YES! Now this is what I’m talking about. Metallica haterz can leave the room now, because there is nothing here they will enjoy.
“Hardwired” is the first single from the forthcoming album Hardwired…To Self Destruct due in November. There’s plenty here for the fans to sink their teeth into. A very punk-like metal track, “Hardwired” is promising. Even Lars sounds on top of it. The drums are one of the hooks of the song. Jaymz drops an F-bomb for that street cred, but what matters most is that this is pure rock. Call it metal, call it thrash, whatever — doesn’t matter. What does matter is that Metallica are rocking the fuck out with a great, heavy and blazingly fast track. I love how Jaymz just spits out the words. “We’re so fucked — shit out of luck.” Metallica’s worldview is just as rosy as it was in 1984!
I don’t think anybody reasonably expects Metallica to turn back the clock, or discover some crazy new direction with this album. Fans will dig it, haterz won’t listen with an open mind, but where the single could succeed is bringing in young metal fans who might never have bought a Metallica album before. It sounds just as energetic as a new band.
The rock press went nuts for Bonham in ’89. Finally, after long wait, the son of legendary Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham finally made his move into the music world. Fans had seen him in The Song Remains the Same. Some knew that Jason Bonham jammed with Zeppelin in 1988 at Atlantic’s 40th anniversary bash. It was a much more successful reunion than 1985’s Live Aid.
The music world in 1989 was far removed from the days of Zeppelin. Pretty boys with big hair and flashy videos were the norm. Bands who could get up there and jam for 20 minutes or more on a single track were few. With much naiveté, the magazines drooled over Jason Bonham’s new band, simply and obviously called Bonham. The singer, a young Canadian named Daniel MacMaster, had the youthful curls and range of a young Robert Plant. The bassist, John Smithson, was a talented multi-instrumentalist just like John Paul Jones. The band had to be a quartet; there could be no other way. They tapped Bob Ezrin to produce, a guy who has never done anything that sounded like Led Zeppelin, but someone who was able to take young bands and push them ahead a few levels.
The resultant album The Disregard of Timekeeping attained a lot of attention, making many magazines’ year end lists. Best new group, best new album, etc. etc. And while it is an ambitious record for a debut, it does fall very short of those lofty marks.
Going for the bombastic, the CD opens with a two minute instrumental of keyboards, guitars, violins and the odd burst of drums. It makes little impact besides setting up the first single “Wait For You”. Conceptually, it sounds as if they collectively said, “Right, so let’s write a song that sounds like something that could have been on the next Zeppelin album after In Through the Out Door.” So it’s big, echoey and loaded with keyboards and effects. It does recall Zeppelin, particular the remarkable pipes of MacMaster. It has the necessary big chorus that you needed to have in 1989, and the two sides of rock that Bonham inhabited were melded together in fine fashion. “Wait For You” is a success, but Ezrin’s production in the late 80’s seemed hollow.
Is the Bonham DNA present? Yes, of course. It comes out most naturally via the drum parts, but a lot of the material sounds intentionally contrived. Still, there were a number of really good tracks on the album, enough to make it worth buying. Young Jason, sounding exactly like his dad, counts in the quality track “Guilty” with a “One, two, ha ha ha!” It sounds less like Led Zeppelin, and more like late-80’s Deep Purple. Which is fine of course; we’re talking about quality comparisons. Especially great though is John Smithson’s violin solo. I’m especially fond of the violin in rock music. I like out of the box thinking, and it’s this kind of experimentation that made Bonham more like Zeppelin in the long run. Smithson nails it with the perfect tone.
Another pretty decent tune is “Holding on Forever” which has a Zep funk, with a modern 80’s chorus. “Dreams” though is nearly tanked by a long intro, featuring a guy coming home, brushing his teeth, setting his alarm and going to bed. Yes, that is correct. You have to listen to a guy coming home, brushing his teeth, and going to bed. You gotta blame Bob Ezrin for that mistake. Who wants to buy a rock album and sit through a guy brushing his teeth…only to get a ballad out of it? At least “Dreams” is a decent, progressive sounding ballad, but in the CD/mp3 age, how many people are gonna hit “skip” before the actual song, while the guy hasn’t finished brushing his teeth?
Having unloaded their best songs on side one, the second side is a bit of a chore to complete. Songwriting was not the band’s strongest suit. The two best songs (“Wait For You” and “Guilty”) were co-written by Bob Ezrin, and I don’t think that’s insignificant. Other songs on the album, such as “Playing To Win”, “Cross Me and See”, and “Just Another Day”, are competent. What they lack is the magical ingredient that makes a song stay with you forever. Bonham embraced the past and present, modern production and old-fashioned playing, but that alone was not enough to forge a truly great album.
Finally the album left one of the most impressive songs for the end, “Room For Us All”, an ambitious track over seven minutes long. Soft and anthemic, “Room For Us All” has subtlety that is missing elsewhere on the album. It’s an impressive end…but too little, too late.
