Reviews

DUAL REVIEW: Foo Fighters 7″ singles! “Best Of You” & “All My Life”

You lucky, lucky readers! Today you get two reviews for the price of one. Since I’m currently transferring my vinyl to CD, let’s talk about two 7″ singles from…

FOO FIGHTERS!

“All My Life” numbered limited edition 7″

While I like the tune, “All My Life”, I wasn’t big on the album One By One.  So it’s little surprise that I’m not into the B-side, “Sister Europe”, a Psychedelic Furs cover.  I do like the Ace Frehley guitar slashes in the song, but otherwise…blah.  You can also get “Sister Europe” on one of the CD singles for this song, which I don’t have.    Never run across them.

The record is numbered though; I’m 1375! (Out of how many? I don’t know.)

3/5 stars.

“Best Of You”

I was much more into “Best Of You”, and its album In Your Honor.  I can still still remember the first time I heard it.  One of the guys had forgotten his keys and couldn’t lock up the store.  He called me and I raced in to lock up for him.  I turned on the radio, and was immediately assaulted with “Best Of You”, a classic Foo rocker, an anthem really.   My passion for the Foo Fighters was immediately reignited.

I went out and bought both CD singles for “Best Of You”, each with its own unreleased bonus tracks.  I was also sent a copy of the UK version of the album by my good buddy Dan Slessor of Kerrang! magazine.   The UK edition had a bonus track, too.

This 7″ single with “Spill” was the final piece of an amazing puzzle of music.  It’s a hard, fast, underproduced raw rocker.  Taylor Hawkins hits the drums so hard, you can really hear it.  Great song, equal to anything else on In Your Honor.

Not a limited edition, but I give “Best Of You”:

5/5 stars

VIDEO GAME REVIEW: Queensryche’s Promised Land (CD-ROM)

QUEENSRYCHE’S Promised Land (CD-ROM for Windows, Windows 95, or Mac) (1996)

Promised Land is my favourite ‘Ryche album, so when this came out I had to have it.  Somewhat a companion piece to the album, it is also a game on its own.  There are two discs:  One, a virtual tour of the cottage where the band recorded the album, and Two, the Promised Land video game.

The object of the game:  Explore five different fantasy lands (one “world” for each member) that “reflect the thoughts, dreams, nightmares, humor and values of the members of Queensryche.”  There are puzzles in these areas and a lot of places where you just get lost, but there’s also cameos by the band members and snippets of original music.  The goal of the game is to find all five pieces of the Queensryche totem.  They’re hidden, one per world, and if you get them all you unlock a Queensryche song called “Two Mile High”.  This song, a brief acoustic number with an electric DeGarmo solo, was recorded specifically and exclusively for this game.  Unfortunately you won’t unlock it in any worthwhile format, you’ll sit and watch a Quicktime video instead.

screen shot 2

The other part of the Promised Land package is a lot cooler.  On the disc labelled Big Log, you can explore the cabin studio where Queensryche recorded the album.  You can move from room to room and click objects to unlock videos.

Unfortunately, with Geoff Tate out of the picture, it seems unlikely that a DVD release of these video segments would be high on the priority list for the band.

Anyway, it seems kind of pointless to give a rating to a game like this since it’s unlikely you’re currently rushing out to buy a 1996 PC video game.  If I had to put myself back in the day and how I felt when I got it, I’d rate it like this:

  • Game – 1/5
  • Big Log disc – 4/5
  • “Two Mile High” song – 3/5 

Screenshots from AdventureGamers.com.

Check out the unintentionally funny game trailer below:

More Queensryche:

Mike Ladano: Exclusive EDDIE JACKSON interview, part I

Mike Ladano: Exclusive EDDIE JACKSON interview, part II

Mike Ladano: Exclusive EDDIE JACKSON interview, part III

Mike Ladano: Exclusive EDDIE JACKSON interview, part IV

REVIEW: Ozzy Osbourne – Mr. Crowley / Live E.P. (1982)

OZZY OSBOURNE – Mr. Crowley / Live E.P. (1982 CBS)

Ahoy, Ozzy fans!  I am finally in the process of getting all my vinyl into mp3 format.  I chose this E.P. first.  This was never released on CD, never on iTunes, never as a bonus track nor on a box set.  There’s even one tune here that is not available anywhere else, in any form, whatsoever.  It is called “You Said It All”.  Most extrordinarily, this E.P. has Randy Rhoads.  Rare Rhoads, folks!

