billy sheehan

GUEST REVIEW: The Winery Dogs – The Winery Dogs (by Jon Wilmenius)

After hearing so much praise for The Winery Dogs, I finally bought a copy.  I decided for now there was no point in writing a review:  After all, Jon Wilmenius already said it all.  So for my own review, all I’ll write is:  “What he said!”  Enjoy this review from Jon’s own excellent site, Music and Festival Reviews, reprinted with his kind permission.

Read the original here.

GUEST REVIEW by: Jon Wilmenius

THE WINERY DOGS – The Winery Dogs (2013 Loud & Proud)

Way back in the late 80′s / early 90′s supergroups were popping up like mushrooms in your garden. Bands like Bad English, Mr Big and Badlands had big success with the odd album or two before breaking up, but when the 90′s grunge era took over, supergroups were as rare as money on your bank account. Today, things have turned around and with the music industry looking like it does, musicians are forming different projects and bands with each other like never before. One guy that seems to involved a little everywhere are former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy. As of now he is involved in no less than four different bands, Transatlantic, Flying Colors, Adrenaline Mob and now this thing. When The Winery Dogs started out in 2011, they consisted of Portnoy, bassist Billy Sheehan of Mr Big (formerly of Talas and David Lee Roth) and guitarist / lead singer John Sykes (Tygers Of Pan Tang, Thin Lizzy, Whitensake, Blue Murder), but since Sykes seemed to have too much on his mind, he decided to split and was replaced by multi musician and guitar player / lead singer Richie Kotzen, who also has a successful solo career going on, but also a former member of Poison, Mr Big and Forty Deuce.

Without hearing a note of their music, just by looking at the line up makes expectations rise like a virgin’s dong at the Playboy Mansion. That means that nothing worse than ‘great’ would be acceptable for this trio’s debut release. Now, I don’t know how much music that was written with Sykes in the band and how much of it that ended up on this album, but the fact is, Kotzen is all over this record. Kotzen’s solo career sky rocketed after he got the boot from Poison, at least quality wise and even a tone-deaf  could spot his style miles away. Just listen to Poison’s Native Tongue, the best album they ever released, and you’ll hear pretty fast which songs he brought to the table. He really should re-record them as a solo artist someday. So, if you’re a fan of Kotzen’s, this album is a no-brainer – as a matter of fact, it really should be a no-brainer for any a rock fan to buy this CD, because this is amazing stuff. “Elevate” kicks this album into motion with a bang, a rootsy rocker that sounds a lot like Richie’s solo stuff only with Sheehan’s famous and personal bass sound and Portnoy’s heavy groove. “Desire” follows and it is a brilliant tune, full of catchiness and groovy rhythms, “I’m No Angel” has a fantastic refrain and a killer melody, you’re stuck after the first chorus, on “The Other Side”, Sheehan and Portnoy totally rules the groove and the bass and drums are both one and separated at the same time and they give us a brilliant blues ballad in “You Saved Me”. It has a bit of a U2 – feel and Kotzen sings the hell out of it. The guy has got some feel, to say the least.

Both “Not Impossible” and “One More Time” has a lot of Kotzen over them and I find myself thinking that they probably would have been a great fit on his last album 24 Hours. “Six Feet Deeper” has a major swing to it and it strikes me that this is the first album I have heard where Mike Portnoy plays rock ‘n’ roll like this. I mean, he’s an amazing drummer, but his skills has always been in progressive metal where he doesn’t groove that much. This album shows that Portnoy is a lot more all round than people might think. “Criminal” on the other hand, is a heavy piece – not a far cry from how a Kotzen fronted Mr Big would sound. “The Dying” is a ballad, but it leans way more towards heaviness than anything else which is really cool – and it is a great song. The album ends with “Regret”, a classic Kotzen ballad, very bluesy in a 70′s style. Wow! This really is a super trio and they have made one hell of a debut album and hopefully enough people will buy this to convince the guys to keep this project alive. Another thing, has Billy Sheehan and Mike Portnoy ever played with such a groove like they do here? I mean, they are both ace players and with Kotzen, groove is in his blood, but on here Sheehan and Portnoy really makes the rhythm section swing. When we’re writing January 2014 and making a list on the best albums of 2013, this album will no doubt be up there as a contender for the number one spot. Jon says: Get this!

