The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike, Rob & Harrison
Episode 90 – Top Five Transformers Toys
Let’s roll out! I know this episode will alienate some of our regular viewers, but it’s been one that Harrison and I have talked about doing for at least a year now. And since it’s Christmas time, it feels like the perfect opportunity to talk about some of our favourite toys.
Transformers toys, specifically. We’ll talk about the history of the brand, and bring us up to the present day. Comics, cartoons & movies will be discussed. But the actual Top Five list this week will be our favourite toys. Expect some show & tell, and I’ll also be running some vintage TV ads!
Always look on the bright side of life! My wife may be sick, but during a global pandemic, that makes her a priority. And as her primary caregiver, that makes me a priority too. Small blessings.
I met Jen at the pharmacy after work (the big clinics are gone now). The pharmacist is a good friend of ours. I filled out the paperwork and Jen went ahead, just as I was starting to have an anxiety attack. I really hate needles.
It’s funny, but I was listening to Kick Axe on the way to the pharmacy, and the song “Just Passing Through” came on. I couldn’t help but think of the lyrics through the lens of what I was about to do.
“Steppin’ out into history.”
Yes, we are making history every time we go for our vaccines. Whether you are pro or con vaccine, this is a universal truth. We’re making history as we do things never done before.
“Caught inside the revolvin’ door.”
It sure did feel that way as I rolled my sleeve up for shot number three.
“I’ve got to figure out this mystery, Ah too many questions I can’t ignore.”
I would love to know all the answers. I want to know how this ends. I want to visualize the endgame. But we’ll just have to wait. The universe tends to unfold as it will.
Ironically the song “Just Passing Through” is about how temporary life really is. “Just passin’ through, we all may be back someday.” OK, so I’m scared of needles, no big deal. But sometimes the Facebook doctors and Twitter trolls start to take a toll on you, just from reading their poison. But then I remember: I trust my doctor. I trust my pharmacist. It’ll be OK.
I hadn’t told my pharmacist how bad my anxiety could get, but I paced the floor a bit until I was ready. I needed something to look at while he gave me the needle. He let Jen come in the room to take a picture of me. I just looked at her Aerosmith shirt until the moment you see in the picture.
Now I’m boosted with a Pfizer-Moderna-Pfizer combo, an effective mixture against Covid19; so say the studies. I’m glad that this is done just before the holidays. I’ll be at maximum efficacy right around the time we go out to dinner to celebrate Jen’s birthday, almost to the minute! As always, I promise I’ll update the world if either of us experience any adverse effects.
LeBrain Train viewers know Scott, my mega-Kiss-fan friend for four decades. The other day we went out for a hang in the freezing cold, drinking bad coffee, eating bad food, and freezing our asses. But we had a great time doing it.
Our conversation was wide-ranging, from idiots in the drive-through, to childhood memories. This led to a tangent on the “Mandela Effect“. One of Scott’s memories, of a rare Saturday Night Live sketch with Will Ferrell and featuring Kiss music, was driving him crazy. Was it real, or just fantasy? Probably due to music copyrights, you can’t find this sketch online.
One day sitting at home with no PVR or ways to record television, Scott saw the episode that the Kiss sketch was in. He sat at the edge of his seat, waiting to see the sketch again for the first time in years. Refresh his mind on what it was about, and the Kiss tunes used. Just as his dog needed to go walkies.
I don’t need to tell you what happened. But I will.
Scott got back in, and his lovely wife Ellen told him, “There was just a sketch on Saturday Night Live that you would have liked, it had Kiss music!”
