YNGWIE MALMSTEEN – Trial By Fire: Live in Leningrad(1989 Polydor)
Walk up to the well-schooled rock fan in your group of friends and ask, “What do you think of Yngwie J. Malmsteen?”
Even the ones who don’t like the Swedish Speed Demon’s albums will admit, “except for that one with Joe Lynn Turner; that was pretty good.”
The short-lived Turner lineup did release a live album in 1989. Trial By Fire: Live in Leningrad was accompanied by home video of the same name with more tracks. By 1990, Malmsteen already had a new album and singer named Göran Edman, but only Joe Lynn Turner had the marquee value to bring Yngwie a Billboard top 40 charting record (#40 with Odyssey).
Although Turner can act as a gateway to hear Yngwie for the first time, his stuff can still be pretty off-putting. Just look at the pompous “thank you’s” on the inside sleeve. Sprinkled in with the regular names are da Vinci, Bach, Beethoven, Paganini, HP Lovecraft and Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Come on, Yngwie!
Joe is a versatile singer, which is one reason he’s always been sought after. He effortlessly imbibes the old Yngwie tracks with his own attitude: “Liar”, “Queen in Love”, and “You Don’t Remember” are better with Joe singing. Unfortunately this is marred by a too-loud audience and Yngwie’s always excessive shredding. More often than not, he overplays.
When it works, it works. “Heaven Tonight”, “Queen in Love” and “Deja Vu”, the most melodic songs, click. The instrumentals are good too, like demonstrations of immaculate neo-classical rock. “Far Beyond the Sun” is tightly composed and arranged, though live Yngwie lets the strings fly even more. Listen for some Deep Purple right in the middle of “You Don’t Remember, I’ll Never Forget”, and some Rainbow on “Crystal Ball” too.
Yngwie produced Live in Leningrad himself, and it’s a rather shrill affair with obvious backing tapes on some of the choruses like “Heaven Tonight”. The problem with many Yngwie albums is that you can only listen to so much before ear fatigue sets in. Live in Leningrad is one such album. By the end your brain is exhausted and you have to listen to something from a different end of the spectrum. Even Joe Lynn Turner can’t blunt the aural razorblade effect.
On Friday I was itching to go. I made a post here, critiquing my passenger Uncle Meat for wanting to stop at both Walmart and Value Village before hitting the Sausage Road. He’s a grown man and could be a little better prepared…but I too am a grown man who can admit when he is wrong. And I was wrong. The Walmart and Value Village stops were actually two of my favourite things that happened.
WALMART
“I wanna stop at the Walmart up by St. Jacobs,” said Meat. Cool. I try to make a point of checking the toy section at every Walmart, because it’s the out-of-the-way ones where you can find the rare stuff. I made a beeline and lo! One, two, three, four, FIVE brand new Transformers figures. I grabbed all five and hit the checkout, so excited about my excellent find. These are toys that collectors are having a hard time finding anywhere. This led directly to…
VALUE VILLAGE
“I want something ridiculous,” said Uncle Meat as we hit the T-shirts. Immediately, I spotted an Optimus Prime shirt waiting right there for me, the first shirt we saw. My size! I then found rather quickly a bright orange George Jones “The Living Legend” shirt. It had to come with us to Sausagefest. Finally, after going through just about every shirt in the store, Meat found it like destiny:
These two stops really set the tone for the whole weekend. They were:
One plan that did not come together was my tent, which broke immediately just out of the box. Fortunately you can always count on certain Sausagefesters to always bring gorilla and/or duct tape. The tent weathered both nights.
DAY ONE
The Countdown began promptly at Whenever O’clock and rapidly ticked down 50 + 2 tracks in one night, plus numerous bits and sketches. 50 +2?
