Author: mikeladano

Metal, hard rock, rock and roll! Record Store Tales & Reviews! Grab A Stack of Rock and more. Poking the bear since 2010.

REVIEW: John Williams – Boston Pops – Pops In Space (1980 cassette)

JOHN WILLIAMS – BOSTON POPS ORCHESTRA – Pops In Space (1980 Phillips)

January, 1980.  John Williams succeeds Arthur Fiedler as the conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra.  Fiedler passed in July of 1979.  Williams had received 14 Academy Awards nominations, 8 Grammies, and had conducted over 50 movie scores.  Later that year, Phillips released Williams’ first recording with the Pops:  a selection of his science fiction “greatest hits” so to speak.  The audible differences between these and the original cinematic recordings are minor, but there for the diehard fan to enjoy.  If not, the casual fan will be able to hear some of the best bits from Williams’ beloved scores to date.  The Empire Strikes Back was a new release, and three cuts were recorded for this release.

1978’s Superman: The Movie truly made us believe that a man could fly, kids and adults alike.  The Superman main theme is one of Williams’ greatest refrains in his long storied career.  Triumphant, strong, and bright, it glows with the power of our yellow sun.  You can envision Christopher Reeve (the greatest Superman) smiling and waving as he casually swooped across the silver screen.  Williams’ music embodied Superman, and the optimistic spirit that the film represented.  It bears similarities to other familiar themes, such as Indiana Jones, which was in production.  It is a Williams “trademark” theme if you will; instantly identifiable and unmistakable.  It has highs, lows and an incredible outro.  This is followed by Lois Lane’s love theme, which we liked even as impatient kids who hated romance in our superhero movies.  Some of Superman’s theme has a soft reprise here, but the piece is its own.

The brand new Empire Strikes Back is represented by three classic pieces:  the action packed “Asteroid Field”, Yoda’s jaunty theme, and of course, “The Imperial March”, already on its way to becoming a thumbprint anthem for scum and villainy.  There is not much to add here, because words are not sufficient to describe the sheer momentum of “The Asteroid Field”!  Or the joyful playfulness of “Yoda’s Theme”.  Or the symphonic metal majesty of “The Imperial March”, as we watch those monolithic, grey Star Destroyers cruising menacingly through space.

More Star Wars on side two, with the film Star Wars (not yet known as A New Hope – that happened in April 1981).  The two themes included are the main title theme, and Leia’s theme.  I noticed the most difference on the main title – the third note of the opening “bah bah bah…” part is held just a little longer.  As for Leia’s theme, it is softer of course, but the violin strain is so memorable.  So plaintive, yet beautiful.  It grows in power towards the lush end, which is magnificent.  Perfect for our princess in distress, though her reputation for kicking butt was starting to form!

The final piece included is a “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” suite, including the extended ending, added to the special edition.  This 10 minute suite is a rollercoaster, as we recall scenes of awe and wonder.  A bit of “When You Wish Upon A Star” plays, some piano tinkles, and we are swept away with Roy Neary on that starship, whether we wanted to see the inside or not.

As a “greatest hits” of Williams early science fiction music, Pops In Space is a treat to play.  A concise treat, representing a small slice of Williams’ work, yet that little slice has some of his most indelible music.

If anything, fans of physical media need to get this album on any format, just for the cool cover art.  The orchestra can be seen playing on a floating platform…in the vacuum of space!  Far out.

5/5 stars

REVIEW: Jeff Beck, Tim Bogert, Carmine Appice – Beck, Bogert & Appice (1973)

JEFF BECK, TIM BOGERT, CARMINE APPICE – Beck, Bogert & Appice (1973)

Supergroups often flicker in and out and existence.  Beck, Bogert and Appice recorded one self-titled studio album in 1973.  That album continues to be cited as an influence on bands, and you can hear it instantly.  One listen to Beck, Bogert & Appice and you can immediately hear the echoes of the bands that followed.  Beck, Bogert and Appice were touring before the even recorded the album, so they were already well prepared.  Jeff Beck came in with a song that Stevie Wonder worked up with him on Talking Book.  All three musicians write and sing lead vocals on the album.

