At LeBrain HQ this summer, we have been burning the candle at both ends. Caring for a sick family member is not easy especially when they are out of town.
Mrs. LeBrain has been on trains and busses for half of every week, going up to Toronto to provide love and support. She can’t drive because of the seizures so she’s at the mercy of bus and train schedules. One night she spent five hours getting home from Toronto.
I’ve been given strict instructions from her aunt: “Don’t let Jen burn herself out”.
Easier said than done!
She’s been doing an amazing job. Since I work full time I am only free to drive down to Toronto on weekends. That’s exhausting too, though not as much as public transit.
We haven’t had as much time to recharge our own batteries. It’s sad to say but we won’t be going to the cottage at all this summer. On the hot days, we would love nothing more than to jump in the refreshing waters of Lake Huron. It’s not happening this year.
And I haven’t had as much time to work on my reviews here at mikeladano.com. I come home from work mentally wiped out. I’m still playing and enjoying music every day but not writing about it very much. Thankfully guest writers like Holen MaGroin, Kovaflyer, Harrison Kopp and D have stepped up to provide some content and relief! (And there will be more content from Mr. MaGroin soon.)
My job, supporting Jen, is the easier of the two. I go to work, get paid, drive her where she has to go when I can, and try to take care of her. She’s got the harder job. If I’m not around these parts as much, or haven’t responded to your comments, that’s why. The struggle continues and the battle rages on.
An unemployed 21 year old student not-yet-named LeBrain was having a particularly lazy summer. In a year I would graduate. I didn’t have a lot of spending money.
There was a CD store at the mall. The owner was a friend of my dad’s. It was within walking distance. I wandered in once or twice a week. but their prices were too high. They had a “buy 10 get 1 free card”, and I’d redeemed one of those (for cassettes) already, but in general I couldn’t afford to buy things there. Most of my music was coming from Columbia House.
July rolled around, but I hadn’t been to the mall in a while. There was a bunch of new stuff I was curious about. David Lee Roth had an album out, and the new Soundgarden was supposed to be incredible. Kim Mitchell had something new, and there were a bunch of 1993 albums I still wanted. I took a walk to the mall.
Something was different at the CD store. Where there were once these red wire clearance bins, there was now a display of…used CDs!? Quality guaranteed?! Woah! I could afford these!
I saw it immediately: a brand new release sitting there used for $11.99. Kiss My Ass. It was only out for about two weeks! I didn’t care why it was there, it was MINE! I hated spending full CD prices on a “various artists” album. In general I’d only get three tracks per album that I wanted. I preferred to buy stuff like that on cassette, just so I wasn’t paying 20 bucks or more for three songs. Twelve bucks for Kiss My Ass? Stop twisting my arm!
I remarked to the owner how excited I was to get this brand new album at such a great price! He told me they just started selling used CDs. I learned later the now-legendary story: it started with about 10 CDs that he brought in from home to sell. People wanted more, and so he began buying and selling. So far, it was working well. He had a few hundred on display, and there were already some great titles in there!
I ran home excited about my score. The three tracks I was interested in were Lenny Kravitz, Extreme, and Shandi’s Addiction. I got my required three songs. Over time, the rest began to appeal more, but I mostly played those three. When I learned that Kiss themselves played on the Garth Brooks song, I upped it to four.
About a week later, my dad came home from work and instructed me to go to the mall the following morning. The owner of the CD store wanted to talk to me.
What?
“He’s interested in hiring you,” said my mom.
“Nah,” I answered. “I ordered a Japanese version of Kiss Alive III. I bet that came in.”
“Just go to the mall and talk to him,” they both said, and so I put on some nice(r) clothes for what was in effect an interview. I wore cowboy boots because I didn’t have anything else but sneakers. He already knew me as a customer, and trusted my dad as well. We just chatted for a bit. He told me that his employee Craig would be leaving for school at the end of the summer, and he needed a replacement. There were only the two of them, so it was actually a bigger deal than just “working at a CD store”. Craig opened, closed, did bank deposits, and everything else that needed doing, and eventually so would I!
He told me the job was a lot of fun, but also a lot of work. Sure, sure, stop twisting my arm!
Therefore, the CD copy of Kiss My Ass (that I still own today) is the very first used CD I bought at the store I would eventually work, and also the last one that I bought before actually being hired! And he was right about the job. It was hard work, and it was fun. When I began working there, I used to show up about 30 minutes early just to flip through all the new arrivals. If something jumped out at me, I’d put it in the front row. If something was priced too low, I’d tell him. “This is really rare”. I impressed him by knowing the details of who was in what bands, and their different side projects. I told him I learned this stuff by reading the Columbia House catalogue every month.
