I guess because I always have such high hopes for each new Therapy? album, I am more often than not wrought with disappointment when they finally come along. This all stems of course from the absolute magnificence of Troublegum and what that album means to me.
Here though is High Anxiety which has all the elements that could make it a superb album, but which fails to put them all together in the right way to achieve this. The good songs here are pearlers - the opening blitz of "Hey Satan - You Rock" which delivers musically and lyrically in a way only Andy Cairns can. This is followed by the gutteral "Who Knows" which continues to push the hardcore element. All of the initial tracks stand alone.
"If It Kills Me", the single from the album, is the stand out track, and is the perfect example of the best of Therapy? Everytime I hear this song I wonder how this band has not become bigger throughout the world.
The second half of the album tails off, and fails to ignite the passion that the first half of the album does. This is a bit disappointing, because there feels like there is something really good building until it gets to that point. Then, for some reason, it just drifts away and it is easy to lose interest.
And that is really the problem. So much potential, totally unrealised. I'm sure it isn't easy, but you can't help wondering sometimes whether they would be better off just releasing six song EPs, because for the most part it appears that that is as many good songs as they can put together at one time. Having said that, this remains one of their better efforts.
Rating: Could have been something really special. 3.5/5
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
491. Def Leppard / High and Dry. 1981. 5/5
The reason that I started out (almost three years ago) to catalogue, rate and review all of my albums was because I was sure that there had to be brilliant albums I had totally forgotten about as my collection grew so large, and I wanted to hear them again. That has proven to be the case. Until I put High and Dry on my iPod two weeks ago, I had forgotten just how exceptional this album is. It has rarely been off my playlist since.
THESE were the days when Def Leppard was a band, when they wrote songs that had attitude, great rolling lyrics and a bit of edge to their music. Back in the day when they could certainly be classed as hard rock, with great riffs and great vocal melodies with Joe Elliott at his finest.
There is not a weak moment on this album. Each song has great anthemic sections, where you just can't help but sing along like you are in an English pub 30 years ago. Side One (for those that remember it on vinyl) is just sensational, incorperating the three great rocking tunes to start, moving into the single "Bringin' on the Heartbreak", which was basically the song that got me into Def Leppard in the day, and the brilliant instrumental "Switch 625". Awesome stuff. Side Two may not quite be as brilliant, but it loses nothing in comparison.
Has this album grown in my estimation purely from the fact that I haven’t listened to it for the better part of fifteen years, and that the stuff Def Leppard have released in that timeframe I consider to be pure trash? It’s a fair point, and may have a great deal of truth attached to it. Believe me, having indulged in the album a great deal in the past fortnight, the two things I have wondered is ‘why have I not listened to this in so long’ and ‘why can’t they put out an album like this now?’
But it isn’t the whole truth. When I first listened to it again, I remembered how much I loved it, and remembered sitting in front of the stereo with the album cover in my hands (ahhh, the days of vinyl…).This is Def Leppard at their best, when they were still a hard rock band and hadn't begun to soften and sweeten themselves into the parody they are now. The fact that it is rare to see a song from this album on their current playlist sums their current position up for me.
Rating: A brilliant snapshot of a band in their ultimate element. 5/5
THESE were the days when Def Leppard was a band, when they wrote songs that had attitude, great rolling lyrics and a bit of edge to their music. Back in the day when they could certainly be classed as hard rock, with great riffs and great vocal melodies with Joe Elliott at his finest.
There is not a weak moment on this album. Each song has great anthemic sections, where you just can't help but sing along like you are in an English pub 30 years ago. Side One (for those that remember it on vinyl) is just sensational, incorperating the three great rocking tunes to start, moving into the single "Bringin' on the Heartbreak", which was basically the song that got me into Def Leppard in the day, and the brilliant instrumental "Switch 625". Awesome stuff. Side Two may not quite be as brilliant, but it loses nothing in comparison.
Has this album grown in my estimation purely from the fact that I haven’t listened to it for the better part of fifteen years, and that the stuff Def Leppard have released in that timeframe I consider to be pure trash? It’s a fair point, and may have a great deal of truth attached to it. Believe me, having indulged in the album a great deal in the past fortnight, the two things I have wondered is ‘why have I not listened to this in so long’ and ‘why can’t they put out an album like this now?’
But it isn’t the whole truth. When I first listened to it again, I remembered how much I loved it, and remembered sitting in front of the stereo with the album cover in my hands (ahhh, the days of vinyl…).This is Def Leppard at their best, when they were still a hard rock band and hadn't begun to soften and sweeten themselves into the parody they are now. The fact that it is rare to see a song from this album on their current playlist sums their current position up for me.
Rating: A brilliant snapshot of a band in their ultimate element. 5/5
490. Megadeth / Hidden Treasures. 1995. 4.5/5
This is a collection of tracks that have appeared on movie soundtracks, B-sides to singles and other such places that are not always easy to track down.
As it turns out, I did have most of these songs from all of those places – the movie soundtracks I have bought for one or two decent songs over the years is quite enormous. If only I knew such collections would (eventually) come along, I could have saved myself quite a sum of money.
Anyhow, there is some good stuff here, mixed in with some slightly better than average stuff. As an album in itself (forgetting for a moment the cover songs here) this would be a pretty damn good release. I’ll bet there are a lot of bands out there that wish they could have ‘throwaway’ tracks like “Go To Hell” and “99 Ways To Die” and “Angry Again” and “Breakpoint”. Quite amazing.
Rating: An excellent collection of Megadeth material that doesn’t appear on their studio releases. 4.5/5.
As it turns out, I did have most of these songs from all of those places – the movie soundtracks I have bought for one or two decent songs over the years is quite enormous. If only I knew such collections would (eventually) come along, I could have saved myself quite a sum of money.
Anyhow, there is some good stuff here, mixed in with some slightly better than average stuff. As an album in itself (forgetting for a moment the cover songs here) this would be a pretty damn good release. I’ll bet there are a lot of bands out there that wish they could have ‘throwaway’ tracks like “Go To Hell” and “99 Ways To Die” and “Angry Again” and “Breakpoint”. Quite amazing.
Rating: An excellent collection of Megadeth material that doesn’t appear on their studio releases. 4.5/5.
489. Alice Cooper / Hey Stoopid. 1991. 5/5
Trying to follow up the mega-success that was Trash would have been no mean feat for one of the great icons of music. To help out, he pulled together an array of friends to help write and perform on the new album, and the end result was Hey Stoopid.
Like Trash this has a great mix of Alice Cooper rockers and ballads, and while it is probably rubbished by hard core Cooper fans as it is not a ‘traditional’ album of his style, it was perfect for the time. Having moved with the times (again) he and his buddies have produced an almost flawless combination of songs.
There is something for everyone here. Lyrically every song has its message, even the ‘love ballads’ have that Alice Cooper message infused into their words. As with all of Alice’s work in this direction, there is still enough rock in these songs to stop them falling into the same category as most soft rock ballads that many hair metal bands of the day fell into. Songs such as “Love’s a Loaded Gun”, “Burning Our Bed” and “Might As Well Be On Mars” are still great rock songs. “Might As Well Be On Mars” in particular showcases the best that not only Alice, but his band, has to offer, and is one of my favourites on the album – yes, that’s right, a ‘ballad’ is one of my faves.
Of course, there are the faster, heavier tracks here too. The title track for one, “Feed My Frankenstein”, “Hurricane Years” and “Little By Little” are up there with the best of this generation’s Alice Cooper works.
