RUSH – Red Stars of the Solar Federation (X-Rekords, Live at Montreal Forum May ’81)
I found this bootleg when I was unceremoniously transferred from one location to another. When I started at the other location, this was among the first CDs that came in that I just had to buy. It’s a Rush bootleg from the legendary Moving Pictures tour. In fact this CD is the audio of the Rush video Exit…Stage Left, which is a different audio from the LP. It sounds like a vinyl rip. Otherwise the sound quality is pretty good. The audience is shrill and very loud. There are also clearly speed/pitch issues with the audio. (This could be corrected in Audacity, but I don’t think I could do it by ear.) This CD is selling for over $70 currently on Discogs. I paid nowhere near that.
Between the songs are interview snippets from the band, same as the video. It features a few tracks that were not on the Exit…Stage Left album: “By-Tor”, “In the Mood”, “In the End”, and “2112” which is unlisted. The rest of the songs are completely different recordings, anyway. I guess that’s why the asking price is $70. They are no less perfect; no less electrifying.
“The Trees” and “Xanadu” take up one massive 17 minute track on the CD, and it’s a monument to perfection of performance and craft. I can barely remember the sequence of all the different parts of Xanadu; I can’t imagine how Rush can play a set full of this stuff with precision and feel all the time! All this while Geddy has to remember complex lyrics about searching for the lost Xanadu.
I love Peart’s slamming drums on “Red Barchetta”, a song I simply never tire of. What is it about Rush songs? They don’t burn out like so many other bands. Not even “Closer to the Heart” has burned out on me yet, and it’s always a pleasure hearing a less familiar version.
On to “By-Tor”: it features a nicely noisy and meandering Alex Lifeson solo, surely a highlight of the entire performance. This segues directly into a truncated “In the End”, also from Fly By Night. This then is butted against “In the Mood” from the first Rush album in an awkward transition. Geddy appears to change the lyrics from “Hey baby” to “Hey Cookie”. Even this song is shortened, and segues into “Grande Finale” from 2112. Alex ends it with some noise-laden blasting on his axe, almost stealing the spotlight from his two bandmates. It’s a perfect storm of musical excellence and heavy rock.
Sonically, Red Stars of the Solar Federation is vastly inferior to the current Exit…Stage Left DVD. Yet I have a geeky love for an oddball CD like this. While I can’t say it’s worth $70, I can say it’s worth:
3.5/5 stars
This CD is top-scratched and pinholed, but plays great
VAN HALEN – For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge(1991 Warner Bros.)
What a frustrating experience this album was for me. This was supposed “the one”; the album that would please the DLR fans and finally unite Van Halen fandom. Heavier with only one ballad, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge was to be a statement. Edward Van Halen had said that neither 5150 nor OU812 were ever properly finished to his liking. In both cases, the band were under pressure to get out there and tour (OU812 because of the 1988 Monsters of Rock). F.U.C.K. was to be the album that he finally got to spend time on and properly finish. It was also Eddie’s first album using his new Ernie Ball guitars. I expected my brain to be blown.
And it was, or it was by the first single at least. “Poundcake” lived up to the promise. Sure, lyrically it was…well, pretty stoopid, but musically? Van Halen had some balls back! This motherfucker grooves like a slow train. As far as guitar tricks went, Eddie went all out with harmonics, taps, and…drills? The shimmery guitars were subtly different from Eddie’s classic “brown sound”, but a guitar sound is an ever-evolving quest. On this song, his rhythm guitar tones recall his friend, Brian May. With “Poundcake” as a first single, I couldn’t wait to hear the whole album.
MuchMusic came close to banning this video
I was given the CD (same copy I still have) on my birthday in ’91, by childhood friend Bob. I still remember popping the CD in for the first time that afternoon. Then a few days later it was given to me again (this time on cassette) by my Aunt and Uncle!
Momentum is maintained on the second track, “Judgement Day”, heavier than the first. The riff is anchored by a whammy bar trick, and it’s tasty. I cannot find fault with “Judgement Day”. This is what I wanted and hoped for from the new Van Halen album. The groove is still there, Alex and Mikey gelling in a relentless way. Sonically, both guys are recorded better than ever. The bass and drums on For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge are really something to behold.
