Nirvana ~ MTV Unplugged In New York (live) (album review) ... The band who sold the world!

Style: live, grunge
Year: 1994
Label: Geffen
Home: Seattle, Washington

Members: Kurt Cobain ~ vocals/guitar
Krist Novoselic ~ bass/accordion/rhythm guitar
Dave Grohl ~ drums/bass/b. vocals

Additional: Pat Smear ~ guitar
Lori Goldston ~ cello

Guests: Cris Kirkwood ~ bass/b. vocals
Curt Kirkwood ~ lead guitar


Is it fair to call this an album for non-Nirvana fans? Are there any non-Nirvana fans out there? Is it also fair to call this a highlight, an unexpected one no less, from the Nirvana catalog? Is it further fair to call this a show that defied expectations for all involved? When I was a junior in high school Kurt Cobain committed suicide. I had numerous friends that wanted to follow, but I wasn't that big of a fan so I didn't understand the adoration & on some level I still don't. But, I won't deny I see Cobain as nothing less than the John Lennon of my generation in terms of his status ... though Lennon is the better songwriter & political activist. While, ironically, the music of neither of their spouses interests me much. Cobain might also be the last iconic figure who changed music & set a generation alight. Was he in the right place at the right time? It's hard to say what pushed him to such levels, but no one has come after him. Amy Winehouse? She didn't spur a whole musical genre that would collapse every down before it. Lady Gaga? What's her musical movement? The genre of imitation? Doesn't count. I remember my friends bringing over Nirvana's Nevermind for weekend poker nights. We'd play it over & over & over. That was actually the first time I heard the album complete. Though, I was always partial to their raw debut Bleach & the final studio release In Utero, though I can't exactly say why. Perhaps the fact I didn't hear those songs played constantly like the ones on their debut Nevermind or perhaps it was because the music was so different than their debut. As for their acoustic moment on MTV, which actually came after a poorly sold tour, this was something skeptics probably thought the band couldn't pull off, even with the addition of a second guitarist & strings. Surprise, three chord rock might never have sound so good acoustically, considering how many far more talented bands with thick arrangements have failed in the unplugged spotlight. It's not the best unplugged. There's songs that sound more demo-ish & lacking some depth, even more raw & barren than we might want them in repeated listens. While a few songs, such as David Bowie's "The Man Who Sold The World," are almost un-Nirvana sounding in their complexity. Somewhere in between is an array of songs that shoot right from the hip & bring the music back to earth, bring back the Nirvana we love. Nirvana is from the gut music that is the motto of a disenfranchised generation tired of musical excess & clichés & pretentiousness. None of that is here. What makes this concert so good is that it's modest, unpretentious & with a diverse set-list that might have shocked some casual fans ... numerous cover tunes & a lack of recognizable hits. There's also a tenseness here, even apparent at the time, like Cobain is singing for his life & is being serious for the first time ... & in retrospect maybe he was, considering this was released after his death & who knew how he saw the future. Some say the seriousness was due to Cobain coming down from a drug high, but this is far more than that. Thus, compared to notorious Nirvana concerts this is simple, straight-forward & starkly intimate. Honestly, Cobain is not a guitar hero by far, nor the greatest hero plain & simple, while his lyrics tend to be more simply constructed than not & leave much up to the listener, but there's something absolutely appealing about this concert & it might just be that intimacy that blankets over the weaker parts. Or, maybe not & we just want to hear the strengths & ignore the weaknesses in light of all that would follow. Certainly, watching the video is better than just listening to the audio, particularly with the funeral-esque stage setting, but the audio stands up well on its own. Though, be warned, however glorious this is, it is a difficult concert to listen to. It might be the hindsight that haunts the show, but even at the time I remember it was riveting like the world was watching something that shouldn't be happening. It's stark & barren as if Cobain is putting his music out there in a way he doesn't want to & are suffering through it & we're witness to their suffering. Any moment he's going to walk off stage because the intimacy is just too much for him to take. This was the first album to come after Cobain's death. Of note is that unlike most MTV Unplugged performances the show was done in a single take for TV.

Scorpions ~ Bad For Good: The Very Best Of The Scorpions (hits comp) (album review) ... Rock you like a hurricane!

Style: classic rock, hard rock, heavy metal
Label: Hip-O
Year: 2002
Home: Germany

Members: Klaus Meine ~ vocals
Michael Schenker ~ lead guitar/b. vocals
Matthias Jabs ~ guitars/b. vocals
Rudolf Schenker ~ guitars/sitar/ebow/b. vocals
Francis Buchholz ~ bass/moog/b. vocals
Ralph Rieckermann – bass/b. vocals
Herman Rarebell ~ drums/b. vocals

Additional: Koen van Baal, Jim Vallance, John Webster ~ keyboards
Lee Aaron, Claudia Frohling, Tony Ioannoua, Cliff Roles, Jim Lewis, Dries van der Schuyt, Paul Laine, Mark LaFrance, Bruce Fairbairn, Mark Hudson ~ b. vocals

