I just finished 93 shows in North America with Steve Earle & The Dukes. I’m their Tour Manager. We have four days off before heading to the west coast for a festival, then on to Europe for another month of touring. Being away from home for so long is tough. So when this little break came up, I told the wife, we were going to take a short trip to NYC. We have tickets to a concert and a Broadway show, a few great dinners, shopping, the works. It was something nice to do together before I leave again.
We are staying at a small boutique hotel in Gramercy. Today [September 29 2015] we were heading across 23rd street on our way to lunch when I saw the number 10 and for some reason that address just kept ringing in my head. 10 East 23rd Street. Over and over, I said to myself 10 East 23rd Street, 10 East 23rd Street, 10 East 23rd Street. Why do I know that address? Then it clicked! 10 East 23rd Street was the loft where KISS was born! It’s the spot where they auditioned Ace and Peter. It’s the place where they took those early pre-make-up photos. I grabbed my wife’s hand and told her we had to stop here.
I filled her in as to the significance this place played in the mind of a KISS fan. I took a quick photo of the façade of the building and noticed the door to #10 was wide open. I beckoned my wife to follow me in. Just a quick peek, the door is open after all.
We went inside and were greeted by a man with a little Boston terrier holding a ball in his mouth. The dog, not the man. He was holding the small service elevator door for us. “Coming up?” he asked. “Nope just popping in for a quick look.” I replied. His expression changed. “You’re KISS fans.” He said with a smile. “Get in the elevator, but we have to be quiet.” In we went and up we went, petting the little pup as we rose. The nice man who went on to explain that every so often people show up at 10 East 23rd Street to see where KISS was born, showed us the door to their former rehearsal spot. “Come over here” he pointed to the stairway. “See those pipes? That’s where that picture was taken.” I of course walked down and snapped a couple pics.
We looked around some more before descending back down to the street. We said thank you again to the man with the dog and made our way down to The Gramercy Tavern for a nice lunch. At lunch I texted a pic over to LeBrain. Knowing full well he would appreciate the experience as only another fellow KISS fan would. His response is what led to this little story!
In 1989, I bought this album as soon as it came out, based on hype alone — never heard a note. Put it on, and felt immediately that this was a middle-of-the-road hard rock album with little of their own to bring to the genre. That didn’t stop me from becoming a big fan, of course. I haven’t played Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich in about a decade. I wonder what it sounds like today?
I hate to speak ill of the dead, but I think one of the reasons my love of Warrant didn’t last was Jani Lane. I’m sorry, Warrant fans. I don’t think Jani’s voice was anything special. He had an ability to deliver pop hooks, but he always seemed to live in the shadow of other singers who had more character to their voices. I mean no disrespect to Jani, but that is the way my ears have always heard it.
Things sure started on a great note. “32 Pennies” is just fun hard rock, with loads of hook and that glam rock riff that Motley Crue mastered a few years prior. Beau Hill’s production is bland but not bad. There is a vague Aerosmith vibe, crossed with Motley and Poison — 1989 in a nutshell (or should I say a Ragu jar?). “32 Pennies” is still good for rocking out to, and I have to admit that the guitar solos smoke. Similar is “Down Boys”, the first single and video. Even today, this is probably the catchiest thing Warrant have ever done. It’s pure nonsense, of course:
Where the down boys go? Go! Where the down boys go? Go-oh-oh-oh! Where the down boys go? Ya, I wanna go where the down boys go, baby!
“Big Talk” was a single too, and I had forgotten all about this one. It boasts some fun lite-Lizzy guitar harmonies and a great chorus. Count this as another good Warrant tune. None of these songs will challenge the listener in any way, but they have enough guitar and hooks to keep you engaged. But what happens when you throw a ballad into the mix?
Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich had two ballads, the first of which was the electric “Sometimes She Cries”. A solid chorus made this one a hit, although you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference between this and a Bon Jovi song. There are a few cheesy key changes and some absolutely ball-busting notes that Jani hits, and it’s all not too bad. Side one ended on a speedy rocker: “So Damn Pretty (Should Be Against the Law)”. It could be a Motley Crue outtake from Theater of Pain, but it’s not. Faceless, with turgid sounding drums, all it really had going for it is velocity. Fun, but derivative. The guitar solos are the best part.
The title track “D.R.F.S.R.” is pure crap. Lyrically, musically, and production-wise, this sucks. I really can’t believe how bad the drums sound. This was once considered acceptable! “In the Sticks” isn’t bad. It sounds vaguely like another song that I can’t quite think of right now. But that goes for the whole album! It’s still a very enjoyable song, with that late-80’s good time slow riding vibe. Cruisin’ with the windows down.
The big hit, the one everybody remembers today, was the acoustic ballad “Heaven”. It’s really hard to be objective about this song, because I used to be so into it, but it makes me cringe today! Let’s just move on.
