REVIEW: Deep Purple – The Battle Rages On… (1993)

DEEP PURPLE – The Battle Rages On… (1993 BMG)

After the ill-fated (but personally enjoyed) Slaves and Masters, Deep Purple realized the only way forward was with Mk II screamer Ian Gillan back at the mike. With a full album’s worth of material already written with former singer Joe Lynn Turner, all Gillan had to do was turn up and re-write the melody and lyrics. Much to Blackmore’s chagrin! Blackmore had no qualms telling Gillan that he preferred the original lyric and melody to “Time To Kill”.

Much heavier than Slaves and Masters, The Battles Rages On is much more in line with albums such as Fireball, Perfect Strangers and Machine Head. Lord’s Hammond organ is much more in the forefront. However, a vintage sound does not a great album make. The Battle Rages On has 10 tracks, 5 of which are good and 5 of which are filler. This was disappointing for me personally, but some (M.E.A.T. Magazine and Martin Popoff included) have rated this album very high. Joe Lynn Turner derisively calls this album The Cattle Grazes On.

The five tunes I like: “The Battle Rages On”, “Anya”, “Time To Kill”, “Ramshackle Man”, “Solitaire”.

The title track is absolutely monstrous. I remember hearing it on the radio and thinking, “Bloody well right!” Big beefy riff, angry lyrics!

“Annihilation, kill ’em all. Capitulation, watch the mighty fall. The road to glory is lined in red, and though the reason now is gone…The Battle Rages On!” (Always wondered if this was about Gillan and Blackmore.)

The song is a Purple epic, along the lines of “Perfect Strangers” or “Knockin’ At Your Back Door”. Just an awesome track. I understand that in 2013 they have actually returned it to the set.

“Anya” is a keyboard driven rocker, Jon Lord style, lots of drama. “Time To Kill” is sort of a heavy pop rocker with Gillan trying to get philosophical with the lyrics, which Blackmore hated. “Ramshackle Man” is blues rock, pure and simple as Purple have specialized in. “Solitaire” is mournful, sad, kind of unlike anything Purple had really done before. Gillan’s droning melody seals the deal.

The rest of the songs just do nothing for me. Some, like “One Man’s Meat” have decent riffs and parts, but weak melodies and lyrics. As songs, they don’t add up to a satisfying listen. It is a shame, given the strength of the good songs on the album.

Blackmore left in the middle of the tour. Joe Satriani filled in, and there was talk that he wouldn’t mind joining Purple full time. His time proved to be temporary, and Steve Morse has been in the band almost 20 years now. When Joe Satriani was in the band, they did an awesome version of “Ramshackle Man”, which I have on a video bootleg from the European tour. There was an official live album with Blackmore from the tour, called Come Hell Or High Water. As well, you could buy official bootlegs with both Morse and Blackmore in a box set called Collector’s Edition: The Bootleg Series 1984-2000. And let’s not forget the Come Hell Or High Water video, with Blackmore throwing that water bottle in Gillan’s general direction…

Check out Satriani’s outro solo starting at about 7:07…smokin’!

To me, Purple’s true comeback was 1996’s Purpendicular. Having said that, the five good songs on The Battle Rages On are worth the purchase at a reasonable price. And hey, maybe Popoff was right, and I’m just not getting it. You decide.

3/5 stars

And check out these cool supplementary releases, all of which deserve their own individual reviews.

REVIEW: Bon Jovi – These Days (Special Edition)

Bought this at Encore Records for $10.

BON JOVI – These Days (Special Edition, 2010, Universal Music)

Just as a general comment on the series of Bon Jovi “Special Edition” remasters from 2010: They’re crap. Sorry but they are. A couple unreleased live tracks? That’s it? Come on. They remastered these things 10 years ago and I bought them all then. I’ve bought almost every Bon Jovi album, in some cases multiple times. These Days? Three times now, just to get all the bonus tracks scattered hither and yon. For that reason these Bon Jovi remasters are in my $10 or less purchase range.

