#382: Record Store Tales Mk3 – The New Direction

RECORD STORE TALES Mk3: The New Direction

Having been on the interweb for three years now, endlessly driveling on about heavy metal music, science fiction movies, and whining about the trials and tribulations of working in a Record Store, I have decided to make a clean break with the past. It feels like all I’ve been doing here is dwelling on events and music of the past. I’m through with the zoilism. I have now made peace with it, and moved on. It’s time to do something new for a change. I have analyzed the trends of the internet, let go of my rage, and found the next big thing. My new direction.

The new direction is this:

Mushrooms! Delicious mushrooms, the edible kind. Not the poisonous or psychoactive ones. The kind you would put in a salad or on a pizza. I love mushrooms. I always have. Some people consider them “shit flowers”* but I think they’re awesome. They taste great and smell great when cooked in butter. They’re even delicious and healthy when served raw. They are loaded with vitamins B and D, and are an excellent source of minerals. The fruit among fungus, mushrooms are a delicious way to eat healthy!

Not only are they good for you, but mushrooms are also good for the environment. New studies have shown them to be adept at removing toxins from soil. The industrial uses for the fungus in the future are limitless, and they are still being investigated for medicinal purposes, in the treatment of various cancers.

The future for fungus is bright, and I hope you will join me daily here at mikeladano.com as we share recipes and the latest science of mushrooms! But balance is also important. With me on my latest adventure is the ever loyal Aaron, to add some counterbalance to my raving. As a taste (yuk yuk) of things to come, here is Aaron’s first rant (I hope of many) on mushrooms!

Apparently Mike is writing something to praise mushrooms. And (I’m imagining) not the super-fun (so I’ve heard) hallucinogenic ones, either. No, my impression was that he meant the nasty, vile, disgusting little fungi that some people inexplicably eat in salads and all the other myriad ways people ingest the revolting things.

In his email asking me to participate as the dissenting voice (an easy job for me), he didn’t exactly specify how long my rant should be… actually, his reply was “I was thinking a paragraph of 4-6 lines, but Jesus…maybe it would be even funnier if you went balls deep, and on and on for a while!” To which, naturally, I replied THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID. Anyway, it would seem I have license to hold forth on these repellent little blobs for as long as I want!

Like most people, you’re thinking something along the lines of: what could I possibly I find so off-putting about these? Surely I’ll agree they’re tasty, and nutritious! Oh, if I’d only ever had them prepared properly, I’d surely change my mind about them! Well, no. No no no no no. And NO. They are a taste AND a texture violation. They’re nauseating, and I pick them off pizzas. Do you even know what they grow these off-putting things in? Hm? And yet still you eat them? Ohhh yes give me more of THAT unpalatable fleur de merde! Mmmmm…

*Yes, that’s right. Shit flowers. That’s what I call them, and it’s entirely appropriate, not only in taste but in the actual gardening of them. My stomach turns at the thought of finding one in a stew, stir fry or pasta. Don’t put them anywhere near my panini, sauce, soup, or my beef/chicken/anything else. Sliced, stuffed, dried, baked, or wrapped in bacon (no, not even the MIGHTY BACON can help these sad little bastards), I do not want your vomitous little bulbs of distaste.

There’s only one (appropriately-named) mushroom that truly tells the story, and that is, of course, the shiitake mushroom. At least that one knows it is shiit. And that’s the only positive I can think of, when asked to turn my mind to even the thought of these little turds.

If you like them, and actually choose to ingest them, power to you. You’re welcome to have my share, today and forever after that. Enjoy eating your shiit.

REVIEW: Hollywood Rose – The Roots of Guns N’ Roses (2004)

HOLLYWOOD ROSE – The Roots of Guns N’ Roses (2004 Deadline)

Hollywood Rose were one of several bands that eventually morphed into the original Guns N’ Roses. Already on board were singer William Bailey (Axl Rose) and guitarist Jeff Isbell (Izzy Stradlin). Guitarist Tracii Guns (L.A. Guns) was in and out of the band. Drummer Johnny Kreis and guitarist Chris Weber were later replaced by Steven Adler and Slash respectively, who came in together via their old band. It’s a complicated tangle of ins and outs and interchanging members but what’s important is that Hollywood Rose did record a crucial five-song demo in January of 1984. This demo was finally released on CD in 2004 with 10 (!) remixes, and now we get to hear what Guns N’ Roses sounded like as a fetus in the womb!

Unfortunately this CD releases has been padded out by having each song in triplicate. Each track is presented as a) the original demo, b) a remix by Gilby Clarke, and c) a remix by Fred Coury. Cinderella’s Coury, you may recall, sat in with Guns N’ Roses briefly when Steven Adler broke his hand in ’88.