“Black Cat Moan” is a Don Nix blues (who also co-produced the album).  It sure seems that Rose Tattoo must have ripped it off for “Rock and Roll Outlaw”!  It’s marked by a a sting of slide guitar, a wicked blues grind, and Jeff Beck’s understated lead vocals.  Carmine Appice plays it pretty straight, but this track just thuds!  Bass heavy and weighty like lead, “Black Cat Moan” was some of the heaviest blues on offer this side of Black Sabbath.  Stay tuned for some of the slidy-est slide guitar Beck ever recorded.

Appice sings lead on the the gut-busting groove of “Lady”, written with members of Atomic Rooster.  Bogert’s melodically thunderous bass takes center stage.  The production is so crisp, you can hear every finger pick, even flying at the speed they are.  Listen carefully for a quick part in the song that Rush lifted for “2112”. The layered lead vocals sounds like they were taking inspiration from Cream.  This track simply smashes everything in its way, letting the bass level the countryside before Beck plants some bluegrass with some twangy guitar licks.  Meanwhille, Appice keeps the engine running with a tasty cymbal pattern and earthquake drum fills.

The ballad “Oh To Love You” is also sung by Appice and features piano and Mellotron accompaniment.  It sounds like stuff David Coverdale was doing in his early pre-Whitesnake career a few years down the road.  Carmine has a really nice swing on the beat, but that Mellotron really takes it home when it comes in.

“Superstition” ends side one with Tim Bogert’s first lead vocal.  This version, worked up by Wonder with Jeff Beck, was supposed to come out first, but due to delays, “Superstition” was first heard in its Stevie Wonder incarnation.  Once again, a rolling groove dominates the soundscape, with Jeff Beck stabbing guitar licks here and there, drawing blood every time.  This arrangement is guitar heavy compared, with none of Stevie’s clavinet or keys of any kind.  Beck goes caveman midway, like a prototypical Ace Frehley, who must have been studying every note at home.  Then, Jeff Beck takes it high again, laying waste to the land as a guitar innovator like a rarified few before him.  Carmine’s drum outro was later ripped off by Kingdom Come on “Get It On”.

The Rolling Stones recorded “Wild Horses” in 1971, and here is Beck , Bogert and Appice opening “Sweet Sweet Surrender” with similar sound.  This, however is more a slow soul-rock lament.  Carmine sings lead on this side-opener, and Beck colours the blanks with distant guitar.  Tim Bogert takes things more upbeat the pop rocker “Why Should I Care”.  This is the kind of song that Kiss would strive to write over and over again in the early 1970s.

Things get funky in a heavy on the brilliant “Lose Myself With You”, the vocal melody of which sure sounds a lot like Judas Priest ripped it off for”Saints In Hell”.  This is funk of the heaviest order, a rare isotope of plutonium that you can only get with the fusion of these kinds of musicians.

Carmine sings lead for the remainder of the album.  “Livin’ Alone” has a vibe not unlike early ZZ Top.  Fast, blues based rock with melodic lead vocals.  The shuffle sure recalls a few famous bands that would be known for such things later on.  This is a potent, energized blast of rock.

Unusually, the album closes on a Curtis Mayfield soul classic:  “I’m So Proud”.  A slow dancer like this actually works well at this point of the album, because the listening is exhausted, quite frankly!

5/5 stars

 

 

Tim’s Vinyl Confessions Ep. 558: Canadian Top 100 Singles September 14, 1974 with Mike Ladano

This was a fun show to do.  Recorded at the cottage in the summer, Tim and I had a look at the Canadian Top 100 Singles chart, for September 14, 1974.  There were plenty of head-scratchers and a few well-known hits.  Tim provided the education, all I did was read the listings!  Even so, a majorly fun episode to do.  Here’s what Tim had to say:

 

Mr. Lebrain is back and we REWIND the CHARTS back an even half century. We discuss the most popular songs in Canada on this date in 1974.