We lost one of our own this year and Rush’s “Dreamline” was played in his honour. Many were decked in neon orange in honour of his old orange boiler suit. Troy was a truly good soul, a human being with a solid heart of gold. He always made me feel welcome from my first Sausagefest on, and many years before that too as we had friends in common. “Learning that we’re only immortal for a limited time” was a poignant lyric, but what really made it special was a tribute that Jeff Woods himself recorded for it. The Legend of Classic Rock participated in a sketch/tribute that made eyes wet and some bellies laugh. The tone was flawless and it is truly good to know what integrity looks like up close and personal.
“Dreamline” was not part of the official countdown, nor was a bit that I snuck into my own intro as a part of The Mamas and the Papas’ “California Dreaming”. I sandwiched my personal introduction into Jeff Russo’s “Main Title” from Star Trek: Discovery, a show I’ve been hyping all year long. Russo (of the rock band Tonic) composed a dramatic, striking piece working in elements from the original show. I’m glad to have a chance to showcase it in its entirety, albeit with a long interlude of my shit in the middle.
Don’t forget the two minutes of “improvised scatting”, precisely because Troy would have hated that kind of shit! And it was so funny that I couldn’t breathe for two minutes straight. The Countdown (all a blur to me now) ran from #100 to 91 (10 songs total) with no comedy bits, because Troy always said “Less talk, more rock!” They cut the crap and just played the tunes.
I can tell you that we heard Styx that night (“Mr. Roboto” and “Light Up”), some Five Alarm Funk, Beastie Boys, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Willie Nelson, and…a blur of songs and comedy. There were a few rap tracks this year, certainly a record number. Afroman and Cypress Hill made their debuts. A list is forthcoming.
DAY TWO
50 more tracks to count down.
Uncle Meat was up early (for him) at 9:30, and in great spirits despite a bad back the night before. We made our way to Flesherton where Uncle Meat destroyed the men’s toilet at the Flying Spatula. Emerging from the washroom he announced to the world, “Don’t use the one on the left!” He annihilated the toilet again on our way out, and that of an outhouse on the way back to the farm. I felt bad for the next guy in line waiting to use the outhouse, but Meat made it out of there really quick.
But I digress. The Flying Spatula was a great ol’ time even though the Lamb Lord got mad at me for taking a picture of his food.
Back on the farm, we played a cool game I call “Knife Chucking”. It’s kind of like axe throwing, but more special because those daggers were hand-forged by our very own Chuck. And it was way fun! A knife actually got lost in the dirt, and then plowed over by mistake by tractor. But we found it as a team with a metal detector (for real!) and a rake!
I goaded Dr. Dave to rant some more about the Transformers. Man, he really hates the Transformers. Do not watch this video if you are easily butthurt!
The second night commenced with lamb, perfectly marinated and cooked to medium by our chef the Lamb Lord. It was gone so fast that Uncle Meat didn’t even get a slice.
The rock resumed. The Blues Brothers was #1…Clutch #2…and Twisted Sister at #3 with “Burn in Hell”. More Five Alarm Funk, Queen, Tool…just a blur of songs. But probably most impressive to some of us: “Grendel” by Marillion, in its entirety. A 17-minute track within the top 20, and yet momentum was strong.
I have a literal Meat-ton of a video to sift through, but with perfect weather and setting, Sausagefest 2018 was once again utopia on Earth.
And a big, big, big thank you to Jeff Woods, the real Legend of Rock and Roll, for helping us out this year. Meat sent you a personal gift as well. I know you’re about 40 kilometers downriver from us in the valley. Uncle Meat kept having to shit that day sir. Meat took a shit in the river, and his shit signal should be with you by now. Mr. Woods, you are a huge inspiration and truly a man among men.
And woman! One woman. Sausagefest has its first woman and she is one of the guys! A massive first that may have been overdue!
My sun baked skin is aching for the comfort of a shower. Enjoy the photos. Lots more to come.
I can tell you exactly what I was doing that day. Summer 1990 — MuchMusic was running a contest. Film a video for “I Am A Wild Party” by Kim Mitchell, and if you’re lucky enough, maybe your footage would be used in the video. (I don’t think they used anybody’s footage in the end.) This photo is from that day. And yes, the video of this still exists on VHS tape.