No mercy is to be had on “Killing Time”, an aggressive and ragged assault that foreshadows Guns greats such as “Reckless Life”. It’s similar in construction to “Comin’ Atcha Live”, a later song by Tesla. Axl is in vintage voice, not quite yet in control, but with all the power at his command. The Guns sound is already present on “Anything Goes”, later modified and released on Appetite for Destruction. The riff, later perfected by Slash, is already present and accounted for, although the verses are very different. The chorus is a little out of control, yet to be tamed into a singalong melody. What’s incredible is that the Guns sound was already there, waiting to be properly harnessed and unleashed upon the world. Izzy and Axl created that sound; it came originally from those two guys. Slash and the rest of the guys just had to add the finishing touches.

Track 3 is a Rose/Weber original called “Rocker”. A sloppy punk metal riff and a killer Axl lead vocal make for a passable tune. (I would love it if a reunited Guns would one day pull a “Van Halen” and remake these old unreleased songs…one can dream.) “Rocker” is more metal than you expect from Guns, but it has that sloppy, dangly cigarette vibe that the band embodied.

“Shadow of Your Love” was later re-recorded by Guns N’ Roses as a demo and released on the B-side to “Live and Let Die”. This is the original “Hollywood Rose” demo however, a more basic bare-bones version of the speed rock classic. The last demo is “Reckless Life”, better known as the opening track on GN’R Lies. It obviously evolved quite a bit as a Guns N’ Roses song, because this seems more like a skeleton of the song. It’s still breakneck fast, but the verse riff isn’t there yet.

These five songs indicated there was a cutting edge band here that needed to be heard. They could not have had the same success in this incarnation. They clearly needed Steven and Duff in the engine roof, and Slash laying sticky guitar toffee on top. The bones were already there, and it’s absolutely historic to hear these early demos of such important hard rock songs. The impact that they would have, as a foundation for something bigger, cannot be understated.

That said, as songs they still had a little ways to go, and I don’t think we really needed each song three times in one sitting. I’m not sure why Gilby was involved (except that he was in Guns N’ Roses too, from 1992-1994). I’ll be damned if I can pick out specific changes he made with his remixes, but most of the songs are different lengths so he obviously did stuff! Gilby did have Tracii Guns come back to Hollywood Rose and overdub new guitar solos for “Shadow of Your Love” and “Reckless Life”. These guitar overdubs do succeed in making the demos more exciting than they were. The Coury remixes are probably most notable for a distinctly different drum sound.

The Roots of Guns N’ Roses by Hollywood Rose is an essential collector’s item for any serious Guns fan. You don’t want to be without this. I just don’t think that two complete sets of remixes were necessary.

3/5 stars

CONCERT REVIEW: Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Zombie, In This Moment 1/21/08

Review written January 22, 2008.

OZZY OSBOURNE/ROB ZOMBIE/IN THIS MOMENT live at the ACC, Toronto Ontario, 01/21/08, on the Black Rain tour

When you pay $100 a ticket you’d better get a hell of a show, no pun intended. While Rob Zombie rose to the occasion and put on the show of a lifetime, Ozzy Osbourne stumbled, carried only by his seasoned band and the love of a metal craving audience.

First up were newcomers In This Moment, who played a short 4 song set to a half filled house. Singer Maria Brink managed to get the crowd going even though most of them didn’t know there was a third band on the bill. Coming out in her trademark blue dress, and screaming her lungs out, I could not believe the power in this woman’s voice. The whole band was hampered by horrible sound which unfortunately rendered her screaming and singing unintelligible. However, at one point she let loose and screamed for a good 30 seconds straight…how she does this is beyond me, I sure can’t! In This Moment played their hit “Beautiful Tragedy” second-to-last and then revved up the audience to see Rob Zombie.

This was Zombie’s last night of the tour, and his crew played pranks on In This Moment through most of their set, however it was dead serious once Zombie hit the stage. Hidden by curtains, the audience could not see Zombie’s amazing stage set until the lights came up. And that was not to happen before we were treated to a surprise: Rob Zombie’s Grindhouse trailer “Werewolf Women Of The S.S.” starring Nicholas Cage as…FU MANCHU! (Zombie is considering making a full movie based on this trailer.)

Then the lights came up, dancing girls on either side of a giant devil head, and band roaring. The head cracked open and an adrenalized Rob Zombie emerged to “American Witch”! What an entrance.

John 5 was at the top of his game on guitar, playing with his teeth, behind his back, throwing his instrument all over the stage. For his guitar solo he even played a snippet of “Oh Canada”, but more on that shortly.

Zombie played all the hits with tons of syncopated pyro behind him, so much that you could feel it from the nosebleeds. “Dragula”, “Living Dead Girl”, “Thunderkiss ’65” and of course “More Human Than Human” were all played expertly, Zombie himself all over the stage at all times. He had ample video footage behind him, showing original film footage from House Of 1000 Corpes, The Devil’s Rejects, his own animation, and classic horror films such as Nosferatu.

Zombie’s crowning moment was during John 5’s guitar solo, at which point he grabbed two flashlights and headed into the crowd, all backed by John 5’s incredible shredding. I mean, come on folks…this is the guitar player that David Lee Roth chose to stand where Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai, Steve Hunter and Jason Becker have stood.

The only thing wrong the whole Rob Zombie show is that there was so much going on at once, with the video screens, dancing girls, drumming robots, props, lights, and pyro, that you can’t see it all at once. I would like to see Rob Zombie twice or three times…difficult now that his tour is over!