Not only does he have a great group of musicians around him as a part of his band, the guests on the album reads like a who’s-who of music at the time – Ozzy Osbourne, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Mick Mars, Slash, Nikki Sixx.
Though the ‘traditionalists’ may disagree, I think this is one of Alice Cooper’s finest moments. It is certainly one of my favourite of his albums, if not my absolute favourite. I guess seeing as I spent one night pumping about $45 dollars into a video jukebox, just so my mate and I could watch the video to “Hey Stoopid” about one hundred times in a row back when it was released (missing the movie we had specially gone out to see in the process), I’d have to like it a little bit…
Rating: A great album from one of the finest artists in his time. 5/5.
Like Trash this has a great mix of Alice Cooper rockers and ballads, and while it is probably rubbished by hard core Cooper fans as it is not a ‘traditional’ album of his style, it was perfect for the time. Having moved with the times (again) he and his buddies have produced an almost flawless combination of songs.
There is something for everyone here. Lyrically every song has its message, even the ‘love ballads’ have that Alice Cooper message infused into their words. As with all of Alice’s work in this direction, there is still enough rock in these songs to stop them falling into the same category as most soft rock ballads that many hair metal bands of the day fell into. Songs such as “Love’s a Loaded Gun”, “Burning Our Bed” and “Might As Well Be On Mars” are still great rock songs. “Might As Well Be On Mars” in particular showcases the best that not only Alice, but his band, has to offer, and is one of my favourites on the album – yes, that’s right, a ‘ballad’ is one of my faves.
Of course, there are the faster, heavier tracks here too. The title track for one, “Feed My Frankenstein”, “Hurricane Years” and “Little By Little” are up there with the best of this generation’s Alice Cooper works.
Not only does he have a great group of musicians around him as a part of his band, the guests on the album reads like a who’s-who of music at the time – Ozzy Osbourne, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Mick Mars, Slash, Nikki Sixx.
Though the ‘traditionalists’ may disagree, I think this is one of Alice Cooper’s finest moments. It is certainly one of my favourite of his albums, if not my absolute favourite. I guess seeing as I spent one night pumping about $45 dollars into a video jukebox, just so my mate and I could watch the video to “Hey Stoopid” about one hundred times in a row back when it was released (missing the movie we had specially gone out to see in the process), I’d have to like it a little bit…
Rating: A great album from one of the finest artists in his time. 5/5.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
488. Metallica / Hero of the Day [Single]. 1996. 3/5
So why buy the single? For the extras of course, for the same reason everyone has bought Metallica singles for the past 17 years!
Here we have Metallica covering two Motorhead songs at a live bash they did for Lemmy’s birthday – the songs here are “Overkill” and “Damage Case”, and they are both brilliant.
Then we have a remix of the single – “Outta B Sides Mix” – which is every bit as bad as the original.
Rating: 5/5 for the Motorhead covers, 1/5 for the actual Metallica song. Making 3/5.
487. Scatterbrain / Here Comes Trouble. 1990. 4.5/5
The first logical question to come out of this review is the one I asked almost two decades ago – ‘where the hell did these guys come from?!’ Like just about everyone else in the world, I discovered Scatterbrain when their single “Don’t Call Me Dude” was played everywhere for a month back on its release, and the video was on every music program. The next step was, of course, to buy the album, and see what the rest of their songs were like.
The surprising aspect of it was that the album is terrific. Mixing their own unique style of metal, hard rock and funk together, Here Comes Trouble manages to appeal to all tastes and styles of music without allowing itself to be pigeonholed into one genre.
Taking out the excellent first single, this is still a mighty album – so original and uncompromising. Leading the way are “Here Comes Trouble”, “Earache My Eye”, “That’s That”, “I’m With Stupid”, the brilliant “Down With The Ship (Slight Return)”, which incorporates over a dozen of the best known riffs and drum fills of all time, “Mr Johnson and the Juice Crew” and “Drunken Milkman”. Each is just a brilliant tune, performed with skill and precision, and infused with the humour that makes this band a cut above others in their field.
This is a brilliant album out of left field, the kind of thing one could only hope to achieve with their debut release. The problem is to be able to follow it up and maintain the brilliance. That, as can be discovered, is a very difficult thing to do.
Rating: One out of the box. 4.5/5.
The surprising aspect of it was that the album is terrific. Mixing their own unique style of metal, hard rock and funk together, Here Comes Trouble manages to appeal to all tastes and styles of music without allowing itself to be pigeonholed into one genre.
Taking out the excellent first single, this is still a mighty album – so original and uncompromising. Leading the way are “Here Comes Trouble”, “Earache My Eye”, “That’s That”, “I’m With Stupid”, the brilliant “Down With The Ship (Slight Return)”, which incorporates over a dozen of the best known riffs and drum fills of all time, “Mr Johnson and the Juice Crew” and “Drunken Milkman”. Each is just a brilliant tune, performed with skill and precision, and infused with the humour that makes this band a cut above others in their field.
This is a brilliant album out of left field, the kind of thing one could only hope to achieve with their debut release. The problem is to be able to follow it up and maintain the brilliance. That, as can be discovered, is a very difficult thing to do.
Rating: One out of the box. 4.5/5.
486. Brides of Destruction / Here Come The Brides. 2004. 2.5/5
Starting off at a cracking pace with “Shut the Fuck Up”, it is a shame they couldn’t maintain that kind of intensity for the entire album. Sure, the lead-off track might be clichéd, but it works and has the kind of galloping beat that this music really needs to grab your attention. As an example, as much as I like “Brace Yourself” as a song, it lacks that same intensity and drive that the opening track has. Halfway through the song you can feel yourself losing interest, which certainly shouldn’t be the case.
There are other good songs here, including “2X Dead”, “Natural Born Killers” and “Revolution”, but nothing that comes close to reproducing the energy of “Shut the Fuck Up”. Even more disastrously, however, they leave their worst for last, the very average “Only Get So Far”, which as a soft rock ballad still doesn’t measure up at all.
In the end, this is somewhat of a disappointment. There was a great deal of potential from this line-up for something great, but in the end, despite a couple of good pieces, it falls into the bracket of “heard it all before”.
Rating: Not quite three stars, a little better than just average. 2.5/5.
485. The Beatles / Help! 1965. 4/5
This album doubled as the soundtrack to the film starring The Beatles, also coincidentally named “Help!”
As an album it probably rates as one of their best with consistency of tracks all the way through. It mixes the light and fluffy with the moody and sensitive, and does it in a way that doesn’t detract from the album.
Songs like “Act Naturally” and “Another Girl” and “Dizzy Miss Lizzy” start the album off on a light, marshmellowy note. There’s no genius songwriting here, but just a gentle carefree way to begin.
“I Need You” and “It’s Only Love” are just a little too slow and reflective for my taste (that’s what you get when you love heavy metal music I guess), and probably tie down the middle of the album a tad too much for my liking.
The second half of the album is where Help! really brings home the bacon. The tempo picks up with “The Night Before”, leading into the upbeat “Ticket to Ride”, McCartney’s wonderful and eternal “Yesterday”, the strains of “You’re Going to Lose That Girl” and “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love” and the lasting memory of the title track “Help!”
