CD singles

#1107: Dark Clouds & Silver Linings: CD & Vinyl Haul, and Grab A Stack Of Rock spotted on WWE Wrestling

RECORD STORE TALES #1107: Dark Clouds &; Silver Linings:
CD & Vinyl Haul, and Grab A Stack Of Rock spotted on WWE Wrestling

Jen has experienced a few health setbacks.  Last week, she took another hard fall.  It wasn’t a seizure this time, but a pothole in the sidewalk.  She took a tumble, busted her expensive therapy glasses, and ended up with a bruise on her forehead that became its dominant feature.  During a moment of levity, I dubbed her Mikhail Gorbachev, which she took to heart with a comedic post on Facebook about her resemblance to the former Russian president.  You have to laugh sometimes.  Despite this, all the setbacks have taken a toll on my own health, and I really have not been doing well either.

One night last week, I was so stressed out that I slept for 10 hours and still woke up feeling like a zombie.  My head banged and every limb ached.  I really struggled to come down after some of the recent events and scares.

However, as always, there are good things amongst the rest.

I took Jen to the eye doctor after her fall, and killed some time at the local Record Store.  They had a bunch of cool Marillion and Fish in stock, so I snagged all of it.

  • Marillion – “Incommunicado” 5″ CD single – damaged packaging, but this is a duplicate CD and will be donated to a worthy friend
  • Marillion – “Freaks” (Live) 5″ CD single
  • Marillion – “Hooks In You” 3″ CD single
  • Marillion – “Uninvited Guest” 3″ CD single
  • Fish – “Big Wedge” 5″ CD single
  • Fish – “A Gentleman’s Excuse Me” 5″ CD single
  • Boston – Greatest Hits CD
  • Iron Maiden – The Number of the Beast 40th anniversary LP

I’ve been wanting a complete collection of classic 80s Derek Riggs Iron Maiden on vinyl, so why not.  I remember when Sam the Record Man had Powerslave, brand new, for $5.99.  Beast was $39.99.  Holy moly.  The total haul was $92.

New music is good for the soul, so this haul, expecially the 3″ discs, was especially satisfying.  I did notice a few things about the Record Store.

Back in my day, there was a “not hats” rule.  That was hard and fast.  I had bad hair a lot of days and couldn’t hide it under a hat.  On this visit, one guy had a touque, the other a baseball hat.

Neither guy asked me if I wanted any help.  That also used to be a hard and fast rule.  You had to ask every single person who walked in the door.  Give ’em a minute, and ask.  Neither guy bothered.   Things sure have changed in the last 20 years.

I had to laugh at a couple things though.  An older man came in and asked about a movie on DVD.  The guy at the counter told him the movie was still new in theaters.  I remember having that very conversation in my days at the Record Store.

I also observed people coming in with boxes and tubs full of CDs, movies and videos games, reminding me of my busier Saturdays in the days of yore.  I really didn’t enjoy buying used CDs by the tub, but in came the discs regardless!  By the tub, bag or box, the CDs came in a never-ending stream of media.  I spotting a woman bringing in a Tragically Hip Phantom Power CD from 30 feet.  I still got the skills.

I think I did well at the store today.  I did even better after.  Cooler than a CD haul at a Record Store though, was the surprise that Johnny Clauser had for me.

John Clauser, from My Music Corner on Youtube, is one of my favourite music people.  He was off to a televised WWE event, Road to Wrestlemania Smackdown, in Birmingham Alabama.  Johnny had ringside seats.  Rumour had it that Dwayne “The Rock Johnson” was going to be there that night.  He was.

On national television, John Clauser can clearly be seen, wearing his Grab A Stack of Rock shirt.  It’s there for the world to see.

When the Rock enters, it appears he sees the shirt, and stares at it for a few seconds.  John says he was staring directly at the shirt…the Grab A Stack of Rock shirt!   You can see it happen on video.

