Please enjoy one of Canada’s greatest bands, live or in the studio: Blue Rodeo! Pay special attention to master bassist Bazil Donovan, the elegantly complex slide work of Kim Deschamps, and ex-Andy Curran dynamo Glenn “Stumpy Joe” Milchem on drums!
Hosting the Juno Awards on this night was Roch Voisine. Though they were nominated for three awards including Group of the Year (which they lost to the Rankins), Blue Rodeo went home empty-handed.
This was, in my humble opinion, the best lineup the band has ever had. I was fortunate enough to see them in this incarnation on the Tremelo tour in ’98.
Jim Cuddy – vocals/guitars/mandolin Greg Keelor – vocals/guitars Bazil Donovan – bass Glenn Milchem – drums Kim Deschamps – pedal steel James Gray (RIP) – keyboards
The first new physical music from Guns N’ Roses since 2008’s Chinese Democracy has finally arrived in the form of an EP! Good enough; we’ll take it. Beggars (and hangers-on) cannot be choosers. Considering how scarce new Guns music has been since the early 90s, the new Hard Skool EP almost feels like manna from the gods.
To the disappointment of some, the two new songs are slightly old: Chinese Democracy outtakes that have been reworked with Slash and Duff McKagan. The duo have writing credits on “Hard Skool” along with Axl Rose and former members Robin Finck, Josh Freese, Tommy Stinson and Paul “Huge” Tobias. Formerly known as “Jackie Chan”, this song comes closest to capturing the classic Guns vibe – think Illusions era GN’R. Slash imbues the riff with his trademark snakelike style, and Axl is in full-scream mode on the powerful chorus. The cowbell brings us back to the 80s a bit, but the experimental solo section is more modern.
The other new/old song “ABSUЯD” is much more Chi-Dem, and more divisize. Formerly known as “Silkworms”, it was largely enjoyed by those who knew it from live bootlegs but thought it should have been on the album. The keyboard intro has been axed, the riff emphasized and the lyrics slightly modified. The main hook “What can I do, with a bitch like you?” has been replaced with a refrain of “Absurd!” The words are otherwise just as angry. “Listen motherfuckers to the song that should be heard!” bellows Axl on the opening line. “Parasitic demons sucking acid through your heart!” I wonder who this was written about? Vocally, Axl’s in the faux accent he utilized on “Down on the Farm” and you’ll love it or hate it. Interestingly former keyboardist Chris Pitman, who was credited with songwriting on the original “Silkworms” version, no longer has a credit. It is now credited to Axl, Slash, Duff and Dizzy. Presumably the Pitman parts were chopped. At the time of its writing, Pitman said: “It ended up being this incredible track that sounded like Guns N’ Roses 10 or 15 years in the future. It was so far removed from our other songs that we had to put it in this other place. Concept-wise, it didn’t fit with Chinese Democracy. We hope we will have other songs that match that kind of futuristic sound. It’s a really exciting track because it morphs into this crazy sound, but it was out so much in the other direction that we have to let time catch up with it.” While that was true of “Silkworms”, the version known as “ABSUЯD” is more guitar-oriented.
The live songs commence with “Don’t Cry”. Slash and rhythm guitarist Richard Fortus sound great together on this, but Axl struggles when the singing gets high at the end. It’s a demanding song, and 1991 was a long time ago. “You’re Crazy” on the other hand is really good. Using the slower Lies arrangement, but played on electric, this version is like brand new. A real cool addition to your GN’R library.
The third live track is exclusive to the 7″ vinyl: “ABSUЯD”. Not only do we get new songs on this EP, but we already get one in a live version. Guns started playing “ABSUЯD” live in 2021 as a surprise before it was released on iTunes. Axl’s voice is pretty strange here, sounding a bit muppet-ish. (The screaming portion sounds like tape.) This live track will take some getting used to. It’s not that Axl’s voice is bad just…different than what you’re used to.
The 7″ vinyl came with a sticker while the cassette and CD versions come with no extras. The CD is packed in a slipcase, and the cassette in a cassingle cardboard sleeve. This got crushed a bit in the mail; a jewel case would have been better.
The cover artwork includes an interesting visual clue. On a school locker door, the classic Guns N’ Roses logo is stickered overtop a graffiti style logo reminiscent of Chinese Democracy. Almost a metaphor for what these new songs are.
It’s encouraging that Guns N’ Roses have finally released something new, even if the songs are just reworked tunes from 20+ years ago. Perhaps they’re clearing the decks before working on truly new material. It’s all but certain that we will see more, and hopefully a longer release next time. While some moments on the live tunes are shaky, and the new tunes were not as warmly received by some, the Hard Skool EP is wonderful to hold in hand. New physical music from GN’R! About time.