“Ridin’ High” brings the thrills back. Sounding a heck of a lot like their future tourmates Poison, Warrant found the gas pedal again. The closing track “Cold Sweat” is much in the same vein. You gotta give Warrant credit for one thing, they wore their influences on their sleeves. The only problem was, it was the same bunch of bands that influenced every other band on the Sunset Strip in 1989. When you buy this Warrant album, you are at least getting what you think you’re getting.
Sony threw on two bonus tracks for this edition. Both are 1988 demos that failed to make the cut. Ironically, for demos, the drums actually sound better! They don’t sound like samples on these demos. “Only A Man”, an acoustic ballad, sounds entirely more sincere and classic than “Heaven” does. It’s harder edged and resembles Skid Row, who had yet to release their first album. “All Night Long” is a slow rocker, but it’s no better or worse than the rest of the album. Both songs could have been on the album originally had it not been limited to just 10 tracks.
Conclusion: What stood out in 1989 fades into the woodwork today.
Tesla came out of the gates with everything in its right place: a good label (Geffen), great producers (Thompson & Barbiero) and the best management you could ask for (Q Prime). The band were and are all top drawer musicians, and they had a batch of killer rootsy hard rock ready to record. Ready, set, go!
Tesla have never done anything wimpy. Whatever they do, they inject muscle into, even the ballads. “EZ Come EZ Go”, the opening salvo, is surprisingly tough for the era. Starting dark and ominous, it only takes a verse before it turns to scorch mode. Singer Jeff “JK” Keith proved his versatility immediately on this track. From whimpering tones to belting at the top of the lungs, JK did it with rasp and incredible lung power. Backing him are the underrated guitar duo of Frankie Hannon and Tommy Skeoch, a six-string tag team to rival the big boys.
“Cumin’ Atcha Live” starts with Van Halen-esque blitzing, except with two guitarists instead of one, fretboards ablaze. It takes almost a minute for the song itself to ignite! “I’m a mean machine, I’m the kind you don’t wanna meet,” warns Jeff, but I don’t believe him. Tesla were known as one of the “nice guy” bands of rock, in contrast to bad boys like Motley Crue. Troy Luccketta is a drummer with a recognizable style. You can hear it in the way he rides the cymbals. On bass, the bearded Brian Wheat, the backbone of the group. There is no let up, only a full-on rock assault.
The album generated quite a few single/videos, and “Gettin’ Better” was an easy selection. The mellow, ballady (but soulful) opening is just a feint. This turns into a good time rocker in no time. A message of positivity and perseverance is good on the ears, and it’s nice to hear a kick-ass but optimistic rock song that isn’t sung by Jon Bon Jovi. It gets heavier from here. “2 Late 4 Love” is not a Def Leppard song, nor Prince. It is however pure metal. Early Tesla seemed to be a bit more metallic in nature. With a Motley chug and a Dokken vibe, it’s not really representative of where Tesla was headed, but it’s good enough. “Rock Me To the Top” occupies a similar chug with high quality results. Finally, ending the first side is “We’re No Good Together” which actually has some soft, Cars-like synth in the background. This slow, bluesy number sure picks up at the ending. Jeff Keith really turned in an excellent lead vocal, especially for the slow, soulful parts. What a singer!
“Modern Day Cowboy” is one of Tesla’s trademark tunes today. There’s that cowboy motif, so popular in the 80’s that you’d think we all rode steel horses. Although it is now a Tesla classic, I actually don’t think it’s one of the better tunes on the album. It’s a fine, serviceable hard rocker, with edge, drama, acoustics and the works thrown in, but it doesn’t have the melodic sensibilities that most of the album has. The guitars sure do smoke.
Nothing wrong with a little piano in a rock ballad, is there? “Changes” is a great, heavy ballad with loads of guitars and tasteful keys too. I don’t even think I should be calling this a ballad. It burns rubber like there’s no tomorrow when it’s time for it.
Since this time, Tesla have become known for performing some amazing covers, both hits and obscure. “Little Suzi” is the first, and I’d never heard of the band Ph.D. of whom this is a cover. Even if I had, Tesla’s version of the song is diametrically opposed to the dramatic synthpop original, which was titled “Little Suzi’s on the Up”. Tesla do it as a folksy, bonfire acoustic/electric rocker complete with a pretty acoustic intro. It is instantly likeable. Bon Jovi once said “the way to tell if a song is good is to see if it works acoustically.” If that is true, then Tesla have proven this of “Little Suzi”.
Similarly upbeat and irresistible is “Love Me”, featuring a juicy talkbox solo by Tommy Skeoch. The song has a nice big riff and plenty of hooks to go around. Even though that’s 10 songs and plenty enough for an album, it ain’t over next. “Cover Queen” is a smoky rocker with ammunition to spare, but it is “Before My Eyes” that is the pièce de résistance. It’s risky to close an album with a slow, trippy long bomber (5:31, longest on the album). “Before My Eyes” is not an instant love, but over time it grows and grows. The psychedelic voices at the end can be heard to be saying “Is it a dream?” over and over, very trippy indeed!
What a debut, and as incredible as it is, some would say that the follow-up The Great Radio Controversy was even better.