“Nice pic, buddy. Just one question: How in hell did you get that picture without having throngs of girls hanging off of you, all wanting of piece of that special magic?”
Sarca commented: “I think you stole my jean jacket from 1990…then put Def Leppard patches all over it…” No thievery here, but I put a Def Lep patch on mine too.
Someone on Facebook claimed that I “look like Rudy from the Scorps with that Flying V. Blaaaaaaaack out!”
I sit here writing this on Saturday morning, the coldest I’ve ever been at Sausagefest. From heat wave to chill. Uncle Meat slept in the car. No tent for him. Too cold.
7:30 am. As the sun moves into position, it’s starting to warm.
We had a great first night, though I had some lower body pain and had to lie down. I spent two hours in the tent listening to the Countdown.
Tool. Priest. Willie. Rush. Sheavy. ‘Tallica. Beasties. Five Alarm Funk. Much more. Amazing tunes last night.
There was one hiccup. My brand new tent broke immediately out of the box. Not impressed. Gorilla tape to the rescue. My tent looks like the stunted stepchild of everybody else’s tent.
I slept well, and I will do better tonight. Let’s do it!
GETTING MORE TALE #693: Rock and Religion Guest post by musician and songwriter D
Rock N’ Roll and Religion. These things, the two capital R’s if you will, were a constant presence growing up. Sometimes I think back on my growing and think how I developed into the person I am now, certainly rock and religion played a part in that. Being raised Christian by a really awesome single mom who also loved classic rock was truly the best of both worlds. She encouraged me to seek out spiritual and musical power in equal measure. She was laid-back and let me just be who I am as I figured life out.
When I became too self-righteous in my religious fervor she’d pull me back and give me a reality check that being a person of faith means being kind and not a judgmental dickhead (which I certainly could be at times). Even as I now am a rather irreligious (i.e. not super orthodox) 27-year-old, I still think the philosophical and theological basis for my life was positive at least in respect to my mother’s teachings.
It also led to some…interesting, shall we say, experiences with two subcultures that tend to clash. While I grew up after the heyday of Tipper Gore and her merry band of fuckwits (the PMRC) persecuting metal musicians, I still felt the aftershocks in the 90s. Couple that with having more hardcore fundamentalist evangelical extended family and friends, and you can bet I have some stories to tell.
I first started to notice the conflict as a 10-year-old when I got into Black Sabbath and some family members suggested I burn the CDs promptly. I’m pretty sure had I agreed they would have built a bonfire in their backyard and eliminated the demonic disc in a flash of fire (as we all know, Satan lives in poorly made CD-Rs burned on a shitty Dell PC). Not sure if the pen fake tattoo of “OZZY” on my knuckles would have also been burned off in the process…but we can’t rule anything out.
Knowing so many religious folks as friends since I went to a Christian high school after leaving public school due to bullying led to some pretty hilarious confrontations. Being a huge Van Halen fan I would get confronted with different accusations. These would range from me being a practitioner of idolatry (must’ve thought I had a shrine to Eddie Van Halen where I burn sage and chant the lyrics to “I’m The One”), to full-blown accusations of Van Halen being satanic (HAIL DAVID LEE ROTH AND HIS MINIONS OF SATAN).
These sorts of conflicts arose with all of the bands I listened to, from AC/DC and Judas Priest, to Iron Maiden and Metallica. I was constantly having to justify my faith and my love of music that involved pounding drums and wailing guitars. The more I became a bit more liberal in my faith I was able to eventually stop caring, but it was an eye-opening experience for me.
Some suggested I listen to more Christian rock bands, which is an odd label; I mean being a musician is a job, do you make sure your plumber is a Christian plumber (on second thought, maybe you do…bless thy toilet and its holy water)? The problem was, while I found some great bands like Pillar and P.O.D. (also U2 writes constantly about God), they were basically shitty imitations of the real thing. I mean if you want Coke, are you really going to drink store-brand cola and think it tastes just as good?
