Bafflingly, and for many many years, people believed that Toronto got album releases before anywhere else in Canada. As if albums were delivered by the Pony Express.
Levels of hoaxes so complex it’ll make your head spin. SuperShadow was a supposed Star Wars inside informant who leaked prequel plots and characters. He was a notoriously hated spreader of fake Star Wars news, but the layers of intrigue here go down to all the way to…me…who posed on MySpace as a “fake” SuperShadow, in hopes of smoking out the real one. Fake news of fake news!
Finally my favourite – Record Store Tales Part 285: Chinese Democracy
In an interview with Slash published in the March/April 1994 issue of M.E.A.T Magazine, the guitarist claimed the next Guns N’ Roses album would be out the following summer of 1995. Heh. Won’t get fooled again?
There are of course many “fake news” stories through the history of rock and roll. “Paul is dead.” “2 Pac is alive.” “There are two Nikki Sixx’s.” “Joey Tempest is a demon.” What are your favourites?
THE BLACK CROWES – Shake Your Money Maker (originally 1990, 1998 American remaster)
In 1990, just on the cusp of a musical revolution, a new band emerged from Georgia to challenge everything that was going on in rock and roll. The biggest rock bands in the world had been playing around with the blues, but now there was a new band who lived and breathed it. The Black Crowes were unlike all the other bands (except maybe the London Quireboys) and their debut album Shake Your Money Maker shook the money tree!
With George Drakoulias in the producer’s chair, the Crowes laid down one fine debut album. They drew influence from the 70s: Bands like the Stones and Skynyrd, as well as the old Mississippi Delta bluesmen. The slide-drenched “Twice As Hard” certainly didn’t sound like a new band in 1990, but its honest authenticity has kept in a fan favourite for decades. Listen to Rich Robinson’s slide and dig in. Vocalist Chris Robinson’s bluesy drawl delivers a hell of a chorus. “Twice As Hard” is perfect in every measure.
Rolling right into the first single “Jealous Again” the Crowes sound like the offspring of the Stones at their boogie-woogie best. During the summer of 1990, you simply could not escape these songs. Unlike many of their contemporaries they still stand tall.
The Stones had their “Angie”, the Crowes have their “Sister Luck”. Shake Your Money Maker is a well rounded album with a few piano based slow tracks. You want authenticity? That’s Chuck Leavell on keys (he’s been playing with the Rolling Stones for decades). Back to the rock, “Could I’ve Been So Blind” kicks it with a shot of caffeine and a great chorus. Thing go slow again on the organ based blues “Seeing Things”. The Crowes were just kids but it sounds like they have years and years of pain to pour into these songs. “Seeing Things” is a tour de force!
One of the most well known singles from Shake Your Money Maker was the old Otis Redding cover “Hard to Handle”. Bringing the boogie back, the Crowes had a huge hit with this cover. It must be noted that there are two different versions of this track. Radio stations were serviced with a very rare “horn mix” that brings in a brass section. (This extremely rare promo CD is catalogue number PRO-CD-4896.) The remix still gets occasional radio play. Unfortunately the album only has the original mix. (There were plenty of live and acoustic B-sides made for these singles too.)
“Thick N’ Thin” begins with a car crash, and this is one of the most energetic tracks in the Crowes catalog. Like the Faces on adrenaline, “Thick N’ Thin” is a blast. Fast paced rock and roll with boogie woogie piano gets the feet moving. One of the fastest songs gives way to the slowest one. “She Talks to Angels” is the only one that deserves the tag “ballad”. Acoustics guitars, organ, and Chris’ plaintive voice took it to #1 on the US album rock charts. It’s still just as stunning today.
Moving in for the close, “Struttin’ Blues” is relatively nondescript compared to some of the prior ass-kickers. They save most kick-ass for last: “Stare It Cold”. It starts as a standard Stones-y rocker, but then it picks up speed right to the end, brilliantly ending the debut album on a hell of a good impression.
