DEEP PURPLE – Bombay Calling – Bombay Live ’95 (2003 iTunes)
There are very rare circumstances under which I will pay for a download from iTunes. I’ve made my case for physical product here over the years many, many times. When it’s a band that I obsessively collect, like Deep Purple, I make an exception. Bombay Calling is an interesting live release. It says “Official Bootleg” right there on the cover art, but I’m not really sure what constitutes an official bootleg anymore. I look at this as the soundtrack to a DVD that Deep Purple released in 2000, also called Bombay Calling. That’s essentially what this is — the audio to Bombay Calling, the DVD. In contains the entire show.
This concert was recorded on April 18 1995, which eagle-eyed fans will realize is well before thePurpendicular album. Bombay Calling was recorded not long after “the banjo player took a hike” and Purple carried on without Ritchie Blackmore. Joe Satriani stepped in for a short while, but it was Dixie Dregs guitar maestro Steve Morse that took the Man in Black’s place permanently. This concert was recorded at the very start of Morse’s tenure, and features a few songs they would drop from the set a year or two later. It also features a brand new tune they were working on called “Perpendicular Waltz”, later changed to “The Purpendicular Waltz” on the album.
There is one earlier concert available from this period, which is Purple Sunshine in Ft. Lauderdale Florida, exactly two weeks prior. That one is truly is an official bootleg, taken from audience sources and released on the 12 CD box set Collector’s Edition: The Bootleg Series 1984-2000. The setlists are slightly different. When they hit India for this concert, a new song called “Ken the Mechanic” (retitled “Ted the Mechanic”) was dropped, as was “Anyone’s Daughter”. They were replaced by long time favourites “Maybe I’m a Leo” and “Space Truckin'” from Machine Head.
Special treats for the ears on Bombay Calling include Steve Morse’s incendiary soloing on “Anya” (which would be dropped from the set in 1996). His feature solo leading into “Lazy” is also excellent, and of course very different from what Ritchie used to do. Jon Lord’s keyboard solo is among the best I’ve heard, and even features a segue into “Soldier of Fortune” from Stormbringer. The solo segments that Deep Purple did often allowed them to play snippets from songs from the David Coverdale period of the band, and this one was unexpected and brilliant.
I love a good, raw live performance captured on tape, and Deep Purple don’t muck around. This one is kind of special, coming from that transitional period when Steve Morse was just getting his feet wet. Considering how different he is from Ritchie Blackmore, this smooth switcheroo is quite remarkable. The band had changed, but into something just as good. How many other groups can make that claim?
3.5/5 stars
Since you can’t take a picture of a non-physical product, here are pictures of the 2 CD set that I burned from the iTunes download!
Every good Canadian that was alive and rocking in the mid-80’s remembers the music video: The dudes are breaking rocks in the quarry, in chains. Then the singer stands up and yells, “Gimme an R! O! C! K! Whatcha got? Rock! And whatcha gonna do? Rock you!” And then, freedom! It’s just one of those great 80’s rock music videos, and it’s only one of many on this DVD. Here, you get ’em all from the Capitol years.
The videos are not in chronological order, which would be my preferred arrangement. The DVD commences with the award winning “Running Wild in the 21st Century” featuring Snake the Tattooed Man from London Ontario. The older classics range from edgy to campy, but are always cool in their own way. My preference is towards the live on stage type of video, like the exciting “Wild in the Streets”. On the other hand, “The Kids are all Shakin'” is undeniably fun, with Brian Vollmer playing multiple characters from an old man to a radio DJ. You can’t help but chuckle in your beer.
There are also a handful of rarities here, including the “topless” version of “Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'” that you definitely won’t see on MuchMusic. “Don’t Get Mad Get Even” was only played on Much, like, twice. So it’s pretty rare too. What’s missing is the alternate version of “Wild In The Street” that I have somewhere on a VHS tape, and any sort of special extras like interviews. Also, I have to say that I wish the video for “That Day Is Gonna Come” was on here. It is my all time favourite Helix video but it wasn’t on Capitol. It was on Aquarius.
[I have a buddy, Rob, who used to work for Rogers TV. He told me that he had seen and knew where the tape was for the original “Heavy Metal Love” video. They did an early version of it in T-shirts and jeans, before they changed their image to black leather. Rob offered to copy it for me but I didn’t believe him so I said no!]
Great little DVD. Extra interviews would have been awesome. However a lot of that stuff is available on other Helix DVDs. (Check ’em out.) S.E.X. Rated has one last bonus going for it — it is encoded for NTSC on one side, and PAL on the other. No matter where you are, you can buy it and enjoy the classic videos of 80’s Helix.
4/5 stars
How fucking cool does Brent Doerner look in every single video?
RECORD STORE TALES MkII: Getting More Tale #378: “Kick it Kevin, do something Kevin!”*
If you’re like me, then you absolutely hate it when a piece of your valued technology goes on the fritz. It happens frequently enough. Something stops working, and you try to get it functioning again. For men at least, our first reaction is usually to give the malfunctioning piece of tech a good whack. You might give it a swift kick, cross fingers, and sometimes that’s all it takes! Kick it, and it’s suddenly back to life. A loose connection, perhaps. Or maybe there’s something mystical about the art of kicking something to make it work again. Whatever the case may be, fixing one of our modern tech items by ourselves is becoming increasingly more difficult today. Certainly, a kick rarely works anymore. All of us will have to replace at least one tech item in our households this year. Be it your audio device, stereo component, TV, gaming system, computer, or even just your microwave, everything we buy today has a built-in short-term lifespan.
When I was working at the Record Store, it seemed that at least two of our seven CD players were always broken at all times. When the main store player broke, we’d swap it out with one of the customer listening station players. Disc players don’t seem durable anymore. Yet somehow I still own my mom’s original 5 disc CD changer from 1991 (a Sony about the size of a battleship), and it’s the most reliable player in my home. It’s probably also the oldest piece of tech in the house. That old Sony keeps on ticking, no kicking required. Every once in a while it needs a good cleaning, but then it’s good to go once more.
