The Foo Fighters took a break in 2001. Their new album, to come later as One By One, was not going well. The band were infighting, and the album was put on hold. Around that time, Josh Homme hooked up with his old buddy Dave Grohl and invited him to play on the new Queens of the Stone Age album. Dave was growing wearing of frontman duties in his own band and was happy to just be a drummer again for a little while.
The resultant QOTSA album, Songs for the Deaf, was a smash hit. Dave Grohl’s presence brought them a higher profile than before, but it was also just a flat-out kick ass record.
One of our store managers, Joe “Big Nose” was a Queens of the Stone Age fan going back to Kyuss. Though I was not there personally when this happened, Joe likely had an internal meltdown when a customer asked:
“Hey, do you have that new side project of Dave Grohl from Foo Fighters?”
The Tom Werman-produced Girls, Girls, Girls album is a bit underrated. Its weaknesses are fairly obvious, but its strengths are less appreciated. The Crue were coming off a bit of a stinker (Theater of Pain), so some changes were in order. The band dropped the makeup and spandex in favour of a tougher street-ready look. The intended direction this time was a bit of a combo of the first three Crue album. They wanted the rawness of Too Fast For Love, the heaviness of Shout at the Devil, and the sleaze of Theater. There was no reinvention of the wheel, nor was anybody in the band capable of that. Nikki Sixx was deep into a heroin problem at this time, barely focused on the music at all. This has been documented in his graphic book The Heroin Diaries. Much of his time was spent hiding in a closet with a gun, afraid of imaginary intruders.
As an audience in 1987, we really did not suspect that things were such a shambles behind the scenes. The band looked good, and sounded like they had rediscovered the skills of writing memorable songs. Case in point: opening track (and second single) “Wild Side”. Boasting the kind of rock groove that Motley made their trademark, “Wild Side” rocked. They even threw in a time change on the bridge. “Wild Side” was augmented with a cool music video, showcasing the Motley stage show in 1987. This included a spinning, upside down Tommy Lee drum kit. “Girls, Girls, Girls” was a video too, but it never saw airplay up in Canada. Too risqué for the frozen tundra of the north? It too was a hit, played live in concert right to Motley’s final show (opening number, in fact).
The album was rounded out by a number of cool, sleazy rock tracks and a couple ballads. “Dancing On Glass” kicks; it’s pretty much an autobiographical track about living in the fast lane. This is something the Crue were well acquainted with.
“Silver spoon and needle, Witchy tombstone smile, I’m no puppet, I engrave my veins with style.”
Since the cassette didn’t come with a lyric sheet, kids of the 80’s (or at least the parents of the 80’s) probably had no idea what Vince was singing about. The song is given some traditional rock cred with soulful female backing vocals and boogie piano.
“Bad Boy Boogie” continued the theme, this time with some tasty Mick Mars slide guitar instead of piano. “Better lock up your daughters when the Motleys hit the road.” The song is a series of sexual innuendos, cleverness put to the side in favour of blunt sleaze. “Got my finger in the pie, my hand in the cookie jar.” Aerosmith leaks through the grooves on “Bad Boy Boogie” which wears its influence on its sleeve. The good times continue to bounce on “Five Years Dead”, loaded with more of Mick’s greasy slide. It’s a similar song to “Sumthin’ for Nuthin'”, which is even more fun. This time Vince is a gigolo, getting paid for pleasure (sumthin’ for nuthin’)! “Leave the money where it’s easy to see,” he sings with glee. It’s brilliant Motley filth just the way you like it. Best of all is the smokin’ “All in the Name Of…”, which pours high octane fuel in the tank and opens ‘er up wide. It’s sleazier than sleazy: “She’s only 15, she’s the reason, the reason I can’t sleep. You say illegal, I say legal’s never been my scene.” Probably a true story….
