Return of the Drury: Film and Soundtrack Experts Jason Drury and Robert Daniels on Grab A Stack of Rock for 2023 in Review

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man

Episode 45:  Return of the Drury

Tonight, film and soundtrack expert Jason Drury is back on the show from five time zones away!  All the way in Ramsgate UK, Jason will be burning the midnight oil with Robert Daniels, Jex Russell and Harrison Kopp tonight.

Tonight we will just be catching up with friends, talking everything that we enjoyed in 2023.  (I will be saving my Top Five albums list for January 1.)  It’s a casual show and those are often the best kind.

Please join us tonight and welcome Jason back on the show!

LIVE Friday Dec 29 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube or on Twitter!

The Writer’s Room: New Year’s Grieve!

Mike strode upon the tiles of the writer’s room.  Over the summer, they had the old carpet pulled up, and laid down expensive fresh tiles.  Marble, or something.  Mike wasn’t much for details.  He acted as if the weight of the world was in his shoulders, and sometimes it was, but today he was really feeling the strain.

At the big conference table sat the usual crew.  To his left:  Aaron and Harrison, with Harrison taking notes.  To his right:  the 80s Metal Man and John T. Snow himself.  Snow had just poured himself a big glass of Gene Simmons brand sweet tea.  Sweet Pain, it was called.  Snowman grimaced a little bit as the biting sweetness hit his palette, but the concoction didn’t seem too deadly.

Mike rubbed his head.  Inhale.  OK.  Time to talk.

“Guys, I just want to thank you again for all your hard work this year.  Each of you wrote some excellent stories for Tee Bone Man.  Harrison, of course, we all know what he accomplished this year!”  There was a quick round of applause, led by Aaron with a traditional “Wahoo!”

It was the Metal Man who prompted Mike to continue.  “Yet this doesn’t sound like a ‘good news’ meeting, not at this late hour,” he said.  Indeed, the Metal Man was jet-lagged, for back home in England it was well past midnight.

“You’re right Metal Man, it’s not good news.  But you may as well get the news from the horse’s mouth.  We’re just waiting for the horse.”  It was then that the big new monitor on the wall behind him crackled to life.  As usual, it was Holen coming in with static.  You could make out a vaguely human shape and a distorted voice.

“Hey guys, it’s me, I’m the bad news,” came the voice from the screen.  Mike tried to force a chuckle as Holen spoke.

“Hey Holen,” said the table in unified concern.

“I’m sorry to let you down guys.  I’ve been down for the count…(that was a plug for Tim Durling’s new book by the way)…I have had an unusual streak of bad luck.  I haven’t been able to finish my part of the Tee Bone Man’s New Year Eve Special story.  I apologize.”

“Aww that’s OK,” answered the Snowman between sips of sweet tea.  “I bet your story would have been awesome.”

“Mike would have loved my story,” answered Holen between crackles of noise.  “You guys wanna know what band I picked?”

The table reacted in excitement!  The gimmick this year was Mike’s idea.  In the world of Tee Bone Man, Tee and Superdekes were going to host a massive New Year’s Eve concert.  The catch?  Spinning off last year’s Christmas tale, the denizens of Rock and Roll Heaven would be resurrected in spectral form, to put on the ultimate live concert!  The deadline for the writers to get their bands and setlists in was, of course, December 31 2023.  The story would go live at midnight.

Each writer in the room was responsible for penning their own section of the concert.  Mike, Harrison, Aaron, Snowman and Metal Man had long submitted their deceased rock star supergroups.  Holen had been mysteriously quiet as they waited to finish the story.  Now, we know why.  A string of crappy luck!

“OK, ready for this?  Mike you’ll love my lead singer.  I have Little Richard!” exclaimed Holen.

“WaaHOOOOOOOOO!” responded Aaron at that pick.  The table laughed in unison.

“But wait, I have two singers.  Second, we have Lou Reed, also playing lead guitar!”

Mike made an enthusiastic guitar squealing noise and face.  “Metal Machine Music!!” declared Mike.

“More lead guitars,” announced Holen, “Courtesy of Robert Quine!”

There was silence.

