GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 55: METAL: Point of Entry
We are back to live streaming this week! Tonight I am joined by John Clauser of My Music Corner, Metal Roger, Reed Little of the Contrarians, and Jex Russell joining in a little later at 8 PM! The topic tonight is a simple discussion: What was our “Point of Entry” into Heavy Metal music?
It’s an important question. We are all passionate about the music we love. We all have a story about how we got there. What’s yours?
We will show off some old records, and talk about how we discovered and fell in love with this genre of music. I will run some old promo clips from MuchMusic to illustrate our stories, and the fun will flow like molten lead!
Topics to cover:
What music did we listen to before metal?
What metal band or song changed that?
What were our first metal albums?
What were our earliest memories of listening to metal?
There will be vintage MuchMusic clips and lots of records. All this and more with our fantastic panel!
Friday March 15 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube,or (HOPEFULLY) Facebook!
Two weeks ago, Rhino Records released a stripped-down version of Gene Simmons’ The Vault box set. For only $80, you could get all 11 CDs including such hits as “My Uncle is a Raft” and “Eskimo Summer”! That’s all I ever wanted. As a collector of physical media, I would love to have, but cannot afford, the full $1500 Vault with all the bells and whistles. For that, head on over to 2loud2oldmusic and have a gander at John Snow’s copy!
This box also includes the famous Van Halen demos for the Love Gun album. To finally have them is unbelievable!
The book is huge and packed with liner notes. But don’t take it from me…watch the video!
CINDERELLA – Live Train to Heartbreak Station (1991 Mercury Japan EP)
Japan sure loves the rock! That’s one reason they get such cool exclusives. (There are other reasons too, involving incentive to purchase domestic product rather than the less expensive US imports.) Live Train To Heartbreak Station, recorded in Little Rock Arkansas, is one such exclusive. A six song EP released in 1991, this was issued to support the Heartbreak Station tour. I was fortunate enough to witness a show on the Canadian leg of that tour, which suffered from poor ticket sales, an early harbinger of the grunge to come….
Having seen it live, this sounds purely authentic. I’m sure there are overdubs, 90% of live albums do have overdubs. However they are hard to definitively detect. Tom Keifer’s patented screech is right there, in your face, still in its glory days. The band is solid, augmented by organ and keys in the background. You can also hear the two female backing vocalists that the band were using at the time.
This EP consists of six tracks, two from each of the band’s three albums in existance at the time. All six songs were singles, although not all were hits. Even though it was not a hit, I think it’s safe to say that “The More Things Change” belongs on an EP like this It’s a great song in the opening slot. They also sequence the two ballads (“Don’t Know What You Got” and “Heartbreak Station”) right in the middle of the EP, side by side. I like that idea, get ’em out of the way. I think that was a smart move, albeit the girly audience screams can get old pretty fast. But man, the harmonies on “Heartbreak Station” are so sweet. I don’t care if the girlies loved it, that’s just a great song. Synth replaces John Paul Jones’ string section; a fair compromise for the live setting.
After the two ballads, the band cranked out their two best known rockers: “Shake Me” and “Gypsy Road”. Man, this takes me right back to that summer of 1988. I can remember a time when I thought “Gypsy Road” was the best thing since sliced bread. And you know what? It still ain’t bad!
This is still one of the best, if not the best, Cinderella live packages on the market due to the vocal problems that Keifer would experience later on. It’s a shame it’s just an EP, but context is important. This was just a taster, a sampler. Don’t forget Slaughter and Ozzy both released live EPs at the same time – it was the thing to do, I guess.
Like PS Audio’s Paul McGowan, I’ve been accused of deleting unflattering comments. I think Paul nailed it here.
If you’re incapable of commenting without saying someone is “deaf”, a “Nazi”, or an opinion is “complete BS”, then I’m not wasting my time having a “conversation” with you. Neither is Paul. Go elsewhere to spew it. Paul sums it up pretty well here. “Boink! I don’t talk like that, and neither should you on my channel.”
For the record I’ve deleted:
Insults (some not all)
Comments about Erica Ehm – just deleted one today.
