RECORD STORE TALES MkII: Getting More Tale
#361: LeBrain Goes to Toronto
Went to Toronto yesterday to visit Mrs. LeBrain at the hospital, and also visited Sonic Boom music at 215 Spadina while I was in town. I’m tired, so all I had the energy for was this quick & dirty 4 minute video. Hope you like it. You know I found music to buy…
Road tunes:
CRY OF LOVE – Brother (1993 Sony)
He wasn’t in the Black Crowes for their heyday, but fans unfamiliar with Cry of Love may remember Audley Freed as the Crowes’ second guitar player, from By Your Side to their first breakup. Upon hearing this CD, his debut album with Cry Of Love, you will understand why the Crowes tapped him to replace Marc Ford. I loved this album so much that I place it on my “Most Unrightfully Ignored Albums of the 1990s” list, with the comment that “Audley Freed plays his Fenders like bluesy butter.”
In 1993, I fully hoped and partly expected Cry of Love and Brother Cane to end the domination of grunge rock, hand in hand!
Cry Of Love not only had the awesome, tubey guitar sounds of Freed but also (for this album, anyway) an excellent little known singer named Kelly Holland. Sounding like a cross between Chris Robinson and Joe Lynn Turner, Holland had pipes to spare and knew how to use them with soul. What a powerful throat. At the time I used to say, “If only I could sing like Kelly Holland or Joe Lynn Turner!” I only discovered while writing this review that Holland died last year at age 52. Hard living and alcohol took their toll on a singer who never achieved the fame that he had potential for.
Hopefully Mr. Holland was very proud of the one album he made with the band. Every track on this album is a live-sounding standout, with very few audible overdubs. Production by John Custer (Corrosion of Conformity from their hometime of Raleigh, North Carolina) is spot on. With a bluesy band like this, you want clear and crisp, yet with the illusion of a live rehearsal. The album delivers on that, with the power one expects from a modern recording. The guitar tones in particular are stunning. With a chilly, round, and natural sound, Freed proved that in the 90’s you didn’t have to downtune.
There are a lot of favourites on Brother. The first single “Peace Pipe” was killer. I can’t get enough of that bopping bass line and irresistible chorus. The second single “Bad Thing” wasn’t bad either, but the opener “Highway Jones” was really awesome. It has a blurringly fast blues riff that just stuns. On the mellow side of the blues, there is the soulful (and mournful) “Carnival”. Excellent lyrics on that one too. I saw them perform it acoustically on MuchMusic in the 1990’s. Still have that on VHS tape, too. Then there’s “Too Cold In The Winter”, which makes use of Freed’s chilly tone to full effect. You will have your own favourites, but I think “Peace Pipe” will grab you no matter who you are.
After this album, Holland departed to be replaced by Robert Mason (Lynch Mob, currently in Warrant) on the second album, Diamonds and Debris, which destroyed half of what made this band unique. While they still had Freed, it’s just rare to hear a singer of Holland’s caliber, and Mason is just a tad generic. At least at that phase of his career. That album isn’t nearly as memorable as Brother.
So: Brother, an excellent lost gem of an album, may be relegated to the footnotes of the Black Crowes’ biography. It’s a shame, because I think it’s up there with some of the best albums the Crowes have never done. Of note: I also own two CD singles, for “Bad Thing” and “Peace Pipe”, which also had two non-album studio tracks on it. Those, and some live cuts on “Bad Thing” are worth checking out if you crave more of the original Cry of Love. I’ll review those another day. Rest in Peace Kelly Holland.
4/5 stars
RECORD STORE TALES MkII: Getting More Tale
#359.5: Adrift
I woke up this morning thinking it was Thursday. I was convinced of it. Wishful thinking only. It’s only Wednesday and Mrs. LeBrain’s still got a long stay in the hospital ahead. Bachelor living isn’t as fun as I remember it from my single days.
I haven’t been able to get motivated to write music reviews. I managed to do an EP review last night, barely. I had disc 2 of Queen Forever on in the car, still. Disc 2 is almost done but I think I’ll stick with Queen for a while. Freddie really helps brighten the mood. In particular, 80’s Queen. Perhaps tomorrow I’ll listen to The Game.
