RECORD STORE TALES Part 158: Shrink Wrap (A Video Tutorial)
One of the most comment questions we had at the Beat Goes On when selling new CDs in shrink wrap: “Can you open this for me?”
Author: mikeladano
REVIEW: Iron Maiden – The Final Frontier (2010)
Part 43 of my series of Iron Maiden reviews!
IRON MAIDEN – The Final Frontier (2010, EMI)
Iron Maiden had a hell of an album to live up to when they recorded The Final Frontier. 2006’s A Matter of Life and Death was a total triumph, a complex driving metal masterpiece. Witness: Not one but two 5/5 star reviews here on LeBrain’s Blog alone.
The Final Frontier begins daringly, with an incredible piece of music unlike anything Maiden have ever attempted before. The rhythmic intro “Satellite 15…” begins sounding like an improvised piece, but knowing Steve Harris and Adrian Smith who wrote it, it was anything but. It has a looseness that sounds like improvisation, but then Nicko’s persistent drum patterns ground it. Bruce’s plaintive vocals speak of “drifting way off course now” and trying to contact Earth, without success. The piece is loaded with tension, which is released only as it breaks into the first actual song, “The Final Frontier”.
Continuing the lyrical theme, Steve writes of drifting through space, alone, unable to bid his family farewell. Musically this is anthemic Maiden as Steve and Adrian have been known to write before, with a catchy riff and chorus. Some of the guitar work is reminiscent of 1986’s Somewhere In Time. I find it daring to team such a catchy metal tune with an abstract intro like “Satellite 15…”
Without letting up for a second, the lead single “El Dorado” gallops through the speakers. And yes, it’s an actual vintage Maiden galloping start! Written by the triumvirate of Steve, Adrian, and Bruce (who have written so many classics in the past), “El Dorado” careens through multiple sections all tied together by the effortless playing of the band. Adrian’s catchy yet exotic solo is a highlight. It’s not an obvious single at almost 7 minutes long, but this length is necessary to contain all the different riffs and sections. None of them are extraneous; every bit of this song is as good as the last, although it sounds like Bruce is reaching for notes too high on the chorus.
The heaviness lets up briefly for the start of “Mother of Mercy”, a brief but epic sounding track that could have fit happily on the Brave New World CD. Yet it’s even more riff laden than anything on that album, continuing The Final Frontier‘s tendency to cram awesome guitar after awesome guitar into one song. It’s a mere five minutes long, written again by Steve and Adrian, with another catchy chorus delivered with power by Bruce. A song like this proves that Maiden can be brief yet still cram all of their power and talent into a catchy five minute number. The lyrics question the deadly combination of war and religion.
How much more epic can you get? None more epic than the chorus of “Coming Home”. A Smith/Dickinson/Harris epic, the lyrics reflect Bruce’s love of aviation within one of the best choruses they’ve ever written. By any other band this might be considered a “power ballad”, but at no point in its six minute length do I really consider it as such. This is surely one of the best songs on The Final Frontier. There’s even a bluesy guitar solo (probably Davey) to fit the melancholy mood of the song.
“The Alchemist” is the shortest song on the album, but the first that is a traditional fast Maiden scorcher. It has a solid Janick Gers riff (who co-wrote it with Bruce and Steve) and Bruce spits out the quick verses. Janick’s solo is his typical manic style, but as a song, this is the weakest on the album thus far. It’s not as memorable or impactful as the four previous, but a fast one is required to balance out the more progressive material elsewhere.
And speaking of more progressive material, “Isle of Avalon”, written by Steve and Adrian, takes us back into that territory. Nine minutes long, it is very different lyrically from anything Steve’s done before: Celtic legends and mythology and all that. And of course, it has multiple riffs, time changes and melodies to keep the listening entranced through the whole length. It’s an effortless listen despite its complexity, simply because it’s loaded with great guitar parts.
One of my favourite tunes is next: “Starblind”. It’s another Bruce/Steve/Adrian masterpiece, and not too brief at almost eight minutes long. It starts slow, but the main riff kicks in at 50 seconds. Be prepared to be pummeled! Bruce delivers an epic chorus, while the lyrics seem to be another condemnation of corrupt religious figures (a traditional Maiden topic). Nicko’s drum patterns are anything but simple; this is one more progressive Maiden masterpiece.
