RE-REVIEW: Geddy Lee – My Favourite Headache (2000, 2024 reissue with bonus tracks)

GEDDY LEE – My Favourite Headache (2000 Atlantic, 2024 Anthem reissue)

As a Rush fan, Geddy Lee’s solo album My Favourite Headache never quite clicked.  The lyrics seemed inferior and the music immemorable.  In 2024, Geddy reissued the album with two bonus demo tracks.  This is a perfect time to revisit the album and see if time has been kinder than I was in my original review.  It has been a number of years since last listen; perhaps even a decade.

The phrase “my favourite headache” means making music to Geddy Lee.  The art of crafting songs is a headache, but he would not trade it for the world.  That is what the title means.  For historical context, this album was made when Rush were on a serious hiatus.  Neil Peart was dealing with tragic loss and nobody knew if the band would ever reunite, including Neil.  From that soil grew My Favourite Headache, which Geddy recorded with drummers Matt Cameron of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, and Jeremy Taggart of Our Lady Peace (on one song).  Geddy plays the lion’s share of instruments with Ben Mink and other guests also contributing.

As it should, “My Favourite Headache” opens with some heavy bass, Geddy’s fingers flying.  Then, it degenerates into a dissonant and hard guitar riff with throws the listener for a loop:  it’s not at all like Rush.  It might be the bass player and singer from Rush, but this does not sound like Rush.  Which is good; which is the point.  It takes a moment to adjust.  “My Favourite Headache” slows to a lush section with piano, violins and violas by Mink.  The lyrics are fascinating.  “I watch TV, what do you want from me?”  There is a lot to unpack here now that Geddy is able to express himself verbally in his music.

More Rush-like is “The Present Tense”, a song about living in the now.  It bounces from heavy choruses to softer acoustic verses, which is perhaps a different approach from a Rush one.  Perhaps by doing something more streamlined, Geddy wrote a catchier song here.  His bass sings full, but not over-dominant.  Cameron is an apt companion on drums; while not attempting to play like Peart, he is more than capable of navigating the tricky changes and fills.

“Window to the World” has a more exotic feel in its light chords, and Geddy uses his bass to deliver some delightful trills and hooks.  It has some of those jarring dissonant guitars from the title track, but not as prominent.  This song is melodic, largely easy to digest, and it delightfully careens from soft to hard, with interesting keyboard textures.

Heavier is “Working on Perfekt”.  This might be the most enticing of all Geddy’s songs.  Tense verses are broken by a sparser chorus.  Electronic sounds aside, this is a very Rush-like song.  You can almost image what Alex and Neil would do with it, but as Geddy’s song, it is rich in tones and deep, tense hooks.

“Runaway Train” is one of the brightest, most upbeat songs.  Mink’s keys and violins add a light, airy feel above Geddy’s hammering bass.  His playing is always eloquent and entertaining, if you choose to focus on the bass.  Between the electronics and Mink’s rich contributions, there is a lot you can listen to.  Or just enjoy the song.  It’s a good one.  Perhaps I misjudged this album before.

The first mistep might be “The Angels’ Share”, which some may love, but fails to launch for me.  It’s a lighter song, but Geddy’s bass ensures it’s like lead.  Ben Mink provides some really interesting soloing and backing, but the song itself never quite takes off.  In hindsight it sounds like Clockwork Angels-era Rush.  While we are in this perceived rut, Geddy throws his worst lyric out in the next song:  “Say goodbye to suburbia, you don’t have to cut the lawn.”  That’s from “Moving to Bohemia”, which is actually a pretty catchy song.  It’s pretty upbeat for this album, and Geddy’s bass playing is at its most thumping.

Geddy turns up the funk on the magnificently weird “Home on the Strange” (with Taggart on drums).  What the hell is this?  It’s crazy, it’s like Geddy pulled out all funkiest records in his collection and combined them.  The lyrics here are also quite fun:  “He’s a Canadian icon, he sleeps with his clothes on.”  Is it autobiographical?  “And he don’t like change, you may think he’s deranged, but he’d rather be home, home on the strange.”  Once you get used to its groove, this song won’t let go.