Mr. Crowley (or just Live E.P., since that’s what’s on the cover of my copy) is a nice little package featuring two Blizzard of Ozz classics:  the title track, and a clipped version of “Suicide Solution” that fades out during the guitar solo.  The third track is the afformentioned “You Said It All”, and I don’t know the story behind this song or why it’s such a rarity.  All I can say is that it is credited to the writing quartet of Osbourne/Rhoads/Daisley/Kerslake.  Which may actually explain everything right there.  Sharon is notoriously at war with both Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake over writing credits and royalties.

According to the back cover, this was recorded in October of 1980 during the band’s first UK tour.  While the recording is not as electrifying as Randy Rhoads Tribute for example, it’s fine for a low-key release such as an E.P.  Most importantly, “You Said It All” is such a great track.  The riff is catchy, the melody is excellent, the song memorable.  Maybe it’s not as great as the 9 now-classic tracks on Blizzard, but it certainly would have made a great 10th track, if it was even ever recorded in a studio.

I’ve always loved this one. Gotta give this:

5/5 stars

Oh incidentally this was also released on cassette, I used to have that too.

MOVIE REVIEW: God Bless Ozzy Osbourne

God Bless Ozzy Osbourne(blu-ray, 2011, 135 minutes)

The best metal documentaries are the ones with genuine emotion in them (Anvil, for example), and God Bless Ozzy Osbourne is loaded with all sorts of emotion.  Produced by the man’s son, Jack*, this blu-ray runs the gamut of emotions.  From hilarious stories with Tommy Lee to some genuine anger and pain from Oz’s family, this movie goes deeper into the man himself, than the music.

The movie starts with Birmingham, and Black Sabbath.  Some of the classic footage from 1970  is incredible.  Ozzy was one of the most loved frontmen of the decade for a reason, and these clips show why.  They also reveal a young fiery Black Sabbath, playing tight fast versions of classic songs, Bill Ward hammering away on his kit like he is trying to destroy it.

After Sabbath, things become less about the music and more about the family man and the wild man.  You know those stories — the Alamo, the bat, the dove, the gross-out contests.  What’s new here is the raw emotion.  Rudy Sarzo recounts a particularly powerful moment the day that Randy Rhoads is killed.  New and old interview footage with Ozzy reveals deep wounds.

The Jake E. Lee years are pretty much completely skipped except for Ozz critiquing a few old videos from the 1980’s.  Zakk is barely mentioned at all.  In fact, another late Ozzy member, Randy Castillo, appears in many clips and is never even named.  And I’m sure it comes as no surprise that Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake do not appear at all.

From there we go to more downs, booze, pills, assault, pain, The Osbournes, more pain, and Ozzy’s eventual sobriety, 5 years straight when filmed.  Through it all, Ozzy remains one thing consistently: the clown.

Ozzy is constantly saying and doing things to keep people in stitches.  There’s a certain innocence in it.  Ozzy never seems to really mean to hurt anyone.  He’s just trying to entertain, whether to distract from his own insecurities or just because he was born to entertain, I can’t say.  Probably both.

Athough the movie isn’t overblown with big name cameos, you will hear from artists such as Henry Rollins, Tommy Lee, and Black Sabbath.

Bonus features:

  • Q & A with Ozzy and Jack
  • Deleted scenes
  • Tribeca film festival

4/5 stars.  More about the solo music would have been great.

*I want to briefly mention Jack’s struggle with multiple sclerosis, revealed this past Monday.  Being friends with a person who has MS, I sympathize with the Osbourne family and Jack, but I also know that this is an illness that can be fought!  There are many ways to be a part of the fight, but here’s a pretty cool one that might win you a bike.

http://www.freedomridetoendms.com/

REVIEW: Black Sabbath – Seventh Star (deluxe edition)

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BLACK SABBATH featuring TONY IOMMI – Seventh Star (2011 deluxe edition)

The only Black Sabbath album with Glenn Hughes on vocals. The only one released under the somewhat silly name “Black Sabbath Featuring Tony Iommi”. The first one to feature no original members except Tony himself, with Geezer and Bill departing after the disasterous hiring of a new singer named Dave “Donut” Donato, a male model. That bore no fruit, and Iommi instead toiled away on what he intended to be his first solo album….