Skid Row had the songs, but most importantly, they had the frontman. Only once in a blue moon does a congenital entertainer like Sebastian Back happen upon the scene. Born in the U.S. but raised in Canada, Bach had it all: the looks, the youth, the charisma, and most importantly the voice. He was a bull-headed bastard in those days too, but that is often a part of the frontman package. Bach was a dynamo, always “on”, and with that voice on his side, people paid attention.
Without Bach, would Skid Row ever have made the impact they did? Not to that degree, no. Sure they had Jon Bon Jovi in their corner (and to take them out on tour) but without Bach, Skid Row would have been just another hard rock band in 1989, the peak year for the genre. It can’t be understated how important the voice was. Bach had the power, range and unique style required, but he had it right out of the gate! The band was good too: Dave “Snake” Sabo, Rachel Bolan and Scotti Hill wrote some great, bone-shaking cock rocking tunes. Rob Affuso (today in Four by Fate with members of Frehley’s Comet) has long been an underrated drummer capable of some serious steppin’. With Michael Wagener in the producer’s chair, everything aligned and came up platinum.
Three major hit singles made the album a must-have. They were, of course, “Youth Gone Wild”, “18 and Life” and “I Remember You”. These have become their career-defining songs, particularly the ballad. “I Remember You” may have misled more than a few listeners when it first came out. This is not a ballad album, but a very hard rockin’ record. This wasn’t Bon Jovi. It was heavier than everybody else on the radio that summer: Motley, Warrant, Aerosmith, Van Halen, Def Leppard. Though it rocks hard, it’s still memorable.
With the benefit of hindsight, we know Skid Row were capable of so much more, and they delivered on the next album Slave to the Grind. Once they let the thrash metal and punk influences come out, the real Skid Row sound was conceived. Their debut is good, but the next two were even better.
Whether they know it or not, everybody has their first Wes Anderson movie. Mine was Rushmore, an easy entry point, and I had never seen anything like it before. It has a genuine quality, an old-fashioned look, and a killer soundtrack — all Wes Anderson trademarks.
The Criterion Collection (“a continuing series of important classics and contemporary films”) deliver some of the best colour transfers, and that is necessary for any Wes Anderson film. Soaked in dark but rich colours, Anderson fills his work with vibrancy. His visual trademarks are apparent right from the first scene, a hilarious fantasy sequence introducing our main protagonist Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman). Max is more than a dreamer though. He is a doer. He dreams things and makes things happen. As such he is the founding (and sometimes sole) member of multiple clubs at Rushmore Academy. He writes, produces and directs lavish school plays with no thought given to compromise, or safety. Unfortunately, Max doesn’t dream much of his own schoolwork, and never seems to get it done. He is on notice. Fail one more class, and he’s expelled from the school he loves so much. Brian Cox (Super Troopers) is excellent as Dr. Guggenheim, the school principal.
Max soon meets steel magnate Herman Blume (Bill Murray), to the tune of “Making Time” by The Creation (1967). The retro music and formal dress at Rushmore Academy gives the movie a timeless feel. Could it be the 90’s? The 80’s? The 70’s? Sure, why not. Instead of working at getting his grades up, Max continues to dream. He dreams of saving the Latin program in school (for no real reason other than just to do it), and of new teacher Miss Cross (Olivia Williams). He’s a charmer, but often with ulterior motives. He and Blume manage to find a bond together. That is, before Blume himself falls for Miss Cross.
This leads to a strange rivalry between Max and Blume, with each jockeying for position in the Miss Cross stakes, with little thought given to how she feels about the whole thing. It also sets up some pretty amusing situations, such as Max trying to build a school aquarium for Miss Cross. He almost succeeds, too. Max is a hard character to read, as he often wants to make certain impressions. Blume, on the other hand, is clearly depressed, living in a sham of a marriage with two barbarian sons he doesn’t even seem to like. As their rivalry grows in intensity, so does the music, culminating in The Who’s epic live version of a “A Quick One While He’s Away” from the deluxe version of Live at Leeds. Wes Anderson has a knack for a musical montage too, and Cat Stevens’ “Here Comes My Baby” is host to one such montage. (Stevens also appears later on with “The Wind” in another song-appropriate scene.) The Stones’ “I Am Waiting” is more great music for marking the passage of time.
Max might not have been the best student, but genius does not always get good grades. His plays have an epic scope, and his aquarium does too: $35,000 cost, just for the initial plans. (Some of the aquatic movie footage that Max views may foreshadow a future Anderson film, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, starring Bill Murray). He’s also a perfectionist. When it comes to his plays, every line matters. “Don’t fuck with my play!” he screams to the star of his version of Serpico, right before getting punched right in the nose. Finally young Max possesses a razor sharp wit, which he uses at will especially when it comes to those he considers love rivals, like Peter Flynn (Luke Wilson).