As for the album, These Days, I think it’s the best Bon Jovi album. It’s definitely more laid back than any previous Jovi platter, but it has a genuine quality to it that I like. You may like the cheesey 80’s keyboard sounds yourself, but in 1995 Bon Jovi couldn’t release an album like that. Keep the Faith was a great success, but These Days took the band to a new, darker, more soulful place. The production, once overly glossy, has been reduced to a purer, more live sonic clarity. This is a very organic album and many tracks sound live off the floor, such as “Diamond Ring”. Tico’s got a great drum sound on this album too, the snare has a great tonal quality.

Lyrically, Jon has never sounded more real and heartfelt. A song like “These Days” gets me right where it hurts every time. Unfortunately, the biggest hit from this album was the single “This Ain’t A Love Song”. Well, it may not be a love song, but it sure sounds a lot like others I’ve heard, like “Always”. Contrasting the generic ballad were some heavier rockers. “Hey God” is positively angry. “Damned” has swagger. Bon Jovi are always melodic, but the chorus in the infectious “Something For The Pain” is just awesome. “If That’s What It Takes” and “Hearts Breaking Even” are memorable and as strong as any previous Bon Jovi hit, but sadly remained overlooked. The quiet “(It’s Hard) Letting You Go” is one of Bon Jovi’s best ballads ever, because it’s so understated, with the actual vocal delivering the song.

The best song is the brilliant “Something To Believe In”. If I was going to pick one song as the absolute peak of Bon Jovi’s entire career, it could be this one (tied with “Dry County”). Driven by some sparse dark bass and piano, it soon picks up the pace. Richie’s backing vocals punctuate Jon’s powerful chorus beautifully, and you won’t be able to get that “Hey! hey! hey!” out of your head.

Yeah, I’m a sap. I love this album!

I like Eddie Vedder best.

What really sets These Days apart are the sweet harmonies of Jon and Richie. They’ve always done great work together vocally but These Days is a whole level beyond that. If you are a fan of Richie Sambora, I think you will enjoy These Days. In a very real sense I think this represents Sambora’s greatest contributions to Bon Jovi.

This new remastered edition has two live bonus tracks, which unfortunately are both ballads. “This Ain’t A Love Song” is one, I guess because it was the hit single. Shame they didn’t use “Hey God”. “Diamond Ring” is the other live ballad. This one was a bit of a cult song I guess. They wrote it back in the days of New Jersey and almost released it, a few times. It got bootlegged and became an underground favourite. This live version is recorded in Italy. It’s great to hear Jon and Richie singing together like this, but again, I wish they put on a rocker instead of a ballad. Richie’s guitar solo is awesome though.

My preferred edition, which I will cover in a separate future review, is the European 2 disc edition. In a beautiful magnetic digipack, it contained lots of bonus tracks: “All I Want Is Everything”, “Bitter Wine”, “Fields Of Fire” (Demo), “I Thank You”, “Mrs. Robinson”, “Let’s Make It Baby” (Demo), “I Don’t Like Mondays”, “Crazy” (live, lead vocals by Tico Torres), “Tumblin’ Dice” (live, lead vocals by David Bryan), “Heaven Help Us All” (live, lead vocals by Richie Sambora).

There are other editions with bonus tracks, including an Australian edition with a live CD (this is on my “want” list). There were plenty of singles, and I’ll cover each of those in future reviews as well, because they each contained notable bonus tracks. One was a track called “Lonely At The Top”, which to me sounds like it’s about Frances Bean Cobain. It has the lyric, “Tell Frannie I’m sorry she didn’t get to know her dad.” There was even a (great) cover of “Rockin’ In The Free World”, as well as a cover of “634-5789”, which featured Jon cracking up and laughing right in the middle of a verse!

So there you go. Get this album, but buy wisely. Choose an edition that suits your bonus track needs (or lack thereof).

5/5 stars for the album, -1 for this ripoff edition!