Here’s another interesting fact about my Sony. It’ll play anything. Be it a DualDisc or an old cheap Canadian independent CD from the early 90’s, it can play it. Neither my PC nor laptop will play those things without an annoying amount of artificial digital noise. My 24 year old Sony will.
That one CD player aside, everything else here seems to constantly be on the verge of collapse! I had to buy a new blu-ray player last spring. The old one refused to boot up anymore. The original wasn’t a cheap player: I paid almost $500 for it, in 2010! I was beyond upset when I had to replace it (with a $120 Samsung from Walmart) but the new player has all sorts of bells and whistles built in that the old one didn’t! The ability to play Netflix, Youtube, or video files off a flash drive were all new to me when I bought it; the old player couldn’t do those things. (I almost feel like I should have waited before making the switch to Blu.)
More than just the Blu-ray player, everything else here busts eventually. Both Jen and I have owned Hipstreet brand mp3 players that broke within mere weeks. I had to replace my car stereo two years ago (I drive a 2010). Speaking of car stereos, two weekss ago my left door side speaker started cutting in and out! The following week, it died altogether. I gave it several good solid boot kicks, but it did not help and I had to have it fixed to the tune of $200. A similar problem happened in my old Plymouth Sundance. The left door speaker blew but the car was on its last legs and it wasn’t worth spending money on. T-Rev came over one night to help me pry the door panel off; we were hoping it was just a wire that came loose. We never figured it out, but we did damage the door panel in the process. I never want to pry off another door panel.
Let’s not even talk about computers! I’ve had to replace more power supplies, fans, cards, routers, monitors…hell, just last week, one of the ethernet ports on my router died. No idea why, it’s just one of those things that happens, isn’t it? The nice thing though, about being forced to replace something like that, is that you are almost certain to be upgrading every time. Since the technology becomes fancier over the years, if you blow a hard drive you’ll most likely be replacing it with a bigger and faster one.
Faster, sleeker, tricked out…technology keeps getting more exciting, but more disposable. When I was a kid, it didn’t seem that way. Each family had a VCR…that was their VCR. They didn’t go and buy a new and better one every two years. Each kid had a ghetto blaster. That was their ghetto blaster…it was expected to last many years. If it broke, you fixed it or got it fixed. That’s how it went. Today, we go buy a new one, and pay a recyling fee to throw out the old. Seems to me like it’s not the technology that’s broken, it’s this disposable culture we live in.
* The title refers to an on-stage meltdown by the band Extreme last year. Their own technology went sour and they were having sound issues all night. Nuno walked off stage…Pat walked off stage…leaving singer Gary Cherone and drummer Kevin Figueiredo up there trying to play “Get the Funk Out” by themselves. After Cherone begging “Kick it Kevin, do something Kevin!” the drummer too left the stage, leaving everyone in puzzlement.
Q: Who would release a box set dressed up in faux-leather and studs?
A: Who else? PRIEST!
This five disc set (4 CD/1 DVD) compiles a generous sampling of Judas Priest’s music over the decades, from Rocka Rolla (1974) to Demolition (2002). While the tracklist is far from perfect in my eyes (where’s “Rocka Rolla”, “One For the Road”, the studio version of “Victim Of Changes”, “The Ripper”, etc?) it does provide some previously unreleased live versions (both B-sides and never-before-released) and a completely unreleased demo. It’s not a bad set. Just not the one I would have made personally given the opportunity.*
With insanely great fortune, I got this box set (a limited edition by the way; reissues lack the DVD) in mint condition but used at my own store! One of my favourite sellers, a customer named Conrad sold it to me only a short time after release. I don’t know why and I don’t care. I was just glad to have it affordably. I loved the packaging and there was that unreleased demo that I was eager to finally hear. Also, Metalogy was the first anthology style box set from Priest and I wanted to hear how it played out.
The unreleased song is the awesome hard rock track “Heart of a Lion”, demoed for Turbo back in ’85. You may have heard this one in re-recorded form on Halford’s live album Insurrection. It was also recorded back in the 80’s by a young band called Racer X, starring Paul Gilbert (Mr. Big) on guitar, and a drummer by the name of Scott Travis! It was a surprise to me that “Heart of a Lion” was not released on the Priest Re-masters series; obviously they were deviously saving it for something later, like this box set.
Some of the live versions are exclusive to this set. Two newly released versions included a 1981 radio broadcast of “Green Manalishi” (unfortunately, meaning the studio track isn’t on here). There is also an unreleased broadcast version of “Love Bites” from ’86. In addition to these, there are a few live tracks taken from old single B-sides. Unfortunately I already have all Priest’s B-sides, on a Japanese compilation called Priest Live & Rare.
The biggest weakness with this box set is that it tragically loses steam right at the end. In 2002 when the last original Priest music had been recorded, Rob Halford had yet to rejoin the band and Ripper Owens was still the current singer. The box ends with four Ripper tunes, and not necessarily the best ones. “Jugulator” is an undeniable inclusion, but there is a feeling of anticlimax. Leaving an exciting and unheard track like “Heart of a Lion” for last would have ended set on an up note. (Perhaps Priest could have included some Ripper-era rarities to add some value and excitement — there were a few songs available.)
Judas Priest Live (DVD)
The limited edition DVD, cleverly called Judas Priest Live, has since been released on its own. This is the old Judas Priest Live video, also known as Live Vengeance ’82, from the Screaming for Vengeance tour (Memphis Tennessee). It’s one of those music videos that you probably remember seeing back in the day. It’s quintessential early 80’s live Priest — all black leather and shiny studs. The setlist leans heavily on Screaming and British Steel, with classics throughout. The stage is pretty bare, just some girders and a Screaming for Vengeance flag in behind.
This concert has been remixed for DVD, in both stereo and 5.1 surround. I have read some complaints from fans that guitar overdubs were added to some tracks. I listened intently but could not conclude one way or the other that any tampering was done.
