Thank God for Alice Cooper! 50 years ago, he was considered by the mainstream to be nothing more than an untalented shock rocker. In 2020, he is inspiring people to keep on keepin’ on. He’s got a powerful message for anyone who needs to hear it.
“Don’t Give Up” is the most direct, the most topical and the least “Alice” song that the Coop has ever done. Why the “least” Alice? Because this time he is not playing a character. He’s not telling some horrifying bedtime story. Or is he? “Don’t Give Up” is about Coronavirus and blatantly so.
“Yeah, I know you’re struggling right now. We all are, in different ways. It’s like a new world that we don’t even know. It’s hard to sleep, even harder to dream. But look, you got seven billion brothers and sisters all in the same boat! So don’t panic. Life has a way of surviving and going on and on. We’re not fragile and we sure don’t break easy.”
This single was recorded in home studios. It’s accompanied by a cool video expertly produced by Canuck Frank Gryner, using footage sent in by fans. It is so rare for Alice to really make a statement that pertains to current events. And it is a very specific song; there are no underlying stories or metaphors to untangle. But when you think about Coop, it’s not really surprising that he came out of the gates so fast with a song like this. Alice Cooper is a human being that cares about other human beings. The message is simple: keep fighting and don’t give up. Sometimes people need to actually hear the words.
Musically you could call “Don’t Give Up” a power ballad. It has a very 80’s guitar figure, with Alice speaking his message over it. The chorus is more modern, with Alice singing as plaintively as he can. “Don’t Give Up” is unremarkable as a rock ballad, but as a lyrical accomplishment, Alice has forged new ground 50 years on. He has written some remarkably powerful words.
“Our enemy is a cold, indiscriminate monster. It doesn’t care if you’re old or a newborn. It exists to kill. You and I are nothing to it. It has no heart or soul or conscience. Do we fear it? Yeah! Do we cower before it? Hell no! We’re the blood-n-guts human race. And we win.”
The important thing that Alice says here is that it is alright to be afraid. Look, Alice has fought demons, and if this scares him then there is no shame in feeling fear. People are being labelled as cowards for wearing a mask in public. Alice is right — we will win, and we will do whatever it takes to win. If you’re scared right now, you tell ’em that Alice Cooper said that’s OK.
Ozzy’s last paint-by-numbers live album was almost two decades ago. In actuality, you really only need a live one with Randy Rhoads and you’re golden. But if you’re in the mood for downtuned Ozzy songs, Live at Budokan might be the way to go.
While the new rhythm section of Mike Bordin (Faith No More) and Rob Trujillo (Metallica) do have a positive impact on the sound, Zakk Wylde is tiring. His constant divebombing all over Randy’s composition “I Don’t Know” just rubs the wrong way. Then it’s an unremarkable song called “That I Never Had” from Down to Earth. The most enjoyable thing about it is actually Zakk’s backing vocal.
Ozzy spaces out old songs with new ones so sleep doesn’t take you too soon. “Believer” is a nice inclusion, since we’ve never had a version of it with Zakk on guitar. There’s a novelty to it for that reason, so it’s notable. A crap new song called “Junkie” acts as filler before “Mr. Crowley”. They used to have an acronym in Star Trek that they would paint on pipes and conduits on the Enterprise: “GNDN”. Goes nowhere, does nothing. That’s “Junkie”. And “Crowley” just drags.
The last of the new songs here is “Gets Me Through”; the single, you know the one. The one with the hilariously unimaginative lyric “I’m not the kind of person you think I am, I’m not the Antichrist or the Iron Man”. We sure do miss Bob Daisley’s lyrical touch. “Gets Me Through” might be the most paint-by-numbers of any Ozzy track since Zakk joined the band.
Get ready for a whole shit-ton of No More Tears stuff, as Ozzy rolls out four of ’em. The title track is still great and doesn’t strain Ozzy as much as the earlier songs. “Mama I’m Coming Home”, well sure, it has its fans. “I Don’t Want to Change the World” is still a yawn and “Road to Nowhere” fares well. The crowd sure loves ’em, those familiar hits. They go nuts for “Crazy Train” which just doesn’t sound right tuned down like this. Same with “Bark at the Moon”. Ozzy closes with the only Sabbath track on the disc, “Paranoid”. The double tracked vocals are obvious and annoyingly artificial sounding. It’s cool hearing the Faith No More style of drumming all over it though. Mike Bordin is a tremendous talent but was he the right guy for Ozzy Osbourne?
As the most unessential of all Ozzy releases, Live at Budokan should really be the last one to add to your collection. If you care, it was available with two covers: red printing, and black printing. For extra pain, you could also go for DVD. Best track: “Believer”.
