60's Pop Rock Reunion Live! (comp) (DVD review) ... Not the reunion you were expecting!

Style: classic rock, pop rock
Label: Time Life/Eagle Vision
Year: 2004
Home: n/a

Concert location: Cleveland, Ohio
Year Recorded: 2003
Length: 82 minutes
Bonus Features: "Upstage With The Artists" interviews with Mark Lindsay, Gary Lewis, Chad & Jeremy, Rob Grill, Tommy James & Carl Ciammarese of the Buckinghams

Bands include Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone

Tommy James & The Shondells

Mark Lindsay

The Buckinghams

Gary Lewis & The Playboys

Chad & Jeremy

The Grass Roots

Additional: Norm N. Nite ~ MC

Originally broadcast on PBS, this live concert shares the music of back when three chord songs rocked & didn't mean punk or hard rock or heavy metal. Some of these performers have been performing steady since their name faded from the Billboard, while others retired to come back for the popular reunion circuit. One would like to say its obviously which have grown old gracefully & which should retire again, but that would be splitting hairs & even being mean. Yes, there's a nostalgia vibe ... as the Buckinghams say "Our most recent hit record, it was 1968" ... yes almost everyone is trying to look updated with leather pants, yes its a mix of session musicians & only a few members of the original bands such as the Shondells & Playboys, yes some voices are older & not so strong, yes in the modern age of performance just standing on stage seems strange & unenthused ... but there's a reason these folks are gathered to perform together & its because of the songs. The songs are classic & classic for a reason & hold up to the test of time without issue & nobody is going to perform them like originally, so this is the next best thing. The visuals might be nostalgic but the music is as great as ever & that's what this is all about. The weak moments are more than made up for. You'll be digging around on wikipedia to find out where all these folks have been over the decades, for sure, let alone pulling out your old albums. This concert isn't about trying to recreate the past or introduce new music by old bands or old music to new fans, but just enjoy the great old songs. Tommy James puts in the guitar rock moment & its obvious he's been on the circuit non-stop as "Draggin The Line" & "Crystal Blue Persuasion" have modern arrangement with distorted electric guitar solos. He also might be the most relaxed of anyone, as there's no sense of comeback reunion in his manner but just doing what he always did, so what's the big deal about? He also comes across as the rocker in a midst of singers. Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere & The Raiders, might not be remembered outside the band he helped form, though he had many solo albums under his own name. Retired & now back to performing he puts in a fun couple songs with the classic hits moniker landing at home with "Kicks" & "Indian Reservation". With a tall lanky frame, dark hair & even a costume change he might have the best stage look. Ironically, "Indian Reservation" was recorded for his solo album & then released as Paul Revere & The Raiders ... so really you do know his solo career. The Buckinghams, looking very Donny Osmond in business suits which is not much farther from their original look, are the most pop & slick putting in a relaxing moment. The Buckinghams was the first Chicago band to feature horns, with their producer going on to produce the band Chicago Transit Authority. Gary Lewis & The Playboys, here a session backing band, puts in the roughest performance partially looking odd in all leather & with a shot voice. While his choice of "Green Grass" may not be the strongest song to compliment "This Diamond Ring", or anyways, I know some other songs more than that one. No, he doesn't look like his dad anymore. Of interest, he retired from performing & became a drum teacher. Chad & Jeremy was a band I couldn't remember until I heard them, here performing for the first time in over twenty years on just acoustic piano & nylon string guitar. Unglamorous in jeans & looking almost out of place, they put in the most intimate performance of the night. "A Summer Song" will nearly have you in tears. There's a reason they get a standing ovation. The Grass Roots, a band I've always liked, is an interesting group as its a collection of rotating musicians primarily doing the catalog of two songwriters who wrote for many other folks. Here its original bassist/songwriter Rob Grill, an excellent bassist by the way who died in 2011, joined by one of the many line-ups ... Grill is the only one who gets a literal spotlight. It's like Tommy James in the fact that you can tell the group never split up & you can tell. But, the songs are so good I was back checking out their old catalog. Of interest a brief Grill solo tour saw him opening for Fleetwood Mac on their Tusk tour. We all know the catchy memorable songs of Herman's Hermits with Peter Noone, now in leather pants but still looking young, but I found him the most disappointing. Perhaps the its the geeky look & funny faces. But, he's got the best line: "When the person singing on your right isn't singing, hit them ... let's get in the newspaper." Though, this is one of two Hermits. All the members of the original left leaving drummer Barry Whitwam keeping the band going as the sole original member. Noone would return to performing with his own Hermits, which this is, with all new faces. For the trivia buff, their "Something Good" was co-written by Carole King. Closes with Tommy James leading a a group take on "Mony Mony", like every group take its about the visuals. Many of these bands have performed together on the nostalgia circuit already, so bringing them all together both isn't so much of a startling fresh idea, but already being done. It just took someone to record it all. If you like the music it's well worth picking up. Bonus feature includes on stage interviers that are very off-the-cuff & full of fascinating history. When Mark Lindsay is asked what he regrets - not seeing the Beatles or Stones or anyone live, as he was either on the road or recording all the time. Gary Lewis belays the fact that Leon Russell was his arranger & co-producer, let alone the inside scoop of timing hit records around Beatles hit records. The conversation, as expected, eventually turns to Gary's dad, Jerry. While Rob Grill of the Grass Roots is given a surprise visit from Peter Noone during his talk. While Chad says he wanted to do it one last time, though because of this special concert they would be far from doing something one last time but would continue to tour & record.

Paul Weller ~ Days of Speed (live) (album review) ... But, don't drive by too fast!

Style: classic rock, live
Label: Epic
Year: 2001
Home: England

Members: Paul Weller ~ vocals/acoustic guitar

PW might have become famous for experimenting with everything from punk to folk to pop to worldbeat to soul via his solo career, the Jam & the Style Council, but us fans know that beyond the catchy hooks the real secret to his music is his wonderful lyrics.  In this live concert supporting his fifth solo album, Heliocentric, it's just PW & an acoustic guitar ... & a spotlight. Yes, it's the well worn out unplugged gig that became the rage in the 90's, but this is well after the movement had hit its peak & faded. But, here PW brings us back to its peak with a delightful intimate show barren of everything except the essentials & doing exactly what the unplugged craze was meant to do - bring out a new side to the songs. Outside of the lyrics the songs are almost unrecognizable with just strumming, having been streamlined of everything even minor melody plucking. Trust me, you may miss it but you'll be so wrapped into this concert you won't miss it for long. PW is an under-rated songwriter & this clears up that for anyone who doesn't already know. Listening to it I recall the first few Bob Dylan albums where it was just him & his guitar & where we all were enchanted by the lyrics. I would highly recommend discovering songwriter PW through this album, while delving into the Style Council, particularly the debut, & his solo career for his musical creativity. Sorry, I'm not much of a Jam fan outside of a few songs. Though, note, this is a mellow attack to the songs, so its certainly recommended that a new fan not stop here or thing they're hearing the live versions of the songs just slimmed down. These are truly different in feeling. He does go electric for "Amongst Butterflies", "Science" & Style Council's "Headstart For Happiness" & it doesn't hurt the mood, but creates a nice little breathing moment, even when the microphone's echo kicks in for the chorus ... something used in good effect also in the acoustic "Everything Has A Price To Pay."

Dethcentrik ~ Unhallowed Eve (album review) ... Keep your children at home!

