Welcome back. This is part 41 of my series of Iron Maiden reviews! As mentioned when we talked about The Essential Iron Maiden, we are now in the compilation years. I won’t spend as much time on these hits discs as I did studio albums.
IRON MAIDEN – Somewhere Back In Time (2008)
Once again, Maiden have geared a hits disc to the newbies who have never bought anything by the band before. The overall concept was cool. As they did on the Eddie Rips Up the World tour, Maiden chose to take a look somewhere back in time, and only play songs from a certain era. This time, the band brought back the Powerslave imagery, and chose only to play songs up to Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (and cheating by also playing “Fear of the Dark”.
I personally felt this was a very smart move, since many fans (whiners) had complained that on the A Matter of Life and Death tour, the band had played that entire album. You want oldies? Well now you got them so stop yer whinin’.
To promote the tour, Maiden issued this Somewhere Back In Time disc. All songs feature Bruce Dickinson on lead vocals, so that means live versions where the old Di’Anno material is concerned. Like it or not, you can at least understand Maiden trying to promote the singer that the newbies were going to be seeing live.
I loved the touch of kicking off the album with “Churchill’s Speech” as I don’t think they have ever devised a better way to open a Maiden concert. Then, into the Live After Death version of “Aces High”. It seemed an odd choice for opening a hits album. From there, you’re into a non-stop onslaught of Maiden classics. “Two Minutes”, “The Trooper”, “Wasted Years”, even “Children of the Damned” and “Phantom of the Opera”! I can’t find too much fault with the overall track selection, or sequence. Those who dislike live versions are getting four: three Di’Anno songs, plus “Aces High”.
Sure, you could argue for certain inclusions. “Where Eagles Dare” or “Heaven Can Wait”, perhaps? “The Clairvoyant” is also missing. These are nitpicks.
The album also comes with full lyrics, descriptive liner notes, and even a cool poster with new artwork on it. The poster I have is for the Canadian tour — don’t know if other countries got their own posters, or none at all? It’s hard to fit the poster back into the jewel case once opened.
Good value for new Maiden fans, old fans only need to own if they’re looking for “the complete collection”. But even for new fans, this is really only a starter. Eventually you should really get the albums.
I have 31 discs of music to listen to now. And a whole lotta other goodies. Here we go!
First up – books. Peter Criss’ Makeup To Breakup, and the latest from Ripley’s Believe It or Not and Guiness’ Book of World Records. I’ve leafed through Peter’s book — all he seems to do is bitch about Paul and Gene. Review will come.
Next, Queen. A total of 8 discs of awesome remastered Queen to listen to: The Miracle, Jazz, A Night at the Opera, and Live Killers!
Next up, Rush. 6 discs in each of these two Sector box sets, including 2 DVD’s in 5.1 surround, plus 2 discs of 2112. Awesome. (I already have Sector 2 and have a review of that coming in the next few days.)
And the rest: The 4 disc Cult Love Omnibus Edition. Thin Lizzy’s Life Live (2 discs), Jon Lord’s Concerto for Group and Orchestra, and the new Rage Against The Machine XX edition (2 discs plus a DVD).
But that’s not all. Check out this Kiss lunchbox, these movies and vintage G1 Transformers 1988 “Bugly” action figure.
Lastly my folks got me this neat Joby camera tripod. This is going to come in handy when I make my next Transformers stop motion animated movie. I did a brief 15 second screen test — check that out too!
Hope your Christmas was filled with happiness, love, joy, and rock!
Good day, eh? This will be the last post before Christmas! LeBrain’s Blog will be taking a rare break for Christmas. We’ll be back soon, so don’t worry eh?
I would like to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and happy holiday whether you celebrate it or not, but most importantly a safe holiday. Be careful on those roads.
And now for Christmas, I leave you with a very special review. Enjoy!
BOB & DOUG McKENZIE – Great White North (1981)
Cooooo, loo coo coo, coo coo coo coo!
Merry Christmas, eh? All Canadians (aka, “Hosers” for my international readers) celebrate Christmas every year with the classic tune, “Twelve Days of Christmas” by our national treasures, Bob & Doug McKenzie. A sample lyric?
On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:
5 GOLDEN TOQUES!,
4 pounds of back bacon,
3 french toast,
2 turtlenecks,
and a beer, in a tree.
Twisted Sister, eat your hearts out. This is the best version (ever!) of this Christmas classic. All Hosers should know the words off by heart, just as well as they know “Oh Canada”.