The 1998 remaster contains two bonus tracks and a few anachronisms: music videos, a screen saver and “a link to the Crowes’ website!” With the benefit of hindsight, we would have preferred more bonus tracks, but in 1998 this was cutting edge stuff. The bonus cuts include “Don’t Wake Me”, a slide-drenched add-on. As a song it’s not the most memorable, but that slide guitar is priceless. The second is an “acoustic” version of “She Talks to Angels”. The emphasis is on piano, and it sounds live in the studio.
Huge credit must go not only to the Black Crowes but also to producer Drakoulias. His reputation speaks for itself but this album still sounds fantastic. It does not sound like it was recorded in 1990. The drums and all the other instruments are full and clear. The brothers Robinson wrote all the original tunes, and as it turned out they were a classic batch. Shake Your Money Maker is not original or innovative, but it is timeless.
Mrs. LeBrain and I enjoy a nice walk in the summer time. One of the roads we like also happens to be a hideout for teenage stoners. We once encountered a couple of them emerging from the trees. On this occasion we did not spot any stoners, only what they left behind…!
The return of Sunrise Records to Canada has been one of the most exciting stories of 2017 for fans of physical product. I rarely leave without new music under my arms. This time I went for the new Alice Cooper album Paranormal, deluxe edition CD of course. It was there front racked, $29.99. A bit pricey compared to Amazon, but I wanted to buy it so I went for it.
I always get good customer service at Sunrise, and I went to the counter to ask a question. The lady working looked it up — the Alice Cooper “Paranoiac Personality” single on 7″ vinyl. No luck, as it turns out Sunrise don’t get many 7″ singles that aren’t for Record Store Day. And that’s fine, but here’s where she went the extra mile. She was working on something else and said, “I’ll be right over here in this isle if you have any more questions.” Cool. I appreciated that.
I had no more questions as I came for a few specific things.
Something on vinyl that I didn’t already have on CD.
A fidget spinner.
Mrs. LeBrain bought me a fidget spinner for my birthday, but I didn’t know how many levels of quality there are in those things. That one is a light silver metal and doesn’t spin very long. Mrs. LeBrain’s is much heavier and spins much longer. I timed it once at 11 minutes! It so happens that Sunrise had a buy one/get one free sale on fidget spinners. So I bought the heavy one that Mrs. LeBrain owns, and a second metal one that looks like a ninja star!
Finally, some vinyl. There were plenty to tempt me, but I didn’t want some crappy reissue. I chose July Talk’s Touch. And it’s excellent! This band is impossible to describe. Lead singer/guitarist Peter Dreimanis has a whiskey soaked Tom Waits howl, but it’s his own twist. Leah Fay (lead vocals) contrasts Dreimanis, sometime delicate and sometimes loudly. There is nothing easy to pigeonhole on this album. They go from bluesy to punky to dancey. But always with a toe in another genre too. They get heavy and they get soft and every track is good.
Thanks Sunrise for another successful music run. It won’t be our last I assure you.
How rock and roll are shoes? Not very. But certainly some rock bands have had some exceptional footwear over the years. The wild, multi coloured cowboy boots of Poison, Cinderella, Bon Jovi, and the gang…remember those?
In a world where image matters, you needed a cool pair of shoes to complete the look. Glam rock bands went with cowboy boots, while thrashers and punks tended to go for skate shoes. But who has the best shoes in rock?
Robert Plant
Robert Plant? For reals? Yes, for reals! Robert is about the only rock star to make sandals cool. Sandals are about as un-rock as shoes can get. But if you’re Robert Plant, it matters not. A bare-chested long-haired blonde blues screamer in sandals is still rock and roll. The sheer un-rock-ness of sandals combined with Robert Plant makes them infinitely rock and roll.
