Sometimes the easiest way to make a video is to do it live. Last night I unboxed four new arrivals from Japan!
There’s one seller in Japan who has dozens of items on my wishlist. They’ve helped me add many long-sought items to my library over the years. This time, I added to my Scorpions and ZZ Top collections, while taking a chance on a serious Iron Maiden rarity that was priced inexplicably cheap.
Wanna see how it turned out? Watch the short video below.
“Steamrock fever, screaming rock believers.” – Klaus Meine, 1977
“Scream for me screamers, I’m a rock believer.” – Klaus Meine, 2022
SCORPIONS – Rock Believer (2022 Universal 2 CD edition)
The album of the year could be from a 57 year old band!
Although they’ve been trying hard, off and on, to recreate the past for the last 20 years or so, Scorpions never convinced us it was the 1980s again. Until now.
Whatever happened (be it the intense focus granted by a worldwide pandemic, or just the magic of interpersonal chemistry), Scorpions have issued their best record since Love At First Sting. Even the cover art recalls an earlier time in Scorpions history. With Rock Believer, the band have proven that time is no obstacle.
There are a lot of songs here and almost all of them are highlights. Opener “Gas in the Tank” feels like vintage, top-notch Scorpions. While Matthias Jabs emulates the sound of a car chase on his guitar, Rudolph Schenker lays down the first of many fully-leaded riffs. Though vocalist Klaus Meine no longer screams all the time, neither does Ian Gillan or very many other singers his age. The singer is still recognizable as nobody else, hanging onto his power and range. Nowhere on the album do you miss the screaming. Never do you say “all this song needed was a scream.” With the title “Gas in the Tank”, Klaus Meine may have unknowingly come up with a new anthem for 2022.
The only track that comes off as substandard by comparison is the second one, “Roots In My Boots”. On any past album from Crazy World on, it would be a high-speed highlight. On Rock Believer, we headbang along knowing that something better is coming. The chorus fails to land and neither do the lyrics. We are redeemed on third track “Knock ‘Em Dead”, which has the patented mid-80s Scorpions chug. Throw some candy-coated Matthias fills on top and it’s the classic sound. Klaus mentions “The Zoo” in the lyrics but it’s not all Judas Priest-like self-referencing (though there’s plenty of it on this album).
The gem of the album is “Rock Believer“, a truly remarkable ballad/rocker that strikes all the boxes. Klaus’ vocal performance is truly remarkable, going from forceful to tender in a single line. I am a rock believer like you too, Klaus. “Rock Believer” is an example of hard rock songwriting perfection. Every ingredient and aspect of the performance is flawless. Nothing extraneous, although drummer Mikkey Dee gets to go a little nuts at the end, which is a brilliant touch. It is rare to hear a song as immediately catchy as “Rock Believer” these days, but here you go, rock believers! This chorus is the kind that can stick in your head for the whole of a long weekend. (Trust me.)
A loud gothic riff on “Shining Of Your Soul” gives way to a familiar lighter reggae vibe similar to Scorpions classic “In Trance”. It’s a brilliant melding of two styles, and one that reaches back to the glorious 1970s era of the band. Certainly not a re-write of “In Trance”, but possibly a sequel. Jabs’ solo is absolutely brilliant, but don’t ignore underappreciated bassist Paweł Mąciwoda who brings a schooled melodic approach.
“Seventh Sun” stomps like the Scorps of old, recalling “The Zoo”. The bass leads the way while a sharp, sparse riff punctuates the song. It sounds like a huge mammoth of a beast, prowling heavily through the steppe. Scorpions don’t lose sight of melody and so “Seventh Sun” is strong in this regard as well. At 5:30, it is longest song on the album and closest to an epic.
Back to high-octane rockers, “Hot and Cold” really kicks. The riff is heavy and Paweł really goes for those low bass notes. While the chorus on this song is fine and dandy, it could be an example of a tune where the verses are superior. At least in terms of interesting and mind-grabbing guitar work, they are. Soon there’s another stinging riff, on the thrash-paced “When I Lay My Bones to Rest”. If you like your hard rock blasting fast and loud, then you will love “When I Lay My Bones to Rest”. Another heavy tune, “Peacemaker”, has been well received by fans. Scorpions have a long history as a band with a consistent anti-war stance. “Peacemaker” is the latest and possibly heaviest of these tunes. From the guitars to the chorus, “Peacemaker” rocks massive with melody and catchy stabs of guitar.