Regardless of the rumours, John planned two weeks in advance on wearing my Grab A Stack of Rock shirt to the event.  I didn’t know of his plan until he started sending me pictures from ringside.  By the next day, people were sending me screenshots and video clips of John at ringside, on national television.

John, I cannot tell you how much this means to me.  To see my shirt on your chest on national television.  To have this image of the Rock and my shirt together…it is beyond words.  I cannot express my gratitude to you.  It’s beyond measure, sir.  I’m sure John has plenty of shirts.  Thank you sir, for making my day a little sunnier.

As it turns out, the sun came out Saturday for the first time in many days.  It was glorious to behold.

Spring is closer and closer.  Better days ahead.  I smell the what the future is cooking!

 

 

 

Check out the Rock spotting my shirt at 14:50

REVIEW: Loudness – “Slap In the Face” (1991 Japanese CD single)

LOUDNESS – “Slap In the Face” (1991 Warner Japan CD single)

Not long after Loudness released their second and last album with American singer Mike Vescera, a final four-song EP was released in Japan.  Featuring a new song (albeit in an edit version) called “Slap in the Face” with three recent live recordings, the EP was good value for the fans.  Unfortunately it was not enough to keep Vescera in the band, and he soon wound up doing some pretty good music with Yngwie J. Malmsteen.  Loudness continued on with former E-Z-O singer Masaki Yamada, but that is another story.  This one is about Mike’s final release with Loudness.

The edit version of “Slap in the Face” is 4:53.  Although it says nowhere inside, the full length version is 5:14 and can be found on the 1991 Japanese 2 CD compilation, Loudest.  (It was also added as an extra studio track to a later release, 2009’s Live Loudest at the Bodukan.  Both edit and full-length versions are included as bonus tracks on the 2021 deluxe box set reissue of On the Prowl.)

This track absolutely stomps!  It does not sound like something that came out in 1991.  More like 1993.  It was ahead of its time in terms of where metal was going.  It chunks, it rips, it shreds and it thrashes.  The only anomaly is the powerful vocalizin’ of Mike Vescera, who had the kind of high pitched tone that worked well with Malmsteen.  Not that it doesn’t kick ass here, just that style of singing was soon to be out of style…  But what a song!  A Loudness highlight, hands down.  Cut-throat and non-stop, “Slap in the Face” should have been called “Kick in the Teeth”!

The three live tracks that round out the EP are all from the Budokan show that was released in 2009, and were all originally on the 1991 studio album On the Prowl.  “Down ‘N’ Dirty” is very clean and polished.  You could mistake it for a studio cut.  This mid-tempo rocker has some wicked soloing from lead guitarist Akira Takasaki, but really this is hair metal from a band that usually went heavier.

“Playin’ Games” is way heavier.  This is the kind of tempo we’re used to from Loudness.  The goofy title doesn’t relay its deadly intent:  this song is a killer.  Drummer Munetaka Higuchi has a lethal albeit brief drum solo at the end, just enough to crush your head.  The guy was a beast on drums!  Rest in peace Higuchi.

The last track is “Find A Way”, technically a remake of “To Be Demon” from Loudness’ 1981 debut album The Birthday Eve.  This ballady metal track goes from bluesy to progressive to hair metal and back to progressive.  It’s mid-tempo brilliance, and perhaps something that a band like the Scorpions could have done in the early 80s.  Indeed, Klaus would sound brilliant singing it. There’s nothing simple about “Find A Way”!

Though all these songs can now be found elsewhere as is often the case these days, in 1991 this was great value and a fine send-off to Mike Vescera.  The following year, Loudness would come crushing back…but only in Japan.

4/5 stars

 

 

 

REVIEW: The Max Rebo Band – “Jedi Rocks” (1997 CD single)

THE MAX REBO BAND – “Jedi Rocks” (1997 BMG CD single)

This is, in my humble fan opinion, one of the worst pieces of music ever included in a Star Wars movie, if not the very worst.