There are only two ballads, one of which is just 1:26 of filler (“Nona”). The other is the very entertaining “You’re All I Need”, which sounds inspired by Alice Cooper. It is a delicate piano based murder ballad, like the Coop has done so well. “You’re All I Need” isn’t Coop quality, but on the Motley scale it’s one of their better ballads. It has an anthemic quality, a pompous melancholy. The lyrics doomed it to semi-obscurity, which is too bad, since on the whole it’s a stronger song than the better known “Without You”.
Unfortunately for this album, “Nona” was not the only filler. An excruciating (and live?!) cover of “Jailhouse Rock” ends the album on a pretty putrid note. It’s not good at all, and reeks of weakness. Why would you end your new album with a cover, and a live cover at that? Only because you didn’t have enough quality tunes to make the cut.
The 2003 remastered edition of Girls, Girls, Girls came with bonus tracks, like all the albums in the Crucial Crue collection. Three of them are instrumental versions, bordering on filler material. Motley Crue are not Rainbow or Marillion — you don’t get much out of an instrumental version. “Nona” did once have a rock section in its longer demo form. More entertaining than the demos is the band and Tom Werman intro. Funny stuff. Then there is a long sought ballad “Rodeo”. This song was first mentioned in band interviews in 1989, when it was mentioned for possible inclusion on a never-released album called Motley Crue: The Ballads. The demo here is not very well fleshed out, but you can hear that it had a cool chorus ready to go. Finally there is a live version for “All in the Name Of…” from Moscow in 1989. Fans may recall that Motley played at the infamous Moscow Music Peace Festival…shortly before Tommy attacked Jon Bon Jovi and ripped the shirt off his back. Peace and love, man!
Although the Crue were only firing on a couple cylinders at the time, they managed to piece together a worthwhile album. There are only two mis-steps, which are “Nona” and “Jailhouse Rock”. The remastered edition adds a couple more worthwhile bonus tracks to extend your listening experience. Go for that one if you find it first.
3.5/5 stars
Side one
1. “Wild Side” 4:40
2. “Girls, Girls, Girls” 4:30
3. “Dancing on Glass” 4:18
4. “Bad Boy Boogie” 3:27
5. “Nona” 1:27
Side two
6. “Five Years Dead” 3:50
7. “All in the Name Of…” 3:39
8. “Sumthin’ for Nuthin'” 4:41
9. “You’re All I Need” 4:43
10. “Jailhouse Rock” (live) 4:39
2003 Remastered Edition bonus tracks
11. “Girls, Girls, Girls” (Tom Werman & band intro, rough mix of instrumental track) 5:38
12. “Wild Side” (rough mix of instrumental track) 4:06
13. “Rodeo” (unreleased track) 4:14
14. “Nona” (instrumental demo idea) 2:42
15. “All in the Name Of…” (live in Moscow) 5:02
RICHIE SAMBORA – Stranger In This Town (1991 Mercury 2 CD deluxe)
Bon Jovi went on hiatus after the lengthy New Jersey tour. Their future appeared uncertain. Jon had released his first solo album, a soundtrack called Blaze of Glory. Alec John Such was reportedly opening carwashes in Hungary, although that was probably a joke answer in a magazine interview. Meanwhile, the rest of Bon Jovi (Richie Sambora, David Bryan and Tico Torres) gathered in the studio to record. With Tony Levin on bass and Chapman Stick, the group assembled Richie’s first solo album, Stranger In This Town. Although fans were worried about a possible split, there was much excitement for Richie to have a chance to sing his own songs. Adding to the hype, Eric Clapton appeared as a special guest. (Randy Jackson played bass on one song, “One Light Burning”.)
Sambora seemed to determine to fly his own colours. Predominantly, that’s blue, as in the blues. He also mixed in soul, pop, and rock to create an album that wouldn’t alienate any Bon Jovi fans. David Bryan contributed songwriting, and there is even one Bon Jovi song in the mix. It’s not a guitar album, although it need not be stated that the guitar playing on this album is brilliant. Richie went for feel and atmosphere rather than flash.