“Call of the Wild” is a different kind of song for this album. Klaus mentions a “Lovedrive”, but this song is one of their heavy and slow sex romps. It is somewhat unremarkable next to other tunes on the album, but it is different and picks up towards the end. Dig the slight “Sympathy for the Devil” homage. But have you noticed it’s been 10 songs, and not a real ballad among them? Ballads used to be a scourge of Scorpions albums, becoming too numerous especially on 1996’s Pure Instinct. This time there is only one, and it’s a classy one left for the end. “When You Know (Where You Come From)” is a thoughtful song, but it is the rare Scorpions ballad that stands as strong as the classics. It has a late 70s, early 80s construction and an absolutely epic guitar solo section.
11 songs with no instrumentals, interludes or fillers already makes for a hearty album. Scorpions had enough material written to make it a double, and so there’s a bonus CD with six bonus tracks. Seven in Japan, including their exclusive bonus track “Out Go the Lights”, an Accept-like heavy metal warehouse stomp. While “Out Go the Lights” is clearly bonus track material, the other six songs are not. Some of them are among the heaviest songs.
“Shoot For Your Heart” is album-worthy, with a cool unique lick in the riff that leaves you crying for more. This is a high-speed driving tune, the Scorpions bread and butter. “When Tomorrow Comes” has spoken word choruses with a forceful heavy metal riff and more “ahh, ahh, ahhs” than you can shake a scorpion’s stinger at. Good banger, but perhaps a bit too different for the proper album? It would not have weakened the record, but could possibly alienate listeners with weaker stomachs. “Unleash the Beast” is another bangin’ track, and check out Paweł’s deft bassline. “Unleash the Beast” doesn’t have the same kind of melodic might that most of the album has, but its strengths lie elsewhere, such as the creative guitars or Klaus’ talk-sing stylings. The vibe changes on “Crossing Borders”, a laid back rocker with charm and hooks. The guitars have a sleazy rock vibe and the lyrics follow suit. The final bonus track is an acoustic version of the closing ballad “When You Know (Where You Come From)”. The acoustic guitar solo perfectly augments Klaus’ flawless vocals. It’s a lovely coda and an appropriate way to end the extended version of Scorpions’ best album in decades.
Even with the wealth of of material on the deluxe edition of Rock Believer, missing is the ballad “Sign of Hope“, their 2020 standalone download-only lockdown single. Hopefully we’ll get a physical release of that eventually, though with the world now emerging it seems less relevant.
Though there are a couple songs that strive to be as good as the others, there’s nothing here worthy of the skip button. Even with the bonus tracks, Rock Believer is a solid listen from front to back. You cannot go wrong with either version, so just get one. Lockdown sucked and it was good to know Scorpions were using the time to create new music. Let’s support them in their efforts and celebrate their success.
5/5 stars
Part Sixteen of the Def Leppard Review Series
DEF LEPPARD – Visualize (1993, 2001 Mercury DVD)
Perhaps a tad prematurely, immediately after Adrenalize had given all it had in terms of singles, Def Leppard released the spiritual sequel to 1989’s home video Historia. That thorough collection of videos was composed of music from four albums, while Visualize only covered one (and a bit). As such, this time they added interviews and interesting TV clips to fill out the run time.
Since Historia closed on “Love Bites”, it’s only fitting that Visualize opens with the next video, “Rocket”. As far as cool 80s videos go, “Rocket” was a success. It was even an educational slideshow of all Def Leppard’s musical heroes! It’s also very very 80s, with lots of TV sets hanging about.
Then Visualize takes a different track. The next big event in the lives of Def Leppard was a sad one: the passing of Steve Clark. He is commemorated with TV clips, interviews and an excellent all-Steve video for “Switch 625”. Joe Elliott laments that all Steve had in his life was a guitar and a bottle, but at least he left something worthwhile behind — the music.
Interview tracks are interspersed between music videos. Rick Allen discusses his drum kit and how he uses his left leg to do what he used to with his arm. Then there’s a surprising video of a live Ben E. King TV performance, featuring his new backing band, Def Leppard. “Stand By Me” is not the complete clip but enough to show you that Leppard could do it! Rick Savage plays a strange 80s synth bass guitar, and Steve Clark was still with them. Another partial clip, “Jean Genie” with Joe, Ronnie Wood and the Hothouse Flowers, is cool but just a snippet. Same with an acoustic version of “Ziggy Stardust”. Shame they couldn’t use the full tracks. The origin of the track “From the Inside” is discussed with a short clip as well.
“Let’s Get Rocked” is opened by an amusing interview with Sav about filming in front of a blue screen. Indeed, “Let’s Get Rocked” was a pioneering video, if terribly dated. It’s also their only video as a four-piece band without Steve. The next interviews address this — the hiring of Vivian Campbell. His big debut was the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in early 1992. His music video debut with the band was on the mediocre “Make Love Like A Man”. Its gimmick was a big screen behind the band; pretty standard stuff. The rarely seen “I Wanna Touch U” follows, with Leppard once again live in the round! The fake crowd screams are distracting but the video is cool, if not triumphant.
