Blaze Bayley’s The Foundry ~ Live In Texas 2014 (live) (album review) ... Playing Iron Maiden the way I wanted him to!

Style: hard rock
Label: self-released
Year: 2014
Home: n/a

Members: Blaze Bayley ~ vocals
Rick Plester ~ guitar
John Moyer ~ bass
James Kottak, A.J. Pero ~ drums

First, its nice to hear an actual live album where I can hear every instrument & I know its actually live. The audience sounds are minimal, but when Blaze Bayley's voice cracks trying to hit a note in "Voices From The Past" there's a subtle pleasure that follows. The history of live albums is a history of partially live & lots of overdubs, so a real live album is a nice change of pace. It also shows the musician willing to show warts & all. That minor point being said, this outing goes under the name the Foundry, but I have a hard time seeing this as anything but Blaze's latest live band. I just add it to the list of names he's used, including his own, the Blaze Bayley Band & BLAZE. The prominence of Iron Maiden & his solo songs leads me to make this deduction. Plus, the fact it started as a Blaze tour where he was offered a strong all-star backing band, versus forming or joining a band to tour with. The clincher evidence is that the Foundry has a changing membership often based on what country Blaze is touring. It has included guitarists Rick Plester & M.G. Jones, bassists John Moyer & Matt MacLean, drummers Bobby Jarzombek, A.J. Pero, James Kottack & Bill League. All these folks were missing for a Mexico tour where Blaze was backed up by the metal band Overfire, while for 2 Canadian tours he was backed up Insurgent Inc & Maiden Quebec. If he had gone to other countries & brought at least one guy with him I might be more tempted to say this is an actual band. While it doesn't have any studio albums to give it the status of a Nine Inch Nails or Whitesnake, which is essentially one guy & hired hands rotating through. I’m guessing his humbleness led to wanting to call this a band to bring recognition to the excellent musicians he has with him, though its all cover tunes so we don't really get to hear what these guys can do together. Given this outing includes Blaze, famous for his time in Iron Maiden, plus Disturbed's bassist, drummers from the Scorpions & Twisted Sister, & a guitarist from Black Symphony & Blaze's solo group. If Blaze really wanted to make this less about him & more about a band, then there's one thing he could do without going into the studio: play more songs by the other members. Of the 16 songs 5 are solo cuts, 6 are from his gig with Iron Maiden, 2 are from his pre-Maiden band Wolfsbane. What's left is a Twisted Sister cover, representing Twisted drummer A.J. Pero who also gets a drum solo, & a Judas Priest cover, though no one was involved with Priest. Why not do a Disturbed song? That would be perfect in the set-list. Or the Scorpions? Or, more by Twisted? Instead of Priest's "Breaking The Law" they could have done one of the other bands. Likely everyone knew the chords to that song, so they did it, as its a standard cover bands rock out to ... I speak from experience. Speaking of which, keep it in the rehearsal studio. Its all about the hook, but doesn't give any musician much to chew on. Blaze tries hard to sing it with some distinction, but it ends the album on a weak note. Imagine ending on "Rock You Like A Hurricane" by the Scorpions instead. That would be a showstopper & make this more like a band. Membership & music choices aside, this is actually a really good live album. I don't know Blaze's solo stuff & only his second Maiden album, & had not heard of Wolfsbane before this, so I likely am not the right audience. Even so, it was a great listen. Blaze sings wonderfully & really is more than a typical screamer like so many of his peers. One can hear little nuances in his singing to round out the lyrics. I like the way he sings. He has way of phrasing that’s like he’s swallowing each word. I mean, pronouncing & trying to hit notes & give each word feeling, which so many don't do. I think the work Blaze did with Maiden was not his best. I believe they gave him weak material to work with & its not suited to his tone or style of singing. I think he gets lost in the songs. Yet, here he shines the way I felt he should have back in the day. With one guitar the songs are stripped back. They feel like Maiden, but don't sound like Maiden. Its like a band inspired by, but not imitating Maiden. The songs give him room to breathe & aren't rushing along the speed metal corridor while he's jogging. He fills the air & is not swallowed by the music. A few particular notes. Wolfsbane's "(Tough As) Steel" has a blistering finger shredding solo lasting 3.5 minutes that moves through grooving & soloing in a wonderful way that is so much better than just endless notes. The songs "The Brave", "The Launch" & "Voices From The Past" are all worth a listen. As for what Maiden songs, for Maiden fans, he does "Lord Of The Flies," "Futureal," "The Clansman," "Man On The Edge," "Wasted Years" & "The Trooper." "Wasted Years" is a highlight as Blaze really stretches for some tough notes, but makes up for any weakness by keeping them ringing long. "Futureal" I've often felt would be great live. To me it limped along & went too long in the studio. Here the song is driving the way I wanted it to when I first heard it. It has the energy that was missing in the original recording. This album was handed out only at shows, but is worth finding & one hopes he'll make it more public.

Phil Lewis' L.A. Guns ~ Cocked And Loaded Live (live) (album review) ... Kick ass energy loaded & cocked!

Style: hard rock, hair metal
Label: Frontiers Music
Year: 2021
Home: n/a

Members: Tracii Guns ~ guitar
Phil Lewis ~ vocals
Johnny Martin ~ bass/b. vocals
Ace Von Johnson ~ rhythm guitar/b. vocals
Scot Coogan ~ drums

I'll say it upfront: I'm not a fan of L.A. Guns. I enjoyed their 2020 album Renegades, with the latest Steve Riley led line-up with bassist Kelly Nickels, guitarist Scott Griffin & vocalist Kurt Frohlich. It was just great straight ahead sleazy rock'n'roll. I also enjoy their work with Jizzy Pearl, but because I enjoy his vocals whatever the outing. Other albums & line-ups have just not grabbed me. I've heard other albums, but I don't hear what others hear in them. The current Phil Lewis & Tracii Guns led version of the band have released a live album of their second & breakthrough album Cocked & Loaded. The single night performance was done in honor of its 31st anniversary. This group was planning a new studio album, but things were interrupted by the coronavirus. The desire to play was so strong they decided to gig & this is the outcome of that night. Out of curiosity I decided to give L.A. Guns yet another chance by taking a listen. I don't want anyone to say I don't do my due diligence investigating a band. The original album features the classic line-up of frontman Phil Lewis, guitarists Tracii Guns & Mick Cripps, bassist, Kelly Nichels & drummer Steve Riley. It was re-recorded in 2000 as Cocked & Re-Loaded. I may have heard that release in my attempt to dig into the band, but I don't remember it. To write this review I listened to the original album first & then this live album a couple times, though not the 2000 version. I've also not heard any other live albums from them. This new album features only Guns & Lewis from the original, with a new bassist, rhythm guitarist & drummer. The bassist has been around since 2016, the other guys since 2018 & 2019. Only the bassist has appeared on an album, so this formalizes the new line-up on wax & previews them before their studio debut. Sadly, I can't say much about the guys, as the recording quality essentially makes this sound like vocals, lead guitar & drums with some noise. I don't know if releasing it as an album was an afterthought, or it wasn't recorded well in the first place, or they don't know how to mix an album well. This sloppy recording was better than an audience bootleg, but isn't doing any justice to the music or band. They did leave in the applause & Lewis' banter, so that's good, & likely there was no overdubs. The only thing I can really say is to comment on the drummer. Every song was driven by the same boring beat that provided a beat but not much else. I even went back to the studio album to see if I had misheard the drumming there. Nope, that's more interesting. I like a drummer that pushes & pulls & accentuates more than keeps the beat. Maybe the drumming is better than I think here, & its the fault of the bad recording that I missed it. After numerous listens I feel these live versions are: sloppy, wild, Tracii goes bonkers, Phil's banter is obnoxiously cocky & strangely clueless, the drums are predictably steady ... & I found this live album so much more entertaining than the original studio versions. The songs are stripped down away from tons of overdubs.  I felt on the originals Tracii often went crazy, but to the detriment of the songs. I see why he's a respected guitarist, but all I hear is a guy playing over everything trying to throw out as many notes as possible, but lacking groove, melody, focus. His playing is show-offy & messy, with runs that are completely oblivious to the mood of the music. Self-control anyone? Yngwie syndrome anyone? Melody anyone? Now the songs are bare bones & its the perfect setting for him to blast away. I never felt he ruined any song here, but I can't say that about the originals. "Never Enough", "Speed" & "Give A Little" are highlights. They sounds great live & are made for the stage with so much pent up energy that I didn't feel on the album. "Malaria", one of the tracks that stood out to me on the original, comes off dripping like a liquid here that makes it even more moody. So, I still don't care for the Phil Lewis version of L.A. Guns, but live is where they shine. Many bands are far better live, not just groups like the Grateful Dead & the Doors, but Talas & Mr. Big with Billy Sheehan, Rammstein, Y&T & countless others who never have quite got the feeling down on their albums. Thus, I rate this as a down & dirty sleaze rock festival of merit for fans that should have been recorded better. Yes, I'll take any criticism you want to hurl in the comments. I read everything.

