#810: So Tired

Wishing Ozzy and his family all the best with his recent Parkinson’s diagnosis.

 

GETTING MORE TALE #810: So Tired

I don’t know what I expected the first time I saw Ozzy Osbourne on TV.  All I knew of him was that he was supposedly a drug-crazed metal madman.  What I saw on TV was a blonde guy in a cowboy hat.  Certainly not how he had been described to me.  Just an ordinary guy?  I didn’t know any of his music yet, just the name and a little bit of the reputation.

I began learning a little bit more during one of my childhood basement VHS taping sessions in 1985.  George came over with his tape collection and I recorded clip after clip of rock and metal from him.  It was a feast!  Imagine getting all the key early videos by Ozzy, Dio, Twisted Sister, Black Sabbath and more in one afternoon.  All this new music!  All these new artists!  I only knew a few faces and names.

It was actually only Carmine Appice that I knew from Ozzy’s band.  The distinguished looking drummer, with his jet black hair and cool-as-fuck moustache was prominent in the video for “Bark at the Moon”.  I knew him from King Kobra.  There was no mistaking Carmine.

I taped a few Ozzy videos from George that day.  He only started making music videos in 1983 for Bark at the Moon.  There was nothing to represent the Randy Rhoads years — “Crazy Train” wasn’t released until 1987.  The videos I had collected to date were a live concert version of “Paranoid” from the Bark tour, “So Tired”, and “Bark at the Moon” itself.

“Paranoid” featured Jake E. Lee on guitar, but I certainly didn’t know his name.  I wouldn’t have known it was a Black Sabbath song or anything else about it.  I couldn’t tell what he was singing or shouting at the crowd.  “Get your hands on it!” I thought I heard him shout.  Hands on what?  I assumed it was something that went over my head, but all this really proves is that it doesn’t matter what a rock star is yelling at an audience.  They just have to sound cool yelling it.   He could have been shouting “Eat Grapenuts!” and it still would have sounded cool.  Sure Ozzy, I’ll have some Grapenuts.  I also misheard him singing “I can’t find” as “Yeah yeah fight!”  When you don’t know the words, your mind fills in the blanks.

Over the years, Ozzy has taken a lot of flak from religious circles for lyrics that promote suicide.  There is no way I was getting “suicide” from that performance of that song.  I wasn’t getting anything!  Rock haters — you can’t have it both ways.  You don’t get to say “You can’t understand the words” and “The lyrics cause drug abuse and suicide”.  You can’t have both at the same time.  All Ozzy caused in my household was turning up the volume knob on the TV set.

The most puzzling thing Ozzy had done to that point might be the single/video “So Tired”.  Even to people well aware of Ozzy’s career, the video was more than odd.  So imagine a kid like me in 1985 with no Black Sabbath or Ozzy albums.  That music video was peculiar to say the least.

Playing multiple characters, Ozzy seems to occupy a Victorian village, where he performs at the local opera house.  He’s also an old man, and there’s a guy with a decaying face, and another guy with one lopsided eye.  In the 80s, you see, you had to have a guy with a lopsided eye.  Black Sabbath had one in “Zero the Hero”.  An orchestra covered in cobwebs accompanies Ozzy at the playhouse.  Then Ozzy, garbed in black with sequins, shoos the ballet dancers off the stage.  Oh look!  There’s Abraham Lincoln in the balcony.  Not for long!

 

The lopsided eye guy (a stage hand presumably) suddenly pulls a knife, cuts a rope, and drops a sandbag on Ozzy’s foot!  Meanwhile, the stage manager (played by Ozzy) feeds Ozzy his lines in frustration.  Then an Ozzy with a Hitler moustache emerges on a riser playing piano.  Again, remember, Black Sabbath had a Hitlerstache guy in “Zero the Hero”!  By the time Lincoln hit the floor, I was utterly baffled.

Couple this with the fact that the song is a lush, campy ballad with strings and piano.  Not the kind of song I associated with the heavy metal madman.  I didn’t know of his history with ballads like “Changes”, nor was I aware of his love for John Lennon.  I thought “So Tired” had to be a joke!  The only guitar is in the brief solo.  Ozzy certainly couldn’t be doing this kind of music seriously.  Could he?

“So Tired” is cheesy, but that doesn’t take away that it’s actually a pretty great ballad.  The song (like the entire album) is credited solely to Ozzy.  I think Bob Daisley probably wrote it with Ozzy, maybe even Don Airey was involved.  There’s no way Ozzy wrote it alone.