SOME NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED TO PROTECT THE GUILTY
GETTING MORE TALE #438: Drunken Record Store Shenanigans
2001. Annual Record Store Christmas party. I was designated driver.
It was a great bash. We almost always had great parties. Great — but always safely. I was driving an anonymous buddy home. Getting my buddy out of the bar took some effort. He ran into somebody at the bar, and I don’t even think they knew each other, but this guy claimed to know Steve Earle. He told Buddy that he could get him back stage to meet Steve Earle next time he came into town. Well, Buddy was excited beyond belief! “I’m gonna meet Steve Earle!” he announced to me, and everyone else in the establishment! “I’m gonna get to meet Steve Earle!” It took about 15 minutes for me to drag his excited ass out of that place.
Into the parking lot on that snowy cold night.
“I can’t believe I’m gonna meet Steve Earle!”
In the car.
“I’m gonna meet Steve Earle man!”
I just had to laugh and wished I had a tape recorder. His rant was about as hilarious as it gets, if you’re into drunken rants for the purpose of humour.
“Oh man…Steve EARLE!”
Then he decided to tell me that he approved of my new girlfriend, who also attended the party.
“That is a really nice girl and you hafta hang onto her,” he slurred. “But when the light turns green you gotta GO. And when it’s yellow you gotta go, or stop. She’s a nice girl.”
I laughed and tried to egg him into saying more hilarious stuff, which was just repeating “I’m gonna meet Steve Earle,” and “when the light is yellow you gotta go.”
I dropped my buddy safely off at his home, where he tells me he passed out on the toilet talking to his girlfriend on the phone. I’m sure she was also thrilled he was going to meet Steve Earle!
Not that I’m innocent in all this. I usually chose to be designated driver, but not always. One night my buddy drove me from a Record Store get-together. The bartender had cut me off, because (apparently) I was loudly discussing different techniques to masturbate. Allegedly! So I am hardly one to throw stones at anyone. I’m sure there are one or two people who have good Drunk LeBrain stories. I know on my birthday, the Record Store people took me out for drinks and I proceeded to grab a bunch of dudes’ asses.
However, the truth is, I was usually the driver, and as such, usually have the best stories. My memories are more reliable than those who were drinking.
I remember Buddy telling the Boss Man that he thought his mom was “hot”. Buddy later denied this, saying, “I wouldn’t say that because I don’t think his mom is hot.” But I know what I heard, and I was sober!
I remember Tom eating chicken bones at the Heuther Hotel, and then taking the rest home with him to make “soup”. I remember one guy stealing ashtrays from the Heuther at a drunken party, and the Boss making him return the ashtrays to them the next week!
One of my fondest memories from that time happened one summer, after we had gathered for a concert at a place called the Banke in downtown Kitchener. Exiting the venue, one of the guys decided to run into the middle of the street and do a Mick Jagger dance in front of the late-night traffic! It was truly a sight to behold. And it was also a pretty damn accurate dance.
Thankfully, nobody was ever hurt at one of our Record Store piss-ups. We always made sure everybody had a ride. They were a good time, a part of my youth I will always remember fondly and sometimes hazy!
LeBRAIN ON AIR BASS!
Circa 1997. That’s Iron Tom Sharpe peeking behind me.
KISS – “Don’t Touch My Ascot” (2015 Warner, from the movie Scooby-Doo! and KISS: Rock and Roll Mystery)
The lovely Mrs. LeBrain got me a surprise gift a few weeks ago for our anniversary. This is a blu-ray movie called Scooby-Doo! and KISS: Rock and Roll Mystery. I haven’t watched it yet…I will some day…but it was a thoughtful gift idea because I’m a collector. It features the voices of Paul, Gene, Eric and Tommy, and hey…that counts for something, right?
According to the back cover, the story takes place at KISS-World. Sharp minded fans will remember that in 1979, Gene Simmons wanted to do a travelling amusement part/rock concert called Kiss World. Then there’s something about a witch and alternate dimensions and something called The Destroyer. I think the bonus feature, a Kiss blooper reel, will probably be better than the feature, but we shall see.
The main thing I’m interested is the new original Kiss song “Don’t Touch My Ascot”, a reference to Fred’s neckware. Kiss’s producer Greg Collins co-wrote this for the movie, and all four Kiss members sing on it. “Don’t Touch My Ascot” is a cute, old-tyme acoustic number with barbershop-like vocals. Paul Stanley goes first, but his voice is a mere whisper. Gene Simmons’ lines are next, and he sings in an exaggerated nasal voice. Cute, because he doesn’t normally sing like that on record. Please note though, the guy can actually sing! Take off the nasal intonation and that would be a pretty impressive bit of singing! Eric Singer goes next with the bridge and another verse, in that rasp he does so well. Here he reminds me of David Lee Roth! (Think: “Big Bad Bill”.) After a brief acoustic solo, Tommy Thayer goes last. He has the blandest voice of the four, but since everybody is harmonizing behind him, it all works out OK.