Electronica was all the rage (all the rave?) in 1997. The Orb, Chemical Brothers, Orbital and more were hitting new highs. U2 was hot for electronica, and rock bands began incorporating new beats into their songs. Nobody crossed the boundaries between rock and dance better than Prodigy (formerly, The Prodigy) on their 1997 commercial breakthrough Fat of the Land. Leader Liam Howlett and his gang of backing miscreants struck gold with their genre-bending third record. Dancer Keith Flint had risen to to a frontman position, sneering his way through tracks like “Firestarter” all the way up the charts. His green bi-hawk and facial piercings made him an unforgettable music video mainstay. The group’s MC Maxim Reality had two lead vocals on the album including smash hit “Breathe”. Dancer Leeroy Thornhill, well, he just kept on dancing!
Commencing with the controversial third single “Smack My Bitch Up”, this album opens with a bang. Based on a sample from “Give the Drummer Some” by Ultramagnetic MCs, the group were forced to defend the vocal hook: “Change my pitch up, smack my bitch up.” Insisting they were not misogynists, Howlett said it means to do “anything intensely”. The music certainly is that, with rapid beats and sound assaulting the sense from the get-go. Then it goes raga at the halfway point, intertwining genres beyond recognition. MTV pulled the video, only for it to win two awards in ’98.
“Breathe” featuring Flint and Maxim on vocals was selected as the second single. This pounder boasts a Brian Downey drum fill from Thin Lizzy’s “Johnny the Fox Meets Jimmy the Weed” (immediately obvious, but only after you’ve been told it’s there). Coupled with rapid bass, swishing swords, record scratches n’ clanging hooks, there’s also a cool wacka-jawacka guitar sample on the verses. Despite the awkward hook of “psycho-somatic addict-insane,” the song is beyond catchy.
Kool Keith handles lead vocals on the slower, forceful “Diesel Power”. It’s just an ode to the love of making music. “Build with skill, with technique, computer A-DAT, My lyrical form is clouds on your brainstorm.” Clever internal rhymes and relentless rapping form the main hooks while Liam Howlett lays back with the music. Had there been a fourth single, “Diesel Power” would have been perfect, bringing in rap fans to hang with the rock.
“Funky Shit” is what it says, bearing the main hook of “Oh my God it’s the funky shit!” Beats and samples form a cool track that sounds like something from a 90s action movie or video game. Moving on to a pounding “Serial Thrilla”, this one creates a heavy tune with nothing but beats, samples and sneers. Try bangin’ your head to it for some genre-bending action. Keith Flint does the lead vocal: “Damage destructor, crowd disruptor, you corruptor, every timer.” Nothing fancy, but still sticks to your brain like supersonic electronic peanut butter.
Side two: the sound of a jammed computer leads into the exotic “Mindfields”, with Maxim back on lead vocals. The main keyboard hook is backed by beats and samples designed to enhance. Then we’re into the centerpiece of the album, a nine minute dance epic called “Narayan” with Crispian Mills of Kula Shaker singing and co-writing. Sounding a lot like a Kula Shaker remix, this track is as close to standard song structures as they get on the album. Mills’ smooth voice and knack for an exotic melody works as the perfect foil for Prodigy’s layers of beats and samples. “OM, Namah, Narayana” goes the Indian-sounding chorus, a sound that Mills also frequently brings into Kula Shaker.
For some, the centerpiece will not be the epic, but will be the smash 1996 hit: “Firestarter”. Infamously covered by Gene Simmons, this breakout hit became what it is because of Flint’s snotty vocals, pounding bass, and catchy samples. What is understood need not be discussed: this hit was destined to be. But after all that smashing and grabbing, “Climbatize” enters the scene with stuttery Van Halen-like distortion and a soft keyboard hook. Jungle beats and ominous keyboards distinguish this track from the others.
The closing track is the heaviest. “Fuel My Fire”, an L7 cover with Flint on lead vocals and “Gizz Butt” (Graham Butt) on guitar. There’s a cool keyboard hook to go along with the incessant, noisy rocking. This second shortest track on the album is overcharged with electronic buzz and standard rock-like drums. A brilliant closer to an album that is more of a journey than you’d expect at first glance.