I imagine that this experience is pretty common for kids in certain religious circles and I wonder if they are scared away from either belief or music because of a false dualism being presented. I ain’t a preacher, and I’m definitely no role model, but rock n’ roll in all its forms has been nothing but a positive in my life. Simultaneously, while I eventually walked away from the church and orthodoxy of my faith for personal reasons, at the time, I also benefited from the comfort I could find in the belief of a supernatural being.
I’m reminded of Malcolm Young’s response when asked if AC/DC were Satanists, he humorously stated “me mum would kill me if we were.” The less boundaries we draw for ourselves in these little subgroups the better. I’m not saying we all have to hold hands and sing “We Are The World” (that song is overrated as hell), but you’d be surprised how much you’d have in common with people that seem to run counter to your own worldview. Rock and religion shouldn’t be enemies, and maybe someday they won’t be.
For now, I’ll start on that Church of the Holy Lars Ulrich shrine for human sacrifices and hope for the best.
A brief club tour warmed ’em up. The full arena tour put Kiss back on the big stage, this time with a huge statue of liberty in addition to the Kiss sign. As the show went on, the statue crumbled to reveal a skulled figure…giving the finger. Not everybody got that. The tour suffered from very poor attendance in the United States, partly blamed on grunge, and partly blamed on a late start (October).
Regardless, it was clearly time for Kiss Alive III. There was early talk of Alive III back in 1986, set to follow the next studio album. That never materialised, and some would argue rightfully so. Kids of the 80s generation already had their own Alive III: It was called Animalize Live Uncensored, and with the benefit of hindsight, it easily could and should have been the official Alive III.
The real Kiss Alive III was issued in 1993, produced once again by Eddie Kramer, and in the sacred tradition of all Kiss Alives….was heavily overdubbed in the studio. It is the only Kiss Alive from the non-makeup era, and therefore the only Alive with the lineup of Stanely, Simmons, Kulick and Singer…and Derek Sherinian on ghost keyboards. He followed Eric Singer over from the Alice Cooper group.
Although there is some overlap with Kiss Alive and Alive II, the third instalment is largely made of newer material, like opener “Creatures of the Night”. Some fans were upset that “Detroit Rock City” was moved to the end of the set, but a shakeup on a Kiss setlist is usually a good thing. Opening with “Creatures” was fresh and set the scene firmly back to the heavy sound of 1982, which really seemed to be what Kiss were trying to re-create.
Gene takes over on “Deuce” (1st repeat – Kiss Alive) and for the first time in years it seemed like Gene didn’t look and act goofy on stage. Give credit to the beard. It finally gave Gene an image he could work with. Meanwhile on stage right, Kulick nails a vintage Kiss guitar sound, but without losing his technical advantages. Another first: Kulick finally sounded at home playing Ace Frehley guitar solos. His revamped greasy rock solos fit love a glove.
But wow, does that crowd noise ever sound fake, and fans say that Paul’s stage raps were recorded later, because they’re not from Detroit, Cleveland or Indianapolis where the album was recorded. “I Just Wanna” is the first Revenge track, but it sounds sterile like a studio version with glistening backing vocals. It’s also too early in the album to stop the song for a singalong (and a bad singalong at that). That’s followed by a fairly flat “Unholy” which, Kiss were discovering, didn’t work as well on stage. Paul’s “Woo-woo” intro to “Heaven’s On Fire” sounds very dubbed, but the track smokes hotter than it did on prior tours. You can hear Eric Singer clearly on backing vocals, adding a bit of sweetener to the mix.
“Watchin’ You” came as a surprise, an oldie from Hotter Than Hell (and 2nd repeat – Kiss Alive). With Eric Singer on drums, they captured the jazzy Peter Criss drum vibe once again, but this time with more power and precision. This is as close as it ever got to original Kiss. Some would say it’s even better than original Kiss, but that would just be stating a preference.