Style: experimental, black metal, Halloween, instrumental
Label: Death Incarnate
Year: 2012
Home: Colorado

Members: Stefan Klein ~ all instruments

Can you name an album wrapped around the theme of Halloween? There's plenty of Christmas themed albums & even a few bands doing that theme ... but Halloween? I'm not talking about Smashing Pumpkins or Alice Cooper who use frightening imagery often equated with Halloween. I'm talking about the Halloween equivalent of Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I can only think of one band/album in Dee Snider's Van Helsing's Curse. That was until Unhallowed Eve landed in my e-mail this month, an instrumental moody album that may not be singing about ghosts & goblins but is the sound you blast out the window when trick-or-treaters wander by. Dethcentrik is known for cacophonic absolutely barren mind-numbing black metal of guitars & screaming vocals & droning keyboards. Some call it industrial. Others call it noise. But, this is a new direction for Dethcentrik, far different from anything previously released by great leaps. Dethcentrik, originally a band but now a one-man outing, must have spent the last year in a cave with new musical influences. Early Dethcentrik was assaulting to the ears, even more so compared to this new release. They also were straight black metal with all the thorny heavily distorted guitars thrashing about in a maddening almost unlistenable at times rush. That's all been replaced by droning keyboard lines, though even that's been kept to a minimum here & instead replaced by naturally occurring sounds distorted beyond recognition into a moody hypnotic mesh that's more akin to a movie soundtrack, particularly being instrumental with no lyrics to distract from the visual. This album goes for the pleasure of sounds themselves & how they become something new on an organic level when twisted & turned & particularly stretched well beyond their natural length & near breaking point. "As The Birds Consume They Flesh Featuring Some Crows" is keyboards deep in the mix churning out droning wind like tones while squawking crows, in real time, form the main textural movement of the song, with occasional computer blips popping up. While "Must You leave So Soon" is just a weird wave of static, I believe, distorted beyond recognition into three minutes. Then there's "The Devil's Breath" following a similar path with a recording of wind distorted into nearly eleven minutes. That's another key here - length. There is no boundaries to time. Earlier Dethcentrik pushed the limits of listenability for many, once even accused by a critic for the excessive use of distortion. Now excessiveness has now been taken in a new direction. Personally, I find this much more exciting. & without a doubt I see the musical change the most exciting thing to discover. I love the sense of musical development into new territories, for both the listener & composer. I also like musicians that take risks. That's what music is essentially all about. & Dethcentrik pushes it with great braveness, such as with the 20 minute "The Sawmill" that is the sound of saws sawing away against an unrecognizable background of crunching drones. Perhaps the background is actually the saws given a computer make-over? That's what I believe makes up "The Possessed Music Box" which is heavily distorted tones against other tones. I believed they're all the same tones but thrown together to see what they'll spawn or how they'll push & pull each other. Strangeness at its best.

Hawkwind ~ Palace Springs (live) (album review) ... Back in the box goes the hawk!

Style: prog-rock, space rock, live, classic rock
Label: RoadRunner
Year: 1991
Home: n/a

Member: Bridget Wishart ~ vocals
Dave Brock ~ guitar/keyboards/vocals
Harvey Bainbridge ~ keyboards/vocals
Alan Davey ~ bass/vocals
Simon House ~ violin
Richard Chadwick ~ drums

Hawkwind is one of those bands people struggle with. They've had some great moments but they seem to require a particular type of fan, while others remain unconverted peaking in for only a casual listen to hear what the buzz was about decades ago. Maybe its the whole genre of space rock of which they are certainly a pioneer of - it's not for everybody, either now or then. They've had a plethora of albums, but I believe the band remains a mystery to many ... particularly Motorhead fans as Lemmy was once in the band & named his band after a Hawkwind song. But, they've never stopped producing albums, though the membership count probably now rivals prog peers Yes, while they've had an array of different style moments over the decades making discovering them a bit more difficult. Many albums, old & new, studio & live, have found critical & fan acceptance, but yet much of their catalog is unknown to any but the hardcore fan. Where to start? What's good? What's bad? Some say the first four albums are all that matters, but can you really so easily write-off the decades that follow? One of those different moments that has potentially been forgotten about was following a line-up change in 1990 when in came the addition of Bridget Wishart on vocals for the studio release Space Bandits & subsequent couple tours. Never before, & never again, would they have a female singer. Also introduced at this time was violinist Simon House. The result is reminiscent of the Grateful Dead when they featured Donna Jean Godchaux on backing vocals, meets a tame later era Mahavishnu Orchestra with Jean Luc Ponty doing a keyboard dominated space rock trip. Though, neither Wishart or House are utilized here beyond a couple songs. Wishart only gets one lead vocal ("Back In The Box"), which might be the greatest disappointment of this live outing. To hear a female vocalist with Hawkwind is startling, versus the normal almost robot vocals that are so familiar, but the moment passes before one gets used to it or knows where it could go. But, beyond this loss, really the best way to hear Hawkwind is in the live setting & this isn't a bad Hawkwind album to get into the mood with. It has a little bit of the past, though also a bit of the modern era Hawkwind. The music is dominated by vocals & keyboards with the guitar being primarily a rhythm instrument. It may not be as exploratory as some 70's releases, but they are as cosmic as ever. Fluid is the key word to the Hawkwind live experience. The keyboards float, even during solos, with one song weaving into the next. Though, this is only a partial concert & recordings from a couple shows, but it still floats together into on space rock quasi-Grateful Dead medley moment. "Void Of Golden Light" which moves into "Lives Of Great Men" is one of the best tracks where they recall the best of their 70's output with as they go as far as they can with the keyboard taking the lead. Its interesting to note that no cuts from Space Bandit appears, which might be why Wishhart's vocals appear so infrequently. Sadly, Wishhart would only appear on this studio album & a couple live albums before moving on in 1991 with keyboardist Harvey Bainbridge & violinist Simon House following. Hawkwind would continue as a trio creating a synthesizer wall of sound. Of note, entering into Space Bandits the band had not just welcomed Wishhart to the microphone, but drummer Richard Chadwick was still a new face, while lead guitarist Huw Lloyd-Langton left. His guitar lines to be taken up by House's violin. So, this particular Hawkwind sound/line-up would be all too short an experience never really getting enough chance to develop & thus just another blip on the Hawkwind musical road largely going unseen & most likely unremembered.

Jerusalem Slim ~ Jerusalem Slim (aka debut) (album review) ... Steve Stevens does Page's Outrider!

Style: heavy metal, hard rock
Label: n/a
Year: 1990
Home: New York City

Members: Steve Stevens ~ guitars
Michael Monroe ~ vocals/saxophone/keyboards
Sami Yaffa ~ bass/b. vocals
Greg Ellis ~ drums