Back to the light, with “Slipping”, which relies on acoustics and piano for a gliding kind of feeling.  This is followed by “Still”, which is unusually sparse and simple.  An acoustic ballad, with an upbeat tempo, it’s a beautiful song.  It certainly sounds autobiographical.  “Still halfway up that hill, my fingers may bleed but I’ve got to get there still.”  This song strikes me as the best, musically and lyrically, on the album.  Strange that it never jumped out at me before.

Closer “Grace to Grace” remains an exceptional song, and one that really ends the album on familiar territory.  A burning guitar and driving bass are the focus, as if to say “Hey guys, I’m always going to rock.  Thanks for joining me on this trip.  Here’s a song I think you’ll like.”

Of course, on this new reissue, Geddy treats us to two previously unreleased demo versions.  If you haven’t bought the album before, you may as well go for this edition.  True, I usually criticize albums for being a bit on the long side, and My Favourite Headache is a bit long, but demo bonus tracks are added value that you don’t have to include if you just want to listen to the “album” for the experience.  There doesn’t seem to be any recording information about these two demos, “My Favourite Headache” and “Home on the Strange”.  These are full realized arrangements, though without all the vocals.  “My Favourite Headache” might surpass the album track for its live sounding rawness.  Maybe it should have been an instrumental with only a chorus?  The demo is great.  Same with “Home on the Strange”.  These tracks are worth the listen, and the re-buy.

Ultimately, My Favourite Headache requires the listener to set aside any thoughts of Rush, no matter how much Geddy and his bass will always sound like Rush.  It’s a challenge, but once you get there, it is easier to appreciate the songs and the experiment.  It takes time to absorb, as it is actually a very dense production, even for Geddy.  Ben Mink’s contributions are priceless textures that help transport yourself away from a Rush mindset.  Listen to those; focus on Mink and appreciation will come.

3.5/5 stars

Check out my autographed copy of My Favourite Headache by clicking the thumbnail.

Check out Grant Arthur and Davey Cretin as they get this album all wrong on the Warehaus tonight.  8 PM EST June 23 2025

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 15: Fear of the Dark

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 15:  Fear of the Dark

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK #105

In the spring of 1992, Iron Maiden returned with new music, less than two years since No Prayer for the Dying.  Album #2 for Janick Gers, and final album (for a long time) with Bruce Dickinson.  It was also the final production before retiring for longtime Maiden compatriot, Martin “Black Knight” Birch.  An historic album, significant in the discography, but of mixed reception.  We tackle Maiden’s direction(s) on this album, the first of the “grunge era” which found bands like Iron Maiden with diminishing sales.  We also had to address the new artwork by Melvyn Grant, the first Maiden album cover without Derek Riggs.

Eeeeewhhh-ZACH!  Maiden began to explore current events in their lyrics, along with some different musical directions, from ballads to Zeppelin-like dirges.   Were they chasing trends?  Harrison makes some arguments for this, while Mike bluntly states what he likes and does not like about each of the 12 album tracks.

There are more than just the 12 album tracks to discuss:  a variety of B-sides are included, such as covers of Montrose, Budgie and Chuck Berry songs.  There are comedic novelty songs (plural!) for fans only, and there are live tracks, plus one rare remix.  We tackle all of them.

As usual, Harrison discusses the tour, and how many of the songs were actually played live.  You can count on us to give you a complete picture of every era of Iron Maiden, and Fear of the Dark is one that makes for good deconstructing.  You can also count on our honesty, and Fear of the Dark is an album that divides fans…again.

Tell us what you think tonight on 50 Years of Iron Maiden.

 

Friday June 20 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T.  Enjoy on YouTube.

BONUS!  We also unboxed Martin Popoff’s new book HALLOWED BY THEIR NAME: THE UNOFFICIAL IRON MAIDEN BIBLE in a bonus episode earlier this week!

 

Past episodes:

Handy YouTube Playlist:

[VIDEO] It’s Magic! Check out my Blotto shirt sent by the band!

