Cheap Trick ~ Greatest Hits: Japanese Singles Collection (hits comp) (album review) ... Deep cuts & beloved hits!

Style: hard rock, pop rock
Label: Sony Japan
Year: 2018
Home: n/a

Members: Robin Zander ~ vocals/rhythm guitar
Rick Nielsen ~ guitar/b. vocals/keyboards 
Tom Petersson ~ bass/b. vocals 
Bun E. Carlos ~ drums

Additional: Jai Winding, Paul Klinberg, Kim Bullard ~ keyboards
Mark Radice ~ keyboards/vocals
Steve Lukather, Todd Rundgren ~ guitars 

I've never been a huge fan, as their songs have been a bit too pop for me. I'm more interested in the how to, than the what is. Everyone knows the famed multi-necked guitars of Rick Nielsen, but bassist Tom Petersson has a unique custom bass & sound I'm a bit envious of, speaking as a fellow bassist. They aren't my thing, but I appreciate the fact that they've made some classic ear worms, which you end up enjoying even if its not your style. I also give them credit for making all their early music themselves without an array of session players. They are creative & talented, no doubt. I will listen to them, but do not actively seek them out. I will confess I really enjoyed their 2017 album We're All Alright!, which I wanted to hear having not heard anything they had done since the '90's. It deserves a revisit & review here. I don't know how this album is reflective of their current sound, as the pop music Cheap Trick excelled in has come & gone from the charts. This leads me to the problem I have always had with them. I call them pop rock, but are they?  Pop love ballad lyrics with careening guitar solos feels so contradictory & mismatched o me. I'm reminded of the Smithereens, who I recently reviewed & called out for the same reason. Are they rock, punk, pop? I could never get what Cheap Trick was trying for, while their sound went through changes making them more unpredictable & hard to pinpoint. This might be why I enjoyed We're All Alright!, as it leaned more ragged punkish than pop. Also, his is where Greatest Hits: Japanese Single Collection is actually good for someone like me. It includes the live versions of "I Want You To Want Me", a "Ain't That A Shame," plus the U.S. hit singles "Surrender", "Voices", "Dream Police", "Stop This Game", "If You Want My Love", "Tonight It's You", "The Flame", "Don't Be Cruel", "Can't Stop Fallin' Into Love". It also includes lesser known songs. There is the punkish "Clock Strikes Ten", punk meets rockabilly "California Man", "Speak Now Or Forever Hold Your Peace" with a great thumping bass, the rolling pop song "Everything Works If You Let It", the rockin' "(Love Comes) A Tumblin’ Down", the new wave-esque "Dancing The Night Away", the pop ballads "Ghost Town" & "Wherever Would I Be", & soundtrack contributions "Mighty Wings"& "Stop That Thief." The hits are nice to hear, but these deep cuts I enjoyed so much more. They sounded like a whole different band. Having not heard much beyond the hits I didn't know this side of the band existed in years past. I'm actually impressed by their musical range the band has tried after hyearing these deep cuts. All but the last four named I enjoyed. Dump the keyboards I maybe would have enjoyed them more. These additions make this hits comp a worthwhile purchase. This hits collection, one of many to choose from, includes all the singles released in Japan between 1977 & 1990 while on Epic. More precisely, every album is represented here from their debut to 1990's Busted, which also is before the departure of drummer Bun E. Carlos. There are a few songs missing that were hits in the U.S., like "She's Tight", but the deep cuts make up for it. I had a domestic hits comp years ago that didn't have these songs on it. I wish it did. This includes the versions released in America, a bit odd as this is a Japanese label, & it feels almost like they are catering to both countries. These are the original mixes, no remastering. The DVD, which I haven't seen, has the music videos & clips from their Budokan concert, & was previously released as the Every Trick In The Book DVD. I don't review music video DVDs here.

Sin-Atra (album review) ... A good try, but full of sin!