A pre-recorded “Hellion” acts as intro music; Priest emerge onstage amidst lasers and smoke to play “Electric Eye”. Halford is the caricature of himself, bearing a bullwhip, and looking something like the biker from the Village People. Nevertheless, a young Rob Halford slowly and deliberately commands the stage, powerful voice cracking but getting the job done. Tipton and Downing are on the flanks, tearing into “Riding on the Wind” next. The pulse of Ian Hill and Dave Holland, plain is it may be, is metronomically precise. The video is shot and edited to my taste; lots of closeups although the light flaring is distracting. (J.J. Abrams did not direct the video though!) KK Downing makes some of the best “guitar faces” this side of Nigel Tufnel.
“Heading Out to the Highway” brings the speed down from the breakneck pace. This mid-tempo classic has long been a favourite, although at the time it was only a year old! Three songs in, and Priest had not yet played anything from British Steel or before! The confidence in their new material is refreshing. Rob treats us to some hilarious dancing, but I admit I’d kill for a leather vest like that, with the bird from Screaming emblazoned on the back! Fear not though, as “Metal Gods”, a British Steel classic, is next. Rob’s robot dance gets my nod for “favourite moment of the concert”.
Back to new songs, the sharp guitars and robotic pulse of “Bloodstone” gets fists pumping in the air. The cameras are not wasted on audience shots (I’d rather see the band), but you can see the crowd digging the new material as much as the old. They really like “Breaking the Law” though, which has a blazing intensity. Then it’s back to the stone ages: KK Downing’s guitar showcase “Sinner”. This killer song loses something with Holland on drums, but it’s more about KK anyway. His solo is resplendent, but Rob nails the screams! “Desert Plains” is faster than the Point of Entry version but more powerful. This is one that Dave Holland is well suited to, and the Hill/Holland pulse is fully apparent.
Here’s something you don’t hear at Judas Priest concerts anymore: Rob screaming at the crowd, “Are you high? Sing yeah!” As a kid, I naively assumed Rob meant high on the music, the adrenaline of the concert, and I’m sure that’s the answer he’d give to the press if asked about it. As a cynical adult, I’m sure he meant “Are you high?” as in “Are you high?”!
All the way back to Sad Wings, “a little Victorian melodrama for you,” it’s “The Ripper”! Some stage bombs help out with the drama, and Rob sinks his teeth into the words. It’s an absolutely metal-perfect ode to Jack himself. “Diamonds and Rust” is an unexpected treat, as glimmery as it was on Sin After Sin.
Rob takes a moment to tell the crowd that there are cameras all over the place because they’re making the very first “Judas Priest movie”, and possible live album. Still waiting on that live album today, Rob! Back to the new album, it’s “Devil’s Child”, which Rob imbues with a strange monotone during the verses. This exact version was released as a bonus track on the remastered Screaming For Vengeance. As such it’s familiar to me and I enjoy the vocal twist. “Screaming for Vengeance” continues the onslaught of new songs, concluded by the chugging fan favourite “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin'”.
Closing the set with “Victim of Changes” is a suitably dramatic end. “Victim” is spot-on, and Rob is as animated as he gets. Headbanging away, Downing and Tipton are at his sides, while Ian Hill stands bolted to the stage, swaying his bass back and forth hidden behind a cloud of smoke! This brilliant version has all the twists and turns you expect, and that end scream is so satisfying even if Rob misses the note by several notches.
“The Green Manalishi” rears its leather-studded head in the encores, but not before the big hit, “Living After Midnight”. And let’s not forgot Rob’s boring “Oh yeah!” chant-along. Thankfully this version of “Green Manalishi” is a killer (as is the 1981 live version on CD 1 of this box set). “What you sayin’ Memphis?” screams Rob, before KK and Glenn dig in to their trademark solos. “Green Manalishi” remains to this day an example of a song improved as a cover version, with all due respect to Peter Green.
It ain’t over ’til the bike comes out, and it does on “Hell Bent for Leather”. Rob sits reclined on his Harley, bullwhip back in hand, commanding the masses. After dozens of power chords and crashed cymbals, it’s finally over — 95 minutes of Judas Priest fury, at the height of their 1980’s power. Not bad for a little bonus DVD (video quality issues aside), and worth picking up separately if you feel so inclined.
In closing
Review the track list yourself, see what you have and what you want, amd buy accordingly. I can tell you that this set was worth it for me for “Heart of a Lion” and the unreleased live material. The DVD was gravy.
It’s Purple Week at mikeladano.com! It’s all Deep Purple and Deep Purple alumni, all week. This is Part 4…and once again we’re going Epic Review Time. It’s Deep Purple Mk III’s lead throat, David Coverdale & Whitesnake! This is almost a new release; it’s about four months old.
WHITESNAKE – Live in ’84 – Back to the Bone (2014 Frontiers Deluxe edition DVD/CD)
David Coverdale has been pretty good to the fans, in terms of giving them live archival releases from the periods they care about. In addition to cranking out studio and live releases with the current Whitesnake lineup, David has issued deluxe editions of certain albums along with the long awaited 3 disc set Live at Donnington 1990. Now it’s the 30th anniversary of the Slide It In album, so David has issued a live retrospective set from that period too. A CD and DVD set documenting the John Sykes years is almost a guaranteed slam dunk in itself, but how does it stack up when we break it down? Let us take a look at the DVD and CD portions in detail.
Super-Rock Japan ’84
The main program of the release is on the DVD, and the main focus of the DVD is Super-Rock Japan ’84. It is an 11 song set taken from Japanese television. This is the legendary four-piece lineup: David Coverdale, John Sykes, Cozy Powell, and Neil Murray. There is no doubt that even though the band had been trimmed down, they sounded powerful. I just really hate when an interview is inserted right between the first and second song. There’s no reason to ever interrupt a song on a live video, but editors do it all the time! It’s interesting seeing Whitesnake in a single-guitar lineup, but there is obviously a backstage keyboard player (Richard Bailey). The chops of John Sykes are such a welcome addition to the Whitesnake sound. He has a “chug” that few other guitar players have. Cozy Powell is as on-point as ever, but David Coverdale’s young lungs are remarkable. At peak power, David prowls the stage and humps the microphone in complete control.