4/5 stars
All cautions made Every chance was given No effort spared to save what we had All in good faith I would not hesitate To extend myself and lend you my hand
But you had to play it cool, had to do it your way Had to be a fool, had to throw it all away Too hard school and you thought you were here to stay If that were true, it wouldn’t matter anyway
As tempers fade And lies forgiven No cause embraced could break what we had In its place A storm is lifting I would’ve thought you could be more of a man
But you had to play it cool, had to do it your way Had to be a fool, had to throw it all away Too hard school and you thought you were here to stay If that were true, it wouldn’t matter anyway
But you had to play it cool, had to do it your way Had to be a fool, had to throw it all away Too hard school and you thought you were here to stay If that were true, it wouldn’t matter anyway
You had to play it cool, had to do it your way Had to be a fool, had to throw it all away Too hard school and you thought you were here to stay If that were true, it wouldn’t matter anyway
You had to play it cool, had to do it your way Had to be a fool, had to throw it all away Too hard school and you thought you were here to stay If that were true, it wouldn’t matter anyway
Here they were again! A #1 album. Adrenalize eventually sold three million, no small feat during the peak of the grunge era. A step down from Hysteria, but a success. And after yet another devastating loss. Choosing to record without replacing the fallen Steven Maynard Clark, it was up to Phil Collen to handle all the guitar work. He rose to the occasion and the quartet emerged from their years of toil with an album they were satisfied with. And they figured out how to do it on their own, without Mutt Lange tending to every detail.
It all begins with Joe asking the musical question: “Do you wanna get rocked?”
“Let’s Get Rocked” didn’t break any new ground nor did it need to. It served it purpose of putting Leppard back on the charts. But it also highlighted something missing. Where were the riffs? “Let’s Get Rocked” is decidedly unriffy. It relies on a bass groove and guitar pyrotechnics, but the razor sharp riffs of the past are seemingly missing. That didn’t stop it from hitting #1 in the US during a year when bands like Def Leppard were getting dumped by their labels.
One of the most poppy of the new tunes, “Heaven Is”, hits the second slot running. A little of that Steve Clark is present, but this one’s main feature is the melodically constructed vocal melodies. The thick chorus harmony proved that Leppard had learned Mutt’s tricks. Lange did help co-write most of the tracks, but his meticulous studio touch was no longer needed in a producer’s capacity. This time, Leppard produced with Mike Shipley. Mutt was “executive producer”, which pretty much means “quality control”.
The first stumble of album the was second single “Make Love Like a Man”. This cowbell-inflected mid-tempo rocker would have been B-side material five years earlier. Listen carefully for Phil Collen’s “Cockney rhyming rap”.
Fortunately side one is redeemed by one of Def Leppard’s greatest ballads. Demoed during the Hysteria sessions, “Tonight” was the darkest Leppard ballad to date. The standout Rick “Sav” Savage guitar structure is the foundation for a damn special song. There’s Joe utilising his screaming voice a little bit on the chorus. It used to be his trademark, but here reserved only for moments of great expression.
The first side concludes on the Steve Clark tribute “White Lightning”. The brilliant Collen intro is designed to emulate Clark’s trademark guitar drones on “Gods of War”. Tesla tried a similar trick on their own tribute called “Song and Emotion”. In this track, Elliott warns of the dangers of addiction. “You wanna dance with the devil, you gotta play his game.” Clark’s demons are starkly laid out in the words, and the seven dramatic minutes of music are as epic as any of Leppard’s most ambitious moments.
Remarkably, side two opened on another top tier Leppard track. “Stand Up (Kick Love Into Motion)” boasted an odd title, and some of Leppard’s catchiest music. Call it a ballad? Sure, why not. It’s somewhere in between ballad and rock tune, but every minute that it’s playing is a minute of the best of Def Leppard. Something about its pulse; its uplifting chime. The undeniable chorus is the icing.
Next is the ode to monogamy called “Personal Property”, not essential Leppard. We do love the part when Joe threatens/screams, “You wanna stay healthy man? Take my advice! You better hit the road Jack, and don’t come back.”
A decent, but syrupy throwaway ballad with the overlong title “Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad” is the weakest of the three here, but that didn’t stop it from being chosen as a single and going top 10 in Canada and the US. It’s just nothing special given the quantity of superior ballads in the past (and future). Following that is the most pop track of the batch, “I Wanna Touch U”, a bouncy good song if vastly removed from “Wasted” and “Ride in the Sun”.
