise, warning of the dangers of believing all around you without believing in yourself. The return of the upbeat tempo allows the song to send you to the album’s completion on a high, a rush that is enhanced by the great lead out soloing of guitars and crashing of drums that by its very nature is the best part of Judas Priest.

My journey with Judas Priest began with the music video for “Turbo Lover” on Rage, the year when I first began to begin my love affair with heavy metal. It, and the video for “Freewheel Burning” were the frequently played Judas Priest videos on that program when the metal section came on during the early hours of the morning on weekends, and so were my first exposure to the band. Then came the live album “Unleashed in the East” from my heavy metal music dealer, and I was well and truly on my way.
“British Steel” didn’t come until a dozen months later and was probably the obvious port of call as it was the most accessible and easiest to find Judas Priest album when it came to scouring the record stores of the area. And as it turns out, it is probably the best album to start with if you want to get a feel for what Judas Priest is about. Because it came at a time when through their own writing, they produced a minimalist album. And by that, I mean that while it is a well-polished album, it has everything you need to be at the least inoffensive to any music tastes. The timing hits the right beat all the way through, it is neither too fast nor too slow. The songs are more structured, with verse then chorus then verse then chorus. The rhythm is tight and perfect, holding each song within its walls. The guitars are perfectly in sync, only breaking out in their allocated solo section. This is such a regimented album in almost every way, you could probably march to it were you so inclined to do so. New fans can come in and have songs that may seem similar all the way through because of what I’ve just described and yet enjoy the fact that they are not.
The same too can be said for the guitars on the album. All of the songs in general have simple riffs and chords for most of the song, before allowing the guitar solos in the middle to help change up this part of each song. And through it all, the vocals are terrific, but there is nothing stretching the range here like on earlier albums. It’s all very within the limitations of other vocalists, and has no breakout screams or high pitched ringers that has always been a part of the Halford trick bag. To try and put a comparison on it, “British Steel” is much like an AC/DC album, but in a metal sense and not a hard rock sense. The basic premise of the rhythm, both in how tight it is and the tempo in particular, reminds me of how AC/DC operate. That’s not a bad thing in song structure, but it is somewhat different from what Judas Priest had done in the past.
Despite all of this and any belief that I may be bagging the album, I assure you I am not, nor would I ever. For me, everything works here, and showcases the combination of the times by having shorter songs in a simpler fashion like punk rock while offering great musicianship and heavy moments that the band was renowned for, and would be appreciated again by the NWOBHM movement that was forming as a result of their earlier work. The fast-paced opening of “Rapid Fire” is terrific, and the brilliant mood swing into “Metal Gods” is still a joy to listen to even after all of these years. “Breaking the Law” is the track that got most airplay at the time and typifies what this album is about, the simple but effective and memorable riff along with a catchy chorus that people of all ages find themselves singing along to. “Grinder” as well has a great feel to the rhythm riff. Perhaps the album is too rigid in places and for some fans it doesn’t offer enough of the great groundbreaking memories of the band’s recent past.
The result of the similar song structures does hold some dangers, and there does come a point where there is some repetition. For me, that is part of the charm of the album as a whole.
I have had some amazing albums on my rotation over the past week, all of which were released around each other. You’ll hear those podcast episodes around this one, and no doubt you will be amazed to. And “British Steel” has not taken a back seat to any of them. It is still such a powerful and fun album to listen to. Do I think every song on here is a stone cold classic? No, I don’t, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy them anyway. Each song complements the one before it and the one that follows. They fit together like a puzzle, and everything here makes this album what it is. “British Steel” has been a classic since its release 45 years ago, playing off the success of its two main singles and through the simplistic excellence of the rest of the album. Even now when you listen to the album you can hear the results of the effort put into the writing and recording these songs and the plan that must have been in place for all of them. As a structured masterpiece this ticks every box.
1980’s Judas Priest is where it is at for me. “British Steel”, “Screaming for Vengeance”, “Defenders of the Faith” ... they are gold standard albums, and along with “Painkiller” and “Sin After Sin” showcase every element of the band that you could wish to listen to. I mean, let’s face it. I don’t think there is a bad Judas Priest album, and I know I’m in the minority here. And “British Steel” is up there with the best. It brings back so many great memories every time I put it on. And you know what? Seeing as I’ve finished with this episode now, I’m going back to the stereo, and I am going to crank it once again. Because, as Rob is wont to say... “It’s Friday night and the Priest is back!”