Rushmore is an ode to the creative mind. After some humbling experiences, Max learns to use his inventiveness to bring people together. His final triumph, to the strains of “Ooh La La” (The Small Faces), is to bring all the film’s characters (even the bully student Magnus) together in solidarity. It’s all done with plenty of laughs, smiles and a few tears.
Wes Anderson utilizes a cast of talents he would work with repeatedly, with Bill Murray being the most obvious. Kumar Pallana as Mr. Litteljeans, the groundskeeper, was an Anderson regular. Brian Cox, who also participated in The Fantastic Mr. Fox, brings a sour delight to Dr. Guggenheim. Secret weapon in this movie however is Mason Gamble as Max’s ally Dirk Calloway. Another Anderson trademark is that each frame possesses astonishing detail and visual information. Like beautifully painted and impossibly detailed storyboards, his scenes have a life and tell a million stories in the background. Much like one of Max’s plays, actually.
Without a doubt, one of the best special DVD features is a selection of play adaptations by the Max Fischer Players, from the 1999 MTV Movie Awards. The players do their own on-stage takes of: Armageddon, The Truman Show, and Out of Sight. MTV were producing some very funny bits for their movie award shows at the time, and these are some of the best. Utilizing the original cast and familiar music from the film, these feel like a fairly natural extension of Rushmore.
Other valuable trinkets include an on-screen program for Max’s Vietnam drama Heaven & Hell, and his adaptation of Serpico. Of course there must be an audio commentary and that is by Wes Anderson, co-writer Owen Wilson, and star Jason Schwartzman. There are also the requisite making-of featurettes and supplements. The biggest selling feature of this Criterion edition for those who value physical products is the giant fold-out map. From here you can follow the events of the movie on a delightful full colour sketch by movie artist (and director’s brother) E.C. Anderson. In fact all the packaging for this DVD was designed by Anderson.
BON JOVI – “This House is Not For Sale” (2016 Island single)
THE GOOD: Decent song, a little bit of rock, some tasty guitar work from Phil X, very much another Bon Jovi singalong for the working man.
THE BAD: More of the same. We’ve heard Bon Jovi do this exact kind of song many times over the last 15 years. Apparently the addition of Phil X hasn’t injected much new into the sound.
THE UGLY: It’s nice to see Phil X and Hugh McDonald on the cover art…but why did it take 20 years to finally put a picture of Hugh on the cover?
The new Bon Jovi album This House is Not For Sale will be out October 21. It’s far too early to judge, but the lead single doesn’t indicate that much has changed in Jovi Land. If you liked their last bunch of albums (basically everything from Have a Nice Day to Burning Bridges) then you’ll enjoy “This House is Not For Sale”.
25 million copies sold. Seven hit singles. A two year world tour. All done under the most difficult circumstances. Def Leppard’s Hysteria is one of rock’s greatest triumphs.
Although the album was released in 1987, the Hysteria story really begins on December 31, 1984. Drummer Rick Allen lost control of his speeding Corvette, and was thrown from the vehicle due to improper use of seatbelts. His left arm was severed. Doctors attempted to re-attach the arm, but infection set in and it could not be saved. It would be understandable if people thought Rick’s career in music was finished. While many artists from Django Reinhardt to Tony Iommi had dealt with physical disabilities, nobody had ever seen a one-armed rock drummer before.
Undaunted, Allen began working on a way around his disability. The band never considered a future without him, and were disappointed by “ambulance chasers” looking for a gig. Rick Allen wasn’t about to allow himself to go down or dwell in his misery. With an electronic kit triggered by his feet and right hand, Allen eventually regained his ability to not only play drums, but play live. This resulted in an inevitable stylistic change. Allen’s drumming style became more staggered, with emphasis on bigger, spaced out snare hits. His electronic kit was no crutch: singer Joe Elliott said he could play it “and make it really sound terrible”.
The next album was supposed to be a big deal. It was Phil Collen’s first Def Leppard LP as a writer, and Rick’s chance to prove he wasn’t out. Unfortunately, when the band started to record, producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange was not available. Instead the band began to work with Jim Steinman (Meat Loaf), but were underwhelmed by the results they were getting. Leppard’s ambition was not just to make another album, but to make something seriously good, memorable and special. Something with the potential to be as big as Pyromania was. Steinman was let go and the band started working with Nigel Green with no progress being made.
The band were taking so long, and suffered so many setbacks and delays, that eventually Mutt Lange was available again, and together they finally began work on the new Def Leppard LP. Co-writing every song with the band, Mutt provided the focus and intense discipline. The stated goal, following the template of Michael Jackson’s Thriller, was to make an album with 12 potential singles.
The long story of this difficult album (false starts, illnesses, studio problems) is only overshadowed by its success. But it took a while to get there.