Lady Gaga
You might not consider her very rock, but she did perform with Metallica. Her outrageous footwear hasn’t caused her any broken ankles…yet. Hiking in high heels? Why not. She’s done that. In a Gaga world, anything goes.
Elton John
Before there was Kiss, there was Elton John. People remember the outfits, wigs and glasses, but don’t forget the silver platform kicks!
I had my own pair of goth platform boots in the Record Store days. I remember I had them delivered right to the store, because I was never home to receive packages. When they arrived one of the bosses asked “Where do you think you’re going to wear those?!” Fuck you, that’s where! The boots were the centerpiece of my Paul Stanley costume.
At work, running shoes were the most comfortable. We were not allowed to sit, so you had to stand for your whole seven hour shift. The first time, it takes a little getting used to. After that you’re golden, but comfy kicks are the key. Lady Gaga could not work a shift at the Record Store.
When I was hit with a 12 hour shift, which was more frequent than you might imagine, I discovered that changing your shoes halfway through the shift helped. I’d bring a spare pair with me and change at the middle point of the day. It helped with the pain and felt like a fresh burst of energy.
Today I have a pair of heavy steel-toed boots at work and they’re great for the leg muscles. They are nice heavy shoes. Walk around in those all day and you will build some pretty awesome leg muscles. Not very rock and roll, but definitely heavy metal.
Fixing CDs is a delicate business. You need a steady hand, the right tools, and patience. A buffing wheel with the right textured attachment works, and you also need an abrasive to gradually smooth out the scratched plastic of a disc. We used to use a special wax but found that regular hand soap and water worked better. That’s all the abrasive you need.
In short: Yes! You can fix some scratched CDs. There are two factors that might make a CD impossible to fix, however: deep scratches, and top scratches. A deep scratch that you can feel with your fingernail probably won’t be fixed. It’s just too deep. A top scratch happens on the top layer of the CD and goes into the aluminum, destroying the data encoded in it. Pinholes weren’t usually a problem.
The best way to fix a surface scratched CD
I spent a lot of time talking to the guys we contracted out to fix our CDs. We used one Toronto-based company for a few years, until one of our guys cracked the secret of fixing discs. Once he had a method, he went into business fixing discs himself. This gentleman (now actually a Sausagefest attendee himself) shared a lot of interesting info about fixing discs.
One thing I learned was that if you had a bunch of scratches close to the outer edge of the disc, and you went too deep trying to buff them out, you could lose the ability to play the last songs on the CD. The information would still be on the disc in the aluminum layer, but your laser can’t read it due to the excessive buffing of the plastic. The plastic layer would be no longer perfectly flat, and your laser won’t read through it. When playing, it sounds like the music fades into static and then disappears. The end effect is that it sounds like the last few tracks have been erased. This happened rarely, but it could and did happen.
Customers could come to us to have their CDs fixed. We charged them a fee and their CD would be back in a week or two. One of my regulars named “Kitchener Rangers Al” had one of his discs fixed. Unfortunately it was buffed too deeply on the edge and he couldn’t play the last tracks. It didn’t skip anymore, but you couldn’t play it to the end either.
I remember when Al came in with his CD after it was buffed. He was helped by the supervisor that I refer to as the “Bully”. Other people used other words that are not as nice, but she could be very difficult to deal with. That went for staff and customers both. Unfortunately Al was treated like a liar when he came back with his CD.
“Bully” heard his story: He brought the CD in to be fixed, it no longer skips, but it also now won’t play to the end. He said “I think the last songs were erased. That’s what it sounds like.”
The “Bully” dismissed Al’s complaint. “It’s impossible to erase a CD,” she said. I heard all this and kept my mouth shut. I learned from experience that correcting her, especially in front of other people, was as dumb as kicking one’s own ass. I didn’t feel like dying that day. She sent Al home with his useless CD that he paid to fix, that we failed to fix. She didn’t even listen to it to test it. She just insisted, mockingly, that he was wrong and sent him away. Quite frankly, she treated the customer like he was either an idiot or a liar trying to scam us, and he didn’t deserve that. I thought to myself, “If she caught me talking to a customer that way, she’d really let me have it.”