153. Dokken / Breaking The Chains. 1982. 3/5.

The opening of the Dokken career is a strange one, with a difficult birth and then a just as difficult re-birth, along mixed in with the feeling that there was something here to work with. All in all in was a confusing couple of years in order to get the start they wanted.

The album was initially released as Breakin' the Chains under the moniker of Don Dokken in Europe. When it was eventually released in the US it was marketed under the Dokken banner as Breaking the Chains, with completely changed cover art, as well as having some of the songs remixed and even re-ordered on the album itself. It also managed to change the title of two of the songs. “We’re Illegal”, which initially was the closing song on side one of the album was rebranded as "Live to Rock (Rock to Live)" on the US version, though it retained its position as the end track of side one. Also the opening track to side two on the original release was “Paris”. 

However, on the US release, not only has it been moved to be the final track, it is also a live version of the song recorded in 1982, and is now titled “Paris is Burning”. This is actually one of my favourite songs from the album, and it is an improvement on the studio version of the initial release, most likely from the extra energy it gains from the live setting.

“Breaking the Chains” is a great opening song to the band and the album. It highlights most of what makes Dokken the band they became. A solid rhythm of drums and bass provided by Mick Brown and Juan Croucier, Don Dokken’s terrific vocals and George Lynch’s outstanding individualistic guitar work. It’s easily catchy and makes an immediate impression.

As for the rest of the album? In the main, apart from the title track and “Paris is Burning”, this is a straight up hard rock album that does the good things well without as much flash and glint as you might expect listening to the albums that followed this. “In the Middle” and “Nightrider” and “Seven Thunders” are all good songs, but there is nothing that jumps out at you and grabs you about them. The beat and rhythm stay intact, and the lyrics are simple but effective. George does a great job, but there is certainly none of the amazing stuff that he produced later on. It’s all very straight forward, and while there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, it just makes for an average album rather than a great album.

Rating: “Take a good look around you”.   3/5

152. Spinal Tap / Break Like The Wind. 1992. 4.5/5.

What style of comedy bands do you take seriously? I’m sure you know what I mean. Artists like Weird Al Yankovich have been making brilliant parodies of songs for decades. Tenacious D, the combination of Jack Black and Kyle Gass, has been touring and releasing music for more than two decades now. I mean, while the material is comedic and amusing, it is still REAL music, isn’t it! Their albums sell exceptionally well and they are considered serious artists. So just how do you categorise the band Spinal Tap, who were famously brought to life in the ‘mockumentary’ “This is Spinal Tap” by Academy Award winning director Rob Reiner and serious hard working actors Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer. Do you take them seriously as a band? I ask the question, because they released what could be considered as the follow up to that album that acted as the soundtrack to that mockumentary, and it was a stand alone release with no other reason than to sell albums. The album’s name was “Break Like the Wind”.