A short break ensued, and then we were treated to some video footage courtesy of the Ozzman. It was a humourous medley of popular film and TV footage from the last year, all recut to star Ozzy himself! Imagine Ozzy in: The Queen. Or Ozzy under Azamat’s ass in Borat! It was good stuff, but unfortunately it underlined that the once and future singer of Black Sabbath has now become something of a joke himself.

Ozzy and his band (Zakk Wylde on guitar, Mike Bordin on drums, Blasko on bass, and Adam Wakeman on keys) then blasted through his first single from the new Black Rain CD, “I Don’t Wanna Stop”. A great opener, unfortunately hard to appreciate with Zakk Wylde’s guitar sounding so harsh in the ACC. Ozzy played most of the classics with very few surprises: “Bark At The Moon”, “Suicide Solution”, “Crazy Train”, “I Don’t Know”, “Mr. Crowley”, “Road To Nowhere” and “Not Going Away” from the new CD.

Ozzy’s problem, both as a solo artist and with Black Sabbath, is his unwillingness to change his setlists. While I’m sure everybody there would have died and gone to heaven if Ozzy played a song like “You Can’t Kill Rock And Roll” or “Diary Of A Madman”, his setlist was based almost entirely around his Blizzard of Ozz and No More Tears CDs. Too predictable, Ozzman. His other problem is his lack of range. His voice cracked many times, and the band lowered the key for him the old songs.

A few disappointing choices: Ozzy did not play “No More Tears”, but instead treated us to the overrated “I Don’t Wanna Change The World”. And for an encore, yes, of course…”Mama I’m Coming Home”. Shame about that, as there are so many better songs to play. “Mama” sure did get the cigarette lighters out [see picture below].

Zakk Wylde did a ridiculous 10 minute guitar solo, which sounded mostly like razorblades coming at your ears. He too played with his teeth, but it was only when he quoted Randy Rhoads’ classic “Suicide Solution” live solo that sparks flew.

As a last song, of course, Ozzy played “Paranoid”. He had to. He couldn’t show up and not play any Sabbath material, although “Iron Man” and “War Pigs” didn’t make his short set. Shame, considering that he reminded the audience that Toronto is where he recorded Never Say Die.

In the end, we all got tired of Ozzy’s endless “I can’t fucking hear you” and “Go extra extra extra crazy!” When Ozzy shouted “I still can’t fucking hear you” for the 100th time, people started responding, “Because you’re fucking deaf”!

There was no question that Ozzy came, saw, and conquered because of his excellent band and the love that the crowd had for him, but it was also obvious that this was Rob Zombie’s show, and there was nothing Ozzy could have done to change that, aside from bringing Randy Rhoads back from the dead.

In This Moment – 3/5 stars
Rob Zombie – 5/5 stars
Ozzy Osbourne – 3.5/5 stars

#381: There’s Only One Way to Rock

A shout-out to Geoff at 1001albums for the inspiration.

RECORD STORE TALES MkII: Getting More Tale
#381: There’s Only One Way to Rock

Back in 1981, the philosopher Samuel Roy Hagar announced that there is “only one way to rock”. He made his case on the song “There’s Only One Way to Rock” from Standing Hampton, a song that he later performed in Van Halen. An except of Sammy’s argument is below:

I’ve heard it called by different names
All over the world, but it’s all the same
Now there’s so many ways to make love
A million ways I been thinking of, oh yeah

But there’s only one way
There’s only one way to rock, yeah

While Hagar is normally quite convincing, I have to disagree with him on this matter. In fact I was able to think of at least five ways to rock while on my lunch break. I am sure you can think of many more. How many ways to rock are there? Here are five of my personal favourites!

REVIEW: Dio – Angry Machines (1996)

DIO – Angry Machines (1996 Spitfire)

I have never liked Angry Machines. Right from the moment it came out, to today, I do not like Angry Machines. It’s not because I don’t like this Dio lineup. I’m quite fond of the Strange Highways record, which features the same band (Jeff Pillson – bass, Vinny Appice – drums, Tracy G – guitars). Given my fondness for that previous record, and the awesome cover art emblazoned upon Angry Machines, I was looking forward to this album. Now, all these years later, even cranked to max volume it has failed to grow on me and remains my least favourite Dio album by a fair margin.

When Dio gets his hands on a treacherously slow heavy metal song, he can sometimes wring great things from it. Angry Machines, however, is bogged down with many agonizingly slow, soundalike trudgy songs. The opener “Institutional Man” almost resembles Born Again-era Sabbath at times for sheer slow chug, but it lacks any sort of hooks. Ronnie is bellowing as incredibly as he always has, but he’s grasping for a melody to hang his powerful voice on. The saving grace is a razor sharp guitar solo by Tracy G.

Thankfully “Don’t Tell the Kids” is a speed metal rocker. I didn’t expect Ronnie to take it to Motorhead tempo, and that’s cool. Lack of hooks is the problem again, so you’re left with little but the smoking instruments to carry you through. MVP: Vinny Appice who has never sounded so lively!