The 1997 Star Wars special editions are derided for many reason, but one that is not talked about nearly enough is the replacement of certain pieces of music.  In this case, “Lapti Nek” from the 1983 cut of Return of the Jedi was removed.  Why?  Because George Lucas loves to tinker.  He wasn’t happy that the singer in the band, Sy Snootles, didn’t have enough articulation and so thought to himself, “What could I do with a new song and a computer?”  The unfortunate results are called “Jedi Rocks”, by Jerry Hey.

The original song, “Lapti Nek”, plays in Jabba’s palace just before he feeds Oola the slave girl to his pet Rancor monster.  In universe, it is performed by the Max Rebo band, originally a trio featuring keyboardist Max, singer Sy and flautist Droopy McCool.  The band is expanded in the special edition to include more singers, including a really annoying big-mouthed Yuzzum named…uhg…Joh Yowza.  You can just tell that certain parts of the song were designed to show off what computers could make Yowza’s mouth do in the scene in question.

This is shit.  At least “Lapti Nek” sounded a little alien.  “Jedi Rocks” sounds like generic blues rock written by a highschool music teacher for his class to perform at the spring pageant.  And it sounds completely terrestrial, aside from the silly cartoonish vocals.  You can identify an Earthly harmonica, drum kit, organ, saxophones, guitars and bass.  That should never be the case when you’re talking about an alien band from a galaxy far, far away.  More than half the track is bland jamming that could have been on any soundtrack from virtually any Earth-bound movie with a bar and a band in it.

The only reason to buy this single, since you’ll never listen to it, is the clear picture disc.  The CD single released for The Empire Strikes Back was a shaped Vader-head disc, but they realized this were not good for the insides of your CD transport, which prefers a perfectly balanced disc.  Hence, they switched to clear picture discs that look shaped but are not.

Cool disc, bad song.

0.5/5 stars

 

REVIEW: Extreme – “There Is No God” (1994 CD single)

EXTREME – “There Is No God” (1994 A&M CD single)

Extreme’s underrated (extremely underrated!) fourth album Waiting For the Punchline was released in January of 1995.  Yet it was preceded by the 1994 single “There Is No God”, a three track disc with two B-sides included.  Waiting For the Punchline was Extreme’s “back to basics” album.  After the sprawling three sided magnum opus, III Sides To Every Story, Nuno desired to strip things back and funk things up.  Waiting For the Punchline was more raw and groovy, but not as the expense of quality.  Criminally underrated!

The A-side is technically still a non-album track!  The album cut of “There Is No God” is over six minutes; this one is a 4:25 edit.  The opening stuttery guitar remains.  What an awesome drum sound!  Paul Geary played on most of the album (you can tell which ones) and he just had a full, impactful drum sound on this album.  Meanwhile Gary Cherone was singing and writing as strong as ever, turning up the anger dial.  Nuno utilises minimum guitar overdubs (if any) and sounds absolutely wicked here.  His solo is exotic, and there’s no rhythm guitar behind him.  Just Pat Badger laying down the bottom end.  What a killer 90s rock tune, and you don’t really notice the edits until the fade-out.

Second up is a tune called “Never Been Funked”.  Nuno’s using a treatment on his guitar here, giving it an electronic moog-like sound.  This is a basic groove, punchy and to the point.  Not a lot in the way of hooks, just that guitar of Nuno’s, zigging and zagging.  As expected, his soloing and fills are just as bonkers.

The third and final B-side, “Better Off Dead”, is a completely different direction.  Waiting For the Punchline wasn’t a ballad album.  “Better Off Dead” would not have fit, although it has the same ambience as the album.  With minimal accompaniment, Gary and Nuno sing together through the opening.  When the band kicks in, it sounds like Mike Mangini on drums rather than Paul Geary.  (There are no credits.)  It’s a lovely song if a bit meandering.  It’s the longest tune at 5:40.  The outro guitar sounds like Jimmy Page!