This is one of those bands that in America, for most of my life anyways, folks were more likely to pick up a Scorpions greatest hits than any individual studio album. They had but a few hits here & a small legacy often eclipsed. It's in Europe is where their biggest impact really lies & the most honest recognition of the diversity of the output. Until the last few years, partially due to the announcement they were disbanding, later retracted, but earlier due to the resurgence of heavy metal, American fans forgot the Scorpions had a four decade career full of much more diversity than one might expect from a metal band. I've always thought it was good to see them come back to the spotlight over the last few years, bringing American fans, new & old, to their studio output beyond just the few hits. But, ignoring this recent surge & even assuming that even with it many new or casual fans might just turn to the greatest hits album anyways, I wanted to take one of the many such compilations available & answer the question - is it worth picking up? Is the hype real & the legacy valuable? I declare yes. & unlike many bands the legacy is not necessarily built on reputation or names/faces or famous events, but just great music. The rockers are just pure headbanging joy, though some are less inspired & more imitative like "Tease Me, Please Me" & "Blackout". The middle ground, like "No One Like You", shows off the Dio-reminiscent vocals that were the secret to this band. Also on this particular collection for this range is "Loving You Sunday Morning" & "Big City Nights". There's a bunch of hits the Scorpions had in these two styles (i.e. "Rock You Like A Hurricane", "Rhythm Of Love"), but the real secret in the band's longevity might be the ballads (i.e. "Wind Of Change", "Still Loving You", "Send Me An Angel"). These are not cliched hair metal power ballads, as one might want to think, but draw on the fact that the Scorpions had been around in the 70's, thus these are more akin to Boston or Journey. The Scorpions are not an 80's power metal band & never really were & that's the even more hidden secret to the game. There's numerous greatest hits compilations. This is just one of many. It includes two new songs to attract old fans to buy one more album, but they are inconsequential as greatest hits additions often are as they're nice to hear but pale in comparison to the hits sitting next to them & their only value might be that they feature a new bassist. But, avoid buying the compilations from early in their career as while the output is good but it'll lack many of the more recognizable songs.

The Skin Flutes ~ Corrupting The Youth Of Today (album review) ... But is corrupting the youth worth the time?

Style: punk rock
Label: self-released
Year: 1998
Home: Maine

Members: Glenn ~ vocals, guitar
Scott ~ drums
Ryan ~ bass


The name of the band doesn't show much maturity & if it's for kicks it's on an 18 year old level. While the name of the album isn't anything that shows more than a punk level shock tactic. The shouted/sung lyrics aren't screamed thankfully, the lyrics are clear & tonally loads better than a lot of peer bands, recalling more of Green Day or the Sex Pistols than many of the current bands that should avoid vocals. The three chord guitar strumming is that & only that. Solos? What are those? There's very little musically here to recommend this band as anything more than filler between better bands in a beer filled musical bar fest. You congratulate them when they get off stage not for the music, but for just the guts to do it while your ears rest. But, I believe you can find something good about every band & I found myself listening to their album repeatedly because of ... the lyrics. They specialize in quirky situations. The songs are by the book & at times graphic, but there's a bit of humor thrown in that makes the SF far more enjoyable than anyone might expect. "Special Love", a favorite of mine, describes an obvious type of love & physical relationship ... only possible with a blow-up doll. "Fat" is all about not getting into a relationship due to one physical feature. "Worth The Time" charts a desire to be what one is one's dreams. "The Girl In The Front Row" introduces the thoughts of the band towards that girl in the front row & the thoughts are all the same & describes an obvious type of love & physical relationship ... only possible with the girl in the front row. Wanting to be a lustful vampire in "I Want To Suck Your Blood". Saying you'd do everything for a lover, but would the lover return the favor by going away in "It's Over". There's even the socially conscious turn via discussing racial tensions, non-conformity & drug addiction in "Untitled #9" & "Made For Me" & "Johnny's Dead", respectively. Corrupting The Youth Of Today was their first album, recorded a year after forming. Originally available on cassette for $3 & now available for free on band camp. The follow-up Pop For Hooligans came in 1999, with a new bassist & a punk cover of "Runaround Sue", less interesting than it sounds, sounds the same but discusses more personal angst than love songs or quirky situations. They split in 2000.

Rudra ~ Brahmavidya: Transcendental I (album review) ... Slayer meets goddless Devi!

