Don’t we all just miss the days when a major artist would just casually toss out a new EP between albums like this? Following the Surfing With the Alien tour, Joe released a brand new song called “The Crush of Love” with three recent live tracks. It went gold and hit the top 50 on Billboard. You didn’t have to worry about pre-ordering it, and there was no “late tax” if you missed buying it right away. That’s the way an EP by a major artist should be.
“The Crush of Love” is a magnificent track, with a overarching wah-wah hook that makes up the body of the song. The rhythm section is Stu Hamm and Jonathan Mover on all tracks. Hamm’s chunky bass is like that moment when you hit a big chunk of fudge in the middle of your ice cream. Mover is the punctuation, while Joe indulges his melodic side with some wonderful lead. In a Satriani composition, the lead guitar often takes the place of where the singer would normally deliver the hooks. That’s “The Crush of Love” in a nutshell. It’s more like Surfing material, rather than the Flying In A Blue Dream sound that Joe would explore 18 months later.
Onto the live tracks, all recorded by the King Biscuit Flower Hour in San Diego, June 11 1988.
“Ice Nine” from Surfing begins with Joe introducing his band, a symbol of their importance. Then humbly he adds, “Thank you all for coming. My name’s Joe.” Onto the thumping “Ice Nine”, which Stu Hamm turns into a bass showcase for impressive fingerwork without overplaying. Mover perfectly complements him, nailing the moments the drums need to add some explosions, without being too showy. Meanwhile, Satriani’s causing explosions of his own, but it always comes back to song’s main melody. Yes, Joe plays the crap out of this song, but it is indeed a song.
Joe takes us back to his debut album Not Of This Earth (which was reissued in 1988 with similar cover art to Dreaming #11) for the last two tracks. The lengthy “Memories” opens with a guitar exploration, but quickly turns into a catchy little running guitar melody. It’s an aggressive number and one of Joe’s more challenging to the uninitiated. As always, Hamm’s playing his mindblowing and catchy.
Finally, “Hordes of Locusts” has a slower grinding groove that ends the EP on an ominous musical note. Mover and Hamm largely stick to the groove while Joe shreds and strafes.
At over 23 minutes of exclusive music, this EP was well worth the value. No wonder it went gold.
Collecting Arkells odds & ends on physical formats is an expensive prospect. This cool 10″ EP features the Hamilton band, along with Nova Scotia’s Joel Plaskett and Toronto’s Zaki Ibrahim. The three artists cover Canadian songs on this EP, from artists both famed and obscure. It is a beautiful transparent blue EP, with a basic cover design. The names of the featured artists are on the front, with the names of the artsists covered on the back. The tracklist and credits are inside, on a coloured insert. More on that in a minute.
Here is a breakdown of the tracks.
ARKELLS – “I’m Not Afraid”
Mississauga’s Owen Pallett has a career going back over two decades, previously under the name Final Fantasy. They play violin and other instruments. Here’ the Arkells cover of a tune called “I’m Not Afraid”, a powerful tune taking full advantage of their instrumental prowess. Augmented by a sax section, the song opens with a synthesizer drone, and then a pulsing bassline over it. It starts off tense and sparse, and takes a little while to launch as the arrangement slowly builds. It explodes 90 seconds in, with singer Max Kerman breaking into a falsetto on the chorus. The sax-soaked tune really flies at this point, propelled by drummer Tim Oxford, the engine of the Arkells. The best word to describe this song is simple – it really cooks.
JOEL PLASKETT – “Bittersweet Memories”
Calgary’s Leslie Feist is better known on the world stage simply as Feist. Joel Plaskett chose “Bittersweet Memories” to cover. Plaskett plays everything but the Rhodes keys (by Erin Costelo). Like Kerman before, he breaks into falsetto at times, but this gentle ballad has a steady beat and a vintage 70s easy listening vibe. It’s an excellent song, with lyrics that paint a picture. Here’s the main thing: Feist really knows how to write a song, and Joel’s no slouch on everything he plays!
ZAKI IBRAHIM – “Show Me the Place”
The final artist to get the cover treatment is the legendary Leonard Cohen. Zaki Ibrahim chose a song of recent vintage, “Show Me the Place” from 2012’s Old Ideas. There’s a very low-key and soulful arrangement featuring piano, synth, drum programs and cello. Though all of this forms a cloudy-yet-vivid atmosphere, it is Ibrahim’s vocals that really make it shine. Her layered vocals on the chorus sound are stirring and foreboding. It’s an incredible vocal performance in totality, featuring both restraint and expression. This is easily an EP highlight.