Great single to pick up if you’re a fan of Extreme.  Especially if you love Waiting For the Punchline.

4/5 stars

REVIEW: Deep Purple – “Woman From Tokyo” (Japanese CD single)

DEEP PURPLE – “Woman From Tokyo” (Originally 1973, 1998 Warner Japan CD reissue)

The 2:56 single edit of Deep Purple’s “Woman From Tokyo” is somewhat of a rarity on CD.  It’s not on the Singles A’s and B’s.  You could get it on a Japanese box set called Purple Chronicle.

The original song was almost six minutes, so half of the tune was chopped out for single release.  The intro is mangled.  The middle section is missing, and cut in such an amateurish way.  The guitar solo is missing.  Rule of thumb:  never cut the friggin’ guitar solo from a Deep Purple song, of all bands!  This is a butcher job of a single edit.  Probably why it never made the cut to Singles A’s and B’s.

The B-side “Super Trouper” is also 2:56, but unedited.  That’s just how the song goes, one of Purple’s shortest.  No, it’s not an Abba cover, but both songs were named after Super Trouper stage lights.  Some of Ian Gillan’s lyrics can be interpreted to be about his impending departure from Deep Purple. “I wanna be like I was before, but this time I’m gonna know the score.” A lot of looking in the rear view mirror in this song. A lot of past-tense.

Because of the butcher job on the “Woman From Tokyo” edit, the B-side here outshines the A-side.  The single at least has lyrics.  For collectors and analysts only!

1/5 stars

REVIEW: Tonic – “If You Could Only See” (1997 CD single)

TONIC – “If You Could Only See” (1997 Polygram CD single)

Tonic’s Lemon Parade was not a bad album at all.  Regardless of the strength of its deep cuts, it is now known for one song: “If You Could Only See”.  It put Tonic on the map, and it also put a bullet in their career.  If you’re over a certain age, you remember the powerful and tasteful ballad from when it hit the charts in 1997.  I had the album already.  I bought it when it first came out, after reading a glowing review in the local paper and seeing a used copy pop in at the Record Store.  Finding Jack Joseph Puig’s name in the producer credits got my attention too.

The single for “If You Could Only See” features the well known album version.  Acoustic, but only until the guitars punch in, this is a ballad with crunch and heart.  It’s a true story of an argument that singer Emerson Hart had with his mother, over a woman she did not approve of.  He simply said “If you could only see the way she loves me, maybe you would understand.”  And with that a song was born.  A hit song.

Three live tracks from Amsterdam round out the CD single.  Album opener “Open Up Your Eyes” is not a lightweight live version either, clocking in at over seven minutes.  Guitars drone and cry until they form the song’s main riff.  It’s not an overly heavy live version, just an awesome one where you can hear all the instruments clearly.  It breaks down in the middle, when the band plays at lower volume and gives the guitar space to just jam.  Great tune, and one that deserved more attention.

“Thick” was never one of the album highlights, but the live version is superior.  The vocals aren’t as high pitched, and it’s a more laid back vibe.  Not perfect, but more appealing than the album.  There’s some cool haphazard guitar shenanigans towards the end that are worth checking out.

Shame that “Casual Affair” is the shortest of the live tracks as it kicks the heaviest.  Not as tight or as slamming as the album version, but live versions are what they are.

These are not the greatest live tracks that have ever been put on a single, but certainly a welcome addition to any Tonic collection.  Their use of slide guitars and acoustics instruments separated them slightly from the rest of the competition.  Vintage live by the original lineup, and why not.

3/5 stars

REVIEW: Rush – “Caravan” / “BU2B” (2010 CD single)

RUSH – “Caravan” / “BU2B” (2010 CD Anthem single)

“Parts one and two of Clockwork Angels, a work in progress”.