Jon Wilmenius (9/10)

 

REVIEW: David Lee Roth – Greatest Hits/The Deluxe Edition (2013 CD/DVD)

NEW RELEASE – nov. 19 2013

DLRGRHITS_0001DAVID LEE ROTH  –  Greatest Hits/The Deluxe Edition (2013 Warner CD/DVD)

Dear LeBrain readers,

I’ve been here writing reviews for the better part of 21 months now.  I think we know each other well enough, you and I, that I can skip the formalities in some instances.  I don’t think I need to describe in detail classic David Lee Roth recordings such as “California Girls”, “Just a Gigolo”, or “Just Like Paradise”.  I’m willing to bet that with exception to the 1990’s material, most readers already know most of the songs on this album.  If you happened to stumble upon later albums like A Little Ain’t Enough or Your Filthy Little Mouth, then you probably know them all.

If you’re familiar with David Lee Roth but don’t own any as of yet, then your next question is likely to be, “Is this a good place to start?”  Sure, why not?  Dave’s latest “hits” compilation, simply called Greatest Hits (his last one was called The Best), does the trick in most regards.  It even includes Dave’s entire first solo EP Crazy From the Heat albeit not in the original running order.  (1. “Easy Street” 2. “Just A Gigolo” 3. “California Girls” 4. “Coconut Groove” in case you feel like re-arranging the tracks as originally released.)  “Easy Street” is an Edgar Winter Group original, and Dave has Edgar guest on his version too.

Some of the best songs are distilled from Eat ‘Em and Smile, but that’s a 5/5 star album that needs to be owned on its own regardless.   From Skyscraper is “Just Like Paradise” and “Hot Dog and a Shake”, but not the single “Stand Up” interestingly enough.   Present are the three singles from A Little Ain’t Enough: the bluesy “Tell the Truth,” the title track and the swanky “Sensible Shoes”.   Three tracks are included from Your Filthy Little Mouth, only one of which is a head-scratcher (the reggae infused “No Big ‘Ting”) but by-and-large this an acceptable slice of Warner Brothers era David Lee Roth.

What you readers are likely to be most interested in is the bonus DVD.  This “Deluxe Edition” (there’s no other edition available) includes most of Dave’s groundbreaking, genre-hopping classic music videos.  The “Dave TV” segment has uncut videos for “California Girls” and “Gigolo” interspersed with Dave’s commentary.  Continuing the fun are Dave’s first two “band” videos, “Yankee Rose” and “Goin’ Crazy!” along with Dave’s cast of characters.  These of course includes the fabulous Picasso Brothers!

As an added bonus they also included the Spanish version of “Goin’ Crazy!” (“¡Loco Del Calor!”) which appears to be an entirely unique cut, based on the same video shoot.  There are fewer costume changes and stunts, but it’s cool that Dave’s attention to detail included lip-synching an entirely separate video for another territory.

The odds and ends on this disc are pretty scarce, such as the videos for “Sensible Shoes”, “The Nightlife”, and “Tell the Truth”.  None of these videos are nearly as entertaining as the colourful classics.  Let’s face it, Dave’s great in front of a camera, but he’s at his best when it’s one hell of a party happening behind him.

In Canada, this is an import and I paid about $26.  In the US it’s under $19 which is a much more reasonable price.  For fans who don’t own anything, get this, it just makes sense to.  For fans who already have all the albums, you are now forewarned that you’re buying this solely for the DVD.  There’s nothing much else special in terms of packaging, although lyrics are included.

