Lizzy Borden ~ Best Of (hits comp) (album review) ... The master of disguises!

Style: glam, hard rock, shock rock
Label: Metal Blade
Year: 1994
Home: Los Angeles, California

Members: Lizzy Borden ~ vocals
Joey Scott ~ drums
Gene Allen ~ guitar/b. vocals
Alex Nelson, Corey James, Joe Holmes ~ guitars
Brian Perry ~ bass
Michael Davis ~ bass/b. vocals

Additional: Mark Benson, Tony Copozzi ~ choir
William Kidd, Elliot Soloman ~ keyboards
Tim Stithem ~ percussion
Joey Vera ~ bass

Lizzy Borden, the singer not his namesake band, has two phases to his career. There's the more well-known glam rock 80's line-up & then there's the late 90's/current incarnation formed after he broke up the band & spent some time with Starwood. The first is heavily L.A. glam while the second moves further to the shock rock realm which Lizzy had always been a part of but never to the extent he does today. Among these two phases have been numerous musicians, including a supposed solo album, but always with his crazy real life brother Joey Scott as the one steady variable on drums. This collection covers the early era. I believe it's time for an update because the music of the later LB is often far superior let alone less hemmed in by the pressure of getting radio play & popularity. One of my first reviews was their latest release Appointment With Death which I believe is a must have, not just to see LB in top form but also because it's just an a great album of love songs all tainted by death in some form that makes for addictive listening. So, while waiting for Best Of ... Vol. 2 get Appointment For Death & this compilation & you'll pretty much have the best of their catalog, with only the later Deal With The Devil missing. Without question this compilation is a a dated release with an often campy glam sound & Lizzy's soaring tenor. LB never made it as big as many of their L.A. peers, not headlining a tour till the past few years, though Lizzy did get a reputation for wielding an axe on stage a la something Alice Cooper might do while appearing in the first part of the famous movie "The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years". Though, some shocking scenes later in the film left this opening largely forgotten. I believe that LB firmly picked up the shock rock mantle of Alice Cooper, who spent the early 80's far from the scene in a alcohol induced commercial slump of music only shocking for its poor quality. LB is the under-rated bridge between Alice & Marilyn Manson & Lordi. This greatest hits album will give you a basic understanding of what made LB originally great - sing along rock anthems of youthful angst & liberation, including: "Me Against The World", "American Metal", "Master Of Disguise", "Psychopath", "Ultra Violence", "Give 'Em The Axe", "Rod Of Iron" & "Notorious", the only song with 'Heil Caesar' as a bridge. The band has never been a chart-topper so this is really more of a collection of fan favorites & a few lesser songs to fill up an album. Having seen LB in concert, now with their autographs on my wall, I can attest to the popularity of this selection. But, as such, this actually gives a great overview of the band as you get both their strong stuff & some less memorable songs which paints a good overall picture of the band. What I love about Lizzy is that whenever he sings it sounds like he's taking on different characters. So many of his peers sang in similar ways but without the nuances or desire to sing in a tone or style that might be unfamiliar. The only weak part of the album are live versions of "Live & Let Die" & "Red Rum", one of which is better in the studio & the other another band would later do better.

Jon Anderson & The New Line Band ~ Live In Sheffield 1980 (live) (album review) ... Yes man solo!

Style: progressive rock
Label: United States of Distributors
Year: 2008
Home: England

Members: Jon Anderson ~ vocals
Ronnie Leahy, Christopher Rainbow, Barry De Souza, John Giblin, joe Patridge, Morris Pert, Lee Davidson, Dick Morrisey ~ misc instruments

 