Megadeth ~ Still Alive ... And Well? (live/hits comp) (album review) ... And well, its not quite a rude awakening!

Style: thrash, live, greatest hits
Label: Sanctuary
Year: 2002
Home: n/a

Members: Dave Mustaine ~ vocals/guitars
Al Pitrelli ~ guitars/b. vocals
David Ellefson ~ bass/b. vocals
Jimmy DeGrasso ~ drums


It's not that this is a bad album, but it has limited appeal & being half reissues means it never revs up into being a necessary album for either fans or non-fans, let alone it's entertainment factor is cut short once the reissues start the second half. It's sometimes forgotten today that for a few years thrash giants Megadeth broke up. This album is an immediate post-break-up tribute, one could say, to the once final & now oft forgotten line-up featuring original members Dave Mustaine & David Ellefson plus new faces in guitarist Al Pitrelli, over from Savatage, Alice Cooper, Widowmaker with Dee Snider, Asia & Trans-Siberian Orchestra, & drummer Jimmy DeGrasso from Y&T & White Lion. Pitrelli & DeGrasso had been playing together since their earliest club days & would continue to play together after Megadeth in the jazzy O'2L led by Al's then wife Jane Mangini on keyboards with the rest of that band formed with members of Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Still Alive ... & Well? creates a tribute via being half live tracks & half songs from this line-up's one album The World Needs A Hero released the year before. For the live part it's a half dozen hits from past albums but just with the new line-up lending their interpretation. It's a cheat at trying to make this a greatest hits package. Pitrelli holds his lines well & perhaps challenging himself as a player more than he had in other bands making his time in Megadeth some of the fastest & most complicated playing of his career, while DeGrasso turns in some great drumming in that special Megadeth approach where the drums do more than just play the beat but actually echo the melody lines. But, here neither player really gets to show off. The World Needs A Hero was being written before Pitrelli's entrance in 2000 while the rest of the repertoire for the tour that followed was also other people's music. There's no music here that allows Pitrelli's unique melodic style to shine through that would be an interesting foil to the trademarkable Megadeth rhythms. The story is told that for the tour Mustaine wanted to get back to the studio versions moving away from the variations that had occurred playing the songs over & over in concert. Pitrelli thus is called upon to copy the original versions, holding back his interpretations & is thus a bit of a place holder in the Megadeth story. This also means that the live versions here might not be as exciting or surprising as live versions with previous guitarist Marty Friedman & Pitrelli comes off looking at less of a guitarist than he is. In turn this live album becomes unessential listening. It's the wrong line-up to be immortalized in a live setting. Further this line-up had already released the superior two CD & DVD Rude Awakening, the first Megadeth concert album. This is a line-up already immortalized in a far better package of a full concert versus a few song snippet taken from what would turn out to be their final two concerts in November 2001. Megadeth is a strong live entity but this line-up was never allowed to breathe & in these six songs this is a record of what is now an anti-climactic last show where nobody knew it was going to be their last show & thus it was just another end of the tour show before the holidays. Further, this would be the last album with bassist/founding member David Ellefson for nearly a decade, though at the time this was released Megadeth was a non-entity so at the time it was the last album for all the members. As for the other half of the album it's made up of six studio tracks all from this line-up's lone album & most fans probably already own that much heralded return to form album. It's an unnecessary reissue of an album that's around a year old. This album reminds me of Alice Cooper's Classicks, like this released to fulfill a label contract, where half the album was old tracks live with a new band, featuring Pitrelli no less, & the new tracks from that band. But, the new tracks were from three albums, while the tour was a comeback in a way that this Megadeth line-up didn't end up being, let alone it's Cooper's three albums versus Megadeth's one album. In the end, like Classicks which cashed in on already overly cashed in final albums before a label departure, this also feels like both a tribute but more so an unnecessary & unglamorous cash-in.

Rod Stewart ~ Unplugged ... And Seated (live) (album review) ... But, you will get up & rock out!

Style: pop rock, blues-rock, acoustic, classic rock, live
Label: Warner Brothers
Year: 1993
Home: n/a

Members: Rod Stewart ~ vocals/banjo
Jeff Golub, Jim Creagan ~ guitar
Don Teschner ~ guitar/mandolin/violin
Carmine Rojas ~ bass
Charles Kentiss III ~ piano
Kevin Savigar ~ piano/accordian
Phil Parlapiano ~ accordian/mandolin
Dorian Holley, Darryl Phinnessee, Fred White ~ backing vocals
Marilyn Baker, Haim Shtrum, Mari Tsumura, Jay Rosen, Kwihee Shamban, Miran Kojian, Brian Leonard, Jean Hugo, Joel Derouin, Bruce Dukov, Joseph Meyer, Ronald Clark, Joan Elardo, David Shostac, Norman Ludwin, Drew Dembowski, David Shamban, Suzie Katayama, James Ross, Larry Corbett ~ strings