There are two catches. 1) The song is only 1:13 long. 2) You can’t buy it anywhere. It’s only in the movie (and on youtube). There’s the rub. You can make an mp3 file from the youtube video, but the fidelity is pretty iffy.
A rating for a track like this is pretty meaningless, especially without the context of the movie, but whatever. It’s Kiss and I love Kiss.
GETTING MORE TALE #437: So You Want to Make a Mix Tape?
So you’ve decided to hop into your time machine and make a mix tape? Good for you! In the 80’s, making a mix tape was a rite of passage. Today it is a fading art. Congratulations for wanting to keep that art alive! Here are some tips.
First of all, who are you making the tape for? What do you want on it? Prep all your recording materials in advance. Get out the CDs and records you want to tape. Are you doing a straight hits tape? A mixture of artists? Roughly plot out your track list, but only roughly, because you will probably have to make changes on the fly.
Get your tape ready. What length are you using? I recommend 90 – 100 minute tapes. Anything longer than 100 minutes and you risk stretching the tape. This length range gives you more room to play with than a standard 60 minute tape.
Clean your equipment. Get your tape head demagnetized, and clean those pinch rollers with isopropyl alcohol or something similar. Use lint-free cloth. Since you’re making a mix tape, I assume you want it to sound as good as you can make it. Use a decent quality blank tape.
Now, using a pencil or just your finger, carefully wind the tape so that the clear tape lead is no longer visible. When you see brown magnetic tape, you are ready to hit “record”.
I used to add the little test frequencies that they put on the start of cassettes to open my mix tapes. Don’t have one of those? That’s OK. Just download one from Youtube!
My recording technique involved having as short a gap between songs as possible. I viewed a long gap as an amateur move, unless it was intentional, for effect. To get a short gap, hit “pause” on your recorder immediately after the song stops, but don’t pause for too long. Leaving that pause button depressed isn’t good for the tape, because on most machines, the tape head is still making contact with the recording tape. Still, it’s better than hitting “stop” which tends to leave an annoying clunky sound between songs.
Now, the one irritating thing that amateur tapers do is let a song be cut off at the end of a side. Don’t do that! It’s very difficult to get exactly a side of music, so leave some space after the last song. In fact, I suggest having a bunch of “standby” short tracks handy, to fill up any undesired blank space. It’s also fun to end a side with a brief movie quote or skit. It’s up to you, how you decide to end a side, but don’t cut a song off. That’s annoying! You may have to improvise, select some shorter songs, and re-do some things, but cutting off a song is just a rookie mistake. You will have to be flexible with your track list when it comes to where the sides end. Tape speed is anything but consistent, so even if you’ve clocked your side at exactly 45 minutes, if your tape is running fast then you’ll be out of space.
The beauty of cassette is the opportunity to use the two sides to your advantage. Each side can be its own journey, with opening and closing tracks. Yet it’s still part of a whole. Perhaps you’d like to make a Led Zeppelin hits tape. Why not make side one all electric, and side two acoustic? You can have a killer electric opening for side one (“Good Times Bad Times” perhaps), and close it with a corker too (like “Kashmir”). Then you can kick off side two with an acoustic opener, such as “Gallows Pole” and end it with “Stairway”. The possibilities are endless, but the ability to create distinct sides is so much fun.
Finally, write those songs down on the J-card, or make some custom cover art. If you’re artistically inclined, the cover art can be the most fun.
Making a mix tape is a time consuming process since you need to do it in real time. It can also be a taxing job, if you’re a perfectionist trying to make your mix tape flawless. The main thing is keeping it fun. Have a good time with it!
This is a fascinating album. Sandbox (parsed as “sandbox.” on the album) had come out with a successful enough debut, but what we didn’t know then was how much ambition they had. For their second CD, they did what most bands usually wait to do, much later on: the dreaded concept album! It is such a gamble to go for a concept album at all, let alone on your second record.
Setting the scene is the title track, “A Murder in the Glee Club”; but is all what it appears to be? The liner notes state:
“Recorded as in introduction to a play in 1932 by Freddie Corn and the Ohioans, the song has sat dormant on a shelf for the past 65 years. Shortly after it was recorded, the production was cancelled and the song was never released or published. The version you hear on this record is the original recording, sonically enhanced and embellished using mordern technology.”
Hmmm.
An online search for “Freddie Corn and the Ohioans” reveals only one hit: an old interview with Mike Smith from the University of Western Ontario, which is only quoting the liner notes.
I always wondered if Sandbox were trying to pull the wool over our eyes a little bit with those liner notes. You can draw your own conclusions but “A Murder in the Glee Club” does lull you in to the concept of the album: Altered states of consciousness and mental illness eventually lead to murder. Then, the murderer becomes haunted by the crimes he has committed. That “1932 recording” really sets the mood right.