When former Hanoi Rocks frontman Michael Monroe began working on a follow-up to his second solo album he suddenly found himself wring alongside ex-Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens, who was also working on some solo stuff & looking for a singer & would eventually work with Vince Neil, thus was accidentally born JS. Along for the ride was new drummer Greg Ellis & Monroe's solo band bassist & former Hanoi Rocks bandmates Sami Yaffa. It sounds great on paper but the result met mixed reviews. But, I believe, the reason for that is because many reviewers have seen this as a group. It's really not outside of the name. They've also tried to see this as a Monroe album. That's also a false view. Picture this more as Steven's attempt to make his Outrider, the solo album by guitarist Jimmy Page. See this as Stevens & friends & suddenly it doesn't become great but it pulls itself up a little bit. It's still has lots of failures: Monroe is a swaggering hard rock Ramones-inspired/glam vocalist, but now singing against a heavily layered metal background he doesn't found any real vocal personality as the Ramones sound is wiped clean & a cliched wannabe New York swagger in its place; the lyrics are about as throwaway rock cliché as one can get; Yaffa & Ellis might be good individual players but just don't have the click that Yaffa had with the late Razzle of Hanoi Rocks, that was a team to be reckoned with; & this is obviously Steven's project as his writing style dominates the music. Though, I have to be honest that Monroe's voice was always the one thing that kept me from enjoying Hanoi Rocks more, so I'm already not a fan & will understand if some think I'm too harsh against him. On the other hand I have actually at in a rehearsal with Yaffa & he's great. As for Stevens playing, I believe he's an incredibly under-rated but now lost in the shuffle guitarist, & the first time I heard him I was interested. But, here he clutters the songs with so many layers that one is trying to figure out where he's going, what he's doing, let alone get into the songs. They hit you with flash but without a groove. Page did the same on Outrider, but also kept things often sounding simple with layers accentuating not making mush. Actually, there are moments were the riffs are more Page than not. But, that album was saved from its excesses by its slower moments & bluesy foundation, but this has none of that. Stevens is dropping guitars in & out to show off, losing his distinctive sound & its often chaotic & when not just sad because you so want to enjoy him. Though, I've always found that when he shines its not in the solos but in the little twists & turns for a bar or two that he adds to the arrangements spicing them up, but they're cluttered over here. His distinctive style glimmers instead of shouts here. In some ways I'm reminded of the first Joe Perry Project album where the non-inhibitions of a label or too much band influence let him go in every direction. This is where having a band is good - it reigns in the excess. But, this is not Monroe's style so he's lost in the shuffle. It's really a shame because JC looks good on paper, but none of the songs really gel here either in showing off a group personality or showing off strong individual personalities reaching through. There's songs that feel memorable, but on second listen there's too much clutter. For Stevens & Monroe fans certainly this will be in one's collections, but they've both done better & its not the album I'd recommend to check them out by. The group dissolved when Stevens joined Vince Neil's new solo band while Monroe & Yaffa moved into the more interesting Demolition 23, both publicly disowning the posthumous release of Jerusalem Slim. It's not that bad. JS, though, was already crumbling with arguments over the bands music direction & the exit to Vince Neil just fast forwarded the outcome, let alone added kindling to the difficulties due to the fact that it was Neil who was responsible for the death of Razzle, while Yaffa was the first to leave Rocks with the band soon collapsing in ruins. Obviously, JS started with a spark but it was only kindling & not enough to sustain the project. Includes two demo tracks, but are unnecessary bonuses & on the whole too similar for anyone but a hardcore fan of any of the participants to care.

Queensryche - Rage For Order (album review) ... The killing words have been spoken!

Style: hard rock, prog-rock
Label: Capitol
Year: 1986
Home: Washington

Members: Geoff Tate ~ vocals/keyboards
Chris DeGarmo, Michael Wilton ~ guitar/b. vocals
Eddie Jackson ~ bass/b. vocals
Scott Rockenfield ~ drums

Additional: Neil Kernon ~ keyboards
Bradley Doyle ~ emulator programming

Kerrang! rated this number 88 on the 100 greatest heavy metal albums of all time back in 1989, while allmusic.com calls it a cliched two star rehash of the glam that was on the scene. I think one gives it too much glory, while the other didn't listen to it. This may not be one of the greatest metal albums ever, but I'll proudly declare it a hidden gem in the Queensryche catalog. As for their worst? Even in comparison to their later successes, it's far from their worst. Albeit, I actually don't know what their worst album might be. But, certainly, with the success of "Silent Lucidity" everything they did before & after suddenly was given a new interpretation & without that hit allmusic might be more favorable to this release. As for being cliched ... only if you consider Savatage & Alice Cooper the standard for the sound of hair/glam metal! If Queensryche's early release Rage For Order has a weakness it's that its a transitional album. Even without hindsight its obvious that they're going in new directions. The directions aren't fully developed & that's also obvious, but they're trying hard & willing to make mistakes to see what works & what doesn't. The problem is that the experiments are not the head banging fist pumping thrash songs Queensryche entered the door with on their demo & second album, & fans expecting that are going to be disappointed as with this release as they're seemingly being left behind. But, yet some fist pumping songs are here ... slammed uncomfortably next to the experiments, giving the album a disjointed feeling. The album seems to go after two groups of fans, yet they're not with similar tastes. All the old fans have to hang onto is some Iron Maiden-esque songs that aren't particularly anything glamorous & only survive because they are but filler (for example "Surgical Strike" & "Chemical Youth (We Are Rebellion)") next to the better experimental songs. What is becoming the focus of Queensryche's music is metal for those that like diversity & experimentation & might call themselves Dream Theater fans, for example, or Savatage fans. They want something more than the bump & grind rock. Though, its interesting to note that the band's later music is counted as prog-rock, while this is often labeled as full of theatrics. There's a thin dividing line there. & the only reason I would agree with theatrics, I think of theatrics in terms of Alice Cooper, is because the experiments rely heavily on singer Geoff Tate to bring them to that level not necessarily the music. This is Tate's album for sure, while the later albums would do better with the music than some bland guitar rock. There's actually two types of experiments, both firmly prog-rock & theatrical First there is the theatrics that really are akin to Alice Cooper because Tate pushes his voice in every unexpected way. The highlight "Gonna Get Close To You" is a song from inside an insane asylum, a similar topic to Cooper's From The Inside even, opening with the Alice Cooper-esque line "I like to look at the shadows on the wall". It was originally done by Canadian artist Dalbello in 1984 & I'd love to hear her version. It's the experiment du jour & comes out of nowhere with Tate singing in true shock rock manner. It's a fascinating song that needs to be heard, but headbangers are going to be disappointed I believe. "The Killing Words" stays in a similar mode for the introduction & verses, though the cliché hair metal chorus vocals hurt it. "Neu Regel" follows with synthesized vocals & keyboards & is an undeveloped experiment that shows the weak songwriting that is taking second tier to the experiments. While "Screaming In Digital" could be found on Billy Idol's Cyberpunk & would be so much better without an annoying dominating keyboard line crashing with the bland guitar riffing. Tate is a great singer & is the key to the album & its fun to hear him experiment, but the bland riffing underneath is what hurts the songs, let alone the unwelcomed keyboards. As for the second experiment that appears - it's "Silent Lucidity" in the making. & I don't say that modestly, as there are a few songs that sound like a junior version of "Silent Lucidity", but just not with the heart-ripping emotional quality, something missing from the album on the whole. If someone said "I Will Remember" or "I Dream In Infrared" were combined two albums later & rewritten as "Silent Lucidity" I wouldn't be surprised. If all you know is "Silent Lucidity" then this album will disappoint your image that the song came out of nowhere & just was a freak masterpiece. Nothing is made in a vacuum & Rage For Order is the missing puzzle piece. Again, though, what keeps these two songs from being "Silent Lucidity" is that the experimental parts are too unsettled & too vocally focused, while the songwriting too weak. Even for its faults I only found a couple songs on this album that I wanted to skip over & those were the Iron Maiden-esque typical rock songs. It might not be the masterpiece of the later Operation: Mindcrime or Empire but its far from a throwaway that some reviewers imply. Going back to their four song debut, three of those songs were straight ahead thrash, only to end with the mellow ballad "The Lady Wore Black". Most listeners probably thought that was the token ballad that every hair metal band would come to include. What a surprise, perhaps also to the band itself, that the token would become the norm. If it wasn't obvious in their first full length & first major label release The Warning that this was not going to be just another thrash band it is apparent here. Of course, every band seems to have an acoustic hit, but "Silent Lucidity" isn't a lone wolf. Queensryche is more than a one hit wonder but crafting strong albums that have kept them from falling the way many of their peers had. A lot of development went into creating their most famous song & here it is for Sherlock to pour throw.