Here’s the amusing thing about this EP. There is obvious care put into both the music and the detailed sleeve notes, but they got the track listing wrong. They switched the Arkells and Plaskett tracks. In reality, Arkells are on side A, and Plaskett and Ibrahim are on side B. The sleeve notes are repeated on both sides of the insert, French and English, and both are wrong. It makes sense for the Arkells track to occupy an entire side by itself, since it is the longest at 5:19. Funny how these mistakes get made. The actual label on the record is correct.
A very enjoyable EP, with tracks that should be cherished by fans of all three artists.
HURRICANE – Take What You Want (1985 Enigma EP, 1989 reissue with bonus tracks)
Hurricane attracted my attention initially because I was a Quiet Riot fan. I considered Hurricane to be a “brother” band to Quiet Riot. Bassist Tony Cavazo’s brother Carlos was in Quiet Riot. Guitarist Robert Sarzo also had a brother, in Rudy. I loved that Carlos played bass, and Robert played guitar. I just knew that they chose those instruments so they could have jammed with their brothers, on guitar and bass respectively.
Perhaps Hurricane are best known as a band that launched its members into higher orbits. Robert Sarzo has been a member of Geoff Tate’s Queensryche. Drummer Jay Schellen is in Yes. Singer Kelly Hansen is with Foreigner. Big names!
Their debut EP was not a bad start. It boasted one single/video that impressed me as a kid, but we’ll get there. The original EP opened with “Take Me In Your Arms”, a tough little rock crooner with a great chorus. Right from the get-go, it’s the singer that impresses. The production buried him a bit too far back in the mix. It may be a case of “too many cooks”, as Kevin Beamish, Mike Clink and Hurricane all get co-production credits, with Bob Ezrin in an executive role! The swampy backing vocals don’t really help, but fortunately Hansen was more than capable of driving a chorus home. It was also obvious that Jay Schellen was going to go places. His drumming here is far from simplistic, standard rock cliches.
The second track gives Tony and Jay a chance to jam a bit before Robert comes in with some squealing guitar. “The Girls Are Out Tonight” is not especially remarkable, but like the preceding song, it has a great little chorus to go with some pretty poor lyrics. “Laughin’ and talkin’ about the boys, with whom you want to be seen.” You don’t see the word “whom” in rock lyrics very often, I’ll concede. The MVPs on this track are Tony Cavazo with a rollicking bassline, and Robert Sarzo with some great 80s excess on guitar.
The title track “Take What You Want” goes third, with an ominous little riff to open it. There’s a vibe here somewhere between Journey and Kiss. Hansen impresses thoroughly with those pipes! The mood of the song isn’t consistent however, going for a more cliched rock vibe on the verses, while the chorus just smokes. Almost a great song, but not quite.
Hurricane’s eponymous track was the single/video back in the day, and immediately impressed with the riff. Traditional metal with a hint of exotic, “Hurricane” was my favourite song for two weeks straight. “You’re like a hurricane comin’, you don’t forgive!” Get pumped up and rock this tune on repeat. It’s great.
“It’s Only Heaven” features Robert Sarzo and Tony Cavazo making really cool, atmospheric sounds with their instruments. Then Schellen comes in with a classic drum beat, followed by Kelly Hansen. This ballad could have been a Scorpions song, perhaps. Vocally it’s very different from the Scorps, but Klaus can sing anything he wants. Though slow, this ballad could have gone down in history like similar songs by Dokken…except for a really bad key change almost six minutes into the song. Otherwise, it’s pretty epic and spectacular. Somebody should have chopped the last minute and a half of it though.
Back to the hard rockin’, “Hot and Heavy” was the closing song on the original EP. It gets the job done. It’s fast, rippin’ with shout along hooks, and ready to tear it down. Robert Sarzo illuminates the sky with guitar pyrotechnics. Good little tune. Nothing remarkable of course, but adequate for the task. The whole EP is above average, because of the skill of the players and some occasional production goodness. It’s just a nose above the rest of the bands that didn’t quite have the same level of musicianship.
Old CD copies came with a bonus track, “La Luna”, a beautiful classical guitar piece by Sarzo. There is some really clever backwards guitar mixed in with the forwards. It’s almost like next level Randy Rhoads. The entire band got credited for writing, which means the band had an agreement to split writing credits.