“Come on guys, Robert Quine?  Worked with Lou Reed, John Zorn, Marianne Faithful, Richard Hell, Matthew Sweet!”

“Oh, cool!!” enthused Aaron with genuine excitement.

“And finally,” said Holen, “I couldn’t split up the rhythm section from The Who, so I picked both John Entwistle and Keith Moon!”

A few jaws dropped around the table.  A few claps were heard.

“That would have been a damn cool concert,” said the Snowman as he gulped down his last swallow of Simmons brand sweet tea.  From the corner of the room, a door opened and a uniformed Gene Simmons rep emerged to hand John a cheque for his endorsement.  The Simmons rep exited as quietly as she came, and John silently pocketed the money.

Harrison then spoke.  “Gentlemen, as sad as I am that Holen could not contribute this year, I can assure you the story is quite good as it is.  The art is complete and Mike tells me he likes it very much.”  Mike made a clapping motion for the hard-working Australian.

“I can also reveal this much about the final story,” continued Mike.  “80s Metal Man wrote a section so epic that I just had to choose his band to close the concert.  In fact he wrote a concert so epic, that he had to cut it down from six pages!”  There was a collective gasp.  “And, the good news here today is that Metal Man will be posting the full unedited supergroup on his own website too!”

“Great work, Metal Man!” shouted the Snowman.

Aaron raised his hand.  “Can I ask a question?  What happened to Holen anyway?”

Holen coughed (or perhaps it was static).  “I can’t divulge any details,” he answered vaguely.  “All I can say is they can’t get rid of me that easily!”

The table laughed in awkward tension, unsure how serious Holen was!

Mike spoke again.  “I for one am just glad to have Holen here with us for this teleconference; this is the last one of 2023.  And may I say it?  It was the best year for Tee Bone Man stories yet.  And 2024 is gonna rock.”

Everyone clapped.  Everyone, even the stoic Harrison, had smiles on their faces.  Mike grinned to himself.  The whole Tee Bone Man Multiverse was complicated, but they’d be straightening everything out in January.  It was Mike and Harrison who decided to go full multiverse this time.  It opened up whole new avenues.  Harrison decided that Multiversal portals would be orange, to reflect the glow of Tee Bone’s favourite Scotch. Orange portals!  And it worked so well in their stories!  As soon as you saw an orange glow, that was a clue that multiversal shenanigans were afoot.

It was at that exact moment that Mike noticed an orange glow in the furthest corner of the room.

There was a scream.

“Guys!!!  Help me!!”  It was the Snowman!  From behind him opened a sparkling, circular orange portal.  A pair of hands grasped him, and pulled him through.

“Gu…”

John T. Snow’s voice was cut suddenly, as the orange portal closed shut before their eyes.

Everyone in the room looked at Mike in complete confusion.

“What the…!” he shouted with hands on his head.

To be continued in the Adventures of Tee Bone Man….

THE ADVENTURES OF TEE BONE MAN:  PHASE ONE – THE SQUIRREL SAGA 

THE ADVENTURES OF TEE BONE MAN:  PHASE TWO – THE MULTIVERSE SAGA

 

 

THE COMPLETE ADVENTURES OF EDIE VAN HEELIN’

THE WRITER’S ROOM

 

 

REVIEW: The Defiants – Drive (2023)

THE DEFIANTS – Drive (2023 Frontiers)

Like a top-fuel funnycar, Paul Laine, Bruno Ravel and Rob Marcello made a stunning comeback in 2023 with The Defiants’ new album Drive.  They had a lot to live up to, after the luminous Zokusho in 2019.  Could they come up with another batch of songs, just as strong?  In short, yes.  In long, read on.

Right from the get-go, opener “Hey Life” is a wrecking ball.  Van Romaine on drums absolutely slays this song with ease.  In the first few seconds, you’re hammered by Priest-y riff and blistering guitar fretwork.  “Hey Life” isn’t all flash; it boasts strong melodies and an adrenalized performance by the Defiants.  “Hey life! Get out of my way tonight!” blasts Paul Laine at maximum lung power.  He remains one of the best in the business.