The disc gets stuck in the mud after “Don’t Tell the Kids”. The atonal “Black” doesn’t do anything for me, although I do admire the stripped-back production (by Ronnie and engineer Wyn Davis). I dig Jeff Pilson’s bass hook on “Hunter of the Heart”, and the chorus is pretty good, but the song is mostly forgettable. Then is the slow and boring “Stay Out of My Mind”, a real snooze. A 7-minute snooze with an extended keyboard segue! Continuing with the mind control theme, “Big Sister” isn’t much to write home about either, except in terms of Vinny’s relentless sticks.

“Double Monday” has cool acoustic segment, very unlike typical Dio. Unfortunately this one section does not save the song which is otherwise dreary and grating. Up next, I enjoy the vintage groove of “Golden Rules” but again there’s not much of a song here. Same goes for the penultimate track “Dying in America”.

You may already be familiar with the best song on Angry Machines, a piano ballad called “This is Your Life”, that was re-released on the 2014 tribute album of the same title. When I reviewed that excellent CD, I had this to say of “This is Your Life”:

Fittingly, the album ends on a ballad: Dio’s own somber “This Is Your Life”, performed by the man himself in 1996. I did not like the Angry Machines album, but if there was one song I would have picked as a highlight it would be “This Is Your Life”. Performed only by Dio and Scott Warren on piano, it is unlike anything else in Dio’s canon. The lyrics speak of mortality: “This is your life, This is your time, What if the flame won’t last forever? This is your here, This is your now, Let it be magical.”

The always lucky Japanese fans received a bonus track with the cool title of “God Hates Heavy Metal”. Although I am intrigued I have not been motivated enough to search it out.

2/5 stars

#380.5: Thank You!

KeepsMeAlive

RECORD STORE TALES MkII: Getting More Tale
#380.5: ThankYou!

Thanks to you, the reader, for joining us this week for THE BEST FUCKING COLLABORATION WEEK EVER! All week, Aaron and I reviewed the same discs, and it was a ton ‘o fun. You got two reviews for the price of none each day! On Tuesday, Aaron’s gracious co-host over at the KeepsMeAlive, James, joined us to review Danko Jones’ Born a Lion CD! A big thanks to Aaron and James for a very fun week.

Due to the great reception, I have a feeling this will happen again, with an even larger field of participants. We shall see.

Below you will find links to every installment. Be sure to check ’em out, especially since you don’t want to have to read my crap all the time. Enjoy!

QUIET RIOT – Metal Health

DANKO JONES – Born a Lion

BLACK CROWES B-SIDES

THE CULT – Pure Cult

Aaron’s review (For Rockers, Ravers, Lovers, and Sinners)
LeBrain’s review (The Singles 1984-1995)

CUSTOM PRIEST BOX SET MANIA!

#380: Custom Priest Box Set Mania!

THE BEST FUCKING COLLABORATION WEEK EVER

Alas, it’s the end of THE BEST FUCKING COLLABORATION WEEK EVER!* I made a five disc Judas Priest box set for Aaron a while ago. Let’s take a close look at the tracks. Dig in!

Aaron: Custom Priest Box Set Mania!

RECORD STORE TALES MkII: Getting More Tale
#380: Custom Priest Box Set Mania!

I’ve known Aaron, your incredible co-host over at the KeepsMeAlive website, for almost 20 years. For most of those 20 years we haven’t lived in the same town, so we kept in touch via email, text messages, and physical mail. It wasn’t that long ago that we were sending each other parcels semi-regularly, including musical gifts and mix CDs. Mix CDs are an art that we both take very seriously.

At one point Aaron had expressed interest in hearing more Judas Priest, so I took it upon myself to create a custom box set, by me, for him. The official Metalogy box set is pretty good, but as I said in my review for it, “just not the box set that I would have made given the opportunity.” Aaron gave me the opportunity so I decided to out-do Metalogy and go for a full five discs, and update him to the then-current Priest album Nostradamus.

I found a track listing that I drafted for that very set. The final CDs that I made for him may have differed, because I was rough-guessing my disc times here. As close as I have records of, this is the box set that I burned for Aaron. Let’s take a look at it disc by disc and see how it holds up.

Rocka Rolla – The Old Grey Whistle Test

DISC 1

1. One For The Road
2. Rocka Rolla
3. Diamonds and Rust
4. Dreamer Deceiver
5. Deceiver
6. Cheater
7. Caviar and Meths
8. Prelude
9. Tyrant
10. Dissident Aggressor
11. Better By You, Better Than Me
12. Race With The Devil
13. Stained Class
14. Beyond The Realms of Death
15. Exciter
16. Delivering The Goods
17. Rock Forever
18. Burnin’ Up
19. The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown)
20. Take On The World
21. Hell Bent For Leather

In my Metalogy review, I complained about the absence of “Rocka Rolla” and “One For the Road”. I have fixed that oversight here, but at the cost of “Never Satisfied”. It’s not the perfect trade-off. The ending to “Never Satisfied” was as epic as early Priest got, so it is a win for a loss. I replaced the live “Diamonds and Rust” with the studio version though, so that is a good thing for a listener like Aaron. I like that I included the rare “Race With the Devil”, a cover of The Gun. There is also a healthy dose of Hell Bent for Leather/Killing Machine. I’m not sure what I was thinking with the track order, but I probably modified that before I burned the final CD.