“…to red” is the first proper song on the album, and this is lyrically connected to the final track on Sandbox’s first album, Bionic. It’s immediately obvious that the production, this time by Don Fleming, is far superior. “…to red” is a vast improvement sound-wise over anything on the first album. Performance-wise too; the band no longer sound stiff. Singer Paul Murray seems less shy, and willing to stretch out his voice. “…to red” is a fantastic up-beat start, with enough twangy-crunchy guitars to compensate for the pure pop that is the melody. “I woke up with a different life, I was wondering where I’d been,” and the disoriented lead character is introduced. This track was written by the uber-talented Mike Smith. “Spin”, by Jason Archibald continues the story. “I can’t believe you ran, I can’t believe you wanted out.” When the character sings, “The Devil was my name,” then I get a bad feeling. The music is darker, but driving. The excellent guitar chops of Sandbox really make it enticing. They leave a lot of space between the instruments so you can really hear what is going on.
“Spin” fades softly into “The Garden Song”, and it is clear that something bad has happened. “They found you in the garden, arranged smile stained your face.” While the lyrics are poetic it’s difficult to pay attention to them, because of the imagery they evoke. The music is absolutely lovely, almost uplifting at times, but this has to be the darkest moment in the story. “The Spectre”, faster and loaded with tasty backwards guitar, begins to deal with the haunted thoughts of the killer. This is a duet with Mike Smith on second vocals. You can picture this guy wandering through some a cold field somewhere, arguing with himself. It’s an electrifying song, leading into the blitzkrieg of “Melt”. This is the heaviest song Sandbox have ever done, blasting with a heavy chunk-tastic riff. “Better stories, a better plan, this guy thinks he’s Superman, I think I’d like to smash his face with Kryptonite.” I love that line. There’s an intense feeling of anger.
Forwarding the story, “If I Tell” reveals regret, and delusions. The killer now wishes he could bring his victim back, but he certainly isn’t willing to confess. He justifies this by saying that he’s just protecting those whose lives would be impacted by his confession, perhaps family or friends. Jason Archibald plays what sounds like electric sitar recorded backwards. Then, “Self-Contained”, the best track on the album steps forth with a powerful, catchy riff. This was the first song to really jump out on first listen. “I hate the way I’m self-contained,” sings Paul Murray, wishing he could escape the insanity. But the really crazy thing is, even though we know what’s gone on before, taken individually anybody can relate to the lyrics. “I wanna feel the rush, of an electric song, I wanna be in love, it turns me on.” On first listen, you’re not going to follow the concept of the album completely. This song jumped out at me, and I always loved the lyrics, even though I hadn’t pieced it together with the rest of the album yet.
“Carry” was a the lead single/video, and an upbeat pop rocker it is. Guitar jangle and steady beats provide what you need for a hit, only it wasn’t. (For shame.) Perhaps it just wasn’t edgy enough for rock fans in 1997, I don’t know and I don’t understand why Sandbox were not absolutely huge. Jason Archibald’s “Missed the Day” is a beautiful, softer ballad. The guitar and vocal melodies are ace, but I also like listening to the drums of Troy Shanks. Brilliant song with its own hit potential, untapped and wasted.
I remember visiting the Calgary Zoo when I was younger. The most haunting image in my mind was a polar bear named Snowball who paced back and forth, back and forth, back and forth…endlessly. (Read more here.) When Snowball finally died, I am sure I was not the only Canadian who believed that he was probably better off. Watching that bear, having long ago gone insane in that tiny enclosure, pacing back and forth was one of the most difficult lessons Young Me had to learn about our relationship with nature. “Bear Bear” was not inspired by Snowball, but by a similar bear at the Metro Toronto Zoo. It fits into the concept of the album only metaphorically. Musically, it’s quite jagged and drony, in a strangely catchy way. This is a powerful song!
According to the liner notes, “How I Feel” was written by Mike Smith, and was lyrically inspired by seeing the Spice Girls on Saturday Night Live one night. He pulls no punches: “I’ve been watching all the sheeple of the world, Masses flocking to the mindless shit they’ve heard.” Musically, it’s brilliant and very 1960’s in vibe. The electric piano brings me back a few decades. On this song, the lead character simply cannot connect with people — he is baffled by their behaviour, their words and beliefs. And he resents them. “Will you even notice when I go? I’ll be leaving here when I say so.”
The final track for this dark concept album is “A Question of Faith”, with sparse echoey guitars and a plaintive melody. What you hear and what someone else hears may be two different endings altogether. You decide what it all means. The song is brilliant, and emotionally heavy. Yet it also feels like release. A great weight lifting. “A Question of Faith” is as well crafted as everything else on A Murder in the Glee Club.
I have said in the past, that if I had only bought this album in the year 1997, it would have made my top albums list (published in our store newsletter) that year. Alas, I did not get it until early in the new year. If I had got the CD in time, it definitely would have been on that list. It’s truly a shame, but this second CD proved to be Sandbox’s last album. Mike Smith had no problem finding fame elsewhere, as his career as Bubbles from Trailer Park Boys has certainly skyrocketed!
Because it was the 1990’s, and you had to do stuff like this, Sandbox referred to themselves as “sandbox.” with the period at the end. This being 2015, in this review we’re just going to call them Sandbox. Sandbox were very, very 1990’s with some melancholy music and an abstract album cover of an apple with nails in it. There is no reason for this that I can tell. It may well have just been, “Hey, let’s make this apple look like the guy from Hellraiser.”
