546. Led Zeppelin / In Through the Out Door. 1979. 2/5

Even though I have never been a great lover of Led Zeppelin’s music, I have always been able to appreciate it, especially their better known hits. This album, however, seems to have little or no inspiration in it, and as a result comes across as a lame and flaccid release.

Compared to the ground breaking efforts that Led Zeppelin made early in their recording career, this is just average. Not a bad album by any stretch of the imagination, but just a run-of-the-mill one that suffers more for the name of the band that recorded it than the material it contains. Certainly, listening to the album again today, none of the songs jumped out at me as memorable in any fashion. Probably its most damning critique.

This was the last in the line for Led Zeppelin. One wonders if they would have progressed on even if John Bonham had not passed on following this album. If this was what they had to offer in the future, it is probably not a bad thing to have ended when they did.

Rating: Very average fare. 2/5.

545. UFO / In Session & Live in Concert. 1999. 4.5/5

This live release is a gem, bringing together a number of studio and live performances by the band recorded by the BBC over the course of the golden years of UFO. Not only does it showcase the great music this band produced throughout most of the 1970’s, it is also a testament to the great musicians that formed this superior line-up. As always, Michael Schenker’s brilliant guitaring is the standout, lighting up each song with his own mark of genius.

Rating: A great reflection on a great band in their element. 4.5/5

544. Winger / In The Heart Of The Young. 1990. 2.5/5

The second release from Winger doesn’t bring anything new to the table, so it’s a ‘either love it or hate it’ album.

Listening to it a number of times over the past few days, there’s no doubt it is anchored to the hair metal era. Most of the songs are syrupy-sugar-sweet, very much in the same genre as Def Leppard and even Cinderella. The album itself comes together well, all the songs complementing each other. These days I have to be in the right mood to put in on and listen to it – no use being in an angry mood and looking to bleed that off with angry music! This is in the ‘easy listening’ category of hard rock/metal music.

Kip Winger’s vocals, layered as they are at times, still do the job, while Reb Beach can still cut a riff or two. As an album it doesn’t jump out into the brilliant category, but that doesn’t make it a bad album. Just an average one.
Best for me include the typical Winger anthems of “You Are The Saint, I Am The Sinner”, “In The Heart Of The Young” and “Can’t Get Enuff”.

Rating: Still worth a listen if you are a fan. 2.5/5

543. Y&T / In Rock We Trust. 1984. 2.5/5

I guess this album was always at a disadvantage, given that it immediately follows the awesome Mean Streak which always was and remains my favourite Y&T album. In Rock We Trust was therefore always on a hiding to nothing.

None of that forgives what feels like a very unimaginative writing process for the album. Leave the "Rock & Roll's Gonna Save The World"-type songs to KISS for goodness sake! Such a bland and flawed opening. Unfortunately, it sets up the whole tone for the album, from which it never really recovers. Formulaic rock should really be beneath a band with so much talent in its ranks. Instead, at different times I feel like I'm listening to Hall & Oates ("Break Out Tonight"), KISS (the afore-mentioned "Rock & Roll's Gonna Save The World") and even Huey Lewis & The News ("(Your Love Is) Drivin' Me Crazy"). Scary times...

Some face is saved by the time you reach Side 2 (for those that remember vinyl...). "Lipstick and Leather" is followed by the much better Y&T feel of "Don't Stop Runnin'". Overall however, it isn't enough to shake the feeling of gloom and doom. The only way to wipe this taste from my mouth is to go back and throw on Mean Streak again I think...

Rating: The start of the slide of Y&T. 2.5/5

542. Stryper / In God We Trust. 1988. 2.5/5

In the preceding four years, Stryper had not only managed to find a way to make Christian rock accessible to more people, but had well and truly infiltrated the glam metal and heavy metal scene with the success of their bombastic yet harmonising songs that found a way to be attractive to a wider and more varied audience imaginable. Having started with their debut album “The Yellow and Black Attack”, they had followed it with two albums that truly managed to cross codes in “Soldiers Under Command” and “To Hell with the Devil”, which combined not only their Christian themes and beliefs into songs, but did so in a way that made some of those songs heavy metal anthems, something that seemed to be completely out of step with how the religious community looked at the heavy metal scene.
The success of the “To Hell with the Devil” album, which you can hear all about in an episode of Season 1 of this podcast, would have put a significant amount of pressure on the band leading into the writing and recording of their fourth studio album. Not only that, but the composition of the songs is also something that must have been crucial. The band had had commercial success with their singles and the music videos that they comprised, especially through the MTV market in the US. On the whole it was their sugar laced ballads that had brought this commercial success and what still drove that point of sales. But the other market they had cracked had been through their heavy metal anthems, songs such as “Loud N Clear”, “Soldiers Under Command”, “The Rock That Makes Me Roll”, “To Hell with the Devil” and “The Way” that had been just as important in increasing their fan base. Metallica and Megadeth fans taking on Stryper as well was a massive thing for the band, and in moving forward this had to be an integral part of the songs they produced in order to retain that part of their fan base. Or so one would have thought.