The first single “Women” did well enough, but failed to kickstart the mega album sales needed to recoup the losses. “Women” was an odd choice for a first single: a slow robotic rock track, with a killer comic book-based music video. It was incredible just to see how Rick Allen played drums with his new setup. Apparently, video directors asked how they should shoot Rick? The band answered “Just the same as you would any other drummer.” It was simple as that.
“Women” introduced the new Def Leppard groove. A simple one or two note bass line, layers upon layers of vocals and chiming guitars, but none of the full-speed-ahead New Wave of British Heavy Metal that Leppard were founded on. The year was 1987 and Def Leppard were on the cutting edge. To get those chiming bell-like chords, Mutt had them recorded one note at a time! This is very apparent on “Animal”, the second single. It too was mildly successful, but not enough to push the album into orbit. Listen to the guitar chords and you will hear something that sounds more like chimes than strings. This is down to the incredibly detailed and overdubbed recordings. “Animal” was a stellar pop rock track, and a fine example of what Hysteria sounds like.
Refusing to give up, a third single was dropped: the ballad title track “Hysteria” and possibly the finest song on the album. The fact that these singles were not the hits the band hoped for at the time has not diminished them. Today they are all concert classics, radio staples, and beloved fan favourites. Leppard even re-recorded the song in 2013 for release on iTunes. (While the re-recorded version is impressive, it is impossible to exactly recreate the magic on this album.)
Finally, the success that the band and record label were waiting for happened. The track was “Pour Some Sugar On Me” and the North American version of its music video showcased the band’s stunning live show. Def Leppard were playing “in the round” to rave reviews. “Pour Some Sugar”, a retro glam rock tune with a contemporary sound, was a summer smash hit. It was cool, it was catchy, and Joe’s verses almost sounded like rap, although really they had more in common with Marc Bolan of T-Rex.
On a roll, nothing would stop Def Leppard now. Though the goal was an album with 12 potential singles, Hysteria eventually yielded seven. Most rock bands were lucky to squeeze three out of a hit album. Though the album was now becoming a bonafide hit, some critics and fans lamented the death of the original Def Leppard. Others embraced their pop success. The raw edgy guitars were gone and replaced by bright, precise parts working as a whole, in a gigantic pop rock juggernaut. Joe wasn’t screaming out every line, but actually singing now. It hardly matters. With the success of Hysteria, Def Leppard had embarked on a whole new journey and have rarely looked back to their origins.
The singles carried on, through the rest of 1988 and into 1989. “Love Bites” was fifth up, which originated as a country ballad that Mutt wrote and the band Leppardized into something different. It was a hit for the autumn of ’88, a slightly dark ballad for the fall. The victorious glam rock of “Armageddon It” was next, simple and pleasant enough for radio and video, and another huge hit. These were songs that had pep, but wouldn’t frighten mom and dad.
The seventh and final single was a surprise choice: “Rocket”. On album, “Rocket” was 6:37 long, and featured a long experimental middle section. The ambitious mid-section featured loads of NASA samples and sound effects, all backed by the African inspired drum loops of Rick Allen. The song was based a drum beat by Burundi Black, brought in by Joe Elliott, played by Rick Allen and looped. Eventually lyrics were added, inspired by the glitter groups of the 70’s that Leppard grew up with. Lange also used backwards vocals for some of the hooks. The line that opens the track and repeats through the song is the chorus from “Gods of War”, backwards: “Raw fo sdog eht rof gnithgif er’ew.” It was a sharp track to be used as a single, but that unforgettable beat was beyond question. It was remixed and brought down to 4:25 for the single release.
It is unfortunate that Mercury stopped at seven singles, because they could have released at least nine. Many fans had counted on a “Gods of War” release, certainly before “Rocket”. “Gods of War” had become a fan favourite for those who bought the album, and it could have been used as a “serious” themed single towards the end of the album’s life. Dark in tone but more epic in quality, it really could have been a valiant single. It has since become heavily associated with late guitarist Steven Maynard Clark, who was responsible for much of its guitar thunder.
The final track that shoulda woulda coulda been released as a single was the album closer, “Love and Affection”. As good as any of the actual singles, “Love and Affection” had its own charm and hit potential. It’s long been one of my album favourites, just under “Hysteria” and “Gods of War”.
Rounding out the LP are “Run Riot” and “Don’t Shoot Shotgun”, two rock tracks that help keep the album afloat. Neither are clearly as brilliant as the hits, but both solidly get the job done with guitar thrills. Finally there is “Excitable”, the only song I’ve never particularly dug. It strikes me as gimmicky and very 80’s, much like “Social Disease” by Bon Jovi. Too reliant on sound effects and gimmicks. So out of 12 tracks, only one was really a dud. That’s not bad by any measure.
So Hysteria rode the charts, recouped its costs, and then some. The tour in the round was legendary and resulted in a live video In the Round: In Your Face. Def Leppard were, for a short while anyway, the biggest rock band in the world.
