REVIEW: Iron Maiden – Live At Donington August 22nd 1992

Part 18 of my series of Iron Maiden reviews!

“Satan’s work is done Donington!” – Bruce Dickinson

IRON MAIDEN –  Live At Donington August 22nd 1992 (1993 CD, 1998 remastered edition)

I imagine if Bruce remained in the band, Maiden probably wouldn’t have released three live albums in one year.  But they needed time to regroup and figure out what the hell to do next.  In the meantime, as if to say, “We’ll be back!” Maiden released Live At Donington August 22nd 1992.

A much better recording than its two predecessors (A Real Live One and A Real Dead One), it’s a very special set.  It’ll never be Live After Death (that’s impossible) but this is one of the finer Maiden live albums to come down the pipe.  I mean, just look at the first three songs!  A smoking “Be Quick Or Be Dead”.  An absolutely devastating “Beast” (I like that they threw it in early).  A surprising “Wrathchild”, one of the best Maiden songs of all time.

Then I get a little disinterested — “From Here To Eternity” is not a personal fave, and “Can I Play With Madness” is flat sounding again, just like on A Real Live One.

“Wasting Love” is better.  The dual guitar harmony is a little off, but it’s live, what you hear is the way it was.  Bruce pushing his voice to the breaking point.  The mix is nice here.  You can hear Nicko’s drums beautifully and both guitars clear as a bell.

A fiery “Tailgunner” takes us out of ballad territory and back into traditional Maiden:  pumping guitars and lyrics about good ol’ WWII.  I like when Bruce sings, “No more bomber just one big bomb, hey hey, whooo!  Pussshhhttt!” as if to imitate the sound of a bomb going off!

Then, “The Evil That Men Do” lives on and on.  Bruce urges Donington to scream for him; they do and he responds with a solid “Fuck yeah!”

Incidentally, does anyone know why Bruce always seems to sing the words to this song wrong, live? This album and A Real Live One, he sings:

“And I will pray for her,

Someday I may return,

I will bleed for her,

If I could only make her learn.”

The actual lyric on the album is:

“And I will pray for you,

Someday I may return,

Don’t you cry for me,

Beyond is where I learn.”

Anybody?

Bruce then introduces the modern war ballad, “Afraid To Shoot Strangers”.  I think this is one of Maiden’s greater songs, at least once it gets going into that awesome guitar melody…and then another one after that!

The first CD of Donington closed with “Fear Of The Dark”.   Interesting — playing this one halfway through the show, and not the end!  How things would change, as this song became more and more of  a classic.  The Donington version is great, I love Janick’s pinch harmonics.  The remastered CD loaded four more songs onto disc one from here, freeing that space off disc two for video content.  I’m only mentioning this because depending on which version you have, your disc may end on a different song.  But I think “Fear Of The Dark” may as well close the disc, as it’s a perfect place to pause!

“Bring Your Daughter” was up next.  I can always pass on this song, although the redeeming factor are the wild and crazy guitars!  I could do without the singalong intro, but the fans at Donington are sure into it!

The brilliant “Clairvoyant” pumps the crowd up once again.  Once again, Janick crazies-up the guitar work making the whole thing more manic.

“Heaven Can Wait” of course was the big singalong song, I just wish they’d play something else from Somewhere In Time instead of this number.  Although I do like it when Bruce allows Nicko to have a word.  “Oiiiyyyeeeee!”  This is followed by “Run To The Hills”, which indicates we’re getting closer to the end.  Personally I’m tiring of this song, and the guitars sound too thin.

“2 Minutes To Midnight” serves as a reminder of the great tunes that Bruce and Adrian used to write together.  Great riff (even if poached from “Wildfire” by Budgie), great song.  Funny:  As a kid, I loved “Hills” and didn’t really like “2 Minutes”.  Now, I really love “2 Minutes”, but I’ve heard “Hills” just too many times.