Then, things slide. The awful “Spanked” is the worst song on the album, and possible contender for worst Van Hagar song yet. “All you bad bad boys, call her up on the spank line,” sings Sammy with a straight face. The sad thing is, the song would have been a fine instrumental, or basis for something with David Lee Roth. Sammy ruins it with shitty lyrics and a shitty melody. Too bad. “Runaround” is a good song on first and second listen, but you tire of it quickly. It’s bland, as is much of F.U.C.K. The problem with “going heavy” for an album is the risk of losing diversity and texture.
The 7-minute “Pleasure Dome” can barely be called a song. Organized chaos with some lead vocals, yes. But it’s barely a song. There are moments of brilliance contained within (the drums in particular) but it’s not particularly worthy. And this was the side closer.
As crappy as “Spanked” is, “In ‘N’ Out” is virtually a carbon copy. It has some sparkling guitars to go with it, but like “Spanked”, the song sucks. I can’t believe somebody didn’t say, “Guys, let’s cut the album down to 9 tracks like we used to do, and leave those two for B-sides”. “Man On a Mission” isn’t much improved. Just dull rock with dumb lyrics. Totally uninspired. It’s just four guys playing music without much direction other than, “turn it up!”
Things change up a little bit on “The Dream is Over”. This also-ran isn’t a bad tune, though nowhere near single quality for Van Halen. It’s at least a step in the right direction. It feels as if the album was in a slumber, and it has now woken up — the title is apt. And thankfully Sammy isn’t singing about girl parts for a change.
Van Halen didn’t consider “Right Now” to be a ballad, but it’s the only song with a keyboard. It’s a welcome oasis in the desert of monotonous rock. It’s a great song. I don’t think anyone can say that it hasn’t been played to death, so I don’t need to comment further. MTV awards, Pepsi, blah blah blah.
Nice suit.
“316” (named for Wolfy’s birthday 3/16/1991) is an acoustic guitar part that Eddie had been playing live for years. Later, Eddie used to play this piece for Wolfgang while still in the womb. But it’s just a brief 90 second instrumental, a segue into “Top of the World”, also a single. It took a while for me to recognize the riff. In fact, I didn’t pick up on it until I heard this song following “Jump” on the album LIVE: Right here, right now. Only then did I realize: it’s based on the outro riff from “Jump”! So they re-used that oft-forgotten riff and built a new song around it. It’s a good song, very pop rock, but a suitable album closer.
As high as this album charted (US #1), I’m convinced For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge is one of the albums responsible for the death of hard rock in 1991. Sure, a lot of people bought it. But a lot of people also didn’t like it very much. Maybe they were getting tired of the schtick, but I do know I found it really hard to proudly blast this album out of the car.
You’ve heard ofEpic Meal Time? They should call me Epic Review Time. Here’s a couple hours of music, text and video distilled down and covered in detail. This is a double-sized review for the price of one. Dive in and engorge!
RUSH – Snakes & Arrows (2007 Warner Music Interactive DVD album)
Rush’s Snakes & Arrows album was considered a progression from the previous record, Vapor Trails. The pummeling of Vapor Trails has been tempered with light and shade, bringing a more balanced Rush. It was also mixed in 5.1 for a special “Music Video Interactive” DVD by Richard Chycki and Alex Lifeson, who oversee most of Rush’s 5.1 mixes. I haven’t listened to any version of Snakes & Arrows for many moons, so this is a review from fresh ears.
First though, there is a 40+ minute documentary video called “The Game of Snakes & Arrows” so we can learn a bit about how the album came to be. Geddy Lee says that their priority for choosing a recording studio was that they wanted the best drum sound imaginable. They chose an old mansion out in the Adironacks. 47 individual microphones were used to record the entire drum kit. Neil Peart says that the isolation of the studio led to the three guys reconnecting as musicians and friends like the old days at Le Studio. According to Alex Lifeson, the plan for writing this time was to take it easy, working on the writing part only part time. Later on, more time was spent on just rehearsing and playing the new songs, which transformed them along them way. The documentary contains snippets of some intricate Lifeson acoustic 12-string, in the studio, where Alex makes it look easy.
