Emm Gryner

REVIEW: Def Leppard – Yeah! (2006)

Part Thirty-One of the Def Leppard Review Series

DEF LEPPARD – Yeah! (CD Collection Volume 3 Disc 1) (Originally 2006, 2021 remaster)

Yeah…nah!

Why Def Leppard, why a covers album?  The idea seems to have come from Joe Elliott, who had been pushing to do something like this for over 20 years.  Upon the completion of promotion for the X album and the two greatest hits that followed, Def Leppard had no new songs to put toward another album.  Therefore, Joe’s cover album concept seemed like the right move.

We had sneak previews of two songs, “Waterloo Sunset” and “No Matter What” on Best Of and The Definitive Collection respectively.  After nearly two years’ wait, we finally got the Yeah! album in 2006.   All told, 22 different studio covers and two additional live versions were released over the many different CDs released to various retailers.  That’s a total of 24 songs to collect.  Fortunately, every single one of those tracks is included in the CD Collection Volume 3.  There are three bonus interview tracks that are not included, and we will discuss those next time.  For this review, we will focus on the core album; the basic 14 songs.

Opening with T-Rex’s “20th Century Boy”, there’s little question that Leppard nailed the authenticity vibe.  The guitar tones are perfect.  So why is my finger itching to reach for the skip button?  Doing covers is like performing magic.  It either happens or it doesn’t.  The highlight of this song is Canadian singer Emm Gryner’s awesome backing vocals.

“Rock On”?  No thanks.  I’ve never liked this track.  Blame Michael Damien for that, but…skip.

“Hanging on the Telephone” (The Nerves) is awesome!  Hard rocking, full speed, really kicking ass.  It takes Def Leppard a little further out of their comfort zone and it rocks!

From Def Leppard’s Best Of (UK only) comes “Waterloo Sunset” (The Kinks), which was an awesome bonus track but feels diminished among the other covers here.  It jumps out less in this context.  Still buttery smooth, still tasty.  They picked an excellent song to cover here.

The Sweet’s “Hell Raiser” was covered previously by Motley Crue, except they called it “Kickstart My Heart” I believe.  The instantly recognizable Justin Hawkins from The Darkness joins Joe Elliott on the microphone.  By the books, this should be a slam dunk.  Maybe it’s just a tad sterile.

One of the most pleasant surprises on the album is ELO’s “10538 Overture”.  They captured the lushness, the complexity and the many melodies.  It sounds very little like Def Leppard; another example of them stepping outside the box and absolutely nailing it.

Roxy Music appears via “Street Life”, which fails to make much of a lasting impression.  As the album progresses, most of the tracks seem to just inhabit this nondescript Glam Leppard vibe.  It happens again on Bowie’s “Drive-In Saturday”, and it really shouldn’t.

Free’s “Little Bit of Love” is highly polished, but sounds awesome just the same.  It’s like a jolt after being sleepy for the last couple songs.  Another jolt comes next.  Ian Hunter himself appears on Mott’s “The Golden Age of Rock ‘n’ Roll”, and it’s not his first time with Leppard either for those who remember the Retro-Active album.  That’s Emm Gryner on piano too.  This song truly does recall the golden age of rock and roll.  Well done.

The previously discussed “No Matter What” by Badfinger is slotted in here, previously heard on Rock Of Ages: The Definitive Collection.  Pop genius, rendered well by the Leppard.  They take some chances on “He’s Gonna Step On You Again” by John Kongos, a different kind of rhythm for Leppard.  It’s memorable and tends to work more often than not.  Sounds a bit like what got their engines pumping in the Hysteria days.

Covering Thin Lizzy, now that verges on sacred ground.  And the good news is “Don’t Believe A Word” doesn’t sound bad.  Joe Elliott has worked on Thin Lizzy remixes in the past and he knows what he’s doing when it comes to this band’s music.  It’s not bad.  That’s accurate.  It’s not Thin Lizzy but it’s pretty close.

Phil Collen takes the lead vocal on “Stay With Me”, and he actually nails Rod Stewart’s voice.  Rod was a real screamer back in the Faces days, not the crooner he is now.  Phil probably needed about a thousand lozenges after singing “Stay With Me”.

Yeah! is uneven and unnecessary.  We mentioned earlier that context is important.  “Waterloo Sunset” made a much bigger impact on the Best Of album.  Here, it struggles to be felt among 13 other covers.  Had these tracks come out on the B-sides of singles, some would probably be cult classic covers.  If anything, Yeah! got Def Leppard back into rock and roll music after the meandering X and Euphoria records.  Too many ballads, right?  That’s what we said.  So here’s some rock and roll for you like you ordered, right?