Then:  four classics in a row.  “Hallowed”, “Trooper”, “Sanctuary”, and “Running Free”.  “Hallowed” is still one of the very greatest Maiden tunes of all time, and in many ways I think it’s better live.  In particular, the Live After Death version is great.  But Bruce sings his teeth into this one too, and it’s just that much better for it.  Once again, I can hear some tasty pinch harmonics in the opening.  Is that you Janick?  Guess I’ll have to wait until this show comes out on blu-ray in 2013….

“The Trooper” is of course pummeling as ever,  and “Sanctuary” a welcome rarity from the earlier punkier days.  I like when Bruce introduces Nicko as “old Flatnose himself”.

“Running Free” though was very special indeed, and a harbinger of things to come.

Adrian came out and joined the band for this one, a special appearance at a special gig.  For years I had no idea:  It’s not like you can really understand what Bruce is saying when Adrian comes out, perhaps overcome with emotion!   This really was a preview of the most beloved, long-standing Maiden lineup of all time:  Bruce, Steve, Nicko, Davey, Janick, and Adrian.  It would be seven years before they played together again, but here’s the first.

The cover art and packaging was decidedly bootleg:  A plain white cover with a Maiden logo stencil and the title in sloppy typewriter font.  No booklet at all.  Thankfully, this was rectified with Mark Wilkinson’s poster art, used for the remastered cover art.  The remaster did indeed feature a full booklet packed with photos, and some live video stuff that may or may not work on your current machine.

And thus ends Live At Doningon, and thus ends the last album with this lineup.  It would be uncharted waters forward, as Maiden began the audition process for a new lead singer for the first time in a decade.

But there would be one more special show.  One more release to talk about:  Not an album, but a video.   Next time, we’ll talk about Bruce’s final show, called Raising Hell, featuring the decapitation of the band’s lead singer!

4.5/5 stars

Part 134: Dave

RECORD STORE TALES PART 134:  Dave

In late 2005, I met Dave for the first time.

Jen and I had just started dating, since September 18 actually, and I think I met her dad on our second date (by complete accident, we were out for a walk and as he was driving by).  He made me very welcome to their family early on.  He treated me like a son when I spent Christmas Day 2005 with them.

Dave was one of the greatest people I’ve ever met, and one of the most generous.  He truly would have given the shirt off his back.  I kept hearing the same stories over and over again:  “Dave really helped me out in the past,” or “I remember Jen’s dad let me stay with them for a week when I had nowhere to sleep.”  He never asked for repayment.  I remember when he helped my sister move from Etobicoke to Kitchener.  He drove the moving van (actually his delivery van) and he signed up for one trip to Kitchener and that was it.  Well, we couldn’t get everything in one load.  We had to do a second load.  So, he drove back to Etobicoke, and back again to Kitchener, before finally retiring for the evening.  I had to twist his arm just to get him to accept a Canadian Tire gift card in repayment!  That’s the kind of guy Dave was.

Did I mention he’d never even met my sister before that night?  He just did it because he was that kind of man.

We lost Dave three years ago, Nov 3 2009.  He was only 58 years old.  Jen misses him — we all miss him — every day.  It still shakes us.

We lost a great man, probably one of the greatest I’ve ever known.  I couldn’t let Nov 3 go by without talking about him.

Miss you, Dave.

REVIEW: Cozy Powell – Over The Top (1979 Polydor)

Next in line of my reviews from Record Store Excursion 2012!  Check out the video below if you missed it.  This one bought at Sonic Boom Kensington.

MIKE AND AARON GO TO TORONTO

Let’s boogie!

The lineup is impressive enough:  Joining Cozy are Don Airey on keyboards/moog and Jack Bruce on bass.  Guitarists include Gary Moore, Bernie Marsden and Clem Clempson.   So, that’s all good.

But Over The Top starts with the disco-sounding “Theme I” (written by George Martin of all people).  There’s too much of Don’s dated sounding synth.  That continues into the next track, “Killer” featuring Gary Moore.  Don’s ray-gun keyboard are too much, although Gary is brilliant, and a highlight to the track.