In 2019, I received this shirt from Blotto drummer F Lee Harvey Blotto himself. Check out the shirt and the story in the video below.

 

 

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN bonus episode: Unboxing Martin Popoff’s Hallowed By Their Name: The Unofficial Iron Maiden Bible

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN bonus episode

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN bonus episode: Unboxing Martin Popoff’s Hallowed By Their Name: The Unofficial Iron Maiden Bible

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK bonus episode

Welcome to a special “teaser” episode!  At long last, Martin Popoff’s Unofficial Iron Maiden Bible, called Hallowed By Their Name, has arrived at Grab A Stack HQ!  Check out this monstrosity in the bonus video below.

This is a gorgeous book, and heavy as the metal it represents.  Looking much like an actual hardcover bible, this book covers the entire 50 year history of the band, with loads of full colour pictures and 666 fully loaded pages.

Check out the unboxing video and let’s look forward to talking to Martin about this incredible book in the future.

Video is up now!   Enjoy on YouTube.

 

 

 

Past episodes:

Handy YouTube Playlist:

The Contrarians Live: Huh?!? Album Covers that Send the Wrong Message

After a couple weeks off, I’m back on the Contrarians live show tonight to talk about…what, exactly?

The idea here is to find 10 albums covers that send the wrong message musically.  Maybe it’s a heavy album that looks too soft, or vice-versa.  Maybe it’s a studio album that looks like a compilation.  Perhaps it’s a record that looks like it’s from another genre.  Join the usual suspects tonight to have a look at our picks!

 

THE CONTRARIANS – Huh?!? Album Covers that Send the Wrong Message – Wednesday June 18 –  7:00 PM EST

My Contrarians appearances to date:

  1. Nicknamed Album Covers
  2. Minimalist cover art
  3. Brown album covers
  4. Yellow album covers
  5. Albums with Fire and Explosions
  6. Spaceships! Aliens! Robots!
  7. This Album Cover is Hell!
  8. Toys & Games
  9. Dreaming in Stereo:  Beds & Sleep on album covers
  10. Favourite Bands…WORST Album Covers
  11. They Swapped Covers!
  12. Great Album Covers From Bands We Despise
  13. Top 10 NWOBHM Covers
  14. It’s A Piece of Art!
  15. Compilation Kaos!
  16. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Hipgnosis!
  17. Amped Up!
  18. Packaging Fails
  19. Where’s the Band?
  20. Slippery When Wet
  21. Greetings From New York
  22. Done With Mirrors
  23. Eyes Without A Face
  24. Rock Out With Your Clock Out!
  25. Album Covers You Can Hear
  26. Album Covers You Can Smell
  27. Huh?!? Album Covers that Send the Wrong Message

REVIEW: Bubbles and the Sh*trockers – Longhauler – The Best Of (2024)

BUBBLES and the SHITROCKERS – Longhauler – The Best of Bubbles and the Shitrockers (2024 Swearnet)

It’s right there in the lyrics to “Home Is Where Your Shed Is” – kitties, liquor and dope.  That about sums up the major singing interests of the Bubbles character from Trailer Park Boys.  The album Longhauler – The Best of Bubbles and the Shitrockers accompanies the new movie, Standing on the Shoulder of Kitties.  As implied by the the title, many of these songs are familiar from the TV show or online episodes.

The question is, can you sustain the jokes for an entire album?  A TV series or a movie is an altogether different comedic vehicle.

Fortunately, Mike Smith (Bubbles) is a worldclass musician from the Halifax band sandbox.   This album will probably land in more ears than his conceptual indi rock band ever did, and for that reason, it is produced and engineered by none other than Eddie Kramer.  It also features Billy Bob Thornton and Ronnie Wood in the credits on backing vocals, not that you’ll notice.

The direction is, with the exception of two tracks, country & western.  Musically, this album is legit.  Mike Smith plays most instruments, including guitar, mandolin, piano, mellotron and more.  His backing band provides pedal steel, dobro, hammond, stand-up bass and all the trimmings.  Smith is a seasoned musician and songwriter, and he knows his stuff.  There’s nothing jokey about the music; just the lyrics.