Producer Nick Raskulinecz was not a passive participant; indeed there was give and take with the band in order to make the best out of each song. It was a process that worked well according to Alex. I enjoyed hearing Alex explain the suspended F chord in “Far Cry” — there’s a story behind it. There is some great footage of Geddy playing Mellotron on “Good News First” too. I also love a fly on the wall scene of Geddy jamming a bass lick on his brand-new-out-of-the-box Jaco Pastorius bass. The lick sounded good and Geddy says, “We’ll jam to it later. We’ll get the Big Guy on drums.” Chills up my spine. Raskulinecz asks, “Would it be bad if we had two instrumentals on the record?” Geddy immediately responds, “No, it’ll be a first.” Peart shows up and they start to jam, and when Alex arrives it only takes him a day to come up with his guitar part to the Grammy-nominated Rush bass-drum jam called “Malignant Narcissism”. Wham, bam, thank you ma’am. This is how the big boys play.
Although this doc is only 40 minutes in length it’s well worth having. This is great stuff. Neil Peart crafting drum parts in front of our very eyes is a treat that few other DVDs deliver. Seeing Geddy applauding his bandmate shouting, “He’s killing it, woo!” is glorious.
As if all this isn’t enough, there is a many-paged (I lost count) essay by Peart called “The Game of Snakes & Arrows: Prize Every Time”. My favourite detail is what producer Nick Raskulinecz was nicknamed: “Boujze”, based on the sound he’d make when trying to convey to Peart a drum fill suggestion. “Bappitty-bap-bap-booooujze!”
The DVD photo gallery is a total joke: FIVE pictures. At least the package comes with an expanded booklet with lots of Hugh Syme’s surreal artwork. Since the photo gallery on the DVD was just shite photies, I’ll give you some shots from the documentary that are loads better.
So, let’s get on with the album then. Pushing play —
Delicacy and aggression describe album opener (and first single) “Far Cry”. The acoustics of Lifeson are easily overwhelmed by the pummeling band. “Far Cry” boasts one of those powerful 90’s-style Rush riffs that groove rather than exercise the brain. Immediately I am overwhelmed by a dense 5.1 riff. I do not know how many guitars I am hearing, but Alex has unique parts coming in from all sides, including an acoustic on the left that I never noticed before. I have loved “Far Cry” since its triumphant release in 2007; it is just as powerful and engaging today. New appreciation for Lifeson will be had on this mix.
“Armor & Sword” was a standout then and now, just as “Far Cry” before. The song has always shimmered, but more so in 5.1. This track has much more of Alex’s acoustic guitars, and more texture. It has a regal 80’s Rush-like quality without the keyboards. In fact there are no keyboards on Snakes & Arrows, only the Mellotron. The 5.1 mix becomes a little dense at times, and the layers of guitars oppressive, but it is indeed a massive song. Then, you can audibly hear the Mellotron on “Workin’ Them Angels”, a phrase taken from one of Peart’s books. It is a brighter song than either of the first two, and I like the reference to the “moving picture”. “Workin’ Them Angels” is an album highlight, particularly the mandolin near the end.
Somber moods inhabit “The Larger Bowl”, with Alex’s acoustics again giving it mood and texture. The hippy-ish chorus sounds like the 1960’s to me, and with the acoustics it paints a picture in my mind. This is a very good song, but Alex’s well composed guitar solo is the focal point for me. His tone is very different on the solo, very warm. It’s an excellent song. “Spindrift” is less overwhelming to me. There is nothing wrong with it; it is simply less enchanting than its predecessors since they set the bar quite high. The song was, however, performed on the Snakes & Arrows tour and kicks of CD 2 of the album Snakes & Arrows Live and there is no denying it is powerful.
“The Main Monkey Business” is the first instrumental, again featuring Geddy on Mellotron. The main melodic element to this song feels familiar to me — it reminds me of one of Ace Frehley’s “Fractured” instrumentals in terms of melody. In terms of playing and structure, it is nothing like Frehley. The 5.1 mix here is nicely balanced. I’m getting plenty of distinct acoustic parts, with Geddy and Neil front and center. The chiming guitars behind me envelope the listener in warmth. Then, suddenly during a solo guitar section, the mix retreats almost all way to stereo before returning again on all 5.1. Things bounce back and forth between intensely heavy and intensely heady. This is a masterpiece of instrumental craft.