Below, pictures and tracklists for all the singles that I have from this album, as well as the Special Edition 2 CD set from 1996. It was a digipack with a neat magnetic clasp to keep it closed.

MOVIE REVIEW: Ted (2012 blu-ray)

“Death to Ming!” – Sam Jones

TED (Universal, 2012, directed by Seth MacFarlane)

I don’t often go out to the store to buy a movie on the first day of release anymore, but I did for Ted. I grabbed it at the local Best Buy and immediately popped it in, since I missed its theatrical run. I’m a Seth MacFarlane fan, see? I like Family Guy and recently American Dad too. If you don’t like those shows, chances are, you probably won’t like Ted either. May as well stop reading now.

Still with me? Good. Because this is a fuckin’ funny movie! Once you get past the concept of the walking talking driving tweeting teddy bear who loves coke and prostitutes.

Patrick Stewart narrarates our intro, as we meet John Bennett, a little Star Wars loving boy who gets a teddy bear for Christmas. He doesn’t have many friends, so one night he wishes that Teddy was alive. Connect the dots from here.

Ted becomes a world famous superstar phenomenon (Johnny Carson show and all), only to crash and burn hard by the 1990’s. Now today, he sits on John’s couch drinking beer, smoking pot, watching Flash Gordon; the 1980 bomb that starred Sam J. Jones as the titular Flash. And once again, the lush strains of “Flash”, by Queen, fills the room. This is all fine and dandy until Mila Kunis (insert hot girlfriend way too good for immature boyfriend here) says enough is enough. If Marky Mark and Mila are to stay together, Ted’s gotta move out and get his own place.

Their lives pretty much go down hill from there. Ted gets a job at the local grocer and starts banging a checkout girl on top of the lettuce. But John just can’t separate himself from his best bud, especially when Sam J. Jones himself turns up to party with the boys. Can John achieve the balance between friendship and domestic bliss that eludes him?

Throw in an evil, creepy stalker played perfectly by Giovanni Ribisi, and cameos by Norah Jones and Ted Danson as themselves, and you have a movie.

I’m not going to sit here and lie to you by saying that this is substantially different from any other bro-mances you’ve seen out there. There’s the girl who’s fed up, the jerky male romantic rival, and the two dudes, one of whom wants to get his life together while the other seemingly holds him back. If you’ve watched Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, or Seth Rogen films, you know where I’m going.

What makes Ted so much better than any of those movies (which I already like anyway) is MacFarlane himself. Yes, Ted does sound like Peter Griffin (even acknowledged in the film) but that voice just works for this bear! Ted is easily one of the sickest, yet lovable characters in cinema history. A horny drug using teddy bear has never been depicted on film before, as far as I know. Of course, Ted needs Johnny as much as Johnny needs Ted. They are a movie pair, and they can never be happy apart.

The blu-ray gives you the “unrated” (boobs) and theatrical versions. There’s a DVD, a digital copy, all that extra crap that I never use. Deleted scenes, gag reels, commentary, all that good stuff. Still, there’s no point buying a movie unless you plan on watching it more than once. I’ve watched Ted five times so far, and I still love it.

I guess I have a thing for f-bomb dropping teddy bears that sound like Peter Griffin. What does that make me? Ahh, who cares.

4.5/5 stars

REVIEW: Geoff Tate’s Queensryche – “Cold” (2013 single)

Geoff Tate’s QUEENSRYCHE – “Cold” (2013 single)

Oh, how I wanted to hate this.

I don’t hate it. It has a catchy riff, a good vocal from Geoff Tate, a shredding guitar solo, and it’s not about spitting on people or knives. It sounds modern while still featuring a guitar riff or two. I don’t hate it like I hated, say, Tribe. I’m disappointed that it’s a little faceless and generic sounding.

The problem is that it doesn’t sound like Queensryche. It sounds like a Geoff Tate solo track. Probably the best Geoff Tate solo track that there’s been so far. But just a Geoff Tate solo track.

The blockheaded drums do not sound like the textured complexity of Queensryche. (Sounds like Simon Wright though.)