The CD:  3.5/5 stars

The DVD:  5/5 stars

Blended rating:  4.25/5 stars

More DAVID LEE ROTH at mikeladano.com:

Sonrisa Salvaje (Eat ‘Em and Smile 1986 – Spanish version) – Skyscraper (1988) – “Stand Up” promo remix – Your Filthy Little Mouth (1994 Japanese version) – DLR Band (1998) – Diamond Dave (2003)

REVIEW: Ace Frehley – “Cherokee Boogie” (1996)

A little bonus review, part 5.5 in my series of Ace Frehley reviews!  Just a single track today.  Missed the last installment?  Click here!

ACE FREHLEY – – “Cherokee Boogie” (1996 Attic)

From Guitars That Rule the World, Vol 2: Smell the Fuzz – The Superstar Guitar Album!

I was a big fan of the first installment of the Guitars That Rule the World.  It had a really eclectic and diverse list of guitarists, including Zakk Wylde (doing chicken-pickin’ for the first time on record), Albert Collins, Richie Sambora, Yngwie Malmsteen, Paul Gilbert, and many others.  This volume (with a stupid cumbersome title) is geared more towards alternative artists such as Billy Corgan, J. Yuenger, and Kim Thayil.  There’s also John Christ of Danzig, Alex Lifeson, and Robert Fripp.  Hell even Billy Sheehan has a track, and he’s a bassist!  (But, you can already get the Lifeson and Sheehan tracks on albums by their side projects Victor and Niacin.)

CHEROKEE BOOGIE_0002To me this album is only worth buying for the brand new Ace Frehley track.  It’s an instrumental called “Cherokee Boogie”, and while it doesn’t boast too many particularly strong catchy melodies it is still the Ace.  Ace’s soloing is (as always) note perfect for the song.  The riff is quintessential Ace, thick and chunky, albeit not one of his best.  It’s still nice to hear his distinct Les Paul squeal on a new track.  I especially love when the song gets fast and thrashy just past the halfway mark.  At this point Ace is burning rubber, and it’s a real rush.

I’m not familiar with the backing musicians on this recording.  They are Saul Zonana (bass) and Phil Richford (drums).  They get the job done without getting in Ace’s way.

I would say that “Cherokee Boogie” would have made a strong instrumental interlude on any of Ace’s post-Kiss solo albums.  It’s 4:00 of solid rock guitar.

3.5/5 stars

Very poor audio on this

CHEROKEE BOOGIE_0004

REVIEW: Mr. Big – “Green-Tinted Sixties Mind” / “To Be With You” singles

Part 2 of a 2 part Mr. Big special.  Click here if you missed Lean Into It!

MR BIG_0008

MR. BIG – “Green Tinted Sixties Mind” (1991 Warner UK 7″ single)

I won’t talk about the song “Green-Tinted Sixties Mind”; I did that already.  (In short:  “classy and cool”.)  I picked up this 7″ promo import from the UK from a record show in London (Ontario).  At $5, it was a no-brainer purchase.  The sleeve is cardboard, not paper, and pretty cool.

I was in the dark as to what the B-side “Shadows” was.  The label indicated the song is from 1990, and produced by Giorgio Moroder.  Although it’s not credited as such, that would make the song from the Navy Seals soundtrack.  They didn’t write it, so it doesn’t sound like Mr. Big.  It’s very “hard rock” circa 1990.  I could swear parts of the verse melody are directly ripped off of Whitesnake.  So, “Shadows” is a curiosity, nothing to get too excited about.

I know there was a second song from the Navy Seals soundtrack called “Strike Like Lightning”, if you’re interested in tracking it down.  Also on the soundtrack was Bon Jovi’s cover of “The Boys Are Back In Town” and “Try” by Blue freakin’ Rodeo!  How the hell did that happen?