Most people in the world have seen the 1984 movie “This is Spinal Tap”, which introduced the world to the fictional English heavy metal band on their tour of the United States, which trod through their extensive history as well as the disastrous events of that tour. It perfectly encapsulated the excesses and strained relationships that occur in a touring band, by creating this massively humorous and brilliantly written dialogue about a band being acted out as a serious documentary. Genius. And the songs themselves as written by the trio were brilliant. “Big Bottom”, “Stonehenge”, “Rock and Roll Creation”, “Sex Farm”, “Tonight I’m Going to Rock You Tonight”, and “Hell Hole” for which they eventually did a music video. Everything about it is brilliantly done, and I personally never get tired of watching it. But, I must admit that I never expected to have anything else come from it.
And yet, eight years later, from out of nowhere, an album by Spinal Tap was announced. What the hell? Where the hell did this come from, and did they really think that they could write songs that would make people go out and buy the album? I mean sure, I bought the soundtrack to “This is Spinal Tap” (which I will forever always call ‘Smell the Glove’ as it was named in that movie), but I’m a bit of a fanatic sometimes. But did these three – Michael McKean as David St Hubbins, Christopher Guest as Nigel Tufnell, and Harry Shearer as Derek Smalls – really have what it took to BE Spinal Tap? The answer of course is an emphatic yes, and I should have been ashamed of myself to think otherwise. The fact that they then promoted it by playing live gigs, including one at Royal Albert Hall that was filmed and released as a concert video, is proof enough that they were more than talented enough to do so. That they wrote and performed all of the songs, played all of the instruments, sang all of the melodies and harmonies... it must be a terrible thing to be talented, but that they also did all of this in their personas is just the icing on the cake. But, I hear you asking, is it any good? Well, honestly, I think this song sums it up perfectly, everything that Spinal Tap stands for.

From the very first time I heard this album, I was caught. Trapped. Encapsulated. If you’ve seen the movie, then you have an idea of what is to come in regards to the songs and the way the lyrics are written and pieced together. Because the use of sexual innuendo and double entendres, as well as nonsensical phrases are all a major part of the song writing of Spinal Tap the band. Nothing sums that up better than the opening track and lead single “Bitch School”, a song essentially about sending your pet to training school to become a better dog, except of course the inference is that is not a female dog that is being spoken of. “Diva Fever” and “Cash on Delivery” have the same sort of innuendo going on in their lyrics, but so beautifully camouflaged as to have either side of the argument be considered carefully.
But then you have a song like “Just Begin Again”, one that is laughable in lyrical content. And yet, because of the duet between David St Hubbins and guest singer Cher, it becomes an amazing song. Indeed, Cher’s vocals on this song are quite amazing, the best she had done in years, and it turns the song into a real showpiece.
Along with this are songs such as “Rainy Day Sun” which could easily have been a flower-power hit such is its lyrical imagery and easy paced musical content. It sits well with the final song on the album which is “All the Way Home”, a song that was actually outlined in the original movie as being the first song that David and Nigel wrote together, and as such it is very much in that late 50’s early 60’s pop rock style. Most of you will have watched the movie and sung along with David and Nigel as they piece together the lyrics from years ago... “I’m sitting here beside the railroad tracks, and I’m waiting for that train to bring her back...” The band even has some environmentally aware songs, such as “Stinking Up the Great Outdoors”, and then Nigel Tufnell on lead vocals on “Springtime”. And not to forget their own excellent addition to modern day Christmas carols, which is played in my house every year, then excellent “Christmas with the Devil”. Many of the songs throughout the album have guest artists lending their backing vocals to tracks, such as Cher mentioned earlier, and Timothy B Schmidt of Eagles fame. But there are also plenty of big name guitarists who lend their very impressive riffing to many of the songs. Steve Lukather pops up on “Just Begin Again” as well as playing piano on “Clam Caravan”, Dweezil Zappa plays on “Diva Fever”, and on the ground breaking title track there is a plethora of guests all lending their talents, including Lukather, Jeff Beck, Slash and Joe Satriani, all of which makes it an absolutely epic track.
And still, perhaps the song that best sums up the band is “The Sun Never Sweats”. It is hard, it is unique, its lyrics use nonsense phrases that still somehow completely make sense within the context of the song. It’s a beauty, and amongst all of the great and best known songs here is perhaps unfairly overlooked in the grand scheme of things.

I still remember the first time I heard this album. The first few times actually. It was barely a couple of weeks after it was released, and the band I was in at the time travelled to western NSW to play a gig. In my car were four drummers (not all from the same band) and all tapped the hell out of the car on the way up to all the albums we listened to. When we arrived at our destination, a couple of hours before anyone else arrived, we got a case of beer from the drive through (as we had a couple of under agers with us), sat in the car park, and drank it dry. While we did so, one of our number pulled out a copy of this album. The rest of us had no idea it had been made, and so we put it on to listen. And laughed loudly all the way through. And so we put it on again and did the same thing. After two cases of beer and several listens, as I mentioned earlier, I loved it. That gig was memorable for so many things and so many stories, but this is one of my most lucid and clear memories of that day and night.


