GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man Episode 68: Def Leppard CD Rarities with @RockTheseTweets and @2Loud2OldMusic
This has been a meeting long in the making. For years, I have admired the music collection of Chris from MyRockAndRollHeaven on Twitter. In particular, Chris is a Def Leppard collector, and I believe his collection is one of the best in the world.
Finally the stars have aligned, and we have Chris tonight on Grab A Stack of Rock. Since his collection is so massive, we decided to narrow it down to rare Def Leppard on CD. Singles, Japanese imports, EPs and more will be shown tonight. Joining us as co-host will be fellow fan and collector John Snow from 2Loud2OldMusic! He is currently in the midst of a Def Leppard review series, so this lines up perfect.
What will we see tonight? The rarest of the rare Leppard on CD. Don’t miss it.
Friday August 23 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy onYouTube or on Facebook!
A young Steve Anthony, just starting on his MuchMusic career, but not yet known as the on-screen madman he’d become, chatted with Aerosmith right when they were hot again, in 1987 on the Permanent Vacation tour. He opens by mentioning how sick they must be talking about the “drug thing”, and then asks about the “Toxic Twins”, a strategy that worked in getting some good comments out of Steven Tyler and Joe Perry.
Joe Perry discusses the 1984 reunion tour, and the risk of going out without a new album to promote. Common today, rare then.
An interesting flash from the past as we remember Aerosmith!
The Mad Metal Man has spread his wings! I am proud to present below, Harrison’s first appearance on a show that isn’t our own!
Harrison wanted to do an Australia-centric topic with Peter Kerr for some time. Peter has been wanting to put together an all-Australia panel. This week on Rock Daydream Nation, that’s exactly what we got! With Peter Wicks, and Bicyclelegs himself.
It was enjoyable for me to hear about familiar Australian bands, and those I’d never heard of before. Harrison stirred the pot with some questions and comments, like a good lad! (Do the Bee Gees count as an Australian band?) Really proud of the “resident contrarian” Mad Metal Man. Check out the show!
“It all adds up to one…” Would that have made a better title? Deep Purple don’t always come out with the greatest album titles or covers, but they have produced consistently good music during the Morse era, and now beyond. In their first lineup change since Don Airey joined the band in 2003, Steve Morse has stepped down for important personal reasons, and new kid Simon McBride has picked up the plectrum.
When Mr. McBride was born in Belfast in 1979, Deep Purple weren’t even a band anymore. They were in the middle of an eight-year hiatus. The last Deep Purple compilation released was 1979’s Mk II Purple Singles when he was an infant. Deepest Purple wasn’t even out yet. Rainbow was about to release Down to Earth with Graham Bonnet. Gillan were working on the second album as a band, Mr. Universe. Into that world sprang Simon McBride. He would grow to become a solo artist who would work with Purple members Don Airey and Ian Gillan, before being asked to join temporarily and then permanently.
Retaining Bob Ezrin the producer’s chair, Deep Purple wound up with something familiar, yet slightly different. There is less double tracking on Ian’s voice, which gives it a fresher sound. The songs are slightly harder edged, and there are more of them. =1 is the first first Deep Purple without bonus tracks since InFinite, and like Whoosh, feels conceptual on some tracks. According to the band, the world is “growing ever more complex, everything eventually simplifies down to a single, unified essence. Everything equals one.” I don’t know about that, but that’s what =1 means to them.
At 13 songs, the album could be trimmed down to a tidy ten. Let’s break them down.
Simon gets to show off some new sounds at the start of “Show me”, a relentless groove, unlike anything from the Morse era. Ian’s speak-sing storytelling vocal is familiar and fun, a perfect way to adapt to singing in your 70s. The groove is different from past works. Wonderful solo work from Don and Simon here, with Don on synth. The back and forth is very tasteful. It’s more playing for the song, and less trying to outplay each other like Jon Lord and Ritchie Blackmore in the 1970s.
Track two continues that hard grooves. “A Bit on the Side” boasts a great chugging guitar part, very different for Deep Purple of any era. The chugging is almost Slash-like, circa “Locomotive”. The chug-riff is the main feature, but once again Simon’s solo is stratospheric with loads of technique. Don’s is equally cool, with a spacey vibe.