Style: religious, Vedic Metal, death metal, Hindu
Label: Trinity Records
Year: 2009
Home: Singapore

Members: Kathir ~ bass/vocals
Selvam, Devan ~ guitars
Shiva ~ drums
n/a ~ tabla, tambura, chanting


The interesting thing is what this Singaporean band says they create - Vedic Metal, that is metal inspired & influenced by the ancient Hindu scriptures known as the Vedas. The sad thing is how little this Vedic Metal idea comes across to the non-initiated listener ... & even as the initiated I struggle. Though, probably anyone not interested in Hinduism is not going to be listening unless Rudra is involved in a concert with other non-religious bands, which has been their fate considering the number of Vedic Metal bands on the scene before & after. I recognize some of the mantras & words & names of Gods being growled out, but if you don't know Vedic scriptures or mantra, for example the stories of Krishna, it'll just be another foreign language, which might be fine for you. As for the music there are passages of traditional Indian tambura, tabla & Sanskrit hymn chanting. "Meditations At Dawn" fuses tabla & female chanting with acoustic guitar for a very interesting track that ends up being more of an intermission on an album that is less than interesting. These are my favorite bits of the album, having a fondness for Indian music, but there's nothing metal about them or anything that's not traditional classical Indian. They're just fluff essentially. As for the non-fluff there's nothing Indian there. It's just straight by the book twin guitar riffage in the Slayer tradition & like black metal with growling vocals & double bass drums doing blast beats like Sadistik Exekution. Interesting is the biting twin guitars that create a heavy sound, but uninteresting is how they just speed away like any other band with riffs as by the book as everything else. So, if Vedic Metal is a bunch of fluff with a bunch of metal but not fused together this is nothing but a joke or some false PR. Though, for me its just disappointing. But, I've said this with other bands that try to fuse different styles but don't really fuse but just use one as an intro to the other & they lay as unfused as ever. So, where exactly does the Vedic Metal tag come in then? Solely the lyrics. The lyrics are inspired by & include Hindu philosophy & stories & mantras. But, while I can pick out some mantras in the lyrics, most of it will be indistinguishable to someone who is unfamiliar with sanskrit, while the growling vocals make what is there largely undecipherable. So, the Vedic of the metal is going to be lost on many folks unless you chance to her the name Krishna growled out. For me, if you're going to sing hymns about God & the mythology about the Gods ... well, let me put it this way - I hope God understands what's being said as while I've chanted many Vedic hymns over the years I made sure the words were clear even if the definitions not. I made sure to keep my gargling in the bathroom. But, I have this problem with black metal. I know there's a lot of folks who can't sing, including myself, but there are lots of folks who can & would love to be in a band. Find one instead of singing lyrics nobody can understand. There's a few English moments, but sometimes I couldn't tell what I was hearing & I don't know what language most of the album is in. That just disappoints me. For me the idea of Vedic Metal sings of potential, not rehash of Slayer & just replacing songs about god with songs about Vishnu the God. Remove the extraneous classical Indian music bridges & this sounds just like any other black metal band with a very dense sound & lots of blast beats. There's so many bands like this I have trouble recommending one more. I think it's great what they're wanting to do lyrically, even if I can't understand any of it. I support Hindu rock & welcome more of it, but this isn't interesting. I'll stick to Slayer when I want Slayer & just read my Hindu texts at night before bed. It's worked so far. Originally formed in 1992 as a trio & known as Rudhra, an alias of Shiva who is the embodiment of unpredictable nature, the band put out a demo & some contributions to compilations before separating. They reunited in 1996, now as Rudra. They'd go through numerous line-up changes over the years. This is the second chapter in a trilogy of albums starting with 2005's Primordial I & finishing with 2011's Immortal I. It would follow a line-up change & be followed by one. This is their fifth album. In 2010, Rudra headlined the first day of Baybeats, an annual alternative music festival in Singapore. This is thought to be one of the few times, if the only, when an extreme metal band has headlined a non-metal music festival. Rudra has also become the interest of musicologists & research papers have been published about both Vedic Metal & the band. Personally, I'd rather read those than hear the music, but having heard the music I can't see that much musically to talk about that's not elaborating on things that aren't there. Though, maybe I should give them the benefit of the doubt that their riffing uses Indian raga forms? Maybe I just shouldn't ask?

Def Leppard ~ Vault: Greatest Hits (hits comp) (album review) ... Bring your own sugar!

Style: hard rock, NWOBHM
Label: Mercury
Year: 1995
Home: England

Members: Joe Elliott ~ vocals/rhythm guitar/keyboards
Steve Clark, Phil Collen, Vivian Campbell ~ guitars/b. vocals
Rick Savage ~ bass/keyboards/b. vocals
Rick Allen ~ drums/b. vocals
Pete Willis ~ rhythm guitar

Additional: Robert John "Mutt" Lange, John Sykes ~ backing vocals
Thomas Dolby ~ keyboards