Guest: Ron Wood ~ guitar

Pumping bass, acoustic guitars of every shape, steady unelaborate drums kick off the show with the classic romp "Hot Legs". It's classic 70's RS time! But, then things move right into a more somber mood with the slow bluesy "Tonight's The Night". It's classic rock RS but expect there's also going to be a lot of crooning more in line with the 80's Vegabond Heart "Forever Young" RS. The result is a fusion of the 70's energized rocker with the 80's soft rocker, of mixed reviews, into a new 90's vibrant RS that isn't trying to recreate the past  nor defy his age but create a loose & fun evening rediscovering old songs & largely ignoring the less memorable 80's hits. Thus comes one of the best MTV Unplugged concerts in my opinion right alongside Eric Clapton & Nirvana. I'd always heard about the vibrant 70's RS who had an amazing live presence, but the 80's soft rock crooner presented a shadow of that reputation. This was the first live album I heard by RS & it introduced me to the RS of my parents generation. Though, unlike Clapton & Nirvana whose acoustic forays became accidental climaxes, RS needs a career boost after disaster album after disaster album & always having an eye for trends jumped right on board. He's doing his best to show the name RS still matters, even hamming it up at times with his banter, but yet it's hard to see this as totally acting but that he really has gotten into the moment & enjoying the nostalgic romp honestly as much as the audience is. It helps that former Faces bandmate Ronnie Wood comes out after the fourth song to man the guitar, which helps keep the vibrant 70's energy upfront & the weak 80's commercialism at bay, let alone its rare to see RS have someone to bounce off of. Yes, RS knew what he was doing inviting back his old bandmate from the Faces, he knew this would reinvent his career the way he needed. Particularly as they hadn't played together in twenty years. Excuse the deliberate nature, the well-planned set list, the backing strings, because it works & is a necessary album for anyone who wants to hear RS at his best. Oh, & excuse the fact that many of these songs originally were heavily acoustic so he's not taken to reinventing himself. But, many of the songs almost sound better here & certainly looser & his voice is raspier. Personally, I consider this the last album of classic RS as he'd never be this nostalgic nor vibrant again. This was also the formal goodbye to the slick RS that is full of RS's worst albums, the most uninspired music & one might be surprised how many albums he put out in the 80's that have gone intentionally forgotten by all parties sans a few songs that survived the garbage heap. What would follow Unplugged ... & Seated was the the under-rated Spanner In The Works, the brit-pop covers album When We Were The New Boys & the dance album Human. These would be would be nice codas, somewhat unmemorable but aging better than one might expect, but music of an artist unable to find a new direction after the high of his acoustic comeback & not wanting to return to the previous music. The later release also suffer from throat troubles that softened his vocal rasp, which some have said made him a better singer technically. Then RS would reinvent himself as the aging jazz & pop singer & cover artist to commercial success but critical failure. It might be one of the greatest facelifts in music become a torch song balladeer, but the music lacks the vibrancy that made RS famous, let alone might be a pleasant collection of albums for a middle aged man but a lightweight listening that's too contrived & lacking depth. But, for one wonderful minute we have RS sitting in a transition stage & he turned in a classic album that was everything RS wanted & needed & maybe a bit more. He wanted a successful album but got a legacy maker.

Aerosmith ~ A Little South Of Sanity (live) (album review) ... Doing what they insanely do best!

Style: hard rock
Label: Geffen
Year: 1998
Home: Boston, Massachusetts

Members: Steven Tyler ~ lead vocals/harmonica/percussion
Joe Perry ~ guitar/pedal steel/b. vocals
Brad Whitford ~ guitar
Tom Hamilton ~ bass
Joey Kramer ~ drums

Additional: Russ Irwin, Thom Gimbel ~ keyboards/b. vocals

From the Get A Grip & Nine Lives tours comes this two disc live set to fulfill contractual obligations. They could have done something interesting with their Geffen swan song. I'm thinking of Billy Joel's live Songs In The Attic that culled lesser known earlier hits that his newer fans wouldn't know. But, it's doubtful Aerosmith were thinking creatively. They were probably just counting the days until the contract was up. So, what we get is a straight ahead live show with great production values. It's actually far more enjoyable than I expected. Probably because when they stick to the hits it's hard to fail & when you have a majority of songs be said hits from the 70's & 80's it's nearly impossible to fail. There's only two songs from Nine Lives & six from Get A Grip, but the later might be their last good album. It also helps that this is just the band in their basic form where they're not able to overdub to death a song with too many layers, there's not even any anonymous backing musicians except for a keyboardist. This is Aerosmith the way they should sound & the way we want them to sound. The boys are as on top of things energy-wise as ever, making for an enjoyable concert. The songs sometimes get a few extra shots for a longer guitar solo or there's a variation with the arrangement on a verse or bridge, but not to any real detriment & it's not always so noticeable. The newer songs stick pretty closely to their studio counterparts, but the older ones do tend to vary. The only song that doesn't do too well is "Janie's Got A Gun" with some odd guitar parts. Steven Tyler limits his audience banter. There's also a lack of audience noise. At times it might sound like a studio album because it's all too perfect sounding, but there's a bit of an echo now & then & a warmth that comes out that a studio album lacks. While a later day Aerosmith live album might seem like a waste, if you've seen them live recently this will be a good souvenir. Also of note ... remember, Joe Perry might be the lead guitarist we know, but he's really not. Brad Whitford takes lead duties on: "Love In An Elevator", "Same Old Song & Dance", "Back In The Saddle", "Last Child", "Walk On Down", "Dream On", "Mama Kin" & "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)".

Alice In Chains ~ MTV Unplugged (live) (album review) ... Alice breaks her chains!

Style: alt rock
Label: Columbia
Year: 1996
Home: Seattle

Members: Layne Staley ~ vocals/rhythm guitar
Jerry Cantrell ~ lead guitar/vocals
Mike Inez ~ bass/rhythm guitar
Sean Kinney ~ drums

Additional: Scott Olson ~ guitar/bass


Getting unplugged, or acoustic, is today a common event for bands, almost too common. Though, only a few decades ago when Tesla did it for their breakthrough album it was a rarity limited to the obligatory once per album power ballad ... & the folk world was suffering because of the shunning of all acoustic songs/albums/concerts in the weird thing that is called music trends. When MTV decided to create a show focusing on being unplugged, basically coining the phrase for the mainstream, the concept turned into something great, intimate ... & at other times anti-climactic. Too often already primarily acoustic bands would be on the show & perform as they always did (i.e. John Mellencamp). They need to plug, not unplug. Other acts took advantage of the format to reinvent their careers (i.e. Rod Stewart & Eric Clapton), whether deliberately or accidentally, & to dust off lost songs of the past to the delight of all. Other bands would use the show to be inspired to do their own unplugged moments (i.e. Megadeth did an acoustic tour in Canada). Others used it as a platform to continue their social message (i.e. Pearl Jam). For others it was a hypnotic moment that defied expectations & worked when it shouldn't have (i.e. Nirvana). While for others ... well, they should stay plugged in. But, there's countless MTV Unplugged episodes & but a handful that are real classics, but that's what we have come what we expect. It became a gig where classic status was going to be the description of every gig. No, that's not reality. Okay, there's always going to be something interesting in every episode as many of the songs performed had never had an acoustic workout before. Sometimes the experiment added to the song, usually that was the case, & sometimes it just stripped it down for an interpretation, & once in awhile it just didn't click but was a good try anyways. But, like all concerts, so much of the magic was not just in the songs & the new or unusual instrumentation but also what the band themselves brought to the fold in terms of their performance. This is where the winners & losers of the TV series are to be determined. That last note is the key to AIC's moment on MTV Unplugged. I've never met anyone who doesn't have accolades to say about AIC. Outside of the personal members own interesting biographies, the duel vocals rough & personal & almost progressive music was & is unlike anyone other band out there. They were truly a unique band. I remember when I first got Dirt I couldn't stop playing it. Even their contribution to the Singles soundtrack, "Would?", I would play over & over to the detriment of hearing the rest of the album which is just as good. But, I don't think AIC's unplugged moment is one I'm going to be recommending highly, nor is it something I'm going to be repeatedly listening to. It's like the songs became stripped down & very personal, but lose all the feelings that I like about AIC. I like the swirling guitars, the jagged electric riffing, the texture. I lose so much of that here the songs don't grab me like their studio originals. Normally I get the feeling of darkness & personal demons from AIC, here for some reason it becomes more human & less super-human. The concert also feels like it lacks energy. Even with the bank joking it sounds more like they're going through the motions. It feels like a rehearsal rather than a show. Live came out after this & is a far more valuable recommendation & more properly reflects the band I want to hear & maybe others. This was AIC's first show in three years, which might have something to do with the feeling of the album, & sadly they would do only four more live shows before it was abruptly over. Some people rate this as one of the highest moments of the series. I think it doesn't get close to that rank. Maybe it ranks high because it's different, though different doesn't mean great otherwise Metallica's Lulu would be their climactic moment, or maybe it rates high because it was the first show in years & seems like a band not suited for the format. But, let me ask & answer honestly, if you had a choice of this or Dirt to buy/listen to over and over what would you choose?