Yes, this is a terrific album. Different moods dictate which songs I enjoy the most whenever I put it on, but the four I have played here today are certainly the money shots. Both “Bitch School” and “The Majesty of Rock” charted in the UK and the US, and I still think that both “The Majesty of Rock”, and the song I am about to play, could easily be performed every night even now if a band wanted to take them on. Unlike the soundtrack to the original movie, this is actually an album that holds its own and can quite easily be put on and played all the way through without reaching for the skip button. It’s a true album, even if the band that wrote and recorded it is for all intents and purposes a fictional unreality. In many ways, that’s what makes this even more remarkable.

151. Iron Maiden / Brave New World. 2000. 4.5/5.

If the 1980’s had been the decade of the never ending rise and rise of Iron Maiden the band, from relative obscurity to the peak of the heavy metal world, then the decade of the 1990’s had brought about challenges that were found to be far more difficult to navigate. The band had had to move on band members in the past for various reasons, but Adrian Smith’s decision to quit the band in 1990 had been a massive shock to not only the playing side but the composition side of the group. The recruitment of Jannick Gers did manage to board up that hoe in the ship, but when Bruce Dickinson also decided in 1992 that he was going to leave it felt as though several more leaks had exploded all at once. Blaze Bayley was brought in as his replacement, a perfectly capable singer and songwriter who could manage the job when it came to the studio, but found being able to replace Dickinson in the live setting singing the songs he had made his own a far more difficult assignment. On top of this, as has been discussed many times on this podcast, the complete change in music throughout the decade, from grunge to alternative to industrial and nu-metal, meant that bands whose style had been the epitome of the 80’s decade suddenly found they were out of touch with what was occurring throughout the 1990’s. Maiden’s fan base collapsed, their ticket selling for live shows shrunk, and the lukewarm reception for their two albums helmed by Bayley left a number of questions to be asked.
Elsewhere out there in the music world, Iron Maiden’s two high profile members who quit the band had had their own journeys along this rocky bypass. Dickinson had moved on into the realms of his own solo career, releasing his second solo album “Balls to Picasso” with the band the Tribe of Gypsys, helmed by guitarist, composer and producer Roy Z. Dickinson then pulled together another group of musicians for his third album “Skunkworks”, one where for the third album in succession he changed around the sound of the songs. Despite his desire to show he was not a one trick pony, sales of albums and concerts trended in the same direction as Iron Maiden had. For Adrian Smith, the story was along a similar path. Having been burned by his solo projects “Silver and Gold” album which proved to be a step too far for fans, he contemplated quitting the music business altogether, before appearing with Maiden at Donington in 1992 during their encore, an event he admitted flicked a switch back on for himself. He then moved around the music scene, making one off appearances such as on former Helloween lead singer Michael Kiske’s solo album “Instant Clarity”, as well as forming the band Psycho Motel which produced two albums, neither of which were a raging success. At this point of the story, it looked like it could be curtains for all of the protagonists involved in our little story. And then, after many years, the threads began being picked up again, and to become closer to being intertwined once again.
Roy Z returns as an integral part of the story, calling a thoroughly disenchanted Dickinson with some song ideas, which thankfully he feels have some merit. They get together, and Bruce decides to have another crack. He even invites former bandmate Adrian Smith to come back and maybe contribute to a song or two, and once Adrian sees what is going on, he stays on permanently. The result, the album “Accident of Birth”, is indeed a winner, a reboot, a rebirth. The same lineup then collaborates again to produce “The Chemical Wedding”, and suddenly Bruce and Adrian are a big thing once again, and rising fast. Over in the Maiden camp, they may or may not have been observing this. One thing is for sure, manager Rod Smallwood, who has both Maiden and Dickinson on his books, HAS been watching, and even though he knows both parties are not particularly willing to discuss their situation, he knows that if both sides are to prosper in the long term, they need each other. Both sides could SURVIVE without the other, but there didn’t look to be the prospect for both sides to approach anything like they had been before. After much cajoling from Smallwood, Steve Harris accepts that the current situation for his band isn’t working out, and like the summits between American and Russian leaders of the past (though this of course was far more important than any of those), through a series of brokered discussions, Bayley is given his redundancy papers, and both Bruce and Adrian rejoin Iron Maiden. The announcement was made in January 1999 with the band retaining three guitarists and the promise to return the band to its rightful place in the pantheon of heavy metal music. And that first brash step, with the perfectly coined album title, was to become “Brave New World”.

