J the Vinyl Daft Dad’s Top Ten Albums of 2019
Here is J, the Vinyl Daft Dad, with his annual Top Ten Albums list!
Hunt Sales Memorial – Get Your Shit Together 
Hunt Sales is quite an interesting fella.  He has played with Todd Rundgren, Charlie Sexton, Iggy Pop and David Bowie.  He was integral to Iggy Pop’s Lust For Life; so much so, that David Bowie asked him to be involved in Tin Machine. This, though, is his frst solo album.  It’s urgent, visceral and full of swagger – you’ll find rock n’ roll, soul, blues, punk, and truth in every groove of songs about life, addiction, relationships, and self reflection. Probably one of the best albums released this decade if you ask me.
The Claypool Lennon Dilerium – South of Reality
Better than the first album? I dunno, but Les Claypool and his pal Sean Lennon are exploring their version of this universe a bit further on their second album. Like the previous efforts, their sounds illuminate their surroundings. Absolutely exceptionally played and produced. Loads to get lost in and repeated listens really do reveal so much.
Mark Lanegan Band – Somebody’s Knocking
It’s hard to believe that this is Lanegan’s 5th album in 7 years (not counting collaborations with his cosmic soul brother Duke Garwood). While not as immedietely great as Blues Funeral, Somebody Knocking has grown on me quite a bit and it’s definitely worth sticking with.  Not just some of Lanegan’s best Lanegan Band moments, but some his best non-Lanegan Band moments too.
Perry Farrell – Kind Heaven
Say what you will about Perry Farrell, but he always aims his rocket ship at the moon and, whether he lands on there or not doesn’t really matter.  He’s fully committed.  If he ends up playing among the stars he’s in good company.  He glows when he talks about humans and the Universe and he gets to do that here.  Kind Heaven is, I guess, an extension of Satellite Party, with it evolving into The Kind Heaven Orchestra.  While Extreme’s Nuno left the fold of that band due to how it was evolving with Perry’s wife, here she’s celebrating and celebrated.  There may be no Nuno, but the support cast is exceptional.
The Flaming Lips – King’s Mouth
Released earlier in the year, King’s Mouth is a joyous return for Coyne & Co on the soundtrack for Coyne’s book and art installation.  The concept is rather brilliantly bonkers – there’s a giant King, folks love him, he dies, they cut off his head and carry it through the streets, preserve it in steel and, cause there’s all these swirling storms of psychedelic colours and suchlike inside his head, eh, people climb inside his mouth and watch. That’s narrated by Mick Jones, too.  Yeah, that Mick Jones.  Anyhoo, the songs are really rather brilliant, with “The Sparrow”, “All for the Life of the City”, “Feedaloodum Beedle Dot”  particularly being examples of The Flaming Lips at their best.

Jonas Munk & Nicklas Sorensen – Always Already Here
Sorensen’s Solo was one of my favourite albums of the last few years and it’s been a regular listen until this collaborative effort took over.  Sorensen’s trademark intricate and complex guitar tracking weaves with some subtle synth to create this beautifully melodic hypnotic 5 track long player.

Black Mountain – Destroyer
Not much to say about it’s inclusion here.  Right good slabs of Sabbath riffage with some synth shenanigans thrown in for good measure. I dig. Big time.
Keb Mo’ – Oklahoma
I’ve never really listened to Keb Mo’, but this one grabbed my attention and I thought I’d jump in.  It’s exceptional and there are strong collaborations on there. It’s a powerful album with strong messages and, hopefully, the kind that can inspire positive moments for those who delve in to its 10 songs, as he shines a spotlight on the environment, immigration, and mental health.
Big Wreck – …but for the sun
Well, this was unexpected. I can’t say I’d ever really paid much attention to Big Wreck prior to this release, but I read a glowing report and I figured I’d check it out.  I’m glad I did.  It’s full of great riffs, big choruses and great hooks.  Plus, that Thornley guy has got the vocal chops to carry the tunes.  It left me wondering why no-one told me about these guys sooner.
Purple Mountains – Purple Mountains
After a 10 year absence David Berman was back with new music. The album is a remarkable and a weighty one that dealt with Berman’s struggles (including losing his mother and the separation from his wife), but he retains his wit and charm despite laying himself so bare.

 

Uncle Meat’s “Aftab Patla” Top Ten Lists of 2019

Uncle Meat is out of the starting gate with the first list of Top Tens in 2019! Meat submitted three complete lists — Movies, TV shows, and music. We’ll save music for last. Please wish Meat a hearty “Aftab Patla!” and dig into his lists below.

