I’ve been busy! But I’ve wanted to work with John Clauser for a long time, so when Symbol of Salvation came up in his Armored Saint series, I asked to be included.
I almost bit off more than I could chew! In the same week I had Grab A Stack of Rock and an episode of Grant’s Rock Warehaus. Not to mention, studying up for the Anthrax/Armored Saint battle! After immersing myself in the music for a few days, I think we came up with an interesting and thoughtful discussion.
Praise for John Bush was universal. Which album do you like better?
Join Johnny Metal, John the Music Nut, Roger & myself for this thrashin’ discussion!
JIM CREAN – The Book of Cryptids Volume II (2020 Dark Night Records)
Jim Crean, hard rock singer extraordinaire from Buffalo, New York, has issued another covers album called The Book of Cryptids Volume II. Many will shy away at the thought of a covers album, but Crean always picks interesting covers off the beaten track. The Book of Cryptids Volume II works because A) these are not songs you typically hear covered, and B) Jim kicks ass on them all.
It’s a varied album. “Medusa” by Anthrax opens heavily and melodically. You might wonder how a hard rock singer like Crean tackles Anthrax. Without difficulty! Jim has a bit more rasp, but where Joey Belladonna gets aggressive, Jim pays more attention to the notes. It’s a fine trade-off. Second in line is the seldom-covered Aerosmith classic “Kings and Queens”, which is right up Jim’s alley. Sounds like a banjo is thrown in for texture during the verses. For an even deeper cut, check out the flawless version of Def Leppard’s “Mirror Mirror”. It ticks all the boxes from dual guitars to throbbing bass. Old raspy Def Leppard is well suited to Jim, who wrenches some panache from the chorus. An ace performance.
Gowan’s “A Criminal Mind” is definitely an unexpected cover. The only band known for covering it is Styx — featuring Lawrence Gowan. Jim Crean could be the only other singer to dare tackle it? This song might be a bit of a sacred cow in some quarters, but Jim does an admirable job of it. Not vastly different, but with its own unique vocal colours.
Keeping with a synthy 80s plot twist, “Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground)” is the old Mike + the Mechanics hit. Cool guitar solo on this track that stays pretty true to the original. Then “Cry For Freedom”, the White Lion slow burner from 1989, is another surprise. Crean has covered White Lion before, but “Cry For Freedom” is a special song. Not a ballad yet not a rocker, it leans heavily on the beat and the vocal. Then it has a guitar burn-up near the end, and this one sounds exactly like Vito Bratta.
A keyboardy piano ballad called “Love Is” (Vanessa Williams) …well, let’s just say it takes balls of steel to put it on the same album as an Anthrax song. Fortunately Jim makes it cool, but not as cool as the earlier “Criminal Mind”. But then it’s a whole different ball park: Mother Love Bone, and “Star Dog Champion”. Again, a song that might be considered sacred in some quarters. Jim’s voice is well suited to it, and this “Champion” is fully enjoyable.
We begin to draw to a close on the Scorpions early dark ballad, “When the Smoke is Going Down”. It’s another song that Crean is capable of bending to his will. Brilliant vocal on this one, especially considering that Klaus Meine has to be a top-five metal singer. Coming down from that climax, the final denoument is surprisingly authentic to the original: the Stones’ “Gimme Shelter”. This is one of those mountainous peaks that only fools dare to climb. Yet Crean’s winning streak continues unabated. The sonics are so close to the Stones, and everything sounds completely natural. How the hell do you replicate Charlie Watts’ drums on “Gimme Shelter”? Dunno, but it sounds really good!
All this said, you’re still skeptical, right? Covering “A Criminal Mind” and “Gimme Shelter”? A healthy dose of skepticism is warranted when reading a glowing review of a covers album. To me, covers are worth listening to when you enjoy the spin that another artist puts on the song. In this case it’s Jim’s voice, a classic hard rock voice that I like a lot. So I’m cool with hearing “A Criminal Mind”, because I like the way Jim sings.
Consider this. We’re 10 months into a worldwide pandemic and gigs have dried up. Some artists, like Jim Crean, are recording and releasing music, and we should be supporting that. He gives you good value for the money. This copy came signed, with a custom Jim Crean guitar pick and signed photo. Not to mention some quality covers of great songs off the beaten track. The Book of Cryptids Volume II comes with cool artwork of various cryptozoological specimens including a kraken, Bigfoot, some sirens and an alien. You can buy this package direct from the artist, so you know the money goes to the right people. Check it out — guaranteed a few of these tracks will put a smile on your face.