The big ballad “Have You Ever Wanted Someone So Bad” has a gothic look, but oh so 90s in style. The picture-in-picture (some colour, some black and white) look was overdone. A small batch of interviews from the period are followed by “Tonight”, an excellent understated ballad. The conceptual side of these videos was getting progressively foggy, but when they’re on the screen in start black and white, the band look cool. “Heaven Is” was another rarely seen clip, and perhaps it’s better that way. As always, the band stuff looks great but the conceptual shots are just bizarre. Ditto “Stand Up (Kick Love Into Motion)”. Dunno what’s up with the naked people or Cliff Burnstein playing baseball with a window. A true shame, as this semi-ballad is a Def Leppard masterpiece of a song, simply top drawer. It deserved better. When the video came out, I was so disappointed. “What have they done?” We deserved better.
“Two Steps Behind”, “Love Bites” and “Photograph” are live, from a hometown gig in Sheffield. More of the show would be made available on a 1995 home video release called Video Archive.
Finally, the future: Joe says there’s a long long way to go, not realizing he just wrote a future Def Leppard hit song title! Collectively, they were excited to write together. Rick Savage says it’s “Phase 2”, and Joe Elliott employs another Star Trek analogy about exploring. There was plenty of creative energy in the band and it’s obvious. But don’t hit “eject”! Stay tuned for the post-credit scene! An important message from Joe.
Visualize was one of those sequels that just came too soon. Interview material is valuable and desirable, but Historia played more like a visual album. It was a better entertainment experience. Visualize is choppier. It wouldn’t matter so much if all the songs were complete, but the TV performances are just teases of complete tracks. Unfortunate.
3/5 stars
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17. Vault / Limited Edition Live CD
Creating your own “Worst Of Kiss” album is a fun concept. I could certainly come up with some variations on that theme! In this Contrarians episode, Marco and Bret each picked five songs for their Lazy Nights: The Worst of Kiss compilation. Marco did one side, Bret the other. And Bret is right that you could pick all Gene songs! But that wouldn’t make for a real Kiss compilation.
Marco and I have some disagreements here. I’m more in tune with Bret. See what you think!
Thanks to Tim Durling for having me on his show once again for this Helix special. It was a history lesson for the viewer and a Show & Tell session for us! See our rarest, most cherished Helix items and give us an R while you’re at it, won’t you?
I did make one mistake I need to correct: It was not Rick Trembley who played at the 30th anniversary concert, but the late Ron Watson.
This is one of the best shows I’ve ever been involved with. Worth watching the whole thing.
A huge thank you to my co-host Harrison the Mad Metal Man, and my guests Tim Durling, Brian Richards, and Uncle Meat! Being awash in the love and admiration of my friends is a really special thing, and I thank you for making my 10 Year Anniversary show perfect. I was worried tonight’s show would be a little narcissistic. Perhaps it is, but it did my soul a lot of good. I feel energised to keep writing.
Highlights of tonight:
Thanks to my guests, my co-host and my friends who made this all the wonderful experience that it has been. I appreciate you all.
The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike & Friends
Episode 101 – 10 Years of Record Store Tales & mikeladano.com
It’s my party and I’ll throw it if I want to! 10 years is a good enough excuse, right?
Join me tonight for lists, guests and tunes. Tim Durling, Harrison Kopp and longtime reader Brian Richards are on deck. If you wanna join the party, drop us a line!
There will also be a big secret revealed for the first time tonight!
Friday March 11, 7:00 PM E.S.T. on YouTube, Facebook and also Facebook!
UNSPOOLED: An Adventure in 8-Tracks by Tim Durling (2022)
Every collector is different. We cannot be painted with a single brush. I, for example, collect music formats that I have the equipment to play. I don’t own any reel-to-reel and only a couple 8-track tapes for that reason. Tim Durling on the other hand doesn’t care. He loves 8-tracks even though he has no way to play them, nor does he really have any interest in getting into the players. Restoration of the players and tapes themselves is a expensive hobby that many do enjoy, but Tim is all about the collecting.
A single Journey tape sitting in a desk drawer was the modest beginning, years before Tim really dove into it. His passion for collecting the bands he loves is at the heart of Unspooled, Tim’s first book and a great resource for 8-track tapes. If the praise that Martin Popoff throws down in the forward isn’t enough to convince you, then I give up!