I chose to stay out of it, because I learned from the past. This “Bully” was a vindictive bully and it would have been a no-win situation with her again. I didn’t want to spend another three weeks of her abuse, as was par for the course when she exploded on me. Roughly three weeks. I just minded my own business, even though I absolutely knew 110% that she was wrong.
Al wasn’t stupid, and he came back when “Bully” wasn’t in. Al had dealt with her before. He told me the story directly, and I explained to him how the end of a CD can come to be “erased” due to buffing. I refunded him the fixing fee, and he was happy. He said he’d come in and buy another copy if we saw one. Customer retained.
I’ve been criticized by other former employees for not speaking up. That’s fair and all I can say to them is, if you walked in my shoes all those years, let’s see how willing you’d be to jump into the lion’s den. I don’t know what it was about us, but she had an evil place in her soul reserved just for me. Other people had felt her sting before, but nobody I have asked ever experienced the brutal treatment I got. She’d explode on me periodically, year after year after year, right to the end, when I removed myself from the circle permanently.
No thanks to “Bully”, Al got his refund and kept coming back. He had been there since Day One, and I hope he still shops there today. As for me, nobody knows the role I played in keeping that customer. At least they didn’t until now! You can, technically “erase” the songs at the end of a CD, or at least make them unreadable. Not exactly the same as erasing, but the end result is a wrecked disc no matter how you look at it.
Did anyone in 2017 expect Styx to come out with one of the best albums of the year? Even though Styx have successfully carried on with Lawrence (But You Can Call Me Larry) Gowan on keys and vocals, nobody really predicted this! Yet here it is: The Mission, surely one of the best albums of the year so far,* and the best Styx in decades.
Here’s another unexpected twist: The Mission is a concept album about colonizing Mars! It has a coherent story and recurring hooks. In many ways The Mission sounds like a lost album from Styx’s progressive rock heyday. But you wouldn’t guess that if you only heard the Gowan-sung lead single “Gone Gone Gone”. Although it’s about a rocket launch, you might not catch that on first listen. The year is 2033. “Light it up, let’s get this show on the road!” This hard rocker came out of nowhere as one of the big surprises this summer.
“Hundred Million Miles From Home” (vocals by Tommy Shaw) has a funkier 70s groove.** When the band harmonizes together, it sounds like vintage Styx. “Hundred Million Miles” is a great song and also fairly accurate. Mars was 100 million miles away from Earth as recently as the 2012 opposition. Problems happen on “Trouble at the Big Show” (vocals by James “JY” Young), a slower groove with killer bluesy guitar work. This moves into the ballad “Locomotive”, about the brave pilot of the ship Khedive. Shaw pours passion into it, as he does the next one “Radio Silence”. Just as interesting as the actual music is the spacey backing sounds. It certainly adds atmosphere to an excellent vintage sounding song. “Radio Silence” recalls some of Shaw’s 70s hits like “Boat on a River” at times.
Gowan returns to the microphone on the lovely piano ballad “The Greater Good”. It sounds like quintessential Styx; hit quality material with soul. Things start to get upbeat again on “Time May Bend” (another Gowan vocal). If you’re not familiar with Lawrence Gowan, he is not a Dennis DeYoung clone, sounding closer to Steve Hogarth of Marillion. (He even looks a little like “H”.) Listen for a subtle musical “S.O.S.” signal in the backing track.
There are musical segues and radio voices between some tracks, but “Red Storm” is the next full song. It’s a very progressive song with all the trimmings. It’s based on Tommy Shaw’s excellent acoustic work, and it paints a picture. The crew of the Khedive must brave a dust storm on the surface of Mars. “Carry what you can, there’s no turning back, gonna make it to the mothership.” There are avante-garde flashes of guitar noise that emulates the squeals of a radio, or perhaps metal on metal. Then a rocking riff and solo…”Red Storm” has it all.