The video though, that’s still to do this day one of the most outlandish things Ozzy’s ever committed to celuloid (and he had a reality TV show).  Like an Ed Wood film, it stumbles far beyond being bad, instead becoming some sort of ugly but priceless treasure.  I can’t stress this enough — at the time, Ozzy only had two official music videos.  One was “Bark at the Moon” and the other was “So Tired”.  We didn’t have much to judge Ozzy by, and it’s safe to say that “So Tired” threw us all for a loop!

REVIEW: Seagram Synth Ensemble – No Moving Air (2019 coloured vinyl)

SEAGRAM SYNTH ENSEMBLE – No Moving Air (2019 coloured vinyl)

Three young local lads united their computing power and formed the Seagram Synth Ensemble:  James Dowbiggin, Dave Klassen, and James Reesor.  Armed with Korgs, Moogs and Rolands, the trio recorded a remarkable new album called No Moving Air.

With a slightly minimalist bent, No Moving Air is a full-length album that can serve as a soundtrack for any quiet night.  Mixing new and old instruments, the synths form relaxing soundscapes with recurring patterns.  Hard to describe, but easy to listen to.  Floating in space, or under the sea — it is easy to close your eyes and put yourself in another world.  Some of the sounds resemble those recorded under Antarctic ice (“Amphiquarium”).  Others are dark, but not uninviting.  Everything seems to flow, except when flipping the record!

Handily there is a diagram on the back, done in the style of an electrical flow chart, to tell you when to “invert disc”.  The striking back cover (designed by James Dowbiggin) is more interesting than the front!  The lovely clear aqua blue vinyl was an unexpected surprise.

Moving on to side two, a hint of rhythm augments the epic length title track.  There’s a cool synth bell section and a variety of moods.  16 minutes well spent, though you might lose track of where and when you are!  The last few minutes are killer.

Without much experience in synthesizer music, this comes highly recommended.  It’s memorable and warm.  It has a niche and fills it nicely.

3.5/5 stars

Just Listening to…all the Rush

I had already started a Rush marathon just hours before the news hit that Neil Peart had passed away from brain cancer.  Why did I choose Rush at that exact moment?  It’s not proof, but it’s certainly makes me wonder about premonitions.

I’ve been on a Rush binge ever since.  I have been listening to nothing but Rush with only two exceptions.  I listened to one album by another artist that I wanted to review, and I listened to something else (Hollywood Vampires) in the car.  I didn’t have any Rush on the car flash drive.

In that time (a week) I’ve listened to every Rush studio album, some of them more than once.  (Even the early Rush without Neil.)  When I cycled through all the studio stuff I moved onto live albums, which I am still enjoying.  The first four Rush live albums (All the World’s a Stage, Exit…Stage Left, A Show of Hands, and Different Stages) really form a cohesive story.  You can listen and hear the band grow, evolve, change, and adapt.

Most of the live albums past that point weren’t on my computer yet (something I am remedying now) but I still had plenty more live stuff to enjoy from a variety of sources.  A Farewell to Kings has two discs worth of live Rush added.  (I have the deluxe Hemispheres with another live album coming in the mail.)  There is also Grace Under Pressure Live from the Rush Replay X3 box set.  A live bootleg called Red Stars of the Solar Federation from 1981.  A couple radio broadcasts from 1974 and 1975.

What I’ve gained from all this Rush immersion is not only new appreciation, but old memories re-emerging.  Although 70s Rush is absolutely essential music, it was 80s Rush that hooked me in and still thrills me today.  Albums like Moving Pictures and Signals were played multiple times during my marathon.  Hold Your Fire and Grace Under Pressure were enjoyed more than once.  I grew up in the 80s when Rush were in constant rotation on MuchMusic.  Songs like “Subdivisions”, “Tom Sawyer”, “Distant Early Warning”, “Lock and Key”, and “Time Stand Still”.  Although not an 80s album, Counterparts is very special to me as well.  It was my first Rush studio album.  I think it’s magnificent and contains many triumphs within.  It’s the culmination of all the evolution that happened from Presto onwards.  Its followup, Test for Echo, unfortunately remains a low point in the discography.  I remember feeling the same in 1996 when it came it.  It just wouldn’t click with me and still won’t.

As brilliant Neil Peart was, my appreciation is balanced.  It’s about Rush.  The lyrics would not have the same impact without the voice.  The voice would be naked and bare without the guitar.  All three guys stand out when you listen to all the Rush like this.  There are spotlight moments for Neil, Geddy and Alex as individuals but that’s not what this marathon reinforces.  Rush is a band — an exceptionally great band, where the players can shine more than other bands because there are only three of them.

