REVIEW: Helix – half-ALIVE (1998)

“Ain’t no rest for the Helix band!” – Brian Vollmer

HELIX – half-ALIVE (1998 DeRock)

The 90’s weren’t a kind decade to Helix. Longtime guitarist Paul Hackman was killed in a 1992 auto accident. Without any Helix tracks written for a new album, Brian Vollmer chose to reconceive his in-the-works solo album as a Helix one, It’s a Business Doing Pleasure. The largely acoustic leanings of that (excellent) album didn’t fit with the overall Helix sound, and the album was tragically ignored. It would be five years before half-ALIVE finally followed it.

With their original heavy rock sound intact, Helix came roaring back with this mostly live, partly studio recording. With some live gigs recorded, as well as a handful of unreleased and unfinished new songs, half-ALIVE maybe should have been called one-third-ALIVE. Either way, it rocks. If you’ve seen this band live, then you know how much they kick it on stage.

HELIX HA_0003

After the death of Paul Hackman, it seemed like Helix became more a “project” than a band, with rotating members around the nucleus of Brian Vollmer (vocals) and Daryl Gray (bass). On half-ALIVE, you will hear appearances from members such as Greg “Fritz” Hinz (drums), Paul Hackman and Dr. Doerner (guitars), and even a song written by Mike Uzelac, their bass player when they signed to Capitol Records  (who was actually a missing person for a long time). In addition, newer members like drummer Glen “Archie” Gamble and guitarists Denny Balicki, Gary Borden, Rick Mead and Mark Chichkan all contribute. These guys helped keep Helix going as a touring entity in the 90’s.  Gamble in particular, since he was in the band for almost a whole decade.

Could the Helix of the 90’s cut it as much as the classic 80’s band? The five studio tracks roar “yes”! A far cry from the acoustic rock of It’s a Business Doing Pleasure, this is a return to the hard rock/metal sounds of Walkin’ the Razor’s Edge. Best tracks among the studio crop are “Wrecking Ball”, Steppenwolf’s “The Pusher” and a ballad called “The Same Room” (the single).  “Big Bang Boom” is the only one I do not care for.  The rest are decent songs, not necessarily career highlights, but solid.  Of course, Vollmer’s voice is in fine form.  It always is.  No matter what Helix do on an album, you can count on Brian’s vocals sounding as they always has.  That’s his Bel Canto training.

Video shoot for the unreleased “The Same Room” clip

From there we go to the live material. Virtually all the hits are present (“Rock You”, “Running Wild In The 21st Century”, “Good To The Last Drop”, “Heavy Metal Love”, “Wild In The Streets”, etc.) There’s also a new acoustic composition called “Smile”, written and performed by Gary Borden. What really sets this live stuff apart from their studio albums is Vollmer’s friendly on-stage banter. As he relates a tale of staying in a hotel in Seaforth Ontario (population at the time: less than 2000), you’ll laugh along, especially if you’ve been there!  Equally good is Brian’s mid-song speech in “No Rest for the Wicked”. (Hits that are missing include “The Kids are all Shakin'”.)

The live songs were taken from various tours, 1992-1997, so there are a variety of material and band members (as noted above). Yet there’s a cohesiveness that similar live albums lack. The songs are mixed together and flow seamlessly, and you really can’t hear the five years passing. The sound is hard, clear, and rocking, and begs the question: “What took them five years to release this stuff?” I guess it was circumstance.  It had nothing to do with quality, that’s for sure.  The performances are raw though, and it doesn’t sound like much in terms of overdubs was done to the recordings.

My only real complaint about this otherwise competent live album is the cheesy cover art. Up close, it kind of looks cheap and crappy. And Brian’s haircut…I’m sorry man! I’ve met Brian and he was so cool and kind, so I hate to say bad things, but yeah…I’m glad you grew your hair back man!

4/5 stars

HELIX HA_0002

HELIX HA_0004Below:  Promo CD single for “The Same Room”.

Part 312: Reader Poll – Coming to a Close

POLL

RECORD STORE TALES Part 312:  Reader Poll – Coming to a Close

Folks,

Sharing my Record Store Tales with you these past two years has been something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. It took me years to finally start publishing them, but all good things must come to an end. The seemingly bottomless well of Record Store Tales is now almost dry. I’ve plundered papers, hard drives, journals, photos and memories, but it was inevitable that eventually I’d run out of good stories to tell.