Finally, Seventh Star has been given the Deluxe Edition treatment. I’ve been waiting for some kind of official release of the music video remix of “No Stranger To Love” for 25 years. Finally it is available on this Deluxe Edition, along with a pretty good live show featuring the late Ray Gillen on vocals. I already have a Ray show on bootleg (a very common one called The Ray Gillen Years) but this is a completely different show, with a different setlist.

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Seventh Star as an album probably never should have been released under the Black Sabbath name. It’s truly a solo album that Warner Bros didn’t want to release as a Tony Iommi album. So here it is, an official Sabbath album. If that didn’t occur, would Sabbath as an entity even have continued in the 1980’s? I doubt it. Sabbath here consisted of:

Tony Iommi – guitars
Glenn Hughes – lead vocals
Dave “The Beast” Spitz – bass  (*brother of Dan)
Eric Singer – drums
Geoff Nicholls – keyboards

Only Iommi and Nicholls remain from previous Sabbath lineups. You know Glenn Hughes of course from his soulful wail in Deep Purple, and Eric Singer from his later work in Kiss. Here, the five musicians coalesce into a more commercial version of Black Sabbath. The hard hitting riffs are still there, the frenetic solos, the mystical lyrics, the pounding drums. Yet these songs are more melodic. Glenn infuses them with a soulful touch never heard before on a Sabbath album. Whether that is to your taste, only you can decide. Personally I love almost every song on this album. I find the standouts to be “In For The Kill”, “Seventh Star”, “Angry Heart”, and “No Stranger To Love”. Only “Heart Like A Wheel” bores me, a slow blues that doesn’t really go anywhere.

As mentioned, the video version of “No Stranger” is included, which I have never found anywhere else. For years I had it on VHS and I thought there were female backing vocals. This remaster reveals that it’s actually Glenn — I could never hear them clearly enough before to discern this.

The remastering on this CD is quite excellent. The drums have a fullness that wasn’t there before. The guitar absolutely sizzles. The liner notes are nothing new, just recycled from a previous edition of the CD, as are the included photos.

The bonus live show with Ray Gillen on vocals exists due to Glenn’s vocal and drug problems.  Ray Gillen was hired when it was clear that Hughes was in no shape to tour.  This CD reveals that Ray was really trying to be Ronnie James Dio. Personally I find Ray’s renditions of the Sabbath classics to be very overwrought, especially on “Black Sabbath”. Only two songs from Seventh Star are played. (You can get Ray’s version of “Heart Like A Wheel” on the Ray Gillen Years bootleg, as well as “Sweet Leaf”.)

While Ray’s tenure in Black Sabbath was brief, it was still important historically.  Ray did one tour and recorded an album.  There are some singers in Sabbath’s history that are not documented at all.  (One TV broadcast exists with Dave Walker singing “Junior’s Eyes”, and there’s a demo of Dave Donato singing an early version of “The Shining” called “No Way Out”.)   This live show, while not stellar, is an important piece of the Sabbath puzzle. It is the first (but not final!) official release of any Ray Gillen material with Sabbath.  The sound quality is slightly better than bootleg which is fine by me.

This remaster is not for Sabbath snobs. You know the kind. “Sabbath suck without Ozzy!” or “Dio is the best!” Sabbath’s history is far longer and richer than that, and there’s room for all kinds. Just one question:   Is Headless Cross going to get the deluxe treatment too?…may as well wish for the moon!

4/5 stars

Yup…that’s Star Trek TNG’s Denise Crosby in the “No Stranger To Love” video!

NOTE: If you like this album, Hughes and Iommi hooked up twice more: On the Iommi solo albums The DEP Sessions, and Fused.

REVIEW: Metallica – The First 30 Years 7″ single / Metal Hammer 30th Anniversay Event

Metallica – The First 30 Years 7″ single / Metal Hammer 30th Anniversay Event ($19.99)

In December 2011, Metallica played four special 30th Anniversary shows at the Fillmore.  Each show featured guests too numerous to list, a completely unique set list, and one new song at each show.  (Those four songs later became Beyond Magnetic — my review here!)