This is apparent on opening track “Rest in Peace”. It’s not really a full-fledged song, but more an introduction to the album. It even has listening instructions: “Turn down the lights…light a candle…welcome.” That doesn’t sound very rock and roll, does it? But it is good advice. That’s the kind of album this is. “Rest in Peace” is loaded with soul, and this merges with the pop rock on “Church of Desire”. A song like this wouldn’t have worked with Bon Jovi. It has more soul, and its quiet production lets the music breathe more than Bon Jovi songs do. It’s a brilliant track, and Richie’s solo just blasts. Different from Bon Jovi, but accessible for Bon Jovi fans: it’s an ideal song for a first Sambora album.
The blues single “Stranger In This Town” sounds like something Richie had been aching to do for years. Backed by a choir of vocalists, this is Richie fulfilling some musical dreams. Both blues fans and rock fans should enjoy the middle ground where they meet on “Stranger In This Town”. As a single, it seemed to represent the image Richie was going for. This album has three singles in a row, making the first side a little more consistently strong. “Ballad of Youth” was the debut single, combining Bon Jovi’s anthemic melodies with Richie’s new laid-back vibe. It even has a Bon Jovi-like positive message. “Don’t waste your life away, thinkin’ ’bout yesterday’s blues.” The excellent third single was the synth ballad “One Light Burning” which almost sounds like Richie Sambora joined the Cars. For the programmed sounds and percussion, Richie said they had “about 100 computers” networked together. Oh, 1991! Though a ballad, it’s the centerpiece of the album.
It’s possible they intended “Mr. Bluesman” to be the centerpiece, but the lyrics are difficult to digest. When you write a song as a tribute to your hero, such as this tribute to Eric Clapton, lyrics are always the trick. Thankfully Mr. Clapton’s guest guitar appearance, though brief, does tell us the story. Hearing him rip on this blues ballad is like a searchlight cutting through the murky haze. But here’s the weird thing. Didn’t Eric find Brian May’s tribute song “Blues Breaker” embarrassing? Yet he appeared on this ballad?
“Rosie” is a Bon Jovi song that was heavily bootlegged, from the fruitful New Jersey sessions. It sounds like Bon Jovi, but Richie’s version has way more guitar. Unfortunately the Bon Jovi version has never been released. It was mysteriously not included on the Sons of Beaches demos that came out in 2014, even though the other songs were. One has to assume Jon didn’t include it on his set because Richie already had his version out. The next track “River of Love” is a title that has nothing to do with the Bon Jovi demo of the same name. This is the first and last really greasy rocker on the album.
It’s ballads from there out, but terrific songs nonetheless. “Father Time” (written with Desmond Child) is a melancholy rock ballad that Jon probably wishes he wrote. It’s a powerful song, like an amped up “One Light Burning”. Guitars burn up and down your spine while Sambora soothes your ears with his soulful croon. Tico and David provide the solid base upon which the song is built. Their expert chops are essential parts of the entire album. Things draw to a close on “The Answer”, an acoustic lullaby-like song that has a lot of heart. A sentimental ballad asking existential questions is an unconventional way to end an album, which is part of what makes it special.
Mercury did something unusual for the era, but very common today. They released Stranger In This Town as a single CD, and a 2 CD deluxe edition. The deluxe is housed in a long box, and has two bonus tracks. At the end of CD is “The Wind Cries Mary”, which saves fans from having to buy the atrocious Ford Fairlane soundtrack on which it originated. It’s a smoking Hendrix cover, and the best tune on that soundtrack. On the second CD you will find an almost 20 minute interview with Richie discussing the songs on this album. No revelations here; it’s really just an extended promo for the album. Half of it is music anyway…snippets of the same music from disc one! An OK extra, but the real bonus is “The Wind Cries Mary”.
The final extra, usually missing on the second hand market, is the metal guitar pick shaped pendant. It has Richie’s solo logo on it, but nobody’s going to be wearing this thing. All this is packed in the box, which is a beauty but awkward to store.
As an introduction of the “real” Richie to the fans, Stranger In This Town was a success. He differentiated himself from Bon Jovi, and also proved he could sing an entire album easily. Critically and commercially, the album was less successful. There were mixed reviews, with the rock press hung up on the soft songs. With the benefit of 25 years’ hindsight, Stranger has aged well, better than Bon Jovi itself.