It is with this style of album that I believe The Beatles are at their best. On Help! they combine what I would term their ‘kiddie’ songs with their pop tunes. Some of their best ever songs can be found here. What is more, the album progresses without a hiccup, rolling along and flowing so well that before you know it, it’s over, and you feel the desire to listen to it all over again.
Rating: One of my Beatles favourites. 4/5.
As an album it probably rates as one of their best with consistency of tracks all the way through. It mixes the light and fluffy with the moody and sensitive, and does it in a way that doesn’t detract from the album.
Songs like “Act Naturally” and “Another Girl” and “Dizzy Miss Lizzy” start the album off on a light, marshmellowy note. There’s no genius songwriting here, but just a gentle carefree way to begin.
“I Need You” and “It’s Only Love” are just a little too slow and reflective for my taste (that’s what you get when you love heavy metal music I guess), and probably tie down the middle of the album a tad too much for my liking.
The second half of the album is where Help! really brings home the bacon. The tempo picks up with “The Night Before”, leading into the upbeat “Ticket to Ride”, McCartney’s wonderful and eternal “Yesterday”, the strains of “You’re Going to Lose That Girl” and “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love” and the lasting memory of the title track “Help!”
It is with this style of album that I believe The Beatles are at their best. On Help! they combine what I would term their ‘kiddie’ songs with their pop tunes. Some of their best ever songs can be found here. What is more, the album progresses without a hiccup, rolling along and flowing so well that before you know it, it’s over, and you feel the desire to listen to it all over again.
Rating: One of my Beatles favourites. 4/5.
Monday, June 23, 2008
484. Hellyeah / Hellyeah. 2007. 1/5
Following the demise of Damageplan after the murder of Dimebag Darrell, from the ashes came drummer Vinnie Paul’s new project Hellyeah.
Now nu-metal is not my perfect cup of tea, and while there are certainly things to like about this album, I think it falls short on too many issues.
For a start – it isn’t unique. That’s not an inherently bad thing, but originality does help in new bands. This sounds like a thousand other bands out there. The similarity of the songs also creates some confusion when trying to decipher which song you are listening to. Again, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as long as you can pull it off and make it your own. That isn’t the case here.
Indeed, I would back most schoolboy garage bands in the modern day to be able to come out and write and play stuff just like this, and in some cases probably even better it. There is nothing spectacular in the guitars, or the drums, or the vocals, or the lyrics. Kids in the garage would probably play something more inspired.
Rating: Lackluster and without any hooks. 1/5.
Now nu-metal is not my perfect cup of tea, and while there are certainly things to like about this album, I think it falls short on too many issues.
For a start – it isn’t unique. That’s not an inherently bad thing, but originality does help in new bands. This sounds like a thousand other bands out there. The similarity of the songs also creates some confusion when trying to decipher which song you are listening to. Again, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as long as you can pull it off and make it your own. That isn’t the case here.
Indeed, I would back most schoolboy garage bands in the modern day to be able to come out and write and play stuff just like this, and in some cases probably even better it. There is nothing spectacular in the guitars, or the drums, or the vocals, or the lyrics. Kids in the garage would probably play something more inspired.
Rating: Lackluster and without any hooks. 1/5.
483. Various Artists / Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth [Original Soundtrack]. 1992. 1.5/5
Soundtrack albums are always on a hiding to nothing. It’s very difficult to find the right balance of songs to please everyone in order to get the public to buy the album. As it is, I doubt I would have purchased this if I hadn’t received it as a birthday gift all those years ago.
Quite simply, this is full of average songs from unknown bands – apart from the two star attractions. Motorhead’s version of “Hellraiser” is here (as written with Ozzy Osbourne), along with Bruce Dickinson’s version of Alice Cooper’s “Elected”. Both songs are brilliant. The rest is just not inspiring at all, even when heard in the background throughout the movie.
Rating: Take out the two songs mentioned, and it would rate a 1. But you can’t live off two songs. 1.5/5.
Quite simply, this is full of average songs from unknown bands – apart from the two star attractions. Motorhead’s version of “Hellraiser” is here (as written with Ozzy Osbourne), along with Bruce Dickinson’s version of Alice Cooper’s “Elected”. Both songs are brilliant. The rest is just not inspiring at all, even when heard in the background throughout the movie.
Rating: Take out the two songs mentioned, and it would rate a 1. But you can’t live off two songs. 1.5/5.
482. Edguy / Hellfire Club. 2004. 3.5/5
Another in the production line of power metal albums, and as with most bands of this genre, there is nothing new here. There are the stock-standard faster metallic songs, interspersed with the two or three comfortable soft metal ballads, that announce themselves full of keyboards and strings.
Edguy are a band that I have given a lot of time to over recent years, probably mainly because they bothered to tour Australia (at least twice) when our dollar was a poor performer on the world stage. And a lot of their stuff I enjoy – especially Mandrake which is the album I first heard of theirs. However, as with most power metal bands that like to dabble in the ballad, I feel it is their downfall. It does just halt the progress of the album. “The Spirit Will Remain” is one of those songs here on Hellfire Club. The fact that it is also the final song on the album (barring bonus tracks) is also a mistake. It kills the entire mood of the album, and defeats the conscious thoughts of listening to it all over again.
Fortunately, the remainder of the album is saved by songs like the terrific “We Don’t Need A Hero” raising this album’s ranking in the long run, and containing the flying drums and guitars along with Tobias Sammat’s amazing vocal range that make this band what they are at their best. The positives here outweigh the negatives however. The album begins wonderfully well with “Mysteria”, and clambers along with help from great tunes such as “Down to the Devil”, “King of Fools” and “Under The Moon”, showcasing the best that this band has to offer. In so many ways, bands of this genre can be far too similar in style and substance. If its done well, though, none of that matters. Hellfire Club is one of those albums.
Rating: Another great effort from the lads. 3.5/5.
Edguy are a band that I have given a lot of time to over recent years, probably mainly because they bothered to tour Australia (at least twice) when our dollar was a poor performer on the world stage. And a lot of their stuff I enjoy – especially Mandrake which is the album I first heard of theirs. However, as with most power metal bands that like to dabble in the ballad, I feel it is their downfall. It does just halt the progress of the album. “The Spirit Will Remain” is one of those songs here on Hellfire Club. The fact that it is also the final song on the album (barring bonus tracks) is also a mistake. It kills the entire mood of the album, and defeats the conscious thoughts of listening to it all over again.
Fortunately, the remainder of the album is saved by songs like the terrific “We Don’t Need A Hero” raising this album’s ranking in the long run, and containing the flying drums and guitars along with Tobias Sammat’s amazing vocal range that make this band what they are at their best. The positives here outweigh the negatives however. The album begins wonderfully well with “Mysteria”, and clambers along with help from great tunes such as “Down to the Devil”, “King of Fools” and “Under The Moon”, showcasing the best that this band has to offer. In so many ways, bands of this genre can be far too similar in style and substance. If its done well, though, none of that matters. Hellfire Club is one of those albums.
Rating: Another great effort from the lads. 3.5/5.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
481. W.A.S.P. / Helldorado. 1999. 4/5
This album takes some heat amongst metal fans, and even die-hard W.A.S.P. fans, and for some reasons that heat is valid. But I don’t think all of that derogatory talk is warranted. Maybe people wanted the band to continue forever in the phase of story-telling albums such as The Crimson Idol or in the more serious vein of K.F.D. I’m really not sure, but Helldorado is certainly a change in direction again from both of those albums.