“We can only go the way the wind blows,” claims Peart on the next song. “The Way the Wind Blows” has two distinct sections:one heavy and one with layered acoustics. I prefer the acoustic section and I’m not too much into the heavy parts which sounds a bit same-y to 90’s Rush stuff. Then, “Hope” is a short Lifeson acoustic showcase. This might be the point at which some Rush fans started to doze a bit. Admittedly Snakes & Arrows is the most acoustic-based Rush album I can think of. I just don’t think that’s a bad thing. Not when you have Alex Lifeson in your band. “Hope” leads into “Faithless”, a strong Rush composition. There seems to be some sort continuity of theme here, or perhaps it is all in my head? First Neil says we can only go the way the wind blows. Then we go from “Hope”, to a discussion of faith. On “Faithless”, Neil says that like the willow, he will quietly resist. Seems like a total 180 from going where the wind blows to me, and I don’t care if it’s not intentional because I think it’s cool. On the guitar end, Alex plays a cool bluesy solo, once again classing up the song several notches. What a player.
The song that doesn’t work for me is “Bravest Face”. I find the verses annoying. “Good News First” is better, returning us to the regal Rush territory I prefer. Alex’s magnificent chords are enhanced by the Mellotron. Weak verses are compensated for here by other elements. It sounds like an incomplete song to me, but better than “Bravest Face”. The aforementioned “Malignant Narcissism” is a mind-tornado as opposed to a mind-blow. But it’s actually a distraction; you’re about to be blown away by the sheer power of closer “We Hold On”. Rush closers usually just bowl me over, and “We Hold On” is one of those. Fucking awesome. This time, Alex concentrates on the electric guitar and comes up with numerous unique and enhancing licks. This is a complete Rush triumph. Neil is absolutely relentless. It leaves the album on an exhausted, satisfied note.
And a good thing, too — I was starting to worry as the song quality was dipping towards the end there. I’m happy Rush redeemed it with a stunner like “We Hold On”.
Yesterday, you read all about why I own this (and many others). Will I still like it today? Let’s find out.
AVRIL LAVIGNE – Under My Skin (2004 Arista)
Let’s get on with it. The version of Under My Skin that I have comprises 13 songs, so let’s put the headphones on. “Take Me Away” opens strongly with sparse, polished guitars and keyboards. It sounds like Evanescence, actually. It was written by Avril and her guitarist Evan Taubenfeld. At this point, Avril wasn’t singing with any annoying contrivances in her voice. She was just blasting away (most likely in autotune). Given that this song is very produced and plasticized, it’s still a good song. So far we’re 1/1.
“Together” is a bit too melodramatic for Mike 2014, but damn, I still love that fucking chorus. I’m singing along with my fist in the air. Shit! 2/2.
One of several hit singles was the ballady “Don’t Tell Me”. This one makes me want to vomit in my mouth a little bit. I’m uncomfortable with this kind of teenybop rock now. But that fucking chorus hits and…ahh fuck! Still, the chorus can’t save the song, it’s shite. 2/3.
Avril returns to her so-called punk roots with “He Wasn’t”. Phil X on guitar here, but he doesn’t get to solo (a damn shame). As much as I want to hate the song, I can’t. It seems pretty sincere, and it ain’t bad. It’s snarky but not annoyingly so. 3/4 now. “How Does It Feel” is a ballad, not a bad one either. The instrumental production on this one (by Raine Maida) is excellent, although the vocals still sound autotuned. Phil X again on guitar. The score is now 4/5.
I’m a total sucker for the single “My Happy Ending”. Butch Walker wrote a pretty cool song, and the chorus is one of those Avril bellows that she is known for. The lyrics, like most of ’em, are about some dude. I can’t really sing along to “He was everything, everything that I wanted,” sincerely, you know? Still, the score is now 5/6. And it’s going to go up to 6/7, because I remember liking the song “Nobody’s Home” a lot. I’m not sure what the lyrics are exactly about, but Avril sounds like she’s trying to get serious, so that’s better than words about some dude. Ben Moody from Evanescence itself co-wrote this one, so you can guess who it naturally reminds me of. Still, I’ll maintain that 6/7 because the chorus is still great.
“Forgotten” starts out crap. You sure can tell this one was written by Chantal Kreviazuk as that is who it sounds like. The track doesn’t improve on the chorus. Pass. The board reads 6/8. A good song called “Who Knows” is up next, and even though it wasn’t one of the single, I think it’s one of the best songs. This one kind of sounds like a pop metal anthem, you could imagine a band like Warrant having a song like this. It has mellow acoustic verses with a shout-y fun singalong chorus. 7/9 now! “Fall To Pieces”, written with Raine Maida sounds like an Our Lady Peace outtake. A pretty good outtake, with a great bridge. Good enough for 8/10.