Sure, there will always be an occasion when I say, “That reminds me of a Record Store Tale!” and I’m inspired to write some new content based on those memories. When that happens, I’ll post it. However, I do feel the need to wind down the Record Store Tales and get on with the ending, which was already written a long time ago.  I like to write so much more than just album reviews. When the Record Store Tales are concluded with the proper ending, I want to continue the storytelling. Music and retail will remain the main focus, it’ll just be from the other side of the counter.

The problem is…I don’t have a title.

“Record Store Tales” and…what? “Post-Record Store Tales”? “Record Store Tales: The Next Generation”? “Record Store Tales: The Other Side of the Counter”?

I invite you to come up with better titles than these. Submit ideas in comments below. There are no guarantees I’ll use your suggestion, but if I like it, you can be the person who names the next chapter of my story.

You in? Post your best ideas!

New book: Martin Popoff – Live Magnetic Air: The Unlikely Saga of the Superlative Max Webster

You know this is gonna be good. Popoff writing the definitive book on his fave band of all time? I’m in. I ordered this with his Scorpions bio.

Dirty details:

260 pages, 100,000 words. Pics: live, studio, records, etc.

The sound, as per Popoff: 92% Blue Oyster Cult crossed with Cheap Trick, topped by 4% Kansas and 4% Zappa.

I’ve made no secret of my love for this band, and Martin’s books.   Now he’s finally shedding light on a band about whom info is usually scarce.   It’s a must for me, and all fans of Canadian rock.

Contact Martin, and his site for lots of books and ordering info. Martinpopoff.com.

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REVIEW: The Traveling Wilburys Collection (Bonus 12″ and DVD)

This series is dedicated to my mom! Not only did she a) buy me this box set, but b) introduced me to the artists in the first place. My mom’s favourite Beatle was George. She saw Roy Orbison live, at the old Glenbriar Curling Club on Weber St. in Waterloo. Later, she had these Traveling Wilburys albums on cassette.

Today is the final installment: the DVD and bonus 12″ EP.

For Vol. 1, click here.
For Vol. 3, click here!

 

THE TRAVELING WILBURYS – Bonus 12″, DVD (The Traveling Wilburys Collection 2007 Rhino)

As mentioned in the last two reviews, The Traveling Wilburys Collection came stuffed with bonus tracks — and more if you bought vinyl.  Unfortunately, these bonus tracks (seven total) do not encompass all of the Traveling Wilburys rare tracks and B-sides.  The missing tracks include:

  • “New Blue Moon” (instrumental version), from the “She’s My Baby” and “Wilbury Twist” singles.
  • The original mix of “Runaway” from the “She’s My Baby” single.

The tracks included feature a few B-sides and unreleased songs.  I seem to recall in the 1980’s that extended mixes were very popular.  The Wilburys released two as B-sides:  “Handle With Care” and “End of the Line”.  Both tracks are included with the vinyl version of the Collection.  Basically, this involves adding instrumental sections throughout the song.  Throw on some extra echo here and there.  Each song is extended by about 2 minutes.  With a vocal-heavy band like the Traveling Wilburys, this is actually quite a treat.  It’s a chance to hear some of the bare acoustic instrumental tracks that are overshadowed by harmony vocals.

IMG_20140808_180434Exclusive to the vinyl version of the Collection, and previously unreleased, is the remix to “Not Alone Any More”.  I have made no secret of my love for this song.  This version emphasizes the lead vocal of Roy Orbison front and center.   Also unreleased, but included on the CD version, are “Maxine” and “Like a Ship”.  Both tracks were old recordings, finished in 2007 for this release.  Dhani Harrison and Jeff Lynne sang additional backing vocals, which is more than appropriate.  You can tell both are from demo sources, by hints such as George’s “Alright, that’s it,” at the end of “Maxine”.  “Maxine” is the better of the two songs; “Like a Ship” is a slow Bob Dylan trawl that gets decidedly Beatles-y by the end.  Dhani Harrison plays the guitar solo, which is a standout.

Then there is “Nobody’s Child”, originally from the Nobody’s Child: Romanian Angel Appeal CD.  I’ll admit I’ve never been fond of this sad song.  This was the Wilburys first recording after the passing of Roy Orbison, and I’m glad to finally have it, but it’s not a favourite.  Incidentally, George covered this song way back when he was in the Beatles, too.