When the Tax Man comes for Priest’s money, he loses his head and pants!

DISC 2

1. Victim of Changes (Live)
2. Sinner (Live)
3. The Ripper (Live)
4. Breaking The Law (Live)
5. You Don’t Have To Be Old To Be Wise
6. Living After Midnight
7. The Rage
8. Desert Plains
9. Heading Out To The Highway
10. Troubleshooter
11. Turnin’ Circles
12. Riding On The Wind
13. (Take These) Chains
14. Bloodstone
15. You Got Another Thing Comin’
16. Devil’s Child
17. The Hellion / Electric Eye (Live)
18. Steeler (Live)

I see here that I included the live versions of “The Ripper” and “Victim of Changes”. I suppose that I left these on, because Unleashed in the East is such a critical live album. It simply must be represented on a box set like this, so I chose to keep a few songs, some of the best ones. I also like to include rare tracks, so I snagged the live “Steeler” from the radio broadcast CD called Concert Classics. I see a lot of personal favourites on this CD, especially from Screaming for Vengeance. Pretty damn fine disc!

In the dead of night, Love Bites

DISC 3

1. Love Bites
2. Jawbreaker
3. Rock Hard Ride Free
4. The Sentinel
5. Some Heads Are Gonna Roll
6. Night Comes Down (Live)
7. Heavy Duty
8. Defenders of the Faith
9. Turbo Lover
10. Parental Guidance
11. Reckless
12. Out In The Cold (Live)
13. Metal Gods (Live)
14. Freewheel Burning (Live)
15. Ram It Down
16. Hard As Iron
17. Blood Red Skies

From Defenders of the Faith to Ram it Down, the 80’s can be a tricky period of Judas Priest to navigate. This third CD could have been the worst. I opened with the studio version of “Love Bites”, where Metalogy utilized an unreleased live version. I think it makes a great disc opener. For rarities I went with the live “Night Comes Down” instead, a great version from the Priest Re-Masters. I also had to represent Priest…Live! from this era, so I chose its dramatic concert opener “Out in the Cold” as a live version. The live version of “Metal Gods” from that album is more melodic than others, so I went with it too. I look at this disc as some of the very best Priest from this period.

Priest with Ripper – Blood Stained, live in London

DISC 4

1. Heart of a Lion (Demo)
2. Painkiller
3. Hell Patrol
4. One Shot at Glory
5. Jugulator
6. Rapid Fire ‘98
7. Burn In Hell
8. A Touch of Evil (Live)
9. Blood Stained (Live)
10. One On One
11. Feed On Me
12. What’s My Name
13. Running Wild (Live)
14. The Ripper (Live)
15. Diamonds and Rust (Live)
16. The Green Manalishi (With The Two Pronged Crown) ‘98

There it is! “Heart of a Lion” is one of the best rare Priest demos, only available on the Metalogy box set, but recorded in the Turbo era. It would make a good disc opener, but following it with “Painkiller”? I’m not sure about my transition there. It could be like a sledgehammer of awesome, or it could be an awkward stumble. I think the most difficult mixture of different periods has to be the sudden change of lead singers. When Tim “Ripper” Owens replaced Rob Halford on 1997’s Jugulator, the band’s sound changed. That’s probably why I chose a remake of the oldie “Rapid Fire” to be one of the first Ripper songs on this CD. There are also plenty of live versions here of old Priest classics, from the various live albums Priest did with Ripper. “Blood Stained” was a live take on a new Ripper song, from their ’98 Live Meltdown album. I think it’s vastly superior to the original version on Jugulator. “What’s My Name” is included as a rare B-side from the Japanese version of Demolition. On the whole I think this is a pretty good CD representing a difficult period in Priest history, and in hindsight it could use more tracks from Painkiller.

The Hellrider, live — same version that I used

DISC 5

1. Judas Rising
2. Revolution
3. Worth Fighting For
4. Demonizer
5. Angel
6. Hellrider (Live)
7. Between the Hammer & the Anvil (Live)
8. Eat Me Alive (Live)
9. Dawn of Creation
10. Prophesy
11. Revelations
12. Death (Live)
13. Persecution
14. Calm Before The Storm
15. Nostradamus

I remember having a really hard time with this disc. I wanted to give Nostradamus a fair shake, but as a double concept album it didn’t lend itself well to chopping up into bits for a mix CD. By the time I got to this mix CD, all I had left to include were two studio albums (Angel of Retribution and Nostradamus) and a live album (A Touch of Evil) to utilize. The version of “Hellrider” from that live album is among my favourite tracks due to Rob Halford’s over the top screaming. This disc doesn’t appear to have any rarities among its tracks. Not a bad disc but I think I could have done better here.