MR BIG_0005MR. BIG – “To Be With You” (1992 Warner Europe CD single)

Like with the other single, I want to focus on the B-sides.  I will say that this version of “To Be With You” is an uncredited edit version.  It’s 6 seconds shorter and lacks the count-in.  This German import CD single has three live tracks.  I found this one at Fairview Mall in Kitchener, an incredible score for the time!

Mr. Big sound like they are killer live.  “30 Days In the Hole” is more spontaneous and funky than its album counterpart.  It’s a lot more fun, and man could this band groove.  The Tokyo crowd clearly loves it too.

In crashes the old Talas/David Lee Roth speed demon, “Shy Boy”!  The band can pull it off musically, Sheehan repeating his bass magic, and Gilbert having no problem with a lightning fast solo. The only one who can’t keep up is vocalist Eric Martin.  His normal soulful voice isn’t right for a song that was defined by David Lee Roth.

The final track is a medley.  They first tease the Japanese audience with the first couple minutes of “Woman From Tokyo”, before switching gears to “Baba O’Riley”.  It’s all but seamless, and natural.  Gilbert plays the synth lines, but on his guitar.  Meanwhile Sheehan handles the riff, on his bass.  Martin shines on this one, much more at home with a song like this.  He really gets to stretch out, and I love it.  Sounds like Gilbert singing Townsend’s vocal part.  Really cool.

“Green-Tinted Sixties Mind” – 3/5 stars

“To Be With You” – 4.5/5 stars

REVIEW: Mr. Big – Lean Into It (1991)

Today, the album.  Tomorrow, the singles!  Yes it’s a two-part Mr. Big feature!  Happy long weekend, hope you’re partying safely!  

MR. BIG – Lean Into It (1991 Atlantic)

Yeah yeah yeah…”To Be With You”!   As Mr. Big said themselves on a later album, “Get over it”!

I’ve always considered Mr. Big to be more shred-lite than glam metal or pop metal. After all, with credentials like these…Talas…Racer X…Impelliteri…these guys know how to play. Eric Martin is a unique blue-eyed-soul singer, one of a kind, absolutely brilliant.  Martin and the band also know how to write catchy hard rock tunes. Combine that with their playing pedigree and adventurous arrangements, and I’ll call ’em shred-lite if you let me. And this is a pretty damn good album for rockers who want just a touch of integrity in their pop.

The opener kicks you right in the nuts with one of the best Big tunes ever, “Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song)” (whew).  The album starts with an adrenaline rush straight to the head.  Why the “Electric Drill Song”?  Because it opens with the sound of Paul Gilbert and Billy Sheehan playing their instruments with electric drills with guitar picks glued to the bit!  In unison?  Basically spoofing the whole “How fast can you play?” question, Big’s creativity make this speed rocker a standout.

“Alive and Kickin'” is nothing more than a hard rocker with soulful vocal and killer chorus, but “Green-Tinted Sixties Mind” is classy and cool. Pure pop with an incredible retro melody and adventurous guitar arrangement, this first single went tragically ignored.  I don’t remember it getting much airplay though it deserved it.  I’m not sure if the world of 1991 would have accepted a song like this from a hard rock band.

“CDFF – Lucky This Time” is another weird title. See, “CDFF” stands for CD Fast Forward which is the sound you’re hearing at the opening of this rather ordinary ballad. The only thing really oustanding about this song is Billy’s rumbling bass groove.  The guy doesn’t sound like anybody else, and he raises the song to another level.  “CDFF”  is followed by the cool and swampy “Voodoo Kiss”, which ended side 1 of the original album.