I ran into somebody today who just saw vocalist Jon Anderson in concert, so it seems fitting to post this review of a 1980 concert. I remember the first time I heard Yes. I was in high school and listening to lots of jazz/blues. I picked up the cassette of their incarnation as Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe at Kmart because I liked the cover art, the strange name ... and it was in the discount pile. I loved everything I heard. I'd never heard anything like this & loved every minute of it. I still can sing every lyric and just recently bought it again on CD. I fell in love with Anderson's soaring tenor. When I discovered they were Yes I starting hunting them up. I now own every studio album they've done and numerous albums from the 14 plus members solo careers. Need I say more? But, the solo work of Anderson has remained a favorite, lyrically and musically. His career has bounced from acoustic world rhythms to proggy electronic, but always full of nearly impossible to sing to melodies over complicated arrangements - just like Yes - but largely barren of flashy Howe/Wakeman-esque solos. This 2 CD album is a live recording from his 1980 solo tour which is part of a plan to release all his past work including live, demos, outtakes, etc in the world's first on-going subscription based box set now planned at 20 volumes. I'll confess, it's a bit too much. Even for me. But, Anderson fans have now been given a key to Heaven. The recording quality here is potentially a soundboard recording, which means Anderson's voice is completely up front all the time. The solos, including lots of sax and piano, fall back into the mix making the band sound like one large creature not a bunch of individuals with little moments in the spotlight. Sadly, I believe this organic sound was not actually how the band sounded from the audience but from the poor balance on the recording. Not skipping any corners for his fans, these 40 songs mix solo pieces and Yes classics. The solo pieces are the real highlights of the album and just as strong as any Yes song (i.e. "Some Are Born" & "Don't Forget"). The Yes songs, what many people will probably buy this album for, are largely pushed together in medley format with each song rarely lasting beyond 2 minutes, which everyone can easily guess means Anderson has pretty much removed everything except for his vocal part. Some people might even say he removes the pretentiousness of Yes. Others might say he removes what makes the songs great. But, by cutting the songs down into fragments he is putting extra emphasis on his solo work which is what this is really all about & remains greatly under-looked. The band does a good job at re-interpretting the complicated Yes, but the funky bassist and guitarist are not Squire or Howe & luckily don't embarrassingly trying to be. But, with 2 minute songs they don't have to try much either. Anderson's albums are worth checking out. But, his career has gone through so many musical turns that each album is its own little world. At the time of this recording he had two solo albums that both sounded like overstuffed Yes, though the keyboard textures are gone from the live arena here, while the 1980's would have some weak keyboard based electronic albums including a stint with Vangelis before the 90's saw him venturing into some self-indulgent world music albums. Live In Sheffield 1980 actually is a good introduction to pre-electronic phase. It's not too overindulgent musically, it shows Anderson's ability to reinterpret his own Yes songs, he has a strong band, there's the Yes progressive sound and hits we all know with touches of funk and the acoustic forays he would go into decades later & it has all his early solo hits. Albeit, if you don't like Anderson's voice you're really not going to be able to sit through 2 CDs. Personally, I'd recommend his studio albums over this. This is for fans. Proof is that disc 2 features many of the songs repeated during a rehearsal which has such low production values that it sounds more like a demo. Of the 15 rehearsal songs all but 2 ("For You For Me" & "Everybody Loves You") appear in the concert. "For You For Me" a great song in the studio but not here. Though, this is not a stop and start rehearsal with discussion, it's just a full concert with a poor recording.

Randy Coven ~ Funk Me Tender (album review) ... No treble for Malmsteen & Vai bassist!

Style: hard rock, funk, instrumental
Label: Guitar Recordings
Year: 1990
Home: New York

Members: Randy Coven ~ bass
Jim Hickey ~ guitars
Todd Turkisher ~ drums

Guests: Steve Vai, Al Pitrelli ~ guitar
Wayne Shuster ~ sax
Mark Wood ~ violin

Opening with an over the top distorted "Star Spangled Banner" a la Hendrix, Funk Me Tender features an eclectic mix of a dozen instrumentals spanning funk to rock, all strung together with the jazz-rock funky bass of Randy Coven of the bass school of T.M. Stevens, Billy Sheehan, Stanley Clark, Bootsy Collins and Herbie Hancock's Headhunters. As a bassist myself I tend to gravitate more toward the other end of the spectrum such as Bill Wyman, John Paul Jones, Geezer Butler and some of the traditional jazz guys where the bass remains firmly a rhythm instrument, but there's no questioning Coven as a major talent. A highlight of the album is guitarist Jim Hickey whose loud distorted solos really give many of the songs their flavor and form, undoubtedly honed by years of the band playing together in gritty Tri-State clubs as the complicated rhythms and melody lines have a gritty urban sound. I find instrumental albums are also difficult ones to approach, let alone discuss. I find it hard to figure out whether it's good or bad as you can't base your ideas on traditional song structure of verse/chorus/verse/chorus. While, what can seem bad might only be reflective of the mood of the listener. Also, lyrics often dictate a mood of a song but that variable is absent. Though, "Toronto Blues" is a slow blues in both name and feel, but songs like "Manhattan Mama" "Tree" "Poached Antelope" and "Chopped Sewage" don't exactly imply any emotion, unless one is a member of Greenpeace. And, I hate to just look at the album from the point of view of technical prowess as Coven can definitely create some very emotional grooves. I do like the fact that the songs aren't completely centered on the guitar. Coven's bass, named Sammy, often sits right up front creating a duet style, akin to jazz pianist Bill Evans work with Scott LaFaro. The drumming is probably the only thing that is subdued, but it provides the important job of keeping the beat so everyone else can go to town. I will say that the instrumental flavor of the album largely shows it's age when such things were still frequent. Nobody is making albums like this anymore either in style or instrumental approach. Guesting on the album is Coven's collegemate Steve Vai with his recognizable slick sound. On "Uptown", playing an quasi-indistinguishable "second guitar" is Al Pitrelli in one of his earliest recordings, playing rhythm, a solo underneath Jim Hickey's solo and a little outro. He almost gets lost, though provides an interesting way of boosting the sound of the guitar without electronics or overdubs. He'd later play with Alice Cooper, Megadeth, Savatage, on some of their best output, along with their transformation into Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Violinist without compare Mark Wood, whose played with Celine Dion, also plays on two tracks. It's not everyday you get violin on a funky rock album, particularly sounding more like a keyboard than a guitar. For those interested in mid-80's instrumental prowess, or maybe I should say back in the days when such things still seemed to matter, Coven is a guy worth hunting for.