With some anthemic “woah-ohs!”, the second number “Go Big Or Go Home” does exactly what it says on the label.  “Gonna rock this town like we already own it!”  There’s a simple but very effective guitar riff backing this melodic stomper.  Thinking about it, the difference between the Defiants and all the bands that try to do what they do with traditional melodic rock, can’t touch their songs, and a big reason is the strength of the Defiants in writing structurally sound guitar parts.  Every lick, every crunch, every single note needs to be exactly where it is and how it is.  “Go Big Or Go Home” is a prime example.

Now, if I were a card player, I’d gamble that “19 Summertime” would be a hard rock anthem for the sunniest of seasons.  I would be correct.  There are some tasty 80s keyboard highlights behind that staccato guitar part.  Sounds like a vintage lost Europe song from somewhere between Out Of This World and The Final Countdown.  Therefore, we can pinpoint “19 Summertime” to the summer of 1987.  Then, “What Are You Waiting For” has the same teenage panache that Bon Jovi made his mint with back at the same time.  It’s another awesome, good time anthem that transports you back in rock history.

“Miracle” is the first ballad, and it’s a nice one at that.  It’s not a softy, but fully armed with guitars and keys.  It sounds a lot like Adrenalize era Def Leppard.  Things switch around on a scorcher called “Against the Grain” that has a Bon Jovi vibe via the Crush album, but way harder edged.  Lots of opportunities to pump fists here.  The tough chorus sounds great in the car.  “Against the grain, they say left we go right, someday you gotta realize, it’s the way you gotta live your life.”  Another solid track called “So Good” slows things down to a nocturnal prowl, while retaining all the anthemic melodic qualities.  There’s some shimmery guitar fretwork here and a cool organ backing.

A completely different feel enters the scene on “Love Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”.  A light guitar picking brings in what starts as a softer opening, until the chorus pounds the power once again.  This song is a triumph of songwriting perfection.  The guitar solo here is also a remarkable performance unto itself.  It sounds like a hit from decades past, but also much more than just that.

Another dusky number, “Another Time, Another Place” has a driving beat and understated power.  “The Night To Remember” then turns up the heat!  This is the kind of song that Def Leppard should be writing today, but seems to have forgotten how.  There are many highlights on this album, and they seem to be clustered at the start and end of this album!  “The Night To Remember” is top notch.

Going back to the “don’t get in my way” theme of the album opener, the closer bookends it with “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Me Now”.  It’s a tough little chunky number that kind of sounds like you’ve known it all your life.  The guitar blitzes on this one are exemplary and serves to help close the album on a suitably dramatic note.  Drive has a feeling of a journey, coming back home at the end to the place you began.

Released at the right time in history, Drive would have been a multi-platinum smash remembered in the same breath as Hysteria and Slippery When Wet.  “Another Time, Another Place” indeed.  Truth.

5/5 stars

First Time Listener to Prince – Purple Rain – Rock Daydream Nation

I am so proud of this episode of Rock Daydream Nation with Peter Kerr.  The story goes something like this:

(Australian accent) – Hey Mike, how would you like to do a show on Purple Rain by Prince?

(Canadian accent) – I’ve never listened to a Prince album in my life, are you sure you want me to do this?  Because I would.

(Australian accent) – Yes that’s exactly what I’m looking for.

So I went into this very curious, since I have heard the praises of Prince sung by many that I respect.  I listened to Purple Rain eight times in the week leading up to this show.  As for how it all went?  You’ll just have to watch and see.  This is how Peter describes it:

First time listener to Prince “Purple Rain” – Rock Daydream Nation featuring Mike Ladano…The premise of this show is that Mike has never listened to a Prince album. We have remedied that situation and have assigned Mike to listen and appraise the 1984 album ‘Prince and the Revolution “Purple Rain”‘. This was a fun, meaningful show that reviews the music of Prince but also looks at the historical context of Purple Rain – the album and the movie.

Peter, thank you so much for inviting me to do this show.  It’s my favourite Rock Daydream Nation yet!

Christmas 2023 scores: Arkells CD collection complete!

Thanks to Jen, Dr. K, my parents and my Aunt Lynda for a wonderful Christmas haul this year.