GETTING MORE TALE #799: Mix CD 10 – “I’m So Bad Baby I Don’t Care” (2003)
Welcome back to an informal series of stories on the subject of musical rediscovery! It is a blast listening to mix CDs (or tapes) that you made ages ago. To get you caught up, you can check out the below if you so choose!
#363: The Art of the Mix CD (An introduction of sorts, explaining the process of making these mixes.)
This is one I have been looking forward to, for a couple reasons. One, I love the cover artwork. I recently reconnected with an old friend from the UK named RooRaaah. He drew this rabbit, “Rab C. Rabbit”, and I always thought the crude sketch was hilarious. If I hadn’t used it on my 10th mix CD, I might have lost it forever.
The second reason is that I burned this CD in the aftermath of dating Elli, as told in Record Store Tales Part 15: Dating a Radio Station Girl. I was seeking all sorts of music, from heavy and angry to soft and soothing. There’s a healthy dose of nostalgia, as I knew I could always return there to fill the holes in my heart. There are even some rarities here, the kind of things you found by browsing Limewire.
As usual, I opened with a comedy bit: Trey Parker and Matt Stone yelling “Dude!” at each other, from the movie Baseketball. “I guess you’ve got a point there.” Then straight into the brand new Anthrax: “Safe Home”. We’ve Come For You All was fresh and this song captured part of how I felt. “My whole world has moved on.” It was a strong, albeit mainstream single for the thrash pioneers, and one that still holds up.
From there to full-on nostalgia: “Mr. Roboto”! Wow, she must have really done a number on my heart to make me go all the way back there, the first rock record I ever bought. At this point in my history, I lost my original LP copy and hadn’t yet got one on CD since it was so hard to find. Hence the Limewire download. A co-worker picked up the Styx CD for me in Toronto a year or two later. Then, first of three Motorhead tracks is a wakeup: “I’m So Bad Baby I Don’t Care”. I was definitely pissed off! But then it’s onto the Faces classic “Ooh La La”, a taste for which was acquired by repeated viewings of Rushmore.
Albums and artists tend to repeat on this CD. Even certain songs repeat! Jellyfish’s excellent “The Ghost at Number One” is the first of two appearances. I can taste the nostalgia, as I retreated to a simpler time, sitting in front of the TV watching music videos on Much. I always appreciated the Beatles-esque track, which I haven’t heard in years. Back to the 80s again, and the Gowan classic “A Criminal Mind”. Comfortable MuchMusic memories in the basement. A dark, plaintive song that spoke to me. “And you will never break me, till the day I die.”
Motorhead’s “R.A.M.O.N.E.S.” reflects a fresh appreciation for punk rock in my post-Elli haze. You could thrash out to it and just rock the frustrations till they were gone. This song will lift you up no matter how deep the hole. A real weird rarity follows this, a Limewire discovery: Mike Patton & Dillinger Escape Plan covering Justin Timberlake’s “Like I Love You”. And they fucking kill it, too! Just a bootleg, but good enough for a mix CD.
Back to the movie Rushmore. One of the most impressive tracks in that movie is the Live At Leeds version of “A Quick One (While He’s Away)” by The Who. Once a co-worker told me exactly what that song was (from expanded edition of Live at Leeds), I grabbed it (before buying the CD later on) from Limewire. The track is an utter marvel, and I maintain the live version is the superior one. I couldn’t believe it was actually live! It’s as clean as a studio cut with perfect harmonies, but with explosive live energy. It’s my favourite Who song, hands down. It’s the kind of song that made me feel smug, like “Yes, I have fucking great taste in music.”
The first repeat band (and song) is “The Ghost at Number One”, this time live. Jellyfish’s immaculate live version is tight as a drum. Then, a magnificent double repeat: Styx, now with Lawrence Gowan on lead vocals, with “A Criminal Mind”! And not just “A Criminal Mind”, no; live in Kitchener Ontario, this one! It’s cool that James “JY” Young threw down that wicked guitar solo right across town. So this one is special to me no matter how you slice it. The centerpiece of the CD, perhaps.
Don’t read anything into “Crabsody” by AC/DC being on this CD. It’s not on any of the US albums, so I downloaded it when I searched for “rare AC/DC” on Limewire. (Strictly a novelty song, incidentally and not a lost AC/DC classic.) You can definitely read “nostalgia” into the next track. Back to 1981 (Jesus!) and “Believe It Or Not” by Joey Scarbury. And I clearly went for the most mangled transition I could manage, since the very next song is “Chinese Arithmetic” by a Patton-fronted Faith No More (second appearance for Mike). The track opens with Patton announcing, “The word of the day is…fuck.” Which he then repeats a few times, before seguing into “Vogue” (as they often did).