Indeed, Fat of the Land cannot be distilled down to the sum of its parts. While not overly challenging, it does layer beats and samples in such as way as there is always some form of hookiness at work. There are a variety of tracks, both instrumental and vocal. By the end of it, you’ll feel like you’ve been on an adrenaline-fueld, surrealistic excursion. A weird jungle-y acid trip through the transistors of the past.
DEF LEPPARD – High ‘n’ Dry (The Early Years Disc 2) (Originally 1981, 2019 remaster)
Leppard’s pride in their debut album only extended so far. They knew that the sound they heard in their heads was not captured on tape. So they waited, and waited, and waited, until AC/DC producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange was available. When he had completed the recording of Foreigner’s 4 (six million copies sold), they got to work on Leppard’s second record. And work they did, with the band members unsure after many takes if they could even play it any better. They could, and they did. With Lange on hand to help refine the songs they had written, Leppard had never sounded better.
Today, High ‘n’ Dry is often cited by diehards as the band’s best record. It bares the teeth of AC/DC, but the attention to melody and harmony was typical of more commercial bands. It was a winning combination; High ‘n’ Dry has no filler songs.
The sharp opener “Let It Go” makes the changes apparent. A better recording, a more confident (and screamy) Joe Elliott, and an incessant bass groove propels it. The guitars cleverly lay back until necessary for the big rock chorus. All dynamics missing from On Through the Night. This time, they could afford a real cow bell — no more tea kettle! With “Let It Go” opening on such a solid, fast note, where do we go from here? No letting up! “Another Hit and Run” is even better, with quiet parts contrasting with the increasingly heady! Joe has found his voice, and uses it to rip and shred. Don’t try to follow the lyrics — it’s all about how the frontman screams them at you.
Finally, Rick Allen is permitted to slow down for the sleek, slower groove of “High ‘N’ Dry (Saturday Night)”. This tenacious track takes its time to blow you away. It was also one of three they recorded in a single session for music video purposes.
Another video from that session was the hit ballad “Bringin’ on the Heartbreak”, although MTV aside, it didn’t really have the intended impact until later. Originally titled “A Certain Heartache”, with Mutt’s help they steered it away from its Zeppelin-y origins and honed it closer to a hit. Sad verses are coupled with a chuggy riff at the chorus, which is beefed up by the backing vocals of Mutt and the band, gradually finding that sound step by step. The lyrics are nothing to write home about with, “You got the best of me,” predictably rhyming with “Oh can’t you see.” But then the track ends not with a total fade, but with the urgent pulse of a new bass track. It’s the brilliant instrumental “Switch 625”, paired with the ballad as if to say “don’t worry folks, we haven’t lightened up.” Leppard were, after all, a part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands. “Switch 625” is something that would have generated melting heat on that scene. Written solely by Steve Clark, this is one instrumental that is not filler in any way. It’s a song.
So ended side one, but side two commenced with the crash of “You Got Me Runnin'”, a single-worthy number that scorches the skin with its burning tower of riffs. Joe bemoans a girl that he don’t trust, while Steve Clark and Pete Willis do their best Angus and Malcolm. Rick Allen, all of 17 years old now, keeps the beat minimal while Rick Savage maintains the pulse on bass. When Pete breaks in with his guitar solo, it’s one of the best of his time with Leppard. But it’s the crucial chorus that keeps you coming back, a singalong brute with gang vocals that could have been lifted from an era past.
Then things get eerie with “Lady Strange”, hurling multiple riffs at the speakers, and boasting a chorus to back it all up. Tough guy Joe claims to have never needed love before meeting his “Lady Strange”. This is the only track with a Rick Allen co-writing credit, and features a scorcher of a Clark guitar solo. Elliott’s screams have never sounded more tormented. Brilliant stuff.