Gowan absolutely proves his mettle on the piano opus “Khedive”. The blur of piano recalls classical compositions, and the guitar solo is pure Queen. The minimal vocals continue the story: “Onwards! Onwards!” Then we revisit the sounds of the 80s on “The Outpost”, the triumphant conclusion to the story. The 80s synth and beats remind of the classic “Mr. Roboto” period of Styx, but it rocks solidly too. Listen for a reprise of the “Overture” music from the start for the album. Finally “Mission to Mars” is the denouement, a bright and lively end.
The Mission is brilliant for a number of reasons. First and foremost — great songs. You will play The Mission over and over, simply because it has great songs, as good as the days of old. Second, although Lawrence Gowan has his stamp all over the album, it sounds like Styx and nobody else. Having Gowan more involved is a good thing. He has a 40 year career in Canada, and he didn’t have enough time on the Cyclorama (2003) album. But this sounds way more like Styx than Cyclorama did. Finally, this album is loaded with incredible playing by all the members. This is easily the best lineup Styx have had since Kilroy Was Here (1983).*** Fans of the guitar (both electric and acoustic) will find many moments of musical ecstasy.
For Styx, this is mission accomplished!
5/5 stars
* One of the best album covers too. Is that a port hole, or a turntable? You decide.
** Bassist Chuck Panozzo plays the funky bass on “Hundred Million Miles From Home”, his only appearance. Chuck, the other original member besides JY, is only able to make sporadic appearances with Styx due to his battle with AIDS. Ricky Phillips plays the rest of the bass parts, meaning Styx have two official bassists!
*** Lawrence Gowan (piano/vocals), Tommy Shaw (guitar/vocals), James “JY” Young (guitar/vocals), Todd Sucherman (drums), Ricky Phillips & Chuck Panozzo (bass)
GETTING MORE TALE #581: Attention Walmart Shoppers
On June 10 2017, Mrs. LeBrain was at the Walmart at Fairview Mall looking for Transformers for her husband (me). She came home with an injury so bad she was immobile for the rest of the night.
She already has mobility issues due to numerous falls and fractures, but June 10 she aggravated her sciatica. Some idiot was there with two kids, but too busy texting to notice what was about to transpire. The baby was seated in a shopping cart, and a young boy had control of the cart. Mother was deep in texting. You can see it about to happen can’t you? Kid hits my wife in the leg with the cart, then does it again.
Jen says to the lady, “Would you mind watching your kids?”
The lady responded with the very typical, “Why don’t you mind your own business.”
“It is my business! Your kid hit me in the leg with your shopping cart, twice!”
There’s a baby in this shopping cart, remember!
The lady then said to the kid, “Stop that.” She didn’t offer an apology.
When Jen got home that’s when the nerve pain really kicked in. We managed the pain the best we could through a very sleepless night and went to the doctor (emergency appointment) the following day (a Sunday). All that because some kid wasn’t being minded by his distracted mother.
People, we’ve bitched about Walmart shoppers here before, but Walmart’s not to blame. It’s the idiot parents, and this is nothing new. Back in Record Store Tales Part 29, we recalled the dad who didn’t care about his kid that just demolished the country section. People, watch your kids. It’s not hard, and if you do such a poor job that your kids cause injury to someone else, maybe you should have got your shit together before having kids.
“I’ve been drunk from nine o’clock in the morning, ’til nine o’clock in the morning, because you’ve all been buying me drinks. You are sensational!” — Ian Gillan to the audience in Oslo
DEEP PURPLE – Nobody’s Perfect (originally 1988, 1999 Mercury 2 CD reissue)
Deep Purple are more than just a band, they are a legend. And as such we must judge them a little more stringently than the average band.