Back to Revenge, “Domino” is the first song to really click live. That’s probably because it was always close to that vintage Kiss vibe. Another surprise is rolled out: “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” from 1979’s Dynasty, but Wikipedia says this version was recorded at soundcheck. Whatever the case may be, it’s not as purely heavy as the one on bootleg Unholy Kisses but it’s still good to have it on an Alive. A set highlight is “I Still Love You” from Creatures, a real chance for Paul to sing. In 1992 and 1993, Paul was arguably at his vocal peak strength.
They chose an interesting slot for “Rock and Roll all Nite”: the first track on side two (original cassette version, side three for LP)! Again, some fans loudly stated a preference for “Rock and Roll all Nite” (3rd repeat – Kiss Alive) as a closer, but it’s stale no matter where it sits. It’s followed by 80s classic “Lick It Up”, a good song but always a little sparse in the live setting. Don’t forget the overplayed “I Love It Loud” which was chosen as the only Alive III single.
“Forever” is a little surprising by its inclusion in the setlist that. A good ballad, yes: but was a ballad necessary? It must have been because according to Paul “Every time we play this one, the place lights up like a damn Christmas tree.” Also true: Paul’s stage raps are not at all memorable this time out. A great example is “Detroit Rock City”, although that may also just be that “Detroit” doesn’t belong near the end of an album (4th repeat – Kiss Alive II).
There was a Japanese/vinyl bonus track, finally available on wider release within the Alive! 1975–2000 box set: “Take It Off”. This is the one where the strippers came up on stage; yes indeed, a calculated move to shed Kiss’ kiddie image in the 1990s. As a live song, it’s way better than “I Just Wanna”.
Kiss closed the show with the complex anthem “God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll to You II” followed by an actual anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner” as a Bruce Kulick guitar showcase. This works surprisingly well to wrap up a Kiss Alive that is very different from the other Alives. Turn it up and hear the bombs bursting in air!
Where does Kiss Alive III sit today among the Alives? It’s not the worst Alive, but we’ll get there. Think of it like a movie. Superman was amazing, and nobody expected Superman II to be as good as Superman. But it was good enough to make a Superman III which wasn’t as good as I or II. In reality, Superman III was a total bed-shit, but Alive III is not. For its flaws, it is a pretty good live album. There were a lot of live albums out in 1993 for Kiss to compete with: Iron Maiden (two singles), Ozzy (a double), Van Halen (a double) and Metallica (a triple CD and triple VHS monstrosity). Alive III is better than most of them (you figure out which). Kiss were only modestly asking you to part with a single CD’s worth of money, and if you bought it at certain stores you’d get an Alive III poster while supplies lasted.
Today’s rating:
3.5/5 stars
Alive III finally behind them, Kiss were still not ready to record their next studio album. For better or for worse, the post-Alive III era was a complicated, scattershot period with a few interesting releases to cover.
One of the folks at work, who I call “Happy”, is a super guy but he doesn’t throw around compliments very readily. He’d rather tease most of the time. He happened to walk into my office while I was listening to the show. He listened with me for a few minutes, and then began his speech.
“You know, you might be offended by what I have to say, but listen,” he began. “You and I could be sitting in a bar and I would have no interest in anything you are talking about. You like music, I like sports. We have literally nothing in common to talk about.
“But you need to do a book, or a show, or something. I have listened for two minutes, and I am already interested in what you’re talking about. I don’t care about this stuff. But you made me want to care.
“It was the same when you were on that other station, Dave FM. We were listening here at work when you were on. I don’t care about any of that music, but you make it interesting.
“It’s like when I am watching soccer with my wife. There can be an amazing British commentator talking about it, and I am so into what he is saying. My wife, she does not care. Not at all. But you, you can talk in such a way that you make it interesting for people who do care, and people who are not interested at all.
“You have a gift, and you need to be on a show, or do a book. And if you’re offended by this I don’t care!”
YNGWIE MALMSTEEN – Trial By Fire: Live in Leningrad (1989 Polydor)
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