ROCK THE CRADLE LULLABIES volume 1 – Dreamin’ with Def Leppard (2011 Happiness Records)
They call these lullabies, but I’m not so sure about that word. Bon Jovi did an actual album like this, and titled it This Left Feels Right, I believe.
Slowed down, acoustic bluesy and laid back instrumental versions of Def Leppard songs will be found on this CD, easily digestible by anyone. Their effectiveness as lullabies has not been tested under lab conditions but for casual listening in any age group, it should be well received. As stated on a sticker on the front, Vivian Campbell and Phil Collen from Def Leppard make guest appearances (three songs each).
The liner notes state that the technique for “lullification” of these hits involved distilling them down to their core melodies. That makes the songs both easily identifiable and readily enjoyable. A mellow slide guitar often fills in for a lead singer. Phil and Vivian’s work should be identifiable for fans to pick out. Ballads tend to work better than rock songs like “Photograph” or “Pour Some Sugar”, and there are even a few surprising selections from outside the usual Pyromania and Hysteria suspects. “Stand Up (Kick Love Into Motion)” is a particularly good mellow treat.
You like reading music reviews. You read them for information and entertainment. You can’t get enough music reviews!
But what formats do you like? Perhaps you enjoy a meaty, detailed review with all the nitty gritty details. Some get bored with length, and just want a quick n’ dirty summary. This is why we tried the #200wordchallenge, and why Aaron at KeepsMeAlive enjoys the old-fashioned 80 word “hit and run” style from time to time. And others, such as our friends at 1001AlbumsIn10Years, are skilled at metaphors, and have added innovative graphics and charts to album reviews.
All of these techniques are valid, and the more unique and individual reviews certainly deserve praise for breathing fresh life into an ages-old format. But what about a numeric ratings system?
Some kind of rating is pretty standard for music reviews. Rolling Stone magazine uses a five-star system. So does Allmusic and NME, but Spin magazine uses a 10 point system. These allow a reader to very quickly see if a writer thought an album was any good, without having to actually read anything!
Here at mikeladano.com, we use a loose 5 star system. This originated at Amazon, where products must always be rated from 1-5 stars. Most of our earliest reviews here began life at Amazon, before they were expanded and modified for your edification. Because of this, we imported and have continued with an Amazon-like 5 star system.
Even this is limiting, so we have allowed fractions – you will see many 3.5/5 star reviews here. This essentially makes it a 10 point system like Spin’s.
But it’s not an exact science and that’s where we get into trouble.
It’s fairly easy to listen to an album a few times and decide on a number rating that feels right. A 5/5 feels like a near-perfect listening experience. A 4.5/5 might have some perceived flaws. But when you get into seriously comparing and stacking albums up against each other, the differences can be felt. It’s also worth noting that a 5/5 star jazz album and a 5/5 star Kiss album are going to be wildly different from each other. It’s all in the ear of the beholder.
Taken individually, ratings usually hold up. When compared amongst a band’s entire discography, things get dicey. Our series of Iron Maiden reviews was one such example. They have so many great albums – amazing albums, in fact – that it is quite easy to lay down 5/5 stars to much of their discography. But this ignores minor different degrees of rock excellence. Iron Maiden’s Rock In Rio is excellent. It is a rollicking heavy metal journey exploring Maiden’s history up to 2001. But is it as good as Live After Death? No. Very few things are. Both could easily have received a 5/5 rating, but we chose to lower Rock In Rio to 4.5/5 stars to keep everything in perspective.
If you review 1000 albums on a scale out of 5, you could quickly build up enough fractional ratings to necessitate three decimal places. But that complicates things needlessly. Wasn’t the numerical rating system supposed to be a quick and easy way to say if it’s good or not? We have done 6/5 star reviews, reviews in negative numbers; we’ve done everything imaginable to try to keep ratings in scale. Ultimately it is simply not possible. Like finding an electron in a cloud, you just cannot pinpoint album ratings to that degree of precision.