This CD reissue has three bonus tracks, all from the next album Over the Edge. The first is a single version of “Over the Edge” itself. This hard rocker opens and closes with cool acoustic guitars, which caught my ear back in the day. I loved this tune. The production is still a bit wanting, but you can hear the talent shine through. Schellen’s got a great groove going, and Kelly was so underappreciated as a singer back in the day.
“I’m On To You” was another great single from that album. This is just an edit version. This “super stormin’ hook edit” opens straight away with the chorus, which may or may not be to your taste. “Na na na na na na, I’m on to you!” croons Kelly Hansen. You’ll love it or hate it. Finally, the CD ends with “Baby Snakes” (not a Zappa cover)…and finally it’s an instrumental version, without the phone call stuff! That part of the song was amusing for a few minutes, but hindered re-plays. This instrumental version remedies that!
Hurricane could have gone further than they did. Unfortunately for them, Robert Sarzo departed after Over the Edge, replaced by a guy named Doug Aldridge that you might know from some other bands. They started using outside writers, and that’s rarely a good sign. They have since reunited, but never with this original lineup again. An album and an EP was all we got. At least they were both decent.
3/5 stars for the original EP 3.5/5 stars with bonus tracks
QUEEN – “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions” Ruined By Rick Rubin EP (1991 Hollywood Basic)
Mercifully, it’s short. But did they know they were making a piece of shit? “Ruined by Rick Rubin”. “Mix Engineer Under Protest: Brendan O’Brien”. “Engineering and Additional Bad Ideas: Jason Corsano”. Those are the actual credits. They had to know these remixes were awful. Connecting the dots, this remix EP must have been the brainchild of Hollywood records.
Rubin claims that “We Will Rock You” was a perfect record already, so he thought “I can’t improve upon it, I may as well throw the whole kitchen sink at it,” more or less. This was a single that went along with the 1991 reissue of News of the World, which included the first remix here as a bonus track. Not much of a bonus, really!
“We Will Rock You” begins with the sound of a scratchy record, then the handclaps, before everything goes bonkers. A droning sound is accompanied by drum loops. This goes on for a while, with the original track playing underneath, guitar solo and all. Then it explodes with additional drums by the Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith (credited here for “bombastic skin attack”. Flea is on additional bass (credited as “supercharged bass from hell”). Records scratch, people shout “yeah” (or “blah” or something), until it is mercifully all over after an agonizing five minutes. One of the worst remixes in music history.
It gets worse. An instrumental remix follows. This is just the loops and scratches, and whatever samples thrown in. There are things that sound like horns, and more of that droning sound.
The next track ruined by remixes is “We Are the Champions”. This version is blasphemous. A rapper chants, “Aint it funky!” between Freddie’s lines. The pointless loops and additional bullshit are present and accounted for. The choruses are relatively intact, but forget about the verses. Did “We Are the Champions” need drum loops and reggae dubbed in? Unlistenable.
Back to “We Will Rock You” with the “Big Beat A Capella”. This means the vocal track from the song, without the handclaps, but stupid drums (and even steel drums) looped over. Steel drums on “We Will Rock You”.
Finally, there is the “Zulu Scratch A Capella” remix of “We Will Rock You” and I don’t even wanna bother. It’s mostly just the vocal track with minor manipulations and a few scratches. The only good thing about it is its brevity.
This remix EP is for collectors only. If you’re a Queen completist, or a Red Hot Chili Peppers diehard who has to have every note that Flea farted out, go for it. Everyone involved should be embarrassed about this flaming turd, and judging by the credits, I think they are.
CINDERELLA – Live Train to Heartbreak Station (1991 Mercury Japan EP)
Japan sure loves the rock! That’s one reason they get such cool exclusives. (There are other reasons too, involving incentive to purchase domestic product rather than the less expensive US imports.) Live Train To Heartbreak Station, recorded in Little Rock Arkansas, is one such exclusive. A six song EP released in 1991, this was issued to support the Heartbreak Station tour. I was fortunate enough to witness a show on the Canadian leg of that tour, which suffered from poor ticket sales, an early harbinger of the grunge to come….
Having seen it live, this sounds purely authentic. I’m sure there are overdubs, 90% of live albums do have overdubs. However they are hard to definitively detect. Tom Keifer’s patented screech is right there, in your face, still in its glory days. The band is solid, augmented by organ and keys in the background. You can also hear the two female backing vocalists that the band were using at the time.