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.

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.

Billy Joel ~ 12 Gardens Live (Live) (album review) ... From the Garden of Eden came a world!

Style: classic rock, pop rock
Label: Columbia
Year: 2006
Home: Long Island, New York

Members: Billy Joel ~ vocals/piano
Chuck Burgi ~ drums
Tommy Byrnes ~ guitar/b. vocals
Richie Cannata ~ sax
Carl Fischer ~ trombone/trumpet
Mark Rivera ~ flute/guitar/keyboards/sax/b. vocals
David Rosenthal ~ keyboards/b. vocals
Crystal Taliefero ~ guitar/saxophone/percussion/b. vocals

I've been a BJ fan for as long as I can remember ... considering hearing a BJ song is the earliest song I can remember, that's a few decades now. I'd heard music before, particularly live at my dad's annual company picnic with the Maine folk band Schooner Fare, but it wasn't until hearing BJ on tv that 'oh, this is not talking but something different' hit me. So, he has a special place for me. Yes, I was quite sad he decided to retire & I didn't like his classical album. Yes, I did like his Storm Front & River Of Dreams later stuff ... I have both of them memorized & know them far better than the early stuff. I'm sadly not the fan today that I once was, but that's life. BJ hasn't done that many live albums, compared to let's say the Rolling Stones. Actually, only two of them until after his quasi-retirement when three came out. & none are from the 70's of early concerts, so it's a very lop-sided live album discography. Those two live albums are 1981 & 1987 & enough of a change had happened in BJ's career & sound that they are very different affairs, while the next wouldn't come until 2000. The first live album, Songs In The Attic, is really good, but it's has a limited selection of songs, obviously as he really hadn't broken through yet so it has a different set list than many might expect, & fans not familiar with BJ's career might be disappointed as it might be too classic for their tastes ... but it's still a good album with a great "Miami 2017". The next is his Konsert done in the U.S.S.R. This event was a big one, maybe more than what can be encapsulated on a CD, so it there's a sense of anti-climax. Actually, I looked for this album for a long time when I was young as I wanted to hear it. It comes at the end of a string of great albums & is thus more a hits collection than Songs In The Attic & for the casual fan, which I still was, introduced some other songs I didn't know. But, I've been told find the video for a more entertaining experience ... I don't know & I think it's pretty good. Certainly, these two albums together form a nice round picture of BJ then & now. Then comes BJ's post retirement live albums in 2000, 2006 & 2011. These don't really show his career in progress as the others do, since he's stopped making new albums & changing his sound to be recorded for posterity. Thus, it's almost a toss-up on which to choose. If anything they all suffer from the Konsert dilemma - they all celebrate a moment that can't really be preserved audio only: the millennium, three nights at Madison Square Garden & the closing of Shea Stadium. But, the problem is that BJ doesn't change his live sound much. Once you've heard him live, starting with the early 80's, you've basically heard him. He does the songs by the book, or by the album, with a full band, not taking any changes or really messing with the arrangements too much beyond reason. He chit-chats occasionally between songs in his homespun manner like he's still the barman from Long Island, though not as much here as I expected unless its been cropped for time. There's nothing really special in a BJ live show other than just great songs & hearing the man himself a little bit more relaxed than in the studio ... & yes, he is relaxed on stage & the songs feel looser. Today his voice has changed & in response he likes to over-emphasize words. He's lost some range but is trying to make it up as much as possible by controlling his voice with more nuance & not letting it control him. Some bands are so different on stage, like the Doors or Grateful Dead, that fans have to collect live albums in order to even get close to the band's essence. Not so with BJ. It's just adding to the enjoyment, not necessarily the experience. Maybe in the 70's, but not so much now. If there's a value in buying a live album at all, this is a good one to choose of the later trilogy as he's in fine form having fun & putting a lot of energy out there like his life depends on it ... maybe it does on some level as he's got to prove he's still got it. Also, over two CDs the song selection is wonderful. It includes mostly the classics with only seven songs post 1986. In a way this is too bad as it sends a bad message about those years & they deserve a second listen ... but, fans want the early stuff that they know the lyrics too. I just like singing along with "The Great Wall Of China", that's all. He's thrown in his standards but also a few of the lesser known tunes such as my favorite "Laura" & "Vienna", so this is an incredibly good introduction to the career of the piano man. Listen to this & you'll get a feel for the songs & if you don't already have other albums by him it's a safe bet you'll enjoy them. Though, be warned. All the songs have a similar feeling here due to having one band, but over his career he went through a lot of musical changes ... but where to go is for later blogs. My only musical qualm is its not the best produced putting more emphasis on voice & piano than the full band, which is sad as the combined resume of his band pretty much reaches from Mellencamp to Rainbow to Lita Ford & everyone in between.

Metallica ~ S&M (live) (album review) ... I like to practice my S&M behind closed doors!

Style: thrash, heavy metal, symphonic, live
Label: Elektra
Year: 1999
Home: San Francisco

Members: James Hetfield ~ vocals/rhythm guitar
Kirk Hammett ~ lead guitar
Jason Newsted ~ bass/b. vocals
Lars Ulrich ~ drums

Guests: Michael Kamen ~ conductor
David Teie principal, Richard Andaya, Barara Bogatin, Jill Rachuy Brindel, David Goldblatt ~ cello
Jeremy Constant concertmaster, Daniel Banner, Enrique Bocedi, Paul Brancato, Catherine Down, Bruce Freifeld, Connie Gantsweg, Michael Gerling, Frances Jeffrey, Robert Zelnick, Yukiko Kamei, Naomi Kazama, Kum Mo Kim,Gurthanthaclops Yasuko Hattori, Melissa Kleinbart, Chumming Mo Kobialka, Daniel Kobialka, Rudolph Kremer, Kelly Leon-Pearce, Diane Nicholeris, Florin Parvulescu, Anne Pinsker, Victor Romasevich, Philip Santos, Peter Shelton ~ violins
Don Ehrlich, Gina Feinauer, David Gaudry, Christina King, Yun Jie Liu, Seth Mausner, Nanci Severance, Geraldine Walther ~ violas
Chris Bogios, Glenn Fischthal, Andrew McCandless, Craig Morris ~ trumpets
John Engelkes, Tom Hornig, Paul Welcomer, Jeff Budin ~ trombones
Stephen Paulson, Steven Dibner, Rob Weir, Steven Braunstein ~ bassoons
Julie Ann Giacobassi, Eugene Izotov, Pamela Smith ~ oboes
Eric Achen, Joshua Garrett, Douglas Hull, Jonathan Ring, Bruce Roberts, Robert Ward, James Smelser ~ French horns
Russ deLuna ~ English horn
Linda Lukas, Tim Day, Robin McKee ~ flutes
David Neuman, Carey Bell, Luis Beez, Ben Friemuth ~ clarinet
Catherine Payne ~ piccolo
Peter Wahrhaftig ~ tuba
Charles Chandler, Laurence Epstein, Chris Gilbert, William Ritchen, Stephen Tramontozzi, S. Mark Wright ~ double bass
Anthony J. Cirone, Ray Froelich, Thomas Hemphill, Artie Storch – percussion
David Herbert ~ timpani
Douglas Rioth ~ harp
Robin Sutherland ~ keyboards