This Christmas classic can be found on Bob & Doug’s album, Great White North. A spin-off from their successful SCTV segment, Kanadian Korner, it wasn’t long before somebody at Anthem records thought the boys should make an album, eh? Basically half an hour of rambling about back bacon, smokes, donuts and beer, it’s not much of an album. Bummer. It doesn’t sound like it was scripted. It’s hard to stay tuned in for the entire length, although it did somehow go to #1 in Canada. Much of the album is taken up by welcoming to the listener to different segments, and the boys fighting over what in fact they should be talking about.
One of the funnier segments is regarding “Elron McKenzie” and his church. The sermon that day was about not killing bugs. The sermon was a big success, even though people had to drive through 8 feet of snow, eh.
Disappointing was “Black Hole” which features a backwards message. Using the magic of Audacity, I did play the segment backwards. I was hoping for something a little more mindblowing, like a recipe for the perfect donut or back bacon sandwich, but no such luck.
All of this is offset not only by the Christmas tune, but perhaps one of the greatest songs in Canadian history: “Take Off”.
“Take Off” features lead vocals by Geddy Lee, of Canada’s Rush. Geddy did the single for the princely sum of ten bucks. This song is not only a must for all Hosers, but all Rush fans worldwide. The incredible lead vocal may blow your speakers. As Geddy himself says on the track, “I’m a professional, eh?”
This one arrived too late to slide into the schedule when I posted my own review of A Matter of Life and Death. Better late than never! Here’s the infamous Meat with his take on the album. A more seasoned take, perhaps. Enjoy!
That’s the Meat Man on the left, in case you didn’t know.
He’s a pretty big Iron Maiden fan…
IRON MAIDEN – A Matter of Life and Death (2006)
The Reincarnation of Iron Maiden
To semi-quote a good friend of mine, “I have seen Iron Maiden live…I have seen Iron Maiden live…a lot”
November 30, 1984 –Maple Leaf Gardens- World Slavery Tour (Twisted Sister opening)
July 20, 1999 – Massey Hall – Ed Hunter Tour
May 5, 2003 – Molson Amphitheater – Give Em’ ‘Ed Til I’m Dead Tour (Motorhead and Dio opening)
August 3, 2005 – Air Canada Center – Eddie Rips Up the World Tour
October 16, 2006 – Air Canada Center – A Matter of Life and Death Tour
March 16, 2008 – Air Canada Center – Somewhere Back in Time World Tour
July 13, 2012 – Molson Amphitheater – Maiden England World Tour
I was 15 when I first saw Iron Maiden live. I remember standing outside Sam the Record Man downtown Kitchener to get the tickets. Took one of those party busses up to Toronto for the show. When I saw Maiden this last July, it was hard to believe that the first time I saw them was 28 years earlier. While there are specific memories from each and every one of those shows, the aforementioned A Matter of Life and Death Tour holds a special place in my concert-loving heart.
Having seen Maiden four times previous, I was obviously excited for another great show, but was also expecting another “greatest hits” tour with a dabble of new material. What I and the other 15,799 concertgoers got was something else. I have seen a shit load of concerts. But never have I seen a band come on stage and literally play their new album to a sold out crowd… from track 1 to the end. I didn’t really even know the album that well going into the show. But it was one of my favorite concert experiences ever. I can imagine that rehearsals for this tour were quite extensive. It’s one thing for them to get together and polish up “The Prisoner” or “Clairvoyant”. It’s another thing to rehearse all your new material and get it ready for touring. And this album especially…for these reasons…
The shortest track on the album is 5:08 (“The Pilgrim”)
This may be the band’s most progressive album, song-structure wise.
With all due respect to Dance of Death and Brave New World, I believe Iron Maiden had not released something this relevant since 1988’s Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. A Matter of Life and Death sees Maiden finding a seamless way to connect hooks within unpredictable progressive grooves. This band has always been linked with Thin Lizzy in several ways, but never more than this album. There are moments where you start to actually appreciate Thin Lizzy more by listening to it, which I suspect may have been a conscious or sub-conscious goal in the creation of this album.
There is not a weak track on this album. There are several A++ songs. The opening track, “Different World” is as such and is and was a great song to start off a show. “For the Greater Good of God”, the longest track on the album, sees Maiden showing heavy chops while somehow staying bluesy. “The Longest Day” might be the most progressive Iron Maiden track of all time. Also my favorite track on the album, “Brighter Than a Thousand Suns”, hypnotically kicks ass with melody. Hey, that pretty much defines the band itself doesn’t it?
A Matter of Life and Death is indeed “Brighter Than a Thousand Suns”; one of the most important albums in the Maiden canon.
It’s always great to have a contrasting point of view when it comes to a new release. So, my buddy Tommy Morais, one of the top-rated reviewers on the Canadian Amazon site, is back to give us his two cents. Tommy got the standard edition of the new ‘Smith, while I got the deluxe. Neither of us had read the others’ review when we did this.