2/5 stars

Previous:  

  1. The Early Years Disc One – On Through the Night 
  2. The Early Years Disc Two – High N’ Dry
  3. The Early Years Disc Three – When The Walls Came Tumbling Down: Live at the New Theater Oxford – 1980
  4. The Early Years Disc Four – Too Many Jitterbugs – EP, singles & unreleased
  5. The Early Years Disc 5 – Raw – Early BBC Recordings 
  6. The Early Years 79-81 (Summary)
  7. Pyromania
  8. Pyromania Live – L.A. Forum, 11 September 1983
  9. Hysteria
  10. Soundtrack From the Video Historia – Record Store Tales
  11. In The Round In Your Face DVD
  12. “Let’s Get Rocked” – The Wait for Adrenalize – Record Store Tales
  13. Adrenalize
  14. Live at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert
  15. Retro-Active
  16. Visualize
  17. Vault: Def Leppard’s Greatest Hits / Limited Edition Live CD
  18. Video Archive
  19. “Slang” CD single
  20. Slang
  21. I Got A Bad Feeling About This: Euphoria – Record Store Tales
  22. Euphoria
  23. Rarities 2
  24. Rarities 3
  25. Rarities 4
  26. Cybernauts – Live
  27. Cybernauts – The Further Adventures of the Cybernauts (bonus disc)
  28. X
  29. Best Of (UK)
  30. Rock Of Ages: The Definitive Collection

Next:

32. Yeah! Bonus CD With Backstage Interviews

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#968: Go For the Songs From the Electric Heart

RECORD STORE TALES #968: Go For the Songs From the Electric Heart

Trapper is Emm Gryner, Sean Kelly, Frank Gryner and Tim Timleck.  For those who know, Trapper is also one of the best hard rock bands going, if you happen to like that retro-catchy sound done with expertise and skill.  This style of music never died, but it was definitely harder to find after grunge hit the “reset” button.  Bottom line though:  a good song is a good song.  Trapper write and play good songs!

Joe Elliott is a fan. Isn’t that enough?

I have liked Trapper since first hearing about the band in 2015, when they released their first cassette.  I knew Emm Gryner by reputation and quickly became a fan of her solo work.  Of course, I was will familiar with Sean Kelly from his many recordings with Helix, Lee Aaron, the Metal On Ice CD/book project, and so on.  But I missed out on that limited edition tape.  I also missed the five track CD release Go For the Heart, of which 300 copies were made.

I’d been listening to the band quite a bit on the weekend, since getting their newest tape Songs From the Electric North in the mail.  Only 50 were made, and this time I managed to get one!  Sean sent it to me with a nice note.  He’s a great guy.  Not only did he take the time to appear on the LeBrain Train in May 2021, but even before that he was instrumental in helping me identify MuchMusic personalities on my VHS tapes.  I always like adding more of his music to my collection.

And that is the point of this story:  the collector’s disease.  It’s a real thing, and I have the actual receipts.  I decided I wanted “all the Trapper songs”.  I looked on Discogs and much to my amazement, they had a copy of Go For the Heart for $75 plus shipping.  $100 total.  Last copy sold was $71, two years prior.  It had been on my wishlist for some time.  I did the math, and decided this was my best chance to own it.  Go For the Heart has “Grand Bender” and “The Warrior” from the debut tape, so this would get me “all the Trapper songs” in physical form.  Still flush with Christmas money, I decided to pull the trigger.  Collector’s itch:  temporarily scratched.

I felt quite satisfied with my myself!

The next day, I noticed my good buddy Aaron from the KMA had left a comment on my Friday January 14 live show, during which I unboxed my brand new Songs From the Electric North cassette.  “Jealous you got the new Trapper,” he said.  “I only have the one CD here.”

Wait…the CD?  They only have one CD and it’s Go For the Heart.  The one I just paid a hundred bucks for.  And Aaron’s was signed by Emm and Sean!  He paid a buck.

I had to tell Sean this story.  “No regrets!” I said.  And it is true.  I paid a lot — maybe the most paid yet for that particular CD.  But I wanted it.  I wanted it for a while.  I know what the last guy paid, and I paid $4 more.  Will it appreciate in value?  Not the point!  I collect music from artists I like in physical formats.  I wanted it, so I bought it.

Hey, I’m a collector and sometimes we splurge!

REVIEW: Trapper – Songs From the Electric North (2022 limited edition cassette EP)

TRAPPER – Songs From the Electric North (2022 limited edition cassette EP)

One gets the sense that, although Trapper take the quality of their music very seriously, Emm, Sean, Tim and Frank are doing it for the pure enjoyment.  They must be!  Trapper is a top-notch band honouring their 80s roots by writing that kind of catchy rock song with singalong hooks.  Each track on their brand new cassette EP, Songs From the Electric North (limited to just 50 copies!) sounds assembled with great care, and genuine zeal.

Fear not if you missed out on the cassette, for you can download the EP on your iTunes!