Erang ~ Erang (aka debut) (album review) ... A nostalgic journey!

Style: ambiant, experimental, instrumental
Label: self-released
Year: 2012
Home: n/a

Members: n/a ~ keyboards

"A nostalgic journey..." was the super brief & mysterious bit of PR sent to me recently from Erang about its 2012 self-titled album, the first of two 2012 releases by this one man band. The Erang journey continues with a follow-up a couple months later called Tome II. Tome is a more proper title for these two online only releases, the new trend with indie musicians including myself. These are truly tomes of mini-stories through instrumental keyboard music of simple weaving lines & heavy hit notes. They're fairy tales of another world & another time with wizards, horse riders, mystical nights & songs & dreams ending with a sit down by the dark river. Dungeons & Dragons & Lord Of The Rings & the mysteries of those mythological medieval worlds inspire Erang's musical storytelling. Though, if the dark river is a beginning or an end, I'll let your ears decide. Certainly, that's the way Erang wants it. The music is fairly simple of melodic keyboard lines & light harmonic touches. It's never too cluttered & even when more than a handful of layers enter (for example, "No Apprentice This Year!") they float in & none of them are rushing around blurring any other line. Both albums are very much in the same mold. While the name tome may speak of its thematic nature, the similar sounding tone poem also is a good descriptor to use. I'm reminded a bit of Burzum's two prison albums of synthesizers, but only a bit, as this isn't dark & messed up & full of the turmoil that those were. Those two albums were musical torment, while this is truly a musical journey with moments of dancing elves with their accordions & medieval soundscapes. Though, it's more than just a moody soundscape, as is often the case with albums of this nature, but the tracks do weave into each other sounding like thirteen scenes of a play. Though, part of it is because a majority of songs hang around two minutes, thus while they don't feel fragmentary they also aren't expanded in great directions ... the cohesive hole is the expansion.

Bad Company ~ Company Of Strangers (album review) ... None of who you likely care about!

Style: AOR rock, country, classic rock
Label: EastWest
Year: 1995
Home: n/a

Members: Robert Hart ~ vocals
Mick Ralphs ~ guitar
Simon Kirke, Dave Colwell ~ guitars
Rick Wills ~ bass

Additional: Jeff Bova, Steve Smith ~ keyboards
Jody Linscott ~ percussion
Paul Carnes ~ mandolin

BC is, in my mind & I think for most, impossible to separate with blues belting frontman Paul Rodgers. I recently had a collection of cassettes long forgotten in a basement dumped my way. In it was this later day album by BC. I had totally forgotten, if I even knew, that Rodgers didn't always sing with BC. Actually, the only original band members at this time are ex-Mott The Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs & Rodgers former Free bandmate Simon Kirke on drums. Three blond haired John Wetton lookalikes 80's rockers fill in the gaps. For me, without Rodgers this isn't BC. As it is, only eight of the thirteen songs have a writing credit by either Ralph or Kirke so its even one step further from being BC as I them. BC disbanded in the late 70's after churning out classics "Feel Like Making Love" & "Can't Get Enough Of Your Love". Ralphs & Kirk kept the name alive in the 80's with an array of quasi-anonymous fill-in musicians. Robert Hart is the second singer in this reformed era & would record this & Stories Told & Untold before Rodgers reclaimed his role for some outstanding live engagements that, I believe, show off his voice better than any of the studio album. But, there's great controversy among fans what exactly this is. Is it BC in anything but name only? Tony Iommi did the same through an array of albums that were him under the name Black Sabbath, while countless other groups have done the same such as the Yardbirds, Chicago, Asia, Starship & too many more to count. Of course, honestly, if Simon Kirke released an album on his own few would pay attention, but if BC does an album suddenly there's sales, or theoretically should be. It comes down to the discussion of what is a band? Is it the key songwriter or frontman, regardless of who else is in the band? Is it the most popular members? Is it the classic line-up, whether that's the original or not? Is it a particular sound? If everyone but Mick & Keith left the Rolling Stones, is it still the Rolling Stones? Or, was Pitrelli, DeGrasso & original member Ellefson still Megadeth without frontman Dave Mustaine. If Paul & Ringo reunite is it the Beatles? Is it still Herman's Herman's with Peter Noone & new faces? It's hard to say & obviously there's little room here for that multi-faceted debate. I'd like to suggest that the way to approach revived bands like this - out of context of the past. There's no way anything put out by this later BC line-up is going to rate as high as the past ... there are flukes to this example like the new Journey, but even then Steve Perry's shadow remains for most people & the hits are from the earlier days. But, I'm not sitting here listening to this & then pulling my recordings of the original line-up so the comparison is only in my memory not an intensive listening session. I'm just looking for an enjoyable album to listen to for an hour. Does this line-up of BC do the job? Do I enjoy it regardless of the past, forgetting about the past? I have to say - yes. Maybe it helps to separate the past, for BC anyway, because the music is not necessarily what I'd expect to hear from the troupe. The classic BC was a gutsy blues band. This is bluesy but has a bit of a surprising Americana almost country feel (i.e. "Little Mother", "Loving You Out Loud") prominently via vocalist Hart. It's feel good blues without being too bluesy & Americana without being too bar band-ish. It's safe middle America music perfect for the radio. I can imagine hearing this on the radio & seeing my dad, who was never that familiar with BC to start with, saying it's pretty good & wanting to know who it is. The solos aren't wild & far from being adventurous to the point of wondering if BC was ever anything but Rodgers. It's got a steady beat that doesn't ever move to fast or slow or churn out any chord changes that have anything memorable about them. It's the Allman Brothers Band or maybe a light Kenny Wayne Shepherd (i.e. "Clearwater Highway"), with only moments hinting at the past (i.e. "Gimme Gimme", "Down & Dirty", "Pretty Woman"). BC may have had some folksy roots but it never had Nashville roots ... the next album would actually be recorded in Nashville & feature guest country singer Vince Gill. So, one can imagine where BC might have gone if Rodgers hadn't returned. This is one of those albums that interesting not for what it offers, but for what it doesn't. It's interesting for how it makes you feel ... a bit lost. It's not bad, it's not great, it's certainly not embarrassing as some revivals are, but it's not BC as any might define BC. If BC moved away from the Americana & back to their British roots vocalist Hart is actually a good replacement for Rodgers. You can hear Rodgers in him at times, but he's not given the time to stretch with this material. Thus, not just is one feeling lost but also feeling like what potential was here was lost, particularly with Hart. Of note, Hart went on to Manfred Mann's Earth Band & was in Band Of Snakes with ex-Whitesnake members. In the end, I wouldn't be embarrassed to recommend this album, if for no other reason than to discuss how we view bands with long lives. Let alone, given the credentials I just laid out for Hart & the fact that he's a good singer, how we view those musicians stuck in someone else's spotlight. They may be great but we never give them the chance & sometimes neither does the music. & ironically, Hart is the best thing this line-up has going for it. Of note, the follow-up album would feature re-recordings by this line-up of old BC songs with a few new songs, so Company Of Strangers is the last full length studio album by BC. It's not a bad swan song. Though, I'm sure someday we'll see them return. Nobody stays away anymore.