I’ll go first. Here’s my take on the deluxe:
AEROSMITH – Music From Another Dimension! (Deluxe Edition)
When an album is a decade or so in the making (hello, Axl!), it is only certain to create one thing: expectation. And it’s difficult to approach the new Aero-platter without expectation, seeing as the pre-release hype was absolutely gonzo. “Sounds like our old stuff! Sounds like Rocks!” Etc. etc. etc.
The truth of the matter is, on Music From Another Dimension! there are elements that sound like classic Aerosmith. Mostly, it’s in Joe Perry’s riffs. Otherwise, this album is firmly in Get A Grip territory, minus Bruce Fairbairn’s trademark flourish.
The opening track, the dumb-titled “Luv XXX” contains one of those vintage 70’s sounding Joe Perry riffs, as does the next song “Oh Yeah”. Both are really decent songs, with “Oh Yeah” getting points for cool female backing vocals. Perhaps if “Oh Yeah” had been on Pump rather than this album, it would have been a hit single.
“Beautiful” is the first song that I strongly dislike. Not only does it have a dull chorus, but Tyler thought it would be a good idea to spend the verses rapping. Not exactly a return to Rocks, is it Steven? There is seldom anything as embarrassing as a rock band attempting genre-hopping into rap, unless that’s already your modus operandi, like Rage Against the Machine for example. Rush pulled it off once (“Roll the Bones”) but Aerosmith come off as desperate.
The first ballad, “Tell Me”, is up next. An acoustic ballad along the lines of a song like “What It Takes”, this is an acceptable song, but it lacks a decent chorus. Nothing outstanding. I enjoy Tom Hamilton’s rolling bassline underneath.
Then comes “Out Go the Lights”, which captures the Aerofunk of old. It has some funky harmonica and the return of the girls on backing vocals. Joey Kramer’s unmistakable drums sound absolutely massive. I think this one must be one of the oldest tunes on the album. It shares one section with “My Girl” from Pump, indicating a probable genesis back in 1989. It also shares a melody with the next song, the overrated single “Legendary Child”. “Legendary Child” is overproduced with too many layers of vocals, but Tom’s bass just kicks you in the nuts. It’s strange to hear one melody used more than once on an album, but that is perhaps because of the patchwork nature of the recording, and the fact that Aerosmith dug back into the archives for unfinished songs.
Let’s just skip “What Could Have Been Love”, which is basically the same as any Aero-ballad since Get A Grip. Instead, go straight to “Street Jesus”, an monolithic slab of riffery. This one could have been on Rocks or Toys. The whiplash-inducing tempo will leave you out of breath!
But why, oh why Aerosmith, did you bookend that awesome song with another typical Aero-ballad? And this one a duet with Carrie Underwood? So contrived. I really can’t see Brad Whitford, Joey Kramer and Tom Hamilton (who co-wrote the song) sitting around at home going, “You know, we really need to get a country singer on our album.” Nothing against Carrie Underwood, I would have jumped at the chance to record with Aerosmith too.
“Lover Alot” is another single, and even though it’s uptempo, it suffers from lack of melody and really dumb repetitive lyrics. Tyler’s normally a very clever lyricist. This is just below him.
Ah don’t you know that she loves you a lot
Why don’t you know, don’t you know what you got
I even know that she loves you a lot
Why don’t you know that she loves you a lot
Ah don’t you know that she loves you a lot
Why don’t you know, don’t you know what you got
I even know that she loves you a lot
Why don’t you know, don’t you know, don’t you?
Seriously.
“We All Fall Down” is the fourth ballad, but a decent one. I can hear some serious emotion coming out of this one. Like “Amazing” from Get A Grip, this one has something special to it that speaks to me, be it the melancholy melody or the lyrics, I don’t know.
Joe Perry’s first lead vocal of the album, “Freedom Fighter”, is a surprisingly strong tune. I really like this one. Granted, it has the vibe of something that could have been on Joe’s last solo album, but that’s not a bad thing. It’s a great song even if Joe ain’t the greatest of singers.
“Closer” isn’t really a ballad, more of a blues, featuring some smokin’ Joe guitar. It’s good to have some Aero-blues on a well balanced album, although I think the melody leaves a bit to be desired. This goes straight into the organ intro of “Something”, which is another bluesy number, and Joe’s second lead vocal. Better than “Closer”, this one really hits the spot.
“Another Last Goodbye” is the fifth ballad. It’s a basic Steve piano ballad, and I don’t mind this one either. It sounds sincere and has a live vibe. This is what a song like “I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing” should have been.