I'm not a fan of revues on Broadway, that is shows that aren't truly Broadway shows in the traditional sense of the term. I mean, those shows where the music wasn't written for the stage but gathers songs from the career of a musician/band or a group of them & puts it together like a stew, changing their original meanings via a potentially weak story. Examples include Mama Mia for Abba, Movin' Out for Billy Joel & Rock Of Ages for the 80's. These pull audiences in to hear music you love done in a way you might not love once you suffer through two hours, with a story you don't care about & characters that are as flat as paper ... not even 20 lb paper. Or, that's been my experience of these farces called Broadway shows with tickets as expensive as the real thing. Though I might not like them I've had an idea for a revue that I think would be interesting & have real potential ... or certainly drum up controversy. I haven't a clue what the story would be about, as the songs tend to be a little bit too much groin oriented & that doesn't create too create much diversity to work with ... but then, the story doesn't really matter in these revues. That is Kiss. Yes, put Kiss on Broadway. I mean, they've done worse with all the merchandising. If it fails they embarrassed themselves decades ago so nobody will notice the difference. & it'll be one more opportunity for Gene Simmons to say something incredibly stupid. Of course, you'd have to work with the music fleshing it out, give it a stage feeling as rock music doesn't always work with a direct jump. Rock music, except for Genesis, isn't meant for sitting quietly & listening. What would the Kiss Broadway show sound like? In my mind it would sound exactly what Metallica created with S&M, the album where they played live with the San Francisco Symphony. It would open up not with an overture, something I think is out of fashion for the stage, but an instrumental opening such as Metallica's standard opening "The Ecstasy Of Gold" by Morricone followed by "The Call Of The Ktulu". The songs following would turn well-known melody lines into string & horn flourishes with lots of nuances not previously there. To say the result would have fleshed out songs is a bit of an understatement as the reworked songs would now be stuffed silly with notes ... maybe too stuffed at times, like when you fall asleep after Thanksgiving dinner. Though, the problem would be in replacing a twin guitar attack with a symphony of how many instruments? Two guitars can have a clean sound but two guitars plus a symphony can often verge on cacophonic & distracting. At the same time, the new symphonic approach would also temper some of the harshness & anger for a wider audience. The music would still be dark, but in a tamer more theatrical way. The Sunday matinee retiree set probably don't want to see an angry young man show. The songs would also be, on the whole, longer than their originals to allow lots of stage movement & big dance numbers. Though, after awhile the audience might stop paying attention to the music as it goes on a bit too long. There also comes another problem in that stronger singing is needed to combat the waterfall of music. The lone voice of Workshop actor James Hetfield gets lost in the now overflowing mountain of sound, so what was originally a focus of the song is now just another noisy moment. A strength has become a weakness sadly. Of course, one can imagine for this new revue, that some songs would be great for the stage. "The Thing That Should Never Be" is custom made for a chase scene, even leading into the bad guy's cackling spotlight moment ... even if actor Hetfield, is he Equity?, is a little stiff & the dialogue pushing it a bit trying to be overly dramatic when it was already. Then there's "Hero Of The Day" leading into "Devil's Dance" where our story's characters contemplate their state of affairs as we near intermission. There is a problem in Act I with the music & story seeming to drag. It doesn't feel like just the first half as the audience is so exhausted they think the show is done. The lack of emotional oomph for music flourish & lengthy songs doesn't help in the least the script. Act II also needs re-writing as it shouldn't open with a dragging "Nothing Else Matters" that goes on for a bit, at least to "Until It Sleeps". Things do pick up with the Metropolis-esque "Human". Where does this song come from? It's great! The emotional push of the second act needs some tightening up, but the flow of the songs is nearly perfect. A medley would have been cool versus a ten minute "Outlaw Torn". The ending needs to be, obviously, big. "Enter Sandman", "One" & closing on "Battery" is not big when you rip the soul from the most overheard songs of the band. The only climax is that the audience recognizes the songs. Though, sadly, for the Metallica revue, like every good revue - famous songs, bad versions. Check out "Fuel", "Human", "Sad But True", "One" & "The Memory Remains" for the heaviest moments. The last song before intermission "Bleeding Me" might be the most emotional & tender moment, along with "Hero Of The Day". It's interesting to note how many of the good moments come from the oft criticized Load & Reload. Time for a re-evaluation? As for how these revue versions compare to the originals. This is thrash for people who don't like thrash ... most of a typical Broadway audience, I bet. Basically, this is metal with a faux-heaviness, i.e. no guts but lots of flash to make you think it has guts. You won't be able to head bang, or even dance, to any of it. Don't expect to be singing this around the piano at a Christopher Street bar. I just want to know if the audiences for the Workshop performances of this future Broadway show were shocked or enthused or just confused? The New York Times is still silent on the matter.

Boy George & Culture Club ~ VH1 Storytellers/Greatest Moments (live/hits comp) (album review) ... Love is love!

Style: pop
Label: Virgin
Year: 1998
Home: England

Members: Boy George ~ vocals
Roy Hay ~ guitar/keyboards/b. vocals
Mickey Craig ~ bass
Jon Moss ~ drums

Additional: John Themis ~ guitar/b. vocals
Richie Stevens ~ percussion
Zee Cowling ~ b. vocals
Ed Manion ~ sax
John Berry ~ trumpet
Tom Malone ~ trombone
Rob Paparozzi ~ harmonica