Del Shannon’s “Runaway” is a favourite of mine.   I love that “I wah wah wah wah wonder” chorus.  I dug when Queen + Paul Rodgers covered it, but I doubtless first heard this in the movie American Graffiti.   It is said that when Roy Orbison died, Del Shannon was considered as a replacement.  Unfortunately Shannon himself would soon be gone too; he never lived long enough to see the release of the Wilburys’ cover of “Runaway” in 1990.  (He did however live long enough to hear Tom Petty mention the song in his 1989 hit “Running Down a Dream”.)  Jeff Lynne sings lead on the Wilburys version, and he does a bang-up job.  I like this version so much that I’m going to track down the “She’s My Baby” CD single so I can get the original mix too.

Included with the CD version of this set (but not the vinyl) is a DVD with a 24 minute documentary called “The True History of the Traveling Wilburys”. This fascinating inside look at the first album is well worth having.  How often do you get to be a fly on a wall during a jam session like this?  Never.  It’s also very cool to see all five Wilburys recording vocals together in one room.  Also included on the DVD are all of  the Wilburys music videos, including “Inside Out” which I had never seen before.

The vinyl box not only has extra music, but also a poster and six postcards.  Just paper, I know.  The vinyl itself are presented on 180 gram records, which are always delightful to listen to.  Take my word for it when I say that all three records sound amazing on my system.

The Wilburys never went on to record together again after Vol. 3, but a lot of fans consider Tom Petty’s Full Moon Fever to be something of an unofficial Wilburys album.  Jeff Lynne’s first solo album Armchair Theater also has some Wilbury connections, and some of that jangly sound.  All the Wilburys with the exception of Bob Dylan appeared on Roy Orbison’s last album, Mystery Girl.

As for The Traveling Wilburys Collection as a whole?

5/5 stars

REVIEW: The Traveling Wilburys Collection (Vol. 3)

This series is dedicated to my mom! Not only did she a) buy me this box set, but b) introduced me to the artists in the first place. My mom’s favourite Beatle was George. She saw Roy Orbison live, at the old Glenbriar Curling Club on Weber St. in Waterloo. Later, she had this Traveling Wilburys album on cassette, and that tape went up and back from the cottage many, many times!

In today’s installment, the second album, which of course is titled Volume 3!

For Vol. 1, click here.

 

THE TRAVELING WILBURYS – Volume 3 (1990, part of the Traveling Wilburys Collection 2007 Rhino)

When I heard the first Wilburys single from Vol. 3, “She’s My Baby”, I was surprised how heavy it was.  Jeff Lynne sings this grungy rocker, with Tom Petty and Bob Dylan.  The dirty pick slides and guitar licks resembled heavy metal more than the Wilburys’ first album.  And no wonder — it’s Gary Moore (“Ken Wilbury”) on lead guitar! “She’s My Baby” is a great rock song, but there’s no doubt that it alienated some fans as first single.

More in tune with the Wilburys vibe is Dylan’s “Inside Out”.  This track boasts a strong Beatles-y chorus, but fairly dull verses.   “If You Belonged to Me” is better, a bit more upbeat, but melodically poor.  It’s also the second Dylan lead vocal in a row, but it does boast one of his trademark harmonica breaks.

“The Devil’s Been Busy” features lead vocals from everybody, and plenty of George Harrison’s sitar.  It’s an interesting mix, but not a standout song.  The sitar is the highlight; I always enjoy hearing it in a pop rock context.  From “The Devil’s Been Busy” to “7 Deadly Sins”, this song sound likes like a ballad straight out of 1952.  But it’s yet another Bob Dylan lead vocal.  Five songs in, and it is readily apparent that Vol. 3 lacks the vocal variety of Vol. 1, and that is one of its weaknesses.  Dylan is who he is, and a Dylan song isn’t usually as melodic as a George Harrison song.

Tom Petty redeems the album with “Poor House”, a down-home country boogie.  Throw in some of George’s delicious guitars and you’ve got a song you can’t ignore.  It’s this kind of diversity that a Wilburys record needs.  This is the first bonafide classic on Vol. 3, the previous songs short of the mark.

