It didn’t come as a surprise when the province of Ontario went back into the “grey zone” again last week. But sad to say, when I asked myself “How will this change my daily routine?,” I had to admit that it wouldn’t. Easter wasn’t that different from last year. I did some live streaming, I did some listening, I did some writing.
Actually I did a lot of listening and writing. Andy Curran (Coney Hatch, Soho 69, Caramel) will be on the show this Friday April 9. The guy is fount of rock knowledge so this will be quite a tour-de-force, and I have been doing my research. I’ve been listening to Coney Hatch and solo Andy, on repeat. I have three Rock Candy remasters here with valuable liner notes and bonus tracks. I’ve been reading. Deke will be in seventh heaven getting to talk to one of his heroes. It’s going to be a lot of fun, and that’s one reason I do this. It’s fun.
Friday afternoon I went over to my parents’ house to pick up some mail. Mail theft became a serious issue last year so now I have my mail delivered elsewhere to be collected. In the mail were two Star Trek movies that I haven’t seen in a long time. Two years ago, I made the mistake of donating all my Star Trek DVDs while doing a big purge. I said “No big deal, I’ll just buy a Blu-ray set.” But none of the Blu-ray sets had the features I wanted from the DVDs. I have been slowly buying them back, and this weekend I got to star Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.
It has been literal years since seeing The Voyage Home, or “the one with the whales”. Perhaps a decade. What a perfect film, at least as perfect as any movie with time travel conundrums can be. I smiled and chuckled the whole way through.
As for Khan, I know I streamed it somewhere fairly recently, but it has been just as many years since I watched the extended director’s cut. It only adds up to a few minutes here and there, but it was all fresh and new to me. The restored scenes help clarify the identity of young Peter Preston, who dies in the first attack. “He stayed at his post, when the trainees ran!” mourned Mr. Scott. A restored line reveals Peter Preston is Scott’s nephew. “My sister’s youngest,” he says. “Crazy to get to space.” Lines such as this add value to the already perfect film. Others do not. Additional exposition was probably cut because it wasn’t necessary. I did like one in which Kirk explains to Spock who David Marcus is. “That young man is my son”, says Kirk. The only reply necessary from Spock: “Fascinating.”
So I had fun. I made lots of time to play some music. I listened to Paul Stanley’s Soul Station, and I’m trying to find a way to be objective about reviewing it. I like it a lot. But if anybody else with a better voice put out a similar record, would I give it the time of day? Unlikely. So there is a certain hypocrisy there that I must address before I attempt to review it. But I will. I genuinely like the album. But I like it on the same level that I like the Peter Criss solo albums: as a reasonable facsimile of the real article. A forgery through the lens of somebody I already like and am familiar with. Easier to digest.
Tonight: Easter dinner courtesy of Golf’s Steakhouse, via the generosity of my mom who always spoiled us. Friday night’s live stream was Easter themed, and viewers were shocked at how spoiled we were as kids. We got great Easter gifts while other kids got a chocolate bunny. My sister and I didn’t question it, we just went with it!
Thanks mom for dinner tonight. I ordered a porterhouse. It’ll be here in 10 minutes.
LOUDNESS – World Tour 2018 – Rise to Glory – Live in Tokyo (2019 Ear Music)
In an unfortunate twist of events, Loudness drummer Masayuki Suzuki was sidelined by stroke and could not perform on the Rise to Glory tour. Ryuichi “Dragon” Nishida filled in beat-for-beat and appears on the live album World Tour 2018 – Rise to Glory – Live in Tokyo. This 2 CD/1 DVD combo set is compiled from three days in Tokyo, with a bonus: the DVD features one track with Masayuki Suzuki from the fourth day. His performance on “Loudness” is as if there was nothing wrong with him, and he appears delighted to be playing live again.
Live in Tokyo is an energized performance, focusing almost entirely on early Loudness. This being a hometown crowd, many of the songs are performed with their original Japanese lyrics. 1985’s Thunder in the East takes the early focus on disc one with the first six tracks all being sourced from the “big” album. These tracks are intense, with solos by Akira Takasaki that melt the face. Classic Loudness with jagged riffs and still-powerful vocals from Minoru Niihara.
Oldies abound. Disc 1 also includes “Loudness” (the version with Ryuichi Nishida on drums) from the 1981 debut The Birthday Eve. A slick, well-received version. There’s also a punishing “In the Mirror” from third LP The Law of Devil’s Land, and the memorable “Crazy Doctor” from 1984’s Disillusion.
The second disc spotlights two lesser-known albums. First is The Law of Devil’s Land from 1983. The first five heavy numbers (including a second version of “In the Mirror”) all come from that platter. This is the heavy proto-thrash that Loudness were peddling at the start of the 80s, and vicious stuff it is. But not without hooks! The last five originated on Disillusion, regarded by some aficionados as Loudness’ best. From “Crazy Doctor” through the ballad “Ares’ Lament” and the finisher “Esper”, these are some great metal songs.
Impressively, the third disc (the DVD) highlights another batch of songs missed on the first two discs: newer material. “Soul on Fire”, “Go For Broke”, “Until I See the Light”, “I’m Still Alive” and a pair of instrumentals from the new Rise to Glory (2018) stand up to the earlier material. The awesome “The Sun Will Rise Again” from the 2014 album of the same name rounds out the freshest material. The new tunes are still heavy, riffy and melodic, but with a very slight modern edge. “I’m Still Alive” goes thrash metal, but that’s part of Loudness’ origins. Besides the return of Suzuki on drums for one song, the highlight of the DVD is a ballad. After so many brutal songs, Minoru breaks out an acoustic guitar for an unplugged “Ares’ Lament”. This is completely different than the version on CD 2, which was done fully electric.
Any classic band from the 80s or earlier, still trying to pull it off today, has the same question to answer: How good is the singer? Minoru Niihara is excellent. As if no years have passed. None of the material presents a challenge.