Finally it’s back to Gowan again, and “Strange Animal” (featuring Tony Levin on the Chapman Stick). The rhythm that Levin lays down is a beast! Even in shitty Limewire quality, this song moves. Motorhead make their final appearance on the war ballad “1916”, a song which I found real affecting at that time. I got the album as soon as possible.
Ending the CD (sort of) is CKY, whose only real claim to fame is an attachment to the Jackass guys via Bam Margera’s brother Jess. The details are lost to me now, but I would have heard this song either a) on a Margera DVD or b) on a mix CD played in store. It’s a good little ballad circa the millenium, and it suited my grey heart. It’s been years since I last played it, and I can hear what I liked in it. Thank God I’m not that sad sack o’ shit anymore, though.
The real final track is just a coda, a preview of the new Metallica song “Frantic” via a show called MTV Icon. Remember, when they paid tribute to Metallica and had Snoop up there doing his thang to “Sad But True”? Well Metallica closed the show with their own song, and then I guess the credits must have rolled or something, because this thing just fades out before James can even deliver one “Fran-tic-tic-tic-tic-tock!”
I put some effort into typing out an interesting looking tracklist on the back, and Rab C. Rabbit looks fab on the front. I even glued the two together to make the insert. Here’s the funny thing though. I guess I must have needed a case to put this CD in, so I swapped out one from a local band called Vacuity, and threw their CD in the trash. The vacuity.net sticker is still on the back. This is funny, because one of the guys from Vacuity worked at the Record Store, and, well, he really wanted me to like his band. When he and store parted ways, I parted with the CD! Dick move, I know, but he was kinda a dick.
When reports surfaced that Kiss were in the studio working on a song with country star Garth Brooks, some assumed this was to be a bonus track for the forthcoming Kiss Alive III. Little did we realize that Kiss were actually working on their own tribute album.
In the early 1990s, tribute albums were all the rage. Common Thread: the Songs of the Eagles. Stone Free: a Tribute to Jimi Hendrix. Out of the Blue and Borrowed Tunes: tributes to Neil Young. There were many more, and Kiss were not on the trailing edge of this trend. They beat Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin to the market.
Kiss My Ass was the clever title, but it was not the first. 1990’s Hard to Believe: A Kiss Covers Compilation featured soon-to-be-famous bands like Melvins and Nirvana. The ever-enterprising Kiss decided to corner the market with their own official tribute to themselves.
To toot their own horn, Kiss included a list of not only the musicians who appeared on Kiss My Ass, but even the ones that didn’t. Nirvana is on the list. According to the Melvins though, the truth is that they only dropped Kurt’s name as a guest on their track, because Gene didn’t seem too interested otherwise. Nine Inch Nails were going to do “Love Gun”. Both Ugly Kid Joe and Megadeth wanted to tackle “Detroit Rock City”. It’s hard to imagine what songs Run D.M.C. and Bell Biv Devoe were supposed to record, or Tears for Fears for that matter. Take this list with a grain of salt!
Kiss My Ass (or A** if you bought it from Walmart) is a weird album. It’s scattershot and not immediately likeable. It collected 11 (12 if you include the bonus track) covers by a diverse assortment of 90s artists. The cover art sucks and lacks the Kiss logo and Ace’s real makeup (which Kiss did not have the rights to in 1994). The only cool gimmick the cover had was the background flag was unique to the country of release. A Kiss album with a Canadian flag is neat to own.
The album hits the ground running with some 70s cred, as Lenny Kravitz and Stevie Wonder do “Deuce”. Lenny funks it up while Stevie brings the harmonica. This is an example of a simply terrific cover. The artists put their own spin on it, changing its style but not its drive.
“Hard Luck Woman” was already up Garth Brooks’ alley. His version doesn’t stray from the Kiss original, and even features Kiss (uncredited) as his backing band! That makes it an official Kiss recording, just with a guest singer of sorts. Arguably the biggest country singer of all time, and a closet Kiss fan. The Garth Brooks track threw a lot of people for a loop, though it’s an easy song to digest.
Kiss only participated in two songs: the Garth track, and Anthrax’s “She”. Anthrax insisted that Paul and Gene produce it, and they did a great job of it. Anthrax are brilliant at doing covers anyway. John Bush-era Anthrax was truly something special, and “She” slams hard. Heavy Kiss songs made heavier are such a delight.