I have always liked “Freak Out”. It’s just fun. This one too sounds like a Raine Maida construction, but it is not. It’s written by Butch Walker and Avril’s drummer Matt Brann. It’s easier to listen to than most Our Lady Pea(ee-yai-ee-aye-ee)ce, so the score is now 9/11. As my buddy Craig might say, it’s looking like it’s time to hand in my Man Card.
Maybe not! “Slipped Away” is utter shite that I cannot listen to. It sounds like Chantal…guess who wrote it? The chorus is not too bad, but this song is crap. Can’t take it. If I could deduct 2 points, I would. 9/12. It’s down to the “bonus track” now. “I Always Get What I Want” originally came from a UK edition, but I bought this CD from my nearest Walmart. There’s something on the fine print about Sony BMG Music Entertainment (UK) Ltd, so maybe that’s something to do with it. “I Always Get What I Want” is another “punky” Avril, but like “Slipped Away”, it too is crap. Sounds like Avril’s trying to be her heroes, Green Day. No thank you.
The final score for Avril Lavigne’s Under My Skin is 9/13. Did I like it as much now as I did in 2004? Not quite. It might have been that I liked a couple more of those sappy songs. However, I’ve already said far too much here. I’m going to cut my losses and get out now.
I chose an obscure, semi-forgotten release to end the Week of EPs. Time seems to move slowly in Journey-land. Their first track released with “new” singer Steve Augeri was in 1998, and the album Arrival was released in 2000. (2001 in America.) Generations wouldn’t come out until mid-2005. There was a lot of upheaval at the time for classic rock bands like Journey who were lacking key original members. No longer on a major label, Journey tried releasing a self-produced EP on their website in 2002. It came and went without a lot of people even noticing. Fans who knew what was going on were interested in what Journey might sound like now, free of the constrictions of a record company.
I don’t know where the title Red 13 comes from, but if you add up studio albums including the soundtrack Dream After Dream, Red 13 would be the band’s 13th studio release.
The fact that there’s an intro (simply called “Red 13”) tells you that Journey are at least stretching their wings a bit. It’s an interesting intro, with programmed techno beats, new-agey prog keyboards, and noisy, exotic Schon licks. Even though I loathe these kinds of beats, I am at least excited by the sound of Journey experimenting with their sound again. This intro takes us directly into a song called “State of Grace” which expands on the exotic vibe. It’s one of the heaviest things recorded by Journey to date. Augeri lacks the vocal superpowers of Steve Perry, but he fills the role acceptably well. “State of Grace” combines anthemic Journey with experimental, guitar-dominated hard rock. It is a successful mix. Red 13 is off to a promising start.
The track simply titled “The Time” is a Zeppelin-esque slow groove, with nary a keyboard to be found. Instead, Schon and Jonathan Cain lay on the rhythm guitars, complimenting what the other player is doing. While something like “The Time” is an admirable achievement to a listener such as myself, I don’t think average Joe Six-pack Journey Fan will appreciate what the band are doing here. They might consider it a “piss break” song. Meanwhile I’m hanging on waiting to see what Schon’s going to do for a solo. (Answer: he does what Schon does!) I’ll also single out drummer Deen Castronovo as an MVP on this song. I’ve always been candid about my preference for Steve Smith in Journey, but this song is a different kind of Journey and Deen’s frenetic fills are more than ample.
The third song “Walking Away from the Edge” was co-written by, of all people, Geoff Tate. This is a solemn piano-based ballad. It resembles some of the things the band did in the past with Steve Perry. Unfortunately it’s not as memorable as, say, “Send Her My Love”. It does boast a powerful chorus but at 6:17, the song is a little too long. It fades abruptly, and then the final song is “I Can Breathe”. This one is little more than a standard sounding Journey rocker. It is not particular special unfortunately, until close to a 3-minute mark when a horn section kicks in. They should have had the horns there from the start!
Red 13 is not a bad EP, but the production is sub-par, as can happen when bands self-produce. However, had a producer been there in the studio the songs would undoubtedly turned out differently so that’s the trade off. The worst thing about it is the band photo, which just looks cheap and bad. What is that on your face, Neal? Dirt?