Only three dudes?  I know, even this guy can’t believe it!

“There’s no way!  There’s no way this is three dudes!”

I have plenty more live Rush albums to spin, so the marathon carries on. I’m grateful we have so much Rush. Some bands don’t deserve to release so many live albums and box sets. Rush do. They’re allowed for two reasons. One is a rich history with many nooks and crannies to explore. The other is sheer quality. They never put out something they weren’t proud of.

Thank you for the music — I ain’t finished yet!

VIDEO: The Outtakes

I’ve been making videos for over 30 years. It’s important, when possible, to keep your source material. It’s necessary if you ever feel like revisiting your work. Or, if you feel like presenting “previously unseen material” to your audience as new content.

Here are some outtakes representing the last 30 years of making videos. You’ve never seen ’em before and I hope you enjoy!

Sunday Chuckle: Mandalorian…WTF?

If you happen to find a 6″ Mandalorian Black Series action figure, snag it — those things are going for crazy money in resale.  As of this writing, Amazon.ca is asking $80 for one (ridiculous).

I continued scrolling, looking for a better deal.  What I found was…chuckle-worthy.

Mandalorian Handjob by “Harlotte Sometimes” is available to read, but only on Kindle!

“Fapper Oden Zero sets off on his first Galactic adventure. From his home planet in the Gamma System, the young man sees opportunity; Coruscant and the Core Worlds promise riches for the quick and the clever when the Republic finally falls.  Oden signs on with a freighter. One last night of freedom tempts him. ‘Who is that innocent, sexy, seductive blonde?’ he asks. ‘Did she really just wink at me?'”

It turns out that Harlotte Sometimes is a prolific author with 16 titles under their belt.  These include Bachelor in Space and Hard For Hillary.

I’ve only dipped a toe into reading fan fiction, and never the naughty kind.  Maybe I’m missing out.  For those with a pantsuit fetish, I recommend Hard For Hillary.  If you’re more into tall, dark, and heavily armoured, maybe Mandalorian Handjob is for you!

 

REVIEW: Scream – No More Censorship (1988)

SCREAM – No More Censorship (1988 RAS Records)

Hey Grohl fans! Think Dave can do no wrong?  Not the case at all — just listen to his lacklustre debut, 1988’s No More Censorship by Scream!  Here is one of those albums that you buy “just for the collection”, but not to listen to on a regular basis.

Scream were a punk band out of Washington DC, with some history behind them.  Grohl made his debut on their fourth album, featuring Peter Stahl (vocals), Franz Stahl (future Foo Fighters guitarist), Robert Lee Davidson (guitar) and Skeeter Thompson (bass).  Amusingly Dave is miscredited as “David Stahl” on the first song.

The songs aren’t bad so to speak, just dull as a cinder block.  They check a lot of the boxes — hard rocking, rebellious lyrics, punchy guitars, but not a lot of hooks.  Scream has several riffs in want of a song.  The riff on “No Escape” is one that vintage Aerosmith would given a nut to write.  The guys could certainly play, and there’s more than enough energy to spare.  But there’s something missing, and it’s the songs that are the problem.  On some tracks, they were just doing basic garage punk.  On others they seemed to be striving to be more than they were.  They stretch outside the box on tracks like “Run to the Sun”.  But 10 minutes later, you can’t remember anything about the song.

The best tune, and the one that best showcases what Dave could do on the drums, is “Fucked Without a Kiss”, a speedy blast regarding incarceration.  Otherwise the album struggles to spark a fire.

In 2017, this album was remixed and reissued on Record Store Day exclusive green vinyl with a different track list.  Maybe the remix made it a better listen?

2/5 stars

#809: “Limited Edition” 2

A sequel to Record Store Tales Part 188:  “Limited Edition”

 

GETTING MORE TALE #809:  “Limited Edition” 2

When we first discussed “limited edition” albums in 2013, we arrived at the conclusion that very few things truly are limited in any significant way.  Even Record Store Day has done little to change the view.  Yes, some Record Store Day items are really hard to get after the fact, but most sadly are not.  For example, Iron Maiden’s single for “Empire of the Clouds” can be found easily on Discogs.  71 copies available, ranging from $16 and up.  Yet strangely, something like Alice Cooper’s “Keepin’ Halloween Alive” is rarely seen under $50.  Releases like Cooper are the exception.  What we have learned in the intervening years is that nothing has really changed in the world of limited editions.  Most are not all that limited and can be found later on.  Others truly are rare, and you can’t really predict which will be which.