“Sharp Shooter” is one song on which Ian doesn’t sing the name in the chorus. Instead there is a memorable refrain of “Shot in the dark”. The vocals are pushing the upper limit a bit, and the song has a vibe very much like the Morse era of Deep Purple. Nice soulful female backing vocals here, which is rare in Deep Purple. Once again, Don is focusing on the synth for solos. Not a highlight, but a decent tune with a modern Purple groove.
The first video/single was “Portable Door”. Ian Gillan weaves his traditional “English as a second language” lyrical whimsy. Some favourite lines:
When it came to me one day in Jerksville Man, I was right on the edge And that jacket’s too small for a man of your size And those socks are too big for your head
I love that. Socks are too big for your head? Why not. The lyrics seem to be about tedious conversations that go in one ear and out the other.
I was trapped in a dire situation Between reason and someone-in-law
“Between reason and someone-in-law” is just brilliance. Only Ian Gillan could write that. Meanwhile, Simon hits you with a cool chord that swooshes through. “Portable Door” has a stamp like the last few albums, but the one Simon chord really sets it apart. One chord: huge impact.
“Old-Fangled Thing” has a nice lyrical reference back to “Living Wreck” from In Rock, but is not the most memorable of songs. Is “old-fangled” another Gillan-ism? This song is a little tricky, like much of the Morse era was. In the end, it’s possible that this song could have been axed, but its speed is impressive.
There are two “ballads” (or slow blues) on this album. The dramatic one is “If I Were You”. There is a memorable chorus and a mournful guitar melody that might recall things like “When A Blind Man Cries”. Either way, Purple have done some impressive ballads and slow songs during the Morse era, and now the Simon era too. His solo is a little Bonamassa at times. Also take note: there’s an orchestra on this track!
The second single “Pictures of You” is immensely memorable. A fantastic song, with a focus on vocal melody. Purple play it simpler here and the dividends pay off. There’s a bit of multi-tracked vocals on the chorus, which is essentially what this song is about: the chorus! Until we get to the outro that is, which is more Marillion than Purple.
On the single for “Pictures of You”, the song went right into “Portable Door” without a break. The effect was an exciting transition. It’s less exciting on album, leading into “I’m Saying Nothin'”. This has that herky-jerky feel of the Morse era, but is otherwise not particularly memorable. Another one that could have been cut.
What’s the story with “Lazy Sod”? Ian Gillan was asked how many songs he’d written in his life. He estimated about 500. He was then informed that Dolly Parton wrote over 5000…”you lazy sod”. Can’t argue with that, so Ian turned it into a lyric. “That’s alright because I’m a lazy sod, and I’m hot.” It’s the third single and the most “rock” of them. Very old-school Deep Purple. Could have been on Who Do We Think We Are!
“Now You’re Talkin'” is the second song with an abbreviated “in'” title instead of “ing”. (David Coverdale, were you in the room?) Very similar to “Bananas” from 21 years ago. Almost a re-write of that prior song, but with a really fun screamed part in one of the verses. Really great riff, and always a pleasure to hear Ian do a scream, whether he sounds like a 70+ year old or not! Wait til you get to the solos!
Back in the Rapture of the Deep era, Ian told us that “Money Talks” to him. Now, he has “No Money to Burn”! There is an organ-based riff, which is a nice change of pace for this album, but the song is otherwise unremarkable. The third of three songs we could cut to get down to ten.
Deep Purple are not overkilling it on ballads. “I’ll Catch You” (maybe a slow blues) is a lovely ballad, soft and bluesy like a smokey club. It is placed perfectly near the end as an ear-cleanse, before we get into one of the best Deep Purple closers in years with the very English title, “Bleeding Obvious”.
If “Bleeding Obvious” isn’t the best closer since “Bludsucker” on Abandon, then let’s hear your picks! It could also be the most progressive tune? Could that opening figure work for Dream Theater or Marillion? Or even Rush? This is an absolutely brilliant tune, mostly down to that tricky riff and melody.
And so that’s it with =1; no bonus tracks this time. There is a deluxe box set with the first official release of a concert with Simon McBride, which we’ll get into on a separate review. Aside from the length, the only real complaint here is the minimalist artwork. The inner sleeve art is far more engaging.
Deep Purple albums take time to absorb, especially in the current “Ezrin era”. The records are not lazy with simple songs (puns intended)! Tim and I attempted to break down the new album =1, track by track. We tended to agree on a lot of the songs.