The heaviness of “Starblind” is replaced by the acoustic intro of “The Talisman”. Yet another eight minute epic track, “The Talisman” was written by Steve and Janick. 2 1/2 minutes in, you’re assaulted with the next in what seems like an endless stream of incredible Maiden riffs. Bruce wails away of a treacherous ocean journey. Steve has written some of his catchiest melodies yet, with plenty of twists and turns. Yet another classic.
“The Man Who Would Be King” also starts slow, before moving into a classic sounding Maiden guitar harmony riff. This one was written by Steve and Dave Murray. Again, it’s not brief: Over eight minutes of riffs, melodies and changes. Lyrically, it doesn’t seem to have any great connection to the book or movie, The Man Who Would Be King. Musically, it’s another complex amalgam of amazing parts acting as a whole. Songs like these, there is no way to fully appreciate them after just one listen. Even now I’m finding new appreciation for “The Man Who Would Be King”. It has some sections that sound more “vintage” Maiden than anything else on The Final Frontier, but they’re over in a blink and onto the next section! This is a hell of a song to digest, must like the rest of the album.
Finally, the end of your journey into The Final Frontier: the epic track “When The Wild Wind Blows”. This is my personal favourite song, ten minutes of non-stop drama. This is the Harris album epic; the song that lives up to the legacy set by previous epics such as “Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner”. Lyrically, it’s an end-0f-the-world scenario, as they huddle in their bunkers waiting for apocalypse from the sky. When the world doesn’t end, they are found dead anyway, having consumed poison. Once again, the song has many different sections, each one more powerful than the last, all wrapped in those trademark Maiden guitar melodies.
There is no denying that The Final Frontier is a challenging listen. It is also a rewarding listen, a complete journey with a start, middle and ending. Very few bands can manage an album like this fully 30 years into their recording careers. Maiden have managed to do so, and not only that, but with their strongest lineup intact strong as ever. With the production talents of Kevin Shirley, the band managed a crisp sound that strikes a balance between polished and live.
Melvyn Grant has returned to do the cover; easily his best cover with Iron Maiden. An alien Eddie searches a derelict alien vessel for some kind of key. I don’t get it, but I don’t care. I’m a sucker for the alien motif. Two of my favourite things combined at long last — Iron Maiden, and aliens!
For the first time ever, there are no B-sides to discuss. There was only one single, which was “El Dorado”. Dan Slessor from Kerrang! magazine sent me a promotional copy of the single, a really nice collectible in a 7″ sleeve (with even printed “wear marks” to make it look like a vinyl single is inside)! It can be seen below for your enjoyment. Disappointingly though, it is merely a CD-R, not an actual factory pressed CD. I guess the old days have finally passed. Why send out an expensive promo single when everybody else is simply sending electronic files?
Lastly, there was a deluxe “Mission Edition” of this album made available with interview footage conducted by Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen; unfortunately this content was not compatible in Canada so I never bought it. My copy did come with a cool Final Frontier sticker though.
5/5 stars
promo “El Dorado” single
inside the single
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REVIEW: Jethro Tull – Too Old to Rock ‘n’ Roll: Too Young to Die! (remastered)
Next in line of my reviews from Record Store Excursion 2012! Check out the video below if you missed it. This one bought at HMV Yonge, as sort of a consolation prize, since they no longer sell Japanese imports (for shame!). Bought at 2 for $25.
MIKE AND AARON GO TO TORONTO
JETHRO TULL – Too Old to Rock ‘n’ Roll: Too Young to Die! (1976, 2002 remaster)
I’m far from a Tull expert; more a layman. I know what I like though, I like the complexity of Tull, I love Martin Barre’s guitar, and Ian Anderson’s virtuoso flute. I’ve always liked the title track from this album, “Too Old to Rock ‘n’ Roll: Too Young to Die”, so it made sense to get the album proper.
It’s another concept album by the Tull, but I’m not too clear on the story details. It seems to be about an aging rock star, which is funny considering that when Ian wrote it, he was a young man by comparison! The concept album lends itself to recurring musical motifs, such as the melody from the title track popping up on “Quizz Kid”.
Like many Tull albums from the mid-70’s, there’s plenty of acoustics to go around accompanied by lovely flute passages and complex drum patterns. There’s also some horns and orchestration courtesy of David Palmer (not yet a full member of the band).