Obviously, Def Leppard have continued to suffer ups and downs since Hysteria. Steve Clark died. Rick Savage has Bell’s Palsy. Vivian Campbell fought cancer. Yet they have continued to soldier on, never topping Hysteria of course, leaving it as the magnum opus that it is.
The album inspired a book and a movie. An album of Hysteria’s stature deserves a killer deluxe edition too. This one is nearly perfect.
As discussed in greater detail in Record Store Tales Part 4: A Word About B-Sides, this album and its singles really clicked with the collector in me. Def Leppard prepared a number of B-sides for Hysteria, and perhaps because these were not produced with Mutt, they all have a harder edge. “Tear It Down” was a speedy but basic rock track considered good enough to include on the next album, and so it was. The B-side version remains its superior, because it is tougher than the one on Adrenalize. “Ring of Fire” was even heavier, clearly too heavy for what Hysteria became. Along the same lines is “Ride into the Sun”, an old track from Leppard’s first EP, re-recorded here and in fine form. “Ride into the Sun” is a stellar track and perhaps should have received some acclaim. Even though the song has been remixed and reissued on other things, it remains a rarely heard gem. Yet the most impressive B-side was probably “I Wanna Be Your Hero”. This B-side from the “Animal” EP has the Hysteria vibe and sound. It easily could have replaced “Excitable” as an LP track, but if it had perhaps Hysteria wouldn’t have sounded as diverse. Dig that false ending!
This deluxe edition includes all the live B-sides and almost all the bonus tracks associated with singles for the album, and then some. “Women” is a live classic from the home video. Anyone who has seen it will remember this version and Joe’s intro. “We got everything we need! We got the band, the crowd, the lights, the cameras, the action! There’s only one thing that we ain’t got…” Women! (I doubt that, Joe!) “Elected”, the live Alice Cooper cover, was recorded during this period but released in 1993 on the “Heaven Is” single.
From the same gig as “Elected” came a lively cut of “Love and Affection”, which was also utilised as the album’s Japanese bonus track. It’s very rare to hear this song done live, and definitely rare to hear a great vintage version done live. Then there’s a so-so “Billy’s Got a Gun” (same gig again), and a fascinating “Rock of Ages” medley. This medley seamlessly captures some bits of classic rock tunes within itself: “Not Fade Away” (Buddy Holly), “My Generation” (The Who), “Radar Love” (Golden Earring), “Come Together” (The Beatles) and “Whole Lotta Love” (Zeppelin). This is all done to the tempo and style of “Rock of Ages”, and quite well, too. When this was originally released on the “Rocket” single, there was no mention of the medley part. It was a total surprise when Leppard broke into these other songs, some of which I’d never heard before.
Leppard released a few remixes during this period too. Extended versions of “Animal”, “Pour Some Sugar”, “Armageddon It”, “Rocket” and even “Excitable” all come from 12” singles. What’s missing is the single edit of the “Rocket”, the short version of the “lunar mix” . The single mix of “Pour Some Sugar” is also missing, but that track is on so many albums including the five-million-selling Vault, so we’re not going to worry about it. These extended remixes are, not surprisingly, pretty much for the fans and collectors.
Finally, and most importantly, is the last B-side “Release Me”. This track was initially released on the “Armageddon It” picture disc single, but not credited to Def Leppard. Much like their later acoustic B-sides credited to the Acoustic Hippies from Hell, “Release Me” is credited to Stumpus Maximus and the Good Ol’ Boys. Engelbert Humperdinck is responsible for the most famous version of “Release Me”, but Stumpus Maximus is definitely responsible for the most twisted. Featuring Def Leppard’s roadie Malvin Mortimer on lead vocals and the rest of the band goofing around, “Release Me” is a hoot. Mortimer breaks all known sound barriers with his screaming (and burping) of the lyrics. I was absolutely confused beyond belief upon hearing this for the first time, since I didn’t catch on to this actually being Def Leppard in disguise. They absolutely fooled me; I thought whoever they were, Stumpus Maximus and the Good Ol’ Boys absolutely sucked! For the time it was a novelty release, but it’s now a wonderful tongue in cheek finale to this great deluxe edition.
Some, including renowned rock journalist Martin Popoff, have dismissed Hysteria as lifeless and dismally underwhelming sell-out pop. Keeping in mind where they came from (High ‘n’ Dry, Pyromania) there is no question that Hysteria was a clear and intentional turn towards the mainstream. Where Def Leppard rose above a simple pop foray is in the detail and care given to the recordings. With Mutt Lange keeping his eye on the goalposts, he drove Leppard not to make an album without a soul, but one that offered flawlessly assembled guitar based songs. The passion and heart can still be heard; they are not buried. It’s a unique combination of studio sterility with Leppard’s brand of glam rock, and nobody (not even Leppard) have been able to duplicate the magic of Hysteria.