This EP consists of six tracks, two from each of the band’s three albums in existance at the time. All six songs were singles, although not all were hits. Even though it was not a hit, I think it’s safe to say that “The More Things Change” belongs on an EP like this It’s a great song in the opening slot. They also sequence the two ballads (“Don’t Know What You Got” and “Heartbreak Station”) right in the middle of the EP, side by side. I like that idea, get ’em out of the way. I think that was a smart move, albeit the girly audience screams can get old pretty fast. But man, the harmonies on “Heartbreak Station” are so sweet. I don’t care if the girlies loved it, that’s just a great song. Synth replaces John Paul Jones’ string section; a fair compromise for the live setting.
After the two ballads, the band cranked out their two best known rockers: “Shake Me” and “Gypsy Road”. Man, this takes me right back to that summer of 1988. I can remember a time when I thought “Gypsy Road” was the best thing since sliced bread. And you know what? It still ain’t bad!
This is still one of the best, if not the best, Cinderella live packages on the market due to the vocal problems that Keifer would experience later on. It’s a shame it’s just an EP, but context is important. This was just a taster, a sampler. Don’t forget Slaughter and Ozzy both released live EPs at the same time – it was the thing to do, I guess.
Slaughter were hot on the heels of their self-titled debut with a quickie live EP. They were on the road so long, they still touring while the EP came and went on the front racks of the record stores! The band were on fire in 1990 and 91, and Stick It Live was necessary to satisfy demand for more Slaughter. However…
I absolutely hate listening to a live album when you can hear two or three tracks simultaneously of the lead singer. Here, you can hear several Mark Slaughters singing together at once. Come on, Slaughter. We’re not stupid. And the thing is, from seeing them live opening for Cinderella, I know they don’t need the overdubs. The review that I wrote for my school paper at the time said, “Mark Slaughter has proved that his high-pitched wail is not studio trickery.” Well, you can’t tell that by this live EP!
Take the opening track, “Burning Bridges”. At several points you can hear several Marks singing at once. Why was this done? Did the live recordings suck? Was it because the record company forced it? Or because it was the fashion at the time? I dunno. A live album (or EP) is an historical document, so too many bands feel they have to make them “perfect”. When in reality, perfect should have been as-is. Documentary style. My favourite live albums are often bootleg quality.
“Eye To Eye” follows “Burning Bridges”, opening with some stupid Crue-esque spoken word bit about an “ancient book of wisdom” and other unrelated nonsense. It’s a shame because “Eye To Eye” was one of their best songs. Once the song gets going, it’s fine, but you can still hear two or three Marks on the pre-chorus. From there it’s into rote versions of the two big singles, “Fly to the Angels” and “Up All Night”. The set ends with a high octane “Loaded Gun”, their album closer as well. One issue to the overall listening experience is that the songs fade in and out, which may or may not be to your taste.
One fascinating note: Mark goes out of his way to tell the audience that “Fly to the Angels” was not about suicide because “it sucks”! Judas Priest were fighting for the musical lives in their infamous “suicide trial”, and Ozzy Osbourne was dealing with similar accusations of promoting suicide to the young and vulnerable. An interesting artefact of 1990-91.
2/5 stars. A pretty fine live set otherwise spoiled by the dreaded studio trickery.
This little EP, exclusive to Japan, is almost like a miniature “greatest hits” for Extreme. Of the six songs, five were singles. You might say “It’s not a greatest hits if it doesn’t have ‘More Than Words’ on it, and that would be a valid point, but that breakthrough ballad hadn’t been released as a single yet in November 1990.
Opening with the current single “Get the Funk Out”, we are off to a good start. This track works most excellently as an opener. That bass rolls in, before the guitar riff starts to rip. Once the horns kick in, your face is thoroughly melted. This EP focuses on fun. There’s nothing here that’s a drag.
An edit version of “Decadence Dance” is unblunted. It’s mostly just the intro stuff that’s missing anyway, and that belonged on the concept album from which it came. The bonus here is you get Paul Geary’s cymbal count-in instead, which you can’t hear on the Pornograffitti album. So dance to the beat of the decadent drummer, and get rocked. This is one of Extreme’s best bangers, a full-on Van Halen romp with hooks and flash…as you like it.
Back to the self-titled 1988 debut album for the next three tracks. A remix of “Mutha (Don’t Wanna Go to School Today)” may have more bass, edge and clarity. It’s not a radical remix. Nuno’s guitar fills jump out nicely. The first Extreme album was a mixed bag of material, with none of it reaching the upper echelons like the second record. That said, “Mutha” was probably the best track of the bunch, and the most like what came later.