The piano is distracting, I kept thinking a phone was ringing somewhere in my house. It sounds like, “Hey, we have a keyboard player in our band.”

I love the guitar solo. It’s so tasty and good. Who is this? Kelly? Robert? Neither? What will this sound like when performed live without guest stars?

I don’t know if the mix is worth the brew-ha-ha that’s being made of it. It’s not to my taste personally but it sounds like they had a vision of a heavier than fuck sound and just kind of overdid it.

This track confirms that Tate is still capable of writing good music. It does not confirm that Tate still is capable of writing good Queensryche music. This is his Chinese Democracy. It has a vibe of, “Let’s saturate the song with everything from the biggest sounding drums to the fastest solo to a guy playing piano.” Let’s try anything.

Where the real Queensryche’s song, “Redemption”, sounded unmistakably like Queensryche, Tate’s reeks of contrivances. In the Battle of the Ryches, Round One, the original band comes out on top. Tateryche will have their supporters, but it is clear now that Queensryche is a band sound, not merely a singer.

2.5/5 stars

More Queensryche:

Mike Ladano: Exclusive EDDIE JACKSON interview, part I

Mike Ladano: Exclusive EDDIE JACKSON interview, part II

Mike Ladano: Exclusive EDDIE JACKSON interview, part III

Mike Ladano: Exclusive EDDIE JACKSON interview, part IV

Part 186: The Van Halen Tin

RECORD STORE TALES Part 186: The Van Halen Tin

March 17, 1998. The wait was over – Van Halen 3 was out!

Van Halen’s 3 was kind of like The Phantom Menace for me: I was really excited about it, so much that it clouded my judgement of the music. I wanted new Van Halen so bad I would have taken just about anything I guess. Just like I would take Phantom Menace the following year. T-Rev, always the level-headed one, questioned whether I was enjoying the album more simply because of the absurd money that I had paid for it.

I paid $45 for the “collector’s tin”. I was hoping for bonus tracks, but there was nothing like that. A pick, a tin, some paper stuff, a sticker. It was still pretty cool to look at, and collectible.

I was living with T-Rev at the time. I was and still am very “OCD” about my CD collection. I don’t lend discs out anymore for example. Back then and today I am very fussy about the condition of the album.

A day or two after Van Halen came out, our buddy Neil came by to play N64 and have a beer. I was working the night shift that night, so I didn’t get in until after 9. When I came in, I played some N64 with Neil and headed off to bed.

The next day I woke up and wanted to play the new Van Halen. I grabbed it off my CD tower, and noticed something…not right. A fingerprint! On the tin! I could see it! But it wasn’t mine! Before I filed it, I distinctly remember wiping the tin. It had no fingerprints!

When T-Rev got up I asked him, “Hey, I know you wouldn’t have done it, you know me too well, but did Neil happen to look at my Van Halen 3 yesterday?”

T-Rev grinned and asked how I knew. I explained the fingerprint.

“The funny thing,” said T-Rev, “is that I told Neil you were going to notice if he touched it! He didn’t believe me!”

Trevor assured me that Neil was very careful with it, and didn’t touch the CD itself, etc. etc. We couldn’t help laughing at the fact that I did notice. That’s the OCD! I had a lot invested in that Van Halen disc, emotionally and monetarily.

Listening to it today with fresh ears, it’s not the disaster that some (cough cough Craig Fee cough) think it is. But it’s certainly not worthy of the praise that I gave it back in ’98. If it were an Extreme album, it wouldn’t be the best Extreme album. As a Van Halen album, well…

NEXT TIME ON RECORD STORE TALES…A Day In the Life (VIDEO BLOG!)

REVIEW: Def Leppard – “All I Want Is Everything” (2 part CD single)

Part 3 in my series of Def Leppard Slang reviews!