Considering the mixture of material over the three discs, Rise to Glory – Live in Tokyo would be a suitable entry point for any rock fan wanting to check out Loudness. You’ll get the hits from Thunder in the East, ample early deep cuts, and a sampling of quality new stuff. Value for the money and time invested.
LOUDNESS – Buddha Rock 1997-1999 Music Clips (1999 Rooms DVD, from the box set Buddha Rock 1997-1999)
The complete Buddha Rock 1997-1999 set comes with the three Loudness albums from that brief era, and also a bonus DVD with the accompanying music videos. On the back some are listed as “full size” and others “short size” — let’s find out what that means and what Loudness videos looked like in the late 90s.
“Ghetto Machine” opens, with Loudness including a shaven-headed Akira Takasaki performing in a darkened room. The added static interferance reminds us we are in the 90s when bands like Loudness didn’t have much budget and covered it up with tricks like this. Masaki appears cold with his big fur hat, but it’s fun to see this version of Loudness on video. “Evil Ecstasy” has cleaner production, but this is one of the “short size” videos — it’s only about 90 seconds of a pretty cool song. Too bad because this video is much more watchable. The funkier “San Francisco” is also one of these short versions, as is “Creatures”. All of these videos appear to be taped at the same time. The section of “Creatures” used focuses on the guitar solo. That’s cool at least. “Katmandu Fly” is the “full size”, but it’s also only a minute-long instrumental so to call it “full size” is kinda cheatin’.
Moving on from the Ghetto Machine album, all the rest of the videos are “full size”. From Dragon, it’s two of the best tracks: “Dogshit” and “Crazy Go Go”. This time Loudness are playing in a huge, uber-clean garage. As “Dogshit” demonstrates, Akira was now into his “fly sunglasses” phase. It looks like the band are having fun here, which makes it an enjoyable watch. Great song too. “Crazy Go Go” is more straight ahead, with lights and struttin’ stage moves instead of goofing around.
Apparently they only did one video for the final Masaki album, Engine. “Black Biohazard” is that song; not a tune that impressed on prior listens. (Also strange how “Black Biohazard” is the only song not in capital letters on the cover.) This video is made from grainy outdoor concert festival footage. From this we can ascertain that live, Masaki was a capable frontman with a cool rock star stage persona.
At 25 minutes, this DVD can not be considered more than a bonus for buying the Buddha Rock box set. It is not the main draw. The fundamental reason to get Buddha Rock is to acquire the three albums Ghetto Machine, Dragon and Engine in one place with ease. As a bonus feature, the Music Clips disc does what it does. “Dogshit” is the best video by a wide margin, and it remains unclear why “short size” videos were included, unless that’s all that was ever made for those particular songs?
The Buddha Rock box set also comes with photos, complete lyrics (in English) and liner notes (in Japanese). It’s the obvious way to go to cover those years, an era which ended with the Engine album in 1999. At Masaki’s urging, Akira Takasaki reunited the original Loudness lineup and released Spiritual Canoe with Minoru Niihara at the microphone. That put an end to the Masaki Yamada era, which started with member turnover before solidifying on these three albums with Naoto Shibata and Hirotsugo Homma on bass and drums respectively. Great musicians both who helped Loudness explore new and weird directions at the end of the 90s.
Music Clips DVD: 3/5 stars
Buddha Rock 1997-1999 box set: 3.5/5 stars (the sum of the whole is greater than its parts)
STAR WARS– Original theatrical (1977) version
As released on the 2006 Lucasfilm Limited Edition DVD
Directed by George Lucas
In 1977 my parents took me to see Star Wars for the first time, like millions of other kids my age. By the end of the year, terms like “The Force” and “Millennium Falcon” were commonly spoken among children like secret code, while remaining merely gibberish to their teachers. Because of the availability of cool action figures and vehicles by Kenner, Star Wars became much more than a mere movie. Its world building potential meant that kids were using the characters and settings to make their own adventures. It became…forever. A part of culture. The image of Darth Vader will be found by future archaeologists the same as ours today find carvings Apollo and Zeus.
We memorized this movie. Lines like “It’s an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together.” We could recite them with perfect cadence and intonation, albeit an octave high. But we didn’t understand all the words we were saying, or what it really meant.
Reviewing this movie is like revisiting an old friend to reminisce about the good times.
For the most authentic Star Wars re-watching experience, the 2006 Lucasfilm double DVD edition provides the theatrical version most of us grew up with and knew by heart. There was no A New Hope, no episode number. We saw Star Wars three times in the theatres. After that, everyone had to wait for TV broadcasts or video rental if you wanted to watch Star Wars. Except back then, there were only “fullscreen” tapes available for rental at the local store. For many years, we completely forgot about certain alien creatures that were cropped out for home video! This DVD is a reminder of those times, and how lucky we are today to have so many viewing options available. (Including a new 2019 Disney+ version of the film. I say “Maclunkey!”)
When he conceived Star Wars, George Lucas had plenty of backstory sketched out. He assumed he only had one shot at making it, and so chose what he felt was the best and most exciting part of the overall story. In a way, Star Wars always had a leg up on everything that came later for that reason. The origin story of the farmer boy that leaves home to save the world is a setup taken from classic lore, and put on screen in an original way by turning it into a space fantasy. With the benefit of hindsight, could it even lose?
Actually yes — if the special effects weren’t as convincing as they are. Those artists took Ralph McQuarrie’s crucial conceptual art and turned drawings into filmable 3D objects that look worn, used and real. Using bits of plastic battleship model kids and parts taken from cameras, a universe that looked as real as the world we live in was created. Then they innovated further using blue screens and skill, creating dynamic space battles that surpassed anything we’d seen before. One key innovation was the idea to choreograph the space battles based on actual World War II dogfight footage.