IMG_20140808_180022

Bob’s back on “Where Were You Last Night?”  This one has more presence from the other Wilburys and it’s stronger for it.  It’s a tale about a girl who’s been “messing around”.    “Where were you last year?  You sure as hell weren’t here.”  Tom Petty returns for lead vocals on “Cool Dry Place” another enjoyable song, but not terribly memorable.  It’s enjoyable hearing Tom listing all the instruments he has stored in his cool dry place, and kind of hilarious hearing him singing about mold and mildew!  A pleasure to listen to, but not a classic.

“New Blue Moon” sounds a lot more like the first album.  George and Jeff sound great singing together.  All the guys contribute to a song that has a timeless sound.  The ballad “You Took My Breath Away” is helmed by Tom Petty, but equally important are those classic Harrison chords.  It’s not a standout song regardless, unfortunately.  Vol. 3 is plagued by songs that are not as memorable as the first go-round, and that is still apparent listening to them back-to-back today.

Finally there’s “Wilbury Twist”. This single featured a music video starring John Candy. I’m not sure how that came to be, but to me that’s the most memorable thing about it. That and the silly lyrics about the dance, the Wilbury Twist:

Lift your other foot up (other foot up)
Fall on your ass (fall on your ass)
Get back up (get back up)
Put your teeth in a glass (teeth in a glass)
Ain’t ever been nothin’ quite like this
It’s a magical thing called the Wilbury Twist

Needless to say, we did not ever attempt to dance the full Wilbury Twist.  We never made it past the first couple lines!

That’s it for Vol. 3, a Traveling Wilburys album that has always, and will always, lie the shadow of its superior predecessor.  But that’s not it for this series.  When The Traveling Wilburys Collection was finally reissued in 2007, it included several bonus tracks.  The 2 CD/1 DVD version had four, but the 3 LP box set had seven.  We’ll look at them all tomorrow.

As for Vol. 3?

3/5 stars

REVIEW: The Traveling Wilburys Collection (Vol. 1)

This series is dedicated to my mom!  Not only did she a) buy me this box set, but b) introduced me to the artists in the first place.  My mom’s favourite Beatle was George.  She saw Roy Orbison live, at the old Glenbriar Curling Club on Weber St. in Waterloo. Later, she had this Traveling Wilburys album on cassette, and that tape went up and back from the cottage many, many times!

We’re going to be looking at the Wilburys albums, plus a DVD and bonus 12″ EP, over the course of three installments.  Today is the album that started it all.

 

THE TRAVELING WILBURYS – Volume 1 (1988, part of the Traveling Wilburys Collection 2007 Rhino)

If ever there was a group that deserved the word “supergroup”, it would be the Traveling Wilburys.  Grown out of an extension of the B-side sessions for George Harrison’s Cloud Nine, this group of five legends produced only one album in its original lineup.  It’s really something when the lesser royalty of the supergroup included names like “Tom Petty” and “Jeff Lynne”.  That’s because in comparison to George Harrison, Bob Dylan and Roy Orbison, they were relative newcomers to the game.  It still blows my mind that this album exists; that this actually happened.  Fortunately the CD version of this box set includes a DVD; behind the scenes and interviews that prove it wasn’t just a dream!  (The Wilburys’ drummer was Jim Keltner, an unofficial sixth member.)

CLOUD NINEThe song that started it all was “Handle With Care”, written as a Harrison B-side.  It was apparent to all concerned that the song was too good to throw away like that.  Instead it became the first single and opening track from The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1.  George sings the verses, Orbison the chorus, and the others the bridges.  Although George Harrison sounds youthful and Beatles-esque, it is Orbison who steals the song.  His angelic voice simply shines.  Also exciting is George’s eloquent slide guitar.  Let us not forget what an excellent slide player he was.

Bob Dylan sings lead on the fun “Dirty World”.  Although it shares the same acoustic, upbeat vibe as “Handle With Care”, Dylan infuses the song with his flat funkiness.  I mean that in the nicest possible way!  Horns accent the song, as do the backing vocals of the other Wilburys.  Sonically this sounds like Harrison’s Cloud Nine, and no wonder.  Both albums were produced by Jeff Lynne and George Harrison!

Speaking of Lynne, he sings lead on “Rattled”, a great little country rocker.  “Rattled” is a suitable title since it seems designed to get people shakin’.  And you gotta love when Roy Orbison does his signature “Rrrrrrr!”  Roy sings a bit more on the reggae-stylee of “Last Night”.  Tom Petty sings the verses, while Roy takes the bridges to a whole other level.  I get chills when he sings:

I asked her to marry me,
She smiles, pulled out a knife,
“Your heartache’s just beginning”, she said
“Your money or your life.”