Green River ~ Rehab Doll (album review) ... Do what the doctor orders!

Style: hard rock
Label: Sub Pop
Year: 1988
Home: Seattle

Members: Mark Arm ~ vocals
Stone Gossard ~ guitars/b. vocals
Bruce Fairweather ~ guitars
Alex Vincent ~ drums
Jeff Ament ~ bass/b. vocals
Stone Gossard ~ guitar

Additional: Bruce Calder, Sharka Stern ~ b. vocals

GR needs no explanation for those familiar with grunge history. Active for only 4 years in the late 80's they had little impact outside of the region, even with a brief national tour, but in the long term would have an unexpected legacy. There was no grunge movement when they formed, but their debut Come On Down in hindsight would be called the first release by a grunge band as they shortly pre-date their grunge forefather peers the U-Men, Melvins, Skin Yard & Soundgarden & the release of Sub Pop's groundbreaking Deep Six compilation that would overnight turn a city into a musical movement. Thus, musically GR is there at the fore. Further, their second EP was the first non-compilation released by Sub Pop. But, its hard to say whether musically GR had an impact through their own music or the music that came after. Meaning, the band was fronted by vocalist Mark Arm & included guitarists Steve Turner, Stone Gossard, drummer Alex Vincent & bassist Jeff Ament. Bruce Fairweather would replace Turner on guitar. Here everything should make sense. Arm & Turner formed Mudhoney. Ament & Gossard formed Mother Love Bone, later Temple Of the Dog & Pearl Jam. Fairweather joined Malfunkshun with future Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood & later would be in Love Battery. Sans Nirvana no further explanation is needed on how GR have influenced grunge. Only Vincent would leave music, except for some GR reunions, moving to Japan & later get into politics. Rehab Doll is GR's third & final album. In-fighting over the direction the band should go caused Ament, Gossard & Fairweather to say goodbye. The group stuck together only long enough to finish recording, gone by the time it hit the shelves. But, the big question - is this grunge? If you define grunge by any of the above heavy-hitters then this may take you as a shock. "Forever Means" & the worth hearing title track have riffs that sound more comfortable in much of the rough & tumble hard rock that was on the scene. If you've ever thought Pearl Jam had a classic rock tinge, listen to GR & you'll hear that even more so, mixed with a bit of Sonic Youth & Iggy Pop. If there's anything that screams grunge its primarily on the shoulders of frontman Arm who really gives the music its personality. His vocals go from high & low, I almost think of Jim Morrison or Jizzy Pearl of L.A. Guns in that way of using his full range, if not sometimes twist off into faux-hair metal turns while crying out anything but cliched lyrics. It's less about a structured melody & more loose, wavering & almost experimental at times. Actually, the music feels too structured at times for where he seems to want to go. For those that know Mudhoney, no further explanation is needed, though musically this is far more hard rock & less Sonic Youth than Mudhoney, but the musical similarities are profound. Though, poor production that keeps Arm too low in the mix & not jumping out like he should. It's Arm that also gives a large psychedelic bend to the album as musically its not as experimental as one might think considering its an early grunge band. This is the other side of grunge. The dirty rock side. The step between the mainstream rock & Sonic Youth colliding underground scene & what would become known as grunge. Collectors will obviously want to find GR's debut. While this album is often said to not be the pure sound of GR, but GR with a harder edge. But, consider it was under this album's shadow that Mudhoney & Mother Love Bone were created, not the music of 4 years earlier. So, is it worth hearing? Certainly, but if you're not a Mudhoney fan you may not enjoy it as much as you may want to as Arm dominates the affair musically. While you won't find the twin guitar work of Pearl Jam or the glam of Mother Love Bone. If you're not familiar with Mudhoney ... check out the Singles Motion Picture Soundtrack & you'll get a pretty good taste. There's a few tracks here that don't verge that much farther, just without the heavy distortion. GR reunited in 1993, 2008 & 2009 for a handful of shows. The standout twisted single "Swallow My Pride" comes from their debut EP, while "Together We'll Never" was released earlier as a single. Cassette version includes Bowie's "Queen Bitch".

Man Overboard ~ Sampler (hits comp) (album review) ... Life preserver now!

Style: emo, alt rock
Label: self-released
Year: 2012
Home: New Jersey

Members: Zac Eisenstein ~ lead vocals/guitar
Nik Bruzzese ~ lead vocals/bass
Wayne Wildrick ~ guitar
Justin Collier ~ guitar/drums
Joe Talarico, Mike Hrycenko ~ drums

In this age of downloads there's so many things that bands are doing to attract fans & ultimately sell sell sell & promote promote promote. I recently came across alt rockers MO's choice of releasing free music online via online only special EPs. They are far from the only band doing this, but what I found of interest is that their online selection includes the free 15 song Sampler, or more properly a greatest hits album in a thin disguise. I've seen new albums, live recordings, remix albums, EPs being offered free online, but this is the first hits compilation I've come across. This is a great idea as it allows potential or new fans to dig in without shelling out cash. Of course, the catch-22 is if they put all their hits on the Sampler will fans in turn what to pick up their non-free albums for the non-hits? Hopefully as their music is good enough so this won't be an issue. I know I want to hear more. Though, to avoid an accidental shot in the foot where someone doesn't want to pursue them further they should make a hits compilation including alternative versions, demos & rarities, as many hits collections do to get older fans who already have all the songs. If one likes the outtakes then surely they'll want to get the final songs. Sadly, Sampler clearly is a greatest hits collection & outtakes may stay away. MO have already put out two B-sides & rarities comps, so there's no drawing much on that collection of material. Sampler pulls from MO's self-titled album, Real Talk, 2 EPs & their 2 compilation albums, all available material ... online websites taking care of any out of print albums. If any of the tracks are alternative versions they aren't marked as such. Missing is a few other EPs & the couple acoustic cover EPs that have been released free online. So, its not a true career-spanning comprehensive greatest hits album, but it does include all the standout fan favorites. But, seeing their love of online releases & the little amount of time they wait between releases, I wouldn't be surprised to see a follow-up compilation filling in the gaps. As for the music itself ... read between the lines on why its taken me this long to discuss what essentially is the most important thing. MO is part of the new generation of Green Day inspired alt rock bands that prize energy over technical playing or really great singing, or anything related to the music of the generation before them. The lyrics are that bland style of current teenage angst pop one can imagine hoards of screaming girls panting over. In my day it was New Kids On The Block. I guess this is the modern equivalent. Not much depth or attraction for anyone outside the target group. If you're not interested in teenage angst & heartbreak in suburbia shouted out MO is not going to be for you. It's music made for teenagers, but one can't help but wonder where the music will be when the teenagers grow up ... including the band itself. Is there any value in it for tomorrow? Particularly, as MO isn't braving any new ground. Or, maybe I'm just too old at 35 to look for anything between the lines as it sounds too much like what I heard almost twenty years ago when I was in high school.

The Haunting ~ Beyond These Doors .. (album review) ... Beyond these doors is it the maid's room or the basement?