Whatever the eventual reason may have been, most critics and fans alike would agree that there is a drop in the overall quality in the songs here on “In God We Trust” compared to their earlier efforts. And perhaps it is unfair to compare it to “Soldiers Under Command” and “To Hell with the Devil”, but from early on in the piece it is obvious that this doesn’t stack up against them. The stronger tracks on the album can hold their own, but there is far too much wimping out here in regard to the strength of the tracks.
The album starts off strong with the title track, which at least echoes those great anthemic tracks mentioned earlier, and in particular gives centre stage to those great guitars and Michael Sweet’s amazing vocal chords. However, one of my major gripes with this album is that, in essence, it starts to sound like a poor rip-off of their previous album. Take a close listen to the second track on the album "Always There for You" and tell me you can't hear the song "Calling on You" from the previous album. Beyond this, there is little doubt that the rather disappointing "It's Up 2 U" is a very ordinary re-hash of the infinitely better "Sing Along Song" from the previous album. And then when you get to the tremendously awful ballad “Lonely”, you can positively hear the same melody and feeling that came with the same tremendously awful ballad “Honestly” from that previous album. Now one can only imagine in the writing process that it was decided that they needed to retain the same successful formula for this album as for the “To Hell with the Devil” album, and that is to be commended... but at least try and make it sound a LITTLE different! And better! Or had the band simply run out of ideas?
Elsewhere there is still much to enjoy on the album, in particular the harder hitting tracks such as “The Writings on the Wall” and the closing song “The Reign” tap into that enthusiasm that marks the best of Stryper’s work, while songs such as “Keep the Fire Burning” and “Come to the Everlife” are average harmless songs. On the other end of the scale, the ballads of “I Believe in You” and “The World of You and I” are right alongside “Lonely” as ones I would like to avoid for eternity.
Kudos once again though to Michael Sweet, whose vocals again soar to hitherto unnatural heights. I am constantly amazed at his ability to not only sing how he does, but to play guitar at the same time as well. Oz Fox again is supreme on guitar, while Robert Sweet’s drumming is efficient without showing the star quality of earlier albums.

Coming off the joy of their earlier albums and the stunning concert on the ‘To Hell with the Devil’ tour in Sydney the previous year, I jumped at this when it was released in the belief it would be another step further on from those other albums. So it is possible I went into this in a state of over excitement which doesn’t always allow an album to be heard in its best setting. And while I did enjoy the album and many of the tracks, I guess I was still let down by the number of ballads that were present and that soured the whole experience. And to be fair, it does with every Stryper album ever released. But getting beyond that there is lot here to still enjoy, and that is what I hold onto when it comes to listening to this album, and I have done that about thirty times over the past three weeks leading up to doing this podcast episode.
To me this album had the potential to be as good as their previous works, but in the end it falls down in the final direction they allowed the music to go. Because there isn’t a real metal feel about the harder songs here, they are more of a hard rock genre, a softening of what they could have been if the band had wanted them to be. And that is where this album is led, by where the band wanted to go. A shame when you actually listen to the album, and can hear for yourself where they really should have taken this material. At least, that’s what I would have done.

541. Deep Purple / In Concert With the London Symphony Orchestra. 1999. 4/5

Having written and performed their Concerto for Group and Orchestra back in 1970, I guess it was only a matter of time before they decided to revive it in a live setting, especially given the spate of albums by bands that were recording with orchestras in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s.
What sets this apart from most other efforts is the unique idea of having work from each individual’s careers woven into the performance as well, along with songs from the band’s recent past also given the orchestral treatment.

There is a lot to like here, though Steve Morse doing his old Dixie Dregs tune is a highlight, along with the appearance of Ronnie James Dio to do his two tunes from Roger Glover’s Butterfly Ball album. The ‘Concerto’ itself sounds much better than its original performance from 30 years previous. And not forgetting the Deep Purple songs that are performed – though I’m not sure that the orchestra actually adds anything to them.
Interesting to note is Dio obviously forgetting the lyrics to “Smoke on the Water” when he is singing it with Ian Gillan. Guess that is forgivable given that he probably had never sung it in his life before these performances.