“Little Girls” only loses about 20 seconds, so you’re fine with this version. Again, it’s the opening missing. This song is notable for some remarkable harmonica playing by Rapheal May. Really impressive stuff here, just as superb as Nuno’s guitar work. The lyrics, however, can’t be saved. They were never good, even by 1988 standards. “Incestual blood is thicker than water,” has to be the worst words that Gary Cherone has ever penned to paper. Roll up your windows if you intend to sing along to this song. Shame the band is so hot.
The album version of “Kid Ego” is here unaltered, it’s just not that interesting of a song. The groove plods along in a lazy, 1980s way that every single band was doing. It sounds like every band had their metronome set to the same time.
The B-side “Nice Place to Visit” has been released in a number of places, such as the “More Than Words” single in 1991, but first it was the B-side to “Little Girls”. As an outtake from the so-so first album, this song is also so-so.
The final track, and the only one exclusive to this CD, is a message from Extreme! These messages from band members were fairly common on Japanese EPs and singles by Western bands. It is geared specifically for the Japanese fans, and it’s adorable hearing their deep Boston accents. This message is fairly light. Nuno talks about their goals as a band, and Gary assures the fans that they will see them real soon. Apparently, the Japanese fans also sent the neatest, tidiest mail.
Good EP for its time. There’s even a sticker inside.
GUNS N’ ROSES – Hard Skool (2022 Geffen 7″ Nightrain club clear vinyl EP)
Back in February, Guns N’ Roses released the Hard Skool EP (or single, or whatever!), containing the first two new Guns songs since 2008’s Chinese Democracy. With five tracks total (two studio, three live) over three separate formats (CD, cassette, 7″), it was already a pretty good listen. Axl’s voice has adapted to singing these demanding songs, 35 years after. But there was always the promise of more in June 2022, and now it has come.
Members of the Guns N’ Roses Nightrain club received a brand new Hard Skool release on clear vinyl, with one exclusive live track added. The cover art colour has been changed from red to dark charcoal grey, and a “Nightrain Limited-Edition Clear” notation has been added to the front. This wasn’t cheap, costing $60 Canadian ($45 US) dollars to join. There are other perks but really, the truth of the matter is I paid $60 for one song.
They had better not reissue this track!
The new exclusive song is “Shadow Of Your Love”, a recent live version recorded with Axl, Slash, Duff, Dizzy Reed, Richard Fortus, Frank Ferrer, and Melissa Reese. If you cast your minds back to the recent Appetite For Destruction super deluxe edition, “Shadow Of Your Love” was released as a single and it got a bit of airplay. Live with the new version of the band, it does recapture that Appetite vibe and let’s face it, the song was possibly superior to a couple tunes that did make the final album. You can hear Melissa on backing vocals, a touch that isn’t on early live versions of the song. That backing vocal part is present on the studio version from the third disc on the Appetite box, but not the others included. It’s cool that they’ve brought it back. This version is just as fast as the old ones too. It’s awesome to hear Frank Ferrer playing the drum part originally recorded by Steven Adler. As for Axl, he adapts. This is one of the most high and raspy of the original Guns repertoire. Axl delivers it smooth without the rasp and still manages to get his voice way, way up there. Say what you want about Axl Rose, he’s sounding better than many of his contemporaries. Of course the real treat is just hearing Slash wail on it, as he should.
As for the other songs on the single; we’ve discussed them before so we won’t spend much more time on them. “Hard Skool” is a Chinese Democracy outtake that has been reworked with Slash and Duff McKagan. The duo have writing credits on “Hard Skool” along with Axl Rose and former members Robin Finck, Josh Freese, Tommy Stinson and Paul “Huge” Tobias. Formerly known as “Jackie Chan”, this song comes closest to capturing the classic Guns vibe – think Illusions era GN’R. Slash imbues the riff with his trademark snakelike style, and Axl is in full-scream mode on the powerful chorus. The cowbell brings us back to the 80s a bit, but the experimental solo section is more modern. The other new/old song “ABSUЯD” is much more Chi-Dem, and more divisize. Formerly known as “Silkworms”, Guns started playing “ABSUЯD” live after a 20 year absence last year as a surprise. Axl’s voice is pretty strange here, sounding a bit muppet-ish. (The screaming portion sounds like tape.) This live track will take some getting used to. It’s not that Axl’s voice is bad just…different than what you’re used to.
Both vinyl releases came with a sticker. This fan club edition also comes with a Nightrain 2022 pin. The pin comes packaged in a little mini-folder. It is made of metal and heavy for a pin. Made for a jacket, not a shirt. For a higher tier, you could sign up for four pins and a hoodie. But I really only wanted to shell out for the exclusive track.