Songs From the Electric North consists of four originals and two covers.  The covers,  “Illégal” by Corbeau and “Bye bye mon cowboy” by Mitsou, were previously reviewed here so you can check that out if you want to know more about those two excellent tracks.  In particular, we praised “Illégal” for a beautifully chunky riff that Sean Kelly captured with a nice crunchy guitar tone.  We also singled out Emm Gryner’s lead vocal, with depth, grit, power — the whole package.  This is the first physical release for these tracks.

The four originals vary in flavour, so picking favourites will also widely vary from person to person.  On side A, “Winterlong” opens, hitting the ears on a nice tense Sean Kelly riff with a Campbell-era Dio feeling.  This track has it all, from the powerhouse vocals to thundering drums n’ bass.  “Winterlong” also boasts a lyrical guitar solo, carefully composed and executed.  This track is a rocker!  Heavy as metal, yet sweet as saccharine at the same time.

Power ballad territory ahead!  Perhaps “Almost Forever” is in the vein of ‘87-era Whitesnake or albums of that direction?  Whatever your inkling, “Almost Forever” is memorable, and done to perfection.  It’s a hard sound to get just right.  The keyboards and especially Emm’s melody put it exactly in the right ballpark.  A winning song, that you will be coming back to again and again when you want a new ballad with that nostalgic feeling that sends you back in time.

Opening side B, “You Need An Angel” has a nice chunky rock groove.  Here Kelly reminds me at times of Ratt’s Warren DeMartini in tone and feel.  Another fabulous classic rock composition, laden with hooks and punchy drums.  And completely different in direction from the other tunes.

The last of the originals is the pounding metal of “New Year’s Day”.  This track has an epic quality, harder to describe, except to say it’s different again from the previous songs!  Solid riff/groove combo, with Emm delivering a vocal that just divebombs you with hooks from the sky!  How’s that for a description?  Just listen to it.

I’m very grateful to score one of the 50 copies of this tape.  To give you an idea of demand, Trapper’s first cassette “Grand Bender” / “The Warrior” was limited to 100 copies and never turns up for sale.  Their CD EP, Go For the Heart, runs about a hundred bucks total with shipping these days.  I should know, because I bought the last one!

You can get your copy on iTunes, so head on over and get rocked by the Songs From the Electric North. 

5/5 stars

Sunday Screening: Trapper – “The Warrior”

This week we had Sean Kelly on the LeBrain Train. In order to highlight one of his many fun works, here is his version of “The Warrior” performed by Trapper with Emm Gryner on lead vocals.  The classic Scandal cover features a great guitar solo — a “composition within a composition” as Sean might say.  Check it some Trapper!

REVIEW: Trapper – “Illégal” / “Bye bye mon cowboy” (2020 single)

It’s a LeBrain/Superdekes two-fer! Check out his Trapper review by clicking here.

TRAPPER – “Illégal” / “Bye bye mon cowboy” (2020 iTunes single)

Trapper are a Canadian supergroup who gained a bit of extra attention when they got to open for Def Leppard.  Sean Kelly (guitar), Emm Gryner (vocals/bass), Frank Gryner (bass/guitar) and Tim Timleck (drums) impressed everyone with their version of “Illégal” by Corbeau on the concert stage.  Their only EP sold out long ago, but now Trapper are back with a studio version of “Illégal”.  The two-track iTunes single is backed by a surprising cover:  “Bye bye mon cowboy” by Mitsou.  Two Canadian covers, both in French…ballsy move for a single!

“Illégal” has a beautifully chunky riff, and Kelly captures that with a nice crunchy guitar tone.  Emm Gryner’s lead vocal is to die for, squealing in all the right parts, shouting it out loud, and delivering the goods.  She has depth, grit, power — the whole package.  The drums are huge.  When you hear it you’ll be wondering where this song has been your whole life.  And that’s all before you hit the guitar solo, a treat in itself, like something from a classic Bon Jovi track that you never heard before.

Now I’ll be honest about something here.  As a snobbish rock fan in the 1980s, I hated “Bye bye mon cowboy”.  It was on MuchMusic all the time and I grew weary of Mitsou.  But I like Trapper’s version!  I am pretty sure Mitsou didn’t have this much guitar.  Transformed into a rock song, “Bye bye mon cowboy” works!  The groove is perfect and Emm’s delivery is just right.  Big rock hooks, while still retaining everything important about the original.

As for that guitar crunch?  Sean Kelly says “Can’t beat a Les Paul and a Marshall!  (Actually the Headrush Plexi amp simulator.)”  There you have it, players!

I wholeheartedly endorse Trapper’s “Illégal” and “Bye bye mon cowboy” for your patio this summer.  I knew this was going to be good, but I didn’t expect to like “Bye bye mon cowboy” as much as I do.  They rocked it up, put it in my ballpark, and I’m pumping my fists to Mitsou!  Grab ’em on iTunes today, and cross your fingers and hope Trapper have more music coming in the future.

5/5 stars