In my mind this is all you'll ever need of DL. This is not to say DL didn't make good albums, they did, but for the casual fan this might be a better buy than all the individual albums. While the albums that came after this collection are not bad, even including the interesting covers album Yeah! & the stripped down non-Mutt Lange produced but poorly titled Slang, but I've always felt DL has suffered a personality crisis to the present day where the songs don't live up to past glories. The collection marks the end of the road. Maybe they knew it at the time & this was one last moment to cash in their chips before the value went down. Will there ever come a second updated hits collection? Perhaps, but it'll be as welcomed as Madonna's follow-up to The Immaculate Collection was ... not much. Anyone wanting to know what made DL big will have here all they need to understand that variable. It goes from their earliest chart hit "Bringin' On The Heartbreak", a favorite of mine, to their last important chart peak of the 90's before grunge swept the scene away & they began their personality crisis, got old & became a cult band more interesting for continuing than what they are creating. I remember growing up two neighbor brothers around my age that I played with all the time were big fans of DL. Posters in their room & it seemed like it was all talk of sex & DL. Neither of which I knew anything about & it's only later those then popular Vanilla Ice & Fat Boys lyrics made sense. My musical ears were tuned elsewhere & it wouldn't be until I was later actively watching MTV & enjoyed "Pour Some Sugar On Me" that I began to take notice & pay more attention to who DL were. I've always waffled, though, on if DL do hair metal better, different than their peers or just more interestingly & if any of that is a fluke or talent. Or, because of my neighbor connection, am I biased to like them & they're really no different, but just with a better producer? While today do they still hold up quality-wise or have their songs ended up sounding more cliché than not? I do know the boys are men now & their current music, let alone image, is more abhorrent than not for me, more lacking energy than anything, & someone's voice sounds shot to me. Chart-topping hits are interesting in the music business as a hit isn't necessarily a song that lasts or holds up beyond the moment. Something can be popular because of who does it more so than it being good on it's own. I don't think I can answer any of the above questions to my or your satisfaction, so I'll let you listen & get back to me with your always welcomed comments. But, in your research don't worry, this isn't a band like Slaughter who had only three hits but a dozen or so tracks on their greatest hits album. These are all certified best of according to MTV plays & more than just fan favorites. But, I will hazard to say that I do think DL were a bit overly slick & polished & some of their comical lyrics do sound a bit too corny & the song too polished in retrospect ... or maybe it always really was ... or maybe the whole scene was & thankfully the description of raw has come to be a label used on more than just blues music. DL were hailed as part of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, but I've always seen them as more pop than like peers Judas Priest, so I hesitate to label them as that. Though, their roots are in the 70's, just a few years shy of Van Halen, so they were there in the scene. Plus, I see them as more hard rock then heavy metal as they don't have the bite to me of real metal, or if they did grew out of it. When it comes to hits collection this has them all & I thoroughly enjoyed them then & now ... that I will say. The songs might be overly polished or corny (i.e. "Armageddon It") but I enjoy them & that's what matters. Though, this collection doesn't have much, if anything at all, to offer the long-term fans who have all the albums. They haven't added any non-hits but obscure favorites, nor have they added any unreleased material, nor demos, nor anything to make the target audience anyone but new faces. While there's nothing here from their debut On Through The Night, that might have given them attention as an up & coming British band with working class roots but had no chart hits. This collection isn't a retrospect, though it's close as it starts with "Bringin' On The Heartbreak" from their second album & continues to include songs right up until the time this collection was released. Only the lack of a debut album Billboard hit stops this from being a retrospective, which is sad on some level. Thus, this album doesn't pull any punches but gives you what the title says & that's it. Maybe I might remove of the seventeen songs "Can't Keep Away From The Flame" & the overly-syrupy "When Love & Hate Collide", but it's a trivial subtraction for what is otherwise a strong collection. "Rock! Rock! (Until you Drop)" is a bit too much AC/DC-ish across the board & I'd kill too ... or give it to another band, like AC/DC, to make a real hit out of. So often a greatest hits collection leaves some fans wondering. This almost leaves one wanting more. Or, at least I feel that way. The album is not chronological, but for some that might be trivial as their music never varied too much to make this sound like a disjointed affair with the meandering timeline. This is anthem music for large crowds & never was meant as anything but. The only real problem is it comes as a two CD set with the second volume featuring nine live tracks of the hits ... again, only the hits & nothing more. While some of the guitar solos are longer & more interesting, the recording quality is good, the songs longer, it's not essential & for a casual fan the studio versions are enough & already on the main album. The live versions aren't different enough for the non-casual fan. Personally I would have liked to have heard some obscure tracks down live, or just dump the second bonus CD altogether.

Bon Jovi ~ What About Now (album review) ... What about never?

Style: hard rock
Label: Island
Year: 2013
Home: New Jersey

Members: Jon Bon Jovi ~ vocals/guitar
Richie Sambora ~ guitar/b. vocals
Hugh McDonald ~ bass/b. vocals
David Bryan ~ keyboards/b. vocals
Tico Torres ~ drums