Style: hard rock
Label: Dinky Music
Year: 2010
Home: California

Members: Raven ~ vocals/rhythm guitar
Randy Korstick ~ guitars/b. vocals
Mike Gjedde ~ bass/b. vocals
Jessie Melendrez ~ drums/b. vocals

Additional: GB ~ pan flute

I've found that those bands that are fans of Glenn Danzig go all the way with it. They bring the haunting cries & tones of Danzig right into their music with pride. I'm willing to lay down a large bet that the Haunting of California is a group of Danzig fans. I know I'm not the first reviewer to hear Glenn Danzig in frontman Raven's voice. Or, maybe its just because they sound more like a gutter crawling NYC band & nothing close to the thrash or glam we typically equate with California metal. The Haunting turn in a slow & moody metal affair that is reminiscent of Danzig but without the heavy blues influence. I hate to call it black metal but it certainly is dark, perhaps the best comparison is the darkness that is called up by W.A.S.P., a black metal band without being black metal. What is noticeably missing is any hint of pretentiousness or showing-off. Think the New York Dolls here ... yes, there's guitar solos but the songs are straight ahead almost old fashioned rock'n'roll that's uncomplicated, vocally oriented & rocks without too much flash but just lots of memorable melodies. The Haunting started off as a trio in 1999 with Beyond These Doors.. as their fourth release. It's well worth checking out for a style of metal few are playing anymore.

New York Dolls ~ Cause I Sez So (album review) ... Highly recommended, cause I sez so!

Style: hard rock, punk rock
Label: Rhino
Year: 2009
Home: New York City, New York

Members: David Johansen ~ vocals
Sylvain Sylvain, Steve Conte ~ guitar/b. vocals
Brian Delaney ~ drums
Sami Yaff ~ bass

Let's be honest. Okay, maybe its the iconic frontman & one of the guitarists from the NYD, but this is not the NYD. If it is ... they're having a mid-life personality crisis. The original NYC were noisy cross-dressing punks & druggies. Good luck finding that here. Former Hanoi Rocks bassist Sami Yaffa once told me that frontman David Johansen doesn't want to over-rehearse the group so they always retain some roughness, but this doesn't hide the fact the music is just too much put together, carefully composed & far less chaotic than the NYD ever were. The title track & about two other tracks are actually pretty good in terms of the old NYD style of crashing punk guitars. But, then things steer to a country rock/folk mode with "Better Than" & listeners are promptly given the memo that this quasi-reunion is not staying in one place musically ... nor any of the places you've come to expect from the NYD. The reunion NYD are laying out a new set of expectations for you to follow, that's the key. The 70's are gone & it's too late to cry, so deal with it & move on is the message. There's no way we can go back. NYD are now presenting us, in their move forward, with a cornucopia that goes from Spanish/western tinged music ("Temptation To Exist") to electric folk rock (i.e. "Lonely So Long") to blues ("Ridiculous") to a reggae re-interpretation of "Trash", to an ambitious array of musical paths including the experimental acoustic soundscape "Making Rain" that ironically reminds me of something Hanoi Rocks were trying to reach for on their final album. Johansen not wanting to be tied down as a composer is admirable ... but they really should change their name as this is not the NYD. It's not an embarrassing reunion in the least & quite interesting, let alone far more diverse than the NYD were ever able to be before, but it sounds more like Johansen & company are paying tribute to the bands & the musical styles they enjoy rather than trying to uncover anything in their own past. Though, with the loss of the unstable Johnny Thunders maybe there is no true way to uncover their own past & maybe they feel it's not even worth it to try to do anything but casually nod. If one considers Johansen's 80's alter ego of Buster Poindexter ... certainly Johansen has shown himself more than just a punk screamer & there's no reason he would want to return now ... if not just a plain old master of musical disguise. In terms of creativity the troupe can't be faulted, in terms of recreating the NYD for a new generation not even close. The nail is over here ... why are you over there? Okay, that's not really right. There is going to be a new generation that will enjoy this, certainly, but to dig back in time will be a shock & old fans are probably not sticking around long for this reunion. This is the music of a diversified NYC, not a CBGB NYC gutter ballet. Of note, Todd Rundgren produced their 1973 debut & returns to help their return. At least they got that right.

Tiffany ~ Dust Off & Dance (album review) ... Tiffany will sit out this dance!

Style: electronica, pop
Label: Paradise
Year: 2005
Home: Nashville, Tennessee

Members: Tiffany ~ vocals
Joe Brooks ~ guitar/keyboards/b. vocals
Tim Feehan ~ guitar/programming/b. vocals
Janine Gobeil ~ b. vocals
Jawa ~ rap

Debbie Gibson just debuted a new song, sort of, it's a remake of her hit "Electric Youth". But, the 40-something Gibson has pumped up the beat, included a rapper singing about iphones & facebook, synthesized her own voice so heavy the computer does most of the work, while the video is obviously made for gay audiences. It's horrible. It's shallow. It destroys what was a fun song. Gibson's facelift to look as young & sexy as Britney Spears doesn't help either ... considering she just about succeeds, showing more cleavage now than she did at 18. In the 80's she was the young girl next door, not necessarily too sexy, singing feel good love songs kids could gather around. Her opposition was Tiffany, the red headed tight jeans wearing little "I Think We're Alone Now" vixen who played up the sex appeal. The two have switched roles now. Gibson is the vixen, though shallow & not natural, while Tiffany has become a 40-something mom & low-key country singer. I don't want to see Gibson acting too young, while Tiffany ... well, she did lose some weight recently ... but at least one comes off natural & relaxed & not desperate for a career comeback. I have no problem with musicians making a comeback, its just how they do it. Though, perhaps Gibson is copying what Tiffany did a few years. Both their careers simultaneously died after a few albums with a few dribbles coming out over the years to little fanfare. One of the dribbles was a new techno Tiffany with Dust Off & Dance. There was always a dance beat in her music, but now it was all super slick techno perfectly made for the gay dance clubs. The result isn't bad, but its a bit discomforting when compared to where she was. Her voice has changed with the raw edge gone & so has her music, the sexiness is now forced, the electric guitars occasionally come out, there's even some rap. Dust Off & Dance was self-released through CDBaby & dedicated to her gay fans who reminded her about how much fun it could be to let loose on the dancefloor, so the feeling is that this is not completely a comeback so much as a deliberate one-off thank you ... but for the unknowing it reeks desperate of a comeback. Though, liner notes don't show an image change & it was indeed a one-off techno moment, so it really does end up being a thank you. But, if there's any hits here it's not because the great Teen Queen has returned, it's just because the production is good & has a memorable melody line. I'd challenge anyone to recognize Tiffany's voice, though I give her credit for actually singing with the lightest touch of computer tweaking unlike Gibson's new song. Many artists have tried to reinvent themselves with a heavy dance album - for example, Chris Cornell, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper - with a few little hits coming out of the efforts, but its been a selection of alien cold hits compared to the personal intimacy of earlier songs. & always, the image has come off when the experiment was proven ugly ... well, Madonna is not giving up. The problem with these experiments is any value in the lyrics is lost behind the beats. Any personality is given a chill. The sex is no longer quaint, as "I Think We're Alone Now" was, but in your face & generic. Yes, Dust Off & Dance does have some variety, such as Indian music in "Kama Sutra" & rock guitars in "Everybody Get Down" & "Artificial Girlfriend", plus rap on the first two of those. & it's far as strange as Cyndi Lauper or as cold as other albums out there & she's not even come close to the J-Lo hip-hop dance. If anything Cher's Believe comes to mind quite often ... though that proved to have its limits when its follow-up was a pale sister. For those that like dance music picking up a Tiffany album might seem a bit embarrassing but she actually does a good job for the genre. It's a well-crafted album with all the obligatory tricks of the genre. Someone did her homework & some extra credit work. The result did give Tiffany a career boost with five songs charting on online radio before getting nominated for six JPF awards. In 2006 "Be With U Tonite" won best dance song of the year & the album was best dance album. I do applaud Tiffany for fashioning a dance album nearly as perfectly as one can & getting her first recognition in years and there's really not a bad since, for the style. But, I like my music with more personality & I feel sad as any artist can churn out shallow techno with more computer tweaks than R2D2. This isn't the Tiffany I remember, but just a girl recording her voice. Give me those cliched 80's synthesizers & electric drums any day ... let alone where did the sexy rasp in Tiffany's voice go that made her sound unique? I thought singers tended to get a lower voice not get higher with age? All but one of those songs are new ... the cover being a new take on "I Think We're Alone Now." You'll never recognize it, though its the only song where her voices doesn't sound like its change so I wonder if its actually a remix not a new recording. I never review dance or techno albums, though I've done my fair share of dancing to them, but this isn't Tiffany's normal style so the abnormality of it gets mentioned under my goal of unique or interesting albums for artists. As for Debbie Gibson ... I hope she looks at Tiffany's career. Oh, maybe she did & saw Tiffany got a hit, even if the style of music was a one-off thing. Though, singing songs about facebook is probably not going to make it. For those that wonder where Tiffany is today ... she moved to Nashville in 1995 & has had a country music career since. But, Dust Off & Dance & the other bubbles that came out were anything but country, so until her Bonnie Raitt-esque 2011 country blues release Rose Tattoo it was a bit of a surprise what she was really doing on stage ... only proving that Dust Off & Dance really is a thank you & not a comeback. Though, considering how big country music was in the 90's I'm surprised she didn't take the risk earlier ... but she probably thought it was too big of a jump for her fans that were left. Though, considering this, maybe Madonna needs to take a page from Tiffany's book ... do the thank you & then go back making the music we generally prefer.