Thus, for the fan this is a great listen. A bit of everything from Deep Purple. Not something you will take out and listen to time and time again, but it is worth the effort on occasions.

Rating: Great musicianship and songs, but not one you'll play a lot. 4/5

540. Deep Purple / In Concert. 1980. 4.5/5

When it comes to live albums from the seminal era of Deep Purple, this one rates in the top echelon. It does in fact cover two separate concerts in two eras of the Mark II line-up, both with their positives and negatives.

The first disc is from 1970, with the second from 1972. The recordings are just wonderful, capturing the full array of musicians in full flight and at their theoretical peak. Ian Paice’s drum work along with Roger Glover’s bass lines work magically together. As per usual, the duelling between Jon Lord’s keyboards and Ritchie Blackmore’s guitaring is the driving force behind the show, while Ian Gillan’s vocals soar just as magnificently live as they do in the studio.

As with all of their live shows in this era though, there is a lot of freeform instrumental breaks within the framework of most of the songs. While this was a popularist thing to do in the era, it does tend to get tedious after a while when you are listening to live albums. I can appreciate the cleverness of it all, but I’d much rather just hear the songs being played as they were written!
Outside of that issue, this is a joy to put on and listen to. The songs are some of the band’s best and the performances are outstanding.

Rating: Purps in their element. 4.5/5

539. Exodus / Impact is Imminent. 1990. 3.5/5

When it comes to legitimate thrash albums of the late 1980’s, this one ranks as one of the last. With most of their contemporaries allowing their style of metal to move away from straight out thrash, Exodus stick with what they know and deliver it with venom.

Listening to the album again today, it’s amazing how similar some riffs of some of the songs are to other bands of their era. It’s not surprising to hear pieces that remind me of Slayer and Anthrax – and the song “A.W.O.L” is just unmistakably Metallica of that era – given the shared history these bands have, but sometimes I had to check what I was listening to just to be certain is was Exodus.
In retrospect this album still holds up after 20 years. It doesn’t command the respect that other albums of the era do, such as …And Justice For All and South of Heaven and State of Euphoria and Rust in Peace, but it is still a solid entry in the Exodus production line. While the entry to the next decade did not bring the same sort of joy, Impact is Imminent keeps alive the thrash name for another release.

Favourites for me include “Impact is Imminent”, “A.W.O.L.”, “The Lunatic Parade” and “Within The Walls Of Chaos”.

Rating: Still plenty to enjoy after two decades. 3.5/5

538. Blind Guardian / Imaginations From the Other Side. 1995. 3/5

Given who Blind Guardian are, and the genre of metal they fall into, and the fact they have this amazing obsession with their own fantasy world, they can sometimes appear to be a little off-centre. All that taken into account, this album is one I can still put on and enjoy for all those reasons stated above.

This album doesn't take itself too seriously, and the music itself lends a more positive air to the songs than it has a right to. My major problem with the album is the double take most of the songs take. Rather than being straight-out heavy metal tunes, or slow power metal ballads, they try to fit both into the same song, almost all the way through. I must admit that I had trouble with this for some time. Now, older and wiser, I can accept them for what they are, but I still wonder if they could have been done better.

Casting that aside, this album is a middle-of-the-road Blind Guardian release.

Favourites for me include "I'm Alive" and "A Past and Future Secret"

Rating: Average fare for the Guardian. 3/5.

537. Dream Theater / Stargazer [Digital Single]. 2009. 4/5

A pretty good update of the brilliant Rainbow song. A tough gig trying to take on this task. For the most part they remain faithful to the original, which is no mean feat, especially in trying to recreate the aura and magnificent feel that the 1975 version has.

As much as I respect this band and the individual musicianship of each of them, what comes to pass here is this - John Petrucci is no Ritchie Blackmore, Mike Portnoy is no Cozy Powell, and James LaBrie is a million miles away from being Ronnie James Dio.

Rating: Well worth a listen, but cannot approach the original. 4/5.