What a title for your first “greatest hits” compilation, eh? Diamonds Diamonds emerged the year after Max Webster broke up, with no songs from the final album Universal Juveniles, the only one without Terry Watkinson. Even though these kinds of posthumous records are usually not very good, Diamonds Diamonds is an exception. It’s also one of the hardest Max Webster albums to find on CD, but a generous slice of vinyl at 13 tracks and 47 minutes.
“What do I know?” asks Kim Mitchell in the opening line of “Gravity”, the debut number. Kim knew quite a bit actually, including how to write catchy music without it being overtly commercial. He knew how to challenge listeners while delivering the hooks they craved. “Gravity” is one such slice of brilliance. It’s complex pop.
“High Class in Borrowed Shoes” is a classic rocker from their second album in ’77. As much as it kicks, the lyrics and keyboard arrangement are not typical. The title track “Diamonds Diamonds” followed “High Class” on the original album and it does again here. Like a lullaby, “Diamonds Diamonds” floats on the wings of the backing vocal arrangement. Next is “Summer’s Up” from the incredible debut Max platter. Jangling guitars and dreamy keyboards make for a summer scene by the pool side, with drinks. “Blowing the Blues Away” has a more traditional feel, country and blues and pop rolled into one, with a side order of quirky tones. But it’ll make you feel good. Continuing the feel-good celebration, it’s “A Million Vacations”, one of the greatest Canadian party songs of all time. Kim Mitchell’s guitar work is sublime and baffling at once.
Side A ends with one of Max Webster’s most significant songs, “Let Go the Line” with lead vocals by Terry Watkinson who wrote the song, music and lyrics. In Max Webster, lyrics were usually handled by the poet Pye Dubois. In fact he wrote all but two of the lyrics on Diamonds Diamonds. The two he didn’t (“Blowing the Blues Away” being the other) were written by Watkinson. “Let Go the Line” could not be improved upon if you tried. Kim’s regal guitar line, Dave Myles bass pulse, and the thrift of Gary McCracken’s drums are all flawlessly and perfectly fit to Terry’s ballad. If Max Webster only had one “perfect” song, it’s “Let Go the Line”.
Fearlessly opening side two with furvor, it’s “The Party”! It’s the off-kilter musicianship on tracks like this that had fans often comparing Max Webster to Frank Zappa. Frank liked to have fun, too. Well Max really liked to have fun! “We’re all here for a celebration, the madcap scene and the Max Machine!” That says it all.
Every decent “greatest hits” album needs unreleased songs. Diamonds Diamonds has two decent ones, good songs that might be a bit too mainstream for a Max studio album. “Hot Spots” is the first, a rip-roaring boogie of a good time. By comparison, Kim could have recorded it on one of his early solo albums if Max didn’t release it on this. It is chased by the outstanding “Paradise Skies”, another summery Max hit that keeps Canadian radio stations in business. Melody and musicianship — that should be Max’s calling card. The second of the new unreleased tunes is “Overnight Sensation”, the most ordinary (or forgettable) of the tracks. The bassline really hops, and there’s even some cowbell, but the song isn’t comparable to something like “The Party” or “High Class”.
Although it’s better as an album opener, “Lip Service” (from Mutiny Up My Sleeve) is a bouncer. “Socialutions, written down in our teens. I mailed them to Kennedy, I typed them for Tito.” Brilliance in a pen by Pye Dubois, barely contained by the bopping bass and upbeat keys. Then before it’s all over it goes into a brief jazzy jam! Finally it’s “Hangover”, also traditionally an opening song. It’s the hardest rocker of the bunch, quirky as all hell and actually a good closer too!
Diamonds Diamonds still an important record today because “Overnight Sensation” and the outstanding “Hot Spots” haven’t been reissued on anything else. You can’t say that about any of the songs on The Best of Max Webster (1989). This is the one to get. If you find one on CD, you’ve got yourself a good one.
ZZ TOP – Chrome, Smoke & BBQ (2003 Warner limited edition BBQ shack version)
Though it seems an outlandish thought today, there was once a time when if you desired to hear original ZZ Top music, you couldn’t do that on CD. You had to purchase original ZZ Top LPs. In 1987, most of the original ZZ Top albums were issued on CD as part of the ZZ Top Six Pack, which featured remixed percussion to make them sound more like Eliminator and Afterburner. Needless to say this was a very unpopular idea, though it didn’t stop the Six Pack from selling. The original ZZ Top albums were finally given a CD reissue in 2013. Until then, your best bet on compact disc was to buy the 4 CD Chrome, Smoke & BBQ anthology.
Because Chrome, Smoke & BBQ features original mixes and a helping of rarities, it still makes for an enjoyable listen and valuable collectible today. The limited edition version came housed in a box like a little BBQ shack, but both have the same four discs of bluesy, greasy ZZ rock. A well-assembled anthology can make for a great listen even well after its expiry date, and this is one such set.