That ends the album proper, but the deluxe edition has a cool bonus disc. A really cool bonus disc, well worth buying.
“Up on the Mountain” is a great little number featuring Tom on lead vocals with Steven backing him. Then Joe gets a third lead vocal on the incredible “Oasis in the Night”. Lots of lap steel here. This sounds like something that Joe might play on his front porch on a hot summer night. Just a cool tune. Finally, “Sunny Side of Love” is a melodic Aerosmith tune that probably should have been on the album proper, replacing some of the weaker songs.
Aside from Carrie Underwood, there are a slew of guest appearances that you can’t even hear — Johnny Depp, Julian Lennon, and so on. Who cares? Nobody buys an Aerosmith album because Johnny Depp is on it.
There’s a DVD too with live stuff on it. Typical live Aerosmith, it’s nice to have something recent, this is just an added bonus. Nothing really “must-have” here.
I think Music From Another Dimension!‘s biggest weakness is its length. 15 songs (+3) could easily have been trimmed to 10 (or 13). When you trim the fat though, it’s a solid…
4/5 stars
And now, without further delay, here’s Tommy!
AEROSMITH – Music From Another Dimension! (standard edition)
It’s been eleven years since the last Aerosmith studio album, 2001’s Just Push Play (and there’s also been the 2004 covers album Honkin’ On Bobo) which was really a product of its time with the band collaborating with producers that gave them a clean modern pop sound. This time around they brought back producer Jack Douglas who worked on some of the band’s best albums in the 1970’s. With the inner problems in the band and the near breakup, Steven Tyler doing American Idol fans were beginning to wonder if there was any recording going. It took a long time but Aerosmith’s 15th studio album, Music From Another Dimension is here. Initially the band said it would be a throwback to Toys in the Attics (1975) and Rocks (1976) and there are glimpses of that, but there’s also glimpses of the 80’s and 90’s Aerosmith too and a LOT of ballads. It’s as if all eras of the band are blended in one album and that’s their sound in 2012. I got to hand it to them, for a band of men in their 60’s there’s some pretty rocking material here, and I find that the band does vocal harmonies quite a lot this time around and it’s working rather well (actually they sound like they wouldn’t be out of place on a Def Leppard album). There’s some good but to me it’s an overall underwhelming Aerosmith album.
The ups with MFAD are the strong rock tracks. In fact the album starts off rather with a string of three solid rock songs. “LUV XXX” starts out with a spoken intro before kicking it into high gear, I wish the entire album was like this, it’s genuinely one of the best Aerosmith songs that’s been done since the 1970’s. It has that vibe from Toys/Rocks era and it’s fantastic. “Beautiful” is commercial Aerosmith at its best, it’s catchy, the vocal harmonies are excellent and the songs is very likeable as a whole. “ Legendary Child“ is a Grip a Grip era song that never saw the light of day. I was intrigued at first and when I listened to it I thought to myself “this could work”, and it does it rocks and it’s catchy enough I really like this one. “Can’t Stop Loving You” with Carrie Underwood is puzzling, having her on an Aerosmith album is obviously not going too well with some of the fans and it’s just not that good of a duet. “This Could Have Been Love” was chosen as the single and no surprise, it’s a ballad. I actually like this one, even if it’s a 1990’s Aero ballad rehash sounding or cheesy or sappy, I can acknowledge all of this but it still works for what is. “Street Jesus” has more of a classic rock edge to it, with even some jamming parts and the result is a longer, more vintage sounding track that works fairly well, it’s one of those the hardcore fans will enjoy the most. The Joe Perry sung track “Freedom Fighter” is one of the best songs on this album for me, it’s got a good Perry riff and even thought his voice isn’t particularly great the song manages to rocks.”Another Last Goodbye” is a fitting ballad to end the album with but it’s overshadowed by the fact that there are too many other ballads to truly stand out.
The first half of the album, I have generally good things to say about and it sounds promising and it makes you think that yes, maybe Aerosmith has some of the old rock sound we love back and it’s going to be an entire album like this. Then there’s the second side, filled with ballads and it really breaks the album’s flow. A big part of the problem is that the album suffers from the too much ballads syndrome that was present on albums like Get A Grip, and they sound mostly like 1990’s Aerosmith ballads. Six/seven (depending on who you ask) ballads on an album is just too much, and I like ballads but these are for the most part just sappy and rehashed songs that they’ve already done, except not as good or passionate. There’s just no overlooking that many ballads is overkill. The worst part is a duet with Carrie Underwood, no offense but what’s she doing on an Aerosmith album? Especially one which was reported as “back to their roots”. I found some of the lyrics here to be the band’s most juvenile yet, which is rather humorous coming from men in their sixties. Then again the album has 15 tracks, maybe a little too much and if they removed some of the ballads and Diane Warren songs (still using outside writers it seems) it would have come across as a tighter effort, it comes across as a modern version of Get A Grip (some good rock songs, plenty of ballads and it has over 14 songs and an outtake from that album as well) . Most of those ballads sound like they’re trying to be part II of “Amazing”, “Crying” or “Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing”. 15 songs may just be a little too much, if they cut some of it down it would have made for a shorter, tighter more Rock album, that’s my take on it.