536. Dream Theater / Images And Words. 1992. 4/5

Dream Theater was another of those bands that began in high school, and then progressed to a higher plane through sheer force of will after their school years. Their debut album was filled with songs that they had written in those years, and it is said that based on the glowing reports of their demo album, where most of those songs originated from, they had expected a similar reaction to their first album. This wasn’t the case, and along with the clashes with lead singer Charlie Dominici the band made some changes, with James LaBrie coming in on vocals to join John Petrucci on guitar, Mike Portnoy on drums, John Myung on bass and Kevin Moore on keyboards.
The progressiveness of the band’s material seemed to have been an obstruction to the success of their first album, which seemed a little strange given what was being produced in 1989. But here in 1992 they were up against greater odds, the influence and dominating factor of grunge. Their style wasn’t unique, but it did incorporate different styles from bands such as Rush and Yes through to Queensryche and Metallica, and on that debut album it hadn’t quite caught the imagination.
The band initially wanted to record “Images and Words” as a double album, but their new record company was against the idea, meaning that some of the songs recorded for the album missed out. One of those was “A Change of Seasons” that was eventually re-recorded and released as an EP.
When you first listen to this album, there is quite a lot to take in, and yet comparatively to their first album it feels a lot simpler and more engaging. The opening track is brilliant, still one of the band’s best. “Pull Me Under” really acts as a great introduction point to new fans, presenting everything that is so fantastic about the band. The moody opening of guitar bass and keys with the drums kicking in to provide the impetus, followed by the amazing vocals swimming in kicks the song and album off in perfect fashion. It is the song I play to anyone who wants to know what Dream Theater is like. It is also the band’s only top ten single on the US charts, albeit a shortened version, and became the joke of the band’s eventual greatest hits album in the title “Greatest Hit... and 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs)”.
The band’s ability to switch from heavy progressive to light progressive is highlighted on this album throughout, sometime within a song itself, and at other times between the tracks. “Another Day” is a more serene track compared to the opener, but though it dials back in intensity it doesn’t lose any of its flavour or joy as a result. Indeed, it fits the template of the album that a song like this doesn’t on heavier bands albums. Then we are back into the much harder tempo of “Take the Time” where LaBrie’s ability to infuse attitude into those high range vocals is perfectly positioned along with Portnoy’s ridiculous off timing drum fills and cymbal touches is still amazing.

“Surrounded” delves back to the quiet and reserved, dominated through the beginning of the song by Moore keys and LaBrie vocals before rising towards the end. It is complemented towards the end of the album with the short serve of “Wait For Sleep” which was the only song on the album written exclusively by one member, this one by Kevin Moore. Both of these songs showcase what the band does well in its lighter moments, and though they aren’t my cup of tea when it comes to music genres they both fit the way the album has been constructed in the best way.
“Metropolis - Part 1: “The Miracle and the Sleeper” has a natural build through the lengthy time span of the song, riding the wave once again of Moore’s keyboards through to the hardening of the drums and guitars, and concluding with LaBrie’s wonderful vocals delivering the final lines. It is a terrific track, one that must have led the listeners back in those days to wonder why it was Metropolis Part 1” and if that meant there was a Part 2 coming somewhere down the line. That of course came to fruition in an amazing way. “Under a Glass Moon” comes at you in the same way, dominated a bit more with Portnoy’s relentless drumming that never ceases to amaze. The closing track “Learning to Live” covers all of the equations of the Dream Theater repertoire, a smashing of heavy from Petrucci and Portnoy to the sallow of Myung and Moore, while LaBrie changes his inflection as the mood of the song comes and goes in waves. It’s 11 minutes plus runtime is a pretty usual thing for the band, and it acts as an excellent closer to the album.

Dream Theater was another band that I was slow to cottoning onto, so my first discovery of this album didn’t come until the turn of the century. And, perhaps like most who have found this band or this album, it is the opening stanza of the opening track that drags you in. That amazing strength of “Pull Me Under” is what got me, that sensation that you will get with the very best albums or tracks where you think “bloody hell, what the hell is THIS?!” And the album, like the majority of Dream Theater albums, has its share of the heavy and light, the sings where Portnoy and Petrucci dominate and star, and those where Moore and LaBrie take centre stage, and all the while Johnny Myung does his amazing stuff up and down his bass guitar, no matter what kind of song is being played. And while my preference of their material has always been the guitar heavy tracks that have the drive along with the bass and drums and the harder attitude in James LaBrie’s vocals, the complementing songs here are amenable to the track list.
What still amazes me about this album is that it was able to find a successful window in a year that had such a different space in regards to the music that was being released. To have successfully produced the music that the band loved, without amending their style to follow the path that music at the time was trending, is a credit to the band and their belief in what they were doing. Listening to it 30 years later since its release, and a tick over 20 years since I first heard it myself, those influences I mentioned earlier, from bands such as Yes and Rush and Queensryche and even contemporaries like Fates Warning are so solid in the music here. And for me, this album lay the platform for Dream Theater to construct from, to develop their own style further. Some of those future albums are better than others, but Images and Words still truly holds its own in the Dream Theater catalogue.