That’s pretty monumental.  Rush were releasing two key tracks from their forthcoming studio album, a full concept album this time, well in advance.  Two years in advance.  Notably, this was a full concept album start to finish.  In the 70s, Rush were more known for half concept, half non-conceptual records.  The bands that Rush inspired like Queensryche and Dream Theater had done full concepts.  Now the original masters were taking a shot.

On the final album, “Caravan” is track one and “BU2B” is track two.  On this single the order is swapped.  “BU2B” (“Brought Up to Believe”) opens, although its intro changes on the album version.  “BU2B” absolutely slams.  “I was brought up to believe that the universe has a plan…”  Perhaps it opens this single because it sums up the overall album concept.  In a fictional world run precisely by a “Watchmaker”, a rebellious protagonist feels pulled in a direction different from that assigned to his life.  Questioning his reality, he embarks on his own adventures despite his mandated mundane role in society.  Musically, after the metallic riff has done its business, Neil Peart takes the spotlight a moment as the song shifts.  Geddy lays down the heavy bottom end while Alex strikes hither and yon with lightning-like licks.  Clearly a classic in the making.

“Caravan”, the final album opener, sounds pretty much the same as the record.  It establishes the setting, “in a world lit only by fire…”  The riff is a major feature, a deliberate, descending rock monster that feels just right in the guts.  The lyrics paint a picture of a steampunk world, half explored, with alchemy and ancient knowledge.

Clockwork Angels wound up as one of the greatest final albums by any band anywhere any time.  This single is a nice add-on, a reminder of the long careful gestation period that created a masterpiece.

4.5/5 stars

REVIEW: Rod Stewart – “Leave Virginia Alone” (1995 CD single)

ROD STEWART – “Leave Virginia Alone” (1995 Warner CD single)

Rod Stewart’s album A Spanner in the Works came out during my first year at the Record Store.  I have a lot of fond memories of hearing certain songs.  “Leave Virginia Alone” was one of them.  Tom Petty penned this acoustic mid-tempo hit.  Petty wrote it during the 1994 Wallflowers sessions, though his version was not released until after his passing.  Though it has a certain unmistakable Petty quality, Stewart makes it his own song simultaneously.  Like an electron caught between two positive charges, “Leave Virginia Alone” is both quintessentially Rod and Tom at once.  My preference is to Rod’s rendition.

The B-side is an exclusive non-album song called “Shock To The System”. To my knowledge it’s never been released anywhere else, making this brief single worth owning for fans.  It’s a guitar based rocker with funky bass and a nice fat horn section backing Rod. Good song.  Sounds like vintage 70s Rod, with 90s production.  A bit like “Hot Legs”.  Probably considered not commercial enough for a 90s Rod album.

4/5 stars. Good, but too brief.

REVIEW: King’s X – “A Box” (1996 CD single)

quiz

Complete studio albums (and more!), part 8.5

KING’S X – “A Box” (1996 Warner Germany CD single)

In 2022, the “King’s” are returning, so today let us look back on some of their fine 90s output.  1996 was the year of Ear Candy, the progressive giants’ most commercially accessible album to date.  It was produced by Canadian Arnold Lanni (ex-Frozen Ghost, Sheriff) and the songs were straightforward and hook-based compared to what came before and after.

Last year, we curated some King’s X lists with Martin Popoff right here, and he rated the single “A Box” in his top five.  The version included on this single is an edit, over a minute shorter than the album cut, with the cut material being mostly outro.  Dug Pinnick is always passionate but you can really feel him on “A Box”.  “There is no room inside a box,” goes the chorus, and one has to wonder if this box is one to break out of, to retreat to, or both.  The song gives voice to loneliness and anger, but also sings of “a place to run and hide, just a place to free your mind.”  It is a ballad with strong lyrics, unforgettable melody, Ty Tabor’s signature guitar glow, and an absolutely wicked Jerry Gaskill drum sound, thanks to the magical knob-twiddling touch of Arnold Lanni.