You might not “need” the full-on deluxe edition, but considering the quality of the B-sides and live material, you’d be positively missing out.
The crappy Walmart at Stanley Park Mall continues to yield treasure to those looking for it.
My weekend was already filled with some golden toy scores. I picked up the Transformers Titans Return Galvatron figure at Toys R Us yesterday, and the Star Wars Black Series 6″ droid collection too. These were small triumphs, but the real treasure awaited me today at Walmart. On clearance!
I’m trying to get at least one of every character in the Star Wars Black Series 6″ figures. As of today, I’ve done it. The last one dropped into my arms. Two weeks ago at that Walmart, it was General Hux. Today it was the ever elusive Resistance pilot Ello Asty! I’d never even seen one before. I was so excited that I fumbled and dropped the box! Small dent in the bottom left corner is my price, but since the toy was $19.99 on clearance, I’ll suck it up.
I also found a few more Titans Returns figures today to go with Galvatron, but there is no question that Ello Asty is my real jackpot today. Since Ello Asty’s name was inspired by the Beastie Boys (Hello Nasty, get it?) we’ll leave you with some “Intergalactic” to get back to the subject of music.
Well now don’t you tell me to smile, You stick around I’ll make it worth your while, Got numbers beyond what you can dial, Maybe it’s because I’m so versatile.
When speaking of Aerosmith “classics”, fans often skip over the 80’s or 90’s and talk singly about the 1970’s. This is unfair to 1989’s Pump, a bonafide classic indeed, a rebirth, an all-too-brief twinkling of Aerosmith turning back the clock and smoothly kicking your behind. Sure, Permanent Vacation brought them back from the dead and provided three surprise hit singles. But that album wasn’t as laser-focused as Pump.
Teaming up for a second time with the late great Canadian producer extraordinaire Bruce Fairbairn, Aerosmith (and co-writers) cooked a short and sweet batch up. 10 songs, all to the point and done “just right”. That’s how Aerosmith albums were in the 70’s, and Pump is as close as they have ever been able to touch that magical golden era.
Incidentally, if you’re curious about how this album was made, there was an excellent behind the scenes doc called The Making of Pump that was out on VHS. The band were clearly riding a wave of energy, it was palpable in the studio. There was some conflict but it all seemed productive. There was a surplus of songs. Titles such as “Looking Up Your Old Address” and “News For You Baby” were dropped in favour of stronger songs — the 10 on Pump.
“Young Lust” and “F.I.N.E.” have always seemed to work as a supercharged pair. The band sound young, therefore “Young Lust”! Joey Kramer on the skins propels the whole thing forward, aided and abetted by Tom Hamilton’s unmistakable bass slink. Whitford and Perry — locked on to target, supporting and boosting each other’s licks. And Steven Tyler, always the centrepiece, keeping the attention focused on the hooks. “I got a brand new record, and I gotta play,” he sings, and you have to believe it. When Aerosmith have all five members firing at peak performance, then you have one hell of a lethal weapon.
We don’t need to address “Love in an Elevator”; it’s all been said. All you really need to focus on when listening to this overplayed radio staple is the musicianship. All these years later, it’s still smoking hot. Hamilton’s bass rides that riff like a surfer.
Aerosmith weren’t a preachy band, but they were pretty open about their drug usage and recovery. “Monkey On My Back” was their first real statement about this subject.
“I made believe the devil made me do it, I was the evil leader of the pack, You best believe I had it all and then I blew it, Feedin’ that fuckin’ monkey on my back.”
The reborn Aerosmith infuse it with all the energy and greasy groove required to make their point. They’re a better band without the powders; deal with it!
“Janie’s Got a Gun” is another track we don’t need to delve into deeply. It was an innovative and daring track for the time; a real statement from Tyler. He fought hard for his lyrics. “Put a bullet in his brain” was changed to “Left him out in the rain” on some edits, which robs the song of its shocking impact. In my opinion, the real moment people started to pay attention was that line. And incidentally, this is one of the best songs to watch come to life on the Making of Pump video. From the initial work on the song with writer Jim Vallance to the punching in of final vocals, you can watch the creative process like a fly on the wall.
A brief but impressive acoustic bit called “Dulcimer Stomp” was used to open side two, right before another hit single, “The Other Side”. I always appreciated that they included “Dulcimer Stomp” in the music video, even though it’s not part of the single version. “The Other Side” is probably the safest track on the album, the only one without some kind of edginess. It does boast some popping horns, a Bruce Fairbairn production trademark. Bruce is one of the players in the horn section, dubbed the Margarita Horns. “My Girl” is similarly simple and to the point, although later plagiarized for not one but two songs on 2012’s Music From Another Dimension! Much more interesting is the heavy duty “Don’t Get Mad, Get Even”. Swampy, even including didgeridoo, this is one of those Aero-blasts through the blues that Perry and Co. do so well. Just as awesome is “Voodoo Medicine Man” which is probably the most…ominous…Aerosmith track ever recorded. It is different and groove-heavy. Deeply impressive heavy rocking happening here.