I remember having difficulty burning the CDs to my satisfaction. There was some quirk happening with my Nero version, and ultimately I just abandoned the project and sent the discs to Aaron. Apparently I didn’t even bother making a track list or covers for him.

Making mix CDs to my own satisfaction is a lot of work. I know I sunk a lot of time into this Priest set, ripping the discs and meticulously choosing the songs. Ultimately though, it was just fun to hand pick the Judas Priest songs to help Aaron in his exploration of this awesome band.

Monday: QUIET RIOT – Metal Health
Tuesday: DANKO JONES – Born A Lion
Wednesday: Aaron’s Black Crowes B-sides
Thursday: THE CULT – Pure Cult: The Singles 1984-1995

* Not the last collaboration, however. Stay tuned.

REVIEW: The Cult – Pure Cult: The Singles 1984-1995

THE BEST FUCKING COLLABORATION WEEK EVER

For today’s installment of THE BEST FUCKING COLLABORATION WEEK EVER, Aaron and I are actually reviewing different albums. Sort of. He’s doing Pure Cult: For Rockers, Ravers, Lovers, and Sinners. I’m doing Pure Cult: The Singles 1984-1995. Same album, different versions thereof with slightly different tracklistings. Dig in!

Aaron: The Cult – Pure Cult: For Rockers, Ravers, Lovers, and Sinners

THE CULT – Pure Cult: The Singles 1984-1995 (2000 Beggars Banquet)

The original 1993 Pure Cult was great. It didn’t need to be updated only seven years later, but given the chance to remaster and repackage something must be irresistible to cigar-chewing execs.* The remastering ushered in a series of Cult reissues, coinciding with a reunion tour. There was also an issue with an unauthorized UK compilation from 1996 called High Octane Cult. That CD, which contained an exclusive new song called “In the Clouds”, was discontinued and replaced by this new Pure Cult, which re-released “In the Clouds” on its tracklist.

“In the Clouds” is a smashing song, heavy as a really heavy thing, from 1995. It was recorded for a potential followup to 1994’s The Cult, but released on High Octane Cult when the band split up. The sound points towards the heavy metal direction of 2001’s Beyond Good and Evil. The hard hitting snare of drummer Garret is deliciously snappy. Although “In the Clouds” isn’t particularly memorable on its own, I love when the Cult go really heavy. That makes this an unsung classic.

As for Pure Cult: The Singles, “She Sells Sanctuary” still opens affairs as it did on the old Pure Cult. It remains as shimmery as it was in the glow of the 1980’s. Ian’s irresistible howl doesn’t remind me of Morrison one bit actually, but let’s not forget Billy Duffy and his big white Gibson. Duffy has always been about his guitar sound, which changes from album to album. It seems his guitar sets the tone for the album, and “She Sells Sanctuary” benefits from his echo-laden Edge-isms.

The first six songs on the CD are the same running order as the original. I have always been fond of the Cult’s Sonic Temple period, and “Fire Woman” has aged remarkably well. Say what you will about Bob Rock, his production has stood up on this track. Back then, he was trashed for glossing up the Cult’s sound too much. By today’s standards, this is a sparse production! But if you like it basic, “Lil’ Devil” produced by Rick Rubin is excactly what you need. The Electric period is universally celebrated by Cult diehards as a high point, and you can see why on “Lil’ Devil”.

I dig Dreamtime‘s “Spiritwalker”, but I think “The Witch” is really cool. Produced once again by Rick Rubin but going in a completely different direction, “The Witch” brought electronic dance beats to the Cult giving them an industrial edge. “The Witch” was released on the soundtrack to a movie called Cool World in 1992, but it received wider exposure the following year on the original Pure Cult. Regardless of a strong chart performance for the song, the Cult chose not to go with Rick Rubin for their next album and instead returned to Bob Rock! “The Witch” remains a cool experiment and a great song.

Love‘s “Revolution” is still one of my favourite Cult ballads, and it helps you come down from the rush that is “The Witch”. The “Love Removal Machine” and “Rain” keep the classic momentum brewing, but this is the first deviation from the original Pure Cult running order. “Wild Hearted Son”, a hard rocker from 1991, has been moved to the end of the album, though it originally fell after “Revolution”. Then “In the Clouds” takes us fully into heavy modern Cult territory. 1994’s “Coming Down (Drug Tongue)” represents the alterna-Cult that responded to the grunge onslaught. These two newer songs don’t replace any others at this point on Pure Cult; rather they are inserted between “Rain” and “Edie (Ciao Baby)”. Ceremony‘s “Heart of Soul” follows “Edie” for over eight minutes of power balladry, but since it’s The Cult we are going to let it slide.