As far as the hospital goes, Jen realized yesterday that she forgot her USB cable for her mp3 player, so she currently has no way to charge it. She can still get her rock on with Youtube on her laptop, or by streaming 107.5 Dave FM with the Corus app on her BlackBerry. Forgetting the cable is just one of those annoying things that serve to make her hospital stay a little more aggravating. It appears likely she’ll be there another week.
I’m heading back to Toronto this weekend, and I’m planning a record store shopping trip to go with it. If life gives you lemons, make lemonade! It’s too bad Jen has to stay in, but she’ll be home soon and pestering me to do laundry again before I know it!
*FYI, I did know that The Thing AKA Ben Grimm was Jewish. I didn’t know any of the others though!
RECORD STORE TALES MkII: Getting More Tale
#358.5: On the Road Again
Today was another day on the highway, on the road to another hospital! We’re making progress on Jen’s epilepsy and she is currently staying at a hospital in Toronto for a few days as they try to figure out just what’s causing these seizures. It will be the longest we’ve been apart since we’ve been married, six years ago.
You don’t come here to read mushy stuff, you come for funny stories and to read about the rock! The drive itself was uneventful. The eastbound lanes are clear, but a jackknifed tractor trailer on the westbound side left just one lane open to traffic. It was backed up as far as the eye could see, and I was grateful I was not one of the commuters stuck in it.
We had Zeppelin on the ride into Toronto. With your morning traffic jams that just happen, we listened to all of Led Zeppelin I, the deluxe edition with bonus concert CD, Live at the Olympia in Paris. As good as this set is — and it is good — it didn’t suit the mood this morning. I should have started with Queen instead. I drove home to disc one of the new Queen Forever, and the pop sound and bright melodies of Queen were better suited to lift the mood. On the way there, Plant’s anguished screams only heightened my own tension. On the way back, Freddie’s smooth crooning was just what the doctor ordered. It was a bright sunny afternoon drive home.
As is par for the course this time of year, my car came home covered in a thick gray coating of sludge and salt. I almost went through almost half a tank of windshield washer fluid today!
If she’s there a while and I have to hang around there, I will definitely be checking out some record stores. When we passed the Honest Ed’s building, I realized that we were right in the vicinity of Mike and Aaron’s Annual Taranna Record Store Excursion! It would be weird to be so close and not check out Sonic Boom.
I’m looking forward to video chatting with Jen tonight on our laptops. She’s got a few days ahead that will be a mixture of boredom, homesickness, and tedious testing. Me, I’m back to bachelor living for the week. I’m already bored.
Today’s musical lesson: Queen lifts the mood!
JUDAS PRIEST – Concert Classics (1998 RME, recorded 6/25/1980)
I was surprised to see this album was reissued in 2007 as Live in Concert. When I got it back in 1998, the record label was immediately served with a “cease and desist” because Priest had just released their own official ’98 Live Meltdown album, and this one isn’t authorized by the band. It’s a radio broadcast from 1980, the British Steel tour. It doesn’t even have the right drummer pictured on the back! The album was swiftly deleted and disappeared from store shelves, and most fans didn’t know it had come and gone. (Also, at the exact same time, Sony issued another compilation called Priest Live and Rare, further muddifying the clarification.) After it was deleted, I acquired this CD from Tom who had just opened his own branch of the Record Store. I paid $19.99, used.
As an unofficial part of the Priest discography, In Concert is worth picking up. Although Priest had released the live Unleashed in the East in 1979, Concert Classics was recorded in 1980 after British Steel. Therefore, a lot of crucial future Priest classics had been added to the set. You can’t argue with the tunes inside. Recorded live in Denver (you can tell this when Halford yells, “What you say, Denver!” right before the guitar solo in “Green Manalishi”), some of these tracks are lost gems. It’s nice to have the CD alongside Unleashed, as a companion.