What’s with the artwork? Is Simon a new Blackmore? What the heck is Ian Gillan singing about? Find out in this excellent episode of Tim’s Vinyl Confessions, out today.
My written review of the album will follow tomorrow morning, with the deluxe edition live discs getting the written review treatment in the coming weeks.
And now, Harrison has sent me a third parcel, with heavy metal, soundtracks, Lego and more.
Harrison has acquired some “upgrades” to some albums it seems, and has passed his original copies on to me. These are bands I have never checked out before, so let’s see if Harrison can win me over. There were also some cool soundtrack-y CDs for Robert Daniels (Visions In Sound) and, of course, some Lego. The saga of the Marvel Lego blindboxes continues!
Peter Kerr was back with a vengeance, and some great songs! Representing Rock Daydream Nation, Peter listed off a whole lot of great songs from the year 1984, ranging from rock to metal to pop rock. He also listed the greatest movies he saw from that year, with a handful of video games and TV shows. I couldn’t resist mentioning a toyline/cartoon/comic book that transformed our young lives that year.
We had awesome guest lists from the Mad Metal Man (who is sick and could not attend) and Uncle Meat. In the comments, Pete Jones, Henry Wright, Johnny Metal, Ash Geisler, and others listed off some great tunes. Ash had about 30! I tried to put all the comments on the screen.
There were some albums and artists to kept coming up over and over again. Whitesnake, Metallica, Mercyful Fate, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and many more were well represented on this show.
This was a wonderful hour-plus and I hope you enjoy watching it on Youtube if you missed it live!
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man Episode 67: Top 10 Rock Songs from the year 1984 with Peter Kerr
We are back! Following three weeks of chilling at the cottage, Grab A Stack of Rock returns with a roar, and a familiar face!
Peter Kerr of Rock Daydream Nation suggested this topic for his return to the show. 1984 was the year I got into rock music. That coincided with MuchMusic’s premier in Canada. All of a sudden, there were all these videos! Kiss, Van Halen, Iron Maiden, Helix…and I was there with my VCR, recording everything. For me personally, this will be a list of nostalgia…but not entirely. After all, it was Peter who got me into Prince in 2023. It was Tim Durling and John the Music Nut who got me buying Y&T albums recently. It remains to be see what will make my final list, because 1984 was a completely epic year for rock music.
Here we go with the third and final (to date) Night Ranger album gifted to me by Tim Durling. ATBPO stands for And the Band Played On. And play on they did, now with Keri Kelli on guitar after the departure of Joel Hoekstra, currently in Whitesnake. Tim praises this album highly, so let’s find out why.
Some of the heaviest, slamming guitar I’ve heard from Night Ranger opens up the menacingly fun “Coming For You”. For some reason I’m thinking of “Lost In America” by Alice Cooper. This one is a grower. It jumps out more listen after listen. There are poker metaphors and a killer multi-part guitar solo! Sounds absolutely wicked, modern and technical, like Steve Stevens on adrenaline. It is quite possible that Brad Gillis is from outer space.
Second is “Bring It All Home To Me”, slowing the pace to a hard rock summer groove. I mentioned to Tim, I was hearing some twang in Night Ranger on the High Road album. I hear a teensy bit of that on the “baby, baby, baby” part of “Bring It All Home To Me”. Tim will argue that I am hearing that because nu-country appropriated a lot of 80s hard rock, and there’s an association there. Another bonkers solo here, making it two in a row for songs that fans of original guitar shred will want to hear.
More Gillis madness on the progressive sounding “Breakout”, bringing back the speed, but with a technical edge that few bands can really match. Kelly Keagy’s nuts on the drums, and fretboards are burning on the solo. This has to be one of the hardest Night Ranger songs to date. Then, a boogie piano and a surprising cocaine reference opens “Hard to Make it Easy”, and I’m resisting saying the word ” country” again…but there it is. This has line-dancing qualities. Now I’m not meaning this in a bad way. Night Ranger are allowed to stretch out and play stuff like this, and I won’t complain. The chorus sounds like Shania…just sayin’…but the dual guitar solo is more Lizzy.
We go somewhere down the crazy river with the snaky opening guitars of “Can’t Afford a Hero”, which soon transitions to a standard acoustic ballad. It would make a good Shaw-Blades track. Good tune with, again, great solo work. One of the more adventurous tunes.