What an awesome time to work! The used CDs were on the ground floor. Soon they’d be 99% of what we did. I was there for many releases of what are now classic albums. I’m really proud to have been there for those times, even if not everybody gets that. It was work and it was fun. Not everybody gets to have a job they can be passionate about. When I was there at the beginning, putting in 200% every day, it was simply an amazing time to be alive.
A show of hands: who loves the Motörhead song “Eat the Rich”? Granted, it is not one of their most recognised tunes. It is however fun and hilarious.
I wanted to post the lyrics on Facebook recently, so I Googled them. I think Google is a little mixed up.
Google confused Motorhead’s song with the completely different Aerosmith single. At least they got the words mostly right…mostly! Below, you’ll find the correct lyrics and credits, thanks to your buddy LeBrain.
They say music is the food of love, Let’s see if you’re hungry enough, Take a bite, take another, just like a good boy would. Get a sweet thing on the side, Home cooking, homicide, Side order, could be your daughter, Finger licking good.
Come on baby, eat the rich, Put the bite on the son of a bitch, Don’t mess up, don’t you give me no switch, C’mon baby and eat the rich. C’mon baby and eat the rich.
Sittin’ down in a restaurant, Tell the waiter just what you want, Is that the meat, you wanted to eat, How would you ever know? Hash browns and bacon strips, I love the way that you lick your lips, No fooling I can see you drooling, Feel the hunger grow.
Come on baby, eat the rich, Put the bite on the son of a bitch, Don’t mess up, don’t you give me no switch, C’mon baby and eat the rich. C’mon baby and eat the rich. C’mon honey, here’s your supper, C’mon baby, bite that sucker!
I’ll eat you baby you eat me, Eat two, maybe get one free, Shetland pony extra pepperoni, Just pick up the phone. Eat Greek, or eat Chinese, Eat salad, or scarf up grease, You’re on the shelf, you eat yourself, Come on and bite my bone.
Come on baby, eat the rich, Bite down on the son of a bitch, Don’t mess around, don’t you give me no switch, C’mon baby and eat the rich. C’mon baby and eat the rich. Sittin’ here in a hired tuxedo, You wanna see my bacon torpedo?
Eat it baby, eat the rich. Eat it baby, eat the rich. Eat it baby, eat the rich.
There are plenty of live Styx albums, the majority with current singer Lawrence Gowan. 2001’s Styxworld is as entertaining as the title implies. It really does represent the world of Styx: oldies, solo hits, and obscure tracks too. Because the Styx lineup in 2001 included guitarist/singer Glen Burtnik, there are a couple songs he wrote that Styx don’t play anymore.
Styx have had a credible career, post-Dennis DeYoung. Adding Gowan, a solo star in Canada, was a brilliant move. Though Gowan and DeYoung don’t sound alike, Lawrence is capable of performing Dennis’ more dramatic hits like “Come Sail Away”. You wouldn’t want that song dropped from the set! But Gowan also adds his own solo material: “A Criminal Mind” (from 1985’s Strange Animal) is more than welcome. A great song is a great song, and “A Criminal Mind” has since become a part of Styx.
Credit should be heaped for including lesser-heard classics like “Boat on a River” in the set, just as good as any of the missing songs. You’ll also hear “Rocking the Paradise”, “Miss America”, “Sing for the Day”, “Crystal Ball”, “Half-Penny, Two-Penny” and “Lorelei” (James “JY” on lead vocals). Essentially the setlist was whittled down to songs co-written by Tommy Shaw or James Young, with “Come Sail Away” being the only solo DeYoung-written song.
You could fill a whole other album with missing songs like “The Grand Illusion” or “Renegade” but what makes Styxworld strong are the songs included in their place. Like it or not “Love is the Ritual” was a minor hit for Burtnik-era Styx, and an effort seems to have been made to include everybody’s material. A big hit (though not by Styx!) is “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” by Patty Smyth and Don Henley…written by Smyth and Burtnik. It’s cool to have a Styx version though it’s shortened for the stage. Of course there’s “Criminal Mind” by Gowan, and even the ballad “High Enough” by Tommy Shaw’s Damn Yankees. Though it seems like a ballad-heavy set, there is plenty of rock and roll.
Check out Styxworld for a taste of this period of Styx history. If you like Gowan, it’s a win.
When reports surfaced that Kiss were in the studio working on a song with country star Garth Brooks, some assumed this was to be a bonus track for the forthcoming Kiss Alive III. Little did we realize that Kiss were actually working on their own tribute album.