A numerical rating can also paint you into a corner. There was some Facebook controversy recently over our assertion that Motley Crue’s self titled 1994 was one of the best albums of the 90’s, killing much of the competition. This led to challenges and comparisons with other albums of the period, all great records. How do you rate something “the best” over a bunch of other 5/5 star albums? And how do you know that you will still feel that something is “the best” when you think about it again next month? Putting a numerical rating on an album is like putting it into stone, and that can be limiting, especially when comparing.
We’ve been utilizing the 5 star system (with fractions) for close to five years now. We could stop, but at this point I don’t think it would help. For better or for worse, our bed is now made. And it’s 5/5 stars.
DEEP PURPLE – This Time Around – Live in Tokyo ’75(2001 EMI)
This shouldn’t have been the “last concert in Japan”!
Many of the old, post-breakup-issued Deep Purple live albums are virtually impossible to find today on CD. One of those is Last Concert In Japan, which was originally released only in that country. It featured the Mk IV lineup of Deep Purple: David Coverdale, Glenn Hughes, Ian Paice, Jon Lord, and the late Tommy Bolin on lead guitar. As a matter of historical releases for my collection, I also own the original Last Concert in Japan on both LP and CD.
The tragic story goes that while some members of Purple were rejuvinated with the fresh blood that Bolin donated, others were dead tired of it all. Reviews were spotty and word was spreading that Deep Purple were over. Both Bolin and Hughes were in the throes of serious drug habits. On the night of the recording of Last Concert in Japan, Bolin was shooting up and caused his arm to go numb. Frantic attempts to get him stageworthy worked and he managed to barely play the show. Guitar parts are sloppy and that’s what people remember because it went on LP. The original one-record set from the show has now been expanded to two lengthy CDs, 17 tracks. It’s been remixed and remastered. Production was supervised by Purple expert Simon Robinson, so you know that the quality level is about as good as it could be. Because of the fully expanded tracklist, some of the finer live Deep Purple moments have been restored to this album, such as a 16 minute “Gettin’ Tighter” which was too long to include on a single record.
Some flaws do remain of course. Tommy’s guitar is now barely audible in the “Burn” riff as opposed to non-existent. However the overall experience is very listenable. It’s a darkly interesting album to own, because within months Purple disbanded, and a year later Tommy Bolin would be dead.
If you already own Last Concert In Japan, this purchase gives you over an hour more of unreleased music. Even so, all of it has been remixed, so you are still in for a fresh listen with open ears. If you already own dozens of Deep Purple live albums (believe me, it’s possible), this one has five songs that you can’t get elsewhere in live versions. It’s even a better listen than In Concert/King Biscuit Flower Hour (aka, On The Wings Of A Russian Foxbat) with stronger vocals. Plus you get Tommy singing on “Wild Dogs”. Worth the double-dip.
This was a special show in Sweden, with Europe playing some of their best material (with a few covers) in a largely acoustic setting. There are strings, but there are also keyboards and electric guitar. The best of both worlds!
The band were riding a high wave then, which has really not dissipated since. They had done a couple well received reunion albums (Start From the Dark and Secret Society) and were working on music that many fans consider a peak (Last Look at Eden). Europe have long been an under appreciated band, but Almost Unplugged should win over even the staunchest critic.
“Got to Have Faith” opened Europe’s reunion album Start From the Dark, so it works triumphantly as a concert opener. Here, it is laid back, bluesy with slippery guitars. “Forever Travelling” from Secret Society follows hot on its heels. The string quartet adds drama to this song, which works naturally in the acoustic setting. From the same album is the killer track “Devil Sings the Blues”, highlighted by some splendid John Norum electric guitar noodling.