Style: heavy metal
Label: Armoury Records
Year: 2011
Home: n/a

Members: Bob Kulick ~ guitars/b. vocals
Brett Chassen ~ drums/b. vocals
Billy Sheehan ~ bass
Doug Katsaros ~ keyboards

Additional: Andrea Becker ~ b. vocals

Guests: Ritchie Kotzen ~ guitar
Devin Townsend, Glenn Hughes, Geoff Tate, Dee Snider, Tim “Ripper” Owens, Robin Zander, Eric Martin, Joey Belladonna, Franky Perez, dUg Pinnick, Elias Soriano, Jani Lane ~ vocals

Guitarist Bob Kulick, brother of Kiss's Bruce Kulick, has created a second career producing an ongoing series of cover/tribute albums, such as for Metallica & Aerosmith, featuring many of his musical friends in unusual one-time only line-ups. The talent has never been less than top rate though the results have been mixed. In previous efforts Kulick as set up a different band for each song making every song star-studded & unique, but in his newest tribute executive producer duties have been handed over to others, including Ronnie James Dio widow Wendy Dio, allowing him to front a band that is featured on every track with only the vocalist changing on each song. With a single band the sound is much more even from song to song than on past albums, which often ended up feeling like compilations with some line-ups stronger than others, but at the same time having a single band removes some of the unexpected diversity that previous tribute albums offered. Here each song is the same distorted guitar chugging. Even the inclusion of keyboard created horns, however odd at times, doesn't really make much of an impact though it's an interesting inclusion & when songs do stand out for their arrangements its often due to this inclusion. Sadly, the great Billy Sheehan is on bass but there's not much space given over to him to play in the upfront quasi-lead style he's known for, let alone giving the arrangements any breathing room. The songs themselves are untouchable classics, so essentially, the success of Sin-Atra lies wholly with the arrangements & singers. The vocalists, culled from the metal world, are under particular scrutiny as they are all performing in a musical style & with a band that doesn't match their known styles/bands. At times the result almost feels like an audition recording where everyone is straining to let their musical personality shine in the best way. Sadly, it's quickly noticeable who is straining, who has the pipes & who doesn't & who should stay within their usual musical context because their weaknesses become incredibly obvious. Not every voice is suited to every musical context, though one might want to think otherwise to be fair. Highlights include Devin Townsend of Strapping Young Lad (i.e. "New York, New York"), Eric Martin of Mr. Big (i.e. "Lady Is A Tramp"), Tim "Ripper" Owens of Judas Priest/Iced Earth ("Witchcraft") & Glenn Hughes of Deep Purple (i.e. "I’ve Got You Under My Skin"). The lesser known Franky Perez of Scars On Broadway puts in a real highlight with "High Hopes", probably because the album itself is a bit of a joke & Perez is one of the few to not take his rendition too seriously. More of the songs should have been treated with the same attitude & the highlights would have outweighed the lows. The worst songs suffer from over-the-top singing &/or poor arrangements, witnessed in "It Was A Very Good Year" with Dee Snider of Twisted Sister that sounds uncannily like an industrial version of Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir". What might have made this better would be more melodic arrangements offering something behind the singers outside of just a rush of chords & muddy riffs. The album also features "Fly Me To The Moon" with Robin Zander of Cheap Trick, "Love & Marriage" with Elias Soriano of Nonpoint, "Strangers In The Night" with Joey Belladonna of Anthrax, "Summerwind" with Geoff Tate of Queensrÿche, "I’ve Got The World On A String" with dUg Pinnick of King’s X & "That’s Life" with Jani Lane of Warrant & the one outside guitar solo with Ritchie Kotzen of Poison/Mr. Big. Thankfully, no sign of "My Way". If you're a Sinatra fan will you like this? Probably not. Metal fan? You'll love the playing which is good if not always interesting & if your favorite singer is here - probably, though you may also find yourself laughing ... but, kudos to Bob & company for at least trying.