That’s the “A” Section! Our CD Collections with John Clauser from My Music Corner

74 CDs of a Christian parody bands called the ApologetiX?  That’s just a taste of what you get when you go through the “A” section of Johnny Metal’s CD collection!

Thank you John for joining me for this blast of an episode.  In under an hour, we went through a few hundred CDs from the “A” section.  Lots of Christian rock from Johnny, as well as Anthrax, Armored Saint and obscure bands I’ve never heard of before!  Of course we had plenty of AC/DC between us.  My stack went from Lee Aaron to Autograph.

The Aerosmith section dominated the show, with plenty of CD singles (including 3″), Japanese imports, a DualDisc, EPs, a bootleg and lots of limited collector’s editions.  My AC/DC collection also included 3″ CDs, DualDiscs and bootlegs.  Johnny and I showed off our Australian AC/DC albums, but not the same ones!  We also saw Abba, Ryan Adams (with jokes from Pete Jones on the sidelines), some Jazz, and a few very rare coloured jewel cases.

Of note:  We were drinking tonight, but things did not get out of hand!

Thanks for watching everyone…it means the world to me.

The “A” Section – Our CD Collections with John Clauser from My Music Corner

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 70:  The “A” Section with Johnny Metal

Back to basics this week:  we are literally showing off stacks of rock!  With the CD collection being re-alphabetized, and with Johnny Clauser currently tackling the Accept albums on his music corner of the world, let’s dive into the “A” section!

CDs only this week.  Let’s have a look at complete collections of AC/DC, Aerosmith and more!  Lee Aaron, Accept, A.S.A.P., Alice In Chains…we’ll look at the whole section of my collection tonight.  John will be bringing in select items from his.

Join us live!

Friday September 13 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook!

REVIEW: The Best of ZZ Top (1977 cassette)

ZZ TOP – The Best of ZZ Top (1977 WEA cassette)

While ZZ Top were on a break between Tejas and Degüello, it made sense to issue the band’s first Best Of.  This album was released in 1977 and though it did not chart high, it did eventually go double platinum, selling over 2,000,000 copies in the United States alone.

The cassette and vinyl releases had the sides flipped.  This cassette copy in hand begins with “La Grange”, which is still a pretty solid opening even if the vinyl says otherwise!  “La Grange” is an ode to a house of ill repute somewhere in Texas, and it became the prototype blues/rock shuffle for a generation.  This song still burns up the radio today.

One of ZZ Top’s greatest blues had to be “Blue Jean Blues” from Fandango!  So slow, so fully soaked in whiskey and gasoline that you can smell it from here.  Billy Gibbons is fully in the driver’s seat here, but it is Frank Beard and Dusty Hill’s unobtrusive rhythm section that allows him to emote so well.

From the first album comes the dirty upbeat blues of “Backdoor Love Affair”.  It’s a combination of elements:  Billy’s distorted take on the blues guitar, mixed with Dusty’s melodic bass and Beard’s perfect punctuation.  By the end of the song, it’s a jam around a tasty riff.

The familiar “Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers” from Tres Hombres is an incendiary duet between between Billy and Dusty.  Pedal to the metal, ZZ are off on one of the best rockers from the entire catalogue.  This is the kind of song that endeared them to the headbangers.  Similarly, “Heard it on the X” hones in on the speedy aspect of ZZ Top’s abilities.  This is another duet with Dusty and Billy, and an ode to the Mexican radio stations that informed much of ZZ Top’s upbringing.