Cozy expertly steps his way through every track,  sounding like nobody but Cozy.  But these cheesey keyboard anthems don’t lend themselves well to his style.  Too much disco, too much funk, too much boogie and not enough rock.  Jack Bruce is great, of course, very few can do what he does.  His bass here is articulate and precise but for me, too much jazz fusion and not enough anchor!

Most of this is progressive-based rock, but the dated synth echoes too many things that nobody really liked anymore.  The songs are not especially stiking, and Cozy doesn’t really go nuts until the final song, “Over The Top”.  The producer behind this mess?  None other than Martin Birch!

Best Song:  “El Sid” which has some groove and stomp to it, the keys are toned down while Jack plays some beautifully stretchy basslines, and Bernie Marsden throws in one of those bluesy solos that you know and love from early Whitesnake.  (Bernie wrote this one.)  Second best is “Sweet Poison” which has moments that smoke.

I dig the cover art with Cozy jumping his drums with his bike!  Sweet.

2/5 stars.  I think it likely that if Cozy were with us, hey’d probably regret the keyboard-saturated sound today.

TRACK LIST:

Side One – “Theme I”, “Killer”, “Heidi Goes To Town”, “El Sid”

Side Two – “Sweet Poison”, “The Loner”, “Over The Top”

Part 133: Die For Love

RECORD STORE TALES PART 133:  Die For Love

1996 was my first year of managing my own store.  In the very first weeks of business, in came this little gem, Japanese import, never seen it before.

The band featured Iron Maiden’s former guitarist, Dennis Stratton.  Dennis of course played on the first immortal Maiden platter and a few B-sides too.  The album featured one great single, “Die For Love”, which had one of the cheesiest music videos of all time.  Band must rescue blonde damsel in distress from horny-looking mad scientist.

It’s actually a really cool song, very commercial but solid and I’d been hunting for it for years.  Yet another treasure that fell into my lap.  Japanese import, $20 used, but with my discount more like $15.

Still, I ended up passing on it.  I only really liked the one song, and I had other stuff to buy that week including the new Scorpions and King’s X.  So, I made a judgement call and threw it on the shelves.  I put a sticker on it that said “Dennis Stratton ex-Iron Maiden” and it sold in a couple weeks.  It was after it sold that I regretted my decision!  I didn’t realize how rare the disc was, and I underestimated how much I liked that one song!

Thankfully it’s since been reissued.  Still, wouldn’t it have been nice to have that Japanese import?  Yeah.

REVIEW: Alice Cooper – “Keepin’ Halloween Alive” (2009 single)

ALICE COOPER – “Keepin’ Halloween Alive” (2009 iTunes exclusive single)

In 2009, Alice took the cool step of releasing a special Halloween single.    It was a cool rock song called “Keepin’ Halloween Alive” (baby 3-6-5!) .  It was a basic four piece rock song, completely unlike the previous album, Along Came A Spider.  I wasn’t big on that album, and I’ve never been into any of Alice’s late period alterna-industrial-post grunge albums very much.  I was much more into Dirty Diamonds.  “Keepin’ Halloween Alive” is more polished and produced than that, with keyboards and overdubs, but at least it’s back to the rock sounds that I prefer.

The song was written by Cooper and Piggy D. from Rob Zombie’s band.  The B-side was a “Cooperoke” (instrumental) version.  It’s cool, nice to have as a bonus, but otherwise not terribly interesting.

“Keepin’ Halloween Alive”, was only available on iTunes (blech), with a very very limited release as a 7″ single.   The iTunes download did come with a pdf file and a “digital booklet”, whoop de do I guess.    Nice artwork, Zombie-esque, with lyrics and humour.  I just don’t know who sits at their computer going through a “digital booklet” the way you sit on your coach leafing through the real thing.

3/5 stars

 

REVIEW: Iron Maiden – A Real Dead One (1993, plus single)

Part 17 of my series of Iron Maiden reviews!  NOTE:  This album was later reissued as part of A Real Live Dead One.