Disc 1 of Chrome, Smoke & BBQ features three tracks from Billy Gibbons’ first band the Moving Sidewalks. The guitar work is brilliant even in Billy’s youth. These tracks are notably more psychedelic than ZZ Top. The year was 1969, the same year as the first ZZ Top single “Miller’s Farm” / “Salt Lick”. This early version of ZZ Top (credited as “embryonic ZZ Top”) was a transition from Moving Sidewalks and didn’t feature Frank Beard nor Dusty Hill. Organ on a ZZ Top song is an unusual sound, and it’s quite prominent on “Miller’s Farm”. It’s a pretty standard blues with the emphasis on the keys and with one foot solidly in 60s rock. “Salt Lick” has a bit more of the mid-tempo ZZ groove, but the with the organ still part of the whole. Chrome, Smoke & BBQ remains the easiest way to obtain this rare single.
ZZ Top’s First Album takes the spotlight next with three tracks including “Brown Sugar”, the first “real” ZZ Top track. An impactful one it is, and so obviously ZZ Top. It seems by the time the right three guys got together, the ZZ Top sound was born. “Brown Sugar” is so essential to the ZZ Top sound that maybe the box set should have opened with it, chronology be damned! Dusty’s pulse on bass is already present, and Frank’s sheer style adds some much needed character. Then “Just Got Back From Baby’s” has the spare nocturnal blues that is a ZZ signature.
The next three ZZ Top albums – Rio Grande Mud, Tres Hombres and Fandango! are featured much more prominently with seven tracks apiece. This part of the set is deep with essential music. “Francene”, obviously “Francene”, the catchiest song during this part of history, is present and accounted for. (Even in Spanish!) For relentless groove, ZZ Top never nailed one as hard as “Just Got Paid”, slide guitar right in the pocket. “Chevrolet” showed how they could just lay back. For shuffles, “Bar-B-Q” got the spice you need. “Sure Got Cold After the Rain” covers the sad, spare blues that Billy’s guitar can evoke. The music goes on, and on: “La Grange”, “Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers”, “Heard It on the X”, “Blue Jean Blues”, “Tush”. Though the songs in between are all excellent as well, it’s hard to ignore the hit power of these tracks.
Six tracks from Tejas feature on this set, still more than half the album. The ZZ Top direction was gradually making tentative steps towards modernizing. “It’s Only Love”, a bluesy country pop, sounds like something new. They hadn’t left anything behind though, as told by the menacing “Arrested for Driving While Blind”. It’s a cleaner, more studio-driven sound, as heard on “El Diablo” with its subtle overdubs and dynamics. “Enjoy and Get it On” is a nice sentiment, with the slide all greased up and ready to go. Two of the most interesting of the Tejas tracks are the quiet instrumental “Asleep in the Desert” and the twangy “She’s a Heartbreaker”.
At this point ZZ Top took a break to decompress after years of consecutive touring and recording. The Best of ZZ Top came out during this break, but what was going on behind the scenes was to be far more important down the road. ZZ Top’s image began its final evolution when Gibbons and Hill returned from vacation with matching full length beards. Their next album Degüello allowed the music to evolve as well. Six songs from Degüello represent this period, along with a rare radio spot advertising the album.
ZZ Top’s cover of Sam & Dave’s “I Thank You” is iconic enough that many people probably assume it’s an original. What was original was “Cheap Sunglasses”, a staggering hangover of a track — the new ZZ Top. Same with “Maniac Mechanic”, a track so bizarre that you could mistake it for Zappa. Meanwhile “I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide” has the laid back, cruisin’ ZZ Top vibe that fans always loved. “A Fool For Your Stockings” showed that Gibbons could still play the blues, too.
Another six tracks from El Loco account for the last hits before the MTV generation took hold. “Leila”, a 50s inspired ballad is clearly an experiment albeit a successful one. As is the surf rocker “Tube Snake Boogie”, a track unlike any ZZ Top ever attempted before. Another ballad, “It’s So Hard” is not out of place, with its roots in soul music. “Pearl Necklace” has surf vibes but is most memorable for its dirty double entendre. “Heaven, Hell or Houston” is even weirder than “Maniac Mechanic”. It’s quite clear that ZZ Top were stretching out, while still maintaining a foot in their bluesy, rock and roll roots.
And then came MTV, the music videos, the car, and the girls. The music was laden with sequencers and electronic percussion, but this unlikely combination is the one that really struck oil. Black gold, Texas tea, and platinum records. Eight tracks from Eliminator are included here, almost the whole album minus three. Only “Thug”, “I Need You Tonight” and “Bad Girl” are left behind. So you get all the hits, and then some. “I Got the Six” had to be on here, a dirty but slick little favourite from the day. “Dirty Dog” is a fun also-ran too, but didn’t need to be on a box set.