How can you not like CC? Okay, the Boy is a little strange, but he's not a bad singer. The songs are a little gay, but you know you like singing along. But, do the unimaginable & ignore the visuals, the history, the scandals & what you have is one of the best pop bands of the 80's. Memorable lyrics - that could be taken in so many ways, always a selling point - tied to a fun almost reggae tinted dance beat, songs you can sing along with, a lack of anything pretentious like guitar solos & intricate & far under-rated rhythms. The songs are still delightful today as they were upon their debut & its hard to say otherwise. They even stand up when covered by other bands. This CD brings together a live concert & a greatest hits package. It sounds great at 28 songs, but there's lots of duplication. Two hits i.e. "Everything I Own", "Karma Chameleon" & "Love Is Love") are not given a live work-out. But, four songs are not in the greatest hits, but include a couple highlights of the live show, perhaps because they're not so well known to us listeners & engrained in our minds. This includes the lesser known "Black Money" from their second album ... the one that featured "Karma Chameleon", you know ... & "Strange Voodoo" from their wonderful 1999 reunion album Don't Mind If I Do & sounds more akin to Boy George's solo work that's less pop & more moody with a heavy keyboard line. Then there's the piano & duel vocal "That's The Way (I'm Only Trying To Help You)", a beautiful ballad of only these three instruments that must be heard & is not what you'd expect from CC & the new "What Do You Want" that's complete reggae right down to the vocal phrasing, neither of these from any of their studio albums. Outside of the fan only song duplication, the problem with the Storytellers is a that the performances sound like the band just got off tour, not been apart for 13 years. There's no real spark of new life outside of "That's The Way (I'm Only Trying To Help You)". There's little moments here & there of something new (i.e. "I'll Tumble 4 Ya", "Miss Me Blind") & Boy George sounds as great as ever, but the band plays it safe beyond just adding a minute or so to everything. Of course, a reunion concert is a strange thing. Do you play it safe or play it adventurous? Do you play the records or something a little different reflecting of changing days? For the hardcore fan the differences will probably be noticeable, but I doubt for the casual fan. Though, the extended band beyond the core four do flesh out the songs & are a welcome edition. & the key to CC has always been some very simple sound arrangements that are more simple then they are. But, I've always preferred a live show that offered something other than the album. In terms of a Storytellers episode there's been better. Where Meat Loaf or others might have been wordy with their banter, Boy George keeps it modest & light & under-whelming. There's no big lyrical revelations here, which is what many expect from this MTV series. This might have been better as a plain old fashioned reunion special. It would also have been interesting to dig out some obscure songs ... but CC really has a lot of hits so there's little room left once they include the new songs. So, is there an incentive to listen to this live show? Well, personally, I'd recommend getting the video. That's fun. Particularly as all but Boy have dumped the clown suits & bad haircuts I always found distracting. Boy is a costume master, whatever the era or intake of drugs, I just never rated the rest of the boys that highly as fashion models. As for the Greatest Moments ... it is exactly what it says! I always enjoy when I pull out my CC & the hits is probably the better way to go than the individual albums. I think what I always enjoyed was that little ethnic beat that makes their music more than just straight pop. & have you listened to Mikey Craig's bass playing? He's all over the place & pretty much the primary melody instrument. It's hardcore funk George Clinton would be proud of. Then, there's "The Crying Game" & "Victims" ... How can you not weep at these?

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."

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.

Neil Young ~ Unplugged (live) (album review) ... Neil is the uncle everyone wishes they had!

Style: folk-rock
Label: Reprise
Year: 1993
Home: California

Members: Neil Young ~ guitar/harmonica/piano/pump organ/vocals
Nils Lofgren ~ guitar/autoharp/accordion/b. vocals
Ben Keith ~ dobro
Spooner Oldham ~ piano/pump organ
Tim Drummond ~ bass
Oscar Butterworth ~ drums
Astrid Young, Nicolette Larson ~ b. vocals

Additional: Larry Cragg ~ broom

NY's Unplugged live recording from the MTV show may not be an explicitly rock album, compared to some of NY's albums, recalling more his folksy-country side, but through an array of different styles over the decades NY has done his share of rocking out, let alone inspiring countless rock bands with the most prominent being Pearl Jam. This was the first NY album I ever bought, soon after it came out. I knew NY's greatest hits, a friend had played & explained to me the nuances of Tonight's The Night, but in terms of building up my own NY collection I didn't know where to start with him. He's gone through so many musical styles & backing groups, often in the same year, with some big hits & some big misses, & in the pre-internet age there was no allmusic.com to get advice from on what would make the perfect intro. I do remember when he was playing with Pearl Jam, but I was feeling more tuned into his acoustic folk side than the chaotic careening ragged electric guitar side. The glory of NY's appearance on MTV's Unplugged, showing the unplugged format at its magical best in my ears & the reason it became my first NY album, though I hadn't watched the episode, was that it collects many of the hits from his different musical faces & blends them together seemlessly with a new personality alongside some obscure tunes. It's not so much a greatest hits collection as a bit of a retrospective showing different sides of NY from his point of view. While NY might be known to many for his wild careless guitar playing, his real magic has always been for me his lyrics. I've also always liked his ragged folksy voice. That's the focus here, no doubt. It's not the guitar playing or the crazy endless solos he's known for taking. It's just the words & the emotion he puts behind them. Let me just say that I used to like learning to play & sing so many of the songs on this album on my acoustic guitar. I wanted to feel the words of "Pocahontas," "The Needle & The Damage Done" & even "Transformer Man", doing the backing vocals myself, roll over my tongue. For me, NY reaches the same heights as Dylan, Brian Wilson & Jim Steinman. "The Old Laughing Lady" & so many others might just show NY as one of the most depressing lyricists ever ... next to Lou Reed ... yet intensely personal at the same time. Oh, but how wonderful & rich those sad emotions are! The slimmed down instrumentation Unplugged also excited me, particularly the use of a broom as a percussion instrument in "Harvest Moon". It's moody & dark as much as any hard rock, yet less pretentious than I felt so much folk music suffered from in its quest to be seen as more pure. MTV's Unplugged might have been gimmicky & super trendy, the fad coming to shine a poor light on the original idea, while it had its shares of stumbles & some artists might have been unsuited for the format, but when it shone bright the glaring light was amazing. Of the over 100 episodes highlights worth watching over & over that come to mind include: Eric Clapton, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, 10,000 Maniacs, Kiss, Alice In Chains, Rod Stewart, The Eagles, Stone Temple Pilots, Page/Plant & obviously NY, who might have the most laidback relaxing output of all of them. Though, it's interesting to note that some critics have called it too relaxing & not ragged enough. But, if anything over his career NY is not predictable & he stays true to form here turning in something new. Yes, a couple songs were originally acoustically rendered & thus don't get a reinterpretation here, but that's what makes this enjoyable for me. You get some songs in their original format, even if it breaks the rule of thumb of what the show is supposed to be about, beside songs reinvented ... & they all sound like the come off the same album, blending into a new beast. Of note, Unplugged contains the previously unreleased song "Stringman" written in 1976, while four songs appear on the show but not on the album (i.e. "Dreamin' Man", "Sample & Hold", "War of Man", "Winterlong"). While, however powerful the result is, it's actually the second recording of the show. NY was not happy with the performances of anyone in the band & did the show over again. It would be interesting to hear the first take. Also, this review should get an award for mentioning "broom." That instrument isn't used enough!

Billy Sheehan's Talas ~ Featuring Billy Sheehan (album view) ... Introducing the Van Halen of bass!