The sound quality is OK, it’s not up to the standards of Unleashed (obviously). The vocals are not mixed loud enough. The bass on the other hand is mixed way too loud, and Ian Hill is not that interesting as a bassist. The band is also not the same lineup as the year before, due to the replacement of Les Binks by Dave Holland. Holland is a very blocky, robotic drummer. Play “Green Manalishi” for an idea of how the two drummers differ. Priest with Holland was that much weaker for it. I don’t think anyone would argue the point that Priest sound better without Dave Holland on drums.
Having said that, the rest of the band are playing great, and Halford’s voice was in fine, peak shape. He was able to hit all the notes in “The Ripper”. He didn’t quite nail the one on “Victim of Changes”, but he was close! This doesn’t sound like there were any overdubs or other assorted mess-arounds. Which is the way I like it.
Other notables: No “Metal Gods” (although the concert opens with the metal hammering sound from that song). “You Don’t Have to be Old to be Wise” is a nice surprise, and it sounds great live! There are plenty of tunes from Sad Wings and British Steel, a trio from Hell Bent, and samplings from Sin After Sin and Stained Class. The set list is well rounded.
3/5 stars. Somewhat collectible, since Priest would probably like this CD to be buried. Good tunes, and an important era of Priest history documented on CD for the metal historian.
RECORD STORE TALES MkII: Getting More Tale
#358: The Personal Impact of Led Zeppelin
Christmas 1990 was another major turning point in my musical life. I know others who can say the same thing for the same reason. Led Zeppelin had released their first box set, a 4 CD collection of 54 essential tracks, remastered by Jimmy Page himself. This was the impetus I needed to finally take the Zeppelin plunge.
Prior to this, I had stayed away from Zeppelin. I only knew a couple live videos from MuchMusic, which didn’t appeal to me at all. A rock band wearing sandals? The fuck was this? I couldn’t wrap my head around the violin bow solo, nor the band. I remember watching the old live “Dazed and Confused” video with my friend Bob. “You can tell that guy’s on drugs,” he said of Jimmy Page.
That was in the 1980’s. By the turn of the decade, I was starting to tire of plastic sounding pop rock bands. I was craving authenticity, and I know I wasn’t the only one. Bands like Warrant were wracked by controversy, when it was revealed that they employed two guitar teachers to write their guitar solos and teach the members how to play them. Too much fakery for me — at that point I decided to stop listening to them. I sold my Warrant tapes. Warrant in turn accused Poison, the band they were opening for, of using backing tapes live. All kinds of bands were accused of using backing tapes. Sebastian Bach was quoted as saying, “The only band out there that doesn’t use backing tapes live today is Metallica, and that’s a fact.” (I am fairly certain Iron Maiden are above such tom foolery as well.)
The old “Dazed and Confused” video that Much used to play
I didn’t want backing tapes, I wanted authentic pure rock music. There was a bustle in my hedgerow. I wasn’t satisfied with the new releases coming out either. A lot of groups that I really liked released disappointing albums in 1990. From Dio to Iron Maiden to Winger, there were too many bands that failed to impress that year. A band like Zeppelin seemed to have not only authenticity, but solid consistently. They were hailed as the greatest rock band of all time by just about every rock group I heard of!
I received the box set from my parents on Christmas day 1990. The following day, Boxing day, I had set aside to listen to the entire box set from start to finish – about five and a half hours of listening. I took a brief lunch break between discs 2 and 3. I emerged from my room that afternoon, dazed, but not confused at all. There were some songs that I didn’t care too much for – “Poor Tom”, “Wearing and Tearing”, “Ozone Baby” – mostly songs from Coda. They were vastly outnumbered by the songs that absolutely blew me away, even though I had never heard of them before: “Your Time Is Gonna Come”, “Immigrant Song”, “Ramble On”, “The Ocean”, “All My Love”…I could not believe the sheer quality of the music.