Perhaps the part that wears out soonest is the Bubbles character himself.  Singing like that, and the limited subject matter of the lyrics, over the course of a full album is a challenge to take in.

Songs you’ll recognize:

  • “Who’s Got Yer Belly?” featuring Mike’s pal Alex Lifeson from Rush
  • “Kitties Are So Nice”
  • “Liquor and Whores”

It is also great to have a copy of Bubbles’ pirate shanty, “The Kittyman”.  This is one of the songs that doesn’t fit the country direction, and is a highlight for that reason.  Plus it’s also just great fun.

Even songs that seem “clean” and safe to share with your cat-loving friends, such as “Kitties Are So Nice”, may not be safe to share after all.  “Every kitty I ever met likes to fuck with string,” sings Bubbles in an earnest voice.

The album closes with the movie theme, “Standing on the Shoulder of Kitties”.  Immediately with the mellotron, and the backing vocals later on, it’s more Beatles than country.  It might be overreaching.  The lyrics about how awesome kitties are will keep most people from caring.  If you want to hear somebody do music like this, there are probably Oasis songs you haven’t heard yet.  That’s the impression anyway.  It’s more Oasis than Beatles, and more Beatles than country.  “A kitty’s love is all it takes, la la la la la.”  Not hiding the influences at all, Bubbles even sings that “all you need is love.”

This is a novelty album.  However, if you have a cat lover in your circle, who doesn’t mind a little beer and liquor, then consider Longhauler as a thoughtful gift.

3/5 stars

 

On This Day: June 16 2023 & 2024

On this day in 2023, June 16 fell on a Friday.  As usual, Grab A Stack of Rock was scheduled to go live that night with our very first Iron Maiden episode (which I shall re-edit and re-broadcast in 2025).  It was Iron Maiden rarities with Harrison, Aaron and a cameo by Jex Russell.

It almost got cancelled at the last minute.  Why?  See below.

I’m glad we re-ran the Adventures in Epilepsy episode last week so you can understand how it effects our lives every day of every week of every year since 2008.  She fell, and as you can see, she took a faceplant.  She insisted the show go on.  She never wants to be the reason a show gets cancelled.  And so the show went on.

On a brighter note, on this day in 2024, it was a completely different story.  Well, not completely:  Aaron was there with me once again, as we embarked to Toronto for our very best record shopping excursion to date!

Check out these episodes of Grab A Stack of Rock, and be sure to like and subscribe on YouTube!  WordPress is fun but it doesn’t keep the lights on.  If you could support us YouTube, it helps a lot!

 

 

#1194: You got exactly two words of that right.

RECORD STORE TALES #1194: You got exactly two words of that right.

I have a soft spot for Ian Gillan and Roger Glover’s Accidentally on Purpose.  The Deep Purple Pair had a writing partnership dating all the way back to the 1960s and a band called Episode Six.  Before Ian was fired from Deep Purple in 1988, he and Roger emerged from the sessions for The House of Blue Light with an excess of stifled creativity.  These lighter, more summery tuned formed the basis for their only duo album.  I found it on cassette in the mid-90s, right when I was seriously collecting Deep Purple for the first time.

It’s not rock.  There are some songs that do rock a bit, but it’s more like fun pop with roots in rock and prog.  There’s saxophone, and loads of programming.  Very 1980s.  It took a couple listens to adjust to this distinctly non-Purple album, but once certain songs like the floaty “Clouds and Rain” and the funky “Evil Eye” started to hit, they stuck.  Programming aside, you’ll hear some cool instrumentation and musicianship on this album.  Eventually, I grew to like it.  As soon as I found out the CD reissue had three bonus tracks that were not on the cassette, I upgraded, as I often do.

The bonus tracks included a song that would have worked on a corny 80s Beach Boys album, called “Cayman Island”.  It also had a sax-heavy cover of “Purple People Eater” which is the definition of guilty pleasure.

Shortly after I bought the CD, a used copy came into stock at the Beat Goes On.  It always happened that way.  If you bought something new, you’d see a used copy a matter of weeks later.  It was eerily inevitable.  Of course, when that used copy came in, I threw it into the rotation for store play one afternoon.