I’ll admit that when I first bought the album, I gave it a few tries, found it to be just average, and threw it in the closet for a couple of years and forgot about it. However, upon its resurrection in the past six months, I have found myself wondering why I gave it such a poor appraisal on first listen.
Take note, however. This album contains some of the most ridiculous lyrics ever written. Without knowing for sure, I can only guess that Blackie decided to get right away from the serious kind of lyrics he had been writing in recent albums, and go for pure stupidity on this release. No great problem with that, I guess, but it makes it difficult to sing along to the songs with great gusto because they are so very uninspiring. The band did it brilliantly with songs like “F*#k Like A Beast” and “Blind in Texas”, but a whole album of clangers?
It really is a shame, because the music itself is top shelf W.A.S.P. riffage and energy. Blackie is in fine form on vocals, Chris Holmes is at his rocking best with typical leads, Mike Duda on bass and backing vocals continues his excellent work, while Stet Howland is again fantastic on drums.
No doubt this was an effort to return closer to the sound of the original three W.A.S.P. albums, and musically they have done it brilliantly. Lyrically however it’s just a little too childish to enjoy fully. Having said that, I think this has been underrated for many years because people have been taking it on face value. The tunes are still great, and listening to the music without analyzing the lyrics will give you a greater appreciation for it as a whole.
Rating: Better than it is given credit for. 4/5
I’ll admit that when I first bought the album, I gave it a few tries, found it to be just average, and threw it in the closet for a couple of years and forgot about it. However, upon its resurrection in the past six months, I have found myself wondering why I gave it such a poor appraisal on first listen.
Take note, however. This album contains some of the most ridiculous lyrics ever written. Without knowing for sure, I can only guess that Blackie decided to get right away from the serious kind of lyrics he had been writing in recent albums, and go for pure stupidity on this release. No great problem with that, I guess, but it makes it difficult to sing along to the songs with great gusto because they are so very uninspiring. The band did it brilliantly with songs like “F*#k Like A Beast” and “Blind in Texas”, but a whole album of clangers?
It really is a shame, because the music itself is top shelf W.A.S.P. riffage and energy. Blackie is in fine form on vocals, Chris Holmes is at his rocking best with typical leads, Mike Duda on bass and backing vocals continues his excellent work, while Stet Howland is again fantastic on drums.
No doubt this was an effort to return closer to the sound of the original three W.A.S.P. albums, and musically they have done it brilliantly. Lyrically however it’s just a little too childish to enjoy fully. Having said that, I think this has been underrated for many years because people have been taking it on face value. The tunes are still great, and listening to the music without analyzing the lyrics will give you a greater appreciation for it as a whole.
Rating: Better than it is given credit for. 4/5
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
480. Slayer / Hell Awaits. 1985. 4/5
Listening to this album in a modern light, against modern heavy metal bands, and comparing it against modern production techniques and advancements, and you would wonder why people saw this as such a radical employment of musicianship. By today’s standards it sounds quite tame. That of course is not the case when you hear these songs performed in a live environment, but on vinyl (or disc) it is not so ferocious.
Take yourself back 20-odd years though, to when this was released, and imagine yourself in an era that produced sugar-pop songs by the truckload, and think about how it would have been viewed in its original era. Shocking? No doubt. Heavy? Oh yes!
Hannerman and King’s guitars shake the house down with their killer riffs, even at this early stage of their careers. Araya screams and spits with contempt, crying out the lyrics that shocked parents around the world when they first appeared. Add to this the flying drumming from Lombardo that lifts the tempo of the album to greater heights, and you can still hear the roots of what this band soon became.
The title track is still a gem, and along with other favourites such as "At Dawn They Sleep", "Necrophiliac" and "Hardening of the Arteries" this still comes up trumps. Like I mentioned, it just doesn’t sound as threatening as it used to back in the mid-80’s, but then again neither do other albums of that era, such as Exodus’ Bonded By Blood and Megadeth’s Killing is My Business… And Business Is Good! But you know they are, and you know they were.
Rating: Disregard this at your own risk. It’s still bloody good. 4/5.
Take yourself back 20-odd years though, to when this was released, and imagine yourself in an era that produced sugar-pop songs by the truckload, and think about how it would have been viewed in its original era. Shocking? No doubt. Heavy? Oh yes!
Hannerman and King’s guitars shake the house down with their killer riffs, even at this early stage of their careers. Araya screams and spits with contempt, crying out the lyrics that shocked parents around the world when they first appeared. Add to this the flying drumming from Lombardo that lifts the tempo of the album to greater heights, and you can still hear the roots of what this band soon became.
The title track is still a gem, and along with other favourites such as "At Dawn They Sleep", "Necrophiliac" and "Hardening of the Arteries" this still comes up trumps. Like I mentioned, it just doesn’t sound as threatening as it used to back in the mid-80’s, but then again neither do other albums of that era, such as Exodus’ Bonded By Blood and Megadeth’s Killing is My Business… And Business Is Good! But you know they are, and you know they were.
Rating: Disregard this at your own risk. It’s still bloody good. 4/5.
479. Michael Schenker Group / Heavy Hitters. 2005. 3.5/5
The fact that this has been released under the MSG moniker is a bit misleading. It is in fact a collection of covers played with Michael Schenker on guitar, and a number of guest musicians lending their support to different songs. Like other ‘tribute’ albums he has been involved in, Bob Kulick again put together this compilation, and in reality it probably should have been promoted as such.
Anyhow, leaving that behind us, here are ten songs, selected from the word of hard rock and heavy metal, featuring the legendary guitarist on all tracks, with different vocalists lending their voices. For me this is a rather strange selection of songs, and most sound better in their original environment. I mean, why would you try and do “All Shook Up”? Sure, Joe Lynn Turner tries to do something different with the vocal, but why would you ever try and beat the original? Then, for some reason they do a ‘cover’ of “Doctor Doctor” which he’s played a billion times in his life. Why? “War Pigs” with Tim “Ripper” Owens is worth a listen, and though I like the song, the version of “Out In The Fields” is a bit blah really, certainly compared to the original.
Most of the other songs? Well, average fare again.
As a way of showcasing his talent, I don’t think this quite pulls it off. Most of us know how great a guitarist he is, and listening to him playing cover songs does nothing to diminish that, but nothing to enhance it either. From someone who has helped to write some of the best songs of all time, as well as some of the most well-known lead guitar breaks, what purpose does this album really serve?
Rating: It sounded better in promotion than it turned out to be. 3.5/5
Anyhow, leaving that behind us, here are ten songs, selected from the word of hard rock and heavy metal, featuring the legendary guitarist on all tracks, with different vocalists lending their voices. For me this is a rather strange selection of songs, and most sound better in their original environment. I mean, why would you try and do “All Shook Up”? Sure, Joe Lynn Turner tries to do something different with the vocal, but why would you ever try and beat the original? Then, for some reason they do a ‘cover’ of “Doctor Doctor” which he’s played a billion times in his life. Why? “War Pigs” with Tim “Ripper” Owens is worth a listen, and though I like the song, the version of “Out In The Fields” is a bit blah really, certainly compared to the original.
Most of the other songs? Well, average fare again.
As a way of showcasing his talent, I don’t think this quite pulls it off. Most of us know how great a guitarist he is, and listening to him playing cover songs does nothing to diminish that, but nothing to enhance it either. From someone who has helped to write some of the best songs of all time, as well as some of the most well-known lead guitar breaks, what purpose does this album really serve?