Personal highlights:
- “Salamander”, a folksy number with intricate acoustics.
- The harmonica riffing of “Taxi Grab”, reminiscent of an earlier bluesier Jethro Tull. The guitar soloing (both electric and acoustic) is also divine.
- “Big Dipper”, a playful yet complex number with plenty of flute and a fun chorus.
- The masterpiece title track (obviously), lush with ochestration.
- “Pied Piper”, one of the most obviously catchy songs on the whole album, albeit still complex with multiple parts and section.
- The final track of the album, a slow but dramatic grandiose number called “The Chequered Flag (Dead or Alive)”.
As usual, Ian provides liner notes, and dedicates the album to late bassist John Glascock, who died way too young of a heart defect.
There are two bonus tracks included, fully realized songs called “A Small Cigar” and “Strip Cartoon”.
4/5 stars
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2012’s rockin’ stats, for your amusement!
In 2012, I posted 493 articles. I did 157 chapters in a continuing series of Record Store Tales which has been extremely satisfying. The rest have been a series of reviews, and rants! Very popular was my series of Kiss reviews (53 of them!), when I covered every Kiss album in sequence. Currently, I’m finishing up my series of Iron Maiden reviews (42 so far in a series of 45), covering every album and rarity that I have access to. It’s been a blast!
Some personal statistical highlights:
1. Doing an interview with Brian Vollmer, of Helix (my 4th interview so far), which was a huge blast for me as a fan and writer.
2. The many Guest Shots (10 so far!) from contributors such as Tommy Morais, Statham, T-Rev, Mrs. LeBrain and Uncle Meat. It’s been a pleasure to read and publish your work, gentlepersons. Keep sending me stuff!
3. Record Store Excursion 2012, and the resulting video. I love making videos, and this was a blast. At last check, it’s had almost 200 hits (194 to be exact) including some of the people at the stores that we reported on!
Thanks to all the readers out there who’ve made 2012 so much fun here at LeBrain’s Blog. Let’s kick 2013 into overdrive.
My top ten posts of 2012, by hits:
Top five LeBrain-reading countries:
| Country | Views |
|---|---|
 Canada |
13,754 |
 United States |
6,242 |
 United Kingdom |
2,417 |
 Brazil |
739 |
 Finland |
629 |
Here’s a fun one: Top five Google searches that led people to LeBrain’s Blog!
| queensryche split | 82 |
| paul stanley voice | 76 |
| kiss revenge review | 71 |
| geoff tate is a douche | 68 |
| kiss hell or hallelujah | 66 |
LOL…Geoff Tate is a douche! That’s awesome!
Hope you didn’t party too hard last night. Let’s rock 2013 like there’s no tomorrow!
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Part 157: The Year in Review / Top 5
RECORD STORE TALES Part 157: The Year in Review
So here we are, the tail end of 2012. While I’m sure you’re just starting to get your drink on, we here at LeBrain’s Blog are tirelessly bringing you the rock even into the wee final hours. This is the time, traditionally, when we look at the past year!
We used to do Top Five of the Year lists at the record store, when we used to have our newsletter. Unfortunately I don’t have copies of any of those newsletters, not a one, which is a real shame since I poured my heart and soul into them as much as anybody else at the store. It would have been fun to look back 15 years and see what my top five of 1997 was. I do know for certain two albums that were on it: Accident of Birth by Bruce Dickinson, and The Colour and the Shape by Foo Fighters! The rest have been lost to the dusts of time.
Hey, if any of you guys are still speaking to me and have copies of the newsletter, lemme know eh? ;)
Back to the present for a moment:
What can I say about 2012? Before I even thought about doing my own blog, events were in motion that pushed me in that direction. My good buddy Craig Fee invited me down to 107.5 Dave FM for an entire week — Stump LeBrain Week! I spent a week on the air, with listeners trying to stump me. There were even a couple LeBrain Weeks and an entire month of LeBrainuary, where every single day’s 4 O’clock 4 Play quizzes were mined from my own brain’s knowledge. It was a blast, and left me hungry for more.
I’d always been writing Record Store Tales. The oldest ones were at least a decade old on my hard drive, but I had no idea what to do with them. I’d also been writing reviews — well over 800 of them on file before I launched — that very few people had seen. Craig said to me, “LeBrain, you need to get blogging this stuff. Write something every day. If you build it, they will come.”