MOVIES

1. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
2. Uncut Gems
3. Doctor Sleep
4. Fighting With my Family
5. It Chapter 2
6. The Avengers: Endgame
7. Joker
8. Long Shot
9. Captain Marvel
10. The Irishman

TV SHOWS

1. Succession
2. Mindhunter
3. Barry
4. Euphoria
5. Chernobyl
6. Hot Ones
7. True Detective
8. Stranger Things
9. Rick and Morty
10. Truth Be Told

And finally the main event.

ALBUMS

1. Tool – Fear Inoculum
2. Dream Theater – Distance Over Time
3. The Dip – The Dip Delivers
4. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Infest the Rats Nest
5. Death Angel – Humanicide
6. Lennon Claypool Delerium – South of Reality
7. Flaming Lips – Live at Red Rocks
8. Opeth – In Cauda Venenum
9. Joe Jackson – Fool
10. Everyone needs to go and listen to everything The Talking Heads have ever done. Everyone.

“I had to improvise on my number ten album,” says Meat!  We hope you enjoyed his lists.  

 

 

RE-REVIEW: Iron Maiden – Virtual Lights Strikes Over France (1998 bootleg CD)

Merry Christmas, Harrison!

 

IRON MAIDEN – Virtual Lights Strikes Over France (1998 bootleg CD)

I took some flak when I first reviewed this.  “So funny, you guys bashing on a Maiden album,” said a disbelieving Aaron.   “Compared to contemporaries, you gotta know they still kick ass and take names over any of the pretenders to the throne.”  If only it were that simple.  More recently, Blaze Bayley-devotee Harrison has questioned my 1/5 star score.  It’s time to revisit the album after seven years and see if it sounds any better.

Ever wonder why Blaze only lasted two albums with Iron Maiden?  Most people assume it’s because they were more popular with Bruce, which is true.  But there was more to the story than that.  The evidence is here on Virtual Lights Strikes Over France, a live bootleg from the 1998 tour.  A handful of tracks aside, Blaze’s voice was in rough shape.  He struggles to hit and hold notes, on his own material no less.  He’s not as bad as Vince Neil, mind you.  He sings all the words and gives it all he’s got.  He’s just continually flat or sharp on key notes.

“Futureal” starts things in a promising manner, powerful and solid.  The struggle begins on “Angel and the Gambler”, missing notes here and there.  He begins “Lightning Strikes Twice” prematurely.  He does OK through the verses, but the chorus is a lost cause.  This is the tipping point.

“Man on the Edge” from The X Factor should be a slam dunk.  The problem is when Blaze hits a bad note, he really commits to it.  When the first Bruce Dickinson song is up, “Heaven Can Wait”, it’s all over.  No matter how good Iron Maiden are, this version is as close to unlistenable as the storied metal band ever gets.  Bayley recovers for a while on “Clansman”, but “Two Worlds Collide” must be tougher to sing.  “Murders in the Rue Morgue” is a slaughter.  Shame, since it’s a rarely performed Paul Di’Anno tune.  “2 Minutes” is marginally better.

In general, Blaze fares better on his own songs, but that doesn’t mean they’re exempt from problems.  You have to be a patient fan to listen to the entire set in one sitting, and you’ll absolutely wince multiple times.

The second CD has three bonus tracks from a show two years prior, from the X-Factour.  On these, Blaze is tops!  The difference is striking.  Here, he’s got the power necessary to accompany Iron Maiden on stage.  You can at least buy this CD for definitive live versions of “Fortunes of War”, “Blood on the World’s Hands” and “The Aftermath”.  It’s clear Blaze’s voice had changed between the two tours.

Am I being harsh?  Admittedly, yes, but for two reasons.

  1. Iron Maiden and Steve Harris have higher standards than this.
  2. I paid $60 for this goddamn thing.

The main point though is 1.  Obviously this situation was not going to be sustainable and Harris made the necessary change.  If he hadn’t, Iron Maiden might have risked being known as one of those bands who are hit and miss in concert, like Kiss and Motley Crue today.

I am going to revise the score higher.  It is live, and it’s not all terrible.  But few songs are free from some seriously sour notes, and for that reason, Virtual Lights will remain the least played Maiden CD in my collection.

2.25/5 stars

VHS Archives #82: Tony Iommi & Cozy Powell talk Headless Cross on the Power Hour (1989)

Michael Williams asks some tough questions of Tony Iommi including “Why carry on as Black Sabbath?”  You have to remember that in 1989, Black Sabbath was considered irrelevant.  Ozzy was all the rage, leaving Sabbath in the dust far behind.