Flipping the tape, we are now hearing what is side one of vinyl.  “Tush” ain’t a bad way to start.  It’s the stuff of legend today.  It boasts one of Billy’s best guitar riffs, yet it’s still little more than a basic blues.  It’s just a winning combination:  the blues progressions played by a rocking band.  Billy’s leads are as much of legend as the song itself, stinging little zips of flavour in a bluesy soup of chords and drums.

“Waitin’ For the Bus” is a steady blues.  The speed has been shed for this heavy sludgy one, with Billy laying down not just a guitar solo but a harmonica solo too, one after the other like one greasy blues rock statement.  Then, just like on the Tres Hombres album, “Jesus Just Left Chicago” follows immediately after.  Still blues, but of a different flavour.  ZZ Top were always talented at showing us different sides of the genre, while mixing it with the sensibilities of rock guitar distortion.

“Francine” is a belter, a perfect pop rock tune, with more rock than pop.  Billy’s little riff is tasty as candy, and the song has the necessary melodic mettle.  Even so, it is overshadowed by the slide-drenched closer “Just Got Paid”.  One of ZZ’s heaviest tracks, it’s made completely digestible by Billy’s incredible guitar work.

If you just got paid today, pick up some ZZ Top.

Notably, this cassette pre-dates any of the ZZ Top remixing shenanigans that happened in the 80s, so purists will get only the original classic tracks.

4.5/5 stars

INTERVIEW: Eddie Jackson of Queensrÿche – Oct 30 2001 – Live Evolution exclusive phone chat [AUDIO]

I conducted this interview with Eddie Jackson of Queensryche in October of 2001.  My first interview ever.  Eddie gave me over an hour of his time, and told me afterwards it was a lot of fun!  The interview was later compressed into an article for Global Bass magazine.  I am re-posting it here with the audio now available on YouTube, as well as Soundcloud and a full text transcription (links below).

We recorded direct from the telephone to a cassette deck.  It was a great in-depth chat about the band at the time, lineup changes, and the Live Evolution CD that they were currently promoting.

Topics discussed:

  • The live album and the idea of “suites”
  • Putting together a setlist
  • Bass tones
  • Influences
  • Solo projects
  • Promised Land
  • Hear in the Now Frontier

…and much more.

Links

Audio

VIDEO: Mike Plays a Crappy Game of Pac-Man (Plug and Play)

I wanted to play a game of Ms. Pac-Man for this video, but it appears my Plug and Play did not survive the winter.  This is a real shame since it also had Pole Position and Dig Dug on it.  It will be difficult to replace, as it was a version that came with a cartridge slot.  Alas, replace it I must.  These used to be cheap, $20 to $25 at Toys R Us.

In this video, I played a regular version of Pac-Man.  I didn’t do too badly for being so out of practice, but you’ll see a couple spots where I got frustrated.

 

#1154: The Roar

RECORD STORE TALES #1154: The Roar

When summer turns to fall at the lake, there is a constant roar. It is always there. It is a mixture of a churning lake only meters away, dulled by the branches of the evergreens, but amplified by the wind. The wind is steady now, always pushing us towards fall.

When we arrived on Thursday night, the weather hadn’t turned foul yet.  It was still warm, and the wind was tame enough to fly.  I took the drone up for its first lake flight in a month.  We haven’t been here for a long time.  And now, it’s time to wind things down.  No more stocking up on food and games for the season.  Instead we are faced with a full freezer needing consumption, and a shelf of Uno variants that we just never got around to.

Models kits unbuilt.  ZZ Top’s Eliminator, and a gold C-3P0.  Never got to ’em this year.  And now there’s no time for it this year.  Next year, maybe.

We drove up to the sounds of Triumph Stages, a cottage classic.  It took us almost the whole way.  When here, we played ELP’s Brain Salad Surgery for research purposes.  Opinions were mixed.  More on that another time.

My usual routine involves setting up on the porch with my speakers and some music.  It’s getting darker sooner, and this was probably the last weekend of the year for that routine.

Now, there is only the sound of the roar.