So that’s what I did, and I thank you for reading.
Back to the Record Store Tales:
I published Part 1 on March 9 2012, the beginning of the story, called Run to the Hills. It was about the very first time I heard Iron Maiden, a date I’ll never forget. And thus LeBrain’s Blog and Record Store Tales were launched.
Some highlights from the early months that you may have missed if you’re fairly new here:
- Worst Mascot Ever — and it was! A picture is worth 1000 words…
- You Wanted The Best, the unfortunate tale of when the boys took me to my first Kiss concert.
- Klassic Kwotes Volume I, the first of a series of amusing and outrageous quotes heard in-store!
- Sausagefest — the official story of the greatest party a bunch of record store guys ever held.
- Credit Due, the controversial one (well, controversial to one person anyway), the time I took credit where credit was due for my own ideas.
So, if you have nothing better to do on this New Year’s Eve, there’s a good waste of time for ya.
And now that we’re done with the preamble…let’s get down to business.
LeBRAIN’S TOP FIVE OF 2012
5. TENACIOUS D – Rize of the Fenix
KG and JB cannot be stopped. This album is the “Deth Starr” of rock, The D aim “To Be The Best”! Read LeBrain’s review of Rize of the Fenix here, including all bonus tracks.
4. THE DARKNESS – Hot Cakes
I will never stop loving this band. Welcome back. Read LeBrain’s review of Hot Cakes here.
3. RUSH – Clockwork Angels
My favourite Rush album since Counterparts, at least. Read LeBrain’s review of Clockwork Angels here.
2. VAN HALEN – A Different Kind of Truth
I’d never been more worried that a band would fuck up their big comeback. Thankfully, Van Halen did not. Read LeBrain’s review of A Different Kind of Truth here.
And finally…
1. KISS – Monster
You know this was gonna happen. Aside from the fact that I’m the biggest Kiss fan around, it’s a fucking great record. Read LeBrain’s review of Monster here.
Runner up: Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson – TAAB2 Thick As A Brick 2.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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REVIEW: Iron Maiden – Flight 666 (2009 CD, DVD)
This is part 42 of my series of Iron Maiden reviews! And we still ain’t done!
IRON MAIDEN – Flight 666 (2009 CD, DVD)
In lieu of releasing a live album from the A Matter of Life and Death tour (where Maiden played all of the new album live front to back), they instead chose to document their Somewhere Back In Time tour with a movie, directed by Canada’s own Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn (Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey, Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage). A live soundtrack was released not long after the film.
My buddy Peter and I got our tickets and got in line to see the movie the one and only time it played in town. Turns out that Tom and Meat were there too. Of course they were — who would want to miss this?
The film itself documents Maiden’s massive undertaking of the tour — resurrecting the Powerslave stage and a lot of the old songs. More important than that, it chronicles the logistics of singer Bruce Dickinson doing all the piloting himself, aboard the private charter jet lovingly known as Ed Force One. 23 concerts, 5 continents, from Mumbai to Toronto. Nobody had ever done that before. Due to regulations about a pilot’s rest time between flights, this is something that will probably never happen again.
Regardless of historical nature of this tour, some people bitched and complained. Another Maiden live album?
Yes, another Maiden live album, and this one with classics available on Live After Death and elsewhere. It’s still relevant.
Ever since Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith returned to the band in 1999, I feel Maiden have never been stronger. The way the three guitars of Smith, Dave Murray, and Janick Gers have meshed is something to behold. I really enjoy listening to the three-guitar version of Maiden, and once again producer Kevin Shirley has provided a strong mix where you can hear every nuance of those three guitars. Not to mention Bruce’s vocals, Steve’s bass, and Nicko’s steppin’! In other words, this album sounds great.
As for the track listing itself, it sure is great hearing all 13 minutes of “Rime Of The Ancient Mariner” once again. I never thought Maiden would ever play “Moonchild” or “The Clairvoyant” again either. “Powerslave”, “Wasted Years”, “Heaven Can Wait”…so many classics! As Steve Harris notes in the liners, some of these songs may never be played live again, so it’s great to have this document. Some fans will wish there were more old tunes such as “Flight Of Icarus” or “Running Free” instead of more common songs like “Fear Of The Dark”. Another tour, perhaps?