Other topics discussed:

  • The Live Aid reunion with Ozzy
  • Satanism in Sabbath music or lack thereof
  • “Heavy metal”
  • Rap artists (Sir Mix-A-Lot) sampling and covering Black Sabbath
  • Tony’s favourite version of Black Sabbath

What do you think of Tony and Cozy’s answers?

Then, stay tuned for another separate bonus interview taken from a CNN report!

 

VHS Archives #81: Paul Stanley interviewed in his office by MTV (1990)

A rare example of MTV content in my video collection! The girl I liked sent me a copy of the Moscow Music Peace Festival, which MTV broadcast in 1990, and she added some videos and interviews at the end. I was thrilled to get this black & white chat with Paul Stanley.

Hot in the Shade was new and Kiss were planning a tour. Paul’s office isn’t as big as you’d think!  He talks about the forthcoming video for “Rise To It” featuring Kiss in makeup, and more.

Sunday Chuckle: Office Christmas with Axes and Bitches

I don’t know what kind of workplace books Max the Axe and Nancy Vicious and the Nasty Bitches for their office Christmas party!?  The kind I want to work at, obviously.  Here’s Max’s lead singer Uncle Meat with the lowdown.

#804: Freestylin’

GETTING MORE TALE #804:  Freestylin’

I thought I’d try something different, and just sit down at the keyboard and write.  I have a warm coffee next to me (I drink large regular now) and some music in my speakers.  I’m listening to a Japanese import of Quiet Riot’s new album Hollywood Cowboys.  Just listening; not reviewing.  You have to spend time just listening.

I do most of my listening at my keyboard these days.  My main room music setup is seldom used anymore.  Only when I’m spinning something in 5.1 surround do I usually roll out the big guns.  Otherwise I’m content to just listen at my desk or on a pair of headphones.  It’s a nice comfortable spot for me, right by a window.  Outside the ground is dusted in a shallow layer of white.  It is December 20th, 2019.

I dared go to the mall today.  Long story short, a bunch of stuff I ordered for Jen for Christmas got cancelled (out of stock).  Not having much choice this late in the game, I went to the mall where I accomplished my mission.  It wasn’t what I’d call “fun” but it was also pretty painless.  I stopped at Sunrise records where I inquired about The Rise of Skywalker soundtrack.  I would have taken CD or vinyl, but their stock had not yet arrived.

I do know this.  A “deluxe edition” of the soundtrack is coming in March.  Then, later in 2020, a 27 Blu-ray (!) Skywalker Saga boxed set.  I don’t know how far that will put me back, and I actually don’t care!  I’ve been enjoying speculating what could be in that box.  The press release specified it was being billed as a complete Skywalker Saga.  That’s 9 films.  Let’s guesstimate that each movie will be a 2-disc set.  That’s 22 discs, plus 5 extra Blu-rays?  That’s one possibility.  With George Lucas out of the picture, we could be getting an “original” original trilogy and a Holiday Special.  Sky’s the limit, so let’s make some wishes.

This Quiet Riot album is decent.  I liked Jamed Durbin with that band.  You simply cannot hear that Frankie Banali was ill.  I hope Frankie fights a hard battle against that bitch named cancer, and many more albums are still to come.  You can do this, Frankie.  The Japanese bonus track this time out is an acoustic version of the bluesy “Roll On”.

I’ve been listening to a lot of Ozzy Osbourne over the last few weeks.  You’ll see some of that in future content I’ve written.  I played a few of his more recent albums, Scream and Black Rain in addition to all the classics.  Those two are not bad.  They hold up better than I thought they would.  It’s refreshing when you get to Scream, with Gus G on guitar.  Too much Zakk Wylde can lead to ear fatigue.  The Randy Rhoads era stands out absolutely as the pinnacle.  The way he wrote and played guitar is unlike anyone else, and there just isn’t enough Randy music in the world.

In case you’re curious, there’s one Ozzy album I never bought, and that’s Down to Earth (2001).  I’ve heard it and I’m just not interested.  Too many outside writers and too much influence from the producer, would be my nutshell review.  I have no plans to add it to my collection, though I did buy the CD singles.  I like having B-sides.

I think I’ve rambled long enough.  Christmas is coming and I still have one special post to go, as a gift to a reader.  Thanks for hanging in — and stay tuned for the annual year-end lists!

And may the Force be with you, always.

 

MOVIE REVIEW: Star Wars – The Rise of Skywalker [Spoiler free] 2019

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER (2019)

Directed by JJ Abrams

The greatest saga of a lifetime; the story that began in 1977 when I was 4 years old has finally come to its end.  And what a satisfying end it is.