The highlight of this portion of the set is “Crying in the Rain”, almost but not quite like it would be performed on Whitesnake 1987. I also enjoyed Sykes’ guitar solo. Sykes makes some of the best guitar faces in rock, and he resembles a young David St. Hubbins with his shaggy mane. “Soldier of Fortune” (an abridged version) was a pleasant surprise. On the other hand, Cozy’s looong overblown drum solo would be more appropriate to his time in E.L.P. (Emerson Lake & Powell). David must have been taking care of business backstage.
The video quality here is very good for an 80’s television broadcast. Sound quality, also good. David states in the liner notes that they weren’t able to find the master audio tapes, so this hasn’t been touched up too much. I’m satisfied; in 1984 we didn’t have 1080p TVs in widescreen.
Only three songs from this were included on the CD: “Love Ain’t No Stranger”, “Ready An’ Willing”, and “Slow An’ Easy”. That’s too bad. I would have paid a little more to get a 3 disc version with a full CD of this show. Just sayin’.
Jon Lord’s Final Whitesnake Performance
The passing of Jon Lord has been the biggest loss in rock, in recent memory. This truly is a treasure. From Swedish television and shot with multiple cameras, this looks even better than the Japan footage. Shame it’s only four songs. To have Jon there raises the bar several notches. It’s a five-piece lineup, although the cameras spend so little time on Jon that you’d wonder if the keyboardist is offstage again! (Jon’s wearing a white shirt in a black-topped band; he should be easy to spot but he’s not.) “Gambler” goes directly into “Guilty of Love”, and it’s so strange to hear it with only one guitar. With guys like Sykes and Powell in the band, they are very active on stage and the energy is plentiful. “Love Ain’t No Stranger” is so much better with Jon than without. You cannot understate how much difference that big bad Hammon organ makes. Then David tells the audience that they are “Ready An’ Willing” for some sweet satisfaction! From this brief four song set, I can at least conclude that Swedish television in the 80’s was better than Canadian television. Strangely, on the CD, it is included as one solid 16 minute track with no breaks.
Slide It In Slide Show
This is actually a cooler feature than you might think. These contain some snippets of writing demos for Slide It In. In some, David’s talking to someone, and there’s a single guitar. In others there is a full band, but the lyrics are not there yet. You can hear some of the classic riffs taking shape. The rest of the audio has vintage interviews with David and live music. Unfortunately at times the “slideshow” portion of this turns into little more than a lyric video, defeating the purpose of having a photo slideshow. The real treasure here is a live version of the B-side, “Need Your Love So Bad”, with just David and Jon. I am disappointed that it is not on the CD. Something that rare really should be.
Snakeskin Boots: The Best of the Bootlegs
The main feature on the CD consists of bootleg and soundboard tapes. I love bootleg recordings, and who can fault a band for beating the bootleggers and releasing the tapes officially? Tapes were cleaned up as much as possible to make them listenable (David suggests the car as a good setting). These songs were sort of arranged in the order of a live concert, so it still begins with “Gambler” and “Guilty of Love” like all the other sections. “Gambler” sounds pretty good, only slightly muffled but with a hard pulse. Sykes’ solo on “Guilty of Love” sends electric chills up the spine. It’s great to hear the band so young and ferocious!
Cheeky David tells the crowd that the Slide It In album title does not refer to a banana! “Love Ain’t No Stranger” is always a pleasure to hear, especially sung by a young David, and Sykes is shreddin’. Then another cheeky intro: “I’d like to give you a toast. If it’s in deep, and if it’s in long, and if it’s in hard…it’s indecent!” That has to mean “Slow An’ Easy” is up next. I will never tire of this excellent song. “Walking in the Shadow of the Blues” is a nice surprise, but “Ready An’ Willing” is overplayed.
Sykes is given a couple minutes on his own to introduce “Crying in the Rain” with some bluesy soloing. As great as this song is, this long version makes it clear why Whitesnake is a two guitar band. They sound very bare when John again takes a long solo in the middle, and Neil Murray is left to fill the space. David always wanted two guitar players, while John would have preferred not to share the spotlight. “Soldier of Fortune” closes this portion of the CD, a nice version of the old Deep Purple classic.
The rest of the CD is dedicated to the three tunes from Super-Rock Japan that they chose to include, and the four songs from Jon Lord’s final Whitesnake show. If you have a look at the tracklist you’ll notice that this means there’s a lot of repeat.
In closing
None of Coverdale’s archival releases or deluxe editions have been perfect. Live in ’84 – Back to the Bone is probably the best of them yet.
This reissue of the fantastic debut Chickenfoot CD is a decent but imperfect repackage. The music is so good, I can’t stay mad about the double-dip. You can get this cheap if you hunt, so keep that in mind. First let’s talk about the music, before we get into the reissue.
I will go out on a limb and call this the best album Sammy Hagar had made in many years, and better than most (if not any) Van Hagar album. Part of the reason is the performances by this cast of pros (Sammy, Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony, Chad Smith), and part of the reason is solid songwriting. What’s left is youthful energy, which this band of old dudes has plenty of.
The first obvious highlight for me was the glorious return of the Van Hagar harmony vocals. Michael Anthony was responsible for a lot of that in Van Halen, and it was just a joy to hear him harmonizing with Sammy again. Close your eyes and you’d think you’re listening to some lost Halen track circa For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. Then you recognize those warm Satriani guitar tones and tricks. Finally you hear Chad Smith on the drums, making it all sound easy. This actually sounds like a real band.
Highlights: The single “Oh Yeah”, “Sexy Little Thing”, “Runnin’ Out” (definite sounds like a long lost Halen tune), “My Kinda Girl” (my kinda chorus!), and “Turnin’ Left” (which just grooves). “Bitten By The Wolf” has this bluesy Satriani-circa-Flying kind of vibe. There are no weak songs, and nothing which doesn’t fit the direction of this band. There’s no point going song by song. Each one features the stellar playing, singing and melody that you would expect for this band of pros. Satch’s tone is rich, beautiful and perfect. This is most definitely hard rock. There’s nothing too wussy about Chickenfoot. Even the ballad “Learning to Fall” has the integrity of an outtake from Flying in a Blue Dream. It’s hard not to enjoy something with Joe Satriani on guitar!