IRON MAIDEN – A Real Dead One (1993)

When Maiden hit the road for what was to be Bruce’s farewell tour, it did not go as the band intended.  There were some positives:   Because this was Bruce’s farewell, the band decided to pull certain older tracks out of the box, and record them for the next live album, A Real Dead One.  But three of the four other Iron Maiden members (Janick Gers being the sole holdout) have accused Bruce of sabotaging that last tour.  I’m sure this is all water under the bridge now, but Maiden were furious that Bruce seemingly stopped trying, barely sang, and underperformed on certain stops on the tour.  Only the big gigs, with the cameras and the press, did Bruce put any effort into singing, claimed the band.

Whatever the case may be, Bruce did turn up for the tracks on A Real Dead One.  And Maiden stacked the deck with great tracks, stretching from the first album to Powerslave.  And those older seldom heard tracks that Maiden pulled out of the box?  Yeah!  You get classics like “Remember Tomorrow”, “Where Eagles Dare”, and “Prowler”.  None of those songs were on the immortal Live After Death (neither was “Transylvania” or “Sanctuary”!) so that brings added value to this album, as a companion piece of sorts.

But it could never live up to the legacy set by Live After Death, and although it’s certainly better than A Real Live One, I can’t say I play this too frequently.   The band are on fire and playing as furiously as ever.  The solos are nothing if not sublime.  Steve and Nicko gallop forward driving the whole thing.  That’s all well and good.  The vocals don’t seem mixed high enough to me.  Bruce’s voice is also obviously wearing with age.  It happens.  I think the album has a better overall sound than A Real Live One however.

I don’t think “Remember Tomorrow” needed backing keyboards, although Dave and Janick’s guitar work is beautiful.  I love Janick’s noisy chaotic solo that still somehow fits the song.  I also love Nicko’s drum work and fills.

“Hallowed By Thy Name” appropriately closes the album, and was also the album’s single.  The fantastic cover art shows Bruce being killed by Eddie, a trick they would try live for their final gig (and more on that when I get to it).  “Hallowed” had two unique live B-sides:  “Wasted Years” and “Wrathchild”!  Both are worth having.  “Wrathchild” probably could have been on this album, and “Wasted Years” definitely should have been on A Real Live One.

Derek Riggs came back for the cover art.  DJ Eddie seems to be spinning discs in hell, at 666 FM!

Even though this was Maiden’s second live album of 1993, it was not their last!  Stay tuned…

3.5/5 stars

Below:  Note Bruce promoting his cousin Rob Dickinson’s new band, Catherine Wheel!  Also seen, the CD for the combined A Real Live Dead One release.

REVIEW: Black Sabbath – Headless Cross (1989)

BLACK SABBATH – Headless Cross (1989)

This is one of the last Sabbath albums I got, because it was pretty scarce in the mid-90’s.  I paid about $25 for a US import, thanks to Orange Monkey Music in Kitchener, the only store that was able to get it.  (They were not, however, able to get me Seventh Star, then only available from Japan.)

While Headless Cross is lopsided to keyboard-heavy melodic numbers, I consider it a really underrated album.  I like it a lot better than the previous one, Tony Martin’s debut as Sabbath singer, The Eternal Idol.  I can’t say I adore it as much as Born Again, my favourite album of all time by anybody.  I can’t say I prefer it to Seventh Star, but it’s pretty close.

It’s a short one, a mere 7 tracks plus intro “The Gates of Hell”, but most of the songs are in the 5-6 minute range.  The intro then segues into one of the most powerful Sabbath songs of the entire catalog:  “Headless Cross” itself.  Cozy Powell kicks this one in the nuts.  If you love Cozy’s drumming, you will love “Headless Cross”.  It pulsates before it explodes in the chorus with Tony’s youthful scream.   In the 1980’s most bands needed a singer who could shatter glass and Tony M delivered.  If that’s not your thing, then just walk away, because you won’t like the rest of this review.