In the early 1990s, tribute albums were all the rage. Common Thread: the Songs of the Eagles. Stone Free: a Tribute to Jimi Hendrix. Out of the Blue and Borrowed Tunes: tributes to Neil Young. There were many more, and Kiss were not on the trailing edge of this trend. They beat Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin to the market.
Kiss My Ass was the clever title, but it was not the first. 1990’s Hard to Believe: A Kiss Covers Compilation featured soon-to-be-famous bands like Melvins and Nirvana. The ever-enterprising Kiss decided to corner the market with their own official tribute to themselves.
To toot their own horn, Kiss included a list of not only the musicians who appeared on Kiss My Ass, but even the ones that didn’t. Nirvana is on the list. According to the Melvins though, the truth is that they only dropped Kurt’s name as a guest on their track, because Gene didn’t seem too interested otherwise. Nine Inch Nails were going to do “Love Gun”. Both Ugly Kid Joe and Megadeth wanted to tackle “Detroit Rock City”. It’s hard to imagine what songs Run D.M.C. and Bell Biv Devoe were supposed to record, or Tears for Fears for that matter. Take this list with a grain of salt!
Kiss My Ass (or A** if you bought it from Walmart) is a weird album. It’s scattershot and not immediately likeable. It collected 11 (12 if you include the bonus track) covers by a diverse assortment of 90s artists. The cover art sucks and lacks the Kiss logo and Ace’s real makeup (which Kiss did not have the rights to in 1994). The only cool gimmick the cover had was the background flag was unique to the country of release. A Kiss album with a Canadian flag is neat to own.
The album hits the ground running with some 70s cred, as Lenny Kravitz and Stevie Wonder do “Deuce”. Lenny funks it up while Stevie brings the harmonica. This is an example of a simply terrific cover. The artists put their own spin on it, changing its style but not its drive.
“Hard Luck Woman” was already up Garth Brooks’ alley. His version doesn’t stray from the Kiss original, and even features Kiss (uncredited) as his backing band! That makes it an official Kiss recording, just with a guest singer of sorts. Arguably the biggest country singer of all time, and a closet Kiss fan. The Garth Brooks track threw a lot of people for a loop, though it’s an easy song to digest.
Kiss only participated in two songs: the Garth track, and Anthrax’s “She”. Anthrax insisted that Paul and Gene produce it, and they did a great job of it. Anthrax are brilliant at doing covers anyway. John Bush-era Anthrax was truly something special, and “She” slams hard. Heavy Kiss songs made heavier are such a delight.
The Gin Blossoms turned in a very mainstream, very mid-90s version of “Christine Sixteen”. It kicks about as hard as the original, but something about it is very tame. After all, singer Robin Wilson is not Gene Simmons (which is probably a good thing), and guitarist Scotty Johnson is not Ace Frehley. Far worse through is Toad the Wet Sprocket’s soggy “Rock and Roll all Nite”, a buzzkilling country fart. “Calling Dr. Love” by Shandi’s Addiction (a collection of assorted big names) is also a hard pill to swallow. This quartet consists of (are you ready for it?): Maynard James Keenan – lead vocals. Tom Morello & Brad Wilk – guitar and drums. Billy Gould – bass. So, it’s Rage Against the Machine with the singer from Tool and a bass rumble right out of Faith No More. And the track is just as schizophrenic as you’d expect. It’s both brilliant and annoying as fuck.
J. Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. used his unique vision on “Goin’ Blind”, turning Gene’s murky song into something even darker. Then bright shimmers of a string section break through the clouds, shadowing everything dramatically. It’s a brilliant track. Much like Kravitz, J. Mascis took the song and changed the style but not direction. You could say the same for Extreme who do a brilliant spin on “Strutter”. Though by 1994 Extreme were well over in the public eye, they continued to push their own boundaries. “Strutter” became something slower and funkier, with Nuno Bettencourt slipping all over the fretboard and Gary Cherone pouring it all on. This is primo Punchline-era Extreme (Paul Geary still on drums). And listen for a segue into “Shout it Out Loud”!
The Lemonheads chose “Plaster Caster” from Love Gun, a sloppy garage rock version, and score a passing grade. It’s an admirable effort, but they are quickly overshadowed by their fellow Bostonians, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. The Bosstones had the balls to open their track with a phone message from Gene Simmons advising them to pick another song. “Dicky, about Detroit Rock City…” Ugly Kid Joe had dibs. Any other song would be fine…and then WHAM! The opening chords to “Detroit Rock City”. Gene was gracious enough to appear in the video. Their disciplined ska-punk horn ensemble lays waste to the town. Dicky Barrett’s gravelly throat is like a sniper taking out anyone left standing. The Bosstones win the whole CD, hands down. There is little doubt that Dicky Barrett would have shaken unfortunate Kiss fans unfamiliar with the Bosstones. Today it’s clear that they stole the show with their mighty, mighty cover.