Have you heard the new unreleased Bruce Springsteen & E Street Band album of heavy polished ballads & AM friendly hard rock? Well, I don't know if they have one, but that's what I'm reminded of by the new BJ album. Heavy with ballads or at least not gut originating hard rock "soft rock party album" is how one reviewer described it. I'd say neither of us are too far off, I've just given an example of a band to go with the description. Another said "auto-tuned arena rock". BJ always did arena rock but if they think they need auto-tune then What About Now asks a question I don't want to answer. Fuse the ideas of me & my two peers together & I think you'll have a good idea of the twelfth BJ album. Some fans are already reaching for the mouse to click off this review, I know, but let's be honest, those fans left soon after "Always" & are only reading because it's a band from their youth not a band they've cared about. But, recent fans of the last decade are probably not going to be disappointed as What About Now turns out a solid set of songs ... not necessarily inspired, memorable or the best of BJ, but I don't think BJ has been doing any of those things since before "Always." So, obviously, you have my bias upfront. I prefer the old 80's/early 90's BJ, but I can see elements in this album that a younger under 30 generation is going to enjoy. There are a few good songs & my list includes keepers "Army Of One", "What's Left Of Me", "With These Two Hands", "Because We Can", "I'm With You." Maybe for me not the best of BJ, but I'd listen again & I've already listened a few times. What About Now could be changed to asked what do you like in your music? If you like an album heavy on softer love songs - checked. If you like wild guitar solos & hair to go with it - unchecked. After turns with different styles of music over the last few years is BJ still a hard rock band at heart? Yes ... perhaps. Just not my definition of hard nor what I look for in my rock, but I can see why they remain popular with a younger crowd ... and they do remain popular, if not more in Europe than America. I give BJ a lot of credit for continuing to be a presence on the international stage in a way few bands can do. Okay, they did it by sacrificing one older fanbase for a younger one. Maybe that might be an issue for some, but it also takes skill to so successfully & reinvent yourself for a new generation. Few have done it & retained it album after album ... but BJ has always been able to turn out successful music that defies logic. BJ don't sound dated but right in line with the American Idol crowd. My problem is the songs don't grab you. The singles are weak, all sound alike & the album suffers from a mono-chromatic sound generally. Is this the 2012/13 version of a AOR AM radio friendly album? Does itunes have AM? The lyrics are the same safe & well crafted lyrics they've been writing for the last decade. Jon Bon Jovi also isn't stretching his vocals chords, making me wonder if I missed the news of a health problem. & too many chorus vocals. Maybe that's how they continued to be successful - they've played it more safe than not. I picked up this album after seeing a facebook discussion that said it was worse than Metallica & Lou Reed's Lulu ... of course a few people defended that album as miraculous outing saying how they're Lou Reed fans, um, I consider him my favorite songwriter & the 30 books on my shelf about him should contest to that, does that mean I'm not a fan? But, three people loving the album doesn't change it's popular opinion & sometimes its good to argue with popular ideas & forget about your individual perspective. But, when someone gives this comparison how can you not listen to the album under discussion? Actually, anytime someone compares an album to Lou Reed that's such a rare moment that it deserves to be taken notice of. Actually, I didn't even know BJ had a new album, as I stopped listening to them after "Always" when they went syrupy country rock & everything but the great band I grew up with in the 80's. Again I thank facebook for being my best news source. Is this worse than Lulu? I don't think I've hinted anything so far that it's worse or better, actually. Further, I'd prefer to let Lou keep the honor of having two of the worst albums in music - it suits him. Is this a runner-up? Actually, compared to some other things I've heard actually not. Is it good BJ? As I said, it depends on the listener & I give the band a lot of credit for making something that polarizes with quality, style & generationally. I actually think of the new Night Ranger for a good comparison, which I found a guitarfest with no substance. This has substance but no guitarfest or music to back it up. If you have a party & need some soft rock put this on first when the night is low. Night Ranger will be better saved for later in the night. Better air guitar playing on that one. This one is when folks are still sober enough to sing.

Morning Wood (aka Tony Harnell & Morning Wood) ~ Morning Wood (aka debut) (album review) ... Rise & shine!

Style: covers, acoustic rock, hard rock
Label: Mercury Japan
Year: 1994
Home: New York (defunct)

Members: Tony Harnell ~ vocals
Al Pitrelli ~ guitars
Danny Miranda ~ bass
Chuck Bonfante ~ drums/keyboards