Sigh ~ Scenes From Hell (album review) ... Act 1, Scene 1, the devil enters stage left!

Style: black metal, experimental
Label: The End
Year: 2010
Home: Japan

Members: Dr. Mikannibal ~ vocals/saxophone
Satoshi Fujinami ~ bass/percussion/tambourine/vibraslap
Shinichi Ishikawa ~ guitar
Junichi Harashima ~ drums
Mirai Kawasima ~ Vocals/orchestration/keyboards/theremin/whistle/sitar/tabla/tampura/glockenspiel/clavinet/recorder

Additional: Greg Cossar, Hideto Nagai, Zoltan Pal ~ trombone
Jonathan Fisher ~ trumpet
Erin McGowan-Slee ~ oboe
Ashley Pahmiyer ~ french horn
Catherine Williams ~ flute
Kazuki Ookubo ~ euphonium/tuba
Koichi Koike ~ cello
Kyosuke Matsumoto ~ viola
Takatoshi Yanase ~ violin
Adam Matlock ~ accordion/clarinet
Quatro Gradini ~ strings
Frederic Viennot ~ keyboards
Kam Lee ~ b. vocals

Guest: David Tibet ~ narrator

Putting on a black metal CD the last thing you probably expect to hear mixed with the typical growling vocals & thrashing guitar lines is a gypsy-esque horn & string lines ... unless you're listening to the original demos of Earth, aka Black Sabbath, that originally included a couple horn players ... but that's the rarely heard exception to the norm. Actually, Sigh is the rarely heard exception. Sigh is a moody dark black metal stomp given some exciting extreme counterpoint with horns & strings. Of course, black metal bands use synthesizers all the time for a classical touch, but Sigh carries things in a new direction with a more gypsy or drunken Klezmer feel. It's startling exciting not for the inclusion of the instrumentation itself, but also because the classical motif has worn out its welcome with abandon. Sign is one of the more textured black metal bands I've heard in a while. I'm often writing about metal bands that throw in a strange instrument here or there, as their gimmick, but its only a disappointing gimmick & could be removed & nobody would notice. Sigh, for the most part, take things a lot further. Opener "Prelude To the Oracle" features colliding horn lines while the guitar sticks to being a rhythm instrument. Dueling male growling vocal lines also add another chaotic element. It's a highlight, though it dips back & forth between average & interesting. The growling, outside of the dueling element, the guitars & the double bass pounding rhythm section aren't doing anything particularly interesting ... or unaverage. Its the normal black metal so many people find tedious. But, then, they accentuate different lines with upbeat horns/strings. This is where everything gets exciting, but the sad part is that this is only accentuating things. You could remove those extras & still have a complete song. They don't drive the music, just add an element to it. Though, much of the melody line is by the horns as the guitars stick mostly to rhythm. But, the melody lines feel more like what is referred to a orchestral stabs than anything flowing forward. The first three songs feature variations on this theme (i.e. "Prelude To The Oracle", "L'art De Mourir", "The Soul Grave") with the only variation seemingly to be on how chaotic it gets. But then, things take a big leap & the horns move from accentuating to being a key player in the sound. Skip the second & third song & go right to the fourth, where Sigh does what I'm looking for & waiting for. Though, they start slowly. They train the ears. The fourth track, "The Red Funeral", opens with a moody piano & narrator that's out of a movie, before going into a strange horn line for a bar leading to sirens & other sound effects & then the riffing guitars. It takes a bit, but when the horns do return they actually are the primary instrument with the guitars pulled back into the arrangement, even absent for a brief violin moment. The horns/strings are even given some solo moments & slowly take a step towards becoming a big part part of the song, where the song would feel empty without them. It's an exciting epic track. Then, things take an bigger step in the dirge "The Summer Funeral". Here horns/strings are truly entwined & the guitar is often reduced to the most minimal of rhythm marking out chord changes. Take out the horns/strings & there's no song left. Though, there is too much repetition. At seven minutes, the longest track on the album, its a classical epic in the true spirit of the world, but it repeats where it should have variety. Though, I can overlook the repetition as this is a true fusion of black metal & non-rock forms & is exactly what I'm looking for from supposedly inventive black metal bands for years. Though, having gone as far as they can with the experiment, the next track, "Musica In Tempora Belli", takes to keyboards with cosmic lines like a 60's sci-fi movie soundtrack, before having narration & a strings bridge. It moves from sci-fi to something a Middle Ages poetic feel. Very different than the previous tracks but still exciting & completely unexpected. Sadly, closing pieces "Vanitas" & "Scenes From Hell" go back to the uninspired chaotic thrashing that opened the album, with some horns coming in late to have any interesting effect. On the whole the highlights are invigorating, delightful & highly recommended. The rest is just chaotic black metal well played, or well growled, but not incredibly unusual outside of the dueling vocals ... though it should be mentioned that its a girl growler, a rarity, so that inherently makes it more interesting. But, if you didn't know about the band you wouldn't know its a girl, so those scrolling through itunes aren't going to be struck by this fact. It should be mentioned that Sigh is one of the first Japanese black metal bands & its later in their career they've shifted to more experimental work. I haven't heard to anything else they've done. I can only hope it's like this. The band was originally signed Euronymous of the legendary black metal band Mayhem, releasing their first album after his death.

Night Ranger ~ Somewhere In California (album review) ... Somewhere in California are the songs!