Like many fans, it’s hard for me to hide my disappointment. Still better than Just Push Play that’s for sure, but I expected more from the hype Aerosmith had around this release. There are things to like but some that . I listened to it a few times by now and I can honestly say my rating is a 2 ‘ out of 5. Some of the Rock tracks are reminiscent of classic Aerosmith and energy charged tunes but overall it comes off as an album that didn’t know what direction it wanted to take. There have been some great releases by Classic bands this year, but sadly Aerosmith’s is not one of them I’m afraid.
The much anticipated new Foo Fighters album was a big deal to us fans — for the first time, a five-man lineup, three guitar players, and the return of Pat Smear. In other words this album has the same lineup as the glorious Colour and the Shape era of the band, plus Chris Shifflet. Add on expert production by Butch Vig, mixing by Alan Moulder. It sounds glorious! What it lacks in the diversity from the previous two albums, it makes up with the sheer youthful energy from the first two.
Wasting Light hits you right away with the one-two punch of “Bridge Burning” and “Rope”, fast jagged hard rock songs with riffs and Grohl screams. Not totally immediate, but they set the stage for some of the best tunage the Foos have ever laid to wax.
The dark and powerful “Dear Rosemary” is the first bonafide classic on this album, and you can definitely hear the benefit of the three guitars as rhythm & catchy licks merge into one moving whole. “Dear Rosemary”, features Bob Mould (Husker Du) sharing lead vocal duties. What an incredible song. It was a bit of genius inspiration, working with Mould on it. The result is an instant classic, one of the best Foo tunes in the canon. (A Foo-Du tune?)
“White Limo” starts with a brutally heavy metal riff, something that harkens back to Voivod, with Grohl doing his best distorted metal screams overtop. This is primo thrash metal, a total surprise for me. I always knew Grohl was a metalhead, but I didn’t expect anything this overtly metal to appear on a Foo Fighters album. But it’s a welcome change, and my current favourite song for pure adrenaline pumping energy.
“Arlandria” starts slower, but builds to a melodic, dramatic chorus with crashing chords and cymbals. By this time the album has begun to take shape: It has melody but the foundation is the guitar riffage. “These Days” is a total change of pace, a much softer song, but still propelled forward by the beats of Taylor Hawkins, and of course the guitars still crash come chorus time.
“Back and Forth” has a pretty crummy snare drum sound, but Nate Mendel’s bass rings clear and true underneath. It takes a while to get going, but the chorus is still solid. “A Matter of Time” is the weakest song so far, an awkward, jagged non-standout rocker.
“Miss the Misery” is a return to form, starting with a brief “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” drone before settling into an i irresistible set of melodies, punctuated by catchy guitar licks buzzing in and out of the mix. Again, you can hear where three guitar players is coming in handy, as there is a lot going on here guitar-wise. Fee Waybill on guest vocals! Next, Nirvana fans will be excited by an appearance by Krist Novoselic on “I Should Have Known”. Including Pat Smear, this is a reunion of the three surviving members of the final Nirvana lineup, a little mini-historic event in the annals of rock. It is a slow mournful song, with Grohl’s voice back in the mix, singing “I cannot forgive you yet”. It is a beautiful song, and a welcome change of pace. Novoselic’s bass, when it kicks in about halfway, just rumbles. It ends as dramatically as anything else on the album.
The standard edition of the album closes with a song called “Walk”. This is a brighter song, guitars chiming and ringing, and exactly the way an album like this needs to end. But suddenly the pace picks up, and the guitars cascade like the greatest Foo songs of old. This one reminds me, for a number of reasons including riffs, melody and pacing, of “New Way Home”, the awesome closer from Colour and the Shape.
The Foos have created another fine album, not an easy thing to do when you have albums like Colour and the Shape and In Your Honor under your collective belts. They certainly have lost nothing to age, and they have not exhausted their energies. I also think that, after two very diverse albums, it was exactly the right move to return to a predominantly rock direction for this album. It re-grounds the bands back to their roots.