Sandbox were from Nova Scotia, and have two really interesting connections. One, the lead singer Paul Murray is the nephew of Anne Murray, who made “Snowbird” a national treasure back in the 70’s. Two, the lead guitar player was a talented fellow named Mike Smith. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last 10 years, then you know Mike Smith as his Trailer Park Boys alter-ego, Bubbles. I saw these guys opening for the Barenaked Ladies back in 1996 and was impressed by the six tunes they played.
The big hit was “Curious” and it’s still fantastic once you get past the trendy 90’s-isms. (By that I’m referring to the watery, distorted vocals, lack of a solo, and simple construction.) But damn, what a song. All the right parts are there. The guitar riff works its way into your brain effortlessly, and the band provide all the necessary backing. Paul Murray is not a singer of remarkable range or power, but his voice works with the music to create a a wave that washes over you. Mike Smith and the band are more than capable of providing melodic backing vocals.
The problem with the Bionic album was that it had a couple really strong, powerful songs and a lot that didn’t have the same impact. “Collide” is a good song, but it plods along without enough excitement. It doesn’t get you moving. I think a few of these tunes worked better live. The studio can be a stifling environment, and it took Sandbox an album to really grow in the studio. “For You” boasts a strong chorus hook, but again not enough spark.
“Decisions”, dark quiet and slow, boasts a great chorus and impassioned lead vocals. It is augmented by a nice cello part, which works so well for dark tracks such as this. “Decisions” is a standout on the album, with a big part of that being due to the cello. More songs on Bionic would have done well with some augmentation like that. “Grief” is similarly dark, but edgy. I dig the backwards guitar solo, a touch I have always loved in rock music. “Three Balloons and a Trapdoor” is the kind of song title I find annoying, but the cello is back. It’s a sparse little acoustic song without much else going on with it besides the cello. It sounds like a side closer, and that’s the exact position it occupies on the CD running order. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
“Here and There” is the first song that rocks in a while, and it’s very welcome. It could have used more hooks, but it gets the job done well enough. It takes advantage of the jangling guitar chords of Mike Smith and Jason Archibald. Then, “Live” is a fantastic song. Where sometimes, Sandbox’s songs seem to lack sufficient passion and memorable melody, “Live” completely delivers. I feel the sadness, and I can swim in the melodic vocals like a river. “Flux” and “Weatherman” are both OK. “Flux” has a nice hard beat and a chorus I can get into. “Weatherman” is sparse, acoustic and intimate.
The last amazing tune, on a par with “Curious”, is the incredible “Lustre”. A simple guitar lick coupled with another killer chorus is all it takes. A classy acoustic guitar solo just makes it all so perfect. It’s hard to describe just what makes the song click, but it has clicked with me for almost 20 years, so there must be something good going on here.
The final track is the slow and dull “And the Mood Changes…”, followed by silence and then a strange distorted spoken word bit that always struck me as another 90’s gimmick. I was wrong, it is actually the first part of the second Sandbox album, which was a concept album called a murder in the glee club. This spoken word bit is meant to lead directly into the beginning of that album, a story of a killer who is tormented by what he has done. And speaking of that second album, what an album it was! Sandbox obviously benefited from the studio experience on Bionic, because what they achieved on a murder in the glee club was something quite special and fantastic. But that’s another review.
GETTING MORE TALE #436: To offend, or not to offend?
It’s 2015 and any serious business has an online presence on Twitter, Facebook, and everywhere else. Ever sit there at your computer and wonder just what the social media guru for a business does? Ever looked at something online and said, “I could do what they do, and with the resources they have, I could do it better.” I know I have.
But could I?
There is a huge difference between a paid social media person, and someone like myself who is doing this on his own for the sake of the music.
Let’s look at the goals of the paid social media liaison:
Engage in conversation with customers on social media.
Make interesting posts involving questions, to kick-start the conversations.
Give a peek behind the curtain of their business.
Don’t offend anyone.
The first three points here are all pretty easy to accomplish, especially for us as writers. Just substitute “customer” with “reader”. Most music writers online that I follow and read regularly do these things, and with style and fun.
Rock journalist Mitch Lafon is a great example. Almost daily, he poses loaded questions to his many followers. Things like “Slippery When Wet, or New Jersey?” “Iron Maiden, or Judas Priest?” He also asks fans to choose which interview he’ll post next. “Slash or Geoff Tate?” (Slash won.) Mitch has a very engaged following on social media, thanks to his regular posts and questions. He’s quite a natural at it, and he has done a fantastic job. The great thing about social media is the ability for everyone to get involved and be heard.
As for a peek behind the curtains, this is all but expected on social media now, no matter who you are. Movie studios are always posting drool-inducing teaser photos from the set via Twitter. Bands do the same from the studio. I have always tried to give you a look at how my creative process works, showing you the mess behind the scenes at LeBrain HQ.