Part 1: “Slang”

Part 2: “Work It Out”

DEF LEPPARD – “All I Want Is Everything” (1996 two part Mercury CD single)

“All I Want Is Everything” was the first song from Slang that we got to hear. Def Leppard first revealed a live unplugged snippet on their Video Archive VHS. I was still surprised when I heard the whole studio version: It is a lot darker than I expected. I love it, don’t get me wrong. I love its sparse, organic sound. I think the chorus and verses are fantastic, but even better is the bridge.

A lot of my customers were turned off my Slang and songs like “All I Want Is Everything”. While I could argue that this song is every bit as good as “Hysteria” or “Stand Up (Kick Love Into Motion)”, it is obviously a lot darker. But it was also 1996. In 1996, bands like Def Leppard moved with the times. Bon Jovi made similar adjustments. This is no singalong hit, but it is quality songwriting and production.

Next up on disc 1 of this single is “When Saturday Comes” performed by Joe, Phil and Sav. This is apparently for a movie also called When Saturday Comes. This song would be more satisfying to those wishing for an older school vibe; indeed it is a dead ringer for Van Hagar. It is anthemic with some shredding from Phil. It wouldn’t make my own personal Def Leppard mix tape, but I thank them anyway for including the song so I wouldn’t have to hunt down an obscure soundtrack. “Jimmy’s Theme” performed by the same trio is an instrumental from the same soundtrack. Out of context from a film I’ve never seen, it doesn’t do much for me. It’s a nice slow blues with Phil playing some elegant melodies. But it’s just “nice”, I don’t regularly come back to this one. The CD ends with an edit version of “All I Want Is Everything” (whoop de do).

Disc 2, for whatever reason, also includes the same two versions of “All I Want Is Everything”. Why not just put the album version on disc 1, and the edit version on disc 2? Small gripe I guess but it got tedious when I had both discs in the changer and was too lazy to skip.

Also on disc 2 are a couple tracks from the Jeffology tribute record. Phil Collen does “‘Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers”. Personally I don’t think anybody can touch Jeff Beck on this one. In fact Beck is so awesome on this, especially live, that I don’t really see the point of listening to a cover version. Sorry Phil, that is nothing against your playing, which is really really great, especially when you start cookin’ around the 4 minute mark. I just think nobody’s even in Beck’s league on this one, and I think that’s a fair assessment.

Vivian Campbell does “Led Boots” from Wired. I love the original “Led Boots”. It’s just funky, chunky and fucked up. I think Vivian’s style is more suited to Beck than Phil’s is. This is an enjoyable listen, Vivian gets to shred a bit. It’s definitely less fucked up sounding than the original, but Vivian is just a pleasure to listen to, he is clearly enjoying himself.

The “Work It Out” single previous to this contained post cards of the first four Def Leppard albums. CD 2 of “All I Want Is Everything” has the final four: Adrenalize, Retro-Active, Vault, and Slang.

3/5 stars

REVIEW: Aerosmith – Get A Grip (1993 “cow hide” cover)

Let the arrows fly!

AEROSMITH – Get A Grip (1993 “cow hide” cover)

As an Aero-accolyte, I thought Pump was a great album. All killer no filler, just like they made in the early to mid 1970’s. Permanent Vacation, while laden with huge hits, also had a lot of filler. I think Get A Grip falls somewhere between those two albums. It’s heavier than Vacation, but suffers from filler syndrome.

Witness: “Gotta Love It”. “Shut Up And Dance”. “Boogie Man”. Crap, crap, and crap!

I think Get A Grip has some of the best Aerosmith tunage of the past 20 years though: “Eat The Rich” is absolutely brilliant. “Fever” as well, musically and lyrically: “The high you be gettin’ from the crack don’t last, I’d rather be OD’ing on the crack of her ass.” That is the Steven Tyler I love! I could do without two of the ballads: “Cryin'” (which maybe is more of a blues?), and “Crazy” I could do without. Even if I liked those two songs, they’ve been so overplayed. “Amazing” on the other hand is string-laden Aero-brilliance, a worthy successor to tracks like “Angel” or even dare-I-say-it, “Dream On”. I also enjoyed “Line Up”, with Lenny Kravitz’ cameo. “Come on, Joe!”