Sir Alec Guinness (Ben Kenobi) and Peter Cushing (Tarkin) were the two most recognizable stars to the parents in the audience, but Harrison Ford was an up-and-comer who impressed everyone that loved George Lucas’ other coming-of-age story, American Graffiti. Even though Cushing and Guinness had no idea what their dialogue was really about, they turned in incredible character performances. The hero trio of Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher were perfectly tuned. Meanwhile, Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker provided the roles of perspective for the film. Indeed, Lucas said that only C-3P0 and R2-D2 witnessed the events of the entire saga. Finally, Peter Mayhew and David Prowse provided the physical acting necessary for the roles of Chewbacca and Darth Vader. These performances were topped off with sound effects by Ben Burtt and a brilliant Vader voiceover by James Earl Jones.
Lucas has been mocked in his later years for getting terribly wooden performances out of great actors in the prequel trilogy. When he was young, making Star Wars, he was different. His direction is alive and he gets spontaneous feeling performances from the entire cast. Whatever he was doing in 1999 with The Phantom Menace, he was a different director in 1977. Of course, much credit must also be given to the editors who carved this movie out of the celluloid. Yet none of that would have had the same impact without the groundbreaking score by John Williams. Williams is so important to the entire saga that he composed the scores to all nine films.
In other words, Star Wars is all but a perfect film. On its own, without any sequels or prequels, it was already one of the best things ever, and what kid could resist that? On a technical level, it’s a masterpiece achievement. All this contained within a simple, engaging story drawing upon the tenets of classic mythology. Consciously it’s blowing your mind, and subconsciously it’s tugging at your Jungian psyche.
The best part about watching the 1977 theatrical version of Star Wars is simply the ease of slipping into that world and really believing it. When the 1997 special editions hit, the effects may have been improved, but awkwardly jarring additions were made: The insertion of jerkily-moving Dewbacks. An extended entry into Mos Eisley with distractingly fake looking Rontos. A poorly-edited reimaginging of the Greedo faceoff. And of course, Jabba the Hutt himself, perhaps the most hideous of all the additions due to the extremely primitive animation of the 1990s. The rest of the changes, such as a restored Biggs Darklighter scene and an improved Death Star battle, are not so bad. Incidentally, there is nothing wrong with the Death Star battle as it was in ’77. The problem is that every time an addition is made in every reissue of a Star Wars film, it takes you right out of the movie and into reality once again.
Further Observations
When you pull the focus back and look at Star Wars in a greater context, more insight and meaning can be wrenched from the stone. Both in terms of cultural impact, and how it relates to the Skywalker Saga as a whole, we can look deeper into this film and enjoy it even more.
One thing we appreciated a little bit as kids, but I really admire today, is the amount of sheer labour that went into making Star Wars. It’s so much easier to appreciate in this original unrestored version. If you can see the line between matte painting and live set, you realize: oh my God, all of that big portion of the screen is actually a set! And that matte painting is really, really good! The amount of work to do both, and match them as close as they did is quite impressive without the aid of a computer. Also, observe techniques used to make shots more dynamic. The Falcon flying, for example. The actual model isn’t moving much, but the starfield behind it is. That makes it look as if it is really burning some rubber.
Here’s something to think about. One of the biggest action set pieces of this movie involved Luke and Leia swinging across a chasm from a rope. It blew everyone’s brain, that huge looking vertical shaft with the retracted bridges. The Stormtroopers are coming at them from two directions, as Luke takes his leap of faith. While in 1977 we also saw the male and female lead together as a team with possible romantic foreshadowing, today the scene actually has more meaning. Now, it is the children of Anakin Skywalker finally united after two decades of separation. The New Hopes. It’s actually a pretty heavy moment in the whole saga when you think on what that means. Obi-Wan and Yoda hid those children away as babies in the hopes that one day, they would take over the fight. The moment we see them swinging across the chasm, we realize that dream has been realized. From whiny space brat to brave hero in two hours. It’s also clear from her courage and familiarity with a blaster that Leia is a “Force” to be reckoned with too.
Children loved the adventures but didn’t fully appreciate what Luke was experiencing. You can feel that Uncle Owen tried, but wasn’t the father figure that Luke wanted. Then Luke loses the only parents he ever had, his aunt and uncle, and is whisked off-planet for the first time in his life by a new father figure, Ben Kenobi. In addition he’s told a bombshell of a truth (with a hidden lie): his real father wasn’t a navigator on a spice freighter. His uncle had been lying to him his entire life about who his father really was: a Jedi knight, who fought in a “damn fool idealistic crusade” called the Clone Wars. He then learns, in a second revelation, that the universe itself is more than it seems, and that an all powerful Force is behind everything. And then he loses that father figure almost immediately after! Today that would send most of us into months of therapy, but Luke soldiers on and picks up on this Jedi stuff pretty quickly! In the end battle, he is forced into a leadership position when Red Leader is shot down by Darth Vader. “We’re going in, we’re going in full throttle,” he says to the remaining squad. His older best friend and role model Biggs is on board, and so is hot shot pilot Wedge. “Right with you boss,” he says without hesitation.
A weighty moment is the final (corporeal) meeting of Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi. A physically imposing David Prowse in the Vader costume has the presence necessary to convey the anger behind the words: “Your powers are weak, old man.” You can almost hear the voice of Hayden Christensen from the Episode III Vader behind the voice of James Earl Jones. The hate, as he now calls the man he once knew as “master” by the epithet “old man”. It was always a foregone conclusion who would win this battle, but we children were amazed when Old Ben disappeared before our very eyes. And what did those final words of his really mean? “If you strike me down I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.” Surely a disembodied voice was not the “more powerful” that Ben was referring to? This is something that the oft-criticized sequel trilogy finally delivered and expanded upon, where the prequels did not. In episodes VIII and IX, we learn that powerful Jedi spirits can even interact with the physical world, and join with the living to defeat the ultimate evil. In this way, Obi-Wan Kenobi has a role in concluding the nine-story arc of the Saga (even utilizing the voices of Sir Alec Guinness and Ewan McGregor).