Spinal Tap ~ Back From The Dead (album review) ... Back for more of the same!

Style: comedy, hard rock
Label: Spuzzle Group
Year: 2009
Home: n/a

Members: Derek Smalls ~ bass/vocals
David St. Hubbins ~ lead vocals/guitar
Nigel Tufnel ~ lead guitar/vocals

Additional: Gregg Bissonette ~ drums
C.J. Vanston ~ keyboards

Guests: Phil Collen, Steve Vai, John Mayer ~ guitars
Keith Emerson ~ keyboard

I love the Spinal Tap movie. Who doesn't? But, I've always enjoyed the music better on the albums away from the visual jokes. The music, in many ways, is more ingenious & the humor far more subtle. For all the jokes of guitar solos with feet this is an incredibly talented trio. It's difficult enough to write catchy songs, but they wrote humorous & catchy songs while imitating older styles of music with near perfection. Both their "non-fictitious" albums, the soundtrack from the movie & Break Like The Wind are thoroughly enjoyable, though for different reasons. This new release is an interesting addition that cashes in on their 25th anniversary & is probably not what fans expected. You'll find here a songs recorded in the last decade but not released on an album yet ("Back From The Dead", "Rock'N'Roll Nightmare", "Warmer Than Hell"), there's one completely new "Short & Sweet", the first studio recording of the dreaded "Jazz Odyssey" in all three parts, with the other 12 songs being remakes of songs heard on the soundtrack album. I bought this album, & probably so did many other fans, hoping for completely new songs. Where will the humor of Tap attack next? Maybe next release. The four newer songs are as classy as any classic Tap material, though nothing that blows you away. As for the rest of the album ... a greatest hits album is one thing, but this is a re-recorded greatest hits album that features new versions that are generally weaker than the originals. The point of the album is interesting but more often than not seemingly senseless & across the board pale & boring. "(Funky) Sex Farm" is a good example of this with a new & unnecessary horn line, or the new faux reggae style of "Listen To The Flower People", albeit it could have come straight off of a Bob Marley album. Many of the remakes also features changes so minor the remake doesn't seem to have any point except to hear the band play the hits one more time, while others verge into a weird prog-rock territory. & then, there's "Jazz Odyssey", which was meant as a joke the first time around about a failed band but here it's given a serious treatment & something akin to having a traditional polka suddenly appearing in the middle of a heavy metal guttural singing album. Can anyone say speed bump? Included as bonus tracks would have been better. Hearing these three speed bumps you wonder where did that come from & where or when is it going? The delayed jazz harmonica solo in the third part doesn't help. Then there's the under-looked classic "Gimme Some Money" that no longer sounds like the classic recreation it was supposed to sound like but a weird tune. If the joke is in the arrangement & you kill the joke what's the point? I will say though that Tap are great at recreating musical styles, which they might be better at than comedy. If these were new songs the array of funk, jazz & reggae would be welcomed. There's even a Celtic acapella chant called "Celtic Blues", which isn't anything great, though it ends with the wonderful joke of if they should do it with a capo (a device used on a guitar to change keys but not fingerings). It's moment of classic Tap. I believe Tap are far more talented than we give them credit for, but this is not an essential release nor a good introductory release it you don't know them. Stick to the movie & the first CD & if you enjoy that get the over-the-top Break Like The Wind. Avoid the Return Of Spinal Tap DVD but go for the acoustic Unwigged & Unplugged DVD which is a mixed bag but the good points win out. Oh, I should also mention that you should not download this album. The packaging folds out to foot high cardboard figures of the band which are totally cool. & there's a companion DVD which talks about all the songs & is hysterical.

Bolt Thrower ~ ...For Victory (album review) ... Death metal charging for victory!