The closest match to the Bosstones in terms of excellence, is a polar opposite. It’s Yoshiki (from X-Japan) and his orchestra version of “Black Diamond”. This is performed instrumentally with piano in the starring role. In this form, “Black Diamond” would make a brilliant movie theme. Yoshiki closes the album in style, unless you choose to go further and get the LP. Proceed with caution.
The vinyl bonus track by Die Ärzte is the only non-makeup Kiss track included: “Unholy”. This is a garbage version (in German no less) that you don’t need to spend your money finding. It’s only interesting when it briefly transitions into “I Was Made For Loving You”. Want a good version of “Unholy”? Check out the 2013 tribute A World With Heroes.
By 1994, Kiss needed a boost. Grunge was omnipresent and Kiss looked silly and outdated, even with their beards and scruffier appearance. Kiss My Ass was clearly a transparent attempt to try and latch onto some fans of the newer breed. Maybe some Lenny Kravitz fans would like it. If a few Garth Brooks followers bought a copy too, then bonus! But Garth Brooks fans didn’t buy the album, turned off by the cover art and tracklist. Likewise, fans of Lenny Kravitz, Tool and Rage Against the Machine didn’t run out en-masse either.
Fortunately Kiss had plenty of cards left in their deck. There was a Kiss My Ass spinoff video, a tour, and a coffee table book all in the works. This seemed to distract from the oft-rumoured next Kiss studio album. More next time.
SOLO: A Star Wars Story original motion picture soundtrack (2018 Lucasfilm/Disney)
The second Star Wars spinoff movie, based on that ol’ scoundrel Han Solo, is also the second Star Wars movie with a soundtrack by someone other than John Williams. He still helms the main “Saga” films, but this time out John Powell had the difficult task of writing new Star Wars music. Powell’s career has mostly centred on kids’ movies like Antz and Shrek. He had an Oscar nomination for How to Train Your Dragon. He’s also known for action scores, like the Bourne movies and and X-Men: The Last Stand. Though Solo has plenty of action, Powell doesn’t go for tired action cliches in his score. And of course, there are plenty of callbacks and reprises of old Williams themes that you’ll never forget.
The opening cue “The Adventures of Han” begins sounding like an old film reel, before settling into something Marvel-like and heroic. This track was actually composed and conducted by Williams himself, providing the essence of a new theme for Han.
Solo is a different kind of Star Wars movie, even from Rogue One (conducted by Michael Giacchino). Likewise, its score is different too though still living in the same universe. Modern percussion and instrumentation can be found alongside the traditional. Han comes from a dark corner of the galaxy, and the score is fraught with tension over oceans of calm (“Flying with Chewbacca”). The characters of Han Solo and Lando Calrissian are loaded with panache, and so are parts of the score. Some of the best tracks are the dark “Spaceport”, which is contrasted by the rhythmic action of “Train Heist”.
“Marauders Arrive” features a children’s choir and a clue. At this point in the film, the masked pirate Enfys Nest enter the scene to pilfer the score that Solo’s crew was in the process of stealing. Later on, [SPOILER] we discover that Enfys Nest is actually a young girl. A Rebel, in fact. Some of her crew were first seen with Saw Gerrera’s rebels in Rogue One. The quite awesome sound of the children’s choir in this scene is a clue to Enfys’ true nature — a child herself. [END SPOILER]
Much of this score just sounds like a heist film. “Is This Seat Taken?” has that kind of quiet tension (with some peaks of themes in the background). It’s all very appropriate for sneaking around and trying to steal stuff like a scoundrel. There there are some more familiar sounds, like when the Falcon shows up. When it does, expect more hi-jinks, excitement and drama from this soundtrack. It rarely gets dull, but strap yourself in for “Reminiscence Therapy”. It’s a virtual greatest hits of themes, including the ones from Solo.
To be charitable, two tracks don’t work as well as others. Star Wars movies tend to have a lounge or bar scene with a band. “Chicken in the Pot” has annoyingly modern R&B beats, just not right for Star Wars, weird languages aside. “Dice & Roll” is also a bit too close to home for a galaxy far, far away.
Solo turns out to be one of the pleasant surprises of 2018. It’s a soundtrack far better than expected.