Another minor tie to the sequel trilogy is Han Solo’s offering to Luke Skywalker to come with him instead of joining the Rebellion on their “suicide” mission. The only other person we see him offer to “job” to is Rey in Episode VII. Any viewing of any Star Wars movie is always enriched by watching other Star Wars movies. Last week I watched Rogue One. Since that standalone film was designed to add backstory and blend the saga together even more tightly with the original movie, watching it adds richness and foundation to the original. Knowing what happened to the previous Red Five, for example. All the films have this ability to amplify the others.
Though dense with unfamiliar terms, throwaway dialogue built worlds. The Kessel Run, for example, spawned half of the movie Solo. Some of the most iconic lines in the whole original film were throwaways: “You fought in the Clone Wars?” Apparently so, when he was known as “General Kenobi”! We didn’t learn a damn thing more about the Clone Wars until Episode II, released a quarter century later. And so watching the prequels and even the animated Clone Wars series adds depth to the experience. When Luke asks “How did my father die?” you see the hesitation on his face before Obi-Wan lies to Luke. In that hesitation lies all the prequels and animated series. The line about the Clone Wars planted the seed for pretty much everything about the prequels. The only difference was that as kids, we assumed the clones were the bad guys not the good guys. (Well, I guess they were both but we won’t delve further here.)
The quality and success of Star Wars were both necessary to launch a thousand imitations. As kids we became familiar with the concept of “knock offs” pretty quickly. Battlestar Galactica seemed like a B-level Star Wars. You could even buy knock off toys at the store like glow-in-the-dark “space swords”. For the real thing, there could be no substitute. We were able to prolong and expand our love of the movie with the Kenner action figure line, the Marvel comics, the John Williams soundtrack records, and even “The Story of Star Wars” on vinyl. This really gave kids a canvas to use their imaginations. Today, some of the kids that played with Star Wars toys in a sandbox are making their visions real in official spinoff shows like The Mandalorian, that hearken back to what we liked about Star Wars in old ’77.
Conclusion
If you really want to recreate the authentic 1977 Star Wars experience, you won’t find it on your Disney+. Even hardened cynics must concede that Disney has done some cool stuff with Star Wars recently, but if they really wanted to do something “Force”-ful, they could reissue the ’77 cut one more time. If they never do, the 2006 DVD is always out there. There’s nothing better than the real thing.
VAN HALEN – Live Without a Net (1987 Warner Reprise VHS/DVD)
I set the VCR to record. MuchMusic were showing the full concert: Van Halen, Live Without a Net! Though they beeped the naughty words, I had to make sure I didn’t miss this special. I’d never heard Van Halen doing Roth tunes with Hagar before! Folks, there was a lot of beeping.
Live Without a Net is undoubtedly goofy, and that is part of its charm. It’s kind of annoying every time Sammy proclaims that they are in “New Halen” instead of New Haven, but I guess he had to. I still don’t understand why Sammy painted that lady’s shoes red. The fact that a roadie had red spray paint on standby was kind of cool though. The band were obviously wasted, but put on a completely epic show nonetheless. It was light on the Roth stuff that Sammy didn’t want to do, like “Jump”, but they also played virtually all of their new album 5150.
The new stuff was heavier on keyboards and for many of the songs, Eddie was playing the keys while Sammy actually played the solos. Unusual for this band; absolutely. Sammy’s solo in “Love Walks In” ain’t half bad. While I enjoyed this change of pace, Bob Schipper did not. “A guy like Eddie Van Halen shouldn’t be stuck on keyboards,” he said. I’ll be honest here. I prefer Eddie playing keyboards live, even if it means Sammy’s on lead guitar.
The friendship between Sammy and Eddie here is obvious. The chemistry is clear. The tension that used to fuel Van Halen is gone here, and in it’s place is simple male comradery. It’s audible in the music, and Eddie can’t stop grinning…except when he’s busy dragging on that cigarette!
With the new tunes dominating the set, there were only two Roth-era numbers. “Panama” was the only big Roth hit, with “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” representing the first LP. Balancing the Roth songs are two Hagar solo tunes, “There’s Only One Way to Rock” and “I Can’t Drive 55”. These are great and you won’t find too many live versions that are better. There were also the usual guitar, drum and bass solos, but Michael Anthony’s is mostly tuneless. A Zeppelin cover, “Rock and Roll”, closes the set.
As kids, Bob and I didn’t care about the Zeppelin song. What we watched the video for was Eddie himself. When it was time for his solo, we studied it. There was no way we could have understood what he was doing on a musical level, but we watched his actual technique. We wondered if he ever burned his hand on that cigarette dangling from the headstock. Eddie’s solo was like opening a science textbook for the first time. Except this was a textbook that looked and sounded absolutely badass!
This always should have been a live album. Edited, of course. You don’t need the shoe painting episode to fully enjoy Van Halen Live Without a Net.*
4/5 stars
* The painting of the shoes happened during “Best of Both Worlds” and was edited out when released as a single B-side.
JUDAS PRIEST – Screaming For Vengeance (Originally 1982, 2012 Sony 30th Anniversary Edition)
While people recognize British Steel as a platinum Judas Priest landmark, it was Screaming For Vengeance that went double platinum. It introduced Priest to the MTV generation and opened them up to bigger American audiences. But before we get to Screaming For Vengeance itself, a cornerstone Judas Priest album in anyone’s books, the “Special 30th Anniversary Edition” must first be addressed. The extra content is a full concert DVD, and four bonus audio live tracks from the same DVD.
To have Priest live at the US Festival is a wish fulfilled for many. The daylight show with full classic costumes (Rob decked in silver) is a nostalgia blowout. The band look lethal although drummer Dave Holland appears overwhelmed by the demanding tunes. The setlist isn’t half bad, with “Green Manalishi”, “Diamonds and Rust”, and “Victim of Changes” being highlights and filling the need for old classics. The bulk of the set is made up of more recent material from the three 1980s Priest albums thus far. Tempos are fast, cowbells are in the air, and Rob is at his confident shrieking best. The audio is great and the video is well reproduced. Owning this edition of Screaming really is a must since it’s the only official release of this show on DVD.