Sure, Led Zeppelin’s songs weren’t produced as slick as I was used to. They were a far cry from Whitesnake. Jimmy Page wasn’t a shredder like Steve Vai, but I felt a personal shift. I thought bands like Whitesnake and Cinderella had been exhibiting the epitome of integrity, with the ace players and incredible musicianship. Like athletes, musicians only seemed to achieve loftier heights over the decades with their playing. This was exemplified by a guy like Steve Vai who pushed guitar into entirely new frontiers. Cinderella, on the other hand, had even worked with Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones, who provided strings to their bluesy Heartbreak Station LP. I thought Cinderella were the blues! But now, my eyes were really opening. It was like Obi-Wan Kenobi had prophesized: “You’ve just taken your first step, in a larger world.”
Led Zeppelin (and also ZZ Top) were talking about blues artists I never heard of. Muddy Waters? Lightning Hopkins? Robert Johnson? Who were these people that were so influential that Zeppelin were known to lift entire songs from them?
I had a thought: “From this moment on, I will never be able to listen to rock bands the same way again. I used to think Cinderella were authentic blues. How can I ever go back to listening to Cinderella with the same feeling of passion? How can I play bands like Slaughter and Judas Priest, and think for a second that these guys are any better than the old guys like Zep?”
Fortunately I found that eventually Cinderella, Whitesnake and Led Zeppelin could co-exist in my collection. Liking one does not mean you can’t like the others. Even though Led Zeppelin raised the bar to extraordinary heights, I found it wasn’t too hard to “lower my standards” sometimes and enjoy a little “Slow An’ Easy” with David Coverdale. Zeppelin simply opened my eyes: that there was an entire history of blues that I hadn’t really been aware of before. My musical life journey was about to expand exponentially.
RECORD STORE TALES Mk II: Getting More Tale
#357: “Dream Bands” (1990 version)
I’m sure you and your friends have made these lists many times: put together a lineup of your dream band! Any living players can qualify.
I had deep, long conversations about this with my friends in highschool. One of them simply listed the four members of Led Zeppelin (Jason subbing in for John) as his dream band. You could certainly make an argument for that. My highschool dream band (1990-91 year) was instead made up of the players that I thought were the absolute best in their fields. Can you guess who I was listening to that year? Lineup:
As a joke, I also added a seventh bonus member, Walter Ostanek on accordion! That was for my buddy Andy, who also played accordion. Upon submitting my official list for consideration, I removed Ostanek. But I figured that Walter could show up for a guest appearance on a track or two, because everyone loves accordion.
An interesting band lineup to be sure, but as my highschool friends pointed out, they would probably implode after only one rehearsal. Steve Vai and Malcolm Young in the same band? I can’t see how that would work. Sorry, LeBrain circa 1990. Fail! I’m glad I kept this stuff though, because it’s so funny to look back on it now. 25 freakin’ years ago!
Who would you place in your “dream band” lineup today? One stipulation: the artist must be alive and able to play. For example I couldn’t put Malcolm on my list today, nor could I put Phil Collins on drums, since he can no longer play them due to injury.
Have at it! Let’s see your lists!
TED NUGENT – Shutup & Jam! (2014 Frontiers)
Alright Nuge, it’s been a bumpy ride between you and I. It’s been a love/hate thing with us. Let’s see if I can stomach 2014 Ted, or if the politics are overshadowing the music. As we Canadians say, Give’r!
One thing for sure: there is no denying that Ted has lost absolutely nothing. The opening title track is faster, meaner and more fun than 99% of the flock. The great Gonzo still shreds a chaotically perfect solo as if the studio is Cobo Hall. “There just comes a time when you just gotta rock,” he sings. Sounds good to me Ted, I’m on board for that! Ted keeps it rolling with a vicious riff on the excellent “Fear Itself”, and old pal Derek St. Holmes lends lead vocals to “Everything Matters”. A whole album of Ted’s shrieking has never been easy to swallow, so I’m always glad to hear Derek’s smooth pipes. By the slippery bluesy rock, you might think it’s ZZ Top.