Music:

  • Arkells – Blink Twice, completing my Arkells CD collection!
  • Black Sabbath – Live Evil super deluxe box set
  • Deep Purple – Tokyo, Japan 2001/03/24-25

Jen spoiled me with junk food and treats.  Canadians of a certain age remember a drink called Tahiti Treat that doesn’t exist anymore.  Jen found something called Tahitian Treat fruit punch that I hope will be similar.  This was quite a nice batch of sugary snacks.

There were other assorted cool things too, such as comic books, funky socks, a hat with a light, and sardines!  I also received Moby-Dick and look forward to the reading challenge.

For those curious, yes I did sabotage my mom’s Christmas village one more time.

Unfortunately, we also received the call this morning that Grandma has Covid again, which means we won’t be seeing her tonight.  She’s none too happy but we will see when she’s well again.  This is round two for her.

This Christmas I want to express gratitude to everyone who is in my life.  This was a great Christmas.  I even got a toilet light!

Your Christmas Music Is All Set For Today! MERRY CHRISTMAS from Max and the Arkells

Merry Christmas one and all!  Whether you celebrate or not, I wish you all a merry December 25!  I hope you are not working today, and I wish you true joy on this morning.

If you’re sick of all the shows on TV, and tired of your Christmas albums, the Arkells have just what you need. The Hamilton band have their “Fireplace Channel” all set on YouTube. You can listen to acoustic renditions of all their hits from the Campfire Chords record, while Max hangs stockings and brings you cookies.  Put it on a loop and enjoy with your tea and gifts!

Please drop a comment and let me know how you’re doing on this Christmas day.  I value every one of you.

 

Mike

 

REVIEW: Guns N’ Roses – “Perhaps” / “The General” (2023 single)

GUNS N’ ROSES – “Perhaps” / “The General” (2023 Geffen 7″ single)

The band that once took 15 years to release a new album hasn’t been doing too shabby of late with new releases.  “Perhaps” we should say new/old releases (see what I did there?) because all four of the new songs released by Guns N’ Roses since Chinese Democracy have been re-worked outtakes from that era.  Since Duff McKagan and Slash have returned to Guns, we’ve had four new tracks:  “ABSUЯD” & “Hard Skool” were released on a previous single, and now we have “Perhaps” and “The General” to go with them.

The “G” side of this new single contains “Perhaps”, which is immediately reminiscent of Use Your Illusion era Guns, via the prominent piano line.  Of any song released since, “Perhaps” sounds the most like a song that would have come out on a new GN’R album in 1995.  Slash’s guitar solo sounds perfectly vintage, but it’s Dizzy Reed on piano, whose flourishes recall “November Rain”, that brings it all back to the glory days.  “Perhaps” wouldn’t have been a big hit in the 90s, but it certainly would have been a solid album cut.

On the “R” side is “The General”, a song we’ve heard whispers about from those in Axl’s inner circle.  This track is the most disappointing, without any notable hooks.  It sounds more of the Chinese Democracy era, and is purely B-side material.  It has a haunting quality that might come from Axl’s love of Alice Cooper, but it’s anything but memorable and the technical flourishes don’t do it any favours, except to obscure the lack of catchy melody or riff.

One good song, one throwaway.  That makes the score pretty clear.

2.5/5 stars

REVIEW: Bruce Dickinson – “Afterglow of Ragnarok” (2023 single)

BRUCE DICKINSON – “Afterglow of Ragnarok” (2023 BMG 7″ single)

In 2024 we will be graced by a new Bruce Dickinson platter, his first solo album since Tyranny of Souls in 2005.  He’s back with Roy Z, and a forthcoming concept album called The Mandrake Project.  This single is billed as a “prequel”.  It comes with a beautiful, full colour comic book insert, installed in the middle of the gatefold.  The story will be fully revealed next year, but this is a project that Bruce has been working on a long long time…

Witness:  The B-side “If Eternity Should Fail”, a demo version of a song that Iron Maiden re-recorded on The Book of Souls.  It’s not the first time Maiden have lifted a song from Bruce’s solo compositions!  He remarks in the liner notes that the song is radically re-imagined on the final Mandrake Project album, but that the keyboards on this demo actually made it to the Maiden version!  Bruce on keys, Roy Z on bass and guitar.  It’s really not that different at all!  The drums are most noticeable.  Presumably this is a drum machine.  Roy’s bass work is pretty cool too.  It introduces the character of Necropolis, who will feature on the album.