Style: black metal, death metal
Label: Earache Records
Year: 1994
Home: Britain

Members: Karl Willetts - vocals
Gavin Ward, Barry Thompson - guitars
Andrew Whale - drums
Jo Bench - bass

 

This is my favorite BT album, actually, it's the only one I like. But, anyone who reads this blog knows I'm not that much of a fan of death metal ... so when I say I like an album it's probably the top of the heap. Though, this release is not that different from their other albums, which I've also listened to. The differences are subtle. Maybe the biggest discernable difference is that I actually could discern some of the lyrics. Unlike many black metal bands of the same vein the guitars don't riff at lightning speed in an attempt to create a tornado out of pure sound itself. The music has a little space in it, a variable often ignored by bands of this style. Also, what I found particularly interesting about ...For Victory is its thematic nature, as the title suggest. Not looking at a lyric sheet I can say if it's a concept album. If you haven't figured out the theme, here's the song titles in order: "War", "Remembrance", "When Glory Beckons", "...For Victory", "Graven Image", "Lest We Forget", "Silent Demise", "Forever Fallen", "Tank (Mk.I)" and "Armageddon Bound." Yes, it's like reading the contents page of a military novel or World War history. This heavily thematic nature gives the songs an underlying thread of unity not found on an album were one song is about growing up and another about watching TV. Though, before you get depressed, there's also ideas of hope running through this, which you get because the lyrics come through. Remember, war is not about the fighting but about the outcome. "When we understand it'll be too late" is sung in "Remembrance" while "No hope, there is nothing more, nothing more to prove" comes out of "Armageddon Bound." This is many ways an album of prophecy for a nuclear age. A prophetic warning? They're taking the death metal banner seriously! Highlights include a great smoky opening in "Lest We Forget". "When Glory Beckons" is a particular highlight with the title track "...For Victory" having such a menacing feel I can picture it as the soundtrack to a shooter video game. Ironically, the Bolt Thrower name comes from a tabletop battle strategy game. Oh, and they have a chick that plays bass guitar for those that are kinky and into such things. I try to look at the album as music not as a floorshow.

Icky's Ego ~ Icky's Ego (aka debut) (EP) (album review) ... Welcome to the citadel!

Style: hard rock, experimental, progressive
Label: self-released
Year: 2010
Home: Los Angeles, California

Members: David Crocco ~ vocals/percussion/guitar/keyboards
Cela Scott ~ vocals/guitar

Additional: June Kato, Mark Knell, Vreny Van Elslande ~ bass
DeAnn Dallas ~ bass/b. vocals

 

This is a very cool sounding band. Those were the first thoughts that came to my mind listening to their first track "Citadel". It's a really simple response, I know, but what I was hearing was a very understated arrangement & not at all what I expected from the visuals. It was avant-garde yes, but I was expecting symphonic rock. IE is more the lighter side of the White Stripes with an arrangement of simple drums, keyboards, bass, slide guitar & a male & female vocalist playing something that sounds like a prog-rock approach to folk music. All their songs are a variation of this theme but all going in different directions with very original arrangements, & I don't use the word original often or lightly. "Girlfriend" opens with a lone female voice singing out "I'm not your girlfriend just because we did that" with lots of repetition of the words like a blues verse, that shockingly leads into a punk guitar & something that could be out of Blondie's repertoire, though Blondie never sang about secretary fantasies. Original but yet echoing an array of influences. A dance beat underlies many of their songs & I can feel how this band would be really great live with lots of energy. On top of the beat is a very organic sounding band who occasionally sounds like a jam band, though no complicated guitar solos but the fluid music that could change at any minute. There's also a very experimental side to the band with the occasional vocal effect. But, always fun & upbeat, incredibly quirky & a little bit sexy. 

Deep Purple - Abandon (album review) ... Neo-prog power!

Style: blues-rock, power metal, hard rock
Label: CMC International
Year: 1998
Home: Britain

Members: Ian Gillan ~ vocals
Roger Glover ~ bass
Jon Lord ~ keyboards
Steve Morse ~ guitar
Ian Paice ~ drums