Two songs from the December 10th show are available on this neat 7″ single, available with a special copy of Metal Hammer magazine.

Side a:  “So What” (Live – featuring Animal from the Anti-Nowhere League)

Side b: “Through the Never” (Live)

What do I need to tell you?  It’s Metallica live, you know the songs, you know what Metallica do.  I think it’s great!  I love “So What” with Animal handling the lead vocals.   That song also features a bit of an intro for Animal by James.  “Through the Never” is your standard live version, just as fast as when the Black Album came out over 20 years ago.

If anything, this disc just whets the appetite.  Fortunately Metallica have made all four shows available to purchase (download only, no physical release) from their site. 

The magazine is cool, loads of pictures and interviews about the show with just about anybody you want to to hear from.  It’s glossy, 132 pages, the perfect souvenir of an important series of concerts for this band.  If you’re a fan, this is a no-brainer, even if you don’t own a turntable.  If you do own a turntable, then I think $19.99 (Canadian, when I got it at Sunrise Records) is a more than fair price for this cool item.

5/5 stars

More here:

http://www.metallica.com/content/so-what-metal-hammer.asp

Part 61: Obsessive Compulsive / REVIEW – Oasis Live (1994)

 

I’ve always had a little obsessive-compulsive in me.  This really came out when I started collecting music.  First, I had to have all the albums.  Then when I discovered B-sides, I had to have all of them, too.  Easier said than done.

Nowadays, the picture is so much more complicated.  While single B-sides are much more scarce today, much pricier bonus tracks have now replaced them.  Today, one has the choice to collect Japanese imports, for one or two elusive songs, at premium prices.  Or, you could choose the iTunes version for its own exclusive songs.  Vinyl bonus tracks are becoming more common.  Then, on top of that, Best Buy often have their own exclusive songs.  Classic Rock Magazine gets bonus tracks sometimes.  Occasionally, different countries will have their own additional music.

This leaves the obsessive-compulsive collector in a precarious position.  I’ll give you this example.  Alice Cooper, Welcome 2 My Nightmare.  In order to get every song associated with this album, I purchased:

The regular retail “deluxe edition” with four bonus tracks.

The iTunes edition which had its own bonus tracks…but not the ones from the physical versions.

The vinyl version, which had its own bonus track, “Flatline”, but none of the other bonus tracks.

The single for “I’ll Bite Your Face Off”, which has a live B-side from Download festival.

 

Being obsessive-compulsive about music sucks!  While you can usually get things at a fair price if you are patient and wait, sometimes you will never find what you want that way.  You could hunt every used CD store you ever enter, but will never find some of those Maiden singles, like “Wasting Love”, for under $40.  At least it’s never happened to me.

When you do get lucky, you have to act, and immediately.  One of my biggest scores happened to be a very, very rare item by one of Trevor’s favourite bands.  This was a sticking point.  More on that later….

The guy who sold it to me was one of those customers that nobody liked, except me.  As such, I always caught a lot of grief when these customers came in, because if I was seen chatting it up with them, it was considered “socializing” and not “work” because he was my “friend”.  This was one of those guys.

Well, define “friend”.  Did I go out for drinks with this guy?  No.  Did I ever see him outside work?  No.  Did I know his birthday?  No.  Did he buy stuff?  Yes, which in my mind makes him a customer.  Chatting up customers is called “customer service” as long as it’s welcomed by the customer.  Anyway.  Off topic.

One bonus about having customers who are “friends” is that when they trade, they always bring their good shit straight to your store first.  This guy in particular had just moved in from out west and didn’t like the attitude of the downtown stores.  He, like me, was an obsessive compulsive music collector, so I understood his needs.  Like me, he wanted the stuff to complete the collection, in good condition, and we had similar definitions of “good condition”.

Condition, needless to say, is important to the obsessive compulsive collector.  And what he brought me one day in 1998 was in beautiful, mint condition.

It was a UK promo disc of Definitely Maybe by Oasis.  The bonus here was a complete live album called Oasis Live, recorded 1994-12-10 at the Cabaret Metro.