Style: hard rock
Label: Metal Blade
Year: 1980
Home: New York

Members: Billy Sheehan ~ bass/vocals
Dave Constantino ~ guitar/vocals
Paul Varga ~ drums/vocals

Some people know bassist Billy Sheehan from hair metal band Mr. Big. Some only know the band for a single MTV acoustic power ballad. If this is your knowledge of Sheehan you've got homework to do. Mr. Big is quite a fascinating prog meets L.A. hair metal band & should not be remembered via the sappy "To Be With You". Yet, for Sheehan Mr. Big is really but a footnote. He previously found his fame touring beside Steve Vai in David Lee Roth's first solo band. Coming right out of Van Halen, one of the most important bands, all eyes on where on Roth & company. It's funky & wild stuff worth checking out, particularly via old videos where the band is as crazy as Roth. It'll then become quickly obvious that Sheehan is one of the ones responsible for making the bass in the rock world than a rhythm instrument but a lead instrument in its own right. If you don't know any of this, let this review be your homework assignment leading to a wikipedia cruise. To really get a feel for Sheehan's musical catalog one needs to go back to 1971 when he formed the pre-hair but with lots of hairspray & spandex power trio Talas. They became known in upstate New York for extended bass solos that were as much performance art as anything. Sheehan's reputation would quickly eclipse the band, often taking him away for temporary gigs with such folks as UFO & the Michael Schenker Band. For one year Talas would even continue without him as a two guitar quartet. It wasn't until 1980 that Talas, with a couple year old solidified line-up, finally went into the studio. They put out two albums, Featuring Billy Sheehan being the first, before yet another complete line-up change & transition into a quartet that would come to feature future members of Danger Danger, Megadeth, Asia & Y&T. Sadly, Talas is a band that reads better on paper. The studio recordings don't fully paint the best picture. Talas is really a band that needs to be seen & thankfully bootleggers have done that with rough picture recordings floating around the internet. While the music is good some of the spark is missing in the studio where there's no audience to push the energy, the songs or the solos into the outer limits that made the group famous. It's a common problem of groups that make the transition from club to studio after making a name for themselves as a live band, particularly one a decade old. So often one speaks of 70's trios in light of Cream, particularly those trios with a heavier edge. But, Talas is much more in the hard rock 80's vein where the blues are but a building block, as would be the 80's hard rock style. Sheehan had already gained a reputation for being the bass playing version of Eddie Van Halen, & would help show how far one could take technical playing for a new generation of musicians that were moving against the excessive free form jamming of the 60's for more technically challenging jamming, or at least sounding more technical. "NV4 3345" is a bass solo that one would expect from the fingers of Eddie Van Halen & is everything but what the bass is expected to sound like in 1980, affirming Billy's role as a pioneer. Actually, its much closer to Jaco Pastorius & some of the jazz guys & the funk scene, but few were doing this in rock. It's not funk, it's not even rock, it's melodic in a way bass solos aren't. It's a bass solo in a way they come to be in the future. It's a bass solo that puts the traditional rhythm player to shame. It shouldn't, but it does. It's a highlight of the album as are all of Sheehan's spotlight moments. The problem is that the rest of the band is churning out un-inspired arrangements of 70's-esque hard rock riffs, nor rising to the technical level of Sheehan. It's not so much band interplay as a bassist & his backing band, however odd that sounds. But, one shouldn't really envision a bass-playing Joe Satriani & band as the arrangements are a fence keeping things too straight forward & safe. Randy Coven, another bassist with a similar feel who came about in the early 80's but would never get the mainstream recognition, attempted for instrumental duets with his guitarists & is worth checking out to see what Sheehan could have achieved if he'd broken from the traditional song structure approach. But, for all its faults, this first album is the best to delve into the Talas sound. The later quartet would tuck Sheehan into the mix & sound like a very bland early 80's Quiet Riot-esque hard rock band. What makes the trio different interesting is the shared vocals, the good singing balances the bad singing. Phil Naro would become the singer for the quartet, later to become the original though non-recorded frontman of Danger Danger which would include fellow Talas members Al Pitrelli & Bruno Ravel. Danger Danger being built from the ashes of Talas. But, Naro is not a distinctive singer. Also, none of the members, in any era of the band, show themselves as particularly good songwriters, relying too much on traditional song structures with weak lyrics. Again, check out Randy Coven for comparison of how a similar technique is taken in a new direction just via a different songwriting approach. There's a reason Sheehan's star shone over Talas's. It's all in the songs. But, in its favor, this early recording still has a lot of 70's influence on it, versus the 80's hard rock that would influence the later two albums. The irony is that Talas had an influence on the 80's sound, much like Hanoi Rocks had an influence, only to eventually be caught as an imitator of the imitator. This debut may not be the best representation of Talas, but there's a glimmer here & its better than nothing. Though, probably, in the end for Sheehan fans only & not going to convert anyone else who will wonder what the fuss around Sheehan is about. The fuss, like Hanoi Rocks, is the big picture. The fuss is doing the homework beyond just litening to the music. Though, for those just wanting a touch of Sheehan I recommend a compilation from Mr. Big.

Billy Sheehan's Talas ~ Live Speed On Ice (live) (album review) ... Billy Sheehan only has one speed: in your face!

Style: hard rock
Label: Combat
Year: 1984
Home: New York

Members: Billy Sheehan ~ bass/vocals
Phil Naro ~ lead vocals
Mitch Perry ~ guitars/b. vocals
Mark Miller ~ drums

Before he became a influential & iconized bass player with such groups as David Lee Roth with Steve Vai & Mr. Big, back in the 70's Billy Sheehan had his own heavy power trio called Talas that gained some fame in upstate New York. Talas recorded two albums over a near decade that would help get Sheehan gigs touring with other bands, such as UFO, before his own reputation eclipsed that of the band causing extended leaves of absence & with other other internal strife Talas's guitarist & drummer left Sheehan for other musical pastures. Sheehan rebuilt the group as a quartet. Instead rotating vocal duties among all the members Talas would now feature a lead singer, though Sheehan would still take a few lead vocals. This new line-up was untraditionally debuted to the mass public via the live album High Speed On Ice, recorded in New York City December 1983. This new Talas, playing the same songs but with a slightly different feel, actually hearkened more towards what Sheehan would come to do with Mr. Big. Sadly, the new Talas also had less of a distinctive identity than its predecessor as while all the playing is great, particularly from Sheehan whose furious & elaborate bass playing is more of a lead instrument, the songs themselves are just somewhat throw away early hair metal. But, to see the big picture of the career of a man who has been as influential to bassists as Van Halen is to guitarists Talas is worth taking a peek at, including both the early trio & the later version. With Talas Sheehan was walking the same fusion & technically challenging turf as Yngwie Malmsteen (i.e. "Do You Feel Any Better") & Dream Theater (i.e. "The Farandole"), but with more emphasis on the bass than would be the habit of hard rock bands, or most bands for that matter, but perfectly at home in the jazz repertoire of Jaco Pastorius. The sad thing is the necessity of vocals & throw away lyrics that just pulls a cloud over the music distracting the ear from what it really wants & needs to hear. Phil Naro doesn't bring the same wild man feeling to the microphone as Sheehan does to the bass & the two don't feel like they are feeding off of each other as just being on the same stage together. The songs may not be the greatest & Sheehan is the obvious standout instrumentalist, but the live context allows him room to breathe in the ways that made him famous ... considering it's the live shows that made Talas popular over the previous decade not the two earlier studio recordings. "7718 (3A17)" features an extended bass solo that's a run of lines that causes one to forget its a bass & not a guitar. It's Jaco Pastorius without the funk. It's essentially what rock bassists weren't doing at the time. It's polarizing ... as now the bass could be seen in the traditional manner as a rhythm instrument staying out of the spotlight pounding out root notes & chord changes or as a lead instrument in its own right. No longer were bass solos something for jazz players. Having this debut to do over again my suggestion would be the addition of some new material as its all songs from the trio days written for a different style of playing & not allowing the new faces of Naro, Miller & Perry to have a chance to contribute in their own way to their full extent. They're somewhat trapped, but it'll take a comparison of previous albums with this live album to discover that. Eventually Sheehan would leave Talas but bassist Bruno Ravel would take the position for a short time. At this point in the band would be future Trans-Siberian Orchestra/Megadeth/Alice Cooper guitarist Al Pitrelli. When Ravel found himself becoming more popular with fans & accidentally making it public Sheehan stepped in &, owning the rights to the name, collapsed the band. Ravel would take Naro with him to form Hotshot, later reuniting with Pitrelli as the band became Danger Danger, who with a different singer & guitarist would find some modest cock rock/glam metal hits on MTV. Ironically, years later Talas guitarist Mitch Perry would eventually come to succeed Al Pitrelli in Asia. Also in the final Talas line-up with Pitrelli & Ravel was drummer Jimmy DeGrasso who'd go on to join Y&T & eventually recommend Pitrelli to join Megadeth. Sadly, no known recordings were made of the final Talas line-up, filling an important early stepping stone for all involved. Sheehan would reunite the original trio for a minor tour after finding commercial success.