When ZZ Top found their successful formula, they really ran with it, right into the next album Afterburner. As we know a sequel rarely tops an original, but the album still features eight songs, and this is where Chrome, Smoke & BBQ begins to stumble. By featuring so many songs from this period, the box set is really unfairly weighted. Surely another few tracks could have been included from ZZ Top’s First Album instead of so many from Afterburner and Recycler. “Can’t Stop Rockin'” and “Woke Up With Wood” could have been dropped, but let’s keep “Sleeping Bag”, “Stages”, “Rough Boy”, Delirious, “Velcro Fly”, and “Planet of Women”. Around Afterburner, ZZ Top had taken their music to its most commercial extreme. They decided to reduce, though not remove, technology on the third album of the MTV trilogy Recycler. Notable from this period: “Concrete and Steel”, “My Head’s In Mississippi”, “Give It Up”, “2000 Blues” and “Doubleback”.
ZZ Top switched from Warner to RCA for their next studio album 1994’s Antenna, and nothing from that era onwards is included. There is still some more music on this box set to enjoy. In 1990, ZZ Top recorded a cover of “Reverberation (Doubt)” by Roky Erickson for the tribute album Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye. Gratefully, this ZZ Top rarity is included here. You can note the Recycler-era sequencers, but they compliment the psychedelic track nicely. This is followed by the two “new” songs that ZZ Top recorded for 1992’s Greatest Hits. “The corniest Elvis song ever” is “Viva Las Vegas”, sung by Dusty Hill, and overproduced to the gills. Huge hit of course. “Gun Love” is also included.
Disc 4 ends with six “medium rare” tracks. Some are actually super rare. These include a spanish version of “Francene” with Dusty Hill singing. It sounds like thie audio could be taken from an actual vinyl single. A live version of “Cheap Sunglasses” comes from a 1980 promo-only single, and it smokes. Then there are some dance mixes from 12″ singles, easily the most skippable part of this box set. None of these will be played regularly by you, the listener. Especially not “Viva Las Vegas”.
The booklet included with Chrome, Smoke & BBQ is impressive on its own. It’s packed with music and text, including a track by track commentary by the band. “Seems like all our songs are about dicks and pussies,” says Frank Beard.
Limited edition box sets are fun to get while they last. Chrome, Smoke & BBQ boasts its box shaped like a steel shack, including corrugated roof. (It’s actually great because it doesn’t collect dust!) Include the box, all four CDs are safely housed in individual jewel cases. If you dig inside a little more you’ll find cut-out characters to add to your BBQ shack display. You could scan and print these cut-outs yourself. Enjoy a picnic table, ribs, sausages, cacti, and of course the guys from ZZ Top themselves (on a bike, or disembarked). Also hidden in the box is an animated flip-book. See the video below for a quick demonstration.
As with many box sets, tracklists could use a little tweaking and everybody will have their own ideas for how to fix that. Perhaps instead of dumping all those remixes at the end, they could have been included chronologically so the set doesn’t end on such a…tepid concept as the extended dance remix. The set could certainly use some balancing away from Afterburner and Recycler with more focus on the earlier stuff. The exclusive rarities are adequate and appropriate for a set of this stature. Not too few, not too many. The ZZ Top completist will want this set for them and will still enjoy giving it a complete spin from time to time.
The regular edition will do nicely, but if you can find a complete limited version for a good price, don’t hesitate to snag it.
Think of this as a companion piece to Live and Dangerous. Four tracks were previously released on that landmark live album. Still Dangerous has a bunch more, purportedly recorded in October 1977 in Philly. 10 tracks; 12 if you got it on vinyl with bonus 7″, on iTunes, or in Japan.
Like Live and Dangerous, what you get is live Lizzy at their peak, well recorded, and charismatic as ever. It’s interesting that they opened with “Soldier of Fortune” since it’s a slower number, though no less powerful than any others. It merges into “Jailbreak”, leaving the audience no chance to breathe…only to be rocked. Impressive guitar and drums on this one.
“Cowboy Song” and “Boys are Back in Town” are the same as Live and Dangerous; legendary! Basically one long ongoing song. Phil introduces their then-new single “Dancing in the Moonlight” as a song with some sax and sex. Yet it has a youthful exuberance. “Now we go steady to the pictures, I always get chocolate stains on my pants.” You can picture that long, hot summer night. The next track, the blistering metal of “Massacre” is from Live and Dangerous. Just listen to Brian Downey on the drums, a prototypical metal machine. Without “Massacre” there could be no Iron Maiden.