The Gin Blossoms turned in a very mainstream, very mid-90s version of “Christine Sixteen”. It kicks about as hard as the original, but something about it is very tame. After all, singer Robin Wilson is not Gene Simmons (which is probably a good thing), and guitarist Scotty Johnson is not Ace Frehley. Far worse through is Toad the Wet Sprocket’s soggy “Rock and Roll all Nite”, a buzzkilling country fart. “Calling Dr. Love” by Shandi’s Addiction (a collection of assorted big names) is also a hard pill to swallow. This quartet consists of (are you ready for it?): Maynard James Keenan – lead vocals. Tom Morello & Brad Wilk – guitar and drums. Billy Gould – bass. So, it’s Rage Against the Machine with the singer from Tool and a bass rumble right out of Faith No More. And the track is just as schizophrenic as you’d expect. It’s both brilliant and annoying as fuck.
J. Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. used his unique vision on “Goin’ Blind”, turning Gene’s murky song into something even darker. Then bright shimmers of a string section break through the clouds, shadowing everything dramatically. It’s a brilliant track. Much like Kravitz, J. Mascis took the song and changed the style but not direction. You could say the same for Extreme who do a brilliant spin on “Strutter”. Though by 1994 Extreme were well over in the public eye, they continued to push their own boundaries. “Strutter” became something slower and funkier, with Nuno Bettencourt slipping all over the fretboard and Gary Cherone pouring it all on. This is primo Punchline-era Extreme (Paul Geary still on drums). And listen for a segue into “Shout it Out Loud”!
The Lemonheads chose “Plaster Caster” from Love Gun, a sloppy garage rock version, and score a passing grade. It’s an admirable effort, but they are quickly overshadowed by their fellow Bostonians, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. The Bosstones had the balls to open their track with a phone message from Gene Simmons advising them to pick another song. “Dicky, about Detroit Rock City…” Ugly Kid Joe had dibs. Any other song would be fine…and then WHAM! The opening chords to “Detroit Rock City”. Gene was gracious enough to appear in the video. Their disciplined ska-punk horn ensemble lays waste to the town. Dicky Barrett’s gravelly throat is like a sniper taking out anyone left standing. The Bosstones win the whole CD, hands down. There is little doubt that Dicky Barrett would have shaken unfortunate Kiss fans unfamiliar with the Bosstones. Today it’s clear that they stole the show with their mighty, mighty cover.
The closest match to the Bosstones in terms of excellence, is a polar opposite. It’s Yoshiki (from X-Japan) and his orchestra version of “Black Diamond”. This is performed instrumentally with piano in the starring role. In this form, “Black Diamond” would make a brilliant movie theme. Yoshiki closes the album in style, unless you choose to go further and get the LP. Proceed with caution.
The vinyl bonus track by Die Ärzte is the only non-makeup Kiss track included: “Unholy”. This is a garbage version (in German no less) that you don’t need to spend your money finding. It’s only interesting when it briefly transitions into “I Was Made For Loving You”. Want a good version of “Unholy”? Check out the 2013 tribute A World With Heroes.
By 1994, Kiss needed a boost. Grunge was omnipresent and Kiss looked silly and outdated, even with their beards and scruffier appearance. Kiss My Ass was clearly a transparent attempt to try and latch onto some fans of the newer breed. Maybe some Lenny Kravitz fans would like it. If a few Garth Brooks followers bought a copy too, then bonus! But Garth Brooks fans didn’t buy the album, turned off by the cover art and tracklist. Likewise, fans of Lenny Kravitz, Tool and Rage Against the Machine didn’t run out en-masse either.
Fortunately Kiss had plenty of cards left in their deck. There was a Kiss My Ass spinoff video, a tour, and a coffee table book all in the works. This seemed to distract from the oft-rumoured next Kiss studio album. More next time.
There are way too many CDs in my collection that I don’t like, but I own for one or two rarities. ECW Extreme Music is one of those many. I have never watched an ECW wrestling match in my life. I only know one of the wrestlers pictured inside, Bam Bam Bigelow, because he was in the WWF when I was a kid. I don’t like the 90s version of wrestling with the blood and barbed wire. And I don’t like much of the music they used.