Rock Star: A Night At The Mayan Theater (Music From The Hit Television Series) (live) (album review) ... Where have all the rock stars gone?

Style: cover, live, hard rock
Label: Burnett Records
Year: 2005
Home: n/a

Members: Jordis Unga, Daphna Dove, Dana Robbins, Tara Slone, Jessica Robinson, Heather Luttrell, Deanna Johnston, Suzie McNeil, Marty Casey, Ty Taylor, Neal Carlson, Brandon Calhoon, Wil Seabrook, J.D. Fortune, Mig Ayesa ~ lead vocals
Paul Mirkovich ~ keyboards/b. vocals
Rafael Moreira ~ lead guitar/b. vocals
Jim McCorman ~ guitar/keyboards/b. vocals
Sasha Krivtsov ~ bass
Nate Morton ~ drums

Additional: Robert Cani, Mario De Leon, Shanti Randall, Rudy Stein ~ strings

Some musical projects stink of marketing. It's one thing to bring in a guest artist to boost an album, particularly for an unknown band, but it's another when the band doesn't need a boost & is obviously cashing in on what embers are left in its candle holder before its too late ... it's still another thing when the project revolves around a band whose absent from the product for sale. Regardless of the details it can be painful to watch ... even after you've given up on figuring out if it's more about the music or the media. In May 2005 an audience at the Mayan Theatre was treated to fifteen young vocalists, with an anonymous session band, giving their best interpretations to an array of popular songs young & old. But, this is was more than a talent show, however much it appeared as one, but initiated a new tv series with the goal of finding a new singer for Aussie hitmakers INXS. Yes, one of these young singers would take the frontman role for the band that had tragically lost its sexy & seemingly irreplaceable frontman Michael Hutchence in an accidental suicide in 1997. We've had rock bands formed around tv shows (for example, Rock Star Supernova) & for tv shows (for example, the Monkees) & because of tv shows (for example, the Archies), but how many already chart topping bands have found a singer through a tv talent contest? This might be a first. No, this isn't a documentary of finding a new band member like Metallica did, but is just American Idol with a bigger award. I can only hope it'll be the last as there's nothing more embarrassing, as what comes across is not a search for the best fit but a marketing scheme to get back on tv after years away ... or at least rescue a band's career before it's too late ... not to mention the auditioners themselves with their own eyes on a successful music career, with or without INXS. I'd rather watch the mismatched Paul Rodgers + Queen ... at least that was organic ... let alone everyone involved has similar backgrounds & was in the same age bracket. This live album shares the initial introductory concert to kick off the show. There's no original songs ... a bit odd, considering one expects they'll be asked to write in the band, or maybe its not so odd, but originals mean you see the creativity behind the flash. A great performer doesn't necessarily mean a great writer. Ever heard Elton John's lyrics? Though, what covers are included might be the best thing about the album. It includes a range that goes classic from the Who, Kinks, Blondie to modern with Living Colour, Nirvana, Black Crows. Its nothing particularly obscure, nothing that most folks in the audience won't know who know something about music. Speaking of great performers ... the live setting really is the only way to judge. It lets them pour it all out ... maybe to their detriment as it also can show their rough spots. Really, that's what this show is all about. That's what any of these tv talent shows are about. You as much look forward to the good as the bad moments. But, its also a reminder in this case that no one can replace Michael Hutchence. Not just did he have a decade in little clubs hacking it out that none of these singers have, but his sexy Jim Morrison-esque looks & wiry almost drugged out performance really was the secret to INXS. Honestly, without him they're just another little new wave band. Their early albums are witness to how much they ended up molding themselves around Hutchence charisma. Further, there's no guitar player out front and most people won't know one member from another. It's like asking folks about the rhythm section of AC/DC or trying to pick out one guy in Devo from the next. But, that doesn't matter in this context as INXS are nowhere to be seen. On the show they criticize each performer, but here its just the songs without the banter. It's a shame. That would be fascinating to watch & really shake things up. The house band is a straight ahead rock band with nothing in common with any era of INXS's music, past or potentially present ... unless INXS is planning to reinvent themselves a straight edge rock band. Thus, it seems to make trying to find a new singer even more difficult as here they're in a rock context when in INXS they'll be in something far different. It's like auditioning for a rock band with a reggae band. What's the point? The point is TV entertainment. It doesn't help that in complete opposition to INXS's distinction the house band is a soulless tribe of studio musicians doing Cliff Notes versions of the songs. One can be excused for not wanting any INXS songs in the mix this early in the run. As for the guinea pigs themselves it's not the most painful experiment. Adam Lambert with Queen is far worse. Adam Lambert thinking he has a career of any value is far worse. Most of the singers are either indistinguishable or you can hear that they might be good given different music choices or styles. What they bring to the table may not be what is best for INXS. The girls might be the most difficult to enjoy as anything more than a passing moment of good music as can we truly envisage INXS as a female fronted band? Actually, its a rare band that moves from a male to a female singer. L.A. Guns is the only one that comes to mind & that was all too brief. Bands that make such a change usually do so before they hit chart success & thus nobody notices. Arch Enemy is a case in point. But, at this point in ones career it's too much of a vocal contrast. It's more of a jump than Genesis moving from Peter Gabriel to Phil Collins to the under-rated but completely different Ray Wilson. The sad fact is that J.D. Fortune got the role as he sounds the closest to Hutchence but we all know the result. He did a lackluster album & tour, then was essentially dumped for the band to do what is basically a tribute album to themselves, though their most experimental release, bringing in different singers & musical styles including Fortune for a Hutchence sound-alike track. Fortune returned for the tour but was dumped again. There might be a third dump but at this point most had lost count. But, looking at the bigger picture this shouldn't be a surprise. After Hutchence death in 1997 INXS returned in 2000 with Jon Stevens before he left for a solo career in 2003. The next year Rock Star:INXS was created. Two singers with no success? Hint? No, in 2011 the band announced Irishman Ciaran Gribbon as the newest member. The song released is about as far from the traditional INXS sound as one can get. Sometimes its time to give up. It's time for INXS to do so. A band is more than just who can sing but the clicking of bandmates. This is about the clicking of cameras. After developing the photos in this latest batch they really haven't come out that well ... & photoshop hasn't helped. Maybe there's a way INXS could be successful again with a new singer. Journey has done it & Yes have had some modest success, Trans-Siberian Orchestra has made an art out of it, the Doors reunion with Ian Astbury was amazing before he left & the band changed to the Manzarek Kreiger Band cause they knew the gig was up ... maybe Gribbon will be the winning ticket. It's just too bad the band had to embarrass themselves in the meantime. At least they didn't choose a new singer who was a suicide blonde.