“Bitten By The Wolf”, of course, was the original bonus track on the vinyl and download versions of Chickenfoot. Now you can get it on a proper CD with this two-disc reissue. In addition you get an hour long DVD. This disc contains a couple fun music videos, interviews with each guy, and some excellent live stuff. Two things I noticed right away on the live stuff: One, Joe plays a lot more solos. Watching him play is a real treat. I’ve never seen Joe play up close on a DVD before. My God this man’s fingers move fast. Plus he’s entertaining as a showman. Two, Chad Smith is great to watch. On CD he makes it all sound easy. On DVD he makes it all look easy. This tower of a man just locks in and powers through. Awesome to watch. No wonder he is so in-demand with everybody from the Dixie Chicks on down.
Of note: There are many who do not like this album as much as I. Craig Fee from 107.5 Dave FM told me that this record was “disappointing, like seeing an all Toronto Maple Leafs NHL All-Star team, standing there in their blue jerseys.”
I only had two disappointments. One, the original CD had no booklet, only a link to download a pdf file. That remains so on this edition. I would have loved a booklet. Two, the original also had this awesome heat-sensitive packaging. The cover was almost entirely black, but when you placed your warm hand on it, pictures of the band members appeared. That packaging is not a part of this edition. Instead, the black has been replaced with white and now you can see the pictures unobscured. Two very small qualms. I still own the original CD and a vinyl copy to boot, so it’s not a big deal to me.
“Hey! These floors are dirty as hell, and I’m not gonna take it anymore!” – Stanley Spadowski
“Weird Al” Yankovic – UHF (1989 MGM, 2002 DVD)
I never understood why this brilliant, family friendly and absurd comedy wasn’t a hit. Weird Al never made another movie, such was the box office failure. UHF was simply ahead of its time. Today, viewers familiar with the Family Guy and modern comedy will “get” the tangents and bizarre fantasy sequences. Also, it’s important to remember that this great cast was barely known at the time. Michael Richards was pre-Seinfeld. Fran Drescher had yet to become the Nanny. David Proval was years away from playing Tony Soprano’s nemesis in season two. The only one I’d heard of in 1989 was Billy Barty!
George Newman (Yankovic) is an unemployed dreamer who lands a crummy job managing a UHF TV station on the verge of bankruptcy and permanent closure. He just can’t focus, constantly losing himself in rich, heroic dreamscapes. Weird Al as Indiana Jones…Weird Al as Rambo…Weird Al as Mark Knopfler…Can he use his imagination to help the TV station survive? If he doesn’t, his girlfriend Terri (Victoria Jackson) isn’t likely to stick around for long. Fortunately George’s best friend Bob (David Bowe) is there to help.
The station, U-62, comes with its own assortment of personalities. Pamela (Drescher) is the hard working receptionist dying to make the move to on-camera. Noodles McIntosh (Billy Barty) is a 3’9″ camera man! And then there’s Filo, the “chief engineer” who actually lives at the station. (He’s currently working on his interocitor, a reference from the 1955 science fiction classic This Island Earth. If you’ve seen This Island Earth, remember that reference next time you watch UHF. Get it?)
Unfortunately for George Newman, Channel 8 across town doesn’t want U-62 to succeed. RJ Fletcher (Kevin McCarthy) wants to buy it and turn it into a parking lot. Fletcher, a prick, also cruelly fires his best janitor Stanley Spadowski (Michael Richards) over a misunderstanding. Newman hires Stanley, and even buys him a new mop. His old one, which Fletcher’s goons confiscated, was a birthday gift from his mom.
Newman introduces some new shows to U-62 (Wheel of Fish, Raul’s Wild Kingdom, Secrets of the Universe, Uncle Nutzy’s Clubhouse), but nothing really takes off until Stanley is given his own show, Stanley Spadowski’s Clubhouse. His crazy personality endears him to all ages and his show becomes the hottest in town. RJ Fletcher, however, doesn’t intend to let the station’s success continue. Can George and his friends raise enough money to save the station?
UHF is very special for a few reasons. One is that Weird Al does parody better than anyone. The parodies of Geraldo, Rambo, Ghandi, Conan the Barbarian, and more are still being quoted by fans today. Then there’s Michael Richards. The great thing about Michael Richards, says Al, is that you can just “turn him on and tell him to go crazy for two minutes”, and that seems to be how most of the Stanley Spadowski scenes seem to work. And it’s brilliant. Kids who saw this movie in the 80’s loved Stanley. He’s not only an innocent soul who loves cleanliness, but he’s absolutely whacky, hilarious, lovable and loyal. Third, the movie has a good heart. It celebrates imagination, uniqueness and loyalty, qualities that we all value. And of course it also has those random, rapidly changing sketch comedy bits, not too different from Monty Python and SCTV in style. It’s actually intelligent comedy.
The audio commentary on this DVD is great — even Michael Richards stops by to chat. The deleted scenes are a stream of cut bits, but Weird Al’s intro and commentary makes it hilarious. They weren’t in the movie because they suck, says Al! But if they didn’t put them on the DVD, we’d all be whining that they didn’t include any deleted scenes. He has a point! Some characters and shows (such as “Those Darn Homos”, which seems to be about two men who chase each other around a room trying to spank each other with spatulas) were cut completely from the film, so this is the only place you’d see them. As is usually the case, the movie is better for the cuts made. Additionally there is a short behind the scenes doc, explaining the origin of “Wheel of Fish” and more. Al and the cast aren’t serious in the interviews, which are hilarious:
Q: “Why do they call you Weird Al?”
A: “I don’t know, I guess people are basically cruel. I don’t know why they call me Al.”
There’s a huge photo gallery, standard fare for a DVD, and they’re fun but non-essential. The music video for “UHF” is present (the first time he shaved off his moustache, to play Axl Rose!), an indispensable companion piece. Even the menus are awesome, with Al himself popping up and acting silly. My only real beef about the DVD is this: It’s one of those double sided discs with widescreen on one side and full screen on the other. But the deleted scenes are only on the full screen side, so you have to eject and flip the disc just to watch them, because nobody watches full screen anymore.