The crown jewel of this album is the lengthy “Living On The Edge”. What a great song, and adventurous too. It wasn’t commercial but became a massive hit. Maybe the last time Aerosmith did a really adventurous single that really wasn’t very single-like.

I think production-wise, this album didn’t shine like Pump did. Fairbairn produced both and Get A Grip was considered by the band to have a better sound, but I don’t know. I think Pump rocks harder and cleaner. On the plus side, Get A Grip has good separation between Joe Perry and Brad Whitford, so you can really hear them playing and meshing. Same with Tom Hamilton’s rolling bass, you can pick it out and listen to the notes rather than just the groove. And, of course, Joey — Joey Kramer is one of the most underrated drummers in rock. His thrift is Bonham-esque and his groove is legendary.

I hate the standard album cover, it’s dated and stupid. It was even stupid in 1993, let alone now. Much better is the “cowhide” cover. There are no bonus tracks on that version, but it looks cool sitting in my collection (right next to my faux-leather edition of Pump).

There were numerous notable B-sides and other tracks available elsewhere, now all very easy to get on assorted Geffen compilations. Noteworthy, and worth tracking down, are “Deuces Are Wild”, and the two bonus tracks from the “Living on the Edge” single (“Don’t Stop” and “Can’t Stop Messin'”). There was also a good song called “Head First” that was an early attempt at digital distribution and song downloading!

3.5/5 stars. I wish it were better, but I think it’s too long and loaded with filler. I think it could have been 10 songs, like the Aero-classics of old.

BOOK REVIEW: What’s Your Poo Telling You? by Josh Richman and Anish Sheth M.D.

What’s Your Poo Telling You? by Josh Richman and Anish Sheth M.D.

Illustrated by Peter Arkle, Chronicle Books, 96 pages

If you’re like me, you probably enjoy a good read while droppin’ a deuce. And if you’re not like me, don’t judge; no, just take a look at all the Uncle John’s reader’s in the humour section of the local bookstore. Who’s laughing now? Uncle John, all the way to the bank!

Obviously, I’m not alone.

A Christmas gift from my lovely wife, Mrs LeBrain, What’s Your Poo Telling You? by Josh Richman and Dr. Anish Sheth, is an informative illustrated reference book. For health purposes. For example, let’s say you encounter the health problem known colloquially as “Log Jam”. Turn to page 62: lack of water and/or dietary fiber cause stool to be too hard to pass. Ahh! I see! Treatment: enemas or…ewwww!…”manual disimpaction”.

Other conditions or events covered in the book include: “Floaters vs. Sinkers”, “Rambo Poo”, “Number Three” (aka “Butt Piss”), the “Streak”, and many more. Each article includes health tips, a biology lesson of the gastrointestinal variety, and many are illustrated.

There are also interesting factual articles to enjoy, such as a page on dinosaur droppings, and one on toilets owned by presidents and royalty.

For even more fun, be sure to check out the sequel, What’s My Pee Telling Me? This helpful tome includes content on farts, pee, and even more poo. New conditions discussed include “Itchy Poo” and “Poonami”.

I strongly recommended one or both of these books to concerned citizens everywhere.

5/5 stars

Part 185: Staffing 2.0

A sequel of sorts to Part 92: Staffing.

RECORD STORE TALES Part 185: Staffing 2.0

It’s amazing sometimes how clueless people are, when it comes to looking for a job! I’ve seen everything. I’ve had people hand me resumes that were folded up into teeny tiny squares. I’ve had kids apply that were so quiet, their moms had to do all the talking for them. Friends, too. Who am I hiring? You, or your friend?

When we hired new people, we’d put ads on our website and do a cattle-call for applicants. We did that in May 2004. Here’s a memorable candidate:

Date: 2004/05/14
07:05

Tonight I have to work a little later than usual, til 6, to deal with all the incoming resumes. Here’s a hint to people who apply to jobs: If you drop off a resume, and then decide to shop in the store as a customer, don’t be an asshole with the staff. Don’t complain about store policies, don’t come in with a group of loud roudy friends, and don’t be a smartass. How can people be so stupid? Do you want a job, or not?