Side 2 kicked off with another pop rocker, “Never Say Never”, co-written by Canada’s own Jim Vallance. Catchy but non-descript. “Just Take My Heart” is the second ballad, and a forgettable song to me. “My Kinda Woman” kicks the adrenaline back in. Yet it is Paul Gilbert’s “A Little Too Loose” that rekindles the creative fires on this album. Bluesy and fun, this was one of the high points of this record. “Road To Ruin” shows off the vocal harmonies of the guys, all good singers in their own right. It’s another creative arrangement. Then, of course, the album ends with “To Be With You” which, hard to believe, was actually a really creative song too!  Before it got played to death. Now, it’s the typical rock ballad, but at the time of release, it was very different from the kind of ballads that other bands were putting out, except possibly Extreme.  It has a sparse, vocal-oriented arrangement, an acoustic guitar solo, and no drums to speak of.

Tomorrow we’ll be talking about two singles from this album “Green-Tinted  Sixties Mind”, and “To Be With You” itself, both of which have worthwhile rare songs!

4/5 stars

REVIEW: David Lee Roth – Skyscraper (1988)

 

DAVID LEE ROTH – Skyscraper (1988 Warner Bros.)

Changes were afoot in the land of Roth after the success of Eat ‘Em and Smile.  Keyboardist Brett Tuggle was hired in as a full-time member.  Steve Vai was promoted to the rank of co-producer for the next album.  Billy Sheehan was put on a leash, his busy bass stylings reduced to typical pop rock lines on much of the new material.  One song even had a programmed bass instead of the real thing.

It seemed like a sudden about-face.  David Lee Roth had left behind the Van Halen-nouveau trappings of the last album in exchange for a much slicker and more commercial sound. What resulted was Skyscraper, a synth-heavy odd duck that nevertheless spawned a massive hit single still getting radio play today. Revisiting it, this almost (only almost!)  sounds more like a Vai album than a Dave album. That’s not a bad thing, depending on how you feel about the 6 (soon to be 7) string master. Certainly, his loopy noodling was reaching an early peak here, but his stylings are not for everyone.

My biggest complaint would be the sidelining of Billy Sheehan.  I mean, you’ve got possibly the best bass player in the universe in your band:  Exploit that!  Don’t keep him playing 1/4 notes.  In a 1988 Hit Parader interview, Sheehan said that he had to leave the band in order to express himself.  He referred to the “note police” (Roth) who ordered him to play it simpler.  After Skyscraper, he was replaced by drummer Gregg Bissonnette’s brother Matt (no slouch).

The opening rocker “Knucklebones” is a great song, but falls a little limp.  Skyscraper‘s production is cold, sterile, and digital; like in that 80’s way before the technology had really come along.  It does boast complex guitar riffing mixed in with idiosyncratic Dave lyrics. Dave has acknowledged that Vai was in the driver’s seat for this album, and its complexity is a testament to that.

Elsewhere there are some progressive moments (the title track, “Hina”), stage-ready rockers (“Perfect Timing”, “Hot Dog and a Shake”), good time ballads (“Damn Good”) and whatever-the-hell (“Three Fools A Minute”). All of this is surrounded by a fun, party-like atmosphere courtesy of Dave as the band’s hoots n’ hollers along.

I consider this album to be a brave experiment, and Dave’s highest artistic achievement. Not his best album, but his most artistic.  While not as instantly likable, rocking, or consistent as Eat ‘Em And Smile, it is endlessly ambitious, layered, and most importantly fun. Dave is the ringmaster of the greatest party in town. Skyscraper is the party where the smart dudes stop in for a beer.

Craig Fee at 107.5 Dave FM, the world’s biggest Van Halen (not Van Hagar!) fan has this to say:

I still have a soft spot for “Just Like Paradise,” “Stand Up” (the more you do it the less you fall down!) and “Hot Dog & A Shake.”  With Steve Vai on lead guitar, this album is a killer follow-up to EEAS.

I’m glad I asked Craig for his comment because our song likes and dislikes on this album are almost opposite!  My faves?  “Skyscraper”, “Hina”, “Just Like Paradise”, “Knucklebones”  My filler: “Stand Up”!  So there ya go.  Maybe this record has something for everyone?