“Opium Trail” doesn’t let up the aural assault. Brian Downey impresses once again with his creative fills and patterns. Lizzy moves on to “Don’t Believe a Word”, an older classic but just slightly sluggish. There are more energized versions out there. “Baby Drives Me Crazy” is also a bit dull, with one of those long audience singalong sessions. The standard CD closes with “Me and the Boys”, furiously fast and fun! It’s a long jammer, but its caffeinated pace really keeps things moving.
The two iTunes bonus tracks (mastered annoyingly louder) are “Bad Reputation” and “Emerald”. Only Emerald was previously available on Live and Dangerous. “Bad Reputation” is pure smoke.
Since this album was mixed by Glyn Johns and Live and Dangerous was not, one must assume even the tracks from that album are presented differently here. If you already know that album front to back, then enjoy the fresh sounds of Still Dangerous instead.
VAN HALEN – Selections from LIVE: Right here, right now.(1993 Warner promo EP) “Van Halen turns 15!”
Stuff like this is in my collection not because it’s valuable to me, but because at one point in time I got it for free. We ran across promos like these all the time, and couldn’t sell them, so they were free to take. Because it was Van Halen, I hung onto it even though all five tracks are taken from the live album Right here, right now. It disappears in your CD collection due to the jewel case without a back cover or spine. For the sake of simplicity (and a shorter title), we’ll just refer to this EP as “Van Halen turns 15”.
It actually plays really well. Without any filler or solos, it’s a tight CD packed with some of the best songs. “Dreams” serves as a connection to the earlier pop rock sounds of 5150. Live, it rocks with higher octane than the studio version. “Judgement Day” was one of the better representations of the then-new For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge material. Its modern groove was predictive of the kind of music people would want to hear in the 90s: heavier with more edge. “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” is the one token DLR track, and then seemingly to balance things out, it’s Sammy’s “One Way to Rock”. Whatever — the listening experience is perfect.
Because “Right Now” was the biggest thing since Crystal Pepsi, it’s inevitable that the live version was included on this CD. If you find “Right Now” to be vomit-inducing, you can just hit stop.
Since this is a promo and should only be sought as a freebie, appointing it a score out of 5 stars is meaningless. Radio stations are always ditching boxes of old CDs so it’s bound to turn up somewhere.
Fun fact: every Canadian citizen in good standing is issued a Guess Who album when they turn voting age. Instead of that one, I upgraded to the remastered Greatest Hits in 1999. The timing for a new compilation was right for the Canadian institution. Though they never broke up, they had a big reunion tour in 2000. Burton Cummings (Guess Who singer/pianist 1966-1975) and guitarist Randy Bachman (1962-1970) had been out of the band a long time. There was a 1983 reunion but even that was far in the past. It was the Guess Who’s time in Canada once again, and in talking to Record Store customers, they couldn’t have been more excited if it was the Beatles.
18 tracks of Guess Who hits cover most of the well known bases. Opening with the dramatic ballad “These Eyes” (made famous once again by Canadian Michael Cera in the movie Superbad) I’m reminded what a tremendous singer Burton Cummings is. From the ballads to rockers like “No Time”, he could do it soulful or raspy. Whatever the songs required.
And let’s not forget ex-James Gang six-stringer Domenic Troiano. The Italian-Canadian guitar wiz was brought in on in 1974 and quickly aided and abetted the group in songwriting. Only one Troiano-penned track is included here (“Dancin’ Fool”) but his slick riff is totally tasty. (Unfortunately, Troiano is probably best known as the guy who Gavin Rossdale had to pay off to call his band “Bush” instead of “Bush X”. Troiano had a band called Bush in 1970.)
The Guess Who were a remarkable band in their day, with a firm hand on both ballads and slick boogie rockers. Yet their best known song, 1969’s “American Woman” is one of their least remarkable. Written while tuning up at a curling club (look it up) in Kitchener (says Bachman) or Scarborough (says Cummings), it’s just sledgehammer rock. Which is fine — there is nothing wrong with that kind of rock. It’s just bizarre that it’s “American Woman” that people remember when The Guess Who had 20 or so better songs. Check out “Albert Flasher”, a piano boogie that rivals the best of the genre.
This set is a fine listen from start to finish, and I can only really think of one rocker that’s not present — “Bus Driver”. Otherwise it covers all the important stuff from the beginning to Cummings’ departure.* It’s not an album for deep cuts or obscurities. If you’ve spent extended periods of time listening to Canadian radio, you’ll know 50-80% of these songs. If not, you hopefully already know “These Eyes” and “American Woman”. Maybe even “Laughing” or “Undun”. The Guess Who were always solid with just a little bit of quirk to them. Solid bouncy musicianship, clever arrangements and lyrics, and a killer voice. That’s Greatest Hits by The Guess Who.