“Last night” indeed!  It’s impossible not to like this song.

WILBURYS_0006Finally, the moment I had been waiting for:  a Roy Orbison lead vocal!  “Not Alone Any More” is golden.  There will only be one Roy Orbison, and this song is as essential to his songbook as any of his other hits, in my opinion.  It sounds timeless, and it boasts that powerful, mournful voice.  It speaks volumes that no other Wilburys sing prominently on this song; they obviously gave Roy the space that his voice deserved.  It is a classic song.  It is a shame that no music video was made for this, the third single.

Side Two opened with “Congratulations”, a slow-as-molasses Bob Dylan turn.  This has always been one of the lesser songs, but on an album full of shiny diamonds.  Its slow, dreary vibe can be hard to penetrate at first.  The key is focusing on the lyrics of Dylan.  “Heading For the Light” then is an upbeat Harrison number, another one that easily could have been on Cloud Nine.  It boasts those chiming guitars, and a great chorus with Jeff Lynne helping out.   The sax solo (by Jim Horn) is another treat.

“Margarita” always sounds a bit odd when it opens.  A synthesizer of all things pulses away, but soon all the live instruments fade in.  More horns, more of those chiming guitars, and George’s slide.  Once again Bob Dylan sings lead, although the song was primarily written by Tom Petty, who shows up later in the song.  It has an exotic sound, and it’s something I associate with summer.

Epic time.  “Tweeter and the Monkey Man” (famously covered and punked up by the Headstones) is Bob Dylan’s album centerpiece.  A tale about an undercover cop and other shady characters, this is Dylan as only Dylan can do.  Words cannot really do this song justice.  It’s one of those tracks that demands multiple listens, since there is so much going on lyrically and even vocally.  This is the only song on the album to which Roy Orbison did contribute.

Nothing like the Wilburys version.

Although a song like this could have easily closed an album, the Wilburys had one more track of their sleeves.  “End of the Line” was an apt farewell, and again, it’s hard not to get chills when Roy sings.  This single features George, Tom and Jeff prominently along with Roy Orbison, but Bob doesn’t sing any lead parts.  “End of the Line” feels like a bookend with “Handle With Care”; two similar songs opening and closing the record.

I’m going to skip discussing the bonus tracks for now; we’ll get to them in Part 3 of this series of reviews.  Besides, the 10 core tracks on Vol. 1 are plenty enough to discuss.  Within a couple months of its release, Roy Orbison would pass away at the young age of 52.  The Wilburys bestowed upon Roy another chance in the spotlight, and he worked hard to complete his solo album Mystery Girl, while playing shows and filming music videos.  Although he had been experiencing chest pains and had meant to see a doctor, he never did.

I was as surprised as anyone when the remaining four Wilburys re-convened to record another album.  Vol. 3 appeared two years later, and was dedicated to the memory of Orbison…or at least his Wilburys alter-ego, Lefty Wilbury.  Check back tomorrow when we’ll look at that album in detail.

As for Vol. 1?

5/5 stars

Part 311: Record Store Gallery IV (Shite Photies)

RECORD STORE TALES Part 311: Record Store Gallery IV (Shite Photies)

This is what it’s come to in this crap-fest known as Record Store Tales:  Another batch of semi-embarrassing photos of a much younger and thinner LeBrain.  These are from a party circa 2003 or so.  I can’t remember the names of anybody in these photos except one, which is Jesse Villemaire (last photo), the owner of Thrive tattoo studios in Cambridge.  I can’t remember a single other name!

Long time LeBrain readers will recall that vintage Marillion tour shirt (that I don’t fit into anymore) from Part 126:  The Marillion Shirt.

REVIEW: Quiet Riot – 10 (2014)

We’ve had a couple strong new releases in a row here of late: The new Helix and Judas Priest albums have been particularly great.

I guess two out of three ain’t bad.