Worth mentioning, each song is taken from a different live gig from the Somewhere Back In Time tour. There’s some fade-in and fade-out between songs. Don’t let that bother you though. The whole idea was to give fans the sense that, “Hey, I was there!”
When Flight 666 was released on DVD, it went to #1 in Canada and almost every other country it was released in. The DVD is a great package, mixed in 5.1 by Kevin Shirley, but also including a hell of a bonus feature. Just in case you wanted a straight Maiden live DVD without the songs being truncated by the documentary, it’s all here. Every song from the movie can be viewed complete, in sequence, on the bonus DVD.
It would have been nice to see a new Eddie painting on the cover…but if you look closely he’s still there.
5/5 stars (both CD and DVD)
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Part 156: Value
RECORD STORE TALES Part 156: Value
The art of buying and selling used music mainly hinges on two factors: condition, and re-sell value.
Condition can be subjective. Is it slightly scratched? Heavily scratched? Do those minor marks from wiping the CD count as scratches? Our upper management tried to give us consistent guidelines to follow on condition. The customers didn’t always agree, but we tried to be consistent – not an easy task when you have dozens of buyers!
Value, on the other hand, could get very subjective. For example, let’s say the year is 1996. You went out and bought yourself a brand-spankin’ new copy of Live Through This, by Hole. You paid $23.99 for it at your local store. You played it a couple of times and didn’t like it, and they won’t take it back without the receipt. So, you come to see me with a mint condition copy, only played twice. You’re hoping for good money. You paid $23.99, maybe you’d like to cut your losses and get $10 back?
Well, it never worked that way. We’d never pay that much for a single regularly priced CD for many reasons:
- If you paid $23.99 for Live Through This by Hole, you still paid way too much, even in 1996. You could have got it cheaper elsewhere.
- We have to make a profit on it too. Whatever we pay, we’d generally have to double it to make a profit, after the overhead of running a store are considered.
- What if we already had a couple copies, that have been sitting here for a month or two? Do I really need a third to sit there?
These are all factors that came into play.
The next thing the customer would often say was this:
“I’m not looking for my money back, just another CD. Can I just trade this to you, one for one?”
Well, again, no. There’s no profit in that either. I’m just swapping your disc for my disc and not making a dime on the transaction. Essentially, I’d be doing you a favour and that’s all. And chances are, you’d want to trade it for something better than Live Through This!
One time, while having this very same discussion, I explained to a customer why I couldn’t pay him $10 for his CD. “Because that’s what we sell it for, I wouldn’t be making any money on it.” He shrugged and said, “That’s your problem, not mine.” No, it’s your problem, since I won’t be paying you $10 for your disc.
Another reason that people expected more money for a disc was rarity. If something was considered rare, yes, we would generally pay more. But who decides if something is rare?
I remember a guy holding up a copy of Big Game by White Lion, saying, “This CD is worth over $50!” Well, maybe somebody was asking $50 for it somewhere, and maybe somebody was willing to pay that. So yes, to those two people, it’s worth $50. But if you look, you could definitely find it for under $10, guaranteed. Even in 1996. All you had to do is hunt a little. I did, and I got my copy for under $8. It’s a title that was not in demand.
Some things that WERE considered rare:
The Traveling Wilburys – Volume I. We asked $50 for that one. It was out of print for many years. Out of print Bob Dylan is worth a lot more than out of print White Lion!
Metallica – Garage Days Re-Revisited. Also out of print. We asked $50 for that one too, until it was reissued as a part of Garage Inc. Reissues would usually kill the value of an our of print disc.
Some things that were NOT considered rare:
A lot of old soundtracks. Soundtracks were a tricky thing. You might be the only person in town that gives a crap about the Operation Dumbo Drop soundtrack for example. Maybe it’s out of print, and maybe you collect soundtracks, but maybe I already have a copy priced at $5 that has been sitting there half a decade!
We tried to be as fair as possible, but it’s not always easy to see when I’m giving you $4 for a CD that you paid $24 for. You can’t please all the people all the time. Still, it was better than a garage sale!
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REVIEW: Foo Fighters – Live In Rio 2001
Next in line of my reviews from Record Store Excursion 2012! Check out the video below if you missed it. This one bought at Sonic Boom Music at Bloor and Bathurst.