In 1988 Deep Purple were celebrating their 20th anniversary, but they were actually broken up for eight of those 20 years. And as it turns out, they celebrated their 20th by firing lead singer Ian Gillan! They also released this live album, which failed to excite the general public. Nobody’s Perfect is little more than a sub-Made in Japan.
It’s important to note, if you’re going to buy Nobody’s Perfect, there is no point in getting anything other than the 1999 2CD Mercury reissue. Originally, in order to get all the tracks, you had to buy the album on LP and cassette. The cassette had one exclusive track, “Dead or Alive”, a rarity from The House of Blue Light. The double LP had its own exclusive, “Bad Attitude”, another rarity from the same album. Meanwhile the single disc CD release was missing both these tracks and “Space Truckin'” as well. In other words, definitely do not buy the original single CD release which is the most incomplete of them all.
The big critique levelled at Nobody’s Perfect, then and now, is that the setlist was too safe and a repeat of stuff already released in live form. Ian Gillan himself was one who voiced that opinion. The cassette and LP bonus tracks go a long way to add value, since those songs were dropped after this tour. The only other place you can find live versions of “Bad Attitude” and “Dead or Alive” is the very expensive and out of print Bootleg Series 1984-2000. Otherwise, Nobody’s Perfect consists of all the same songs as Made in Japan minus “The Mule” and with a small handful of newer songs. The album is also sourced from many concerts around the world and completely lacks the flow that Made in Japan had (even though it was taken from three concerts itself).
The Deep Purple of 1987-1988 may have had the same members, but they still sounded very different from the Purple of 1972. Ian Gillan’s voice aged as all human voices do, and is the most notably different. Just as importantly though, Deep Purple had drastically cut down the soloing. That’s not a bad thing, but a lot of the shorter jams and solos sounded by rote in the 80s. One new highlight though is a bit of “Jesus Christ Superstar” in the middle of the “Strange Kind of Woman” solo section. Gillan was, of course, the original Jesus on the Jesus Christ Superstar album.
Whatever negatives may be applicable, when they rock they rock and when they roll they roll. “Dead Or Alive”, a new song, smokes the stage. “Child in Time” is probably the last decent version of the song released. “Perfect Strangers” and “Knocking at Your Back Door” were fresh and haven’t worn out their welcomes.
Finally there is a “Hush”, a re-recording of Deep Purple’s original 1968 single, captured live in a jam. This reimagining of the track has been dismissed as unnecessary but that is an unfair assessment. Ian Gillan and Roger Glover didn’t play on the original, so it’s actually cool to get a nice version with them. “Hush” in 1988 was a heavier track than “Hush” in 1968, but it’s still playful rock and roll.
As Purple approaches their 50th, Nobody’s Perfect has faded into the backdrop. As an official live album, it has its place in the discography. With so many superior official and semi-official live releases since, it is hardly an essential listen.
RITCHIE BLACKMORE’S RAINBOW – Stranger In Us All (originally 1995, 2017 Sony expanded edition)
Blackmore said “adios” to Deep Purple for the second and final time in 1993. He beat them to the punch with new music, in the form of a resurrected Rainbow…sort of. As he is prone to do, Blackmore assembled an all-new Rainbow of unknowns. The only familiar face was bassist Greg Smith who happened to be in Alice Cooper’s band when Wayne’s World was filmed. The new singer was the smooth-voiced Scot, Mr. Doogie White. White’s career almost broke in a completely different direction earlier, when he was one of two finalists in the running to replace Bruce Dickinson in Iron Maiden. It went to Blaze Bayley. Signifying new beginnings, Blackmore reverted the band’s name to Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow once again.
Back in 1995, my impressions of Stranger In Us All, the new album by Blackmore’s Rainbow, were significantly underwhelming. It has taken its time, but over the years the album slowly penetrated my stubborn refusal to accept it as legitimate. By now I think we know all Rainbow needs is the Man in Black. And there he stands on the front cover, pilgrim-hatted again, gloriously silhouetted against a cloudy sky.