Those who haven't listened to Deep Purple since "Smoke To The Water" or at least since David Coverdale left to form Whitesnake might be quite surprised with this release, as I was, as this is not what you'd expect a largely forgotten prog-metal band to be playing. What I expected was the same music they always played but with the signs of age and a lost style of music. That might be what you hear on a current Big Brother & The Holding Company album but that's not what Deep Purple delivered here. This is not a rehash of a long dead style of music nor a band that's on it's last legs. This is a vibrant release with element of past days, most prominently via the dated sounding organ swirls, but the metal riffing goes right up there alongside any other band of the current scene. Savatage is one that immediately comes to mind as there's a slight hint of grandiose here. The album opens with some funkier ("Any Fule Kno That") metal with the expected Deep Purple keyboards & fury of guitars, but it's not predictable of the rest of the album which is very heavy, even for Deep Purple who have put aside their prog roots to become a solid rock band, with lots of neo-prog power metal and some gutsy blues thrown in for good measure. The blues songs sound like they come out of another band, one that plays strictly blues, except here the slow groove is occasionally enlightened by fast and flying guitar solos courtesy of Steve Morse of the Satriani/Vai/Malmsteen style. I usually find power metal often lacking in emotion but the blues foundation gives it a new lift. Morse does a great job of reminding us of the lost art of the guitar solo with all the subtle tricks and twists of the notes that was largely lost when hair metal went out of style. Or, at least, he recalls how much fun a whammy-bar makes the guitar. Alt rock just doesn't touch this stuff no matter how hard it tries. But, the real secret is original singer Ian Gillan on vocals, who has an incredibly husky middle aged man distinctive tone that could give him a great career as a twangy country singer if he chose to go that direction. He's no longer the same guy that sang "Smoke On The Water" but its a tonal change for the better that works perfectly with the music. Some may know the name of Gillan from one forgotten album with Black Sabbath. This is a pretty cool album but is anyone but hardcore Deep Purple fans still paying attention to a band that everyone probably thought split decades ago?

Rush ~ Feedback (EP) (album review) ... Remembering the past!

Style: progressive, hard rock, tribute
Label: Atlantic
Year: 2004
Home: Toronto, Ontario

Members: Geddy Lee ~ bass guitar/vocals
Alex Lifeson ~ guitars
Neil Peart ~ drums

Until I came across this album I never expected to hear anything so straight ahead a la traditional rock from prog-rock icons Rush. & yes, they really do play straight ahead rock here, not turning this tribute album of covers into mystical prog rock renditions. For eight songs they they step out of their Rush shoes & humble themselves with the music of the past. As for what they're rockin' on, this EP features the Who's "Summertime Blues" & "The Seeker", the Yardbirds's "Heart Full Of Soul" & "Shapes Of Things", Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth" & "Mr. Soul", Cream's "Crossroads" & Love's "Seven & Seven Is." Did you ever expect to see Buffalo Springfield, Love & Rush all in the same mix? This album was released in honor of Rush's 30th anniversary. While most other bands would release a box set, greatest hits collection, a studio album with a reunited 'classic line-up' Rush decided to do a tribute to past bands they liked. Geddy Lee, with his trademark falsetto, can't sing like Roger Daltrey, Keith Relf or Jack Bruce & doesn't even try, while the Yardbird's "Heart Full Of Soul" sound more like something out of the solo years of George Harrison. But, when the interpretation works it nearly rivals the original, or at least takes it for a run. "Crossroads" is a real highlight with some dirty blues playing you wouldn't expect from Lifeson rivalling Clapton's original lines. I often find covers albums more often disappointing than not with the remake a bland imitation, or a nearly exact imitation, if not a completely disturbing imitation. I want to hear a band put their stamp on a famous song not imitate. I always have felt Marilyn Manson gave "Sweet Dreams" the life that it was lacking while we've completely forgotten that Soft Cell's gay anthem "Tainted Love" was originally a disco hit by a now Christian preaching black woman. Rush knew what they could & could not do (i.e. Lee's unchangeable vocal quality) but worked with the songs not against themselves. They played a tribute to Clapton, not tried to be Clapton. Even though it's not a typical Rush album & Rush fans, believe it or not, might not be able to listen to it because it's so different, it boosted my respect for the band. Not just do I find the idea of a tribute album as an anniversary album interesting but also their choice in bands to cover. It's great seeing the underrated Love alongside the Who. Rush gets categorized as having a limited prog sound but this EP is just another demonstration of how that's not true. This is the Rush you didn't know existed & it makes them way cool now that you do.

Badlands ~ Badlands (aka debut) (album review) ... The students of Zeppelin!