RECORD STORE TALES #1112: Comfort Albums (ft. Peter Kerr)
Pulling into the driveway, you breath a sigh of relief after a long day at the grind. Walking in the front door, removing your shoes, you begin to feel human once again. Nobody is home and the place is yours. After a stressful day like today, no more TV or news would help you relax. You set about preparing dinner, and select some new albums to listen to. More recent music, relatively speaking Comfort albums. Albums that feel like an old slipper, that remind you of a past era. Familiar sounding music that just isn’t made this way anymore. What do you choose?
I have a few records that fit this bill for me. The latest is Invincible Shield by Judas Priest. It is remarkable that this band have had such highs and lows, but still manage to put out a career-high record 50 years after their debut. There are throwbacks a-plenty, of very high quality. Some riffs or choruses bring you back to the 80s and Defenders of the Faith. Several sound of the Painkiller era, particularly because of Scott Travis’ double bass. Others pulls back to the 70s and Hell Bent for Leather. Though the modern production and vocals of Rob Halford keep the album in the present, it otherwise sounds akin to the records I love so much from my youth. They are of the same blood.
It takes a lot for new music to get my blood pumping the way my old favourites do. When I play Invincible Shield, I’m 15 or 16 years old again, excited for this new album and rooting for my heavy metal heroes on a job well done. It’s a comfort album. The warm air of nostalgia blows through my window as another amazing outro guitar solo fades into silence. I half expect to have to get up and flip the tape soon, so far back am I taken.
Peter Kerr of Rock Daydream Nation, who suggested this topic, had his own example.
“Black Ice,” he said. “AC/DC did not put an album out for eight years. “I bought it, and played the first track ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Train’. It was like a comfort album…big smile on the face!”
Indeed, I remember hearing that song on the radio myself and just being happy to hear a new song that sounded like AC/DC. Perhaps once upon a time, new AC/DC music was just expected regularly, like your tax bills. Then there came a time when we had to cherish a new AC/DC album. Black Ice was the first one where I felt like, “Let’s savour this one this time.”
Another album that had that comforting effect, but not because it’s by a heritage band, is 2022’s Impera by Ghost. Now here is a band that loves throwbacks, but are not content to stick to any particular style or direction. Listening to the Ghost discography was like rapidly traveling forward in time, until Impera seemingly brought us to the year 1987.
Impera is one of my favourite albums to play on my way home from work. With the sun sometimes right in my eyeline and impatient drivers zooming from lane to lane, the commute home is best assuaged by good music that helps me decompress. “Spillways”, “Watcher in the Sky” and “Griftwood” are the three that specifically warm me like a favourite blanket on a cold day. They simply don’t make music like this very often anymore. Oh sure, lots of bands try to do that “80s thing” but few can really trick your brain into thinking you went back in time. Ghost do it, and they do it frequently. Not just Impera, but also on Prequelle with songs like “Danse Macabre”. The single “Kiss the Go-Goat” sounds like something from 1970 and might have a similar effect on someone from that era.
You feel the strain leave your body as you tap your feet to the song. Comfort music often gets you to move. I can’t help but play air guitar or air drums to real comfort music. That’s just good, healthy activity! I’m speaking about a certain age group here, but as it gets continually more effortful to get up and rock a bit, music like this becomes more and and more precious.
Here I am, as my back aches and my right shoulder reminds me it’s healing from injury, and I’m playing vigorous air guitar to the lively “Fight of Your Life” by Judas Priest. I cannot throw shapes like I did in my bedroom at age 15, but I do OK, and it feels alright. Until my elbow says “no more” and my knees falter!
The music feels good. You can use any number of words: nostalgic, warm, energising, recapturing…there is something unique about a true comfort album that just makes you say “Thank God this exists. I needed this, to make me feel this way. Thank you for the music!”
Here is a band that I ignored for decades. When the music video for “Don’t Change That Song” came on ye olde Pepsi Power Hour on MuchMusic, it was just a step beyond how far I wanted to go. I had made allowances and let Poison into my life, but Faster Pussycat seemed less goofy and more sleazy. The gender-bending was there with Taime Downe’s makeup and nail polish, and the truth is I could not tell if Brent Muscat was a man or a woman. I figured if the Bangles had a member named Michael that was a girl, then who’s to say this Brent person couldn’t also be a girl? Greg Steele looked cool with the 5 o’clock shadow and headband wrapped with care, but very early on, I decided that Faster Pussycat were not for me. It was a confusing time to be a young teenager discovering rock music.