Every time Europe does a cover, it becomes an album highlight. The acoustic “Wish You Were Here” is beautiful and not at all overdone. Thin Lizzy’s “Suicide” is full on electric, and pretty spot-on, especially considering that Lizzy were a two-guitar band while Europe has a guitar and a keyboard. Covering Led Zeppelin is always risky but “Since I’ve Been Loving You” is surprisingly great. Joey doesn’t try to copy Robert Plant, but he certainly can sing the blues just fine. (Hey! Maybe the devil really does sing the blues! Oh, you devil you!) Just as importantly, Norum plays some electrifying guitar blues over this monster of a cover. The most brilliant cover however is a UFO song: “Love to Love”. More than any other, this one sounds like Europe owned it. It’s very well suited to their dramatic rock stylings, and they absolutely kill it. If there was one track worth buying the CD for, you just found it.
The Europe originals that make up the bulk of the album span the entire history of the band. From the first LP is “Memories”, which in its original version was a brutally heavy stampede. Here, it is an acoustic gallop, just as aggressive, but with subtlety. The piano ballad “Dreamer” comes from the second album, an unsung classic that was a few years shy of fame. The fame and fortune finally came on 1986’s The Final Countdown, and of course the title track is played. In its acoustic version there is no synth hook; it instead played by the string quartet. It’s trippy to hear it done like this; a little strangeness for fun. “Superstitious” (from 1988’s Out of This World) sounds more natural in this format. It’s also refreshing to hear Joey’s voice crack in a couple places. That means this is really truly live.
One should always familiarize with the originals first, but even if you don’t have them, Almost Unplugged should be well enjoyed by any discerning rock fan who doesn’t mind when the acoustics come out.
2001: A Space Odyssey – Original motion picture soundtrack (originally 1968, 1996 Rhino remaster)
Stanley Kubrick changed the sci-fi playing field with 2001: A Space Odyssey. When he and Arthur C. Clarke sat down to write the “proverbial good science fiction movie”, they strove for a depth and realism that had yet to be attempted. No sounds in space. No thruster sounds, no pinging space radar. Music (or even lack thereof) would be required to tell the audio story. Kubrick initially contacted Spartacus composer Alex North. The plan changed, however. Stanley had been editing the film to a temporary score of classical music. Nothing North could come up with satisfied the fussy director as much as the classical pieces, so that is what was used on the final film.
The film was fiercely different, free of cliches and intensely determined not to dumb things down. The same could be said of the soundtrack, reissued on CD by Rhino with four supplementary bonus tracks. This fine release enables the listener to delve deeper and unlock even more of the secrets of the universe. Ligeti’s dissonant “Atmospheres” delivers an uneasy feeling; after all we humans know nothing of what is really out there. The conflicting (and conspiring) tones of “Atmospheres” is supplanted by the main title, “Also Sprach Zarathustra”. The music implies great revelation, standing on the cusp of universal breakthrough.
Unease returns with the bee-like swarms of “Requiem” also by Ligeti. Voices sing, each one in their own world, but joining together to join a coherent piece. In the film, this unsettling music appears when we encounter the enigmatic Monolith. The Monolith is a tool of our growth as a race and a stark warning that there are things beyond that our science is not equipped to explain. Arthur C. Clarke’s “third law” states “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,” and that describes one aspect of the Monolith in 2001. (The other two laws: 1. “When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.” 2. “The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.”)
After the chaos of “Requiem” and “Atmospheres”, Strauss’ “Blue Danube” offers a warm respite. The brilliance of the “Blue Danube” in the film is how Kubrick managed to capture the dance-like coordinated movements of objects in space. A shuttle docks with a spinning space station; spinning of course to create artificial gravity that humans need to survive long-term in space. This complex docking maneuver requires no dialogue, just Strauss. But space is a cold deadly place, hostile to almost all known life. Ligeti returns, as he must, with “Lux Aeterna”. This music was used to back Dr. Floyd’s trip across the lunar surface to meet the Monolith. It is mildly disconcerting, as is what Floyd’s team finds.
Khachaturian’s “Gayane Ballet Suite” is a somber piece, depicting the boredom and routine of interplanetary space flight. Astronauts David Bowman and Frank Poole seem disconnected from their humanity; the music has more feelings than they do. The coldness of space is easy to feel from inside their stark white starship, and Khachaturian painting the tone.