But we’re collectors here.  We don’t buy these things to sell later.  We buy them to have, appreciate and enjoy.  Sometimes to show off.

When something is limited and numbered, collectors enjoy comparing their numbers and seeing who has the lowest.  A friend of ours just scored a fairly low numbered Gene Simmons Vault which I think is pretty cool.  I have a bunch of numbered items, and I’ve posted some here.  It’s easy to see which are numbered because, hey, there’s the number right there on the back!  And according to the numbers I have one of the last copies of Deep Purple’s “Above and Beyond” single:  1934 of 2000.  Neat.  I just wanted the bonus track “Space Truckin'” live in Italy, but the numbers give us collectors the jollies.  It’s just a little added perk to the packaging.

When is a packaging perk not a packaging perk?  When it’s not on the packaging!

Deep Purple have been issuing “limited edition series” live albums recently.  Our good friend the Heavy Metal Overlord recently acquired the Newcastle set.  Limited to 20,000 copies worldwide, he got #8616, handily printed on the back.  He’ll always know which copy he got.

I was disappointed when I received my first Deep Purple “limited edition series”, which is Rome, the second one in the line (Newcastle being the first).  I ripped open my parcel from Amazon to find that the number wasn’t printed on the CD, but on a sticker affixed to the shrinkwrap!

What is the point of that?  Who, aside from nutbar collectors like myself, is going to keep the sticker?  Nobody, that’s who.  So again:  what is the point?  I’ll be one of the few people who knows what number mine is, if I manage to keep this sticker with its CD.  It seems stupid to provide that information as part of something you throw in the garbage.

It’s not going to be worth anything.  My number #1872 of 20,000 isn’t going to be worth more money than HMO’s #8616.  That’s not the point.  The point is a simple “why”?  HMO figures it was probably a manufacturing oversight, that it’s not printed on the sleeve.

It’s also worth pointing out that 20,000 copies is substantial for an archival live album from a band like Deep Purple.  It’ll be a long time before that pressing sells out.

Don’t be fooled into spending too much money on these things.  I have a copy of Newcastle on order; it’s not sold out.  You can often do well by seeing how the prices go, sitting and waiting for the right opportunity.  And don’t put too much significance into those numbers.  If the record company can’t be bothered to even print them on the sleeve, they can’t be that important.

#808.5: “Rare Rush”

Many years ago…I think I was still living with my parents…there was an amazing website with mp3s of just about everything Rush that you could imagine.  The site went down soon after, and I was unable to download any full concerts.  What I did get was all the singles and bonus tracks they had available.

I burned these tracks to a double CD and called it Rare Rush.  I printed the tracklist on brown paper so it would somewhat match with Chronicles.

Most of these tracks are alternate versions, some from promo releases.  The website had all the details, so they are now lost.  However I know some of these are very special versions.  “The Weapon” is the famous single version featuring Count Floyd (Joe Flaherty).

 

The quality varies from track to track depending on the original source (some are from cassette).  All are interesting to obsessive Rush fans.

Who wants to read a review of Rare Rush?

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REVIEW: Ozzy Osbourne – The Ozzman Cometh (1997 Japanese import)

OZZY OSBOURNE – The Ozzman Cometh (1997 Sony Japan 2 CD set)

By 1997, Ozzy had reclaimed his crown as the prince of darkness.  The successful Ozzfest, including a partial Black Sabbath reunion (Mike Bordin instead of Bill Ward) had introduced Ozzy to a wave of nu-metal youngesters.  Why not cap the year off with a greatest hits album?  It wasn’t Ozzy’s first (1989’s Best of Ozz preceding it) but it was his first for most of the world.  Incredibly, given the Ozzy camp’s ability to muck up important releases from time to time, it was a particularly good package.

The Ozzman Cometh has had a number of issues over the years, but we won’t get into the ones that came after Sharon meddled around with re-recorded tracks.  Initially there was a limited edition 2 CD set and a standard single disc.  The lucky fans in Japan got an expanded 2 CD set with two bonus tracks.  That’s the one you see pictured here.  It comes in a non-standard extra thick jewel case due to the extra Japanese booklet inside.

The big deal of this new compilation was the inclusion of recently discovered early Black Sabbath tapes — “Ozzy’s 1970 basement tapes”.  Wikipedia tells us that these are actually BBC recordings:  “The John Peel Sessions” of 26 April 1970.  These have yet to be included on any Sabbath deluxe, so you have to be sure to get The Ozzman Cometh to complete your Sabbath collections.  “Black Sabbath” and “War Pigs” commence the set right out of the gate.  These tapes are raw but clean, and Geezer Butler has remarkable presence.  It’s a very sharp picture of what young Black Sabbath sounded like.  The lyrics are still a work in progress for those who love such differences, but Ozzy sounds even more like a man possessed.  “War Pigs” is still in its “Walpurgis” form, the “Satanic” version, and this is the clearest you will likely hear it.