First is the generic riff/loop combo of Harry Slash and the Slashtones, whoever that is. Skip that repetitive crap to get to a White Zombie remix. “El Phantasmo and the Chicken-Run Blast-O-Rama” was a great groove from Astro-Creep: 2000. The “Wine, Women & Song” mix by Charlie Clouser is from their remix CD Supersexy Swingin’ Sounds. It’s an enjoyable remix, which is something best appreciated on its own rather than on a remix album.
Somebody named Kilgore did a carbon copy cover of “Walk” by Pantera, presumably because using the original would have cost more? It’s embarrassingly copycat. Your friends who don’t know will assume it’s Pantera. Fortunately a great Megadeth tune is next. Cryptic Writings is an underrated album, and “Trust” was probably the second best track on it (right after “A Secret Place”). This instrumental mix is an exclusive and has emphasis on Marty Friedman’s lead guitar which replaces the vocals.
Bruce Dickinson (and Roy Z) is next with a lacklustre cover of “The Zoo” by the Scorpions. There’s nothing particularly wrong with it, it’s just a cover, but it’s also a non-album track that collectors will want. Too bad it’s not exceptional like most of Bruce’s output. It’s just good not great. Another cover follows: Motorhead doing “Enter Sandman”! It’s as bizarre and weirdly perfect as you’d expect it to be. Grinspoon are next with their fairly stinky version of Prong’s “Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck”, robbed of all its snarl. John Bush-era Anthrax are more impressive with Metallica’s “Phantom Lord” from Kill ‘Em All. It’s breakneck, and also very cool to hear a Big Four thrash band covering another Big Four group.
Pantera, minus Phil Anselmo, are here for their cover of ZZ Top’s “Heard it on the X”. It’s both ZZ Top and Pantera at the same time, and that’s kind of remarkable. That’s it for this album though — nothing worthwhile from here out. What’s the point of having a cover of “Kick Out the Jams” (courtesy of Monster Magnet) but then beep out the naughty words? Somebody named Muscadine decided to do “Big Balls” by AC/DC, a pretty obvious bad idea. Just awful. Then it’s more of Harry Slash to end the CD with some more pure filler.
CMC International released a lot of low budget crap over the years, and this CD is pretty poor. There are five pages of merch advertising inside, including one for a ECW Extreme Music 2. I skipped that one. This CD is collectable for the Bruce Dickinson, Anthrax and Motorhead tracks. But these are cover tunes we’re talking about, so tread wisely.
We rarely get political here at LeBrain’s Record Store Tales and Reviews. We try to keep the discussions light. The topics are mostly focused on music, tech, retail and work place stories. With that in mind, here’s a good work place tale from 2006.
Without getting into the nitty gritty details, back in 2006, a group of Six Nations on a reserve near Caledonia held an armed standoff over Aboriginal land claims. In question was a 40 hectare parcel of land that was being prepared for development into subdivisions. They occupied a large patch of land and wouldn’t budge, stating that historically they never gave up this land. There is a very complex history as to the ownership of land in Caledonia, going back to 1784. The police arrested occupiers, and in return the Six Nations set up roadblocks. This went on for weeks, highlighted by violence and anger on both sides. Local radio covered all the news, which made national headlines. It was an ugly scene all around, but also a very serious issue that remains unresolved today (the last blockade happened in 2014).
During the months this was going down in 2006, I was working in a small data entry office with two ladies a little older than myself. The radio was tuned to the local news. During an update on the situation, one of the two ladies blurted out, quite offensively, “Why don’t those Indians just pack up and go home and stop causing trouble? I’m sick of them! I don’t even understand what they want!” She ranted for a bit and then things went quiet. The other lady didn’t answer, so I chimed in.
“They’re arguing for their rights to use their traditional lands,” I explained.
“What land?!” she answered incredulously.
“In Caledonia, but really this was all their land,” I informed her. “When the Europeans like us came to this country, we pushed them off their land and took it for ourselves. Now all they have left are these little crummy reservations. But they were here first.”
Her response was something I’ll never forget:
“What?! I never heard of that!”
Come again? Did you somehow miss grades 1 through 12? Canada often prides itself in our great education system. There’s proof right there that it certainly has its flaws. Highschool is free, people! I had to explain this to a lady who was old enough to know where all the white people in North America came from. I had to convince her this was real history and not a “theory”. She didn’t have to like these facts, but how can you go through life without even knowing them?
And that is the story of one of the most ignorant comments I’ve ever heard inside or outside the work place. In the words of Anthrax:
We all see black and white, When it comes to someone else’s fight, No one ever gets involved, Apathy can never solve.