Guest review by Holen MaGroin – part 5 in his KIX series
KIX – Hot Wire (1991 Atlantic)
It took the almighty Kix three years to follow up their commercial breakthrough Blow My Fuse. When they did, they had a new record contract, and an assload of debt from their first three albums. Being that this was 1991, the clock was ticking before that putz from Seattle would change the face of rock music forever by replacing talented musicianship and fun with glorified punk songs about deodorant. The resulting album Hot Wire was the band’s heaviest album to date, with their hard rock influences taking over their sound completely. While Hot Wire is still an entertaining listen, it’s not as consistent as the albums that preceded it, and is a little derivative at times.
Hot Wire is jumpstarted by the title track, which starts off with a riff that sounds like Ted Nugent’s “Just What the Doctor Ordered”, and ends with a loving homage to “Have a Drink on Me”. The sonic annihilation in between is a whole hell of a lot of fun, and has Kix playing some of the most aggressive music of their career. Steve Whiteman in particular is taking no prisoners with an absolutely electrifying vocal performance that commands attention and respect. The song juggles the head banging verses with a trademark melodic Kix chorus that will blow your mind. Maybe Kurt Cobain was listening to this when his Kurt Cobrains hit the floor in April of 1994. It’s a great choice to open the album with, as it dispels any notion that Kix has become less hungry as a result of their platinum success.
Kix follows it up with what could only be described as a tribute to AC/DC’s “Big Balls”, complete with a Bon Scott impression. In lead single “Girl Money”, Whiteman channels Scott while talking about a woman of low moral fibre across the bar. The chorus is an absolute explosion of melody, literally. If you listen carefully, you can hear cannons going from the left to the right speaker after the lyrics “bang boom party”. The attention to detail is not only amusing, but it reflects the sonic identity of the record. The production on this album serves to polish the rough edges while retaining all the sonic power that Kix have to offer. It sounds good, but there are no frills to be found. This is a rock and roll record, and the band is going to treat it as such. No more Cool Kids new wave pandering, the group is out to rock your world.
The fourth slot on the album is left to “Tear Down the Walls”, a weak ballad that was probably recorded to capitalize on the success of “Don’t Close Your Eyes”. It’s pleasant enough, but one can’t help but compare it to superior ballads on past Kix records. While it’s not nearly as iconic or enjoyable as “For Shame”, “Walkin’ Away”, or “Don’t Close Your Eyes”, it’s still a much better decision to listen to it than to marry Courtney Love, in my opinion only of course.
Kix only has one ballad again, and gets away with it by preceding it with the hook laden “Luv-A-Holic”, which has a similar structure to “Get It While It’s Hot” from the previous record, done in a heavier style that is more representative of the Hot Wire sound. It’s one of the best songs on the album, and the deal only gets sweeter when “Rock & Roll Overdose”, (a song title I believe Kurt took too literally) greets the listener after the lacklustre ballad. One of the heaviest tunes Kix have ever done, it’s a nice ode to rock and roll itself with Whiteman bringing back his powerful raspy vocals from the title track. Guitarists Ronnie “10/10” Younkins and Brian Forsythe really get to shine on this track with each getting a chance to show off their solo chops. It’s much more enjoyable than listening to nursery rhyme melodies over three chord punk songs and pretending like you hate any band that has reached any kind of success, including your contemporaries that praise you.
What sinks the album is a sense of monotony. Some of the lesser tunes begin to sound the same, and some of them are lyrically lacking. “Hee Bee Jee Bee Crush”, “Bump the La La”, and “Same Jane” were in desperate need of penmanship reform. There’s also not as much variety as you would normally expect from a Kix album, as they seem to be firmly rooted in a hard rock sound. Choruses lack some of the staying power that they had on earlier albums, and the songs begin to run together.
While by no means a bad album, Hot Wire comes as a bit of a disappointment after the quality of the two previous outings. Unfortunately, due to shifting (shitty) tastes, Kix would only release one more album on their major label (1993’s appropriately titled Contractual Obligation Live!) before being pushed to the indie world. The mighty titans would regroup for one more studio album with the original lineup. They disappeared for the better part of twenty years before reemerging with a new bassist as strong as ever. As for Hot Wire…
3.5/5 stars
Authors note: I don’t really hate Nirvana, but they’re just so easy to poke fun at. I would take Badmotorfinger, Ten, & Ritual de lo Habitual over Nevermind any day of the week though.
Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) of Spinal Tap has finally released his new solo album Smalls Change. (This is a followup to the fictional 1970s album It’s a Smalls World). It features such guests such as Joe Satriani and Phil X. The subject matter on the album includes butt-dialing and gummer-giving.
I know a certain Sausagefester who has dentures so I thought he’d dig the lyrics about gummers (“Gumming the Gash”). I tried to tell him. It didn’t go well.
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