Produced by Ric Browde, who also recorded Poison’s debut, Faster Pussycat’s debut is a rock-em sock-em ride through the gutters of California, with smiles all around. It’s as if Aerosmith got a one-way ticket to Hollywood, bought some punk records, and went all-in on the debauchery.
Indeed, Aerosmith are the easiest comparison, especially vocally. Taime Downe sounds like he’s fronting an outtake from Done With Mirrors on “Don’t Change That Song”, nailing every squeal and shriek just as Steven Tyler might. Second track “Bathroom Wall” takes this further. Faster Pussycat lack the manual dexterity of Perry and Whitford, and so we get a punked up version of the ‘Smith without the schooled knowledge of boogie and blues or clever wordplay. This is Aerosmith: The Next Generation, after the punk wave had its impact and imparted a sense of who-gives-a-fuck. And every note is tastier for it, like hard rock candy sharp enough to cut your teeth.
Third track in, and we hit our first serious deep cut: “No Room For Emotion”. It’s a slower groove that drawls seductively across the chords of classic rock and roll. The Stones are the prime influence here, with just a hint of early Bon Scott-era AC/DC.
We all know Taime Downe ran the Cathouse club with Riki Rachtman, and so it seems natural that “Cathouse” is one of the better tracks. High speed piano hammers away behind a breakneck rock and roll riff. Taime takes the Tyler-esque screaming to its natural extremes on this track, which reads like an advertisement for the club.
Perhaps the first misstep is “Babylon”, seemingly a re-write of “You Gotta Fight For Your Right to Party” by the Beastie Boys. It’s definitely in the same pocket. There’s an annoying “pussy-pussycat” sample and an undeniably similarity of vibe. Though it’s a bit of a classic for the band, it sounds a bit like they’re trying too hard.
In a classic case of packing all the hits on side one, side two must stand on the strength of deeper cuts. “Smash Alley” is a tough little number, with cliche lyrics about gutters and back streets. As for deep cuts, “Shooting You Down” might be the biggest one to be found. An indelible chorus is matched with a simple riff and plenty of sneer from Taime Down. It’s a brilliantly catchy deep cut and probably should have been considered for a single.
“City Has No Heart” continues with a series of somewhat soundalike music, though this one has soulful backing vocals atop a punky tune. A good tune with a solid chorus, though at this point the Faster Pussycat sound starts to wear on the ears a bit. You start to crave something a little different on side two, just as side one had “No Room For Emotion”. There is no such change of pace on side two, and so we close out with “Ship Rolls In” and “Bottle In Front of Me” which rock us to the end. “Ship Rolls In” has a Sex Pistols vibe on the chorus. Then they go back to the Aero-vibe on closer “Bottle In Front Of Me”. It leans into the funky sound of Aerosmith, circa Rock In A Hard Place, quite successfully. It’s definitely a memorable closer, going full-on by the guitar solo. Taime Downe shreds every last vocal chord, pushing it to the limit. You’ll either love it or hate it, but if you love that screamin’ Steven Tyler on songs such as “Draw the Line”, then you’ll appreciate the lengths to which Downe pushes it.
The production of the album is of its time. The snare drum sounds plastic and there’s a flat, two-dimensional vibe. You can’t expect too much from an album released in 1987, folks. People were listening to music on different devices and had different preferences back then. Still, there are worse sounding records from this era and Faster Pussycat is worth of repeat listens. Just take an Advil if a headache sets in by the end of side two.
Sort of a followup to our controversial roundtable discussion on The Decline of Western Civilation Part II: The Metal Years, this time Peter Kerr invited me back to talk about a band I never listened to before: Faster Pussycat.
John Clauser went into this show with a negative opinion after some not-so-great live gigs. I went in with almost virgin ears. I knew the songs Faster Pussycat had in the movie, and I liked them. Peter challenged John and I to listen to the whole album and discuss our conclusions. The results may surprise you!
See if you can spot my subtle jab at Tuff singer Stevie Rachelle who accused us all of being “probably Rush fans” when he didn’t like our Decline episode.
Here’s Peter’s description of the episode:
Rock Daydream Nation featuring John Clauser (My Music Corner/The Contrarians) and Mike Ladano (Grab a Stack of Rock) go back to 1987 and put a spotlight on the self titled debut album from ‘Faster Pussycat’. Is this the best Hard Rock Debut album you’ve never heard of? Part classic rock with a dash of glam with a hint of blues…. We do a song by song analysis and talk all things Faster Pussycat…Remember, don’t change that song and check out the show! (There is even a Faster Pussycat video on the show)
I bought the CD specifically for this show, and my written review will go up Monday the 11th. Enjoy the show!