Speaking of old friends, Sammy Hagar (who is friends with everyone except the current members of Van Halen) shows up to sing lead on “She’s Gone”. It’s a ball crusher of a song (basically just a variation on “Going Down”), but I guarantee that the guitar solo will sound great wailing out of your car windows this summer. Even better though is the pure fucking joy in the riff for “Never Stop Believing”. I have a new favourite riff and it’s “Never Stop Believing”. The song ends on some really nice laid back picking from Ted, reminding me that he is one of the most underrated players from the classic rock era.
“I Still Believe” indicates to me that Ted really wanted to get his point across when he said he’d “Never Stop Believing”. The opening riff apes “Helter Skelter” a little bit, but the rest of the track is pure Nuge. I like that Nuge is singing fairly tame things like “I still believe in America” and “I believe in liberty” rather than “fuck the Democrats”. The next patriotic statement Ted has for us is “I Love My BBQ”. And I absolutely dig the shout-out to us Canucks. “I love my Barbeque, it’s what Canadians do” sings Ted in the first verse! A small minority may be offended but my mouth is drooling. But I really don’t think it’s Ted’s primary intention to upset you. I think he’s really just trying to be funny, like a stand up comic. Sometimes comedy involves a little bit of a poke and a prod. If Weird Al sang a song about a delicious hamburger, nobody would have a problem with it.
Kicking ass is Ted’s business and “Throttledown” is just one of those pedal-to-the-metal rock instrumentals. “Do Rags and a .45” sounds like Anvil except for that title. “Screaming Eagles” doesn’t give up an inch either, guitars fueled and ablaze. None of these songs overstay their welcome. Shutup & Jam features five songs in the 2 minute range in a row! “Semper Fi” is the last of these five, a stomper rather than a screamer. Ted then tells us he’s going to “Trample the Weak Hurdle the Dead”. “War is not the answer,” sings Ted. “I only know evil has got to go.” It’s a great tune and it’s not hard to sing along. And that’s the key. All of these tunes are immensely catchy with lyrics I can sing without having to worry about being considered a right-wing radical by my neighbors.
A blues version of “Never Stop Believing” closes the album; a rough recording appropriate for the gritty approach. It’s a bit of a throw-away compared to the regular version, decent but not nearly as special. Ted’s playing is always the reason to listen.
I really liked Shutup & Jam. If I had heard it in 2014, it would have been a contender for the Top Five list.
4/5 stars
IZZY STRADLIN and the JU JU HOUNDS – Izzy Stradlin and the Ju Ju Hounds (1992 Geffen)
Izzy was quick out of the gates after leaving Guns N’ Roses at the height of their success. Less than a year after his departure, a dreadlocked Izzy reappeared with his new band the Ju Ju Hounds, a Stones-y outfit also featuring Rick Richards from the Georgia Satellites. Guns’ main songwriter and rhythm guitarist unleashed an album of songs that easily could have been released in the early 1970’s.
There’s very little resemblance to Guns, aside from a few tracks on Use Your Illusion. “Pressure Drop” (the reggae classic) is redone here as a classic rock/punk hybrid, and it’s probably the only tune that you would think, “Yeah, that sounds like Guns.” “Bucket O’ Trouble” also has a distinct punk rock vibe, but the Hammond organ keeps it from going all the way. The rest of the songs are a lot more open, and far less heavy than fans were used to. Fans who “got it” loved it, and those that didn’t probably never will.
There are no bad songs on Izzy Stradlin and the Ju Ju Hounds, but there is little question about who this album sounds like. Izzy approaches it like a Keith Richards album with songs suited to his raspy voice. Izzy’s singing voice is so Stones-y and raspy that you’ll have trouble telling him apart from guest Ronnie Wood, who sings with Izzy on his own song “Take a Look at the Guy” (originally from Wood’s 1974 solo record I’ve Got My Own Album to Do, his first). “Train Tracks” is a Stradlin original that sports some tasty slide guitar straight out Wood’s book.
The single was the still-great “Shuffle it All”, which was criticized by some for a superficial resemblance to Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side”. Only the bassline has any similarity; which is admittedly a pretty significant hook. I like “Shuffle it All” better (heresy!), which easily could have been on Beggars Banquet. Those “ooo, ooo, ooo” backing vocals seal the deal for me.