The song “Love” has been deleted from the running order, and we go straight into the classic “Wild Flower”. Every bit as good as “Love Removal Machine”, these hits are still slamming today. “Star” from 1994 is unnecessarily inserted into the track list here, a forgotten single that nobody really cares about. “Go West” and “Resurrection Joe” from Dreamtime are flipped in order; now “Resurrection Joe” comes first. I like the jittery early Cult, but it’s stunning how they change from album to album. “Sun King” is an interesting choice from Sonic Temple, though I do love the song, it wasn’t that well known as a single. “Wild Hearted Son” is dropped in here, in single edit version without the intro. Finally “Sweet Soul Sister” closes the CD, in its music video mix which is a nice track to have since it wasn’t even on the CD single. Unfortunately the original ass-kicking closer “Earth Mofo” has been deleted! That is truly a shame, since it is such a rush of a rock song.

Ultimately Pure Cult: The Singles 1984-1995 has one more track overall compared to the original release. Unfortunately I don’t think it’s quite as good.

4.5/5 stars

* This CD was followed by the release of the 7-disc box set Rare Cult (a review of which is coming this year), and a compilation called Best of Rare Cult!

Monday: QUIET RIOT – Metal Health
Tuesday: DANKO JONES – Born A Lion
Wednesday: Aaron’s Black Crowes B-sides

#379: Aaron’s Black Crowes B-sides

THE BEST FUCKING COLLABORATION WEEK EVER

This series is “twice as hard”! Aaron at the KMA and myself are both taking a look at an old CD-R of Black Crowes B-sides, that he made for me umpteen years ago. Enjoy!

Aaron: Black Crowes B-Sides

RECORD STORE TALES MkII: Getting More Tale
#379: Aaron’s Black Crowes B-sides

Aaron has been a generous doner of Black Crowes music to Chez LeBrain for a long time now. Witness, Record Store Tales Parts 260 and 262, in which he provided copies of the Crowes’ Sho’ Nuff box set, and the CD single for “Kicking My Heart Around”. One of the most thoughtful items he ever gave me was a custom Crowes B-side CD, culled from his own library of tunes. The Crowes have a lot of singles and rare tracks, and my collection is still to this day woefully incomplete. The disc he made me covers a ton of songs that aren’t on albums.

There were quite a few tracks on this CD that I didn’t know the origin of. I found out that the first three tracks are from the “By Your Side” CD single, which I still don’t own physically. The opener, an acoustic version of “Horsehead” with a distorted lead vocal, is killer. It sounds live in the studio, which to me is proof that you don’t have to spend weeks and months and years in the studio to make music. “Horsehead” don’t need no frills. “Grows A Rose” and “Peace Anyway” are from the same CD single, but sound more like the By Your Side album. These are streamlined blues/rock tracks, but man “Grows A Rose” sure does smoke! “Peace Anyway” is a soulful Crowes also-ran that could have been on the album as well.

“It Must Be Over” is from the “Kicking My Heart Around” single that Aaron gave me. It’s a midtempo track much in the vein of the By Your Side album but not quite as catchy. It’s a fine B-side though. “You Don’t Have to Go” is really strong, but it could use more of that organ from Eddie Harsch.

Back to the olden days, “Don’t Wake Me” is an ass-kicker with plenty of that juicy slide guitar. This track was later reissued on the remastered Shake Your Money Maker album; I don’t know where it was originally from. For fans of that old Crowes sound before they really started to experiment, this is for you. The acoustic version of “She Talks to Angels” is available on the same remaster. It sounds like an old Stones ballad and it’s flawless in this incarnation.

“99 lbs” and the slow version of “Sting Me” are also available today on the Crowes remasters. I can’t believe how much “99 lbs.” kick ass for a B-side. I know it’s a blues cover, but that’s about all I know about this amazing steady rocking tune. Steady until the end that is, where it speeds up to a breakneck pace. “Sting Me” is one of those tracks that caused a huge battle between the brothers. One of them liked the slow version as heard on my Aaron Mix, and one preferred the fast album version. This resulted in one of those physical confrontations that involved a mike stand being used as a projectile. (I prefer the fast.)

As a B-side from Three Snakes and One Charm, “Just Say You’re Sorry” is surprisingly catchy and straitghforward. I love Rich’s watery sounding guitar tone. “Mellow Down Easy” is from the same period, this being a Willie Dixon classic. I don’t think the Crowes really did anything for it. Either way, it’s on the remastered Three Snakes, although “Just Say You’re Sorry” is not.

“Rainy Day Woman #12 & #35” is a bit of a gimmicky joke cover as far as I’m concerned. It comes from a pot compilation of some kind. “Pimper’s Paradise”, a Bob Marley cover, is a more successful experiment.

Aaron closed his CD with four live tracks in a row: all four are from Air studios in London, circa 1994. The four tracks sample the first three Crowes albums quite splendidly. “Remedy” in particular strikes me as awesome. The vocal is completely different from the album version which was only two years old. You can’t say the Crowes are content to leave things be.

Man, you just gotta give Aaron a 5/5 for making this CD. What a guy!

Monday: QUIET RIOT – Metal Health
Tuesday: DANKO JONES – Born A Lion

REVIEW: Danko Jones – Born a Lion (2002)

THE BEST FUCKING COLLABORATION WEEK EVER

My very first THREE-WAY (review)! For today’s installment, Aaron AND James from the KMA and I are all reviewing the same disc. Check out all three reviews!