One album cut is included, which is “Looking For Love” from Ear Candy, another one of its strongest tunes.  This one smokes of anger and frustration.  It also contains the key lyric, “I guess I lost my faith,” which is true.  Dug was once Christian but left the church around Dogman.  Yet it’s also melodically one of the strongest songs, which helps back up that killer Ty Tabor riff.

The non-album B-side is a rarity called “Freedom”.  Unlike the album which was recorded with Lanni in California, “Freedom” came from a self-produced session in Houston.  Sonically it does not fit with the boldly in-your-face Ear Candy, but it does offer another Ty Tabor lead vocal.  It’s a bit more sparse and hard-hitting, but still boasts the patented King’s X harmony vocals on the chorus.  There’s a cool melody buried in the outro too.  Overall, it is not as strong as Ear Candy as a whole, but as a bonus track, it’s more than adequate.  Ty’s singing will be the highlight for many fans as he really goes for it.

Great single, and thank you Martin Popoff for inspiring the purchase.

4.5/5 stars

KING’S X review series:

Part 1 – Out of the Silent Planet (1988)
Part 2 – Gretchen Goes to Nebraska (1989)
Part 3 – Kings of the Absurd (split bootleg with Faith No More)
Part 4 – Faith Hope Love by King’s X (1990)
Part 5 – “Junior’s Gone Wild” (from 1991’s Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey soundtrack)
Part 6 – King’s X (1992)
Part 7 – Dogman (1994) + bonus “Pillow” promo single review
Part 8 – Ear Candy (1996)
Part 8.5 – “A Box” (1996 CD single)
Part 9 – Best of King’s X (1997)
Part 10 – Tape Head (1998)
Part 11 – POUNDHOUND – Massive Grooves from the Church of Psychofunkadelic Grungelism Rock Music (1998 Doug Pinnick/Jerry Gaskill)
Part 12 – Please Come Home…Mr. Bulbous (2000)
Part 13 – PLATYPUS – Ice Cycles (2000 Ty Tabor)
Part 14 – Manic Moonlight (2001)
Part 15 – Black Like Sunday (2003)
Part 16 – Ogre Tones (2005)
Part 17 – XV (2008)

REVIEW: Live – “Heaven” (2003 CD single)

LIVE – “Heaven” (2003 Universal CD single)

If the goal is to review “everything” in the collection, then we must dig deep.  Sometimes you find things that you forgot you owned.  Things you have not listened to in 19 years.  Things you bought “for the collection” because they were cheap (staff discount).  This single would have cost me about two bucks.  Live were a good band once; Throwing Copper was a 90s staple.  I remember giving the Birds of Pray album some store play, and I think it might have been OK but obviously I didn’t feel it enough to buy it or I’d still have it today.

Let’s check out the two track “Heaven” CD single, without remembering a single thing about it.

The opening vocals on “Heaven” are an immediate turn off.  Nasal-y and annoying.  The chorus is pretty good, lots of crunchy guitars, but it almost sounds like a parody of this kind of 90s rock.  The production is excellent though; the drums really slam and the guitars cut through.  This song gets a passing grade though it’s nothing special and the lyrics are kinda irritating.

I don’t need no one, to tell me about Heaven
I look at my daughter, and I believe
I don’t need no proof
When it comes to God and truth
I can see the sunset and I perceive, yeah

I liked when Live used to sing about living in a “Shit Towne”, but this is little too much limburger.  Indeed, they did call the album Birds of Pray….

The B-side is a track called “Forever Might Not Be Long Enough”, and this is the “Egyptian Dreams Mix” of said song.  Hard pass.  The exotic loops that open are cool but then the dance beats kick in.  No idea what the original sounded like and I have to wonder if I have ever played this CD before or if this is the first time.

Back on the shelf!

2/5 stars