The A-side, “Afterglow of Ragnarok”, is promising.  Drums thunder, in cavernous hugeness. Downtuned guitars provide a metallic gutpunch, with a riff that is as solid as any in Bruce and Roy’s impressive history.  The chorus is another demonstration of power and melody.  A Bruce classic, this will be.

Looking forward to The Mandrake Project, we are.  Bruce’s solo work has often rivalled Maiden in quality, not to set expectations too high.  This single is a positive omen.

4.5/5 stars

Happy Birthday Jennifer

Please join me in wishing the beautiful Jennifer a happy birthday today!  I know all she wants for Christmas is the Leafs to win the Cup, but let’s wish that for her birthday too.  They need all the help they can get if they wanna hoist the cup in 2024.

OK, so now I’m in trouble on her birthday.

But seriously, she’s the best Jen in the whole world and if it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing today.

Happy birthday Sweetie Cutie.

 

No show tonight as we celebrate a special day.  Instead we are re-running the awesome Arkells Appreciation episode from last summer with Nurse Kat.  Enjoy and we’ll be back next week with surprises and recap!

 

REVIEW: Extreme – Extragraffitti (1990 Japanese EP)

EXTREME – Extragraffitti (1990 A&M Japan EP)

This little EP, exclusive to Japan, is almost like a miniature “greatest hits” for Extreme.  Of the six songs, five were singles.  You might say “It’s not a greatest hits if it doesn’t have ‘More Than Words’ on it, and that would be a valid point, but that breakthrough ballad hadn’t been released as a single yet in November 1990.

Opening with the current single “Get the Funk Out”, we are off to a good start.  This track works most excellently as an opener.  That bass rolls in, before the guitar riff starts to rip.  Once the horns kick in, your face is thoroughly melted.  This EP focuses on fun.  There’s nothing here that’s a drag.

An edit version of “Decadence Dance” is unblunted.  It’s mostly just the intro stuff that’s missing anyway, and that belonged on the concept album from which it came.  The bonus here is you get Paul Geary’s cymbal count-in instead, which you can’t hear on the Pornograffitti album.  So dance to the beat of the decadent drummer, and get rocked.  This is one of Extreme’s best bangers, a full-on Van Halen romp with hooks and flash…as you like it.

Back to the self-titled 1988 debut album for the next three tracks.  A remix of “Mutha (Don’t Wanna Go to School Today)” may have more bass, edge and clarity.  It’s not a radical remix.  Nuno’s guitar fills jump out nicely.  The first Extreme album was a mixed bag of material, with none of it reaching the upper echelons like the second record.  That said, “Mutha” was probably the best track of the bunch, and the most like what came later.

“Little Girls” only loses about 20 seconds, so you’re fine with this version.  Again, it’s the opening missing.  This song is notable for some remarkable harmonica playing by Rapheal May.  Really impressive stuff here, just as superb as Nuno’s guitar work.  The lyrics, however, can’t be saved.  They were never good, even by 1988 standards.  “Incestual blood is thicker than water,” has to be the worst words that Gary Cherone has ever penned to paper.  Roll up your windows if you intend to sing along to this song.  Shame the band is so hot.

The album version of “Kid Ego” is here unaltered, it’s just not that interesting of a song.  The groove plods along in a lazy, 1980s way that every single band was doing.  It sounds like every band had their metronome set to the same time.

The B-side “Nice Place to Visit” has been released in a number of places, such as the “More Than Words” single in 1991, but first it was the B-side to “Little Girls”.  As an outtake from the so-so first album, this song is also so-so.

The final track, and the only one exclusive to this CD, is a message from Extreme!  These messages from band members were fairly common on Japanese EPs and singles by Western bands.  It is geared specifically for the Japanese fans, and it’s adorable hearing their deep Boston accents.  This message is fairly light.  Nuno talks about their goals as a band, and Gary assures the fans that they will see them real soon.  Apparently, the Japanese fans also sent the neatest, tidiest mail.

Good EP for its time.  There’s even a sticker inside.

3.5/5 stars