It’s not over yet though, as the iTunes and Japanese editions of the album have bonus tracks. iTunes have an absolutely useless remix of “Rope” by Deadmau5. I guess people who like this kind of music will appreciate it, but it has no place on an album like this. It is monotonous and boring, a waste of five minutes of my time. Much more appropriate is another song called “Better Off”. “Better Off” is almost Beatles-y in melody, but with heavy layered guitars pummeling your ears. I love the lyrics as well — “You know you’re better off, you bastard!”
Wasting Light has been a great and pleasant surprise to me. I wasn’t sure what direction the Foo Fighters were going to take with this record, but I’m pleased that they took a step back to guitar-based basics, yet still retained all the lessons they learned about melody, songwriting and arranging.
BONUS! Just to do something special and unique, and to make a point about recording this album straight to analog tape (no computers!), Dave Grohl has sliced up his original master tape for Wasting Light, and included a piece inside the first run of the CD. Cool, man. Worth hunting down a first pressing for, if you care about such things!
Part 41 of my series of Iron Maiden reviews! This time, we’ll talk about the Kerrang! exclusive tribute album Maiden Heaven, and a cover tune that didn’t make it onto the B-sides for A Matter of Life and Death.
This will be the last Maiden review of this series before Christmas. After the holiday we’ll reconvene so be sure to check back!
TRIBUTE TO IRON MAIDEN – Maiden Heaven (2008)
A little bit out of continuity, I wanted to get this release out of the way before we get into the next Maiden studio album. Maiden Heaven was a Kerrang! exclusive tribute album, probably out of print. I received this from my bud Dan Slessor who writes for the mag. It was especially interesting to me for the exclusive Metallica and Dream Theater tracks! Thus far, neither of these tracks have been reissued on releases by either band!
“Remember Tomorrow” by Metallica is friggin’ amazing. It sounds exactly as you would expect, retaining the hard/soft vibe of the original, but with Kirk’s slippery soloing and Lars’ machine gun snare fills. James nails the vocal with his trademark growl. I would consider this among the very best covers that Metallica have recorded. As James says, “Yeeeahh-yah!” Unfortunately, there are no producer credits.
Dream Theater had the guts to cover “To Tame A Land”, one of my personal favourite tracks from Piece of Mind. Dream Theater have been nothing but courageous their entire career, so it is only suitable that they would tackle one of the lesser-appreciated Maiden epics, and one of the rhythmically most challenging. Mike Portnoy was still the drummer at this time. It’s interesting to hear the song performed with keyboards since the original was so sparse and dry (reflecting the planet Dune itself). But the keyboards lend a more exotic middle-eastern flavour. It is also interesting hearing anyone but Steve Harris playing the bass line since it is such an integral part of the song. Nothing against James Myung, the man is an absolute master of his instrument, but any time anybody covers Maiden, the bass always sticks out like a sore thumb because nobody sounds like Steve. James LaBrie has no problem tackling the challenging vocal, high notes and all.
Other bands that appear on the disc include Coheed and Cambria (“The Trooper”), Avenged Sevenfold (“Flash of the Blade”…woo!), Trivium (“Iron Maiden”) and Machine Head (“Hallowed Be Thy Name”). Most of the rest of the bands I have never heard of, but I also liked this soft acoustic n’ keys version of “Brave New World” by a band called Ghostline. One that I definitely hated was “Run To The Hills” by some band called Sign. It’s just…weird. Unique, but just wrong.
Overall, an interesting listen but I really only need it for Metallica and Dream Theater.
3/5 stars
And second, from the brand new Deep Purple tribute album…
IRON MAIDEN – “Space Truckin'” from the Deep Purple tribute album Re-Machined (2012)
Sonically, it is very raw, sounding live off the floor. Some fans were underwhelmed by the track. I think it’s obvious that Bruce is thrilled to be covering his idol, Ian Gillan. He throws in lots of those little Gillan idiosyncrasies. “Eee-hoo-hoo!” While I think Maiden did a fine job on the track (especially considering they don’t have a keyboard player), this is not one of the great Maiden covers. It’s no “I’ve Got The Fire” or “Massacre”. It’s still a total treat to hear Maiden gleefully ripping through this classic. If this was actually live in front of an audience, I think it would have been better received.
TRAILER PARK BOYS Xmas Special (Conky Puppet, Dope and Liquor Editions)
Upon first release in 2004, I bought the Trailer Park Boys Xmas Special. It was a compulsory purchase. This excellent show, one of the funniest on TV, had yet to issue the special as a part of a box set. Plus it came with a Conky puppet! Fans of the show know Conky to be the evil but hilarious puppet who has a tendency to take over Bubbles’ brain. Surely, “Conky” is one of the two best episodes of the show. The other would be “Closer to the Heart” featuring Alex Lifeson.