The exciting life of a music blogger
The tricky point is the fourth one: “Don’t offend anyone”. It is very difficult to go through life without offending anyone. I might be considered an expert on such subjects.
When I used to write CD reviews for our old company newsletter, we couldn’t really say anything negative. The reviews were one paragraph each, and had to be to the point. We only reviewed CDs that we could praise, because as a store, we were trying to sell CDs! We didn’t want to offend a fan, nor discourage one from buying a CD.
We did the best we could considering the circumstances. Our monthly newsletter had some humour content, such as “funny customer quotes”, similar to my Klassic Kwotes here, but watered down and tamed. You couldn’t have somebody read the newsletter and say, “Hey, they’re making fun of me! I’m never shopping there again!”
I’m not doing this to sell anything. I started this for the sheer joy of talking about music, and to shine a light on neglected albums that deserved more attention. One of my earlier reader’s comments said something like, “You like everything, how come you don’t have any negative reviews?” Very well, then! My negative reviews have since become some spicy favourites.
Surprisingly, the negative reviews (or stories) are no more likely to receive negative comments than positive ones! It seems that there are many people out there who will take the slightest words the wrong way, or personally. (My radio buddy Craig, who openly loathes all social media, refers to these people as “humourless bastards”. He has also noticed that many of them use three names on Facebook, and have a picture of a cat as their Facebook photo.)
Creative freedom is more important to me than ruffled feathers. It’s different for a business, and I’m glad for that reason that I’m not doing this as a business. I admit that I have purposely sought to get a reaction. I’m the guy who once wrote a Quiet Riot review by pasting a picture of a piece of shit on the album cover. It’s all supposed to be fun. If you’re offended by that, then you’re reading the wrong website. (I have a lot more toilet humour where that came from.)
Even if you’re using social media to promote a business, a little bit of humour never hurts. No, you don’t want to go out of your way to offend someone’s tastes, or sensibilities. You also don’t want to have bland, faceless content. Let your personalities shine, be creative and have fun with your social media. You don’t have to take a page out of my book and uses pictures of poop as a product review (tee hee)*, but if you’re not having a laugh, neither are your followers!
* I’m also not discouraging you from using pictures of poop in product reviews, either.
ALICE COOPER / HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES – Hollywood Vampires(2015 Universal Japan)
Ignore the hype. The press has been going ga-ga over this new supergroup featuring movie star Johnny Depp (rhythm guitar), Joe Perry (lead guitar), and Alice Cooper (lead vocals). Just ignore the hype completely. Cooper fans know what this is. This is the covers album that Alice has been talking about doing ever since Welcome 2 My Nightmare in 2011. Alice has even been playing a number of these tunes, in these arrangements, live. Check out his Raise the Dead double live album/video for a few.
According to an interview with Ultimate Classic Rock earlier this year, “I can’t tell you who’s on what right now, ’cause it’s not gonna be released yet, but it’s the ‘who’s who’ of everything. It was one of those things where, at one point, I’m looking around in the studio and I’m going, ‘Holy crap! Look who’s in the studio.” Bob Ezrin, Alice’s long-time producer and musical collaborator came up with the concept. Alice continues: “Bob came up with the idea, ‘Let’s concentrate it on all the guys that you drank with in L.A., the Hollywood Vampires, the ones that are all dead.’ I like the title All My Dead Drunk Friends. It’s just offensive enough to work, but all those guys would have totally got it. They had the same sense of humor. If you told them you were going to do an album after they were gone called All My Dead Drunk Friends, they would have died laughing.” Ultimately the album was simply called Hollywood Vampires. That’s also the name of this “supergroup” which is essentially just Alice with Depp and guests.
I have this album filed in my Alice Cooper section, and that’s how I’m treating this review.
Hollywood Vampires consists of 14 tracks, except in Japan who have 15. Two of these are brand-new songs, and one is an intro called “The Last Vampire”. Fittingly, this features the narration of Sir Christopher Lee, who passed away earlier this year. Lee’s old friend from the Hammer horror days, Vincent Price, appeared on Cooper’s original Welcome to my Nightmare in 1975. Today, Alice Cooper truly is the last vampire left from those old days. Lee’s rich voice is backed by spooky keys and theremin by Ezrin, Depp and engineer Justin Cortelyou. “Listen to them, children of the night…what music they make.”
Alice then kicks it with “Raise the Dead”. Depp appears on every track, and Alice’s drummer Glen Sobol plays on this one and several others. It’s an upbeat stomper of a track, and a perfect introduction to this covers album that is also a concept album. The first of Alice’s dead drunk friends to be covered is Keith Moon on “My Generation”, an authentic and pounding version. Alice Cooper is one of the few that does justice to it. Bassist Bruce Witkin perfectly tackles John Entwistle’s signature bass solo. One thing that is immediately obvious is how massive this album sounds. Ezrin wrought a monster-sounding disc, so full and heavy, but textured when required.