4.5/5 stars
* The Guess Who continues today with a lineup including original drummer Garry Peterson and Quiet Riot’s Rudy Sarzo.
WHITESNAKE – The Purple Tour (2017 Rhino CD/Blu-ray set)
David Coverdale releases so much Whitesnake product (most of it worthwhile) that it is easy for the odd live album to slip between the cracks. After he felt recharged by 2015’s The Purple Album, Coverdale released a live album and video from that tour. This is not long after the four live CDs that make up Made in Britain and Made in Japan, so what does The Purple Tour offer that is different?
More Purple, obviously. Of the 13 tracks on CD, five are Deep Purple covers. There are an additional three more in 5.1 surround sound on the Blu-ray.
They open with “Burn” which leather-lunged David struggles with a bit right out of the box. Fortunately his capable backing band can handle the supporting vocals, though it sounds sweetened after the fact.
This lineup of Whitesnake, which is still the current one featuring guitarists Reb Beach and Joel Hoekstra, bassist Michael Devin, drummer Tommy Aldridge, and keyboardist Michele Luppi, is particularly good. Whitesnake can never simply revert back to being a blues band. John Sykes and Steve Vai made certain that Whitesnake would always have to have a couple shredders on hand. When Beach and Hoestra get their hands on a Purple (or Whitesnake) oldie, they generally heavy it up by a few notches.
You could consider the setlist to be a surface-level “the classics of David Coverdale” concert. No new material, nothing later than 1987. It’s cool that some standby’s like “Slow An’ Easy” were jettisoned in favourite of even older tracks like “Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City”. It’s fun to hear “The Gypsy” instead of something better known. Another Purple classic, a heavy version of “You Fool No One” from Burn goes down a treat, with plenty of tight interplay.
The Blu-ray disc includes some more obscure treasures. “You Keep On Moving”, “Stormbringer” and “Lay Down Stay Down” fill in some of the Deep Purple blanks. A dual solo with Reb and Joel called “Lotsanotes” is also the fun kind of addition that usually gets axed from a live album. You’ll also find a music video for “Burn” and a fun interview with Joel and Reb conducted by Michael Devin. These guys love their jobs.
But just who is this album for? Don’t Whitesnake have enough live stuff by now? Yes — they certainly do. So this album is for two groups of people. 1) Those of us who have to have “everything.” 2) Somone who hasn’t bought a Whitesnake in a long time, but is curious what they sound like these days. For those folks, they won’t be “bogged down” by anything new. They will only get David and his crack band tackling the oldies. Pull the trigger if that sounds like something you’re into.
GUNS N’ ROSES – Appetite For Destruction (Originally 1987, 2018 Universal 4 CD/1 Blu-ray super deluxe edition)
Of course Axl Rose would be late for his own 30th anniversary. And why not? This set obviously took time to prepare for release so it’s better we have something that is not rushed out.
As Appetite is one of the most influential rock albums of all time, a super deluxe expanded edition is expected by now. This album launched a million bands back in the 80s and 90s, most of whom looked and sounded like knockoffs. Now you can deconstruct the album and hear how simple the formula actually was. (Liberal doses of Aerosmith with punk sprinkled on top.)
The first disc in this well-stuffed box set is the 5.1 Blu-ray. Why just listen in stereo when you can go full-bore with a surround sound mix?
This disc answers that question. It’s because you can tinker too much with a 5.1 mix, and come out with something that is too different for a beloved classic original like Appetite. This album was the roughest sounding thing Guns ever released. Unfortunately the 5.1 mix sounds clean. Too clean. An artefact of not having to cram all that music into just two channels?
“Welcome to the Jungle’s” guitars come from behind. Slowly turning, Axl surrounds you. Then the mix plays it straight, though backing vocals are more prominent. Hear Steven Adler’s reckless abandon up close and personal, the ride cymbal like his accelerated heartbeat.
It’s a good mix but some will find it too gimmicky and inconsistent, with guitars and vocals jabbing you unexpectedly from here and there. It varies from song to song and it’s all a matter of taste. You want to hear the 5.1 mix, but not so much that it changes parts of what you liked in a song. Some tracks are a mixture of both approaches. The intro to “Paradise City” is immaculately layered and laid out around you. Then things consolidate when it’s time to rock. Man, can you hear those guitars though! Every Les Paul can be noted clearly and separately in your mind. So can every vocal track; and there are a few.
There are even 5.1 bonus tracks. “Shadow of Your Love” is one of them, being the big song they were promoting for this box set. “Patience” benefits from the 5.1 re-examination. It’s a gimmick-free mix with sparse arrangement that sounds natural and familiar — like a band jamming on acoustics in a room with you. This makes it the best one on the whole disc. Even “Used to Love Her” has more prominent differences from the stereo mix, as does the acoustic “You’re Crazy”. The last bonus track is “Move to the City”, also acoustic, and sounding like a big party jam.