See the video to check out LeBrain’s Conky puppet!
I remember Tom used to put the Conky puppet on top of his Christmas tree!
Then, in 2006, I found the reissued “Dope and Liquor Edition” at a store for $5, and re-bought it, even though I already own the version that came with the Conky puppet. Why?
1. Because I’m crazy like that and I love TPB.
2. Because it was cheap enough to warrant the second purchase.
3. Because the previously unreleased (on DVD) “Trailer Park Boys 101” special as hosted by Alex Lifeson was worth it to me.
This double-length episode (actually titled, “Dear Santa Claus, Go Fuck Yourself”) on its own is one of the best the series ever produced. Taking place in 1997, well before the fictional adventures of Ricky, Julian, and Bubbles were documented, this episode reveals a lot of Trailer Park Boys backstory and delivers a lot of laughs.
Ricky is bailed out of jail on Christmas Eve to help Julian with his present stealing racket. Ricky’s unhappy because Christmas is the best time to be in jail (“12 days of partying,” Ricky says). It doesn’t take long for Mr. Lahey to get wise to the theft scheme, and with his new friend Randall in tow, he promptly gets back on the liquor. In the meantime, sidekicks Jamie and Tyrone discover rap music and marijuana, while Ricky and Julian use “nerds” Corey and Trevor to help steal Christmas trees.
Some of the funniest dialogue in the show’s history was right here in the Christmas special. Ricky mistaking God for Santa Claus is priceless (if you’re not offended).
Ricky: Dad, I write letters every year, you know that. I mean, I’m sending a letter off to the big guy tomorrow. So, it’s taken care of. Done. No problem.
Ray: Huh?
Ricky: The letters… You and Mom got me to write them every year at Christmas. I’m sending one off tomorrow again.
Ray: To Santa Claus, Rick?!
Ricky: Yeah, the big guy.
Bubbles: The big guy?! The big guy? That’s God, Ricky.
Ricky: Yeah, God. That’s what I said. Santa.
Ray: Ricky, come on, you know Santa and God aren’t the same guy, right?
Ricky: Dad, you didn’t know that? I mean, think about it! How would he get around the world in one night? Of course he’s the same person. Right, Bubs?
Bubbles: No, Ricky. Santa and God, that’s two different things.
Ricky: What? Oh my fuck! You know, I did maybe think that I fucked that up. I wasn’t sure, and I didn’t want to say anything just in case Santa was God. Like, it would obviously, probably, wouldn’t it piss him off that I got that mixed up like that?
By the time you get to his big speech at the end, (“Christmas is about getting drunk and stoned with your family!”) you’ll be howling.
Like I said, this is hilarious if you’re not easily offended. If you are, I would advise you to stay far away from everything Trailer Park Boys. If you enjoy well delivered, largely improvised dialogue performed by the east coast’s favourites, then dig in for some Christmas dinner.
The special features here are the typical TPB fare. Alternate takes, extended takes, bloopers, and so on abound, making this worth your coin. As I mentioned before, to make up for the lack of the Conky puppet, the Dope and Liquor Edition has the Alex Lifeson documentary. As a Rush and TPB fan, this was worth the re-buy for me. You also get a preview for the first TPB movie, although this is well out of date now.
Merry Christmas, make sure mom is nowhere around when you watch this!
IRON MAIDEN – “The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg” / “Different World” (CD, vinyl, DVD, download singles)
There were a lot of B-sides made available for A Matter of Life and Death, so let’s talk about ’em all, shall we? It’s the last time we’ll have a chance to do so, as since this time Maiden haven’t released any B-sides at all.
“The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg” (CD, 10″ vinyl)
This awesome song was made available in two formats. Both had BBC Legends sessions. The CD has a great version of “Hallowed By That Name”, which is also the iTunes bonus track. If you’re like me, no doubt you prefer a physical format to a bunch of 1’s and 0’s floating invisibly on your hard drive, yes? If that is indeed the case, then the CD single is where it’s at, and it’s a corker. I love the sound of the three guitars on this one. Not one, but two playing the melody, with one playing the rhythm.
There’s also a beautiful 10″ vinyl, with a sticker. Clear 10″ vinyl, very cool. The vinyl had two more songs from this session: “The Trooper” and “Run to the Hills”. Now, if you’ve been following along, then you’re already aware there are plenty of live versions of all three of these tracks on the various Maiden live albums, not to mention previous B-sides, and the Eddie’s Archive box. What’s the difference? Well, if you want all the power and breakneck energy of a Maiden live performance without crowd noise, this is the way to hear it. It’s live in the studio.