Do you wanna drink from the fire hose? Then get UHF. It’s out on Blu-ray, too.
Christmas gift review! This one came from my sister and husband Melvin.
JOURNEY – Live in Houston: Escape Tour 1981(2006 Columbia CD/DVD set)
Released in 2006, the Live in Houston CD/DVD set by Journey chronicles the band at their peak. This is a vintage MTV concert finally released for sale. Opening with the brand new title track from the brand new album Escape was a good idea. Its fast paced pyrotechnics fire up the crowd appropriately. Steve Perry is resplendent in his tuxedo jacket, jeans, and animal-print T-shirt. Now this is a fucking concert. If the guy couldn’t sing like the angels, then he couldn’t get away with that shit, but it’s Steve Fucking Perry. At his peak. A great frontman with the classic voice. His vocal acrobatics rival the furious fretwork of his bandmate Neal Schon. Personally, I think Bon Jovi owes a lot to Steve Perry’s schtick.
Not letting up, the opening salvo is concluded with “Line of Fire” before it’s time for the ballads. It’s a great little rock boogie that gives the band a chance to play hard. Perry then informs the band that they are recording a live MTV special (as if you couldn’t tell by Schon’s MTV T-shirt). If that can’t get a crowd screaming for “Lights”, nothing will. This kind of song isn’t my thing really, but it is always a pleasure listening to Steve sing. Live, he’s that much more entrancing. Superhuman, really. “Lights” merges with the ballad “Stay Awhile”, which I think is the better song. Listen to that fucker sing! Then it’s time for a new ballad, “Open Arms”. This is where I step out to pee.
Neal Schon’s favourite new song from Escape was “Mother, Father”, a dramatic heavy ballad. Perry kicks this song in the ass, but it’s the anthemic chorus that you can’t forget. And people — Steve Perry hits every single one of the high notes at the end. Every. Single. One.
New kid Jon Cain takes a moment for a piano solo, while Steve Perry no doubt drinks something cold and soothing! I like that Jon tucked his sleeveless animal print shirt into his jeans. Gotta look presentable, of course. New ballad “Who’s Cryin’ Now” is greeted by high pitched screams, indicating the crowd really know this one. Perry has lost the tux jacket, revealing that he is not a T-shirt tucker. Schon’s solo is epic, in how it builds from one simple melody into something completely different and blazingly fast.
The crowd goes nuts for the rocker “Where Were You”, on which drummer Steve Smith absolutely blows the doors off. I love watching him play with classic grip. He’s the next member to get a solo, and I can’t help but notice he has tucked his T-shirt into his jeans. Interesting. I didn’t expect that from the drummer. The solo is a scorcher, leading directly into the new rocker “Dead Or Alive”. Steve Perry looks a lot more awkward dancing to this one, but his voice leaves no doubt. Nobody else could sing the song the way Perry did. Nobody.
Steve announces from the stage that Escape just went #1 in the US a mere three weeks before. The crowd then goes insane for the opening keys of “Don’t Stop Believin'”. As on the album, I love Steve Smith’s cymbal work; it’s just overpowered by the live sound of the band. You can tell that the sound wasn’t tampered with, as Neal hits a bum note in the solo and it was left in. The lush backing vocals seem to be provided live by Schon, Valory and Cain. Then it’s time for “Stone In Love”, another newbie. This hard rock classic features Jonathan Cain abandoning the keyboards and joining the frontline on guitar. This allows Schon the ability to throw in more solos and licks; meanwhile when piano is needed, Steve Perry jumps behind the keys! Then it’s time for “Keep On Runnin'”, again with Cain up front on guitar. It’s another solid rock song, although a bit of a throw-away compared to the rest of Escape. Schon then gets his chance to solo, as a lead in to “Wheel in the Sky”. It’s a note-perfect live version, and full of energy.
For encores, it’s the annoying “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin'” and “Anyway You Want It”. The only good thing about “Lovin’, Touchin'” is the guitar solo with some tasty slide for added flavor. “Anyway You Want It” is ragged. It’s a hard song to sing to begin with, but Perry is running around so much that it’s bound to fall apart at times. It’s a magnificent finish.
The CD version has a bonus track: “The Party’s Over (Hopelessly in Love)”. I don’t know why it’s not on the DVD version. I think it’s one of Journey’s best also-rans. Maybe the film had deteriorated too much to use for that one song? Who knows. Anyway (you want it), you can get it on CD.
It’s also worth pointing out that three songs (“Don’t Stop Believin'”, “Open Arms”, and “Who’s Cryin’ Now”) were all re-released on the remastered Escape CD. So if you’re browsing at the store thinking, “Hey, look, it’s Escape with bonus tracks, I need that,”…no you don’t. Just get this. Always better to have the full concert!
The bonus interviews are pretty neat. Members discuss how they found their way into Journey via manager Herbie Herbert. Neal Schon is almost hilariously young looking. Perry sports the shadow of a moustache, appearing as if he would have had trouble growing a full one. Bassist Ross Valory speaks of the band’s earlier preference for instrumental music, supplanted by a switch to vocal songs. The interviews are broken up topically and are made up from a variety of sources. In the section about touring, Steve Perry reveals that after being driven around everywhere in a limo, when he gets home from the road he feels like he’s forgotten how to drive! It’s worth it, though: all their best songs were written on the road.
The DVD also includes a photo slide show that nobody will watch. It’s only a minute or two long. Some of these pics, I’ve seen before. Neal Schon does make great “guitar faces”, possibly the best ever. The original TV ad for the Escape album is hilarious in its 80’s cheesiness.
GOO GOO DOLLS – Live In Alaska(2002 Earth Escapes DVD)
I bought this for myself the week after I broke up with Radio Station Girl, looking for some new music to soothe my soul. This DVD hit the spot for two reasons: the music and the scenery. I like a lot of Goo Goo Dolls’ albums, and I really love the icy landscapes of the north. Live In Alaska delivers on both. From a series called “Music in High Places”, the DVD takes us all the way to Arctic Circle among the glaciers. The band don’t play a traditional concert. Instead they made videos in unusual locations, such as outdoors next to a partially frozen lake in the tundra.