The 10th and final track is the new version of the familiar “Tear It Down”. This born rocker has been polished up and produced just right for album release. Which do you prefer? The final Adrenalize rendition, or the raw B-side from ’87?
Like Hysteria before, Adrenalize came complete with a number of important B-sides. Perhaps the most crucial of these was a track that could have been a throwaway, but “Two Steps Behind” turned into Leppard’s first acoustic song. This opened doors to entirely new worlds for the band. We will take a closer look at these B-sides when we arrive at the appropriate discs in the CD Collection Volume 2 box set.
With an album completed, released, and on the charts, there was another challenge ahead. Def Leppard were a two guitar band. Phil Collen did admirably well, playing all the guitars on the album. Live, they’d need someone both capable and dedicated. What are the odds of finding the exact right match?
Adrenalize did what it had to do. It kept the band alive and viable. Hysteria was a period of exponential musical growth for Def Leppard. If they couldn’t repeat that kind of experimental innovation this time out, they’d have to give it a shot next time. And they would.
The final ofmythreeepic Rik Emmett interviews in the VHS Archives.
August 1990: It was the Magic Summer Tour and the Perfect Gentlemen were opening for New Kids On the Block at the CNE in Toronto. That was the big news. With all that teenage hype looming outside the big glass MuchMusic windows in the form of young girls, in walked Rik Emmett with his first solo material since leaving Triumph in 1988. Nobody knew what to expect!
Interviewer Steve Anthony is his usual goofy self and loosens Rik up with a few joke questions about New Kids, Perfect Gentlemen and the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, before diving into the big ones.
Topics discussed:
What artistic expression was he not able to fulfil in Triumph but now can as a solo artist?
The new album Absolutely and the response from Triumph fans and the music industry.
The writing process.
Hair production.
The Judas Priest trial.
His (awesome) new six piece band.
Being a guitar player vs singer/songwriter.
The new song and video “Big Lie”.
That’s it for my Rik Emmett treasure from the Archives, I hope you enjoyed them.
The other night, Tee Bone was making the artwork for next week’s LeBrain Train episode, Top 5 Ballads. I asked if he could add in a picture of me playing acoustic guitar. It started there, turned into “me recording my acoustic ballad album on the beach”, and it simply grew and grew!
Lots of surprises and a couple F-bombs on the show this week!
Normally you would expect Tim Durling (Tim’s Vinyl Confessions) and I to agree about everything. This week, we did not! Instead, Eric Litwiller and I matched nearly album for album. Meanwhile, John T. Snow (2Loud2OldMusic) snuck in some really different picks. Plenty of discussion, disagreement, love and laughs!
We started the show with an “ABSUЯD” unboxing and a special surprise from Aaron! Thanks for watching! If you missed it you can catch it below.
Upcoming Schedule:
Friday February 25, 7:00 PM: Top Ballads with Eric, John, Harrison, and Rob Daniels
Saturday February 26: Tim’s Vinyl Confessions – Journey
Friday March 12, 7:00 PM: Ten Year Anniversary of Record Store Tales
Friday March 26, 7:00 PM: Two Year Anniversary of the LeBrain Train with Tee Bone
Friday April 1, 7:00 PM: The Prank Show featuring Michael Morwood and Chris Thuss
The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike & Friends
Episode 98 – The Millennium Show: Top Five Albums from the year 2000
A suggestion from the Meat Man — why not do our top albums from the year 2000? The turn of the millennium was a weird time in metal. A lot of bands were still suffering from the fallout of the past decade, while others were in the midst of big comebacks. But there were so much more than just metal in 2000, as you will see with tonight’s lists!
Give ’em a follow while you’re at it, and make sure you don’t miss tonight’s show! As always, the best way is to catch it live so you can participate in the comments. And as usual, there will be special unboxings for those who show up early! There could be something “ABSUЯD” in there.
GHOST – “Hunter’s Moon” (2022 Loma Vista 7″ single)
The new Ghost album Impera is almost upon us! (March 11.) The group’s sound has changed from album to album, progressing from a gothic metal band with a foot in the past, to something more perversely pop. Their last album 2018’s Prequelle, pushed further in that direction, with at least one song (“Danse Macabre”) sounding like a keyboard-drenched rock single from back in ’86. So who knows what we will get this time out?
The single “Hunter’s Moon” from the film Halloween Kills might be a clue. The single version does not appear in the film, but a much more elaborate mix runs during the end credits. Presumably, the single version will be on Impera as well.
The beat is strong, and the melody is prominent. The chorus is a little more old-school Ghost, so perhaps the album will be a hybrid of styles. There’s a cool guitar line and the usual idiosyncratic Tobias Forge vocals. It sounds like latter-day Ghost with a little of the early thump, and one particularly Sabbathy guitar bend. Plenty pop, plenty gothic. Good song though not up there with “Rats” or “Danse Macabre”.