Forced out – brave and mighty, Stolen land – they can’t fight it, Hold on – to pride and tradition, Even though they know how much their lives are really missin’, We’re dissin’ them. On reservations, A hopeless situation.
Cry for the Indians, Die for the Indians, Cry for the Indians, Cry, cry, cry for the Indians.
Respect is something that you earn, Our Indian brothers’ getting burned, Original American, Turned into second class citizen.
Love the land and fellow man, Peace is what we strive to have, Some folks have none of this, Hatred and prejudice.
Territory – It’s just the body of the nation, The people that inhabit it make its configuration. Prejudice – Something we all can do without, Cause a flag of many colors is what this land’s all about.
ANTHRAX – Live from Sonisphere Festival 2010 (picture disc EP, Record Store Day exclusive)
I don’t get these Record Store Day exclusives, honestly. I saw this thing for a reasonable price on Amazon and bought it without even knowing it was some kind of “exclusive”. I sure didn’t buy it at a record store, but I won’t turn this into a Record Store Day rant.
This is a very nice looking picture disc. I wouldn’t recommend playing it too often, you know how quickly a picture disc can wear out. If you’re lucky enough to own the Big Four Live CD box set, you won’t need to play this. I don’t have that very limited set, but these two Anthrax performances make me want it! “Medusa”, an oldie from the Anthrax days of yore (Spreading the Disease), is just as powerful as ever. Belladonna’s voice has changed, but not enough to matter. The song has been tuned down, but that really only makes it heavier.
“Only”, the first single from the John Bush era of the band, is on the other side. This is one of the best Anthrax songs ever, in my opinion. Joey certainly turns a more than able performance. He sounds at home, and I quite enjoy his version, especially when he starts shrieking before the guitar solo.
I loved this single, and I was surprised how awesome Joey sounded. I really lost track of Anthrax after the We’ve Come For You All period and haven’t been too excited about all the rotating singers since then. However since Joey’s been back (for hopefully the rest of the band’s life) I’ve been a lot more interested, and that’s why I bought this. I didn’t know how good he would sound on the Bush-era stuff, and “Medusa” smokes with furious intensity too.
“I’m letting them pick what songs they wanna do in the way they wanna do it.” Wendy Dio
VARIOUS ARTISTS: Ronnie James Dio – THIS IS YOUR LIFE (2014 tribute CD)
No preable from me: we all know how great Dio was. Let’s get to the tracks.
Anthrax kick off the festivities with a slamming “Neon Nights”. The storming opener couldn’t have been in a better slot. Not only is Charlie Benate heavy as shit, but the guitar solos are mental. Joe Belladonna handles the powerful vocal ably. Rob Caggiano is still in the lineup indicating this isn’t brand new. I suspect it was recorded at the same time as last year’s Anthems EP.
The guys that never get respect, Tenacious D, tackle the difficult second slot. No worries there; they chose “The Last In Line” which Jack Black sings with no difficulty. Uncle Meat has said it before: Jack Black is one of the best singers he’s seen live. “The Last In Line” proves his pipes, although some may not like his exaggerated, humorous vocal enunciation. Kyle Gass plays a cute recorder solo in lieu of guitar, but there’s not enough K.G. on this track. Brooks Wackerman kicks the drums in the ass.
And speaking of drums, Mike Portnoy is next with Adrenaline Mob. They demolish “Mob Rules”, although singer Russell Allen is certainly no Dio. He is completely overshadowed by Portnoy and the shredding of Mike Orlando.
Corey Taylor, Satchel (Russ Parish) and friends chose “Rainbow In the Dark” as their tribute to Ronnie. This has always been such a fan favourite, and a personal one as well. It is difficult to imagine anyone but Ronnie singing it. While Corey Taylor is not at all like Ronnie James Dio, you can tell he loves this song. It bleeds out of his performance. He does it in his own rasp, and it works.
The incredible Lzzy Hale and Halestorm are up next with another Dio classic, “Straight Through the Heart”. There is no denying the talents of Lzzy Hale, but her powerful pipes are almost too much. Perhaps she overpowers the song, rather than simply fueling it. Halestorm fans will love it, but I think Lzzy maybe should have reeled it in a bit. Or, maybe I just need to get used to it. “Straight From the Heart” does sound better after a few listens.
Biff Byford (Saxon) joins Motorhead on lead vocals for Rainbow’s “Starstruck”. There’s a bit of that Motor-slam in it, but if I didn’t know who it was, I never would have guessed Motorhead. You can hear Lemmy on backing vocals, but weirdly, he’s not credited on bass. Nobody is, but you can hear the bass clearly and it sounds like Lem.