That is the scene for “Black Balloon”. There must have been some serious technical challenges to record there. There are scenes of people arriving by small plane and air drops of equipment by helicopter, and then getting into position via rubber dinghy. Wouldn’t it be hard acoustically to record songs in an open expanse? I don’t know, but they did it and I like it. The visuals add another element, and it surely must have been inspiring for the band to play in such a clean, isolated environment.
Up next, the Dolls get to participate in the sport of dogsledding on Punchbowl glacier. Lead singer Johnny Rzeznik says, “I have a really cool job. I get to do stuff like this,” and I’m jealous! It’s warm enough for just short sleeves. He is then taken by helicopter to an even more beautiful and remote location. Standing on an ice island in the middle of a sparkling blue lake in the middle of Knik glacier, Rzeznik sings “Acoustic #3”, and it’s haunting. It’s also a sight to behold. The frigid water is bluer than anything you have seen before, not to mention this is one of his most beautiful songs. You can hear the water gurgling faintly behind.
The band reconvenes in Hope, Alaksa at a tiny little bar to play the hit “Broadway” acoustically. If the locals know who they are, they don’t let on, but one does play harmonica with them. This is one of their best tunes, and I like the sound of it in this environment. Only one thing pisses me off, and that’s interrupting the damn song to edit in some interview footage! Bad editing. I don’t know why some videos do this — splice interviews into the middle of the song. Fucking stop it! I hate that! Fortunately, one of the DVD bonus features is something called “just the music”, where you can watch the song uninterrupted.
Going mudsliding looks like a ton of fun. The Dolls had a blast playing this game with kids, and getting absolutely covered in mud in the process. (Rzeznik after cleaning: “It looked like a mud bomb went off in my bathroom.”) Another cool concert location is on a train, where “Here Is Gone” is performed. I must wonder if this was a technical nightmare to record. The train appears to be moving extra slowly, perhaps to reduce noise. I am sure this scene was meticulously planned. The train was a special charter for the Dolls, and they could start and stop as they pleased. The band are in a coach car with a glass dome roof. The train enters a tunnel mid song, and things get dark, before it emerges in the light again at the end of the tune. Really cool shot.
Flying to Kotzebue, Alaska the band are greeting by a cheering crowd. The local news crews are out for this major event! The next concert location is a bridge, where they play “Big Machine”. This song isn’t as strong acoustically. The album version with its electric riff is more interesting, but hey. It’s the outdoors in Alaska in the summertime. What more do you need?
Taking a break from performing for a moment, the band next get to enjoy some native culture and music. But then it’s back to work, and they play “What A Scene” right there on a stoney ocean beach surrounded by the townsfolk. 10% of the population turned out for it! This track works a bit better acoustically to my ears than “Big Machine” did. Some of the kids in town are into it, some look bored, but soon it’s back to fun and games. People are hurled into the air via a huge trampoline-like skin. Robby Takac volunteers and gets pretty high up there! But he only does it once!
The final song of the DVD is “Slide”, another huge favourite of mine. This is performed by the full band, on another chunk of ice in the middle of a lake. You could not imagine a more perfect setting for such a bright, melodic song. Once again I wonder about the technicalities of recording this performance but it sure looks and sounds 100% live. Behind the scenes shots show giant boom mics and cameras on cranes. Great tune to close on though, a highlight of this set and their career.
The DVD has some very cool bonus features. These include a terrible text bio that nobody will ever read. The others include behind the scenes documentaries about Kotzebue and its inhabitants, and the Alaskan railroad. Some of this material is included in the main feature, but it’s not really about the band. It’s about the people and the scenery, but that’s cool in its own right. Interesting fact: Even though the sun shines all night in Kotzebue in July, they still have fireworks on the 4th. They’re not as cool, but they do have ’em! They also have warm sunny swimming at 1 am, and the local radio station gets calls for requests all the way from Russia.
Not listed on the back of the package, but more important than the other features, are two bonus songs. These can only be found if you happen to check out the “just the music” section. “Sympathy” is the first, performed acoustically on the train. Great tune. “Do You Know” is the second, on the beach on Kotzebue. This is Robby Takac’s only lead vocal (and it was cut from the main feature)! This song reflects the Goo Goo Dolls punk rock side, from which they originated. Robby’s vocal is raspy and ragged, just like I like it!
For Goo Goo Dolls fans, I can’t recommend this DVD enough. The cool thing is that even if you’re just a casual fan who knows the hits, you’d dig it too.
GUNS N’ ROSES – Live in Paradise City (2011 Access All Areas DVD, from a television broadcast source)
Rock In Rio 4, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October 2, 2011.Guns N’ Roses headlining the final night.
Paddington Rose
Rio loves Guns N’ Roses! Always did, still do. It’s pouring rain, but the fans are present and accounted for. Good thing they are able to see the huge stage through three massive video screens, otherwise I don’t know how they’d tell one member from another. Well, Axl’s blinding yellow Paddington Bear coat makes him easy enough to see.
“Chinese Democracy” opens the set, with bassist Tommy Stinson handling the backup vocals on the chorus. Ron Thal’s playing a double neck (the top one is fretless) and is rocking the samurai hair. The solo is played by DJ Ashba, with Thal handling the outro shredding. “Good evening! Good morning!” says Axl after the first song, before asking, “Do you know where the fuck you are?” Of course that means “Jungle” is next. Axl’s voice just sounds shredded, as he struggles high and thin through the hard notes, no grit left intact. Once in a while the old Axl wails, but he was really off in Rio.
THAL-1138
One thing about Guns N’ Roses new vs. old: The old band looked unified in image. All of them looked like Hollywood dirtbags. In this band, you have the glam looking DJ Ashba, Frank Ferrer who looks like a trucker, Axl with his pimpstache, and a guy in a Stormtrooper helmet. Admittedly though, Tommy Stinson looks the part as the punk rock bass player, and he also fills Duff’s role as backup singer.