“Cold As December” is a standout, with a powerful quality you can just pound your fist to. It’s just all riff and all beef! The guitar and vocals melodies are its strength. Despite its edge, the melodies and hooks shine through.
An unfortunate “We Will Rock You” drum beat soon gives way to another good song, “Dance”, a power ballad with more power than ballad. Really nice song. “The Hardest Road” is also ballady, but Kelly Keagy’s lead vocal adds a ragged raspy edge that enhances it beyond. Then the surprising “Monkey” kicks in with a serious beat. This is the song that would sound best in the car when you’re on the highway. Just non-stop stomp.
“A Lucky Man” is an album highlight, upbeat and bright, with a hint of that twang I keep hearing. This would definitely sound great at camp or cottage in the summertime. The keyboard and guitar solos are from the moon, which offsets the twang. Another personal favourite, easy peasy. Some tasty sweet guitar harmonies open up “Tomorrow”, another nice upbeat rocker with classy keyboard accents.
The closer is a “bonus track” (I ask why?) called “Savior”. It’s a little…goofy? I don’t know. Everybody’s looking for a good time? Sure. I’ll agree with that. Not sure about the song though.
In 1981, rock band Tommy Tutone released their second album, 2. The lead track and single was a song called “867-5309/Jenny”. As you can imagine, placing an actual phone number in a song was, while catchy, also problematic. Lorene Burns from Alabama, who unfortunately had that very phone number, had to change it in 1982. “When we’d first get calls at 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning, my husband would answer the phone. He can’t hear too well. They’d ask for Jenny, and he’d say ‘Jimmy doesn’t live here any more.’ Tommy Tutone was the one who had the record. I’d like to get hold of his neck and choke him.”
Tommy Tutone was in fact a “them” and the song was written by guitarist Jim Keller, with Alex Call from the band Clover. The song soared to #2 in Canada, and #1 on the US Mainstream Rock chart. It’s a great tune. David Lee Roth recently covered it, but in its original incarnation, it’s a guitar driven rock classic with a plaintive chorus and memorable lyrics.
Jenny Jenny who can I turn to? You give me something I can hold on to, I know you’ll think I’m like the others before, Who saw your name and number on the wall. Jenny I’ve got your number, I need to make you mine, Jenny don’t change your number, Eight six seven five three oh nine.
Many Jennys were teased worldwide (my wife included) by boys singing the song to them; an anthem of calling a number found on a bathroom wall. The origins of the song are unclear. “There was no Jenny,” claimed Alex Call in 2009. The number, he said, just sounded right when sung. Tommy Tutone lead singer Tommy Heath claimed in 2008 that Jenny was a real girl, and they wrote her telephone number on a wall just for laughs. The Alex Call account sounds more believable.
Whatever the origins, many people with that phone number were prank called year after year after year. One day in 1998, I heard “867-5309” for the first time. Although I was not involved, a prank call ensued.
It was at the old Heuther Hotel in Waterloo (now, sadly, destined to become new condos). I had a bad day (girl trouble), and was taken out by friends to get over it. I sat enjoying a rum and coke (Captain Morgan’s spiced rum, always) with my co-workers Neil and Trevor. In fact, it could have been my first ever spiced rum. Tommy Tutone came on, and I liked the song, which I was unfamiliar with. “It’s Tommy Tutone!” enthused Trevor. “You don’t know this song? Come on!”
We rocked along to the tune for a bit before Trevor realized that 867 was a local number.
“Should I call and ask for Jenny? I’m gonna call and ask for Jenny!”
We laughed and I said no, but the drinks were flowing and Trevor dialed up 867-5309.
“Hello?” went the female voice on the other end.
“Hi, is Jenny there?” asked T-Rev with total innocence.
“Jenny’s not home,” went the answer.
“There’s actually a Jenny there? COOL!” said T-Rev. He was assured there was indeed a Jenny there.
“No way! Really? A Jenny really lives there?” Once again, he was told yes. “Do you know there’s a song called ‘Jenny’ with this phone number?” The person feigned ignorance and reiterated that Jenny was not home.
“Cool! Can you tell her Trevor called? Thanks!”
And that was it! We laughed all night about there being an actual Jenny at 867-5309, but I think the girl who answered the phone was just so used to getting this call that she called Trevor’s bluff.
We may never know. Please don’t call 867-5309 and ask.
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