4/5 stars

“Promo only!  Not for sale!”

Most Unrightfully Ignored Albums of the 1990s – LeBrain’s List Part 4

This is it!  The end!  In alphabetical order, here’s Part 4 of 4:  88 albums that meant the world to me in the 1990′s but never got the respect I felt they deserved.   Thanks for joining in!

Savatage – Streets:  A Rock Opera (sheer brilliance, their first and best rock opera)
Savatage – Edge of Thorns (an album to give Queensryche a run for their money)
Savatage – Handful of Rain (recovering from tragedy to create a triumph)
Savatage – The Wake of Magellan (how did this band just keep getting more brilliant?)
Scorpions – Face the Heat (had a couple good heavy rockers on there like “Alien Nation”)
Shaw/Blades – Hallucination (Tommy Shaw, Jack Blades, campfire goodness)
Skid Row – Subhuman Race (when you’re pissed off and you know it, bang thy head)

Sloan – 4 Nights at the Palais Royale (one of the best live albums of all time – ignored internationally)
Dee Snider’s SMF’s – Live / Forever Twisted (fuck, I missed Dee in the 90’s!)
Spinal Tap – Break Like the Wind 
Stryper – Can’t Stop the Rock (a compilation with two great new tunes)
Sultans of Ping F.C. – Casual Sex in the Cineplex (see here)
Talas – If We Only Knew Then What We Know Now… (Billy Sheehan and the boys reunited for one night, and has the wisdom to record it)
Tesla – Bust A Nut (in some ways it’s better than their prior records)
Testament – The Ritual (really heavily slagged at the time as a sellout)
Tonic – Sugar (much better than the first record, you know, the one that was a hit)
Devin Townsend / Ocean Machine – Biomech (one of his more accessible albums)
Union – Union (Bruce Kulick + John Corabi = better than what the Crue or Kiss was releasing)
Steve Vai – Sex and Religion (Devin Townsend — lead throat)
Veruca Salt – Eight Arms To Hold You (their best album, better than the big hit one)
White Lion – Mane Attraction (it was a little mushy, but brilliant guitars by Vito Bratta)
Whitesnake – Restless Heart (back to his blues rock roots, it wasn’t even released here)

We’re done!  88 albums that meant a lot to me in the 1990’s, but in some cases were criminally ignored.  Check them out.

REVIEW: David Lee Roth – Your Filthy Little Mouth (Japanese import)

DLR FRONT

DAVID LEE ROTH – Your Filthy Little Mouth (1994 Warner Japanese edition)

I’ll admit it, I like this album a lot, and I have since it came out in ’94. It was, however, a total flop. I will never forget the summer of 1994. Working in a record store for the first time, there was a lonely stack of Your Filthy Little Mouth discs sitting right next to an equally tall stack of Motley Crue self-titled CDs. I don’t think I sold one that entire summer, though not for lack of storeplay. It was the times, and if this album had been released in 1989, I’m sure it would have been a smash hit across multiple radio formats.

By this time, David no longer had a “real” band. Long gone were the days of Vai and Sheehan, and even poor Jason Becker was now gone, struck with Lou Gehrig’s disease. Dave started writing and playing with guitarist Terry Kilgore, and utilized a lot of studio cats on these sessions. Kilgore’s playing — bluesy, stratty and tubey — was lightyears away from the futuristic sounds coming from Planet Vai.

The album skirts multiple genres, which earned Dave equal amounts of praise and derision. We all knew Dave had lots of different T-shirts in his drawer. “She’s My Machine” is a groove rocker, mid-paced and sexy with Dave doing his best Van Halen impression. Other songs, such as “Big Train” explored the fast and speedy side of Dave’s boogie rock. Deeper in, “Cheatin’ Heart Cafe” (an excellent duet with Travis Tritt) and “Hey You Never Know” hang on the outskirts of Nashville quite successfully.