I’m a little sick of the Scorpions doing ballads, but I admit that “Temple of the King” (another Rainbow classic) is stunningly good. One might almost mistake it for a Scorpions original. It has that regal Scorpions bombast to is, but Matthias Jabs’ lead work is just sublime. He’s an underrated player, absolutely. You can tell he’s a Blackmore fan.
An oldie from 1999, Doro’s cover of “Egypt (The Chains are On)” is excellent. It’s cool to hear female singers like Doro and Lzzy Hale sing Dio. Doro’s impressive pipes have always been astounding. Her version of “Egypt” is a little over the top compared to Dio’s, but that’s cool by me.
Killswitch Engage…hmm. “Holy Diver” starts great, super heavy, with some perfectly acceptable, melodic vocals. Then it all goes down the toilet at the bridge. That’s when it turns into hardcore shouting and blast beats…sorry, not on this song, thanks. I can listen to that stuff in moderation, but don’t sully “Holy Diver” with it. Fortunately the guitar solos are great, sounding like an Iron Maiden outtake from Powerslave. Shame about the growling and shouting. Skip.
“Catch the Rainbow” is a great song, and Craig Goldy plays guitar on this cover. He’s ex-Dio himself, and he’s backed by his former Dio-mates Rudy Sarzo, Scott Warren and Simon Wright. (Hey, that’s also 1/3 of Tateryche!) Glenn Hughes sings, but this song sounds out of his scope. His bluesy slant doesn’t work for me. Sorry Glenn, you’re still awesome!
I find it strange that two more ex-Dio members (Jimmy Bain and Rowan Robertson) chose to cover Black Sabbath. But who cares! They covered “I”, perhaps the greatest song from Dehumanizer (1992)! On drums is Brian Tichy, with Oni Logan (Lynch Mob, Dio Disciples) singing. It’s a perfectly authentic version and I love it. It’s absolutely thunderous, and I love Jimmy Bain’s bass sound. Always have. Of all the vocalists on This Is Your Life, it is Oni Logan that comes closest to nailing Dio’s vibe. Considering he’s in Dio Diciples, I shouldn’t have been surprised. I didn’t expect it though, based on what I knew of Logan from Lynch Mob. He fits “I” like a glove!
I was disappointed in Rob Halford’s version of “Man On the Silver Mountain”. It’s true that Halford did replace Dio in Black Sabbath for two shows in 1992. However, having owned a bootleg video of that show since that time, I knew that Halford’s and Dio’s styles didn’t really mesh. This is no different; I don’t think his voice works with the song and it unfortunately shows off the places where Rob’s voice has weakened. What is cool though is that the band (all ex-Dio: Doug Aldrich, Vinnie Appice, Jeff Pilson and Scott Warren) take it to a swampy bluesy Whitesnake-y place for the intro. You can definitely hear Pilson covering the high notes in the chorus.
Finally we arrive at the mighty Metallica. Snicker if you like. If Metallica do one thing really well, it’s covers. If they do two right, it’s covers and medleys. The “Ronnie Rising Medley” is entirely made up of parts of Rainbow songs. “A Light In the Black” bleeds into “Tarot Woman,” where the vocals begin. It’s safe to say if you don’t like Metallica, you won’t like this. If the opposite is true, I think you’re in for a treat. Metallica do these classics in their own style, just as they have in the past when covering Maiden, or Mercyful Fate, or Thin Lizzy. Simply add Lars’ thuds, James’ growl, and some standard Metalli-licks, and you’ve got a medley that is enjoyable through its near-10 minute run time. Having said that, the weak point is definitely “Stargazer”, which is gutted of all its majesty. They do much better with “Kill the King” which is fucking perfect. They include the entire song in their medley!
Fittingly, the album ends on a ballad: Dio’s own somber “This Is Your Life”, performed by the man himself in 1996. I did not like the Angry Machines album, but if there was one song I would have picked as a highlight it would be “This Is Your Life”. Performed only by Dio and Scott Warren on piano, it is unlike anything else in Dio’s canon. The lyrics speak of mortality:
This is your life This is your time What if the flame Won’t last forever?
This is your here This is your now Let it be magical
What a way to end a great album. As much as you can “miss” a person you have never met, I do miss Ronnie James Dio. In many ways he’s been my friend for 30 years.
4.5/5 stars
As a nice added touch, the liner notes include photos of just about every performer on this CD with Ronnie!