Without a break, we plow “On Through the Night”, and one of the fastest tracks on the album. There’s a surprising, quiet Zeppelin-y middle breakdown that’s welcome, but otherwise this track is built for speed. “Rock n’ roll is no safety net!” screams Joe. If there were any single track to delete from High ‘n’ Dry, you could make an argument for “On Through the Night”. However, fact is you need it to set up “Mirror, Mirror (Look Into My Eyes)”.
Displaying their penchant for parentheses, “Mirror, Mirror (Look Into My Eyes)” takes Def Leppard back to dark territory. A single spare Clark riff carries the song while Allen and Savage lay back. It’s the kind of brilliant construction that Clark was becoming the master of. Tension building riffs, stinging solos, topped with another perfect Joe Elliott vocal melody.
Finally it’s the all-out chaos of “No No No”, a memorable way to close out a hell of an album. Breakneck pacing, top lung screaming, and a blitz of a Willis riff. Melody? Unimportant! If the guitars weren’t so obviously well arranged, this could have been punk rock.
Different versions of “No No No” run different lengths. This one is 3:12 with a slight fade and then abrupt stop. One can never go wrong with an original vinyl LP, featuring an infinite groove at the end, with Joe Elliott shouting “No!” over and over again, until you either stop the record yourself, or wait until the ultimate end of the universe — your choice. Another variation of interest is the the 1984 reissue of High ‘n’ Dry, with two remixed bonus tracks. We will discuss those later as they are included on Disc Four of this set.
Praise today for High ‘n’ Dry is fairly universal. Martin Popoff rated it higher than Pyromania. It truly is a remarkable photograph (pun intended) of a brief period in Def Leppard when they were still solidly riff-focused, but with the moderate temperance of Mutt Lange. A period that has never and can never be repeated.
A huge thank-you to Harrison the Mad Metal Man and 2Loud2OldMusic’s John Snow for an awesome show this week. At John’s suggestion we tackled our favourite replacement singers. We don’t mean guys like Hagar, Gillan and Dio…those guys already get listed enough. We wanted to go a layer deeper.
Get a pen to take some names! We went slightly off the beaten track and came up with 15 unique replacement singers that, in one way or another, kicked our butts!
And if that wasn’t enough, check out our amazing list of runners-up at the end. The cool thing is that we’ve talked to several of them on the LeBrain Train and Scotch on the Rocks!
See you again next week for another bunch of lists!
The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike, John & Harrison
Episode 89 – Top Five Replacement Singers
This Cinco-de-Listo episode was planned for October, but due to circumstances beyond our control, had to be rescheduled. So here we go!
The first time I posted this, I got so many comments about “Dio!”, “Dickinson!”, “Hagar!” and “Gillan!” that we decided on some ground rules. Those guys are already well known for what they did. They are like the Mount Rushmore of replacement singers. We don’t need to waste valuable space in our Top Five lists on the obvious ones. So these lists will be the other guys who deserve recognition. You can name dozens of favourites, but who would make your Top Five?
With those two guys, you know we will get a mix of the logical and the unpredictable! Don’t miss this one. Please like and share, and join the discussion live with your own lists. Your lists will go up on the screen for discussion! It’s gonna be fun, but the most fun can be had by watching live!
RECORD STORE TALES #957: Star Wars at the Mall 1981
Cast your minds back to a time before the internet. Before DVD players. Before we all had VCRs. Prior to the advent of on-demand TV. If you wanted to watch Star Wars…you couldn’t!
There isn’t much more to be said than that. We had our records, to listen to the soundtracks, and “The Story Of…” discs. We had novels and comic books. We had our action figures. If we wanted to watch Star Wars, we had to use the ol’ imagination and memories.
Given that lots of kids would love to watch Star Wars at any given moment, there was a demand. And nature decrees that a vacuum must be filled. I remember that there was a Star Wars play at the mall. A few actors, maybe six or seven total, wearing budget costumes, and doing the best job they could. I remember it being really bad, but I found a photograph that indicates it might not have been as terrible as I thought.