Unspooled is a visual feast. Every page pops with vivid print, and many are loaded with photos of tapes that you never knew existed on 8-track. Tim was fascinated early on to learn that record clubs such as Columbia House sold 8-track tapes through the mail, long after they were available in stores. These “RCO” tapes can be very difficult, but rewarding to find, especially when you have a love affair with collecting. See for yourself, how pretty the 8-tracks look when photographed next to their cassette, CD and LP counterparts. How many albums do you own in four formats?
Tim includes lists of known RCO tapes from 1981 to 1988. Wait…1988? Yes, somebody in 1988 was still ordering 8-track tapes from record clubs! Astounding. And Tim’s got the proof. He also has pictures from his childhood (sweet GI Joe’s, dude!) and of obscure tech like the infamous 8-track to cassette car adapter. Chapters are named after related songs, but there are plenty of surprises along the way. I’ve never seen a Bruce Springsteen box set on 8-track before.
Interviews and stories from friends and experts help colour in the picture a bit. Information you wouldn’t just find yourself. For example, what is a “coffee can tape”? 8-tracks were notorious for unspooling and being difficult to fix. Often customers would carry the mass of unspooled tape in a coffee can to be repaired. And here’s something else I didn’t know, but should have expected. Counterfeit tapes are a problem now in the collector’s market. Some of these tapes go for serious coin today. Stuff that you used to find at a garage sale for 10 cents, or worse, in the garbage. Contributions comes from characters such as Marco D’Auria the Contrarian, Ryan Murphy from RushFans, and yours truly, LeBrain.
Yes, that means I am biased, but I don’t think my review would be any different otherwise. Take Martin Popoff’s word for it. Limited copies of Unspooled are still available. Contact Tim’s Vinyl Confessions to order yours.
5/5 stars
RECORD STORE TALES #976: Thank You! Happy 10 Years, Record Store Tales!
I don’t want to rehash the story again. I just want to say thanks!
Thanks to my buddy Aaron, who I first met in 1996 at the Record Store I managed. When I first started writing Record Store Tales, I sent him the earliest chapters to proof-read. (This is back when I was calling the whole story “Rock, Rock, ‘Til You Drop” and I was going by the pen-name of…dear God…I was going by the pen-name of “Johnny Cock”.) Aaron encouraged me to keep going.
Then my sister, Dr. Kathryn, twisted my arm to start posting the stories instead of just talking about it.
Finally former radio dude Craig Fee, wherever he is today, gave me the last push I needed to get going on WordPress. He sent me a link and an email saying, more or less, “just do it”. So I clicked the link, and began posting. It’s really that simple. I clicked a link, cut and pasted the first chapter, and hit “publish”.
On March 9, 2012, the newly re-dubbed Record Store Tales Part 1: Run to the Hills quietly premiered right here on WordPress.
I had almost no audience except Craig and Aaron. Not even HMO, our Heavy Metal Overlord, was reading yet. That is, until May 7 2012. Everything changed at that point and suddenly, the hits went crazy! If not for May 7, I probably would have lost interest years ago. If there’s one way to commit me to a project…it’s to tell me to quit.
So: Thank you to all of the above, and to all of you, new or old! I hope you enjoy what we’ve done here and where we’re going in the future. If not…too bad!
Rock, Rock, ‘Til You Drop indeed!
This Friday, we will be celebrating 10 years of Record Store Tales, and mikeladano.com, on the LeBrain Train. Please join me! If you would like to appear as a special guest, let me know in the comments.
RECORD STORE TALES #975: The Artwork of Sarge
As I’ve learned more about my friend Sarge since his passing, I’ve discovered something that comes up over and over again. Sarge just wanted people to be happy. He didn’t have to agree with them. Whatever made them happy, made him happy. He encouraged people to be individuals and find joy in their own skin. I guess that’s one reason why he was such a great body piercer. He was also an artist, as some of these pictures I’ve rediscovered prove.
During the period I knew him, I had a couple different online handles. One was “Purpendicular” or just “Purp”, and I don’t need to explain to you where that came from. After a brief hiatus I used Dewey Finn, a reference to Jack Black’s character in School of Rock, before reverting back to Purp. Sarge made all sorts of art in that period for me, without me asking at all. There were the infamous “Purp Ate My Balls” shirts. There was also the artwork he made below.
My face on a Wheaties box, and why not? The other day someone asked me if I’d ever wanted my face on a Wheaties box, and I said with a wink, “Already been there, man!”
And below, my face on a British tabloid. And again why not?
With Sarge gone I’m so happy to be able to resurrect these bits of art that he did just for a laugh. His laughs, and mine too.
Rest in peace my friend.
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