Finally the Blu-ray disc includes all the music videos and even one for “It’s So Easy” that was made just for them and not MTV! It could be the first documented appearance of Axl Rose in a kilt.
Unfortunately the 5.1 mix will most likely get less play than the good old stereo version, remastered on CD 1. What can be said about Appetite for Destruction that hasn’t been said before? All that sonic power is on the verge of overload in just two channels. If you imagine yourself back in 1987, you can hear why this album made the impact it did. It steered rock and roll back into a less cartoony, more dangerous direction. Classic single after classic single still command the airwaves today. In an unlikely twist, the back-to-basics, loose guitars of Slash and Izzy Stradlin are studied now like old Stones riffs.
The second CD (“B-Sides N’ EPs”) is brimming with extra value. Most of the followup EP, GNR Lies is included…all except “One In A Million”, that is, which Axl promised he’d delete approximately 20 years ago. With that EP still in print, nobody misses the track here. Adding the Lies material as bonus tracks is cheating a little bit, but I suppose that EP was part of the Appetite album cycle. Even though one track is deleted, the Lies stuff is expanded with bonus songs. A sharp “live” version of “Shadow of Your Love” follows “Mama Kin”. There’s also an alternate acoustic take of “You’re Crazy”. Once you’re past the acoustic songs including “Patience” you’ll get some vintage live B-sides. “It’s So Easy” is more vicious than the original, and sounds really live unlike the previous Lies songs like “Nice Boys”. The rare “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” is especially cool since it’s pre-Dizzy Reed and has no piano. Otherwise the style of the eventual Illusions version is sketched out, right down to the “high, yai, yai yai yai” vocals. Last on the CD is the live cover of AC/DC’s “Whole Lotta Rosie”, foreshadowing Axl’s future as frontman of the Australian institution. This classic version has been heavily bootlegged, but remastered on CD, it sounds so fresh.
The final two discs are all unreleased sessions from the legendary Sound City (and other studios). Most of the Appetite songs are present in demo form but some, like “It’s So Easy”, “Brownstone” and “Sweet Child” are not. The shape of the album was already arranged down to most of the guitar solos. It’s less frantic and more rehearsed but it’s there in very close to final shape. Elements that wouldn’t make the final cut, like some of Axl’s scatting a-la Steven Tyler on “Jungle”, are here to examine. In the 1970s these Sound City sessions would have been good enough to release as an album! In the 80s, they needed Mike Clink to make the album stand out and they did that.
Non-album material is here a-plenty. The Sound City version of “Shadow of Your Love” on CD 3 is the B-side from the old “Live and Let Die” CD single, my personal favourite version for its reckless abandon. The cleaner one on CD 4 is the one released as a single in 2018. Then there’s a trashy punk metal version of Elvis’ “Heartbreak Hotel” which could have been a fine B-side as well. “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” on CD 3 is faster and different from the familiar bootlegged version (still unreleased).
The 4th CD is a mixed bag of demo sessions and unreleased songs, jams and acoustic versions. Instrumental “Ain’t Going Down No More” sounds like an Aerosmith outtake riff, with cowbell out the wazoo. “The Plague” has vocals but it’s quite clear why it was never released. It could be the worst Guns N’ Roses song heard yet. “New Work Tune” is just an acoustic riff that didn’t make it into anything. There are, however, a couple tunes that did. “Back Off Bitch” was reworked on Use Your Illusions, as was “November Rain”. This old demo of “Back Off Bitch” is probably better than the final version because that’s Steven Adler on drums. “November Rain” is particularly interesting because it’s present in both acoustic and piano forms. You can hear how the song grew, but also that it wasn’t ready yet.
Three more versions of “Move to the City” (electric and two acoustic) are here in case you ever wanted a studio version of that song. There are also studio takes of “Mama Kin” and “Reckless Life”. It’s a bit much in terms of repeat, but at least all the versions are notably different from each other. You’ll also have to hear an acoustic “You’re Crazy” one more time, but “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” is pretty cool and jam-like in acoustic form.
A box set at this price point always has paper extras inside: replica posters, tickets, even Axl temporary tattoos. Nothing of any particular value. There are some posters and glossy photo prints. There is even a reprint of the original controversial Robert WIlliams artwork. What are you going to do with all this stuff? You’re not going to tape it to your walls. You’ll keep it safe and unseen in the box, of course. That’s why it’s valueless to most of us. There is also a massive hard cover photo book, in which you’ll find the CDs and Blu-ray. It’s light on text but heavy on glossy photos and memorabilia scans. (Within those scans, there’s plenty to read.)