Mankind meets its future on “Jupiter and Beyond”, a combination of three Ligeti pieces. Once again, we must face the Monolith and what it means. Dr. David Bowman experienced great terror as he plunged inside it, and this is the music that accompanied his long trip into the beyond. The film at this point became its most experimental: impressionist images and obscure dissonant music put many viewers off balance as they struggled to comprehend just what the hell was going on. It is over only when Zarathustra speaks again, and humanity has taken its next giant leap.
These are challenging pieces of music, but not difficult to enjoy. They have all become intertwined with the film forever. Even The Simpsons used “The Blue Danube” for a space docking scene (Homer and a potato chip) in an homage to 2001. Whatever the original composers intentions were, in the 20th and 21st centuries, the pieces used in this movie are now associated with it forever. You simply cannot hear these Ligeti pieces without seeing Bowman’s journey in your mind. You cannot hear “Thus Spake Zarathustra” without feeling the awe of 2001‘s revelations.
The Rhino edition adds some bonus material. Ligeti’s “Adventures” was altered for the film to add an impression of laughter. Ligeti himself was not amused. The original complete “Adventures” is on this CD. From the archives is a different recording of “Thus Spake Zarathustra”. The version used in the film and on the CD was conducted by Von Karajan, but the original LP had a version by Ernest Bour. The latter version has been added to the Rhino CD release. “Lux Aeterna” was longer on the original LP than the film, and the long version is also restored to CD. Perhaps most valuable of all is a track of Douglas Rain’s dialogue as HAL 9000.
The excellent liner notes state that this CD release is the definitive one. It contains all the music from the original soundtrack LP, and all the music from the film. It’s a one-stop shop to get your musical mind blown.
What a band Strange Fruit would be…if only they were real!
The film Still Crazy chronicled the tale of the fictional band, Strange Fruit. The Fruit were led by brothers Brian and Keith Lovell (guitar and lead vocals respectively). When Keith died, they carried on with new singer Ray Simms (Bill Nighy). The inevitable internal tensions led to the band’s demise. However in 1998 there was enough interest to get the band back together — minus Brian, who is assumed to have also died. The surprisingly emotional film boasted fine performances from Nighy, Jimmy Nail, Billy Connolly, Timothy Spall and more. The key however to any movie about a fictional band is to come up with a soundtrack of original material that sounds like it could be classic. Still Crazy accomplished this. You wish for Strange Fruit to be a real band, so good are the songs.
The ballad “The Flame Still Burns”, which in the fictional movie was written by bassist Les Wickes for the fallen Keith, is sung by Jimmy Nail in real life. (The song was written by the team of Mick Jones, Marti Frederikson, and Chris Difford.) This fine song is a perfect example of something that sounds like it must have charted somewhere many years ago. In the film, this song is the cause of much tension between Les and Ray, who did not want other band members to sing lead vocals. The beautiful thing about Still Crazy is that there is a tremendous amount of history to the band, most of which is not seen on screen, only felt through the actors portraying the memories. Jimmy Nail sings another sorrowful ballad, “What Might Have Been”, and does a fine job of it. It’s a lovely acoustic song with a little mandolin and another standout performance by Nail. He gets a chance to sing an upbeat number with “Bird on a Wire” (not that “Bird on a Wire”). This is a darn fine Wilburys-like rock tune.
To be clear, Strange Fruit are not a ballad band even though “The Flame Still Burns” is clearly that. Strange Fruit are a rock band, and “All Over the World” is a prototypical set opener. Bill Nighy would make a damn fine rock frontman, if he wasn’t too busy being a fine film actor. It’s not about the notes he sings but the style in which is he sings them. Nighy sounds like a veteran rock singer (and in the film, you believe it 100%). The track “Dirty Town” has a nifty little riff reminiscent of “Layla”, but this track sounds more like 80’s Deep Purple, right down to a blazing guitar solo. “Black Moon” verges on heavy metal. If you’re wondering why it rocks so hard, it probably because of Michael Lee on drums. It’s Purple, Sabbath and Cream all in one. Nighy gets to be a heavy metal demigod on “Scream Freedom”, which was one of the funnier scenes in the movie. The best Fruit tune might be “Dangerous Things” which plays in the movie like it’s one of their biggest hits. This too has Michael Lee on drums, along with bassist Guy Pratt. That’s some heavyweight talent, folks.