Style: hard rock, blues-rock, heavy metal
Label: Atlantic
Year: 1989
Home: Los Angeles

Members: Ray Gillen ~ vocals/harmonica
Jake E. Lee ~ guitars/keyboards
Greg Chaisson ~ bass
Eric Singer ~ drums

 

The line-up is the most impressive thing about this album & short-lived supergroup: guitarist Jake E. Lee who just left Ozzy Osbourne, bridging the gap between guitar gods Randy Rhoads & Zakk Wylde; the late Ray Gillen who sang with Black Sabbath; bassist Greg Chaisson who played with Yngmie Malmsteen's first band; & drummer Eric Singer of Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Lita Ford & most notably Kiss. Later Singer would be replaced by Jeff Martin of Racer X, Michael Schenker & Dokken, while Gillen was replaced by John West of Lynch Mob, Cozy Powell & the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. But, other than this history buff trivia of a whose who, the album is like Asia - less than it's part. It's not bad & has it's enjoyable moments. Could be worse but it could be better. The trouble here is that these guys sound like everyone they've played with with, but not themselves. It rocks quite hard with a lot of musical varity & there's no question this is a powerhouse of talent. Guitars blast away throughout with abandon. Even the filler rocks due to the high proficiency & good intense arrangements that grab your attention & a heavy blues sound that has always been prominent in much 80's arena rock & pretty much can't go wrong. But, there's nothing particularly original about any of it. There's also a heavy dose of Zeppelin here. The music immediately reminds me of the equally-short-lived Zeppelin wannabes Bonham, which also features a departed lead singer & even look the same. "Dreams In The Dark" could be Whitesnake song if I didn't know better as it's a perfect David Coverdale imitation. While "Winter's Call" & "Seasons" are more Robert Plant than Robert Plant has been since the Plant/Page reunion. Now, let me say I love Bonham's first album & I love Zeppelin so I inherently enjoy this album. But, it's just not one full of surprises. I'd recommend it, if for nothing else, than an example of 80's hair rock at it's imitative 70's influenced best. There's nothing wrong with this release.

Cardiacs ~ Rude Bootleg (live) (album review) ... Look at that old dog!

Style: progressive, punk, experimental, art rock
Label: Alphabet Business Concern
Year: 1986
Home: Britain

Members: Tim Smith ~ guitar/vocals
Jim Smith ~ bass
Sarah Smith ~ sax
William D.Drake ~ keyboards
Dominic Luckman ~ drums
Tim Quy ~ percussion

"Girls have titties. Girls have titties. That's how they feed their babies. Look at that old dog." That's how frontman Tim Smith quasi-introduces the song "I'm Eating In Bed." With stage banter so disjointed ... go ahead & imagine what the music is like! I dare ya! This is probably one of the craziest & most unpredictable concert I've ever heard, though I know some will challenge that assertion with their favorite Zappa show but having heard Zappa & not being a fan I feel this is stranger. The band, titties and not, creates a cornucopia of nearly disjointed fragmentary sounds labeled as songs played by the child of King Crimson at it's most chaotic with Captain Beefhart's band joining in to spice up the strange arrangements. Add to that the nearly violently fast energy & attitude of the Dropkick Murphies & you have art rock at its fragmentary nearly unlistenable best. Nearly unlistenable, but not unlistenable. The keyboards keep this from being a guitar driven punk album a la Talking Heads, albeit it also keeps the unexpected factor high. The focus point is often Tim Smith's vocal contortions with his heavy British accent. His vocal style ranges from singing to near talking & I can't help but wonder what Smith's talents would be when put towards writing a Broadway show? Nearly an invalid from a stroke over a year ago we'll never know. The Talking Heads & Frank Zappa are close relatives of the Cardiacs & in many ways aimed for a similar mood with their arrangements, but went for a more contemplative approach to the mix of prog-rock/punk, let alone something more radio friendly. & David Byrne was never the angry young man that Tim Smith is. The energy, magnified by the live setting, is more punk than pretentious as is typical of much prog-rock with whom the Cardiacs often identify themselves with. Unpredictable, chaotic & verging on violence are key words of this release. As for unpredictable, "In A City Lining" a heavily echoed kazoo is featured throughout playing the melody as a demonstration of the unpredictability. This is considered the classic line-up of the band on the heals of the their successfully received Big Ship album. Having also listened to many of their studio albums, including Big Ship, I actually lean more to this than their studio stuff. I'm reminded of Y&T who were great on stage but the energy didn't come across in the slick studio. This is really the way to hear the Cardiacs where maximum cacophony is the key word. The studio albums are boring after this. Their more famous live album All That Glitter's Is A Mare's Nest features better production & more songs but it's not so wild & shows a more digestible side.

Quiet Riot ~ Metal Health (album review) ... The album that brought the noize to the masses!