Meanwhile on side two, you get the eclectic reggae and urban sounds of “No Big ‘Ting” and “You’re Breathin’ It”, neither of which work and weaken an otherwise strong collection of songs. “Your Filthy Little Mouth”, the title track, quickens the pace back to where we started. It is a strong rocker with some of Dave’s patented fun and cool lyricism. The album ends on a slower note — Willie Nelson’s “Night Life” (previously covered by Thin Lizzy) and a track called “Sunburn” which recalls “Coconut Grove” from the first EP.

A stupid and terribly unnecessary remix of “You’re Breathin’ It” is a bonus track, and the final song — unless you own the Japanese version (I found mine at a record show in Guelph Ontario), which tacked on a cool blues called “Mississippi Power”. “Mississippi Power” was also available on the “She’s My Machine” 7″ single (which I also bought at a record show in London Ontario many years before that).  The Japanese version also had a sticker.  Wheee!

DLR STICKER

Lyrically, Dave was at the top of his game, spinning fun and witty lyrics like never before or since in his entire career. Only Dave could sing, “I got a steel-wheeled radial prophylactic for you, and I ain’t afraid to use it now.” All over the album, you will find double and triple entendre as well as Dave’s personal philophy of life. Are you a passenger, or an engineer? “Whatever gets you to the end of the line”. “Take the traveller and the tourist — the essential difference is, the traveller don’t know where he’s going, and the tourist don’t know where he is!”

When the album flopped, Dave disappeared for a few years and went to Vegas. By 1998 he had snapped up John5 (from Rob Halford’s 2wo), and put together the awesome DLR Band which could rival Van Halen in chops and aggression. Your Filthy Little Mouth stands as an interesting detour on Dave’s road of life.

4/5 stars. Only a couple stinkers (and one useless remix).

REVIEW: Glenn Tipton – Baptizm Of Fire (1997, 2006 reissue)

GLENN TIPTON – Baptizm Of Fire (1997, 2006 reissue)

One cool thing about working in a record store:  I actually bought this album 3 times.  Essentially, I bought it once and the other two times were upgrades!  When it first came out in 1997, I ordered in three copies — one for myself, and one each for my regular customers Len and Shane.  Then another regular, Conrad, traded in the Japanese version.  I upgraded mine, trading it in and paying the slight difference.  Then in 2006 when the remastered edition came out (with the addition of the bonus track “New Breed”), I traded up once more, this time getting some money back for my Japanese printing.  All for an album I don’t even like that much! 

In fact, if this album came out today, without my staff discounts, most likely I would have skipped it. Back then though, things were very different.  Priest was seemingly on ice since 1991.  There wasn’t a new Priest album to look forward to. Halford’s most recent solo material (Fight’s A Small Deadly Space) had failed to excite me the way his debut album had.  Now it was now up to Glenn to carry the Priest flag for me, and I eagerly ordered three copies of his debut solo CD from our distributor, for me and my customers.

The problem with Baptizm of Fire is, sadly, Glenn’s voice. Glenn’s always sung backup vocals with Priest, but as a lead…sorry. I don’t think so. Sounding like an out-of-breath Dave Mustaine, Glenn definitely gives it his all, which just isn’t enough.  Not for metal this powerful.  You need a soaring vocal to give you a melody to sing along to, not to whisper.

The songs are good enough though. I really liked “Fuel Me Up”, “Hard Core”, and “Extinct”. Back then, mainstream magazines like Rolling Stone treated rockers like Tipton as dinosaurs, better off extinct!  Well today, things have changed and they are considered living legends. Such was the 90’s! Tiptop furiously refutes the claim that he was a dinosaur in “Extinct”, one of the best songs on Baptizm Of Fire.

The original Japanese bonus track, “Himalaya” is included on the remaster, a tribute to the Japanese people according to the liner notes on that version of the CD. Well, Glenn, I am really sorry to be the one to break this to you. Japan is nowhere near the Himalayas. I’m not sure I get it.  The other bonus track is included, “New Breed” is of unknown origin but I assume from the album sessions.