Another riffy number shows up next, “Devil & Daughter”, which also showcases Tony Iommi’s underrated soloing.  Martin scorches through the song with bravado and lung power to spare.   Its only flaw is that Geoff Nicholls’ keys are mixed way too high, as they are on almost every song on Headless Cross.

“When Death Calls” is a slow burner that I witnessed Sabbath perform live in 1995 on the Forbidden tour.  It has three distinct sections:  the mellow verses featuring Lawrence Cottle’s chiming fretless bass, the heavy choruses, and the scorching “Don’t look in those sunken eyes…” section.  This one section, as far as I’m concerned, makes the song.  Take it out and you don’t have enough to keep it interesting.  And best of all, who shows up to play the guitar solo?  Does he sound familiar to you?

I should hope so.  It’s Iommi’s mate Brian May!  A heavier Brian May than you were hearing at that period of the 1980’s, and his solo totally makes the song that much more special.  By the time Martin proclaims that there’s no tomorrow, “just an evil shadow” at the end, you’re probably exhausted from rocking so hard.

And that’s side one, a decidedly dark affair.  The mood brightens a little on side two.  The hard rock song “Kill In The Spirit World” boasts song damn strong verses before it melds with a spooky chorus.  Then Tony nails it with a hauntingly bluesy solo.  I’m sure this song was derided by skeptics at the time for its pop tendencies; meanwhile Dio got away with songs like “Mystery”.  I think there was definitely a double standard in how fans treated Sabbath in the late 80’s.  Their albums were a lot better than given credit.

Another hard rock song follows:  “Call of the Wild”.  It’s not as good as “Kill In The Spirit World”, but it  has a good pulse and it’s pretty decent.  Reportedly this song was to be called “Hero” until Ozzy released one with the same title a few months prior.  The lyrics are pretty lame:

In this last macabre hour, witches cry

And turn to dust before the moon

Many spirits are lost forever but one survives

To call the tune of Lucifer

There’s one pretty-much universal criticism of Headless Cross, and that’s the lyrics.  The above is a glaring example of Martin specifically trying to write “Satanic” lyrics, something he admitted to.   It feels contrived because it was, and in fact it loaned Sabbath less credibility than when Ronnie was singing about neon knights, and Ian was singing about getting trashed.

“Black Moon” is next, actually a re-recorded B-side from The Eternal Idol.  As such, it’s not that remarkable.  The riff is cool, as Tony wrings out something bluesy while Cozy pounds out a passable groove.

The album closes with the haunting, acoustic “Night Wing”.  This is where Cottle’s fretless bass really plays a role.  I love fretless and this song has some strong sections with great bass.  It’s odd to hear fretless bass on a Sabbath album, but I like different.  Tony’s guitar solo is a scorcher, as he seemingly loses control and then reels it back in.  And then as if to make a point, he composes a simple but appropriate acoustic solo.  And then another electric one.

You know, looking back, 1989, it was the era of the guitar hero.  And nothing wrong with that.  I love Van Halen, I love Satriani, Vai, Morse, all those guys.  But it truly is a shame that in the 80’s, the guitar kids ignored Tony Iommi.  A guitar hero — nay! legend! — was playing better than ever and the kids didn’t buy Headless Cross.

‘Tis a shame.

Lawrence Cottle was a studio cat, and arguably never an official member of Black Sabbath, but Joe Siegler’s got him listed and that’s good enough for me.  You could hardly see him in the music video for “Headless Cross” as he is always in the background, blurry.  But Sabbath fans were soon in for a treat that many did not appreciate:  the arrival of Neil Murray on bass.  Neil and Cozy had become a formidable rhythm section in Whitesnake, and now they were back together, the two guys who did Slide It In (the US version anyway).

The Black Sabbath lineup of Iommi/Martin/Powell/Murray/Nicholls bears the dubious distinction of being the third-longest lived behind the classic Ozzy and Dio (with Appice) lineups. They did three tours and two albums (Tyr and Forbidden).  The hiring of these musicians was hoped to bring the credibility back.   Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

As mentioned, this lineup recorded the next album, Tyr, before breaking up in the face of the first reunion with Ronnie James Dio, and it was this lineup that I saw in 1995, thus far the only time I’ve seen the band.