CD
“The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg”
“Hallowed Be That Name” (Radio 1 ‘Legends’ Session)
10″ vinyl
A. “The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg”
B1. “The Trooper” (Radio 1 ‘Legends’ Session)
B2. “Run to the Hills” (Radio 1 ‘Legends’ Session)
5/5 stars
“Different World” (US CD single, UK CD single, DVD single, 7″ single, download)
This is where things start getting a little crazy. Yes, you had to buy five different formats to get all the tracks. Incredible. It’s stuff like this that makes me miss the simpler old days of collecting! Let’s go through these, one by one.
US CD
This one was redundant if you already own the “Benjamin Breeg” singles. This one repeats “The Trooper” and “Hallowed” from that single, leaving “Run To The Hills” as a vinyl exlusive.
“Different World”
“Hallowed Be That Name” (Radio 1 ‘Legends’ Session)
“The Trooper” (Radio 1 ‘Legends’ Session)
UK CD
Europe had their own exclusive CD B-side, however.
“Different World”
“Iron Maiden” (Live in Copenhagen on the A Matter of Life and Death tour)
So, yes, I shelled out for a live version of a song that I already have numerous live versions of! (4 versions on the BBC Archives album alone!) Life of a collector. How does it differ from other live versions? Shit, I don’t know.
DVD single
DVD singles seemed to be a passing fad, somewhat. I hope so anyway. I don’t like ’em. I don’t see the point of 1) putting out a single that you can’t play in some countries due to region codes, and 2) putting out an audio track on a video format. This being Maiden though, I made sure I bought this, from the UK Amazon site.
“Different World”
“The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg” (Live in Copenhagen on the A Matter of Life and Death tour)
“Hocus Pocus”
At least the music has some value to it! A live version of “Benjamin Breeg”, the first and thus far only live release of that song. And as per Maiden’s usual high standards, it’s freaking great.
But the real cool thing is “Hocus Pocus”, a cover of, yes, the song by Focus! Lead vocals…sort of…are by Nicko. No yodeling though. Just Nicko’s usual nonsensical ramblings in the background! Worth having for sure, but as a cover…what’s the point without the yodeling? As a cover version, it’s disappointing. Nicko yodeling? That would have been awesome.
7″ single
A picture disc, and a sweet looking one at that, this one has a live version of “Fear of the Dark”.
A. “Different World”
B. “Fear of the Dark” (Live in Copenhagen on the A Matter of Life and Death tour)
Once again, it’s a B-side that we already have lots of live versions of, nothing wrong with it, but nothing especially different either.
mp3 download single
“Different World” (Live in Aalborg on the A Matter of Life and Death tour)
“Interview with Steve Harris on A Matter of Life and Death”
And another brand new live track! Once again, this one has yet to be released on any live albums, so it truly is an exclusive. It was available via the official Maiden site. It’s cool to hear Steve and Adrian joining Bruce on the chorus, it sounds great.
The interview with Steve, 10 minutes long, I do not have. Interviews are not high on my priority list for collecting, and it is no longer available. It was only made available to those who pre-ordered the mp3 single, which I did not do. There was also an interview disc made available with the Eddie’s Head box set, which I do not have. Not a big deal to me, the music has always been what I’ve aimed to collect.
THE HELLACOPTERS – Disappointment Blues (1998 EP, Augogo)
I don’t know too much about this EP, but when I found it at my local record slinger for $6.99 (plus 20% off, sweet!) I had to snap it up. I only have three other Hellacopters albums: on vinyl, Grande Rock and Payin’ the Dues. On CD, the more polished and streamlined By the Grace of God. Finding a Hellacopters EP for under $6 was a no-brainer.
Disappointment Blues seems to compile a five rare non-album singles and compilation tracks, with two new songs (“Ferrytale” and “455 SD”). It seems to be designed for the Australian market as it advertises several 1998 Aussie tour dates inside.
It’s another raw, high-energy rock n’ roll batch of songs, not too different from Grande Rock or Payin’ the Dues. In the liner notes, the band refers to their sound as “hot action rock”. Sounds good to me! The tempos are fast and falling apart at the seams. The riffs are early Kiss on speed, the solos pure rock n’ roll. The songs meld together in the memory like one marathon tune with a little breathing space between sections. Again, much like Grande Rock or Payin’ the Dues. The bassline on “Speedfreak” is taken from the Lemmy Kilmister book of licks, the song itself could have been on any Motorhead disc.
Best song: the title track, which has a little more emphasis on melody and is totally memorable.
Best band member: the piano player because he goes by the name of Boba Fett!
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