JUDAS PRIEST – Invincible Shield(2024 Epic Deluxe with bonus tracks)
I don’t usually write “first impressions” reviews, because I like the albums to have time to sink in, and to consider my opinions.
I’ll break some rules this time.
Invincible Shield tops Firepower and could be the best Priest album since Defenders. Or maybe even before that…
The highlights are many and the riffs are strong. Rob’s voice has not changed in 20 years and he is still of the same power and range as Angel as Retribution. As one goes deeper in, the songs continue to gain strength. “Invincible Shield” didn’t really jump out at first, but does now with a very Maiden-y outro. “Devil In Disguise” is another early highlight. “Crown of Horns”, “Escape From Reality”, “As God is My Witness” are instantly likeable, with hooks aplenty and the odd adventurous lick or detour. Richie Faulkner has been a godsend to this band, injecting them with new songwriting life, metallic riffs and speedy leads. Meanwhile, you can hear Glenn Tipton too, illness be damned! He trades off with Faulkner just as is Priest’s trademark. The classical guitar solo on “Giants In the Sky” is something completely new for this band and a surprising delight.
Invincible Shield has most of the longer material stacked to the top of the album, with the short songs going on side two. Even with 14 songs, the album is only just over an hour with bonus tracks, not overstaying its welcome, and inviting to repeated listens. There’s no point in getting a version of this album without the bonus tracks. You’d be missing out. You can get them at Target, Sunrise, or Amazon in Canada. They are “Fight Of Your Life”, “Vicious Circle” and “The Lodger”. “Fight Of Your Life” might be the most necessary song of the album, as it really hearkens back to the early 70s albums like Sin After Sin. It could be the deep cut of the record.
Lyrics have always been a shaky point in Priest history, and there are some cringey ones on Invincible Shield, but I doubt they will impede anyone’s enjoyment of this album. It has summer written all over it, as we await the coming of the sun and the highway months.
Production by Andy Sneap sounds great to these ears, with Ian Hill’s bass rich and deep, and Scott Travis’ drums livelier than ever. There are flashes back to the 70s and 80s, and some of Priest’s highest peaks of the past.
Martin Popoff may be right, but I’m not going as far as he did. Still…
A huge thank you for watching this show with me last night! It so happens that John and Henry in the comments are currently buying Alice Cooper albums, and I showed off a few of ’em on this show. In other timely circumstance, I also had on hand a rare Slash CD, in time for Slash to put out his new video on the same day, for “Killing Floor”! Lots of great stuff happening in music right now.
In this episode we also looked at the very obscure “Vinyl Disc” format with a release from the Hellacopters. We dove into huge chunks of Deep Purple, King’s X, Faith No More, and Marillion. Indeed, when it came to Purple and Marillion, we ran into live album after live album, which simply have not received the time and attention they deserve. Why?
Too much music.
I hope you enjoyed this show! Look for a new episode of Rock Daydream Nation featuring John Clauser and myself this weekend, and a live episode of Grab A Stack next Friday. Cheers!
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 54: Too Much Music Part 3
Welcome to the third (and final?) “Too Much Music”, a series on Grab A Stack of Rock where I simply grab a stack of nearby random CDs and show them to you, the rock fan! Inevitably, I run into multiple discs that have never been played, or have gone unplayed in years. That’s why we call this series “Too Much Music”!
On this show, we will dig through some of the following:
My favourite album of all time
Marillion box sets, remix albums and singles
Deep Purple reissues
Compilations
Soundtracks and rare promos with rare tracks
Blaze
More Canadian content
Lots of King’s X
Alice Cooper
Dio
Catherine Wheel
Queen
Loudness & more Japanese imports
Scorpions
April Wine
Faith No More
Steve Vai
Pearl Jam
Brant Bjork
Tribute albums
Deluxe editions
And a look at a really weird format called Vinyl Disc
All this and more. I do not think I will be able to do the comments section due to illness.
Friday March 8 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube,or (HOPEFULLY) Facebook!
FASTER PUSSYCAT – Faster Pussycat (1987 Warner)
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