The re-imagined cover art is nice, fitting in with other Priest deluxe reissues (see images at bottom). In an unfortunate oversight, the clean and sharp original artwork is included nowhere inside this set. They did include the two bonus tracks from the previous remastered CD release, which we’ll get to after we discuss the album in full.
Screaming For Vengeance was a sudden change of style for the Priest, after two rather soundalike albums. Similarly the next album Defenders of the Faith would be cast from the same mold as Screaming. All these albums were produced by Tom Allom. Tempos were turned up, guitars sharpened, and as per the title, Rob Halford screamed. A lot. The refined 80s Priest was evident on the opening duo “The Hellion/Electric Eye”. The guitars are sleeker, the vocals processed and robotic. The riffs are just as sharp. Priest were going for the throat. This opening one-two punch was more punishing than any music I ever heard at that time. Though you could not claim it’s heavier than a Priest oldie like “Saints In Hell”, the production is louder and more in your face than ever before.
Drummer Dave Holland sprays a bloodbath of bashes at the start of “Riding on the Wind”, Priest speeding on the highway once again. With Rob in high register, this catchy tune is perfect for keeping the wind in your face. The first respite in terms of tempo is “Bloodstone”, though its glorious riffs need no accelerant. Halford’s scatting at the end is classic and a rare reappearance of his old sassy self from Hell Bent for Leather.
“(Take These) Chains” is one of the most immediately accessible tracks, a mid-tempo delight as Priest do so well. They end the side with a slow metal grind called “Pain and Pleasure”, drums soaked in echo. Rob alludes to an interest in BDSM again, but with music this heavy most people just headbanged and ignored. (In another sad oversight, the lyrics are not contained within this edition, but were reproduced on the previous CD remaster.) Don’t assume that because it’s a slow one it’s weak. “Pain and Pleasure” is a resounding an d memorable side-ender.
The second side opens with the sudden shock blitzkrieg of the title track. Speed metal turned up to 11, “Screaming For Vengeance” is over the top and almost self-parody. It’s one of Priest’s most overdriven blasts of might, but it also verges on mindlessness if not for a spirited solo section in the middle. But then in another jarring shift, the sleek mid-tempo groove of “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin'” rears its familiar head. When I was a kid, there was no question this was Priest’s “big hit”. It was the song everyone knew, and the music video was on constant rotation. Classic clip. The man pursuing Priest is meant to represent the tax man. When Rob essentially yells at him “no tax man, you will not take my money,” his head blows up. They used a little too much TNT on the mannequin, and so the tax man’s pants fell down in an added humiliation. Such is the power of heavy metal, folks. Got tax problems? Rock and roll right in that tax man’s face. Eventually his head will blow up. If you’re lucky the pants might also fall. This is what Priest have given the world!
“Another Thing Comin'” is a brilliant song. Radio super-saturation cannot dull its simply-constructed hooks. Its placement (second song, side two) is odd but that didn’t stop it to #4 on the US Billboard rock chart, nor did it impede the album rising to #17 on the Billboard 200.
The album begins drawing to a close, with an echoey tremolo effect on “Fever”, one of the album’s best cuts. Then the echo ends, and a clean guitar accompanies a plaintive Rob. Mid-tempo, powerfully built and loaded with hooks, “Fever” is a late-album winner. Then, three quarters in, Halford turns on the high voice and the song transforms into something else equally cool. Finally the echo-guitar returns to help bring the song to its dramatic end.
“Devil’s Child” is the last hurrah, a fun and heavy indictment of an ex-lover who’s “so damn wicked” and “smashed and grabbed all I had”. The album ends as suddenly as it begins; jarring transitions being a sonic theme on Screaming For Vengeance.
Tom Allom’s production is often maligned as inferior to the more raw and loose sounds of Priest on their 70s albums, and there’s certainly an argument to be made there. Screaming For Vengeance is not a warm album. It is cold, sharp and steely. It has a precise, digital undertone. But it’s also heavy, considerably more so than Point of Entry which preceded it. The cover art indicated that we were entering a new phase for Judas Priest; a simpler streamlined 80s phase but still deadly enough for the old fans.
The live bonus tracks included on the CD were not chosen willy-nilly. Instead of including the best hits from the US Festival DVD, they use tracks from a different show in San Antonio, and all from Screaming For Vengeance: “Electric Eye”, “Riding On the Wind”, “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin'” and “Screaming” itself. Watch out for the squealing feedback! Finally the original bonus tracks from the 2001 CD are edition are tacked on so you don’t have to own two copies. These include a raspy, smoking “Devil’s Child” live from another concert, and a demo from the 1985-86 Twin Turbos sessions called “Prisoner of Your Eyes”. I hate when Priest use bonus tracks from the wrong era, but the Screaming For Vengeance reissues are the only place you can get this song. In a stylistic shift, this slick ballad sounds more like “A Touch of Evil” from Painkiller, but far tamer. (The guitar solos were overdubbed and tracks finished in 2001.)
Good special edition, but not great. As these things go I’m sure we can expect a better 40 anniversary edition. It won’t be long now.
The Infinite Live Recordings, Vol 2. (3 x 10″ EPs)
DVD – Live at Hellstock, Roger Glover and Bob Ezrin in Conversation
Whoosh!
Every Deep Purple album seems like the final album. Maybe this one is; maybe it isn’t. It feels like the band treat every album as seriously as if it was their last. The cover art and music of Whoosh! takes us back to 1968 and Shades of Deep Purple. The logo is similar, and there is a new version of the 52 year old first Deep Purple song ever, “And The Address”.
Opening with the lead single “Throw My Bones“, the album sets a mid-tempo pace from the start. This is a lush, catchy groove with hints of classical and funk. It began life during the Infinite sessions but was not finished until Whoosh! Purple pick it up a bit on “Drop the Weapon”, a non-preachy appeal for cooler heads to prevail. It has a similar vibe to the 1988 album Accidentally On Purpose by Ian Gillan and Roger Glover. The immediate riffs and hooky vocals are bound to make this a favourite.