There were also a couple mellow tracks. “How Will it Go” and “Come on Now Inside” are both lovely ballads with piano and acoustic guitars. “Come on Now Inside” contains a hidden bonus track called “Morning Tea”, but this isn’t really a full-fledged song of its own. This is just a percussion instrumental outro.
The Japanese edition has a bonus track called “How Much” which was also on the single for “Shuffle It All”. I’ll review that single on its own at a later time. It’s an Izzy original but you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s an old Bob Marley cover. Great tune — I’m a sucker for reggae. The song is worth it if you want to track down the single or Japanese import.
3.5/5 stars
KIM MITCHELL – Itch (1994 Alert)
I used to get so excited back in the Record Store days, checking the purchase logs from the day before. Many times, people logged KIM MITCHELL – ST (self-titled) in the books, immediately catching my attention. The self titled Kim Mitchell EP, after all, was and remains a true rarity. CD copies go today for up to $120. When I would check the purchase logs against the physical CDs, I was always disappointed that the Kim Mitchell EP didn’t come in; rather his 1994 album Itch did. The graphics are laid out in such a way that a part-time employee who didn’t know better couldn’t see that the album was called Itch, within the name Kim Mitchell. Truth be told, I couldn’t figure out what it was called when I first started at the store in ’94 either! I was working the week it came out. “I didn’t know Kim Mitchell had a new album out!” Staring at the cover…”What’s it called?” I bought it on cassette initially.
The mid-90’s were a confusing time to be a Kim Mitchell fan. His 1992 record, Aural Fixations, was pretty straightforward and for the first time lacked lyrics written by Pye Dubois. When 1994 kicked off, the new Kim single “Acrimony” featured Kim rapping. Yes, rapping. Inappropriate comparisons to the Red Hot Chili Peppers were bandied about in the press. I did not like “Acrimony”. Some people do; in fact some people think Itch is Kim’s best CD. I am not one of those people.
So how good is Itch? Well, it’s OK. It’s not great, not like Kim’s past work with the near-legendary Max Webster, though it does return Kim to some mild musical experimentations. There are standard Kim rockers like “Wonder Where & Why” and some great grooves like “Lick Yer Finger”. “Stand” is one of those classic Kim anthems that are perfect for the car in the summer time. There are also just just plain weird moments that just don’t work. “Acrimony” is one of them, and “Lemon Wedge” is another. “Lemon Wedge” is a cool funk tune with horns, but is ruined by some guy (possibly Peter Fredette?) screaming out the chorus in a weird falsetto. Strangely though, those two songs made onto Kim’s first solo Greatest Hits CD, so maybe I’m the one who’s just not getting it.
In general Itch is a more somber album from Kim than the good time rock he produced in the 80’s. It was also bluesier (“U.S. of Ache” for example) and harder edged, but I don’t think it had the songs to back it up. Kim’s playing is fantastic of course, but you can say that about any of his albums. Kim can play circles around most rock and blues players in his sleep. He also has a crack band, featuring Ken “Spider” Sinnaeve on bass who did time in a couple legendary Canadian bands such as Loverboy and Tom Cochrane & Red Rider. Notably, Pye Dubois returned to pen the lyrics, the last time he would do so. I think the main problem with Itch comes down to the songs.
The best tune on this CD is the last one, “Cheer Us On”, a great campfire song that should have been a single. However, it wasn’t, so it’ll just have to remain one of those little-known album songs with a few diehard fans. I wouldn’t hesitate to put it on a greatest hits CD, even though it has never been used on a greatest hits CD.
As it stands, Itch was a commercial flop. It has its staunch defenders, and maybe you are one of them. Who’s right?
2.5/5 stars
Footnote: Eagle-eyed readers will recall seeing Itch in Record Store Tales Part 187; a video called “A Day in the Life at a Record Store”. Yes, a customer really did bring this album to the counter and inform me that someone had ruined the cover art with crayon. I had to tell them that it WAS the cover art!
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