Additional: Gary Corbitt ~ organ
Paul Orofino ~ guitar


Tony Harnell fans probably know the little one off outing MW, though it also gets credit for being the only primarily acoustic album by guitarist Al Pitrelli & the only joint outing of Harnell, Pitrelli, Danny Miranda & Chuck Bonfante, though the quartet would play together in various formations with other bands. If you don't know who these guys they include the vocalist for European hard rockers TNT, the guitarist of Megadeth, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Asia, Alice Cooper, & many more, the bassist of Blue Oyster Cult, Meat Loaf & Queen + Paul Rodgers & the drummer of Saraya, one of the few female fronted 80's rock bands. It's an all star outing with a humble start as a group of guys that met each other through various means & enjoyed playing together & found themselves with some downtime able to play what they wanted & how they wanted. The result is a Japan produced album, released in Europe a few years later, that has found many fans with due cause, along with becoming a minor collector's item for all involved. Recorded live in the studio over a couple weeks except for some overdubbed guitar leads & keyboards it's a very high energy, tight & unpretentious affair helped by the fact that the band had been playing together in regional gigs long before hitting the studio. Like the Doors, Grateful Dead & many other bands the stage came first & the sound of the band was crafted in front of an audience not in rehearsal studios. The studio recorded a short term gig for posterity, never meant for anything long term, that would have been lost to but memory. The album saved MW from being anything but a legend, let alone would bring new listeners long after the gig was over. Lead electric lines are tucked in the mix for texture, not to distract, keeping the essence of how the band originally started - acoustic. The songs are a mix of mostly covers of classic rock hits with a few originals. Though, I would have preferred an all covers album, as the originals are a bit weak in comparison. The 80's rock overly emotive & over-produced ballads don't always sit well beside the folksy slimmed down classics, feeling straight laced & by the book compared to Crosby, Stills & Nash. Even the one 80's cover, "Tonight I'm Falling", originally by TNT, seems a bit out of place next to the 70's grooves. In a different setting the originals would have been more interesting. Of historical note "More Now Than Ever" is one of the few songs on record with lyrics & music penned solely by Pitrelli, or at least all the credit is given to him. It's a sad love song heavy on keyboards with a soaring lead Pitrelli has become known for so well. But, outside of the originals, MW shows melodic rock at its best with interpretations that keep the spirit & the vibe of the originals but have their own touch. MW gives a scaled down more rock oriented kick to many of the covers. Chorus vocals, such as in "Love The One You're With", are now handed completely over to Harnell to sing, thus changing the focus of the songs. It's also great hearing Pitrelli in a mostly acoustic environment throwing out some delightful acoustic leads that fuse well known licks with his own famed style. At this point in his career hearing him with an acoustic guitar didn't happen enough. Listening to the originals & then the covers is a fun way to flesh out the MW experience, though they are all different enough to not need to be compared. Though, Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" in a rock context does sound a bit lifeless compared to the funky heavily textured original ... a reason not to compare & just enjoy.

Billy Joel ~ Songs In The Attic (live) (album review) ... What you find hidden in the dark!

Style: pop rock, live
Label: Sony
Year: 1981
Home: Long Island, New York

Members: Billy Joel ~ vocals/keyboards/harmonica
Dave Brown, Russell Javors ~ guitars
Richie Cannata ~ flute/keyboards/saxophone
Liberty DeVitto ~ drums
Doug Stegmeyer ~ bass


For those wanting a look at early BJ concerts this is the only official album to turn to. It's not perfect, but it does a worthy job & more importantly has withstood the test of time. The other option is bootlegs, which probably exist of his late 70's work but I bet not of his earliest days when he was still just a broke piano man in the bar. It's a shame that it took so long for him to put out a live album as his early career is very different in style to where he would go & to what we know him as. Coming in 1981, Songs In The Attic, a name I've liked since I first bought this album as a boy, has many classic songs though it's in an in-between moment in his career. He'd had a few successful albums, but he would soon break even higher, while he was here still out of favor with critics. Thus, it gets BJ in a transitional performance moment more than an early naïve moment, but its close & at least we have something of his pre-MTV pop days to enjoy. When I first heard this album I'd discovered BJ through his later 80's albums & thus the songs on this album were unfamiliar. They might be unfamiliar to many in my shoes, even for those who had seen him in concert in the years to come as it wouldn't be long before many of the songs would fade from anything but special performance set lists. I thus got introduced me to a new side of BJ, maybe the bigger songwriter side & less pop star side. I found it curious & refreshingly enjoyable. This is also a softer side of BJ. The concert has its rock moments (for example, "Miami 2017 (Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway)") but is heavy on ballads as it culls from BJ's earliest four albums when he was more of a balladeer than later on. Missing is later hits like "Piano Man" as BJ deliberately wanted to share with his buying audience songs that weren't so well known, versus just a live album of his latest tour. It worked for me & I'm sure it worked for others. It may not have the perfect sound quality of the present day, but outside of that it's an enjoyable album & concert, or a false concert as it culls from fifteen shows & doesn't add up to the full length of an actual concert, that holds up decades later of a young BJ whose a rocker but still a storyteller/songwriter, commercially successful but still going up, comfortable in his shoes but still fleshing out his music. It gets the balladeer of the early days & the better performer of the later days. The only problem is the songs don't change much from their studio versions sans normal variations of instrumentation that happens bringing songs to the stage regardless of who the band is. The songs are better but that's more due to the warmness of the stage versus the cold flat studio. Gone is the dryness of the studio or any effects the studio might add to the music & what remains is a musician comfortable with the songs & thus just going through the songs relaxed. These are hits & he knows it, versus putting them on an album for the first time where anything may happen in the future & everything is unsure. He'd been playing some of these songs for a decade & it shows. They'd aged well & so has he & now decades later remain as much. These early songs are as wonderful as the later pop hits, maybe better as they feel more like stories than pop songs. For me it was a good starting album to get to find out about his early career, but if you already own the studio albums it's just a finishing touch & variations on a theme if you like different versions of the same songs. Though, his voice is richer & warmer here than on a few of the early studio albums.