Eager to cross over to new fans, in 2004 Marillion released an album called Remixomatosis. It was a 2 CD set of fan remixes of tracks from 2001’s Anoraknophobia. Hogarth-era Marillion have not been remix-shy, having done something like this on 1998’s Tales From the Engine Room EP. Aware that chances of being played in the clubs were slim, the following year Marillion released a promo EP of three more remixes under the band name Remixomatosis. The name Marillion appears nowhere on the sleeve.
99% of the time, I really dislike remixes, especially when songs are danced up. I bought this for the collection, but let’s give it a spin. “You’re Gone”, originally from Marbles, sounded very little like the “Debonair Dub Mix” on this EP. All I can hear from the original track is Hogarth’s vocals. Maybe some keyboards, but who knows because the dominant part of the song is an annoyingly repetitive synth & beat. This goes on for an agonizing 7:55. This is not a song I would listen to for enjoyment.
The “Plasma Dub Mix” of “Between You and Me” is almost twice as long as the “Marillion Vs. Plasma” version on the Remixomastosis CD. This track adds a new bass line consisting of four notes that repeat over and over and over and over and over. Then a little bit of Hogarth’s vocal is dubbed over synthesizer lines. There have been better remixes of this song, notably the Mark Kelly remix from the “Between You and Me” CD single. After a couple minutes, the remixer Robert de Fresnes throws in some acoustic guitar from the original song, which really only makes me want to hear the original song. If you like repetitive music made by computers, go for it.
The closing track is the best (and shortest) one, the “Into the Fire Mix” of the superb “Don’t Hurt Yourself” from Marbles. As arguably the best song on Marbles, it is a difficult track to ruin. The remixer Cameron Lasswell wisely leaves Steve Hogarth’s vocal intact. The vocal hooks on this song have always been fetching. They are now cloaked in spacey synths, which I prefer to dumb repetitive synths. It sounds like a song by Lights, perhaps, or one of her soundalikes.
I can’t rate this EP very high. This is a collectible, pure and simple.
As most AC/DC fans are aware, their Australian and American discographies differed greatly in tracklists and cover art. Australia also got one more record (T.N.T.) than we did. This amounted to a number of Bon Scott tracks that were left off the original American releases. It made sense to eventually release them, so in 1984, five tracks were released on the tenth anniversary EP, ’74 Jailbreak. Of note, none of these songs are actually from 1974.
The track “Jailbreak” itself didn’t become a hit until this compilation was released. It was originally on 1976’s Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap in Australia. It definitely sounds from that era, and it’s long been one of my favourites. I found that little riff irresistible, then and now. I love Bon Scott’s storytelling lyrics, still cool today. “Big man lying on the ground, with a hole in his body where his life had been.” And c’mon, you have to love the music video, or you have no sense of fun in your rock!
The next four tracks were all from High Voltage, another favourite album of mine. “You Ain’t Got a Hold on Me” is one of those slinky Bon Scott rockers. I like the spare riff and Angus’ bluesy playing. Uptempo “Show Business” is a wry dig on the business side of rock and roll. “You’re smoking butts, they smoke cigars.” Angus’ playing here is especially tasty as he takes his Gibson SG for a ride. Then “Soul Stripper” takes it to a dirty place. AC/DC return to that slinky territory they used to do so well with Bon. “Soul Stripper” is a highlight among highlights, with those quieter bass-driven verses. “Pulled out a knife and flashed it before me, stuck it in and turned it around.”
A cover of “Baby, Please Don’t Go” closes the EP on a frenetic extended jam. Bon shrieks as if in agony. The band blast away as only one of the greatest pure rock and roll bands can. This is rock and roll 101, your teachers are in class, so pay attention to Mr. Young and Mr. Young!
None of the songs on ’74 Jailbreak are outtake quality. I never fully understood who decided what songs were to be left off American releases and why. Some of these songs were singles in Australia! As mentioned, these are only some of the songs unreleased on American albums. There were more and they too were pretty damn good. They are “Stick Around” and “Love Song” from High Voltage, “R.I.P. (Rock in Peace)” from Dirty Deeds, “Crabsody in Blue” from Let There Be Rock, and “Cold Hearted Man” from Powerage. All these songs can be had on the Backtracks box set today.
Welcome back to theWeek of EPs! Each day this week, I’ll be checking out a variety of EP releases, both famed and obscure.