We can only guess who the actors were. Students? A travelling troupe, adventuring from mall to mall? All to sell toys! Kenner was king! Kids flocked to the toy sections, begging mom for a Bossk figure. Why not have a Star Wars play to promote it? Perhaps kids can be the harshest critics and this play wasn’t as terrible as I recall….
We only snapped the one picture; film was expensive. But the costumes don’t appear all that bad. Sure, it looks like Chewbacca is wearing a sweater. I don’t remember Princess Leia having gold trim on her gown. Is that Old Ben Kenobi on the far left? It’s a shame we didn’t get a picture of Luke or Han, but Vader’s helmet does not look bad, nor Chewie’s head. At least not from this angle. Could we have taken a worse picture? You have to give Leia some credit for the nailing the hairstyle, and a killer pair of boots!
The wall behind looks like the barriers that go up when a store is being renovated. You can also see some litter on the ground. Consensus seems to be that this was Stanley Park Mall, due to the familiar flooring.
Rush weren’t really known as a “cash grab” kind of band. That’s why the Christmas 2009 release of Working Men was so surprising to fans.
12 tracks, all but one previously released on live Rush albums of recent vintage. It is not difficult to figure out that this disc was created to keep Rush product on the shelves while the band was on break during the Christmas season. While the music is excellent (obviously), it is hard to imagine a Rush fan that would play this single-disc album before listening to the actual live albums that the tracks were sourced from. This is Rush’s version of You Wanted The Best by Kiss, but with only one unreleased recording instead of four.
Here’s a tracklist, and a breakdown of where these tracks were lifted from:
1. “Limelight” (From Snakes & Arrows Live)
2. “The Spirit of Radio” (From R30)
3. “2112 Overture/The Temples of Syrinx (From Rush in Rio)
4. “Freewill” (From Snakes & Arrows Live)
5. “Dreamline” (From R30)
6. “Far Cry” (From Snakes & Arrows Live)
7. “Subdivisions” (From R30)
8. “One Little Victory” (From the R30 tour) (Previously Unreleased)
9. “Closer to the Heart” (From Rush in Rio)
10. “Tom Sawyer” (From Snakes & Arrows Live)
11. “Working Man” (From R30)
12. “YYZ” (From Rush in Rio)
“One Little Victory”, a stormy firecracker of a version, is the lone previously unreleased song. Is that one song worth your $15? You decide. Unfortunately “One Little Victory” is basically all you’re going to get for your money. There is no booklet and there are no liner notes to speak of. The cover art, once again by Hugh Syme, is quite nice, hinting at past works.
The songs fade-in and fade-out, rather than flow as a seamless listen. The selections lean heavily on oldies as opposed to newer tracks, which does not really reflect what a Rush concert was about at that time. Clearly, this was to entice consumers who wanted songs they have heard frequently on the radio. At least the running order is well sequenced for maximum firepower.
This release is not particularly for anybody except completists and Rush diehards. Everyone else would be well advised to spend their money on Rush In Rio, R30, or Snakes & Arrows Live.
2/5 stars, not for the music, but just because it’s a bit of a Christmas cashgrab.
JETHRO TULL – The Jethro Tull Christmas Album (2003 Fuel 2000)
With an actual new studio album, The Zealot Gene, due in 2022, The Jethro Tull Christmas Album is no longer the final record by the storied band! It is however the last one with Martin Barre, putting a (night)cap on the largest part of Tull’s discography. Although it’s a seasonal album, it is very Tull and would not have been a bad farewell if it was indeed the last record (as we all thought it would be). 16 tracks, over an hour in length…but how Christmas-y is it?
With a blast of flute, “Birthday Card at Christmas” addresses those whose birthdays fall during the holiday. A fine acoustic Tull tune (as they all are), it doesn’t sound particularly seasonal. Which will suit many of us just fine. Flute acrobatics stun the senses, trickling out the speakers like little blasts of hail. Moving on to “Holly Herald”, this instrumental medley has more of the Christmas flavour. Recognizable carols, with the flute providing the main melody. Andrew Giddings’ accordion is a lovely touch. Pure winter delight!