The only serious weakness in Stranger In Us All has nothing to do with the lineup. The production (by Pat Regan and Blackmore) sounds low budget and the drums sound muddy. Blackmore’s guitar tone is thankfully impeccable and his neo-classical leanings on the first track “Wolf to the Moon” were refreshing. “Wolf to the Moon” is one song that has stood the test of time. It is thoroughly still enjoyable today, and Blackmore is unleashed. And the singer? It is true that Doogie White stands in the shadows of some great lead vocalists. I’ll resist ranking and comparing. White has a very smooth voice with impressive power and range, and he doesn’t sound like any of his predecessors. Where White really impresses is in live renditions. He is an entertaining and amicable frontman.
Track two brings a slower grind to Rainbow, and White slinks along with him, adapting perfectly to every vibe. Going slower still, “Hunting Humans (Insatiable)” really prowls. It is spare, dark and sweaty. Moving on to inspirational hard rock, Rainbow brings the harmonica-inflected “Stand and Fight”. What is not to like?
Rainbow ended the first side in typically epic fashion. “Ariel” was quite a track, featuring backing vocals from the lady who is now Ritchie’s wife, Mrs. Candice Night. She co-wrote a number of the album’s tracks including “Ariel”. This kind of thing is Ritchie’s bread and butter, he’s been writing epics like this since “Child in Time” back in 1970. As an added bonus, the extended edition of Stranger In Us All has the single edit of “Ariel”, trimming it to a tidy format-friendly 4:00. This is more like a re-edit, moving parts around and making it more compact.
They step on the gas again for “Too Late for Tears”. Side two has a couple “stock” rockers — “Too Late for Tears” and “Silence”. Good blood-pumping tracks, nothing to save for your greatest hits album, but decent enough. “Black Masquerade” is better, as it has a dark neo-classical edge. Thing go kind of goofy when they cover Grieg’s “Hall of the Mountain King” and add lyrics. They also have another go at the Yardbirds’ “Still I’m Sad”, this being the second time. The first Rainbow version was an instrumental. This one has vocals, and it’s pretty good. Just like with lead singers, I don’t think it’s worth comparing this version to the 1975 one. It’s unique enough that it’s almost two different things.
Back in 2013 I found the Japanese edition of Stranger In Us All at the 2013 Toronto Musical Collectibles Record & CD Sale for $15. Instant no-brain purchase right? Now that this expanded edition is out, I no longer need it in my ever-expanding collection. I am passing it on to massive Rainbow fan Brian over at Boppinsblog. Now that CDs are worth nothing, I like to pay it forward with my retired music. The expanded edition contains the Japanese bonus track, “Emotional Crime”. It has a cool, “smoove” groove and a bluesy feel. Think Purple’s 1988 remake of “Hush” in terms of vibe. The other extra tracks are the aforementioned “Ariel” edit, and a live take of the old Rainbow classic “Temple of the King”. This is and the “Ariel” edit are taken from the old out of print CD single. “Temple of the King” was recorded in Stockholm October 2 1995, meaning it is not the same as the one on the double live CD Black Masquerade. That was recorded exactly a week later in Germany. (Thanks to Scott the Heavy Metal Overlord for pointing this out.) It’s a brilliant arrangement giving Candice Night and Doogie White a chance to harmonize over a very quiet backdrop. The Man in Black whips out a solo that surely must be considered one of his most passionate.
That’s how this version of Rainbow succeeds — by a putting a fresh spin on it. You avoid trying to compare to other versions of the band and just enjoy. Ritchie reveals in the extensive liner notes that he wanted to call the band Rainbow Moon. And speaking of the liner notes, there are also recollections from Doogie White. In short this expanded edition is worth every penny, even if you’ve bought it before.
2. Chris Cornell
1. Gene Simmons
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