MIKE AND AARON GO TO TORONTO
FOO FIGHTERS – Live In Rio 2001 (2012 IMC Music Ltd.)
This is sort of an oddball release, fully 11 years after the concert itself, on some weird label called Immortal. This is probably taken from the Rock In Rio 2001 broadcast. Bootlegs from that show are pretty common. I have a Guns N’ Roses bootleg from the same concerts. I believe they were on pay-per-view.
I’ve heard some people complain that Dave Grohl screams too much live, and he certainly does scream a lot in this show. If you’re not into it, I get it. It doesn’t bother me personally. His vocals are a bit shaky, as it sounds like he’s doing a lot of jumping around.
Sound quality is decent. I look at these as really well made bootlegs. Don’t expect anything that sounds like a flawless modern live album. It’s perfectly listenable though. You can hear all the instruments clearly enough (although bass is a bit muddy) and Dave’s vocal/screaming is up front and loud.
The setlist is jam packed full of early Foo classics. 13 songs, plus a little bit of “Happy Birthday” as the following day (Jan 14th 2001) was Dave’s birthday!
Amusingly, Dave dedicates “Monkey Wrench” to Guns N’ Roses who were playing the following day. Dave says he’s never really seen Guns N’ Roses before. Well, isn’t that Kurt’s fault, Dave? You could have opened for them on the 1992 tour with Metallica!
There’s one weird flaw with the CD. At the beginning at track 14, “Everlong” (not even listed on the CD), the wrong song begins. Instead, it’s “Stacked Actors” which is also track 6. This goes on for over two minutes, and finally it fades into a truncated “Everlong”. I have no explanation.
3/5 stars
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Part 155: Sarge
RECORD STORE TALES Part 155: Sarge
As I mentioned in an earlier chapter, I had once explored the world of piercings. It was a part of record store culture and I’ve since moved on, but I did make many friends in that world.
One of those friends was Lemon Kurri Klopek, who I also mentioned earlier. Lemon Kurri was the bass player for the Niagara Falls based punk band, The Legendary Klopeks. Through the magic of the internet, Lemon Kurri and I befriended a guy named Sarge, “the best piercer in all of southern England”. Sarge came to visit Canada on a couple of occasions, and in fact helped the Klopeks play their first overseas gigs.
Sometime in the 1990’s, Sarge opened his shop, Metal Fatigue, in Bournermouth. His reputation grew and he became quite successful. “I can’t move in my local rock nightclub for people the shop has pierced, the running joke is about the scrap value in titanium every Saturday night!” said Sarge.
On one of Sarge’s visits, I had the chance to witness his work up close and personal. And not just something standard like an ear or nose piercings, I had the chance to witness a really unusual one.
A local girl had seen Sarge’s clavicle piercing on the internet and was interested. It’s a very unusual piercing that involves going underneath the collarbone. Yes, underneath. There’s a piece of jewelry made of flexible plastic and two metal balls, and that’s how it’s done. Sarge was one of very few people who did it. This girl eventually emailed Sarge about getting one done, not realizing he lived across the ocean. However, Sarge was planning on coming and visiting his Klopek friends that summer. The Canadian could have her clavicle piercing after all.
It was quite a sight to watch. “The clavicle piercing (under the collar bone) is probably my ‘trophy’ piercing now, its really dangerous,” says Sarge. “If I hit anything untoward, someone may die. I have had loads of criticism from various piercers for even thinking about doing one. Saying that, I have now done 8 and they all love them so much! I have stopped doing them now, as we are into unknown territory, watching them heal, working around possible problems with them. So far everything has been hunky dory.”
I still have some pictures from that day. The gentlemen in the photos are Lemon Kurri and Sweet Pepper Klopek, the bassist and singer from the Legendary Klopeks. I have no idea why Sweet Pepper is all bruised in the face. With them was a Scottish chap named T-Bone who took photos. And of course Sarge and his client! And Sarge’s boots.
Sarge, T-Bone, some girl
Sweet Pepper, Lemon Kurri, Sarge & T-Bone
Lemon Kurri & Sweet Pepper
Lemon Kurri & Sweet Pepper
Sweet Pepper & Sarge
clavicle in action
clavicle complete
Sarge’s boots
To get us back onto the subject of music, Sarge tells a great story of some rock encounters in his travels across the pond.