Of note: the Japanese edition has a bonus track by Dio Diciples: “Stand Up and Shout.” It also has Stryper’s version of “Heaven and Hell” from their 2011 album The Covering, which I reviewed here.
Spacewalk – A Salute to Ace Frehley (1996 DeRock/Triage)
Just in time for the massive Kiss reunion tour came this tribute CD. There were several versions of this. I have the second-coolest of the three:
Least cool: Regular domestic 10 track CD.
Second coolest: Import CD (Europe?) with brand new bonus track by Ace Frehley himself, called “Take Me To the City”
Most cool: Japanese import CD with that and Sebastian Bach’s “Save Your Love”
This is one of those tributes made up of a mish-mash of metal musicians, no real “bands” so to speak, although all are great musicians. Scott Travis plays drums on most of it (lending an awkward Priest-like vibe to the drums), Charlie Benate plays with Scott Ian on “Rip It Out”, and Vinnie Paul of course plays with Dimebag Darrel on “Fractured Mirror”. (This site has all the information and credits for the CD. Enjoy! You’ll notice the backing band is basically Racer X on most tracks.)
I’m good with every track on here except one: Bruce Bouillet’s version of “New York Groove”. I’m not into drum loops in general, and although the track has a funky groove to it, it’s just not my bag. On the other hand, Scott Ian’s cover of “Rip It Out” is Anthrax-worthy. Frankie Bello’s on bass, and somebody named Zach Throne sings it with Scott. Zach nails an authentic Ace-like vocal, while Charlie’s relentless on the drums. The Anton Fig drum solo is almost exact note-for-note. As is the signature guitar solo.
Gilby Clarke’s “Shock Me” is one of the better tracks. I don’t usually think of Gilby as a soloist, since in GN’R he didn’t solo. His soloing style is unlike Ace’s, but he performs an original solo of his own that is appropriate to song. On the other hand I wouldn’t count “Deuce” by Marty Friedman (ex-Megadeth) as a favourite. The vocal (by somebody called Tom Gattis) is a tad overwrought. Another “blah” tune is “Snowblind”, performed in a too-modern metally sound by Jason McMaster (Dangerous Toys) and Snake Sabo from Skid Row.
Ron Young (Little Caesar, the Four Horsemen) has a soulful but southern sound on “Hard Luck Woman”, an odd choice for a Frehley tribute. Written by Paul and sung by Peter, the original was created for Rod Stewart to sing! But it’s as good a cover as any, and I don’t have a lot of other stuff of Ron’s, so I’m cool with this. Jeff Watson (Night Ranger) is on guitar.
We all knew Sebastian Bach would knock it out of the park on “Rock Bottom”, and he does. “Rock Bottom” wasn’t written by Ace, but he did write the intro, performed here by Russ Parish of Fight/Steel Panther. Baz is obviously a huge Kiss fan and the song is in great hands, although the solo’s way too modern. Still, I wish I had “Save Your Love” too.
Tracii Guns is passable on “Parasite”, but again I think the song is done in a style too contemporary. Up next is John Norum of Europe, with “Cold Gin”! (Hey, two songs in a row written by Ace!) McMaster is back on lead vocals, not my fave singer in the world. John is a great guitarist, and this version of “Cold Gin” is heavy with fills. Some go with the song, some miss the mark.
Dime’s “Fractured Mirror” is perfect, even the production and sound of the acoustic guitar is eerily similar to Ace’s original. Dime may well have been the biggest Ace Frehley fan in the world. Darrell does throw some of his own personality into the song, but I think foremost on his mind was probably playing the song the way he remembered it. And he does.
Lastly, “Take Me To the City” is performed by Ace himself, with his crack band: Steve Werner on drums, Karl Cochran on bass, Richie Scarlet on guitar and backing vocals, and…Sebastian Bach is there too at the end! This Ace rarity is the best of all reasons to track down this CD. This is Ace back to a hard rocking Frehley’s Comet sound, with an anthemic chorus. When Baz shows up at the end, it’s icing on the cake (although you need to turn it ^UP^ to catch him in the fade).
I don’t really buy tribute albums anymore, because I find these mish-mashes of somewhat related artists to be a bit tedious. Still, it’s pretty solid, and definitely worthwhile to fans of bands like Pantera, Skid Row, or Anthrax. The Ace bonus track is pretty much a compulsory purchase.
3/5 stars
Soon, we’ll also be talking about another quality tribute album with some surprising guests and alumni. Stay tuned.
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.
mikeladano.com 