Style: hard rock
Label: Sony
Year: 1983
Home: Los Angeles

Members: Kevin DuBrow ~ vocals
Carlos Cavazo ~ guitars/b. vocals
Rudy Sarzo ~ bass/keyboard
Frankie Banali ~ drums/b. vocals

Additional: Chuck Wright ~ bass/b. vocals
Pat Regan ~ keyboards
Riot Squad, Tuesday Knight, Spencer Proffer, Donna Slattery ~ b. vocals

QR will eternally be known for the first two tracks on the album: "Cum On Feel The Noize" & "Metal Health". No one will remember the fact that the other 8 tunes are equally powerful, even if they don't have the memorable "bang your head" choruses. But, the epitome of 80's excess hard rock & teenage frustration has been instilled nearly perfectly in these two hits, so how could they not become classics? Though, how these songs don't fall into cliché rock is a near miracle. The rest of the album features, without variation, Sex (i.e. "Cum On Feel The Noize", "Run For Cover", "Let's Get Crazy")teenage frustration (i.e. "Metal Health"), cars ("Slick Black Cadillac"), love ("Love's A Bitch", "Don't Wanna Let You Go", "Breathless"), guitar solos good for young air guitarists ("Battle Axe") & even a tribute to past musicians, here being Ozzy guitarist & former QR member Randy Rhoads ("Thunderbird"). Metal Health hands down features everything of concern to the average teenager. If they'd covered Alice Cooper's "School's Out" all variables would have been accounted for. There's nothing particularly great about the late Kevin DuBrow's singing but that might be the secret to how good this album is. It's not flying. It's just grooving. We can all relate whatever the mood or rock genre we typically prefer. Not a single week track, though there are a few slow pre-'power ballad' ballads (i.e. "Love's A Bitch") that owe more to the 70's than the 80's and the one-minute instrumental "Battle Axe" is far from on par with some of the other guitarists at the time, but is the only unnecessary track on the album. It's not reflective of this hit album that Quiet Riot's career quickly peaked and collapsed, the band finally folding after 25 upon DeBrow's death in 2007.

William Control ~ Noir (album review) ... Film-noir for music!

Style: experimental, techno, new wave
Label: Victory Records
Year: 2010
Home: Seattle, Washington

Members: wiL Francis ~ vocals
Nick Wiggins, Kenneth Fletcher ~ n/a

 

Amazon buyers give this album horrible reviews, but I liked it. Don't know exactly what that says as I also dislike the new Ozzy album which people are raving about. But, maybe it's because I can't compare it to any other work by wiL Francis, either the previous album under his alias William Control or with his band Aiden, as it's in comparison that it seems to get bad reviews. On one hand it's very simple with techno beats that could be from the Pet Shop Boys grittier stuff and talky story-telling lyrics (i.e. "All Due Restraint"), which aren't exactly the most thrilling music. But, then you get a haunting acoustic guitar playing "Can't Help Falling In Love", a highlight of the album that I was shocked to see a recent issue of Outburn completely ignore, though I didn't recognize the album they described in their review either though they did like it. This is a really a composers album, or an artist expressing something. This is not a commercial release for mass consumption, nor is necessary a listener's album. Sometimes both things can co-exist, but it's a fragile balance. I'm reminded of Ziggy Stardust in that it is very similar & for the most part balances. This is artsy and experimental and does indeed have a film-noir feeling. It's interesting. It's not a hard rock album, per say, though it does have it's rockin' ... moments. The songs do get a bit overly repetitive and sound-alike so by the end of the album you've heard everything, including Elvis, at least twice, but that either means you'll like it all or hate it all. Perhaps this isn't his best release, agreeing with Amazon buyers, but as an introduction I'm not turned away. The lyrics are also very interesting and really the highlight of the album with their mini-stories. Though, agreeing with Amazon buyers, the one weak point is a couple rap moments, though I don't know if it's rap or just some black guy trying to rap but really just talking, on the otherwise interesting "Why Dance With The Devil When You Have Me". And, I have nothing against rap, either.

Tired Wings ~ You Snooze, You Lose (EP) ... The road we call life!

Style: blues-rock, hard rock
Label: self-released
Year: 2009
Home: New York City, New York

Members: Charles "Rev Mongoose" Canedo ~ guitar/vocals/bass
Luis Cambrero ~ drums