According to Max the Axe: “All the neat metal tricks save it from being a simple pop song, and transcends it to hook-laden heavy rock. Lots of breaks and dynamics.”
On the B-side is the Halloween Kills main title theme by John Carpenter. It’s a variation on the familiar, iconic Halloween piano theme, bare with synth and choir. A very nice add-on to this cool single.
Part of my process, after breaking up with Radio Station Girl in 2003, was simply to explore new things. Music, piercings, and movies. Moving on, adapting, becoming a new me, and resurrecting parts of my old self as well. The immature inner child that persists. As kids, we weren’t bad boys, but we did get into mischief and play pranks. I always felt that if we had access to a video camera back then, we could have been Tom Green before there was a Tom Green. But we didn’t, and Tom Green was the real pioneer in that regard. And he took things way further than we did. Still, Green reminded me of me when I was younger.
It’s not a controversial statement to say that Jackass, particularly Bam Margera, owe a debt to Tom Green. Green was pranking his parents before Margera was on MTV doing the same. Where Green did it with a coy faux innocence, Margera’s version of the same was with manic violence. Jackass turned everything up several notches. As soon as a copy of Jackass: The Movie entered the store where I worked on used DVD, I grabbed one. I was curious.
Soon I was hooked!
I could remember taking shopping carts for a ride when I was teenager. Early teenager. When Bob started working at the grocery store, he told me “Do you know how much those carts cost? $1000 each. So from now on we return them.” Before that though…yes, we sure did give them a spin in parking lots. Parking lots were empty on Sundays and you could do just about anything. We never took serious tumbles like Johnny Knoxville and crew, but we did race them around a bit. I could live vicariously through Bam, Steve-O, Knoxville, Ryan, Ehren, Dave, Pontius, Preston and Wee Man. They could do the things I thought were funny but would never do myself! I killed myself laughing when Johnny rented and destroyed the car at the smash-up derby, then refused to pay for the damage. Just the absurdity of it all. You know that everybody signed waivers and got MTV reimbursements after the fact, so all’s even-steven in the end. In other words it’s OK to laugh.
Another reason I dove hard into Jackass: girls that I thought were pretty cute seemed to really like them (especially Bam). So if I was into Jackass, that was something I had in common with the cute punk and goth girls I liked. I also took style pointers from the guys. I had piercings and a couple tattoos, and I had one photo with curly blond hair that I thought looked just enough like Ryan Dunn. I bought wristbands and shirts at Hot Topic and skate shops. I dyed my hair frequently. I looked the part.
Visiting my parents regularly was something I really enjoyed doing after moving out and getting my own place. I liked to watch movies with them. Rather, I enjoyed making them watch things of my choosing. And so it happens that I tricked them into watching Jackass: The Movie with me.
They liked documentaries, so I told them that “Jackass is a documentary about stuntmen.”
I just re-watched the movie recently to refresh my memory for this story. Calling it a documentary was a bit of a stretch, but calling it a documentary about stuntmen was really pushing it. There are stunts, yes, but there was also poo, pee, puke, and bottle rockets firing out of Steve-O’s anus.
My mother was not impressed. “I hated it! I don’t like crude things,” she insists.
Jackass was indeed crude, with the climax being a prank involving Dunn sticking a toy car up his ass and then getting a hilarious reaction from an X-ray doctor.
“That kind of humour to me is not very intelligent,” says my mom, correctly. It’s fact it’s quite anti-intelligent. But that can also be escapism. My mom didn’t see it that way.
I asked her which sketch she thought was the worst. “The only one I can remember is the guy pooping in the toilet.”
Ah yes! Dave England walked into a hardware store with a newspaper in hand, sat on one of the display toilets, and took a dump right there. This is funny? My mom didn’t think so. But as kids, when we were dragged out into hardware stores by parents for (seemingly) hours on end, did we not sit on those toilets making farting sounds? I bet we did.
That’s the side of me that Jackass appealed to. The inner child, the immature side that still laughs when someone farts in a movie. That’s OK. What makes you laugh could be very different and that’s OK too! I needed to get back to that a little bit, and rediscover my childish side after having my heart crushed by a Radio Station Girl.
Just don’t share this side with your parents. Trust me, they won’t get it!
So, yes: That means this weekend there were three hours of Tim and I yammering about music! But apparently they were a good three hours according to viewer feedback. Here’s the “Aftermath” show that we did at 7:30 AM on a Sunday! Loads of fun — I love mornings!
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