JJ Abrams had an unenviable task: fix the mess that Rian Johnson created with 2017’s Episode VIII: The Last Jedi.  Instead of winding towards a logical conclusion, the Johnson film steered the story into strange new directions poorly suited to the second-last film in a nine movie saga.  The death of Carrie Fisher the same year threw a giant wrench into the whole thing.  How was JJ to wind up a massive story like this, finishing not only his trilogy but the other two as well?

I’m not going to tell you, except that he managed to do it.  It’s not perfect, but no Star Wars movie has been perfect since 1980.  Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker is the best movie of this final trilogy, and is certainly better than 66% of the prequels.  He managed to pick up the ball that Johnson shat out, weave it tighter, and make lemonade from lemons.

The Carrie Fisher scenes are somewhat difficult to watch.  You know the actors are not reacting to her, but performing to pre-recorded scenes.  Her dialogue is necessarily vague and cloudy.  It’s unfortunate because Episode IX was supposed to be her film.  Nothing can be done about that.  But wisely, JJ recruited Billy Dee Williams back into the fold as the debonair rogue, Lando Calrissian.  Lando’s role is larger than expected which will please many fans.  The film is also bolstered by cameos from just about every living Star Wars actor (no, not Jake Lloyd) in ways that brought nothing but smiles.  Look for Hobbits and late-night talk show hosts too.

The villain this time, as you know from the trailers, is Ian McDiarmid’s Emperor Palpatine.  How did he survive the events of Episode VI: Return of the Jedi?  It only takes one line of dialogue to sell it.

With the stakes higher than ever before, the Sith and the Jedi meet one last time.  If you’re looking for an inkling of the plot, read the old Dark Horse comic series Dark Empire.  Not only did that series feature a resurrected Palpatine, but also Luke Skywalker doing Force projections.  It’s highly likely that JJ Abrams took inspiration from Dark Empire, though The Rise of Skywalker is far superior to that old book.

Suffice to say, our heroes once again must face incredible odds with little on their side except friendship and heart.  The movie stumbles after we are told repeatedly that they must succeed, or all of this – everything – has been for nothing.  Then they go on a silly rescue, instead of completing their mission.  There are also, perhaps, too many meetings between Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and Rey (Daisy Ridley) which blunts their overall effect.  At least the heroes, Rey, Finn (John Boyega) and Poe (Oscar Isaac) bond like the classic trio.  You’re aware that you are watching a knockoff Luke-Leia-Han trio, but don’t forget, that’s the kind of stuff fans used to say they wanted.  “No more wooden crap like the prequels,” they moaned.  Now they moan when it’s what they said they wanted before.  Sceptics will not be won over by The Rise of Skywalker.

Another possible weakness that fans might resist is a tenuous connection to the Disney+ TV series The Mandalorian.  Rey and Kylo Ren can do something that a Mandalorian character can do.  Some will accept it as fitting in with classic Star Wars lore.  Others will baulk and call it “Disney ruining Star Wars again.”

The cutesy stuff is kept to a minimum (though there is a new droid called D-O introduced for no reason) and emotions run high.  Nostalgia is heavy.  Action is fast, though JJ unwisely resorted to slow motion techniques again, which breaks visual style from the six Lucas-guided movies.  He would have insisted on the movies being consistent.  Lens flare, though, is gladly reduced.

Hindsight is always 20/20, and The Rise of Skywalker must stand up to repeated viewings and further analysis.  It does drag at various times in the middle, but when it drops bombs, it goes nuclear.  Special mention to Keri Russell for a fine performance as spice runner Zorri Bliss, and again to Billy Dee Williams.  He never abandoned Star Wars, you know.  He returned in the animated series Star Wars: Rebels as suave as ever.  And of course, John Williams.  His score contained some really cool motifs, like a re-imagined Emperor’s theme that fit like a glove.

The Rise of Skywalker is probably the best ending to a saga we could have expected (and certainly better than what Lucas had planned).  If you want to live your life as a person who only has six Star Wars movies in their head-canon, that is absolutely fine.  (I know people who to this day consider Star Wars to be three movies.)  It can easily be argued that this entire trilogy was just tacked on.  But JJ did his best for it not to feel that way; for it to appear like this was always the ending.  Did he succeed?  That’s up to you.

4/5 stars

#803: The Grocery Gang

A sequel to Get a Haircut and Get a Real Job

GETTING MORE TALE #803: The Grocery Gang

I started working at the grocery store in fall 1989.  While it was nice finally having a real job, it was immediately disruptive to my life.  I worked every Thursday, which meant that I was missing at least one Pepsi Power Hour every week.  If I pulled a Tuesday shift too, no Power Hours at all!  I had barely missed an episode in four years.  Now I was missing more than half of them.