Needless to say, that guy did not get the job. Instead we hired a guy named Kam. Kam started about two weeks later:

Date: 2004/06/02
09:44

Today I start training new boy K. Should go well. [Name deleted] said she had good vibes about this kid. I sure hope she’s right because I don’t want to be overworked right now. K looks like Chad Kroeger, if Chad Kroeger cut off his hair, but that’s not K’s fault.

The good vibes about K were in fact correct. He worked out great! So great in fact that a few years later he served me by being a groomsman at my wedding! Thanks, man.

NEXT TIME ON RECORD STORE TALES…

Who put these fingerprints on my Van Halen tin?

REVIEW: Anthrax – Anthems (2013)

ANTHRAX – Anthems (2013 Megaforce Records)

Anthrax have recorded some of the most entertaining covers of the last 30 years. Many of them have appeared as hard to find B-sides or bonus tracks. Anthems is Anthrax’s new covers EP, readily available, and a welcome addition to a metal lover’s collection.

As if they needed to show off how well they could play, the EP kicks off with “Anthem” itself, a Rush cover, and a stunning one at that. Joey Belladonna’s voice strains to reach the highest of notes, but he hits ’em. This is one dead-on accurate Rush cover, not an easy thing to execute. And it’s heavy as balls.

“T.N.T.” is a blast. Again, this is not an easy song to cover, because it is so indelibly linked to AC/DC and Bon Scott. Incredibly, Anthrax do so with as much accuracy as they did Rush. Joey sounds perfectly in his element paying tribute to Bon. Up next is “Smokin'” as performed by Boston. Like a chameleon, suddenly Joey is in Brad Delp’s shoes. As great as the entire band is on Anthems, at this point, it is Joey that is blowing me away the most! What’s also cool about “Smokin'” is that the lengthy organ solo is intact, performed by Canadian Fred Mandel (ex-Alice Cooper). An extended keyboard solo with Anthrax? Smokin’! (No kidding though, it’s great. Like it or lump it!)

We all know Joey Belladonna is a huge Steve Perry fan. It is a joy to hear him having a chance to pay tribute to his hero on “Keep On Runnin'”. Scott Ian proclaims in the liner notes that “On paper, Anthrax covering Journey may seem weird,” but he reminds us that “the song just fucking rocks”. Charlie Benate ensures this with surgically inserted blasts of drum fury.

“Big Eyes” is a Cheap Trick song I had somewhat forgotten about. It has a monster groove and yet another fantastic lead vocal. Anthrax bring the song to its knees.

“Thin Lizzy is arguably the most underrated and under appreciated band of our time,” says Scott in the liner notes. Amen brother! But he also points out their paradoxical great importance and influence. Scott reveals he’d like to do an entire record of Lizzy covers. Phil Campbell of Motorhead plays the solo, as per the Live and Dangerous version. I love hearing Joey do the “Hey you, good lookin’ female! Com’ere!” line. So much more menacing than Phil Lynott!

From Anthrax’s most recent record, Worship Music, comes “Crawl”. I am on the fence with this song, as all I can think of is Soundgarden. “Fell On Black Days”. Can you hear it, there in the first minute of the song? (Maybe it’s their Soundgarden cover, eh?) Also on the EP is the remix of “Crawl”, which was previously only available on the Japanese version of Worship Music. So this purchase worked out well for me. I had been putting off buying Worship Music until I could find a reasonably priced Japanese import. I prefer to get all the bonus tracks, so with Anthems now in hand, I can just pick up the domestic Worship Music and be done with it!

As a nice touch to collectors, Anthrax released this EP with six different covers. I pre-ordered this thing from Amazon, so I didn’t get the luxury of picking my cover art. If I did, I might have chosen the Rush or Journey versions. What I got was the Cheap Trick cover, but I think I like it best anyway.