I scooped up the disc.  I told Trevor immediately, knowing he would not be happy that I, the lesser Oasis fan, would keep it.  Trevor’s point was valid.  “I’m the bigger Oasis fan!” he said.  “If I got in a Kiss CD, no matter how rare, I would always give you first crack at it.”

He was right.  He would.  That’s why I still feel guilty about it today.  I did tape it for him, and later on burned it for him, but even that is not the same as owning.

I never saw it again, and I don’t know anybody who’s seen it before besides me and the guy who sold it to me.  According to the CD notes it is a Sony UK disc, ESK 6805.  As I mentioned, it was bundled with Definitely Maybe, a UK pressing, EK 66431.

As it turns out, the Oasis live album was incredible and justifiable to keep!  It was from the tour for the first album, and they played loads of those songs and some B-sides.  It has some of those classic Liam and Noel moments.

Liam – “This one’s called Up In The Sky!”

Noel – “No it’s not, it’s called Bring It On Down!”

And, of course, Liam sings his “I’d like to buy the world a Coke…” line during “Shakermaker”.

It’s an excellent recording.  Sounds like a small venue, which I find always seem to produce the best sounding live albums.  The band are playing with the youth and energy with which they began.  Liam sneers his way through the songs and there’s a minimum of talking.  No ballads.  Rest assured, when you see “Fade Away” on the tracklisting, it’s the electric version, not the acoustic!

I love this disc.  I didn’t even buy Familiar to Millions, because this one satisfies.

5/5 stars.

Your track listing:

  1. Rock and Roll Star
  2. Columbia
  3. Fade Away
  4. Digsy’s Dinner
  5. Shakermaker
  6. Live Forever
  7. Bring It On Down
  8. Up In The Sky
  9. Slide Away
  10. Cigarettes and Alcohol
  11. Married With Children
  12. Supersonic
  13. I Am The Walrus

 

REVIEW: Def Leppard – Pour Some Sugar On Me / Rock of Ages 2012 (iTunes)

DEF LEPPARD – Pour Some Sugar On Me / Rock of Ages 2012 (iTunes exclusive single)

As the title suggests, Def Leppard have re-recorded two of their biggest hits, “Pour Some Sugar” and “Rock of Ages”.  This obvious move was made to capitalize on that new Rock of Ages movie that I have no desire to see.  Also, the songs coincide with a summer tour.

Apparently, you can’t get Def Lep’s studio versions on iTunes for contractual reasons with the label, and the band didn’t want to miss the window of opportunity afforded by the movie.  So they re-recorded both songs and put them up on iTunes.

These will never replace the original songs in any universe, but they’re actually not bad.  Both tracks are very, very close to the originals.  Knowing Def Leppard I am certain that this was intentional and done with surgical precision.  Aside from some additional guitar parts and sounds added to “Pour Some Sugar On Me”, the recordings are nearly identical.  This surprised me particularly on “Rock of Ages” since you don’t hear Joe do the high voice that often anymore.

For $1.29 a piece, I’m not going to complain too much.  I doubt I’ll listen to this very often, but the obsessive compulsive collector in me is glad to have these recordings.  I’d advise serious music fans to just buy the original two albums, Hysteria and Pyromania.  Both albums are loaded to the gills with hits so you can’t go wrong, plus I believe songs are best enjoyed in the context of the albums.

Having said all this, I hope some kind of limited edition physical release is forthcoming.  The collector in me would like that.

3/5 stars.

UPDATE:  According to Joe Elliot, there are more of these “forgeries” coming.

POUR SOME SUGAR

REVIEW: Rush – Clockwork Angels

RUSH – Clockwork Angels (2012)

When the first single from Clockwork Angels was released in 2010 (!!!) I wasn’t too into the new songs.  “BU2B”/”Caravan” were heavy and stomping but to me, not memorable.

Then the band went on tour and finished the album and that’s why you’re reading this today.

Alex, Tom, Meat, Geddy

Alex, Tom, Meat, Geddy

Like all Rush albums, Clockwork Angels is a grower.  I feel a bit like a jackass for even trying to review it after only listening to it thrice.  However, they were good listens:  Twice at home and once in the car.  Surprisingly, because Rush aren’t always this way, Clockwork Angels sounded best in the car.