What better way was there to introduce the reformed and expanded version of Iron Maiden, than to have the returning prodigal son Adrian Smith not only co-composing the opening track but playing the opening riff of the album, and on the video for the single release also being front and centre as he played it. It had been a long wait since 1988 and something fans had never expected to hear again. And it was worth the wait. The entrance of Bruce Dickinson on vocals created the long winding path from 1990 to 2000, the return of the two important cogs of the Maiden machine, almost seamlessly back into the fray. “The Wicker Man” highlights the best Iron Maiden album opening tracks, hitting the right tempos throughout, the Harris bass thundering along, the guitars in triplet here rather than in tandem, and Bruce’s vocals crying out and demanding your attention, along with the long held tradition of being based on a book or film. As the opening track and opening single from the album, this was the perfect way to reintroduce the reconfigured band to the world, and surely no one could have been disappointed with the result.
The first four tracks of the album are outstanding, blending and segueing into each other in a perfectly formatted epic transition, that gives you no time for retrospect and rest. It is an obvious thing to say that the band would have hoped to put together an imposing collection of songs for the reformation, to showcase the band in two ways – firstly, that they could still do what they had produced together for that amazing run of albums during the 1980’s, and secondly, that this was a new era and not just a short term thing, and that they were going to showcase what that blueprint was going to be going forward.
The opening songs do that. “The Wicker Man”, with its opening riff so reminiscent of Judas Priest’s “Running Wild”, is the fast-paced catchy song, full of everything that makes Maiden great, co-written by the returning sons and the band leader. Harris has his name credited to all of the songs on this album, perhaps making it obvious that while the old boys have returned he is still holding firm with his hold over the band’s creative direction. It is followed by “Ghost of the Navigator”, with the opening guitar drawing visions of the calm ocean and the rise into the opening heavy riff of the storm brewing. Perfectly portrayed from the outset. The band has made a habit of long opening and closing musical passages on the previous two albums, and while they do continue here, they have been reigned in and tightened such that they make more sense, are more enjoyable and not overblown. That would not last forever. “Ghost of the Navigator” is a terrific follow up to the opener, not as wildly flamboyant and fast, but in the Maiden tradition tells its story backed by the wonderful instrumentation. The swell continues through the song, riding the waves throughout. This segues almost unnoticed into the title track, with another quiet beginning drawing itself into the eventually crash into the opening riff and drums. There is an amazing mixture of tempos on this album, but especially on this song. It speeds up and slows back down in and out of the chorus especially, and although it is miniscule it is noticeable, and it makes the song even more energetic as a result. The slow down for the chorus tempts and drags you into bouncing along while singing it, something that became a staple for audiences at live shows. The opening three songs show a great combination of three different collaborators joining the combination of Harris and Dickinson to produce three excellent songs to mark the return of the two who were at the most polar opposite. Another understated bass intro draws us into “Blood Brothers”, the final of the four tracks that open this album with such quality. In composition it is similar, almost a brother, of “The Clansman” from the previous album. It runs along similar lines if not similar themes. While “The Clansman” is quite anthemic in its story and music, “Blood Brothers” draws itself into an anthemic like quality musically, but lyrically perhaps more on an emotional level. It has always been a powerful song, but has probably grown in stature over the years with its live performance and it has become a crowd favourite. The solos in particular are quite magnificent on this song, mirroring the emotional output of the song, into Bruce’s final stanza that raises the bar even more. An outstanding song.