“We’re All the Same in the Dark” has a cool groove and a jaw dropping funky Morse solo. Purple haven’t sounded this funky since Glenn Hughes was in the band. Airey and Glover give it some heaviness. “Nothing At All” sounds like a Morse composition, but his intricate classical-inspired interplay with Airey is sheer delight. This could be the best track on Whoosh!, and contender for one of the best songs of the entire Morse era. A massive chorus could help this one cross over on radio. Though it’s a far different song, “Nothing at All” has elements that recall “Never A Word” from Bananas. A regal-sounding crowning achievement.
“No Need to Shout” opens with the growl of a Hammond. “Just a bunch a crap, you’re talkin’ out your hat!” sings Ian on a song featuring rare female backing vocals. This is one of a few new Deep Purple songs that display a pissed-off attitude. “I got your message loud and clear, the meaningless ringing in my ear.” Add in a couple naughty words and you can tell Ian isn’t having any of it. Cooler though is “Step By Step”, a very different kind of song with perhaps some lineage with “Vincent Price” from Now What?! The haunting, ghostly quality of “Step By Step” sets it aside with a cascade of keyboard accents.
Purple start to boogie on “What the What” (a friendlier way of saying “What the Fuck”). While Don’s hammering the keys, Steve stabs out with some tasty guitar twang. If any song recalls “old” Deep Purple, it’s “What the What”, which could have been on 1973’s Who Do We Think We Are! But that album completely lacks the joie de vivre of “What the What”. Then Purple get heavy on “The Long Way Round” which just drives. The keyboard solo is out of left field but is a spacey masterwork to itself. There’s even a sly Black Sabbath callback — “I promised myself I would not get Trashed again.” Then the song dissolves into a beautiful, quiet stream of notes. This serves as a great lead-in to “Power of the Moon”, an excellent track previously heard on the “Throw My Bones” single. It stalks prey in the cover of night.
Another heavy growl unexpectedly opens “Remission Possible”, an absolutely smokeshow of fretwork. It’s a brief instrumental interlude just before the excellent “Man Alive”. This track, enhanced by orchestra, sounds absolutely massive. It has serious heft, but it’s not weighed down. Ian is writing about some heavy themes and it will take deeper analysis of the album as a whole to decipher them all. Roger Glover was very happy with Ian’s writing on the album, which takes a more contemplative tone without going heavy-handed.
The final side of vinyl begins with another instrumental, the aforementioned “And the Address” from Shades Of. Deep Purple have occasionally re-recorded old material with new lineups, such as “Hush ’88” and “Bludsucker”. This cut of “And the Address” has more momentum. The only guy present who played on the original is Ian Paice, but Don Airey is a dead ringer for Jon Lord. “And the Address” is one of the most enjoyable songs on Whoosh!, probably surpassing the original recording.
There’s still one track to go: the “bonus track” called “Dancing In My Sleep”. Safe to say it’s called a “bonus track” because it’s the most different of all the songs. It’s an Airey conception based on a cool little techno beat. Though it’s certainly not dance music, it does have one foot in that world and it’s a sheer delight to hear Purple stretch out into new territory 52 years into their game.
A seriously fine album this late in the career. An album so fresh that it is hard to rate so soon. But clearly a high point, with a band still exploring new ideas completely unafraid of what people might say. In fact, a band who still has something to say. Something worth listening to.
4.25/5 stars
But that’s not all of course. Go big or go home. Check out the rest of the box set’s contents in detail below.
The Infinite Live Recordings, Vol. 2
The previously released Infinite Live Recordings, Vol. 1 came out in 2017. The concept behind the series is simple: pure live releases with no overdubs. Vol. 2 comes from a show in 2017 on the Infinite Tour in Rio. It is the big bonus in this box set, and present on a set of three beautiful 10″ coloured records. 72 minutes of live Purple — essentially, a double live album.
The opening thunder of “Highway Star” is robust on purple 10″ vinyl. How these guys can still blast through it full speed is unknown, but they do it. Mr. Gillan still gives it his all, which is not the same in 2017 dollars as it was in 1970 dollars, but still more than the average mortal his age. Mr. Morse and Mr. Airey give each version of “Highway Star” a different feel, while Mr. Paice in the back is the only original member left from the 1968 lineage. Sticking to Machine Head, Purple seamlessly go into “Pictures of Home”. The old familiar groove of Mr. Glover is comforting warmth from the emptiness, eagles and snow. Morse’s solo is a composition to itself, and then Airey gets to put his spin on Jon Lord’s classic organ solo. Then it’s an unfortunate side flip as the band goes back to In Rock with “Bloodsucker”. Gillian is more a verbal timekeeper than the screamer he once was, but the track is otherwise flawless and heavier than lead. A more mainstream hit, “Strange Kind of Woman” flows from that, and relaxes the groove a bit. Don Airey gets his first of two solos (this one organ) as the last track on this disc.
The action continues on transparent burgundy vinyl, and “Lazy”. Morse’s signature string bending is the star of this show. There are a couple different twists in this fresh version including a nifty Gillan harmonica solo. Then it’s the only new song of the set, “Birds of Prey” from Infinite. It’s weighty and worthy of its place. Steve Morse is the Captain on this flight. Gillan ends the track on a joke and then, after a side flip, introduces Don Airey’s keyboard solo including Ozzy Osbourne’s “Mr. Crowley”. This diverse and fun solo goes into “Perfect Stranger” (no “s”?) which has steadfastly remained in the setlist ever since its 1984 conception. Gillan is shaky but the Purple is solid.