“I met Jon Anderson from the band Yes when I was working at a hotel once! Had a beer with him after work, he was doing some book signing thing, I think I still have his autograph somewhere, he signed a copy of a (Yes cover artist) Rodger Dean art book for me!”
But my favourite story involved his meeting with one of rock’s most notorious frontmen.
The year was 1986. Sarge was out at the bar. Although he had no way of knowing, Philip Lynott from Thin Lizzy had died that day, and the bar was playing his music in tribute to the fallen rock hero. Sarge, however, was not a fan. When he openly criticized the music of Thin Lizzy with some choice words, a large man with “bad teeth, long black hair and a low gruff voice,” told the young Sarge to fuck off. This was Sarge’s first and last meeting with the infamous Lemmy Kilmister!
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REVIEW: Rush – Sector 2 (box set)
This one goes out to Rich from KamerTunesBlog, a great, informed site that you should check out.
I got the other two Sectors for Christmas, but this is an older review.
RUSH – Sector 2 (2011 box set, 5 CD + 1 DVD)
Damn you Rush. Damn you!
If it wasn’t for the fact that I liked their past 5.1 mixes so much, I wouldn’t have bought each of these albums again in this box set. And the fact that only one album (A Farewell To Kings) has been mixed in 5.1 really grinds my gears. Because you know more is coming. 2112, recently released as a part of Sector 1, in normal stereo, is now coming again in 5.1. It’s obvious Rush are going to continue to issue 5.1 mixes of their albums, in seemingly random order, which will probably make these box sets completely redundant in the future.
Rich Chycki did the 5.1 mix once again, and once again, it’s a pleasure to listen to. In particular I found “Cygnus X-1” to really benefit from the treatment. The swirly opening section made me feel as if I too was aboard the Rocinante, wheeling through the galaxies. The album sounds three dimensional, clear, shimmery. I’m very happy with the 5.1 mix.
Farewell is included on a standard stereo remastered CD, and also in stereo on the DVD. I have read online that there are flaws with the stereo mix of this DVD but I’ve never played it. I’m not that much of an audiophile that I would really care to, when I already have a CD.
The other CD’s included in the set, aside from A Farewell To Kings, are:
- Hemispheres
- Permanent Waves
- Moving Pictures
- Exit…Stage Left
…all of which I have now bought more than once. In Moving Pictures‘ case, three times now, since they just issued that as a deluxe edition with a 5.1 surround blu-ray last year! (Reviewed here.) Bastards.
I’m not going to review each individual album in this set. That comprehensive task would require separate blog entries of their own. They’re all great, of course. Some (Moving Pictures) more so than others (Hemispheres) in my own personal opinion. And of course, within this box set you will get such classics as “Closer To The Heart”, “The Trees”, “The Spirit of Radio”, “Freewill”, “YYZ”, “Limelight”, and “Vital Signs”. In addition there are plenty of brilliant album tracks like “La Villa Strangiato” and “Natural Science”.
The box itself is attractive enough, and if you’re sucked into buying all three, then they all fit together on your shelf as one handsome library. But you already own some of these albums, if not all, don’t you? The bait is that 5.1 mix of Farewell. And it pisses me off that Rush would treat their fans in that way. Why not just remaster and re-release these albums on their own and in a box set?
The individual album packaging is nice enough too, mini record sleeve reproductions, with a nice booklet with lyrics and liner notes for the whole shebang, all taken from the albums. As far as the booklet goes, there’s no exclusive essays or other content that is new to me.
And as for the new remastering? I can’t tell the difference between this and the 1997 remasters. I can’t. Sorry. I’m sure an audiophile would call me an idiot for saying so.
I probably won’t buy Sectors 1 and 3, not unless the prices drop dramatically. I was able to re-gift my original Rush remasters off to other people, which is one way of dealing with the duplicates, but I’m not going to be getting rid of my deluxe Moving Pictures, since it has the blu-ray and a David Fricke essay. So I’ve got two copies of that, and people who collect 5.1 mixes and have Sector 1 will end up with two copies of 2112. Nice eh?
A Farewell To Kings 5.1 mix: 5/5 stars
Sector 2 box set: 1/5 stars
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