“It’s So Easy” is up third, top loading the setlist with some serious Appetite heavy hitters. Ashba doesn’t quite nail the solo, but the band are as tight as the originals. Keyboardist Dizzy Reed looks weird as hell just hitting a tamborine to this sledgehammer tune. As for rhythm guitarist Richard Fortus (a dead ringer for Izzy Stradlin), he seems to literally attack his instrument with every strum; looks more like he’s punching them! Another Appetite classic, “Mr. Brownstone” follows. It is here that I miss Slash for the first time. His playing on “Brownstone” was always so greasy; so perfect. Ashba’s playing is a bit too sophisticated.
Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal
A bloated looking Axl is accompanied by Ron Thal for the opening to “Sorry”, a slow grinder from Chinese Democracy. This changes the pace of the set. The song fails to connect. It’s more expressive live, but not interesting enough. Time to pee. Axl then introduces Richard Fortus on guitar who plays some blazing fast licks. It makes me wonder why the hell this guy doesn’t play more leads. He’s insanely fast. This turns into a bit of a band jam, including the James Bond theme. That strategically merges into “Live and Let Die”, the McCartney original of which was of course the theme of the same titled Bond movie. The stage has flame throwers blasting, and the crowd goes wild. Axl’s changed out of the raincoat, now sporting black leather and doing his trademark spinny-spinny dance.
Frank Ferrer
After a brief pause, Frank Ferrer begins the familiar drum beat that opens “Rocket Queen”. The fans know it and scream in anticipation. Unfortunately Axl’s thin voice fails to impress. Fortus does impress, handling the slide guitar solo himself. “This I Love” is the next song, and the first ballad of the evening. Axl struggles a bit with the vocal before he finds his stride part way in. The dual keyboard concept can be best heard here. Dizzy plays the piano, while second keyboardist Chris Pitman plays the orchestral arrangement. But let’s face it: “This I Love” will never replace “November Rain” or “Estranged” as a concert favourite. It fills that same epic ballad role, but it just ain’t classic.
DJ Ashba
DJ Ashba takes the opening lead guitar on the next Guns N’ Roses jam. I don’t recognize the tune, but it sounds like another soundtrack piece. I’ve heard some journalists complain that Guns play too many solos from band members that nobody cares about. They couldn’t be more wrong. These players are good; very very good. These instrumental sections, apart from giving Axl a chance to rest his voice, are a showcase for the guys in the band that, like it or not, happen to be Guns N’ Roses. The fans in Rio treat the members as if they were the originals.
So once again, Jones, what was briefly yours is now mine.
Ashba breaks into the “Sweet Child O’ Mine” intro, and the fans lose their collective minds. Rose dons a tan fedora, now looking a bit like René Belloq. Thal nails that unforgettable wah-wah solo, no mean feat. But then it’s time for “Estranged”, and Axl just can’t find the key. He pulls it together on the first verse, but this isn’t an easy song. It does eventually fall into place with the help of some epic soloing.
I would say that the song “Better” from Chinese Democracy is well overdue in the set. While undoubtedly modern sounding, I think it’s one of the best tunes. It gives the band a chance to play around with a different kind of heavy. Bumblefoot Thal plays the fast shreddy guitar part and does backing vocals.
Axl then introduces the band, aside from Bumblefoot and Ashba:
Chris “Mothergoose” Pitman
Frank “Thunderchucker” Ferrer (“I can never say that last name right. It’s like Ferarri, only different.” — Axl)
Mr. Richard Fortus (no nickname)
Mr. Tommy Stinson (also no nickname)
Mr. Dizzy Reed (I guess his nickname is Dizzy?)
This leads into a Dizzy piano segue on The Who’s “Baba O’Reilly”, as an intro to “Street of Dreams”. I had made no secret of my love for this song. I first heard it back in 2001, when Guns played Rio that year. It was known as “The Blues” at the time. It’s a concise version of the “epic Guns ballad” and it stands up on its own. Then it’s time for “You Could Be Mine”. Ferrer impressively nails the drum intro, and Thal plays the opening guitar moans on his fretless neck. This great version is followed by Axl sitting at the piano himself, for…you got it…”November Rain”. There are some sour moments, not least of which is Axl forgetting some of the words!
Bumblefoot
Finally it’s time for one of my favourite moments of the set: Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal’s rendition of the “Pink Panther” theme (Henry Mancini) on double neck guitar. It’s familiar melodies like this that keep the solo spots interesting to fans who don’t know the players all that well. It’s easier for them to swallow. It’s not like Axl is leaving the stage for some guy to go wheedle-wheedle-wheedle for four and a half minutes. Guns give you quality for your time.
“Pink Panther” turns into a space age blues jam and back again, merging into “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”. Axl sings this annoyingly nasal. I will take this moment to point out the irritating habit of the camera to focus on a guitar player who is not the current soloist. It’s Ashba playing these solos, but half the time the camera is on Fortus, as if they are not sure who is playing, so they guess. Fortus does get to blaze a solo at the end, thankfully with the camera on him. Axl playfully quotes Elmer Fudd: “Be vewy vewy quiet! I’m hunting wabbits!” Why, I don’t know. Maybe he was watching cartoons on the plane. It’s as good an answer as any.
The main set closes with “Nightrain”, bringing it all back full circle to Appetite again. In a cool moment, Ashba walks (with security personnel by his side) through a barricaded and secured pathway within the crowd. “Nightrain” is a strong finish for a band that plays as long and hard as Guns N’ Roses play. And soon they’re back on stage, acoustic guitars in hand, to play “Patience”. The quiet tune is all but drowned out by thousands of screaming Brazilians, but even they cannot drown out “Paradise City”. It’s a natural epic closer, and it’s perfectly awesome, right up until Axl leaves the stage…then the video and audio abruptly fade and that’s the end! Was the broadcast cut off? I don’t know, but the end jam is cut out, as is the final bow. That’s it that’s all.
Shoddy. You can tell it’s not an official release.
DEEP PURPLE – Bombay Calling – Bombay Live ’95 (2003 iTunes)
mikeladano.com 