The final vinyl, clear 10″ power, commences with “Space Truckin'” signalling the beginning of the end. “Smoke on the Water” is the penultimate moment, slow and groovy after all this blazing rock. Ian Paice has a couple nice moments on this one and Steve Morse’s stuttery solo is completely compelling. One more side flip, and Purple end the set with their first hit “Hush” and the “Peter Gunn” theme. Glover goes funky on this one with a bassline a little like “Another One Bites the Dust” in parts.
An entertaining and good live album, but one you won’t play often simply because Deep Purple have 846 live albums (exaggeration).
There is still more live material from the same tour in DVD form included in this box set.
Live at Hellfest
Next we have a double feature DVD: A live show from Hellfest in 2017, and an interview session with Roger Glover and Bob Ezrin. The Hellfest show has a much longer runtime with more new material. They open the show with “Time For Bedlam” from Infinite. Ian doesn’t even attempt to sing it in tune, but we’ll always cut the guy some slack for still getting up there and givin’ ‘er. The track has a “Pictures From Home” vibe, and the band look cool playing midday in shades. Into “Fireball”, Ian Paice leads the charge as if it was 1971. Don Airey has an Ozzy bobblehead on his keyboard! Then it’s “Bloodsucker”, powered by Paicey. “Strange Kind of Woman” is a nice melodic respite after a pair of piledrivers like that. Ian ends this one with a bizarre freeform spoken word beat poetry bit, but with Morse shredding next to him.
The Jon Lord tribute from Now What?!, “Uncommon Man”, is heartfelt, and a solid track from their current era. It sounds massive. As good in quality is “The Surprising” from Infinite, something of an epic, and performed with full gusto. Intricate symbol work by Paice.
After a brief pause, it’s on to Don Airey and “Lazy”. A high speed workout like that merits something slower to follow, so it’s “Birds of Prey” from Infinite, a steady groove with dynamics. Steve Morse’s solo takes center stage and it’s a melter. “Hell To Pay” picks up the pace. Not Purple’s most remarkable single, nor the best version, but nice to have in live form. Airey’s jammy keyboard solo on this track is stellar, just as the sun starts going down. Then he gets his own full-blown solo, with the Ozzy bobblehead there next to him during “Mr. Crowley”. Roger Glover just watches from the side as Don goes to town through familiar melodies and themes. The crowd eats it up smiling.
Don takes it into “Perfect Strangers” without missing a beat, and soon the rest of the band joins him. This version has some stellar Morse guitar trickery. The set is almost finished, with only “Space Truckin'”, “Smoke on the Water”, “Hush” and “Black Night” left to satisfy cravings for the classics. Even at the end Paicey still brings that thunder. “Hush” has the “Peter Gunn” theme attached, and “Black Night” brings the show to a massive finish.
It’s absolutely delightful watching Ian Paice play the drums, as he mouths along to every beat as if playing beatbox along to himself. It’s fantastic and an expression of pure joy.
It’s not over yet. The DVD has even more content.
Roger Glover and Bob Ezrin in Conversation
The DVD also includes the conversation with Roger Glover and Whoosh! producer Bob Ezrin. This is another full 70 minutes of content. Ezrin was involved with Purple from the jamming stage in Nashville and speaks in terms of “we”. One of the biggest takeaways from this interview is a piece of wisdom from the late Jon Lord as told by Roger Glover. Lord didn’t want to do more than two takes of a solo. More than that, and he starting thinking too much.
The pair discuss the lyrics, the songs, the title (nicked from Faulty Towers), the playing, and more. It’s lovely watching the pair just enjoy Steve Morse’s harmonics. “Like capturing lightning,” says Roger. Watching this portion of the DVD will enhance your enjoyment of the album. It’s fun knowing what parts of the songs turned on the musicians and producer. “Stretch out,” advised Bob. And so Purple interpreted that as stretching it out every way. “I wanna put the Deep back in Purple,” said Bob. The boys also praise Ian Gillan’s focus, from eating right to meditating. They even go back in time and talk about Glover’s joining of Deep Purple in 1969.
Ezrin particularly loved seeing magic unfold live before his eyes and ears, captured on tape. He is obviously a fan of Deep Purple as musicians and as people. Whether you can get into Ezrin-era Purple or not, there is real chemistry between band and producer.
You’ll probably only watch this conversation once, but you’ll be glad you did that at least. There is so much knowledge and history to absorb here that all fans are advised to give the whole thing a spin.
Summing up
The box set itself comes with a cool black T-shirt with the “strolling dissolving astronaut” graphic. This is the second album in a row with simple excellent art design for Deep Purple. The astronaut recalls the music video for “Knocking At Your Back Door” from 1984. He appears in numerous places in this set in different forms. There are three art prints (two 12×12 and one 12×6), and of course all this music! The vinyl copy of Whoosh! comes in a gatefold sleeve with credits and photos. It sounds phenomenal with plenty of bottom end. For lyrics, you’ll have to dig into the included CD copy.
Of course, if you don’t need all the extra live stuff and added goodies, you could just buy Whoosh! on CD, vinyl or download. It’s frequently said that the benchmark for Purple is Purpendicular. “Best album since Purpendicular,” fans often enthuse. Whoosh! could be the best album of the Ezrin era, and is a contender for best of the Steve Morse epoch. A serious fan will want the whole box with the three live 10″ discs. They are beautiful to look at and sound good on the turntable. Though the set is expensive, this is the kind of thing I’m willing to pay for.
A year ago we did a massive de-clutter. We had gotten to the point where we accumulated too much stuff. Especially after Jen’s mom passed away. We probably kept too much of her stuff out of sentiment. But in a very short period of time we made massive purge; a painful purge. And it wasn’t the first. As you go through life you get rid of things. You can’t carry all your possessions with you through your whole life.
Although I have forgotten many of the myriad DVDs, books, T-shirts and collectibles that I tossed to the curb, there are some that I now regret losing. Doner’s regret is a very real thing. Some decisions were made in haste and others were made without sufficient foresight.