Gary Numan ~ I, Assassin (album review) ... Taking a car ride with Gary!

Style: synth pop, jazz-rock, experimental
Label: Blanco Y Negro Records
Year: 1982
Home: England

Members: Gary Numan ~ vocals/synthesizers/guitar
Roger Mason ~ synthesizers
Pino Palladino ~ bass/guitar
Chris Slade ~ drums/percussion

Additional: Thereza Bazar - b. vocals
John Webb ~ percussion
Mike ~ saxophone/harmonica

There's a point in GN's career where he vanishes from a lot of people's radars & becomes that one hit synthesizer wonder. Though, really he never stopped making music, he just stopped having hits & appealing to the same quasi-mainstream audience. His music also moved from the cold synthesizer heavy pre-industrial "Cars" into a strange new wave-ish fusion territory before reappearing in its old form due to the advocation of student Trent Reznor whose Nine Inch Nails GN has confessed was the music he wanted to do & was trying to do but was facing the wrong way creatively. His 80's is a strange place with highs & lows. Those expecting "Cars" will probably be disappointed on some level. What makes his 80's output both bad & good is GN never stopped experimenting & exploring. The problem was that those who were imitating him were going in a different & more successful direction, while he seemed to be moving farther from "Cars" into more pop, jazz & funk directions ... or, to put it another way, his students were continuing what he started, while he was going farther away from what he started trying to move closer to more known musical elements. Funky rhythms & lots of jazz became the modus operandi of GN in the 80's, which is warm & interesting, but also over-indulgent with weak songs that meander horribly & find a strange home between experiment & pop song. It's all the material that is the opposite of "Cars" & his group Tubeway Army & the reason most folks enjoy GN. His rock outings at the same time also try to hard just with different instrumentation. For a taste of the 80's one place to go that won't disappoint is I, Assassin, his third album of the 80's, which is one of his stronger forays into bringing together synth-funk basslines & some good songs. He was always avant-garde, now he's avant-garde in a new way, more akin to 70's funk fusion then Kraftwerk. Before I go into some of the highlights of the album I should say that if I'm sounding critical, yes, maybe I'm overly critical here I'll confess. But, know that I like GN, give him a lot of respect, but while some albums have interesting musical notions they are not something I want to listen to, outside a few tracks, repeatedly. This is the problem I have with GN's 80's output. It lacks focus & doesn't get my focus. I also like my GN cold & industrial. I expect some disagreement, though some critics have called I, Assassin the end of the line for some years before things get too unhinged for their own good. Though, really, few will disagree GN was at his best in the 70's. The key to I, Assassin & the reason I recommend it is, like other critics, I feel this has the best of everything without veering off too far in any direction, while keeping focused. It's a bit of a bridge or transition album in that sense. From now on GN would flirt would different styles never staying place that creates mixed results. Whether this is due to the pressures of the business or his own creative urges I don't know. "War Songs" has the electro-synth background more familiar to some ears, though feels too short like GN wants to not dwell on the past, & "The House Is Cold" goes back in time to earlier GN days. "We Take The Mystery To Bed" also goes right to the old sound but with a funky bass that is a nice mix of the two styles of new & old. Funk & heavy percussion attack "White Boys & Heroes" & "This Is My House", with fretless jazz bass sliding through "A Dream Of Siam" & the instrumental "Glitter & Ash" as a lead instrument. This jazz bass is really the dominant feature of the album & would come to play an important part in GN's 80's output & where things go off for many fans. So, while I might enjoy this album others might. It's strange that way. But, then, "Cars" was just as polarizing. Perhaps if GN was doing this today it would be better received, but the fusion he was aiming for was a minority musical position of such folks as bassists Randy Coven, Billy Sheehan & T.M. Stevens, but with almost too much free-flowing jazz for GN's own good. The low point is the wandering piece "A Dream Of Siam" that paints a strange Asian picture or the dreamy "Music For Chameleons". It's too much, too wandering, too unfocused trying to do the free flowing jazz thing when we know GN for calculated cold music. In the end, I think this era of GN's career is important in his history, if not the most enjoyable musically. He didn't vanish away but was a very active musician, even though many might forget that, & its a fact that needs to be recalled to give him justice. He might be a one hit wonder but he didn't drop off the musical earth. He actually always made music for a minority, so the 80's didn't see anything different happen ... its just potentially a different minority. I was shocked when I first started to get into GN beyond Tubeway Army & his few hit records into this more fusion arena. Even if I don't listen again it expanded my view of his musical world. It also disappointed me, but I'll let you decided which tilts the balance too far in what direction.

Rob Nelson ~ My Avatar (EP) (album review) ... Stuck inside a machine with Rob's avatar!