The super deluxe Appetite For Destruction is of value to those who are going to listen to and appreciate all the different versions inside. The 5.1 mix is disappointing but there will be those who love how different it sounds. It’s not easy to consume all five discs in quick succession, but these bot sets rarely are.
I met Thussy back in 2007. He joined the team at work and we became friends immediately. We liked the same stuff. Trailer Park Boys, Guns N’ Roses, comedy. He is responsible for getting me into Super Troopers, which admittedly took a couple tries. We were also both getting married around the same time, so we had similar complaints and gripes to talk about. Drama with bridesmaids and seating plans, egads.
Thuss is a gamer, and we enjoyed chatting games. Axl Rose did a voice (a radio DJ) in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. You could switch between stations, and if you chose the rock station you got Axl. It was one of the few things Axl did that was released during that long dry spell between albums. Of course, this led to ample discussions of Chinese Democracy.
“It’s never coming out,” Chris insisted. I hated to say he was right, but it sure seemed that way. He refused to back down on his position. We’d been fucked with by this band for so long. Guns had missed several release dates, so many that it had become a joke. Axl chewed up managers and spat them out like stale bubblegum. Then the Dr. Pepper soda company offered to buy a Dr. Pepper for everyone in America if Axl managed to make his 2008 release date. Axl seemed good-naturedly amused by the idea, offering to share his Dr. Pepper with Buckethead when the album comes out. (This because Dr. Pepper said the only Americans exempt from this offer were former Guns members Buckethead and Slash!)
On October 22 2008, I was working at my desk, listening to the radio when the DJ, Carlos Benevides, announced that they would shortly be playing a brand new single by Guns N’ Roses. It was the title track, a song both Thuss and I were already familiar with. He had a disc of rough mixes for many of the tracks, and I had the Rock In Rio bootleg CD set. We already knew half the new songs, and “Chinese Democracy” was a track I thought smoked. I called Thuss and he listened in as it played.
It sounded like shit on our little mono telephone speakers, but we were listening to brand new Guns! The overall listener reaction was mixed to negative, but I already loved it. “The album’s never coming out,” said Thuss.
“It has to, now. There’s a single out. It’s definitely coming.”
“No.” Thuss was insistent. “It’s never coming out.”
“But Dr. Pepper…” I began before being cut off.
“No. Not coming out. Never.”
The funny thing was, “Chinese Democracy” wasn’t actually the first song released from the album. A month earlier, “Shackler’s Revenge” became the first new Guns song in nine years, when it was released as part of the Rock Band 2 video game, which neither of us had.
A new release date of November 23 was announced. “Nope,” said Thuss. “Nothing is coming out on November 23.” It was, strangely, a Sunday. Generally, nothing came out on Sundays. It was absolutely an odd move that did throw the whole release into question for some.
I asked ye olde Record Store to hold a copy for me. “Do you want vinyl?” he asked. “No, just CD.” It was something I’d regret, when he sold out of the vinyl a week later. I emailed to ask if he had any left. “Do you remember me asking you if you wanted vinyl?” he scolded. “Yeah,” I sulked.
When I walked into the store on November 23 and was handed my precious copy of Chinese Democracy, it was so anticlimactic. There it is. It’s in your hands, the culmination of a decade and a half’s work. You’ve been waiting all this time for this album, and there it sits. An album that had “release dates” going back to 1995 and every single year since. Then, you witness Guns return to the live stage from their cocoon, different but recognizable. You watch them struggle to establish a lineup, and you hear rumour after rumour about song titles and release dates. Then you’re holding a CD in your hands, a pitiful little plastic case with a little paper cover inside. You hand the guy your debit card, he rings it in. Transaction approved, you are handed your receipt. Chinese Democracy goes into a little plastic bag. Even though it’s probably the most expensive and longest gestating album of all time, your little plastic bag weighs the same as if you bought Sex Pistols.
At least I’d be able to show it to Thuss. Monday the 24th rolled around.
“It came out. I have it,” I told him as I strolled into his office.
“No it didn’t. It never came out. It’s never coming out.” He was sticking to his story come hell or high water!
“Yes it did! It’s in my car right now! I’ll show it to you.”
“You have nothing,” he responded, refusing to come and look.
In the years since, Thuss has stubbornly stuck to his guns and his believe that Chinese Democracy has never come out. “I have the unreleased mixes,” he says. “That’s all there is.”
I emailed him to tell him I was writing this story, our tale of the time Chinese Democracy was released.
“So you are going to take a crack at some fictional writing…nice.”
I will never win this one!
So now I have two stories both titled “Chinese Democracy”. I say, why not? Peter Gabriel has three self-titled albums.
ALICE COOPER – “Don’t Give Up” (2020 iTunes)
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