“The Mercenary” opens without the ceremony of the previous three songs, straight into the riff from the outset and is a straight forward metal song, differing in style from what has come before it. This is one of three songs that were in either early writing sessions for the follow up to “Virtual XI” while Blaze was still involved or had been left over from those sessions. It does sound like it could fit in that era, but the nice mix of solos through the song and the impact of Bruce’s vocals here give this a lift. Following this is “Dream of Mirrors”, another track that came from those Blaze sessions, and rumours still swirl that Blaze had even contributed some lyrics to the song for which an agreement was reached for their use. Next time you listen to the song, think about if it was Blaze on vocals. You can totally hear it, how this song even feels designed for his vocals, the deeper range that Blaze had definitely fits within the boundaries of this track, as well as the slower tempo that was prevalent in his era, and the “woah – woah oh oh oh” through the middle of the song, it is very Blaze Bayley. I would like to have heard him sing this, I really think it would have been a great song on the theoretical third Blaze Maiden album. Here of course, Bruce is supreme, and the song is not bogged down in a way that it may have been had it been recorded for “The X Factor” or “Virtual XI”. It is bright and breezy here where it would likely have been slightly maudlin and drudgery there. “The Fallen Angel” follows the path of “The Mercenary”, a straight forward structure from start to finish. Verse, bridge, chorus, repeat, solos, repeat. Maiden have always done these songs well, and mixed within the format of the album, with the epic songs and the longer more elaborately designed tracks, these ones come in, play their part in moving the album along, and then leave with a job well done. Once again, this is bright and breezy, great vocals and solo slots.
“The Nomad” is the final of the Blaze era compositions to arrive here, and this one probably shows its roots a bit more prominently. At a tick over 9 minutes in length, it is a wide sprawling song, with Bruce extending himself when reaching the chorus along the way. It rises and falls in platitudes with a long softer and more introspective instrumental interlude through the middle of the track. It is unlike anything that has come before it on the album, and while may fans out there enjoy its moody swings there are just as many who are left a little listless by it. However, when it comes to the great underrated songs from the catalogue of Iron Maiden, surely “Out of the Silent Planet” ranks very highly. Retreating back to the quiet start and finish like the terrific songs at the start of the album, this bursts out with a blaze of energy with Bruce’s vocals crashing out of the speakers, demanding and cajoling in the same instant, drawing you into the song from the outset and pulling you along for the ride. Yes, the title of the song is over-repeated ad nauseum over the back half of the song and it is easy to get the feeling that it outstays its welcome, but it still is a shining light on the album.
The closing song, “The Thin Line Between Love and Hate” is one that tries to tick a lot of boxes when it comes to the way Maiden has closed albums in the past, but it does also leave some questions. At over 8 minutes it hits the kind of epic length that the band enjoys for their closer. As a track that has its swell of quiet moments at the bookends of the song with the furious rise of power in the middle... well, not quite so much. The swell here is less furious than has been the case in the past. This composition between Murray and Harris again has a feeling of coming from the Blaze years, the song sounds like it would fit more comfortably within that era than the new era being transitioned into. Like “The Nomad” this song doesn’t quite connect to the rest of the album. Fans seem to be split as to their ‘love or hate’ - pun intended but also for a reason – of this song. Some swear by its brilliance, others find it a less than satisfying way to complete what has been a tremendous return for the iconic 80’s band.