Rating: It sounded better in promotion than it turned out to be. 3.5/5
478. Black Sabbath / Heaven and Hell. 1980. 5/5
To cut a long story short – what was produced was one of the greatest albums of all time.
From the opening riff, with Geezer and Tony thundering in together, and then the majesty of Dio’s vocals coming in with "Oh, no… here it comes again…” you are absolutely hooked. There must have been some doubt that Sabbath could operate with another vocalist at this time, but those doubts were surely wiped away about thirty seconds into the opening song.
“Neon Knights” is a classic, showcasing everything the band has to offer – Iommi’s brilliant guitar riffs, the amazing bass work of Geezer Butler, Bill Ward’s wonderful synchronisation, and the stellar vocals of Ronnie Dio. It also highlights a change in the lyrical writing, an added bonus of Dio joining the band. This flows beautifully into “Children of the Sea”, which is an excellent example of how Sabbath could now diversify with their new vocalist. Following this is “Lady Evil”, the "magical mystical woman” that feels so much like a Dio concoction.
“Heaven and Hell” is still as huge a song today as it was almost thirty years ago. Highlighting the best of all four band members, it surely stands as one of the best songs ever written in any genre of music. Through various versions of Black Sabbath, and also in Dio’s own band, this song continues to exist in live sets. It is a monster that stands the test of time.
This then leads into "Wishing Well" and "Die Young, both of which almost steal the show of being the best on the album. Certainly "Wishing Well" sometimes gets overlooked because of the profile of the surrounding songs, but it still contains one of my favourite lines in a song ever...
"I'll give you a star, so you'll know just where you are
Someday, someway, you'll feel the things I say
Dream for awhile of the things that make you smile
Oh you know - that I'm your Wishing Well"
There has, amongst my group, been conjecture over the final two songs on the album, and as to whether they fall into the category of ‘filler’. Now while they probably don’t hold up as brilliantly against the first six songs on the album – what would? In a way, it is a good way to close out an album of such shining brilliance. Neither “Walk Away” nor “Lonely Is The Word” overshadow what has come before them, and yet they hold their own in a way that doesn’t disappoint. Dio’s vocals soar in “Lonely Is The Word”.
This is not a traditional Black Sabbath album, in the mould of what had come before Heaven and Hell. While the basics of the music remain in the riffs and drum beat, there is no doubt that the arrival of Dio in the band pushed them into a new dimension musically.
This album is a true masterpiece.
My first memory of this album is of walking to the amusingly titled “Double Games Period” in Year Eleven at school, and spending the entire two hours watching other people play basketball and volleyball while we cranked this album in my cassette player and lay back and enjoyed it. I still think of those times every time I listen to the album.
Quite simply, this is one of the greatest ever. It stands the test of time as well as any other album ever recorded, and it holds its place in history without question.
Rating: Ranks in my top five albums of all time. 5/5
477. Queen / Heaven For Everyone [Single]. 1995. 4/5
This was the first single released from the ‘final’ Queen album, Made in Heaven. It obviously got heavy radio exposure, especially as it was released almost four years after Freddie Mercury’s death.
It contains the single, plus three remastered classics, “Keep Yourself Alive”, “Seven Seas of Rhye” and “Killer Queen”. Funny then that the single is the weakest of all tracks.
Rating: The single is reasonable, backed by great followers. 4/5.
It contains the single, plus three remastered classics, “Keep Yourself Alive”, “Seven Seas of Rhye” and “Killer Queen”. Funny then that the single is the weakest of all tracks.
Rating: The single is reasonable, backed by great followers. 4/5.
476. Hear 'n Aid / Stars [Single]. 1986. 5/5
One of the greatest events during the 1980's for heavy metal fans like myself was the Hear 'n Aid project which produced this single. Bringing together the cream of the industry at the height of its collective powers, this single, and the accompanying video, was a beacon for me. Not only could you see and hear your own favourites perform, but I even picked up on some new bands and individuals in which to test out.
OK, it might be cheesy, and it might be overblown, but where else can you have this many great metal stars all together - lots of great vocalists get a line or two, many great guitarists get to shred for a few seconds or so, and all in all it is just a fun collection of great people.
I still think this is great after all these years. The video of course is more enlightening, but for 80's metal sing-a-longs, this is a necessity.
Rating: Laugh and sing. 5/5
OK, it might be cheesy, and it might be overblown, but where else can you have this many great metal stars all together - lots of great vocalists get a line or two, many great guitarists get to shred for a few seconds or so, and all in all it is just a fun collection of great people.
I still think this is great after all these years. The video of course is more enlightening, but for 80's metal sing-a-longs, this is a necessity.
Rating: Laugh and sing. 5/5
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
475. Cinderella / Heartbreak Station. 1990. 1/5
A hair metal band that wants to be a country and western band? An interesting career choice, I would have thought. Send in the steel guitars, bring in the piano. It’s all here, and it’s all a bit of a change.
Though I was never a huge Cinderella fan, this album surprised me with what seems to be a huge change in direction musically. Honestly, when you first put on the album, and “The More Things Change” starts, you would dead set start looking at the CD cover to see why you had put on a rockabilly country album.
So what was the reasoning behind this? I don’t know, I must admit. But it isn’t one of my favoured genres of music, and therefore this album really doesn’t rate at all. I guess, in a morbid kind of way, I can listen to this and try to appreciate it for what it is, like for instance Gary Moore’s Still Got The Blues. But it really doesn’t appeal to me at all, and I wonder (still) why they went in this direction.
Rating: No, no, no… this just isn’t right… 1/5.
Though I was never a huge Cinderella fan, this album surprised me with what seems to be a huge change in direction musically. Honestly, when you first put on the album, and “The More Things Change” starts, you would dead set start looking at the CD cover to see why you had put on a rockabilly country album.
So what was the reasoning behind this? I don’t know, I must admit. But it isn’t one of my favoured genres of music, and therefore this album really doesn’t rate at all. I guess, in a morbid kind of way, I can listen to this and try to appreciate it for what it is, like for instance Gary Moore’s Still Got The Blues. But it really doesn’t appeal to me at all, and I wonder (still) why they went in this direction.
Rating: No, no, no… this just isn’t right… 1/5.
474. W.A.S.P. / The Headless Children. 1989. 5/5.
Following three great studio albums and a live release, this album marked what, to me, felt like a maturing of the band and their songwriting – and it excited me. I think I was a little obsessed at this stage of my life.
What really grabbed me initially was the start of the album. “The Heretic (The Lost Child)” is such an awesome song. The mood of the song, the melody of the chorus line, the guitars of Chris and Blackie – it all comes together in a way that chills me. It was the first thing I noticed again when I first played this last week to review it, how this song immediately drew me into the album, sent that thrill through me, and had me singing along passionately. A great opening song. This is followed by The Who classic “The Real Me”, where you can certainly feel Blackie’s passion for the song.
Returning to a more typical W.A.S.P. number with “The Headless Children”, you then meet the strange piano opening of “Thunderhead”, which throws you right off once you get into the thick of the song, where Blackie gives us more of that W.A.S.P. play-acting that permeates so many of their songs.
“Mean Man”, the song written about guitarist Chris Holmes, is quite possibly the final song of the original W.A.S.P. era. It has the ingredients that ties it to that pre-Crimson Idol era – with great spitting lyrics and heavy riffing guitars and driving bass and drums. Things changed after this album, but that is for other reviews.