I used to record all of my CDs and LPs to cassette so that I could play them in the car. Once I had a car CD player, I didn’t need to keep doing that. Eventually I decided to give away all my excess cassettes and that’s how they ended up in a Thunder Bay landfill. I only regret giving away a small handful of my tapes. I wish I had hung onto some of the more obscure ones, and anything that I made cool artwork for. I guess I didn’t imagine that one day people would want to look at photos of old cassettes and read reviews of them.
In years past, any time I have done a major de-cluttering, I’ve thrown a massive garage sale. Sorting through and pricing items gives you some time to process what you’re doing, and make final decisions. It’s an ideal way of getting rid of stuff. But even so, I have made mistakes that I regret now. My childhood rock magazine collection — what I would give to have some of those issues again. They would come in handy with what I’m doing now. I had just about every issue of Hit Parader from 1987 through to 1990. From there I moved on to RIP, Metal Edge and the various guitar magazines available. When I purged my magazines, I hung onto just a small handful, but knowing they were irreplaceable, I kept all my M.E.A.T. Thank God I did! I’d never be able to replace them all if I hadn’t, and those things have been invaluable research sources. At least I know my magazines went to a good home. My old friend Len came to the garage sale and took every one. I know he is someone who would appreciate them for what they are.
I got rid of the magazines when I got married. I had to make space for my awesome new wife and her boxes and boxes full of clothes! Around the same time, I passed all my old Star Wars toys down to my sister Kathryn. Again, I have no regrets. They went to the right person to care for them. I admit I do get a nostalgic craving to hold my Han Solo one more time, but I think that could be arranged if necessary.
More recently, I’m kicking myself for giving away all my Star Trek DVDs. All the movies (I had the double DVD collector sets), and all the seasons of the Original Series. The entire “Fan Collective” series, which were so good. Gone in one trip to the Goodwill store. Decision made far too quickly and I’ve been regretting it ever since. Why donate instead of sell? Because we were trying to do this very quickly. Hiring an organizer is expensive. Getting a couple bucks per disc wasn’t worth trying to hawk them all. I put them in a huge bag, dropped them off at Goodwill and tried to feel good about the regained space.
Don’t get me wrong — I needed the space. But my purge went too far.
So now I have to re-buy all the Trek movies. I can do without the series as they are all on Netflix, but I need the films back. I don’t know what to buy: blu-ray, DVD, whatever has the best content? This would have been simpler had I just kept them all. A couple weeks ago I re-bought an old Star Wars comic that I somehow lost. It must have left the house accidentally jammed between something else because I never would have gotten rid of issue #47, “Droid World”. It’s the only issue that means anything to me and the only one I want to have. I used to try and draw all the different robots inside over and over again. Cost me $5 to replace, but oh well. Never should have left the house.
At least I didn’t let a single CD go. That organiser tried, oh did she ever try.
“So what are we doing with these?” she asked about the three CD towers and numerous mountains of dics in my workspace.
“These are all staying.” I replied bluntly. “These are my life and they are non-negotiable.”
“You know that you can put all of this on a computer now and not have to worry about storing all of these? I mean when can you listen to all of this?”
The same questions everybody asks. Everybody who’s not a music fan that is.
“I’m putting them on my computer all the time. That’s what this setup is for. But I collect CDs, some of these are irreplaceable. I love them all. I could tell you where I got almost every single one. I read the notes inside. I look at the artwork.”
Trying to explain it was like talking to a wall. “But all that stuff is online!” She was begging me to reconsider but guess what. I still have all my CDs.
Still trying to work on a decent storage layout, but I’m not a carpenter. I can barely hammer a nail. I need people to help with stuff like that. It’ll happen one day. But the discs. aren’t. leaving. And just on a logistical level, I need to have my music backed up to a hard copy like CD anyway just in case something happened to my 2-terrabyte digital library!
I would never recommend hiring a professional organiser to any of my music fans. They won’t understand your needs and you could end up making mistakes. Don’t make the same ones I did, but do stick to your guns when it comes to your albums!
BLACK SABBATH – The Best of MusikLaden – Live at the Beat Club (1970 television performance)
When Black Sabbath released their Black Box in 2004 featuring all the original lineup’s studio albums in remastered form, they also included a bonus four-song DVD. This disc was the oft-released television broadcast of a German show called Beat Club (later MusikLaden). Sabbath made two appearances in 1970, and the Black Box was the most official release of them. Before upgrading to the Black Box, I owned an earlier, unofficial DVD release. I taped that DVD to cassette, and that’s what I’m listening to right now.
“Black Sabbath” is torrential, as intense as the young band was able. Ozzy sounds as if possessed, truly terrified and warning us that something foreboding and terrible is coming. “Paranoid” is strangely echoey and distant, but still as incendiary as 1970 Black Sabbath should be. Interestingly, in this version it really does sound as if Ozzy is singing “end your life” instead of “enjoy life”. A sparse “Iron Man” announces its arrival with evil Gibson guitar sonic bends. This version of “Iron Man” is a little stiffer than others, but not for long. Towards the end, Geezer Butler unleashes the hordes and the song stampedes to a close.
Finally and most notoriously is “Blue Suede Shoes”, a performance pretty much everybody has since disowned. It’s not terrible, although it’s certainly uncharacteristic. It’s as if Black Sabbath were suddenly encroaching upon ZZ Top’s territory. Tony’s speedy solo is interesting if not typical, and the band really stepped it up. I get why some would mock it; it’s kind of goofy and definitely not as impressive as the Sabbath originals. But it’s…fun? Is Sabbath allowed to be…fun?
Ah, 1998, a simpler age for simpler folks. We had just finished upgrading all our cassettes to CDs. Those old LPs that were gathering dust in the garage finally hit the curb and the landfill where they belonged. The digital age had arrived! Time for another new format to sweep away the old.
Are you ready for Digital Versatile Disc?
This segment was from the MuchMusic news program FAX, during a period when they used “videographers” carrying cameras on their shoulders at all times, to catch those always-breaking stories. Oh, the late 1990s.