NEW RELEASE

CoverQUIET RIOT – 10 (2014 iTunes or Amazon mp3 download)

I’ve made no secret of my dislike for the happenings in Quiet Riot recently.  I find their current reunion, with no original members, to be tenuous at best.  Singer after singer, Quiet Riot stumbled onwards before finally hiring Jizzy Pearl of Love/Hate and Ratt fame.  With Pearl they’ve managed to record an album.  10 is the name of that album, another thing I find a little disrespectful.  The name 10 seems to me to imply it’s their 10th album.  It’s not; all fans know Metal Health was their third, not first, album.   This seems to play into an earlier attempt to re-write the Quiet Riot related Wikipedia pages to state that Metal Health was the band’s first record.  Why?  I can only speculate that this is done to promote the current Quiet Riot as having “original members”, when in fact they have none.

However, I’m going to listen with open ears, because that’s what I’m here to do.

First track, “Rock in Peace” is one I like quite a lot.  What I don’t like is the muddy, muddy sound.  The drums sound like they’re in another room.  It’s too bad because I think the song has potential.  As for Jizzy, it’s easy to adjust to him as lead singer of Quiet Riot.  Although he doesn’t sound like the late Kevin DuBrow too much, he does have certain screamy qualities in common with DuBrow.  This enables him to adapt to the Quiet Riot sound.  The lyrics quote the band’s biggest original hit, “Metal Health”, which is alright.  Halford’s quoted himself before too.  OK, so production aside, not bad.

“Bang For Your Buck” has some tasty guitar by the talented Alex Grossi, making his first Quiet Riot album appearance here.  Unfortunately the otherwise fine song is held back by Jizzy, overreaching and straining.  Grossi really does redeem the song especially with the solo…but damn this album sounds muddy.  Congested.  Like I have a head cold while listening to it.

Third in line is the weird titled “Backside of Water”.  I don’t know what that title means, and since this is a digital release, there are no lyrics.  It smokes along nicely, with more fantastic Grossi guitars, but it’s an unremarkable song that doesn’t sound like Quiet Riot, except in the sense that Quiet Riot has a lot of unremarkable songs.  The Ratt-like “Back on You” is outtake quality.  I’m sensing that the guys think they can just throw a shout-AC/DC-style chorus on something and call it catchy, but it doesn’t work that way.

“Band Down” is what you’d call a “down n’ dirty” rocker.  I’d call it dull, and poor sounding.   I think they’re trying to recapture that “Stay With Me Tonight” vibe, but without a memorable chorus.  But “Dog Bone Alley” is worse, absolutely sunk by horrendous backing vocals.  It has a slinky, heavy groove, and some smokin’ guitars, but that’s not enough to build a song with.

Alex Grossi, Jizzy Pearl, Frankie Banali, Chuck Wright

Alex Grossi, Jizzy Pearl, Frankie Banali, Chuck Wright

Quiet Riot’s biggest stumbling block has always been songwriting.  That’s why some of their biggest hits are covers.  Quiet Riot 10 continues that frustrating tradition.   Just like albums such as Alive and Well had some good songs and solid moments, so is Quiet Riot 10.  And that’s only six songs!

What Quiet Riot did to make a full album is include four live songs, kinda taking a page out of the ZZ Top book, a-la Fandango!  These tracks are all obscurities, songs not available in live versions before.  They all feature Kevin DuBrow, but could Frankie have not found better sounding recordings?  From Quiet Riot III is a horrid sounding version of “Put Up or Shut Up”.  This is bootleg quality, and not even good bootleg quality.  Too bad; sounds like it was a good version.  Then, from the stinky Rehab CD comes an unnecessary “Free”.  So it’s heavy, whoop-de-do.  It’s a shitty song, and the vocals are so damn distorted at times that it sounds as if Kevin’s under water.  “South of Heaven” too suffers from these sonic defects.  It seems like they were going for a Zeppelin “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” kind of vibe, but as if the mothership crashed into “The Ocean”.  (See what I did there?)  Kevin even yelps, “Push, push!”  It’s a shame because Frankie really is a smokin’ drummer.

The final track is a nine minute rock n’ roll medley.  This is a great jam.  Humble Pie’s “Red Light Mama, Red Hot!” is a great little obscure choice.  Kevin sounds like he’s having a blast.  Actually the whole band sound like they’re having more fun here than they were playing their own originals.  This seques into other more familiar hits, still harkening back to that old British blues rock sound.

Live many albums of Quiet Riots past, 10 stumbles and fails at times, while producing pleasing hard rock surprises at others.  The sonic issues are a surprise to me.  I hope a physical CD release, if there is to be one, would improve the sound.