A guy walked up to the counter, intrigued by the music.

“What’s this that we’re listening to right now?” he asked.

I was thrilled to have someone ask!

“This is a side project by Ian Gillan and Roger Glover from Deep Purple,” I answered with inner glee, but also some trepidation as I’d personally prefer to keep listening to it!

He responded, “Roger Waters from Pink Floyd?“

What…?  No!  No!  You got just two words of that right: “Roger” and “from”!

He sulked away upon learning it was not Floydian music.  No sale that day!

Bicyclelegs: Marillion – The Sequel To Success: Clutching At Straws (w. Mike Ladano)

As promised, I have returned to Bicyclelegs’ excellent YouTube channel for a THIRD round of Marillion.  Last year, we discussed our favourite songs from each studio album from 1983 to 1995.  Then, we covered the rest! This time,we take a deep dive on what some consider to be the best of the original Marillion four:  Clutching At Straws.

This episode is available now!

 

Welcome to The Sequel To Success! In this series we will be looking at the album that came after a huge album for an artist and discuss whether the follow up was a success or failure both artistically and commercially. Today Mike Ladano from Grab A Stack Of Rock joins me to discuss Clutching At Straws by neo-prog legends Marillion. This was the follow up to their platinum selling (in the U.K.) album Misplaced Childhood which had also produced the hit singles Kayleigh and Lavender. We go through the album track by track, analyse where it succeeds (and maybe where it doesn’t) and discuss what came after (in this case, quite a lot!).

Adventures in Epilepsy – Special Re-Formatted Episode – Tonight Jun 13 7:00 PM EST

Originally broadcast on Oct 2, 2020 as two streams totaling 2 hours and 12 minutes.  This new version has been re-focused down to a perfect 50 minute show.

In October of 2020, right in the thick of the pandemic, Jen had a seizure at a local fast food restaurant.  She fell and broke her arm.  We decided to make that week’s episode of the LeBrain Train all about epilepsy awareness.  While we did our best, we had technical difficulties that night, and the episode didn’t turn out like we hoped.

It’s funny to go back and watch live streams from five years ago.  So much has changed since then.   The original 2020 show was split into two live streams as some viewers reported that the Facebook feed was freezing, so we stopped and re-started.  Additionally, the original show was live and off the cuff, and was interrupted several times.  This new edit has all the epilepsy content in one stream.  As such, Adventures in Epilepsy episode has never been presented as one cohesive video before.

Hear all about missing out on a free U2 concert, having to leave movies and shows early with no refunds, and nearly walking into traffic!  Also hear the lighter side of seizures.  We learned early on, if you can’t laugh at these things, you’re doomed.

Join us tonight as we educate and illuminate living with epilepsy.  Though a lot has changed since 2020, the experiences remain raw and true.  Health has improved since then, which we also touch on with additional narration recorded in 2025.

Jen herself appeared in this episode, as good a sport as any.  Good friend and author Aaron Lebold joined the show that night to discuss his own experiences with epilepsy, which he seems to have grown out of in his adult life.  Rob Daniels from Visions in Sound and Kevin Simister from Buried On Mars also joined the show at the end to say hello.  Though most of their parts were cut to shorten and focus the episode (some unboxings and other outdated content were cut), we always appreciate their support.

Check out this special re-amplified episode tonight at 7:00 PM EST on the Grab A Stack of Rock live streams.

Top three musicians with epilepsy

1. Prince.  The royal single-monikered one was born epileptic and suffered a lot of taunting at school.  He obviously came a long way from there

2. Adam Horovitz.  This Beastie Boy is sensitive to flashing lights, which I am sure they use in their stage show.  It certainly didn’t seem to hold him back from massive success.

3. Neil Young.  He was medicated for epilepsy as a child, but didn’t like the side effects of the meds, which can go all over the spectrum depending on you and your meds.  Neil chose to make lifestyle changes instead, and has lived without medication since!  And, obviously, rocked the world.  Good on you Neil.