“A Christmas Song” is a Tull original, a re-recording of a 1968 B-side. It has always been an intriguing song, sparse and stark. Mandolin and acoustics ring true with the march of a drum behind. It is logically followed by a re-recorded sequel tune, “Another Christmas Song”, which has its own modern flavour based on keys, flute and electric guitar. This soft ballad is like the sound of a clean snow on Christmas day, though the lyrics offer more depth.
A jazzy instrumental “God Rest You Merry Gentlemen”, led by flute, reminds of the old Mr. Bean sketch where he conducts the Christmas band, and goes all jazzy. Barre’s guitar here is sublime. When Tull get jazzy, they never disappoint. Just dig it and get down, in the snow! It’s impossible not to like, especially if you love instrumental acrobatics. The bass work by Jonathan Noyce just rolls. Next is the re-recorded “Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow”, a 1982 original B-side. A little less direct, a little more progressive. A very Tull-sounding “Last Man at the Party” is another acoustic original. The lyrics relay images of a traditional Christmas party even if the music is just Tull being Tull. Bouncing flute, speeding acoustics.
“Weathercock” is a new version of the closing track from Heavy Horses. It’s more about traditional country living, but with winter imagery. Not an immediate song by any means, but fitting the vibe of the album. Moving on to “Pavane” composed by Gabriel Fauré, this lovely tune has exotic, smooth and challenging sections, but it’s not very Christmas-y. The original was a piano work, but this version balances the spotlight between players. More seasonal sounding is “First Snow on Brooklyn”. “I could cut my cold breath with a knife,” sings Ian. A beautiful string section backs this original song, somewhat epic, warming the soul like a hot coffee at Christmas.
You’ll love “Greensleeved” (a take on “Greensleeves”). It’s an instrumental version of the traditional classic. Its ties with Christmas go back to 1686 so it is not out of place here. But man does it swing! This is just fun, with monstrous instrumental mastery. Get up and dance to this brilliant little tune. Then it’s a remake of Tull’s “Fire at Midnight”, one of their most memorable Songs from the Wood. This take is more laid back, but is unmistakable as the Tull mainstay. Somewhat obviously, “We Five Kings” is Jethro’s version of “We Three Kings”, once again rendered in a laid back jazzy instrumental vibe. Challenging to play, easy to listen to. Check out Barre’s acoustic guitar solo work.
The excellent single “Ring Out Solstice Bell” conveys that Christmas joy. It’s likely the most Christmas-y of all the music on this album. Anderson has an occasional knack for a universal melody and “Ring Out Solstice Bell” lets them float in the cold winter air. A magical seasonal tune for anybody, even the Scrooges or Grinches on your list. If there’s only one tune you need on this album, making it “Solstice Bell”. It is, of course, an update of the original on side one of Songs from the Wood. (The 2004 single from this album had two exclusive B-sides as well.)
One of Tull’s greatest instrumentals in their long illustrious history was J.S. Bach’s “Bourée”. There is a new version on the Christmas Album. It’s different. Less swing, more relaxed. Still Tull but not repeating the exact same track from the past.
Finally the album closes on a rare Martin Barre original called “A Winter Snowscape”. Quiet, gentle, yet determined. Barre’s acoustic work is shadowed by Ian Anderson on flute. It is a perfectly understated closer to a unique Tull album.
Of course, like anything else, this album was reissued later on with a bonus live album called Christmas at St. Bride’s 2008. As a live album it deserves its own standalone review, but it’s unfortunate that to get it, some will have to buy the album twice. Not very Christmas-y…or perhaps the pinnacle of modern Christmas tradition?
On it’s own, this is a pleasant seasonal album to play while wrapping your gifts or celebrating with friends.
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