Style: instrumental, experimental, rock
Label: Laga Music
Year: 2012
Home: Chicago, Illinois

Members: Rob Nelson ~ all instruments

"If I get lost at sea/my iPhone will find me/as I get rescued post a video on youtube./Customize my avatar/don't know who my real friends are/stuck inside this machine" satirically sings a woman's soft voice in the opening title track, so much more emotional than a computer can ever be. Behind her comes drums, electronic ramblings & sweeps like a machine found on a sci-fi tv show ... before a rockabilly-esque guitar line leads the listener into the vocals introducing us to RB's My Avatar. This is little four song EP bubbles & tweets with real instruments that mix carelessly with electronic sounds & lots of loops to form an electronic-human mix ... where one ends & the other begins I don't know. Does it matter? Should I just post these songs to youtube & not care with good technological motivation? Is the point of the message not to care or begin to care about what the human-machine mix means? Should I just twitter this review a sentence at a time & not think about what that means? RN, whose very different last EP I reviewed, has responded to the modern computer world with curiosity. Or, is it animosity? Or apathy? Or love? Or, my always favorite, satire? Or, is Max Headroom back via RN quirky musical creativity? "Identity Element" makes up where "My Avatar" feels like some opening remarks. Actually, this reminds of the same rush I get when listening to the original Miami Vice theme or the Torchwood theme, it has that driving feel of an arrangement that doesn't want to sit still. Then we have distorted guitar against bubbling circuits in "Closed Circuit" that's the message song. We've had the introduction of where we are in the opening song, we've had the enjoyment of the computer itself with "Identity Element", now we get the personality of the machine, maybe a bit out of control, telling us what it knows - we're in trouble as machines are taking over our world & personalities. The song even sounds like the octopus aspect of machines where they're doing this, then that, then this, then over there. They move faster than we can come to grips with what's going on. Then there's the closer "End Transmission". The two instrumental cuts feel to be the most developed songs, probably because the song has to move forward without vocals. There's also a feeling that the real instruments become less & less against the wave of electronics or midi, even if this isn't technically true. Yes, the distorted guitars stay to the end, but they are just one layer of sound in a heavily layered but not cluttered EP. Further, while its a more electronic or midi album than real it's not a cold. That's the irony of it. It discusses computers but doesn't sound as cold or as alien as its composer might want. But, maybe its not supposed to. I'm reminded of 80's jazz-era Gary Numan, but without the angst, versus electronically tinged dada-inspired straight on artsy industrial.

Billy Katt (aka William Katt) ~ Secret Smiles (album review) ... Smiles are the secret superpower of the Greatest American Hero!

Style: pop rock, AOR
Label: n/a
Year: 1982
Home: Los Angeles

Members: Billy Katt ~ vocals/guitar
Sandy Berman ~ keyboards/b. vocals
Steve Thovato, Bobby Donati, John McFee, John Goux ~ guitars
Mark B. Murphy ~ bass/b. vocals
David Platshon, Chet McCracken ~ drums
Tony Papa ~ percussion
Billy Kirkland, Rosemary Butler ~ b. vocals


TV actors that make albums. Some are okay, some great, some novelty or deliberately comedic, some fade away with no regret. This particular album features both an actor that has faded away & an album that has too ... though after repeated listens it's nothing bad but quite enjoyable. Do you remember The Greatest American Hero about a clumsy superhero who saved the day from 1981 to 1986? I do fondly, because said hero didn't know how to land after flying & while the show was meant as a comedy it soared as a drama ... & since crashed into TV oblivion. Said hero was played by BK, aka William Katt when wearing his actor's hat, who put out this one album of nine songs where he sang, played guitar & wrote all the music & lyrics. I give him some kudos for doing more than just other people's stuff that shows some seriousness approaching the project. Does it show ambition? Certainly. Over-extending of his talent? Not necessarily ... when one does some research to discover that BK went to school for music & not acting. He saw himself as more than just an actor & thus one kinda sees this album as more than a publicity moment. This is not just another actor who some TV executive said had a good voice & should sing. Well, obviously he put it out while still popular & the fact that it's his only album doesn't help his music credentials, but it rates a lot above the outings of a lot of TV stars turned singers for a day. Perhaps he realized that TV actors don't make good albums or when they do nobody gives them any credit, lots of criticism & like this one outing they all fade into obscurity just like the TV shows. Flame is fleeting. Enjoy what you can. Do your best & sleep well. This album has since become a collector's item primarily for its star, but it should be hunted up for its music too, which is surprisingly enjoyable. It's basically AM radio friendly AOR melodic rock heavy on the love ballads & light on flash. Finely textured & Kenny G or Dave Koz would have made fine guests. BK is not the strongest singer, there's no real show off highs here, but has a nice warm tone & with something like the soft "China Girl" he knows how to handle vocal nuances sans auto-tune or a backing chorus. In many ways I'm reminded the musical world of Dan Fogelberg or Boz Skaggs. It's that straight ahead feel good music for a rainy night with your girl. Not cheesy 80's rock, though maybe some keyboards & electric drums & horn lines that date it a little bit, not Americana or bar band-ish. It's that area of music as undefinable today as AM radio is popular that lasts in movie soundtracks. Check out the funky basslines in "Sleeping Beauty" & "One Night" & then decide if this is just another throwaway gimic TV album.