That was a monumental shift.  I prided myself in keeping my fingers on the pulse of hard rock and heavy metal.  Keeping up with school work wasn’t hard.  Keeping up with music was!  I felt so out of touch with whatever the latest singles and new releases were.  The Power Hour was my main metal lifeline!

When a door closes, another opens.

I might have been missing the Power Hours* but like a see-saw, music swung back into balance.  Every work place introduces you to new people and new music.  The grocery store was like that as well, but those guys liked heavier music than I had been listening to at home.  Specifically I remember Metallica, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin.  Those guys were not interested in Bon Jovi or Motley Crue, two groups I was really hot for in 1989.

There were three places I could be assigned to work at the grocery store:  Packing, parcel pickup, or cart collection.  That was the order of prestige involved.  Cart collection was considered the best assignment because you’d be out in the parking lot with a buddy collecting carts with no supervision.  It was a big parking lot so you could get lost and buy a soda at the convenience store for a minute or two on a regular day.  Parcel pickup was also cool because they had a tape deck down there you could listen to.  It was on that tape deck I heard a lot of my early Sabbath, Zeppelin and Metallica.  I wasn’t sure about Zeppelin yet.  They were telling me about this song “Moby Dick” that was a 10 minute long drum solo.**  And those guys didn’t care about Peter Criss’ drum work on “100,000” years.

I started absorbing the music.  There was one guy a few years older than me, Scott Gunning.  I went to school with his brother Todd.  I credit Scott for getting me into early Sabbath.  All I had was Born Again and Paranoid.  I’d never heard “Sweet Leaf”, “Black Sabbath”, “The Wizard”, “Supernaut”, “Changes” or anything else.  I decided to buy We Sold Our Soul for Rock ‘N’ Roll and it quickly because a favourite.   Bob Schipper also worked at the grocery store, in the bakery.  He was already over early Sabbath and seemed bemused that I had bought it.  He much preferred solo Ozzy.  But I was really into the Sabbath, much more than I expected.  “Sweet Leaf” took over during the spring of 1990.

As discussed in Getting More Tale #709: The Stuff, I had no idea what “Sweet Leaf” was actually about.  I also don’t know if Scott Gunning though I’d gone drug mad, so much did I love “Sweet Leaf”.  But there I was in the parking lot, collecting carts, and singing “I love you, sweet leaf”.

Packing groceries indoors was the usual job, however.  It was a rare treat to be on carts.  Indoors, all the packers raced to pack for the young cute cashiers.  There were only a couple of them.  Kathleen Fitzpatrick, with her jet black hair, was the newest and most popular.  She was really nice.  She’d drive me home in the winter so I didn’t have to walk.  But other guys with more seniority would make me go pack somewhere else with the older ladies.

In fact, one guy had only about six months seniority on me, but he sure used it.  He kicked me off Kathleen’s lane more than once!  The funny thing about this guy is that his older brother would later be the owner at the Record Store.  I would regale the Big Boss Man of the times his brother kicked me off any cute girl’s lane.

Since the grocery store was located in the local mall (the same one the Record Store would later occupy) I could go music shopping at the Zellers before my shift.  It was there I bought the compilation Stairway to Heaven/Highway to Hell, loaded to the gills with metal rarities like Ozzy doing “Purple Haze”, the only studio recording of that lineup with Geezer Butler on bass.  I still have that.  I also still have my copy of Back for the Attack by Dokken, that I paid a co-worker $10 for, because he was tired of it.

I left that job in the summer of 1990 with lots of cash and new music in my back pocket.  I was off to new adventures including a week in Alberta that also featured a ton of new music.  The grocery store was good to me but I never went back.  I wanted to focus on getting into the school I liked most (which I did) but I also got my Pepsi Power Hour back for another year.  (It was replaced by the inferior Power 30 in ’91.)   Still I met some great friends there like Scott, and, oh I almost forgot, bought my first Flying V guitar from a guy that worked in the bakery too!  I can’t deny that the grocery store had an unexpected but indelible effect on my musical history.

 

* No, I didn’t set my VCR to record the shows.  When I usually taped the Power Hour, I sat there with my finger on the record button, ready to grab every video I wanted.  I didn’t record entire shows.  I didn’t have a way of transferring one tape to another.  I preferred missing the show entirely, to recording it and not being able to keep the videos I wanted for my collection.  I’ve always been picky that way.  The result is the VHS Archives that you enjoyed in 2019.  

** Live version.