“Forever Free” is another great song in the spirit of “Sleeping In The Fire”, and fits in on the album just perfectly. Then we get back to finishing the album in style with “Maneater” and “Rebel in the F.D.G”, which brings home the album in a loud and raucous conclusion that just encourages you to go back and start it all again.
This album got me through a lot of unhappy times while I was at university, and not enjoying it at all. Putting this album on used to help clear the aggression from my system, and make me feel a lot better about my life. For that alone I could award it full marks. But this truly is an excellently written and packaged album. The band is in top form, and you can sense the change from their earlier releases – for the good.
Rating: As good as their earlier albums are, this matches them step for step. 5/5.
What really grabbed me initially was the start of the album. “The Heretic (The Lost Child)” is such an awesome song. The mood of the song, the melody of the chorus line, the guitars of Chris and Blackie – it all comes together in a way that chills me. It was the first thing I noticed again when I first played this last week to review it, how this song immediately drew me into the album, sent that thrill through me, and had me singing along passionately. A great opening song. This is followed by The Who classic “The Real Me”, where you can certainly feel Blackie’s passion for the song.
Returning to a more typical W.A.S.P. number with “The Headless Children”, you then meet the strange piano opening of “Thunderhead”, which throws you right off once you get into the thick of the song, where Blackie gives us more of that W.A.S.P. play-acting that permeates so many of their songs.
“Mean Man”, the song written about guitarist Chris Holmes, is quite possibly the final song of the original W.A.S.P. era. It has the ingredients that ties it to that pre-Crimson Idol era – with great spitting lyrics and heavy riffing guitars and driving bass and drums. Things changed after this album, but that is for other reviews.
“Forever Free” is another great song in the spirit of “Sleeping In The Fire”, and fits in on the album just perfectly. Then we get back to finishing the album in style with “Maneater” and “Rebel in the F.D.G”, which brings home the album in a loud and raucous conclusion that just encourages you to go back and start it all again.
This album got me through a lot of unhappy times while I was at university, and not enjoying it at all. Putting this album on used to help clear the aggression from my system, and make me feel a lot better about my life. For that alone I could award it full marks. But this truly is an excellently written and packaged album. The band is in top form, and you can sense the change from their earlier releases – for the good.
Rating: As good as their earlier albums are, this matches them step for step. 5/5.
473. Gamma Ray / Heading for Tomorrow. 1990. 5/5.
From the very first time I put the needle on the vinyl, this album had grabbed me. The instrumental opening of “Welcome”, the speed and screech of “Lust for Life”, the flow into “Heaven Can Wait”, the majesty of “Space Eater”. These opening tracks blew away any doubts I had that Kai could reproduce the brilliance that he had had in Helloween. In Ralf Scheepers he had a vocalist who could hit the notes at both ends of the spectrum. As a songwriter, there was never any doubt about Kai’s quality, and his new band performs them superbly. The 'happy guitars' that were prevalent in Helloween are just as much so here, enhanced by the keyboards in the background as well. It is just one of the things makes this album a joy, because the mood is up and lively, not down and dark in any way.
The other motivating factor in keeping the mood and feeling of the album so positive, and what I so love about it, are the themes of the majority of the songs. Every band has certain ways they like to approach song writing and what they want to sing about, and the messages on Heading for Tomorrow are brilliant. “Money” preaches that there is more to life than being rich, and that money doesn't necessarily bring happiness. “Free Time” is simply about wanting to spend time with your family and friends and not feel like you are working your life away – something I can relate to fully. “Lust for Life” begins the album with much the same message – get out and enjoy your life and not get bogged down in drama. These are just simple themes, but put together here in song in a genre of music that doesn’t necessarily have those themes attached to it in many people's minds makes this a positive change.
For me, the only song I have slight doubts about is “The Silence”, which is funny because it is the one song they still have in their live set today. It isn't a bad song, and it does sound much better live than it does here, but it has always been one of those Gamma Ray songs that had bugged me, and there aren't many of them! It does kick in once you reach the solo section, but you have to get there first. None of this stops me singing along to it every time I listen to it though. "Hold Your Ground" has always been underrated in my opinion too, it always sounds great. And what about "Space Eater"! This one sneaks up on you when you first put the album on, but it has great riffs, and Ralf's amazing vocals have to be heard to be believed. Try singing that middle section like he does. It can't be done. Brilliant song.
Following up all of this is the majestic closer (on vinyl anyway, before the CD ‘bonus tracks’ came around), “Heading for Tomorrow”. Clocking in at 14:30 minutes, it encompasses every aspect of this band’s strengths – great vocals, heavy riffage, melodic moodiness, a ready made crowd chant in the middle, and an anthemic conclusion. Just a fabulous song, and surely a risk-taker on your debut opus with a new band. But it works on all levels, and is still just magnificent.
When I first bought this, it was an instant hit, and I had it going around on both turntable and in my car cassette player for months. Looking back on it in a modern day sense, then I guess it may have dated a bit, and that younger people listening to it may not get as much out of it today as I did back then – or still do now. But that is music – it often takes you back to the time you first heard it, and hopefully reminds you of good times. Heading for Tomorrow certainly does that for me. I think if you give it a try, you will still find everything I find brilliant about this album. Not to mention the start of what I believe is probably still the premium band in metal in the world.
Rating: We are heading for tomorrow, but we don't know if we're near. 5/5
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
472. Black Sabbath / Headless Cross. 1989. 3/5
Following up the return to form for this band with The Eternal Idol was always going to be a difficult task. With the Sabbath legacy back off the operating table, the task now was to keep it alive and resist cardiac arrest.
Unlike that previous album however, there are less inspirational guitar riffs from Tony Iommi, a lot more vocal wailing from Tony Martin, and the songs sound like they have been written especially for the 1980’s soft rock era that they were residing in. There is very little here that would convince you that this is a Black Sabbath album. All the trademarks have been washed clean, and instead you have an album that vaguely reminds you of a softer Whitesnake album – except that at the time Whitesnake were producing raucous hard rock albums. In the same way that Seventh Star should never have gone under the Black Sabbath banner, here is another example. It’s not a bad album per se, it’s just that it doesn’t SOUND like a Black Sabbath album! In fact, if you were to play it to a friend without announcing who the artist is, they would be more likely to enjoy for what it is without the pressure of ‘liking’ a Black Sabbath album.
There are some good songs here, such as “Headless Cross”, “Black Moon” and “Nightwing”, but this really isn’t a metal album. It’s a hard rock album at best, and one where the grunt has been ripped out of Tony Iommi’s guitar. Whether that was it in the songwriting or the production, it should have been caught and rectified.
Rating: Could have been a lot better with more true Iommi. 3/5.
Unlike that previous album however, there are less inspirational guitar riffs from Tony Iommi, a lot more vocal wailing from Tony Martin, and the songs sound like they have been written especially for the 1980’s soft rock era that they were residing in. There is very little here that would convince you that this is a Black Sabbath album. All the trademarks have been washed clean, and instead you have an album that vaguely reminds you of a softer Whitesnake album – except that at the time Whitesnake were producing raucous hard rock albums. In the same way that Seventh Star should never have gone under the Black Sabbath banner, here is another example. It’s not a bad album per se, it’s just that it doesn’t SOUND like a Black Sabbath album! In fact, if you were to play it to a friend without announcing who the artist is, they would be more likely to enjoy for what it is without the pressure of ‘liking’ a Black Sabbath album.