A movie with Billy Connolly in it is twice as good as a movie without (studies have shown). A movie with Connolly singing in it is four times as good. The traditional “Stealin'” is a fine fit for the Big Yin and his banjo. There is even a great vintage-sounding rock track by Bernie Marsden (ex-Whitesnake) that is plenty of fun (“A Woman Like That”). This is incidental to the main feature, which is the host of Strange Fruit tracks, but a nice inclusion. Unfortunately the techno track “Ibiza Theme” doesn’t fit the disc at all and can be safely skipped by most listeners.
Admittedly, the Still Crazy soundtrack is more enjoyable if you have seen the film. When I hear “Dangerous Things” I picture things that Nighy as Ray does on stage. “The Flame Still Burns” is more powerful when you remember the friction it caused because of petty jealousies. Regardless, these songs were all written and performed by professional musicians, and they do stand up as individual tunes. Memorably so.
In 1989, two things happened to me that changed everything.
Upon entering the 12th grade, I realized I was having trouble seeing distance. I was taking an OAC level Geography class, but I couldn’t see the text on the overheads. A checkup at the eye doctor revealed that I needed glasses. At roughly the same time, I got my first real job at a grocery store, and had to cut my long hair. Within a matter of months, I had transformed from a long haired rocker to a short haired geek with huge glasses that I dubbed my “welding goggles”.
None of my favourite rock stars looked like me!
There is however a huge precedent for rock and rollers with glasses. Most people immediately think of John Lennon, but think back to Rubber Soul. Lennon wasn’t wearing his glasses in 1965. He could be seen wearing prescription sunglasses, but not until 1967 was he wearing his normal glasses on a regular basis in public. The first album cover with a bespectacled Lennon was Sgt. Peppers.
Lennon was inspired to wear his glasses by the original icon, Buddy Holly. Buddy’s black rimmed glasses began a trend in America, and that style of frames became known as “Buddy Holly glasses”. A young Elton John, who didn’t even need glasses yet, began wearing them just to look like Holly.
Today, there are countless more stars who wear glasses on stage, although many use custom shades. Elvis Costello, Lisa Loeb, Robert Fripp, Ozzy Osbourne, Rivers Cuomo, Peelander Yellow, Weird Al Yankovic, and so on…the list is endless.* But who wore them best? Certainly not Bono, who could make even the simplest pair of glasses look pompous. It’s tempting to say Jerry Garcia, since the glasses just make him look even more like a big teddy bear.
But there can only be one winner, and this is actually an easy choice.
The one artist that wears glasses best is Sir James Martin, ex-of Faith No More. For the simple reason that he is the only one who wears two pairs of glasses simultaneously. Take that, Bono!
*Keith Richards does not wear glasses. Science has shown his eyesight lives forever.
MÖTLEY CRÜE – Girls, Girls, Girls (originally 1987, 2003 remaster)
2001: A Space Odyssey – Original motion picture soundtrack (originally 1968, 1996 Rhino remaster)
After the chaos of “Requiem” and “Atmospheres”, Strauss’ “Blue Danube” offers a warm respite. The brilliance of the “Blue Danube” in the film is how Kubrick managed to capture the dance-like coordinated movements of objects in space. A shuttle docks with a spinning space station; spinning of course to create artificial gravity that humans need to survive long-term in space. This complex docking maneuver requires no dialogue, just Strauss. But space is a cold deadly place, hostile to almost all known life. Ligeti returns, as he must, with “Lux Aeterna”. This music was used to back Dr. Floyd’s trip across the lunar surface to meet the Monolith. It is mildly disconcerting, as is what Floyd’s team finds.
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