Onto the hits:  Ozzy’s grudge against The Ultimate Sin was apparently already in play.  On the US CD, only one track from the Jake E. Lee era was included and it’s “Bark at the Moon”.  In Japan, “Shot in the Dark” is substituted in replacing Zakk Wylde’s “Miracle Man”, bringing the Lee content to two.  However the Randy Rhoads era is the star of the disc, with his version of “Paranoid” lifted from the Tribute album.  Included are, for the most part, the expected usual Rhoads songs:  “Crazy Train”, “Goodbye to Romance”, and “Mr. Crowley”, but no “I Don’t Know”.  Instead it’s the more interesting “Over the Mountain”.

As for Zakk Wylde’s legacy, it’s hobbled by the missing “Miracle Man”, since “Crazy Babies” doesn’t adequately capture his madness.  “No More Tears” is present as a single edit, and “Mama, I’m Coming Home” is necessary for any hits CD catering to people who just want some Ozzy songs they like.  It’s unfortunate that “I Don’t Want to Change the World” from Live & Loud takes up space.  The Zakk era ends with two good songs:  “I Just Want You”, the excellent dark ballad from Ozzmosis, and “new” song “Back on Earth”.  You had to have a new song, and according to the liner notes this was an unreleased one from the Ozzmosis era featuring Geezer Butler on bass.  Fortunately it doesn’t sound like an inferior song, just one too many ballads for the album.  (It’s written by Taylor Rhodes and Richie Supa.)

The second CD contains more treasure.  “Fairies Wear Boots” and “Behind the Wall of Sleep” are bonus Sabbath songs from the same Peel session.  Like the first two, they are crisp and probably essential to any serious fan of the original lineup.

Japan got two extra songs from movie soundtracks, enabling you to get them on an Ozzy CD.  The first is the excellent “Walk on Water”, Ozzy’s only studio recording with Zakk Wylde’s replacement Joe Holmes.  If you wanted to know what an Ozzy album with Holmes would have sounded like, here’s a good indication.  It would have been not too dissimilar from Ozzmosis but with some really different guitar playing.  Sure sounds like Mike Bordin on drums!  The other soundtrack song is “Pictures of Matchstick Men” featuring Type O Negative as the backing band.  It’s pretty forgettable.

The Ozzy interview from 1988 is 17 minutes of nothing special.  Here’s an interesting fact for you.  When stores were solicited for this album in 1997, I can distinctly remember the papers saying the interview would be a new one conducted by Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers.  I no longer have that piece of paper, and memory is what it is these days, but that’s what it said.  For whatever reason the 1988 one was used instead.  Go ahead and let me know how often you play it.  You can tell it was taped in the UK, at a rehearsal or soundcheck, because you can hear Zakk wailing away in the background.

The Japanese CD also comes with a neat sticker sheet with all of Ozzy’s album artwork on it.  I think the US CD has some screen savers.  I’d rather have the stickers.

Ozzy and company did the greatest hits thing right and have never actually done it this well since.  May as well track down a 2 CD Ozzman Cometh and get those Black Sabbath tracks you’re missing.

4.5/5 stars

VIDEO: Kathryn Ladano album release – live performance of “Flow”

Enjoy music just a little different from the norm?  Here are Kathryn Ladano and opening act, combining members of Harp+ and Seagram Synth Ensemble at the TWH Social After Dark Space January 11 2020.  My Samsung couldn’t get a good image in the dark, but the audio is decent in full stereo.  Enjoy the track “Flow” from the new album Masked and clips from other tracks on the disc!

The synthscape of the opening act was quite awesome.  Now, I don’t normally drink, but I was with Max the Axe.  Before long I had a rum and Coke in me and I was taken on this wild synthesizer trip through the cosmos!  For roughly 30 minutes, a stream of music emanated through the room, like a slideshow of NASA photos from the 1960s.  Can’t wait to hear the Seagram Synth Ensemble’s album which was for sale and now in my collection.

Kathryn Ladano played interpretations of music from her album Masked.  “Interpretations” because the music is improvised and never the same twice, they just follow the same rough blueprints.  “It’s better live” whispered Max (you can hear this in the video), and Dr. Ladano agreed.

Great show, great venue, try and catch them live!