Imagine an old bluesman whose spent too much time in juke joints playing on his electric guitar, repeatedly trying to confess his average soul through unheard lyrics, playing with frightful abandon his three-chord blues progressions, with his band behind him trying to propel things to new levels. Got it? The frontman of TW isn't quite an old bluesman but the side of his personality he's revealed on this debut EP is wandering on the same road. With a near ominous bleeding guitar in the foreground TW rips through a cry of a normal heart crying for great heights in "Average Soul", reminding me of Lou Reed's "Average Guy" where he pleaded his normalcy after years of drug addiction. Might songwriter Charles be doing the same thing after his own trials in life? While "Roll With You" is groove based gritty heaviness I always thought could careen out of control on stage if given the chance, or maybe it already has. With only four songs on an album it can be hard to have a highlight as, if planned well, each one should stand out equal. Though, every song by TW can fill one with lots of great energy, going straight to the groin, "Mountain Song" is probably a favorite of mine. In many ways it's the unlikely candidate. It has the simpliest riff, is the least personal lyrically & is probably the most under control sounding. But, it's all those things together that pull it out of the batch, plus a great wah-wah pedal solo ringing over a near drum solo that nearly sounds like two drummers. Showing the softer side of TW, the album ends almost with a coda with "Road We Call Life", an acoustic power ballad that would be better served on an EP of acoustic songs. But, then, TW have a rather raw & sloppy sound which doesn't quite translate on acoustic guitar. Luckily, the track breaks into electric guitars & drums, though it takes 5 out of 7:30 minutes to get there. But, on the other hand the chorus is: "I'm free & I'm tired, but I'm on the road again, on these tired wings". Every band should have a theme song. TW play around New York City with a pretty unpretentious stage show & are worth checking out. CONCERT REVIEW: Don Hill's, NYC, 2010. It had been over a year since I last saw TW in concert, the last time being their all too short debut. The next time I saw them was as a member of the band. This night actually featured the debut of a new bass player. Looking like Rob Zombie in his big boots, floor length pants and a devilish tophat frontman Charles is without doubt the force of the band that blasts an onslaught of sound through his guitar amp. The sad thing is that he's tied to a stationary position because of the guitar, but Charles is a frontman who is better with a guitar than pouncing around on stage with just a mic. He's a guitarist before anything. Maybe someday he'll have a second guitarist to at least decrease his burden of walking the tightrobe of both lead and rhythm a sole guitarist faces, but until then there's something nice about seeing just a trio of guys on stage. Behind the drumkit Luis is a flurry of waving arms and hair with a big smile on his face all the way. Drummers often get ignored but a good drummer is a spectacle in himself. As for the new bassist, last I heard he was still with them so it obviously was a good fit. Considering I know they pulled him from the rehearsal studio down the hall it's definetly convenient. Albeit, his predecessor was named Cup Cake, what's his nickname? 

Van Halen ~ III (album review) ... Extreme Halen!

Style: 80's rock, heavy metal
Label: Warner Bros.
Year: 1998
Home: California

Members: Gary Cherone ~ lead vocals
Eddie Van Halen ~ guitars/bass/keyboards/piano/vocals
Michael Anthony – bass/b. vocals
Alex Van Halen – drums/percussion

Additional: Matthew Bruck ~ guitar
Mike Post ~ piano

For some this is an album you want to succeed & you believe that it can. First David Lee Roth left, but the band refocused & carried on to new highs with Sammy Hagar. Then, Sammy left & Extreme's talented Gary Cherone was brought in, thus the name of the album. You believe VH can refocus yet again & it's hard to not have great faith in the vocal change ... unlike Paul Rodgers taking the Freddie Mercury spot in Queen, considering it really should have been Cherone. But, it doesn't quite work. Sadly, though none of us probably suspected it to be the case, it's hard to tell if it's Sammy or Gary singing as their voices are very similar. Whether Cherone has changed his singing style or the two just always sounded similar, or maybe a bit of both, it's hard to tell. There's nothing new brought to the mix vocally by Cherone, allowing VH to continue it's musical experiments starting in For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge & Balance that weren't going anywhere fast and were already stalling on Balance. The lyrics here aren't particularly great, albeit they never really were but somehow the whole of VH compensated for the parts. Also not very interesting are the songs themselves with odd arrangements & plodding riffs. Considering bassist Michael Anthony appears on only 3 tracks this should really be Eddie's first solo album, as it's as much a VH album as Guns N' Roses's Chinese Democracy is an Axl Rose solo project. It's sometimes easy to forget that Eddie Van Halen has an experimental side to his musical output. "Right Now" was a chart-topping experiment. Van Halen III is his longest experiment yet with it's collection of fragmentary songs & odd sounds that don't work. It's too bad, because Gary might still be with them if it had succeeded. But, sadly, this incarnation is not a highlight in the Van Halen catalog and for diehard fans only. Someday, hopefully before their next album, Eddie will realize we listen to him for his riffing & fantastic guitar pyrotechnics and great songs, not how strange & un-guitar-ish or Jeff Beck-ish he can make his instruments sound ... which seems to be his goal. Get the greatest hits album I've featured earlier in these reviews, The Best Of VH, Vol. 1,, which was made after this but didn't include any tracks from III ... that says it all right there.