Closing out with the ballad “What It Takes” was a classy move. Unlike some other ballads this band has had hits with over the years, “What It Takes” has a sincerity and authenticity that has kept it from ageing badly. The country tinge of “What It Takes” foreshadows Steve Tyler’s current solo direction, but in 1989 this was just slightly different for the band. Listen for a callback to “F.I.N.E.” from side one, and a hidden bonus track. There’s an unlisted track of acoustic instrumental jamming, an outtake from the sessions, at the very end. Even incidental bits like “Going Down” and “Dulcimer Stomp” are given their own titles on the CD, but this last jam is left a surprise.
This rare limited edition version of Pump comes in a “leather case”. There is an outer slipcase, and an inner digipack. It was manufactured as a promo and then later sold as a limited release at retail. It’s cool and looks sharp, but there is nothing else exclusive about this release. It’s a cool find if you happen upon one in your travels, but sticking with the zillions-selling regular CD edition will do you just F.I.N.E. fine.
OZZY OSBOURNE – Ozzmosis (1995, 2002 Sony remaster)
It is fair to say that Ozzy’s solo recording career post-No More Tears is not considered as classic as the music from before. Admittedly it was a confusing time. Ozzy finished his “No More Tours” tour while all the talk was about a Sabbath reunion that never happened. Retirement wasn’t in the cards, so Ozzy re-teamed with a few former members of his band: Zakk Wylde on guitar, and Geezer Butler on bass. Joining the band behind the drums was a pre-Journey Deen Castronovo. Ozzy sat down to write with a number of talents including Steve Vai, and eventually produced the “post retirement” album Ozzmosis.
Ozzmosis was considered by some fans to be inferior to No More Tears, although song for song, No More Tears isn’t as great as people seem to remember it. Ozzmosis has a heavier, more bass-centric sound and certainly boasts at least four Ozzy classics in its grooves. Osbourne has gone on record as preferring the demo versions of some songs better than the album tracks, but Ozzmosis boasts a hell of a heavy sound.
Ozzy was also struggling with his public image. He didn’t want to be seen at the bat-biting madman anymore. I suppose that’s why we see songs like “Perry Mason” on Ozzmosis. Not a bad track, it was chosen as lead single. But the subject matter? Not sure why, but:
“Who can we get on this case? We need Perry Mason, Someone to put you in place, Calling Perry Mason.”
Certainly a far cry lyrically from “Bark at the Moon”, but musically it’s still Ozzy prowling in the shadows, warning you of the dangers. It’s delightful to hear Geezer’s trademark slinky bass all over it. (I have often said that Ozzy’s best solo band, post-Randy, had Geezer and Zakk.) Ozzy was sufering from some vocal issues at the time, but “Perry Mason” isn’t one of the songs you can tell this from. Only Ozzy Osbourne & Co. could make a song about Perry Mason this cool.
“Perry Mason” would be one of the four album classics. Also up there is “I Just Want You”, which he wrote with Canadian songsmith Jim Vallance. Ozzy was rightfully proud of this heavy ballad. Rick Wakeman provided keys, classy and absolutely perfect. At times he’s playing synth parts that sound like mellotron, at others like a big fat Hammond organ (bigger than Orlando Bloom’s wang). At all times, it is awesome. Zakk Wylde plays an effects-laden solo that sounds underwater, but in a good way. It’s haunting and not robbed of its power. He utilises this “watery” sound on a number of tracks on Ozzmosis.
Standing with these songs is “See You on the Other Side”, another fab ballad from the dark side. Ozzy’s preferred demo version (with sax solo) can be found on his Prince of Darkness box set. There’s nothing wrong with this version though, haunting as it is. It was written by Ozzy, Zakk, and Lemmy Kilmister, who helped Ozzy out with the words.
The fourth and final classic is the album closer, “Old L.A. Tonight”. As one of Ozzy’s piano ballads, it has been largely forgotten over the years. The piano and Zakk’s very emotive playing only amplify what Ozzy’s singing. Zakk’s solo is one of his finest. Why some things become hits and not others, I don’t always understand. “Old L.A. Tonight” is superior in almost every way to a track like “Mama I’m Coming Home”, or “So Tired”. This is one of the tracks that does reveal cracks in the Ozzman’s voice, as he reaches for very high notes and quavers. I can’t hit the notes he’s hitting, though.
You’ll notice that of the four album classics, three are ballads, and that’s a problem. Yes, even as far back as “Changes” or “Planet Caravan”, Ozzy has been a master of the art of the heavy ballad. His core audience tends to buy albums for his heavy metal songs, and the heavy material on Ozzmosis is lacking. Few of those songs really congeal into something solidly memorable. The album sounds heavy on effects, and while that strategy worked on the four classics, it tends to choke and strangle the other songs, inhibiting Ozzy’s voice with a nasal muffler. It’s surprising how much time he spends singing higher than what sounds comfortable, and that too is a weakness.