2/5 stars

1. “Rock in Peace” 4:00
2. “Bang For Your Buck” 3:52
3. “Backside of Water” 4:18
4. “Back on You” 3:24
5. “Band Down” 3:17
6. “Dogbone Alley” 4:29

Live
7. “Put Up or Shut Up” 4:18
8. “Free” 4:05
9. “South of Heaven” 5:25
10. “Rock ‘n’ Roll Medley” 9:22

 

For further reading, check out Jon Wilmenius’ review of Quiet Riot 10.

REVIEW: Black Sabbath – The Dio Years (2007)

BLACK SABBATH – The Dio Years (2007 Rhino)

Compilations are always fun to quibble about. Fans like to complain about which songs are missing, and which songs they’d replace. I won’t spend too much time talking about that. Most reviewers have already pointed out that “Sign Of The Southern Cross” and “Time Machine” are missing from the 2007 Dio-era Black Sabbath compilation, The Dio Years.

It’s very important to remember two things. One, this album contained the first new Black Sabbath music released in nine years. Nine years! This is a band that used to release an album every year, up until the point that Ozzy Osbourne rejoined the band. Since then (and before the new album 13), the band released exactly two new songs (both with the Ozzman singing) and started to stagnate. Since The Dio Years represented the first new Sabbath material in almost a decade, it bears a listen.

The second point of note: this set was originally supposed to be a 2-CD boxed set. As such I’m sure a lot of songs were dropped along the way, Yes, “Southern Cross” is missing. However, this reviewer’s only real quibble is “Southern Cross”. I mean, hey — “Lonely is the Word” is on here!  I would have replaced “Lady Evil” with “Southern Cross” myself (I never liked “Lady Evil” much), but perhaps the fine folks at Rhino felt that one 7+ minute epic was enough for a single disc. I can understand that logic. Besides, I, like every Sabbath fan worth his or her own salt, already own Mob Rules.

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This disc was freshly remastered. I should point out that this remastering session was not the same one that produced the series of Sabbath Castle remasters in the late 90’s, but one that occurred in 2006/7. As such the sound is even heavier (louder). I found that I had to roll down the bass a bit, as my normal settings made the bass just too heavy. This was also the first time that the material from Dehumanizer (15 years young!) had been remastered.  The running order is a little weird, though.  “Heaven and Hell” as the third song on an album?  A live “Children of the Sea” following “I”?  The flow is lacking in cohesion.

The liner notes are excellent, very detailed, with lots of facts that casual Sabbath fans didn’t know (like the fact that Craig Gruber from Rainbow, and Sabbath keyboard man Geoff Nicholls were brought in to play some bass when Geezer briefly left the band in 1980). There are a bunch of cool pictures and artwork as well, which fit in nicely with the Sabbath vibe.

Every Dio-era album get a look-in, even the controversial Live Evil via a great version of “Children Of The Sea”, almost as memorable as its studio counterpart. No rarities. What you get instead are the aforementioned three new songs. That’s one more than Ozzy gave you on the Sabbath Reunion CD, by the way!

When Dio was with Sabbath he tended to talk about his songs in terms of tempo. As such, you get one “fast one” (“Ear In The Wall”), one “slow one” (“Shadow Of The Wind”) and one mid-tempo song (the single “The Devil Cried”). I almost always prefer the fast Sabbath stuff, so obviously “Ear In The Wall” is my favourite. Sound-wise, these three new songs pick up where Dehumanizer left off, and foreshadow The Devil You Know.

Geezer, unfortunately, was not involved in the writing.  Iommi and Dio also did the production themselves. This might have something to do with the fact that I can’t hear nearly enough of Geezer’s trademark slinky bass lines–something I identify with the Sabbath sound more than any singer they’ve ever had. Iommi’s playing some good riffs and some scorching solos here, although I have found his guitar tone over the last decade to be too modern and distorted. I much prefer it when he gets a nice amp-driven sound rather than something so processed. However, bottom line is, these three new songs are good, albeit not essential, parts of the Sabbath catalogue.

Thankfully these three new songs were not the last gasp of Black Sabbath. Before his untimely death, Ronnie James Dio recorded The Devil You Know, under the name Heaven & Hell. And of course after that, the original Black Sabbath finally delivered the unforgettable 13.

As for The Dio Years?

4/5 stars