There are some good songs here, such as “Headless Cross”, “Black Moon” and “Nightwing”, but this really isn’t a metal album. It’s a hard rock album at best, and one where the grunt has been ripped out of Tony Iommi’s guitar. Whether that was it in the songwriting or the production, it should have been caught and rectified.
Rating: Could have been a lot better with more true Iommi. 3/5.
471. Midnight Oil / Head Injuries. 1979. 3.5/5
It is almost impossible to pigeon-hole a genre that Midnight Oil belongs too. Australian Rock, yes, but apart from that… difficult. Here on Head Injuries they again prove themselves to be ahead of their time and also in a class of their own. Mixing styles and experimenting and diversifying throughout the album, it is another great example of their great strengths.
Led by the ever present vocals of Peter Garrett, and the continuing awesomeness of Rob Hirst’s drumming and percussive work, and the dream-like guitaring of Jim Moginie and Martin Rotsey, The Oils storm through another great collection of songs, most of which are probably unfamiliar to those that have only heard their radio hits. That in itself is a shame, because songs like “Is It Now?” and “No Reaction” are two of my favourite Oils songs, and they rarely get recognised in the wider community.
This album acted like a catapult, and from this point on, there was no stopping the machine that was Midnight Oil.
Rating: A worthy addition to any collection. 3.5/5
Led by the ever present vocals of Peter Garrett, and the continuing awesomeness of Rob Hirst’s drumming and percussive work, and the dream-like guitaring of Jim Moginie and Martin Rotsey, The Oils storm through another great collection of songs, most of which are probably unfamiliar to those that have only heard their radio hits. That in itself is a shame, because songs like “Is It Now?” and “No Reaction” are two of my favourite Oils songs, and they rarely get recognised in the wider community.
This album acted like a catapult, and from this point on, there was no stopping the machine that was Midnight Oil.
Rating: A worthy addition to any collection. 3.5/5
Monday, June 02, 2008
470. Gary Moore / Have Some Moore: The Best of Gary Moore. 2000. 3/5
It is never an easy job to put together a greatest hits compilation, especially for an artist who has been around as long, as had as many releases, and has been as versatile as Gary Moore. Indeed, for the different styles he has recorded over the years, how could a compilation of this type possibly please all of his fans? Even when you decide to release it as a double CD, you are really going to struggle to include everything to please everyone. Therein lies the problem.
In the long run, this really doesn’t quite please anyone to the degree they would have liked. The song selection was always the toughest hurdle, but in the end I don’t think they even got near to being ‘the best of Gary Moore’, and that’s with two discs!! Apart from a couple of notable selections, the first disc is a write off for me. Of course, that is because I’m not as big a fan of his latter day blues material, but even the selection of tracks there was a bit ordinary. The choice of some live tracks there was fine – but then when it came to putting on “Wishing Well” on the second disc, they chose the dreadfully dull and lethargic studio version over the brilliant live version! What the hell was with that?! Not only that, there are so many songs missing here that just had to be first choices – “Back on the Streets”, “Hiroshima”, Nuclear Attack”, “Led Clones”, “Run to Your Mama” – that this is almost a complete joke.
As it turns out, I could cut these selections down to one disc, call it “Partly The Best of Gary Moore”, and then add another disc of all the great songs they ignored, and sold it off with a better, truer title than this should surely carry.
Do yourself a favour – go out and purchase Dirty Fingers, Victims of the Future and Live in Japan and you will have a better collection than is found here.
Rating: Listenable enough, but for a fan, a tad disappointing. 3/5.
In the long run, this really doesn’t quite please anyone to the degree they would have liked. The song selection was always the toughest hurdle, but in the end I don’t think they even got near to being ‘the best of Gary Moore’, and that’s with two discs!! Apart from a couple of notable selections, the first disc is a write off for me. Of course, that is because I’m not as big a fan of his latter day blues material, but even the selection of tracks there was a bit ordinary. The choice of some live tracks there was fine – but then when it came to putting on “Wishing Well” on the second disc, they chose the dreadfully dull and lethargic studio version over the brilliant live version! What the hell was with that?! Not only that, there are so many songs missing here that just had to be first choices – “Back on the Streets”, “Hiroshima”, Nuclear Attack”, “Led Clones”, “Run to Your Mama” – that this is almost a complete joke.
As it turns out, I could cut these selections down to one disc, call it “Partly The Best of Gary Moore”, and then add another disc of all the great songs they ignored, and sold it off with a better, truer title than this should surely carry.
Do yourself a favour – go out and purchase Dirty Fingers, Victims of the Future and Live in Japan and you will have a better collection than is found here.
Rating: Listenable enough, but for a fan, a tad disappointing. 3/5.
469. The Beatles / A Hard Day's Night. 1964. 3.5/5
Incorporating the style that made The Beatles who they were, A Hard Day’s Night is one of their best albums, by combining the whimsical and wistful with the upbeat and poppy.
This album seems to get overlooked a bit in The Beatles catalogue, but not only does it have the well known singles that came from it, but the other songs that make up the album are all more than just filler as well.
As with most of their albums the songs are all shortish – radio bite-sized pieces for maximum exposure. The great benefit of this is that the album seems to flow along swiftly without getting bogged down anywhere. Of course, this doubles as the soundtrack to the movie of the same name that starred the band, but having not seen the film I couldn’t tell you whether it works well in that environment or not.
Favourites here include “A Hard Day’s Night”, “I Should Have Known Better”, “If I Fell”, “Can’t Buy Me Love” and “I’ll Be Back”.
Rating: One of my favourite Beatles albums. 3.5/5.
This album seems to get overlooked a bit in The Beatles catalogue, but not only does it have the well known singles that came from it, but the other songs that make up the album are all more than just filler as well.
As with most of their albums the songs are all shortish – radio bite-sized pieces for maximum exposure. The great benefit of this is that the album seems to flow along swiftly without getting bogged down anywhere. Of course, this doubles as the soundtrack to the movie of the same name that starred the band, but having not seen the film I couldn’t tell you whether it works well in that environment or not.
Favourites here include “A Hard Day’s Night”, “I Should Have Known Better”, “If I Fell”, “Can’t Buy Me Love” and “I’ll Be Back”.
Rating: One of my favourite Beatles albums. 3.5/5.
468. Fozzy / Happenstance. 2002. 3.5/5
On the follow up to their debut album, Fozzy have doubled their original songs output from that first album. It contained just two originals, whereas here on “Happenstance” the band has four, and they are all very good songs, excellent in fact. The opening instrumental “Whitechapel 1888” punches straight into “To Kill a Stranger”, which was also the album’s first single. This song was used in the WWE for a time around its release, giving the cross promotion between Jericho’s two personas a boost. This was followed by the title track which is another excellent track. The final two originals are sandwiched between the cover songs that the band plays, and they blend in nicely into the album. “Crucify Yourself” has great power while “With the Fire” also has its moments. These songs show the ability of the band to produce their own songs, something that would eventually be a push towards the future.
When it comes to the cover songs on the album, Chris Jericho in particular has taken on some of the giants of the industry in regards to the songs that the band does and the singers who sing them. Trying to replicate vocals from the legends of the genre, including Rob Halford for Judas Priest’s “Freewheel Burning”, Ronnie James Dio for Black Sabbath’s “Mob Rules”, Klaus Meine for Scorpions’ “Big City Nights”, Blackie Lawless for W.A.S.P.’s “L.O.V.E. Machine”, Udo Dirkschneider for Accept’s “Balls to the Wall” and Bruce Dickinson for Iron Maiden’s “Where Eagles Dare” is as close to madness as one could possibly come. And t be perfectly honest he does a great job with all of them. The band does a great job in honouring the original versions, not straying too far from how they were originally recorded, and Jericho gives a great vocal performance.