Aaron: DANKO JONES – Born a Lion
James: DANKO JONES – Born a Lion

DANKO JONES – Born a Lion (2002 Universal)

How fucking cool is Danko Jones?! I love this Torontonian rock idol, just as much as Danko himself loves the Rock. His enthusiasm for hard rock and heavy metal is contagious. His music basks in it. You can hear his passion for the Rock in the grooves. He’s incredibly prolific, and monumentally talented as a writer, singer, and guitar player. The band itself (also called Danko Jones) is just a trio, so he has a lot of bases to cover and he does it with aplomb out the wazoo.

I don’t own all the Danko records (and I don’t know anybody who does) but of the ones I have, the debut long-player Born a Lion is still my favourite. It was a favourite back in the Record Store days too, receiving daily store play as a new release. Joe “Big Nose” felt that Danko was as close as anybody had gotten to the vibe of Thin Lizzy since Phil Lynott. I wouldn’t necessarily agree with that fully, but I see what he was getting at.

The swampy blues guitar that opens “Play the Blues” is just a feint. This is a slamming, heavy rocking blaze. “If you wanna know how to play the blues, get yourself a woman! YEAH!” howls Jones. It’s an adrenaline shot to the heart, eyes ablaze as “Play the Blues” tears from the speakers. “Pick it sweet! Slide it slow! WOO!” Jones unleashes a killer solo as you reach for your asthma inhaler!

If you’re not hooked by now, then you probably don’t like rock and roll. “Lovercall” was the single, for which a killer video was made. Getting into a groove this time, Jones instructs us on how to pick up a lady.

You see when I was growin’ up…
I got the inside scoop,
I used to watch all the older fellas work down the block,
that’s right when they used to work I used to watch,
and when I watched I learned…
The Lovercall, baby!

Danko Jones has a way of using his sassy spoken word verses to maximize the cool factor, before sliding into a chorus that you can sing along to. “Lovercall” is the best example of this.

So are you in or are you out? That’s all Danko needs to know on “Sound of Love”. Not as mindblowing as the first two, it’s still a swaggering confident rock song based on a solid groove. “Every time you see her, she’ll get a little hotter,” whispers Jones, and you certainly believe him because he sure does sound like an expert in such matters. “Now where the pretty girls at? ‘Cause I’m the man with the black hat.” There you go. Free advice from Danko – black hats are in, but he says it with so much swagger that you have to believe there are some serious mysteries of the universe opening up before us!

“Papa” is the song from which the title Born a Lion was derived. “I was born a lion, and like a cat I’m gonna dance.” Sure, Jones has only one thing on his mind, but who gives a fuck? I ain’t leaving now; I’m sticking around for the Rock. “Soul on Ice” has a mean AC/DC prowl that could have fit on an album such as Black Ice.

“Word is Bond” is dynamite up the ass with no fuse! The energy is unbelievable, and Danko’s swagger is always intact. When he says “If you want it, I will do it — my word is my bond!” I believe him. This is another AC/DC rocker, and it absolutely tears up the joint, leaving nothing but rubble and ashes. But Danko Jones will survive like a cockroach and live on to meet more ladies, as he does on “Way to My Heart”. Don’t let the title fool you, this ain’t no Warrant or Whitesnake ballad. Nope, it’s all rock and groove and balls. “Let’s go on the side of the road, I can be your Romeo.” There’s no romance here, it’s sheer lust.

Racial diversity is the theme on “Caramel City”, the first time Danko’s not singing about girls on this record. It’s kind of a weird chorus (spelling out the word “C-A-R-A-M-E-L”) but it’s good enough for me. “Get Outta Town” is more fun, another blazing fast rock groove. It’s infectious, but I don’t believe him when he sings, “All the girls got boyfriends, but man I don’t got a girl.” Sorry Jones. I’m not buying it.

More ass-kicking transpires via the speakers on the chugging “Suicide Woman”. How much more ass-kicking? A lot, as “Suicide Woman” follows the general template of smoking from start to finish. Danko keeps the guitar solo to the basics because let’s face it, we just wanna rock at this point. Concluding the proceedings is the incredible “Love is Unkind”, quite possibly the most smoking-est track on the record.

Let’s be blunt. Danko Jones’ schtick can wear thin, but the album isn’t long. You either like this band or you don’t. I like this band. And I love Born a Lion.

5/5 stars

Final note — some editions have two bonus tracks. I intend to find them.

Final final note — my copy came with a Danko Jones sticker that I still have. I wonder if Aaron and James have theirs?

Monday: QUIET RIOT – Metal Health

	Holen on #1241: Time To Talk…
	80smetalman on #1241: Time To Talk…
	2loud2oldmusic on #1241: Time To Talk…
	salemcustoms on #1241: Time To Talk…
	keepsmealive on #1240: Life is short sometimes…

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THE BEST FUCKING COLLABORATION WEEK EVER

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THE BEST FUCKING COLLABORATION WEEK EVER

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THE BEST FUCKING COLLABORATION WEEK EVER

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THE BEST FUCKING COLLABORATION WEEK EVER

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