To me, this album combines the “classic” 1970’s progressive sound of Rush with the classic-nouveau of 1993’s Counterparts.  At times it sounds like the band are ripping themselves off, but who cares?  This is the Rush album that many fans have been wishing for, before they went to bed each night.

Now, this is a concept album, but I don’t pretend to have penetrated the lyrics yet.  They are striking, and yet on the surface straightforward, the story easy enough to follow.  I am sure I will get more out of it I go deeper.  For example I found a reference in the text portion of the story to Neil’s late drum instructor, so who knows what is in there?

All I can tell you for certainty is that there is a fantastic world of steam powered airships that take our protagonist on a odyssey across a strange and familiar land.  There is some sort of Watchmaker that seems to run the show with clockwork precision.  I know I have heard the word “watchmaker” as a metaphor for God in the past so I wonder if Neil had that analogy in mind.

There are a lot of bright spots to this album and not a lot of lows:  I count “The Anarchist” as having some of the best Rush riffage of all time, for catchiness and simultaneous complexity.  I think “The Wreckers” would make a most excellent third single.  “Headlong Flight” is one of the best songs, and probably the most traditionally Rush sounding, with tempos careening to and fro.  “Halo Effect” has a shimmery guitar part that reminds me of Snakes and Arrows.

Even “Caravan” and “BU2B” sound fresh to me.  I am certain they are freshly mixed, so hang on to your old single, collectors!

Most importantly, you can hear the sheer joy in the playing.  Geddy, Alex and Neil sound like they are playing for nothing more and nothing less than their own enjoyment.  It’s a truly inspiring sound and I think the album will continue to grow on me, as it stays in my car deck all week….

I even rank Hugh Syme’s artwork as among his best.  Each page leaps with messages hidden and obvious, a symbology with multiple meanings.  Although truthfully, I can’t stand the front cover.  I don’t think it captures the many colours and textures within.

As with everything released these days, there are multiple versions:

  1. Stardard digipack CD
  2. Classic Rock Fan Pack (no bonus tracks though, just the magazine)
  3. And, of course…2 LP, 180 gram vinyl.  Sweet.

5/5 stars

REVIEW: Tenacious D – Rize of the Fenix (+ all bonus tracks)

TENACIOUS D – Rize of the Fenix (2012)

Could the “D” top the Pick of Destiny?

The answer is…no.

Nothing could.  That movie and soundtrack made me laugh so hard I thought I was going to go into cardiac arrest.  But Rize of the Fenix is a close, close second.

There are no vocal cameos by anyone else, just JB and KG and a slew of studio musos.  (Dave Grohl is back on the skins.)   There are only a couple skits, the rest is all music.

The lyrics have never been more self-referencing.  From the Pick of Destiny bombing, to “Hollywood Jack” becoming a big movie star, if you love the “D” then you will love this.  The songs are more epic than ever and the joke is still funny.

I particularly enjoyed “Roadie”, an ode to those who keep the show going on.  From stringing guitars in the shadows to testing the mic, the roadie’s work was unrecognized, until now.  But what will happen when a pretty young thing wants a backstage pass so she can hook up with Kyle Gass?  What then, roadie?  Listen and learn.

Another classic:  “Deth Starr”, arguing that we should really build a hundred of  ’em.  And let’s not forget the musically epic “The Ballad of Hollywood Jack and the Rage Kage” which takes Jethro Tull and turns them up to 11.

And finally, there is “39”, JB doing his best Neil Diamond.  This is a sentimental ballad, a ode to a girl who’s 39.  Just lovely, sentimental balladeering.  Lovely.

Best Buy has two bonus tracks:  “Quantum Leap” which compares the “D” to Moses, Leonard Nimoy and François Truffault.  They also have the brief “Rivers of Brown”.  Worth having this edition for “Quantum Leap”.  (Also, I will note:  The Best Buy edition has the real album cover, and is not censored.)

iTunes had a song called “5 Needs”, a little hippy ballad about what we need to survive (such as air, food and rock).  However they don’t have it anymore.  Pre-order only.

Any way you slice it, buy whatever version you like — but do not buy the censored.  What’s the point?

4/5 stars