The announcement of the coming together of Iron Maiden with their two former members was a massive deal in 1999. This was pre-internet days for me so I relied on my information from friends who were wired up and the odd copy of Kerrang! or Metal Hammer that I could afford to buy. There was the hope that maybe, just maybe, the Ed Hunter tour would make its way to Australia, but of course that just wasn’t going to happen. So, like all of the other fans in the world we waited for news of the release of a new album. When “The Wicker Man” dropped three weeks before the release of the album, it is fair to say that all mayhem broke loose. Then came the album itself, and all other music fell out of my listening list for a couple of months.
I still remember buying this on the Saturday morning after its release, taking it back to the unit under my sister’s house where we were living at the time, and playing this for the first time, cranking in that concrete cavern so loud that fixtures shook. Later that afternoon I was invited over to a friend’s house close by for afternoon drinks, where I took the CD with me so that we could listen to it together, which we did a couple of times. After that, my heavy metal music dealer, who had been in attendance, suggested we go back to his house for more music and more alcohol, and “Brave New World” journeyed with us, with several more playing's. A 1pm start concluded at 3am (with me getting home somehow, I certainly don’t remember how) and the new Iron Maiden album already well and truly emblazoned in my brain. I remember listening hard for what the changes from the band might be. The main question was, where are the great three-way harmonies, or the real use of that third guitar in practice? We had fantasised about what we could expect from the band now that they had three guitarists, and how they could incorporate that into the music. We thought that this was always something that was going to be a massive thing for the band, three-way harmonies followed by three awesome individual solos in every song. Well, no, that wasn’t on the table this time. It would be better utilised on the next album, but for “Brave New World” we didn’t quite get that. The quiet achiever on the album though is Nicko McBrain. While I am not a huge fan of his snare sound on “Brave New World”, his drumming here is quite superb. There’s no simply 2/4 or 4/4 on this album, he has his typical rolls and fills chiming in throughout, along with his terrific use of cymbals, crashes and hi hats. AND he has finally come to terms that a double kick pedal is NOT selling out, and he utilises it beautifully throughout this album. It is subtly used, not looking to power his way at double time through the middle of songs, but instituted at what turns out to be the exact right moment. It enhances the feel of the tracks here, once again leaving Nicko as a star without ever being brought to the front of the stage.
A couple of things came to me over the following months listening to the album, and some others from other bands around this time. The first is that once the adoring eyes and ears had had their fill and came back to a different plane, I found what I would call some surface scratches, the smallest of flaws that I either didn’t notice in those first months of gorging on the album or chose not to notice. They were only personal preferences, some things that didn’t work for me the same way the majority of the album did. What I could never understand however was the criticism this album received in some quarters on its release. Sure, I am a fan of the band, and they can do little wrong in my eyes, but some of the reviews the album got in magazines and online websites at the time just seemed like there was something else behind it. It felt likesome media outlets were looking for the band to fail, and so they hammered everything about the album. I mean... what did they want? Another “Powerslave” or “The Number of the Beast” or “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son”?! The over the top criticism was more about bashing the band than reviewing the album. I’m sur the band themselves laughed as they toured the world non-stop for the next two years on the back of this to sellout crowds. The second is that this album almost feels like a natural progression from where the band’s sound had been heading from “Somewhere in Time” to “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son”. Though 12 years had passed between these two releases, much had occurred in between. The decision to change their direction for “No Prayer for the Dying” had cost them Adrian, and Bruce’s diving enthusiasm led to him leaving not long after. This was the first album Adrian and Bruce had played on for Iron Maiden since “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son”, and it is certainly no coincidence that you can therefore draw a straight line to link them.
I have had this album out on my turntable in the Metal Cavern for a good three weeks now, and it has also been a constant companion in the car and at work during that time. And my word it has been awesome to listen to this album so often once again. 20 times, and I’m certainly not tired of it yet. This is a special album, one that signalled another great era of one of my favourite all time bands, but which also brings back so many amazing memories of the time it was released, the changing aspect that our lives were taking at that time, and of the friendships that I had then and still have today. This was a unifying period for the band but it signalled the same for many in my life at that time as well, the unifying of so many things.
I think there are five absolutely outstanding songs on this album, three that are top shelf, and a couple that don’t quite make that grade. But as with all great albums, any slight dip in brilliance or supposed quality becomes insignificant once the needle hits the vinyl or the play button is pressed on the CD player. The album as a whole is as terrific as it was on the day of its release 25 years ago, coming together as a whole and as an experience worth living, or re-living.