John Bonham is up next. “Whole Lotta Love” was handled in a completely different way than you’d expect. Starting as a low, prowling Cooper blues it soon blasts into gear. Alice isn’t known for hitting those high Plant notes, so who joins him? None other than Brian Johnson of AC/DC, who kicks my ass completely. Joe Walsh and Cooper’s former lead guitarist Orianthi play some jaw droppingly greasy guitars, but Alice’s harmonica work is also worthy of praise! Even though very few can cover Led Zeppelin, “Whole Lotta Love” turned out to be my favourite track. It’s also the heaviest sounding, like a skid of concrete blocks assaulting your face! That’s Zak Starkey (son of Ringo) on drums.
Cooper has covered “I Got a Line on You” (Spirit) before, on the soundtrack to Iron Eagle 3, of all things. That 1988 take is my preferred version, but Alice remade it on Hollywood Vampires. Abe Laboriel Jr., Joe Walsh, and Alice’s old bassist Kip Winger join as guests. Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction helps Alice out on the lead vocals, but his part isn’t prominent. Then it’s time for the Doors, and a medley of “Five to One” and “Break on Through”. Alice had been playing “Break on Through” live, but this version has Robby Krieger! Alice heavies both of them up, but he is also one of the few singers who can do Morrison.
Farrell and Krieger return for a Harry Nilsson medley, joined by David E. Grohl on drums. “One” is rendered as a haunting, creepy piece as if Alice himself wrote it. This merges into “Jump Into the Fire”, a strangely upbeat companion which rocks in a vintage 70’s fashion. It’s like guitar nirvana. There’s also a cute outro of “Coconut”, also by Nilsson.
Sir Paul himself, rock royalty if there ever was one, shows up for Badfinger’s “Come and Get It”, which Paul wrote. Joe Perry has spoken about how incredible it was when McCartney showed up in the studio with his Hofner bass, and actually allowed them to hold it! “Come and Get It” is simple rock/pop, not the kind of timeless thing that happened when Paul wrote with John, but certainly a notch above what mere mortals can write. I love hearing Paul’s “screaming” voice, and I’m sure everybody in the studio had a great time. Sure sounds that way.
Marc Bolan’s “Jeepster” is one I could pass on. Alice makes it sound like an original from 1972’s School’s Out, but if you’re only going to skip one song, it’s probably going to be “Jeepster”. Lennon’s “Cold Turkey” featuring Joe Perry has more kick and grind to it, and it’s always a pleasure to hear Joe Perry do some Aero-jammin’ on lead guitar. (I think it would have been amazing to get McCartney to play bass on this Lennon classic — shame nobody thought of it. That could have been history made.)
The Japanese bonus track is “I’m A Boy”, the second Who cover. Once again, Alice nails it. This is such a difficult song to attempt. Alice makes it work, and if anybody can do it, it’s Alice. “My name is Alice I’m a head-case…” Just that one change makes the song work. “I’m a boy, I’m a boy, but my mom won’t admit it…I’m a boy, but if I say I am, I get it.” And he’s got the girl’s name. It’s perfect! This bonus track is worth tracking down if you’re a Cooper fan. You’ll definitely need it in your collection.
Jimi Hendrix was a Hollywood Vampire, and “Manic Depression” is the song Alice chose to cover. (He’d already done “Fire” back in the Hey Stoopid days.) Like “Jeepster”, this is one that could be skipped. Joe Walsh fans will enjoy his lead guitar work, but otherwise, it’s a stock cover. Way, way better is “Itchycoo Park”. Alice’s treatment of the Small Faces is far more entertaining, and its melodic base continue to deliver the hooks.
Brian Johnson returns to belt it out on the “School’s Out”/”Another Brick in the Wall Part 2” medley. This arrangement is similar to the way Alice did it live, and it’s cool how the two songs work together perfectly. It’s a genius mashup. Guests include Slash, and original Cooper band members Dennis Dunaway and Neal Smith. “School’s Out”, of course, is here for Glen Buxton, of the original Alice Cooper band. Buxton had suffered the consequences of alcohol abuse, and dropped out of music completely when the original band split in ’74. Buxton died in 1997.
The final song is an original, “My Dead Drunk Friends,” the song that Alice wanted to use as a title track. If you don’t mind some black comedy, you will love this tribute to all the lost Hollywood Vampires. It’s irresistible, and also sounds vintage Alice. So chants the crowd: “We drink and we fight and we fight and we puke and we puke and we fight and we drink!” Doesn’t sound particularly glamorous, but Alice isn’t about to have a mournful wake. Alice is about entertainment, and even though a brilliant artist who drinks themselves to death is sad, Alice has thrown a party for them instead. “My Dead Drunk Friends” ends the party on a darkly celebrating note, as only he can. Job well done.
Hollywood Vampires is pleasantly surprising. 9/10 covers albums are not worth the money you paid for them. Alice’s is. They call it a supergroup for marketing purposes but it only takes one listen to know what this is. This is a project that Alice, Bob Ezrin and friends have been passionate about for years, and has finally been finished. It is an apt follow-up to Welcome 2 My Nightmare, and another killer concept album from the kings of concept albums.
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