If Headless Cross were remixed today, to just tone down the keyboards a tad, I think it would help a lot.  But I do like this album.  Sabbath had written some great songs (all songs are credited to the band), and Tony Martin was at the absolute peak of his voice.

4/5 stars

Part 132: Tremolo

RECORD STORE TALES PART 132:  Tremolo

One of the perks to working at a record store was taking first crack at anything that came into the store.  Frequently, people who worked other record stores would sell us their promos, and often we’d happily buy them, especially when they preceded the actual album.

In spring 1997, Blue Rodeo released their next album, Tremolo.  Some guy from another chain sold us a promo copy several weeks before its release date.  Me being a big Blue Rodeo fan, I made sure we snagged it.  We couldn’t really sell promos on the shelves, but I knew several people who’d want a copy, if I didn’t take it myself.  It was just a simple black and white sleeve, so I didn’t offer much for it.

I eaglerly put it into the player.  Their last album, the experimental Nowhere To Here, was a hard one to love but it became one of my favourites.  I was surprised to hear that Tremolo was nothing like it.  I gave it a couple spins in store but it wasn’t doing anything for me.  Nah, I could live without it, I thought, at least until the original release.  Then I’ll try ‘er again.

I called up Bethany, one of our best customers, and massive Blue Rodeo fan.  She came in immediately to pick it up.  Even though us record store guys usually prefer an official release to a promo, Bethany preferred the promo.  Not only was it weeks in advance and cheaper, she considered it to be a collector’s item, so it worked out for everyone!

Eventually the real thing came out, and when a cheap used one came in, I bought it and took it home.  It still didn’t click.  It took several months to really grow on me, but by winter it finally had.  Like an onion, I had peeled the layers and uncovered the beauty within.  Tremolo, like Nowhere To Here, was far from immediate for me.  Its acoustics and almost complete lack of anything electric or uptempo had thrown me for a loop.  But somehow during that laid back winter of  ’98, Tremolo and I saw I to eye, and we have been companions ever since.

Lesson:  Albums must always be listened to over time, in different contexts, before abandoning!

REVIEW: Twisted Sister – Under The Blade (1985 remix)

First of my reviews from Record Store Excursion 2012!  Check out the video below if you missed it. This one bought at Sonic Boom Kensington.

MIKE AND AARON GO TO TORONTO

TWISTED SISTER – Under The Blade (1985 remix)

The original 1982 Secret Records mix of this album was raw and heavy, like a bulldozer with a singer and sense of rhythm.  Secret folded and Atlantic re-released the album in ’85 with a remix helmed by Mark Mendoza.  For added measure they added Twisted’s first single, “I’ll Never Grow Up, Now!” as a bonus track.

Although less so in its remixed for, Under the Blade served as a brutal reminder that Twisted Sister were and are a heavy metal band, before the MTV hits happened. No ballads, the only slow moment is the intro to “Run For Your Life” which soon hits the gas and takes off at breakneck speed. Like a cross between early Kiss, Cooper, Sabbath and Priest, Under the Blade was an aural assault. The assault was assisted by a brutally ragtag heavy production and mix, frayed at the edges and certainly way too heavy for kiddies weaned on autotune today.  Elsewhere, more melodic fare like “Bad Boys (of Rock and Roll)” and “Shoot ‘Em Down” plot the way for the more commercial years about to unfold.

But then they did that remix, and toned everything down.  The drums aren’t as loud, the guitars less cutting.  In short, it sounds like they were trying to make Under the Blade fit in more with the Stay Hungry sound.  I did like that they included “I’ll Never Grow Up, Now!”, one of my favourite TS tracks of all time.

Production is by Pete Way (UFO), and Fast Eddie Clarke (Motorhead) takes a guest guitar solo.

For the remix:

3/5 stars