In fact so much was recorded that there’s a companion album available:  Edge of the World, consisting of tracks recorded with the late John Entwistle and Cozy Powell.  More outtakes, they were released under the name Tipton, Enwistle & Powell. 

Glenn generated some pre-release hype by loading up this album with guests. Besides the aformentioned Entwistle and Powell, there’s also the devastating Billy Sheehan, Rob Trujillo, Neil Murray on bass! Cozy Powell on drums! Don Airey on keys! And Ugly Kid Joe drummer, the excellent Shannon Larkin!  There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the performances.

Production-wise, this is a little over-processed sounding, a bit like the soon to come Jugulator album by Judas Priest.  Tipton had a hand in producing both. 

I’m sorry Glenn. I really wanted to love your solo album, but today it sits on a shelf, seldomly played. Sorry man.

2/5 stars

  1. “Hard Core” – 4:39
  2. “Paint It Black” – 2:56 (yup…Stones cover…and not that good) 
  3. “Enter the Storm” – 5:56
  4. “Fuel Me Up” – 3:02
  5. “Extinct” – 5:33
  6. “Baptizm of Fire” (Instrumental) – 5:16 (one of the best tracks if not the best!)
  7. “The Healer” – 4:56
  8. “Cruise Control” – 4:08
  9. “Kill or Be Killed” – 3:21
  10. “Voodoo Brother” – 5:36
  11. “Left for Dead” – 3:45
  12. “Himalaya” (Bonus track on Japanese and remastered editions)
  13. “New Breed” (Bonus track on remastered edition)

REVIEW: David Lee Roth – Sonrisa Salvaje (1986)
DAVID LEE ROTH – Sonrisa Salvaje (“Wild Smile“, 1986 Spanish recording, remastered 2007 – Warner)
You have to give David Lee Roth credit, he is nothing if not ambitious. Sonrisa Salvaje, near the very beginning of his solo career, represents a lot about DLR that people forget: Contrary to the wild image and outrageous personality, he’s actually quite intelligent and cultured.
I guess that’s one reason why he decided to record three sets of vocals for his Eat ‘Em And Smile album back in ’86!  (The other reason was that DLR was told there was a huge market for rock music in Mexico.)  His Portuguese version has never been released, and the Spanish version was never released on CD, until this Rhino reissue/remaster came out. You should already know these songs (and if you don’t, then I need to go back and review Eat ‘Em And Smile, and you need to buy the English version first).
You should already know it’s his all-time best solo album. His ace band — Steve Vai, Billy Sheehan, and Gregg Bissonette — rivaled the mighty VH itself. Together they put together this album which contains some of Dave’s best and most memorable tunage. It was playful, fun, smokin’ and diverse.  It had everything from space age rock (“Shy Boy”) to a a Sinatra cover (“That’s Life”).  The bed tracks here, the instrumental backings, are all identical on this version (except for a minor edit to “Big Trouble”).

The Spanish translations, as expected, are a little awkward. That was bound to happen. “Shy Boy” becomes “Timido” and kind of stumbles off the tongue a bit. “Ladies Night In Buffalo?” becomes “Noche De Ronda En La Ciudad”. You see what I mean? The one song that I actually enjoyed more on this release was “Going Crazy!”, now known as “¡Loco Del Calor!”. That song always had a pseudo-tropical sound to it, so the new lyrics fit right in.  The rest are awkward, as the words never seem natural.

Interesting tid-bit: As of this writing (September 2012), Eat ‘Em and Smile has not been remastered and reissued in its English version! So, technically, if you wanted to hear remastered versions of these songs, this is the only place to get them. And that, to me, is a weirder thought than a Dave album in Spanish!

5/5 stars (original English album)

3/5 stars (Spanish version)