Style: hard rock
Label: Century Media
Year: 2011
Home: n/a

Members: Jack Blades ~ bass/vocals
Kelly Keagy ~ drums/vocals
Joel Hoekstra ~ guitars
Brad Gillis ~ guitars/vocals
Eric Levy ~ keyboards

NR is one of those bands I never thought I'd be listening to a new album by them. Let alone acknowledge that a new album has brought their name right back into the media like a bomb. Considering, for most of us they're a one hit wonder with "Sister Christian", a song many can't remember until they hear the opening. But, I guess, when it comes to one hit wonders from the past, the rules are broken nowadays & everyone gets a second chance. I've found myself listening to a lot of comebacks, such as Stryper, Tygers of Pang, Cinderella, Journey, Yes, Devo, Heart, The Cars & for the most part many of them have come out with some good music. Though, many of the reunited 80's bands were not very original in the beginning, as let's be honest that hair metal is a limited template few rose above but many imitated too well. So, most of these comebacks sound nothing like the band they once were, even barring new members, ... now they sound like so many of the alt rock heavy metal bands on the scene. So, they go from one cliché to another. It's a shame. Are they that desperate to have a hit that they'd rather sound like everyone else rather than do something that stands out over the long term? Or, at this point do they not care just as long as they can play again? So few are really trying to climb highs. Some have chosen not to change their sound very much, such as the Cars & Devo, but others are just jumping on the bandwagon like they did once upon a time. The high ends up being talk about the comeback, not the music itself. As for the return of NT some reviewers say its a good album. Certainly I agree in the sense that it has some powerful fire breathing guitar solos, courtesy new face Joel Hoekstra of Trans-Siberian Orchestra & the Rock Of Ages Broadway show. But, the material isn't anything necessarily amazing. They've certainly done better & I've read they've done much worse. The material just isn't strong & memorable. It's like many bands - they've come back with a good reinvented sound & really that's all that counts, let alone that they've come back. We give the outcome some slack because the band has done their time & should get some kudos. Though, really, the test of a band will be if we're listening over & over. Then, we give them truly deserved kudos. This is an album for guitar freaks as the fingers fly fast in trills & runs like there's no tomorrow, but its relatively over the top & often shallow & for that I was rather disappointed & I think others will be too. It's the Rock Of Ages world of shallow party rock for the beach. I have trouble finding any soul to connect with to make it more than that. It's not shallow like Kiss's love songs, or overly melodramatic, just a lot of big riffs. There's some fun rock songs (i.e. title track, "Lay It On Me," "Follow Your Heart," "No Time To Lose Ya", "Live For Today"), but fun is basically the key word. So, I guess, if you can't get Bon Jovi then get NR for your house party. Of note, this is the first album with guitarist Brad Gillis & keyboardist Eric Levy.

Saxon ~ Into The Labryinth (album review) ... Batteries & David Bowie not included!

Style: heavy metal
Label: SPV
Year: 2009
Home: England

Members: Biff Byford ~ vocals
Nibbs Carter ~ bass
Nigel Glockler ~ drums
Paul Quinn ~ lead guitar
Doug Scarratt ~ rhythm guitar
Matthias Ulmer ~ keyboards

Additional: Hacky Hackmann, Toby Jepson ~ b. vocals

Saxon have been touring so much for the past few years one might think they are one of the biggest metal bands in the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal scene. They're really not, they just have good PR, or maybe they are ... if you live in Europe as they never quite made it successfully in America, so for Americans they get lost in the shuffle. They were there in the beginning with Iron Maiden & Def Leppard but success was short-lived due to some weak albums, bumpy with some of their strongest albums coming in the days of grunge when nobody was listening, & lack of American success didn't help. But, they never split or stopped making albums like most of their metal peers, even after a split caused some members to form a second Saxon, now known as the Oliver/Dawson Saxon. For all that they deserve a second listen. After a dearth of bad albums trying to be a hair metal band, they've basically rediscovered themselves finding what works musically perfectly for them. This is one of their rediscovery albums, which spawned massive touring which has boosted their career to long overdue highs. All these new post-rediscovering albums are solid heavy metal releases, not inventive but they don't disappoint. A little bit of straight heavy metal, a little bit of blues-rock, some classic 70's metal, not too fast, not too ballady, good music for a middle aged man to sing & a twenty year old to rock out to with equal abandon. A little gutsier than Bon Jovi, more akin to Doro. Though, what's fascinating is how many of the songs, maybe its just for this release or maybe all of them, sound like a dressed up & more power metal version AC/DC (i.e. "Live To Rock", "Slow Lane Blues", "Crime Of Passion", "Protect Yourself", "Come Rock Of Ages"). Vocalist Bilford does an uncanny Brian Johnson imitation at times, which, ironic or not are some of the highlights & strongest songs. But, what makes this is a good release is that there's also some epic power metal (for example, "Valley Of The Kings", "Battalions Of Steel") & even the Coverdale-esque "Coming Home". There's a live track ("Play It Loud") at the end & a bluesy acoustic guitar & tambourine version of "Coming Home" to end it all. Interesting but not necessary, though certainly I wonder what an all acoustic EP would sound like?!

Of Wrath And Ruin ~ Conquering Oblivion (album review) ... Conquering one riff at a time!

Style: operatic metal, black metal
Label: Abollyon Records
Year: 2011
Home: New Jersey

Members: Pat Brose ~ lead guitar/vocals
Joe Brannigan ~ rhythm guitar
Ryan Welikonich ~ drums
Laura Tyburski ~ vocals

Additional: Bob Thomas ~ keyboards

An operatic female singer & a growling singer, riffing guitars & fast solos, atmospheric keyboards,
pounding drums ... it can be the recipe to a great album or it can be a recipe to boring cliched metal yearning for a shot in the arm of personality. OW&R have decided to a do a little bit of both, though sadly the highs are really high & make the lows even worse in comparison. OW&R consists of the most cliched riffing guitars churning out boring metal with a guy growling vocals. That's the low & its as predictable as these lows get. Then, they have a girl singing operatic backing vocals & singing a song on her own. Things don't get any better here. Same rehashed predictable formula. Is there really only a handful of variables out there for metal bands to play with? I see a band thinking - nobody in the band can sing so lets get a chick who can't sing opera & have her sing opera. It's a formula with an outcome that just makes me sad. But, then out of nowhere, there's some moments of great creativity. It makes me more sad as so high next to so low. The highs are twofold. There's two instrumental tracks (i.e. "Sapphire Sea", "To Walk Alone") that intertwine acoustic guitar lines with shimmering electric lines. Is this the same cliched band or did Steve Howe & Steve Vai show up for the sessions? If only they had their token rock chick singing over this there's some real potential magic brewing. As for the chick singer, or more properly Laura Tyburski ... she has two voices. She does the cliched opera which is boring & weak, but she also has a stronger & more interesting deeper rock voice. It also is unique to her & not cliched & sounds natural where the other is forced. There's a couple songs that feature this voice along with the male growling voice in dueling vocals (i.e. "Eyes Of Fire", "Desire", "Waters Of The Corrupt") that are great & the album's highlights. I count at least 3 vocal parts in one in addition to the still boring growl. It does the amazing thing of peeling away the boring feeling to take the cliché but make it interesting. Though, the guitars still riff endlessly & numbingly & that's the weakest part of the band. If anything musical deserves credit its that the band does a nice job of letting the keyboards rotate solos with the guitars, but there's really just nothing musically unique or exciting here outside of the acoustic pieces. But, between what sounds like three bands there's a feeling of a a personality crisis at work. I appreciate the diversity, but the lack of focus & the blandness next to the creativity just makes me sad in the end, not thrilled for OW&R's creativity. Why do bands want to be so imitative or do they think people will key into their diversity versus the fact that half of it isn't? Or, has it become too hard to be original? With the two interesting instrumentals it's certainly not like there's no ideas here ... but, some bands just, for whatever reason, would rather do something imitative than really take that next step, which they can obviously do when they let themselves. Maybe I'm too critical, but when I hear tons of metal bands actually going that extra step I know that its possible.