REVIEW: LEGO Transformers Bumblebee 10338 (2024)

LEGO Bumblebee 10338 (2024)

The set that got me “back” into Lego was 2022’s 10302 Optimus Prime.  The fact they made a fully transformable Prime out of Lego bricks was unbelievable, and it was incredibly fun to built.  It took two years, but a second toy in the line has now emerged:  everyone’s favourite yellow Volkswagon, Bumblebee!

‘Bee featured heavily in the first two issues of the Marvel comics but soon faded in importance.  Meanwhile, in the Sunbow cartoon, he was a main character.  In both iterations, he was friend of a human boy named Witwicky:  Buster in the comics, Spike in the cartoon.  As a toy, Bumblebee was a “minicar”:  less detailed, smaller, and affordable.  He was a “penny racer” Volkswagon, small and compact, but could transform into a robot in two or three seconds, unlike bigger toys.

The Lego version of Bee has 950 pieces and costs $120.  Prime had 1508 pieces at double the price.  Bee is also far more complex in terms of construction and transformation.  Prime has always been a simple design:  fold out the legs and arms and that’s the most of it.  Bee has to fold up from a tall robot to a compact car.  There are a lot of steps and tricks to transforming Bee.  He has a lot of hinges and flaps that have to be moved out of the way.  Bee, however, has one weakness that Prime did not:  partsfotming.  Partsforming is a derogatory term for a transformation that involves removing segments and putting them back again in a different place.  On Bumblebee, that would be his windshield/backpack.  The first step of transformation is to remove the windshield segment, and fold it up.  It will eventually become Bee’s jetpack.

Building was fun without a lot of repetitive steps.  There are also some new parts in this set, parts that are new in particular colours, and lots of printed details including two Autobot logo tiles.  We start at the feet.  Once both feet are complete, we clip them together.  This becomes the front of the car.  From then on, we are essentially building Bumblebee in car mode.  In that sense, it’s not that different from building other large Lego kits.  As you build, you’re not entirely sure what is going to go where when he transforms, and that is part of the fun.  When you’re done, you have a really nice Volkswagon model with the curves more or less in the right places.  Leeway must be given for some gappiness in front and back, but it could pass for a Lego Volkswagon model in this mode.  Lego also gives you some extra pieces:  Two plain yellow tiles for those who want the Autobot logo hidden, and an alternate license plate.  The license plates allow you to name your car Goldbug or Bumblebee.  Goldbug was a name that Bee went by when a new toy of his was issued in 1987.  Bumblebee was the first Transformers character ever reissued with a brand-new toy.

Putting this toy together was finicky, since there are so many hinges that clip into place.  Getting to the head and seeing the printed face was a nice surprise.  Lego could have included an alternate toy-accurate face to go with the license plates, but that of course would add to the cost.  The windows are transparent blue, which looks so cool and matches up with some later toy versions of the character.  There is also a tiny transparent piece with a little cartoon bee printed on it.  That goes behind the windshield, as if a little bee was loose inside.

Bee also comes with a name plate, and a blue blaster gun, similar in design to his Sunbow character.  The original toy and comic versions of Bee were unarmed, but later toys include weapons, some similar to this blaster.  It clips onto a bar hidden on his hands.  You don’t need his fingers to hold it, but all eight fingers do move – something that Lego Optimus can’t do.  Lego have learned from that model, listened to fans, and the improvement is here in Bumblebee.

Bee has limited articulation in robot mode.  The knees and feet cannot move.  The hips can, and there is a little bit of an elbow hinge, with about 90 degrees of movement.  You can rotate the arms 360 degrees at the shoulder, and get a little bit of poseability there.  He can stand very sturdily in robot mode, with rubber pads on the bottoms of his feet keeping him from slipping too much.

Prime rated an easy 5/5.  Bee has more value in price per parts ratio, and has a more complex transformation, while still including plenty of printed pieces.  The only thing Bee has going against him is the partsforming, but that’s it.

4.5/5 stars