Sony tacked on two bonus tracks for this 2002 reissue — a rip off, and I’ll explain why. The album includes two B-sides: “The Whole World’s Falling Down” and “Aimee”. (That makes two songs about Ozzy’s kids on this CD, including “My Little Man” about Jack.) There were however four B-sides released for this album, and two are not included for no good reason. Missing are “Living With the Enemy” and “Voodoo Dancer”, but fear not. None of Ozzy’s B-sides this time out were really keepers. “Aimee” isn’t bad, but Ozzy has done much better stuff for his B-sides in the past. Songs like “You Said It All”, “Don’t Blame Me”, and “Liar”.
Zakk Wylde didn’t do the tour for this album, even though he co-wrote and played on it. Zakk seemed to be trying to establish himself separate from Ozzy at the time, and so Ozzy toured with Joe Holmes who had finished up a stint with David Lee Roth. (Though Ozzy stuck with Holmes for five years, I never thought he sounded right playing the Ozzy or Sabbath material.) After a brief leg, Ozzy fired Deen Castronovo and re-hired his previous drummer Randy Castillo. Ozzy made a backhanded statement about Castronovo being a talented session drummer, and that’s what he should continue to do. Ouch.
It’s a mixed bag, but when you hit a gem in the grooves of Ozzmosis, it is worth the price of purchase. Shame about the stinky cover art.
WINGER – II – In the Heart of the Young (1990 Atlantic)
Another awful album cover; another Winger album! The ambitious follow-up, still sonically mutilated by producer Beau Hill, was several steps forward and a few steps backwards at the same time. The year was 1990, and while most bands were starting to toughen things up and go a little heavier, Winger turned on the tap marked “syrup”.
Truly awful is “Can’t Get Enuff”, which Winger admitted took about five minutes to write, when he decided they needed to “make a video about sex”. Because that’s never been done before. Nor has a song called “Can’t Get Enough” (spelled correctly). There is nothing new or necessary here; the talented band are neutered by programmed rhythms and cheesey, generic lyrics. Not good enuff, although the second tune “Loosen Up” is better. There could have been some rock and roll groove with “Loosen Up”, but the plastic and thin production removes its teeth.
Keyboardist Paul Taylor, who left the band after this tour, wrote the ballad “Miles Away” by himself and it hits all the bases that a power ballad needed to hit: Big chorus, sad keyboards, and sappy lyrics! “Miles Away” never quite felt like it fit on the album stylistically, but it’s actually a decent ballad. It’s well written and arranged, but so pigeonholed to its time.
I hate synth horns, therefore I hate the single “Easy Come Easy Go”. There is no substitute for real horns. Keyboards are quicker and easier, but there is no comparison to the real thing. Thankfully Winger did utilise real horns on “Rainbow in the Rose”, the first of two epics on the album. Where “Can’t Get Enuff” was written in minutes, “Rainbow in the Rose” took a year to compose and arrange. Its complexity is admirable, but a better producer could have given it the finish it deserved. It’s a shame that with a complicated track like this, you can barely hear what drummer Rod Morgenstein is doing. He’s one of the best in the world, but he’s buried under keyboards. When you do listen to what he’s doing, it’s quite incredible work. As for the song? The chorus kills!
The second side was more of the same, including another epic at the end. “In the Day We’ll Never See” was Winger’s attempt to write more serious lyrics, and that’s all well and good. With a peppy riff and serious tone, it’s a good enough song for a car tape. Reb Beach’s anthemic guitars are the highlight. Another side; another ballad — “Under One Condition” sounds like a Warrant song, although that’s probably being unfair. Warrant could never play like Winger.
Side two has a slew of annoying songs in the middle. “Little Dirty Blonde” is as putrid as it sounds, but let’s face it folks, it’s not as bad as Kip Winger rapping. The story goes that they wanted to get Tone Lōc to do his thing over “Baptized By Fire”, but that didn’t happen so Kip rapped it himself. It’s as annoying as you expect. One of the most impressive moments on the album is just a short instrumental break, sounding like speedily tapped guitar and bass, right before “Baptised By Fire”, but it’s over too soon before MC Kip takes over. “You Are the Saint, I Am the Sinner” improves the outlook mildly, annoying title aside. That leads to the final epic track, “In the Heart of the Young”. Like “Rainbow in the Rose”, this is a more ambitious arrangement, done with skill and care. Once again, focusing on Rod Morgenstein allows you to hear the complexities within. The melodies are strong and Kip’s singing is under-appreciated.
Winger were on to something with the more progressive material. Where they lost fans was with the dumbed down sounds of songs like “Can’t Get Enuff”, and they paid for it during the grunge onslaught down the road.
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