Like most of the band’s early fans, I picked up on this through recommendations given to me through heavy metal message boards that existed at the turn of the century, and through a WWE wrestler becoming the lead singer of a heavy metal band. It’s hard not to bite at that and come in and check out what they are doing. I came across both of the first albums at the same time, which gave me the chance to play them back to back often and for some time during those years of 2002 and 2003. It was like having a best-of mixtape with a cover band doing all these great tracks. But I guess what was important for me was that I did enjoy the originals that the band had written, and even then I wondered firstly if the band would actually stick together seeing as it had started as a side project for all of the players, and secondly would they ever decide to put out a full original album.
And I’m pretty sure the band knew that if they were going to be taken seriously, and if they wanted success, that they had to become the band they were rather than the band that the backstory had proclaimed them to be, and to release an album full of only their own material rather than cover songs. And to their credit, this is exactly what they ended up doing, and it did create the kind of reaction that gave them the coverage they were looking for.
I still enjoy this album when I put it on, though as I have often said on this blog, when it comes to albums of cover songs, eventually you will want to gravitate back to the originals rather than continue listening to the cover band. But it is still great to hear how the band sounds on this album, and then how they sounded going forward. But that story is for another episode down the track somewhere.
467. Stiff Little Fingers / Hanx! 1980. 4/5
This is another of those albums that may get a biased sort of rating, as it is one that was burned into my brain during my final years of high school, and as such always brings back good memories of that time.
This live album was released after just two studio albums. Not only was it fortunate that they were good albums, and therefore ensured this album had an array of good songs, it also showcased the band in their best environment, the live scene.
Most of the songs here are closer to what I would consider the real punk sound to be, although there are patches, such as to 50’s do-wop at the end of “Barbed Wire Love” that still make one a little uncomfortable. But with personal favourites such as “Nobody’s Hero”, “Alternative Ulster”, “Wasted Life”, “Tin Soldiers” and “Suspect Device”, you can’t really go wrong. As a greatest hits collection you could do worse than this also, as this will introduce to the best the band has to offer.
Rating: Great songs, great attitude. 4/5
This live album was released after just two studio albums. Not only was it fortunate that they were good albums, and therefore ensured this album had an array of good songs, it also showcased the band in their best environment, the live scene.
Most of the songs here are closer to what I would consider the real punk sound to be, although there are patches, such as to 50’s do-wop at the end of “Barbed Wire Love” that still make one a little uncomfortable. But with personal favourites such as “Nobody’s Hero”, “Alternative Ulster”, “Wasted Life”, “Tin Soldiers” and “Suspect Device”, you can’t really go wrong. As a greatest hits collection you could do worse than this also, as this will introduce to the best the band has to offer.
Rating: Great songs, great attitude. 4/5
466. Black Label Society / Hangover Music Volume VI. 2004. 2/5.
Now when I signed up as a fan of Black Label Society, around the release of 1919 Eternal I can honestly say that I did not sign up for this.
Book of Shadows was a different story when Zakk released it. It was a change, and it showcased his talents. From Black Label Society, however, I am looking for hard, heavy riffage and similar lyrics. That, however, is not what we have received here for the majority of the album.
It starts off fine with “Crazy of High” and even “Queen of Sorrow”, before the slow and sludgy pace drops down even another notch. Then the piano gets broken out from “Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow” onwards, and we continue down that path. By the time we get to the cover of “Whiter Shade of Pale”, it really is snooze time. If this is what he was looking for when writing and recording this album, then it is a job well done.
My major concern of the album is the pace of the songs. I would prefer them to all be a lot faster than they are. Zakk’s soloing is still just brilliant, there’s absolutely no doubting who is behind the guitar. But the songs just seem to plod along. OK, so it’s ‘hangover music’, but really, it is so very different from what I was expecting – or perhaps, what I was hoping for. I am not denigrating the songs here because of that. In fact, the songs still sound great, Zakk’s vocals are as great as always, and the instrumentation is still strong. It’s just the style of the songs that doesn’t grab me. I can’t rate an album highly that I won’t pull out of the CD case to listen to in favour of others, because of its style. I just am never really in the correct mood that I would need to be in to listen to this album very often.
Putting it bluntly, this is very close to complete rubbish.
Rating: If I was looking for this style of album and music, I wouldn’t have looked under Black Label Society. 2/5.
Book of Shadows was a different story when Zakk released it. It was a change, and it showcased his talents. From Black Label Society, however, I am looking for hard, heavy riffage and similar lyrics. That, however, is not what we have received here for the majority of the album.
It starts off fine with “Crazy of High” and even “Queen of Sorrow”, before the slow and sludgy pace drops down even another notch. Then the piano gets broken out from “Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow” onwards, and we continue down that path. By the time we get to the cover of “Whiter Shade of Pale”, it really is snooze time. If this is what he was looking for when writing and recording this album, then it is a job well done.
My major concern of the album is the pace of the songs. I would prefer them to all be a lot faster than they are. Zakk’s soloing is still just brilliant, there’s absolutely no doubting who is behind the guitar. But the songs just seem to plod along. OK, so it’s ‘hangover music’, but really, it is so very different from what I was expecting – or perhaps, what I was hoping for. I am not denigrating the songs here because of that. In fact, the songs still sound great, Zakk’s vocals are as great as always, and the instrumentation is still strong. It’s just the style of the songs that doesn’t grab me. I can’t rate an album highly that I won’t pull out of the CD case to listen to in favour of others, because of its style. I just am never really in the correct mood that I would need to be in to listen to this album very often.
Putting it bluntly, this is very close to complete rubbish.
Rating: If I was looking for this style of album and music, I wouldn’t have looked under Black Label Society. 2/5.
465. Metallica / Hammersmith 26-9-86 [Bootleg]. 1986. 4/5.
If only this bootleg was of a better quality, it would probably rate as one of the best ever, certainly with the setlist that is involved.
As it is, this is probably only a B quality sound recording, which is OK if you are in the mood for bootleg sound, and can get into it and past the faintness.
Still, from the Master of Puppets tour, and with Cliff Burton still banging away on the bass guitar, it is still worth a listen, despite the quality.
Rating: Only the sound marks in down. 4/5.
As it is, this is probably only a B quality sound recording, which is OK if you are in the mood for bootleg sound, and can get into it and past the faintness.
Still, from the Master of Puppets tour, and with Cliff Burton still banging away on the bass guitar, it is still worth a listen, despite the quality.
Rating: Only the sound marks in down. 4/5.
464. Iron Maiden / Hammersmith 1983 [Bootleg]. 1983. 5/5.
Although this carries only nine songs, it has a couple of major highlights and songs of interest. It kicks off with “Where Eagles Dare”, with Bruce Dickinson at his ‘Air Raid Siren’ best especially at the beginning and the conclusion of the song. The performance live of “To Tame a Land” is also superb, especially as it has not been done since this tour. It is a shame never to have seen it performed live. Also add another brilliant version of “Phantom of the Opera”, and you have a damn good album.
Rating: The best bootleg I have of this tour. 5/5
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)