MONDAY:Aerosmith – The Other Side (1990) WOLFSBANE – All Hell’s Breaking Loose Down at Little Kathy Wilson’s Place! (1990 Def American)
I only own one Wolfsbane release on CD, and it’s this EP. I remember that their Rubin-produced debut Live Fast, Die Fast didn’t sound as good as a Rubin production should. This follow-up EP was produced by someone named Brenden O’Brian, who is presumably a different producer than the famed Bredan O’Brien. Whoever it is, there’s little wrong with the production here. It has guts and clarity. The drums could use some more oomph.
The opening track “Steel” is one that I remember from Blaze Bayley’s live album. Hearing it again, it’s fucking awesome! “Tough as steel!” repeats the chorus which is appropriate for this razor sharp attack. The guitars by Jase Edwards are choppy and aggressive, and they really sell the song. I like when the rhythm guitar drops out during the solo, and all you have is bass and drums — just like it would be live.
“Paint the Town Red” is good time hard rock. It still has a toughness to it, because of the basic guitar-based production. There’s a radio-ready chorus and plenty of rocking melody, so if you had to pick one song as a potential hit, it’s “Paint the Town Red”. Then it’s on to the ridiculously over the top “Loco”. This time the guitars are almost a parody of shredding, so insane are they. I can’t say I’m overly fond of “Loco”, but it sure does rip.
In 1990, you had to have an accessible song with acoustic guitars on your CD. “Hey Babe” is that song. Blaze’s flat vocals lend it some character, but otherwise it’s a pretty standard sounding 1990 rock ballad. The dry guitars are very tasteful, the highlight of the track. “Totally Nude” is a pretty dumb title, but it’s actually a pretty good hard rocker. As the guitars blaze up and down the fretboard, song works its way into your head.
“Kathy Wilson” is a little bit of a mini-epic. Based on the classic film Invaders From Mars, it’s a little corny but absolutely cool at the same time. Blaze acts out some of the movie lines in spoken-word segments, but wails away on the choruses. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that this is an impressive little track. It’s a little more complex than the standard rockers, but has the same blitzkrieg drive.
Consider picking up All Hell’s Breaking Loose Down at Little Kathy Wilson’s Place! at a reasonable price for a nice brief addition to your metal and Iron Maiden collections.
Welcome to theWeek of EPs! No sooner do I finish the Record Stores Tales before I’m off on yet another series! Each day this week, I’ll be checking out a variety of EP releases, both famed and obscure. Let’s start with a major band: Aerosmith.
AEROSMITH – The Other Side (1990 Geffen EP)
The first time I bought this, it was on cassette in a mall in Calgary, Alberta in August of 1990. I also bought Judas Priest’s Hero Hero at the same store, also on cassette. A completist even then, there was no way I was leaving without The Other Side. Of all my finds on that trip, this one I had never seen before. I later replaced it on CD while working at the Record Store.
The Pump CD is a great album, probably my favourite. The two songs from Pump that are on this single are “My Girl” and “The Other Side”, neither of which are really as great as the rest of Pump. That’s in my opinion; “The Other Side” was a popular hit. Notably, “The Other Side” lacks its intro, “Dulcimer Stomp” which may make it interesting for some.
The CD also has two useless remixes of “The Other Side”. The “Matt Dike ‘Honky Tonk’ Version” is just as offensive as the “Club Mix”. Maybe the Matt Dike version is slightly less offensive, but the added backing vocals and dance vibe is just crap. Neither mix adds anything of value to the song, but they are dragged out to 5:09 (Matt Dike mix) and an agonizing 7:04 (Club mix).
The main track that I bought the disc for was “Theme from ‘Wayne’s World'”. I actually had no idea what Wayne’s World was, although my cousin Geoff apparently did. Back then, I wondered what the hell this was. There were no liner notes to help either. This track is a mere 1:29, and it’s a straight up recording of the Saturday Night Live performance by Aerosmith of that song. I didn’t give a shit, I love it now. Perfect filler for the end of a mix CD!
Since this CD consists of two album tracks, two pointless remixes and a 1:29 song, you must be sure not to pay too much for it. As a kid I rarely played it, and the same can be said of the adult version of me.
RUSH – Red Stars of the Solar Federation (X-Rekords, Live at Montreal Forum May ’81)
I love Peart’s slamming drums on “Red Barchetta”, a song I simply never tire of. What is it about Rush songs? They don’t burn out like so many other bands. Not even “Closer to the Heart” has burned out on me yet, and it’s always a pleasure hearing a less familiar version.
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