You can’t blame Axl for wanting to get some of these old songs out since he laboured for years over them. It’s fitting that only now with Slash and Duff back in the band, the songs are “finished”. Keep the releases coming guys. It doesn’t have to be an album. It just has to be Guns.
4/5 stars
All cautions made Every chance was given No effort spared to save what we had All in good faith I would not hesitate To extend myself and lend you my hand
But you had to play it cool, had to do it your way Had to be a fool, had to throw it all away Too hard school and you thought you were here to stay If that were true, it wouldn’t matter anyway
As tempers fade And lies forgiven No cause embraced could break what we had In its place A storm is lifting I would’ve thought you could be more of a man
But you had to play it cool, had to do it your way Had to be a fool, had to throw it all away Too hard school and you thought you were here to stay If that were true, it wouldn’t matter anyway
But you had to play it cool, had to do it your way Had to be a fool, had to throw it all away Too hard school and you thought you were here to stay If that were true, it wouldn’t matter anyway
You had to play it cool, had to do it your way Had to be a fool, had to throw it all away Too hard school and you thought you were here to stay If that were true, it wouldn’t matter anyway
You had to play it cool, had to do it your way Had to be a fool, had to throw it all away Too hard school and you thought you were here to stay If that were true, it wouldn’t matter anyway
I’ve only helped crowdfund two things in my life. I’m happy to say I picked a winning horse in both cases, the second being Jacob Moon’s new CD called Under A Setting Sun.
Although Moon is certainly a stunningly good musician, and his voice could be described as “angelic”, it’s his songwriting that really sets him apart. Each song on the EP has a different flavour. That being the case, they all share a certain light, an uplifting feeling that just makes you feel better after a listen.
The opening track “Live A Little” feels like a morning sunrise, with gently picked acoustics ringing clear, and a hint of slide shining from the shadows. “Today we’re going to leave all those cares behind, and live a little” sings Moon, asking us to look at the stars above. The message here is simple but necessary. A brilliant song with a bright glow that will sound great in just about any setting. It’ll go great on the porch this summer.
The familiar crunch of an electric guitar is joined by the moan of organ on “Tennessee”, a brilliant slow ride. It has a vaguely southern feel especially when the slide guitar joins in. “And the road has got the best of me, I thought I could be free yeah, like the winds in Tennessee,” sings Jacob as a soulful backing chorus joins in. This one will sound great in the car on a country drive, guaranteed.
A unique acoustic song called “Miles To Go” has a gentle, breezy vibe. A terrific song; you could imagine Jon Bon Jovi clenching his fists in jealousy that he didn’t write it. It sounds in the pocket of mid-90s Bon Jovi when they weren’t afraid of getting a little more laid back on These Days. The track sounds more lush as it goes, building to a nice resolution at the end.
If you’ve got the guts to call a tune the “Song That Won’t Leave You Alone”, it had better be catchy! It’s actually about the creative process, but the title demands an actual song that won’t leave you alone. The lyrics are fascinating but the chorus is really fantastic. Great guitar work on this one as well, an absolute gem of a song.
“A Little More Time” is a quiet ballad, but backed with a strong drum beat. The chorus is perfect. Once again, a certain Mr. Jovi might be gnashing his teeth that he didn’t come up with this one, but that’s just pure speculation. He couldn’t sing it like Moon does anyway.
The title track ends the album with a string-coated song that brings the vibe of the album full circle. If “Live A Little” sounded like morning, then “Under A Setting Sun” brings the day to a close. Whether that’s intentional or not, that’s one interpretation if you like. Regardless, “Under A Setting Sun” wears an understated strength on its sleeve, based on the rhythm of the acoustic guitar. The strings raise it to the clouds, dreamy and powerful.
2022 has been a year for strong releases already. Add the name Jacob Moon to your list of must-hears.
The first new physical music from Guns N’ Roses since 2008’s Chinese Democracy has finally arrived in the form of an EP! Good enough; we’ll take it. Beggars (and hangers-on) cannot be choosers. Considering how scarce new Guns music has been since the early 90s, the new Hard Skool EP almost feels like manna from the gods.
To the disappointment of some, the two new songs are slightly old: Chinese Democracy outtakes that have been reworked with Slash and Duff McKagan. The duo have writing credits on “Hard Skool” along with Axl Rose and former members Robin Finck, Josh Freese, Tommy Stinson and Paul “Huge” Tobias. Formerly known as “Jackie Chan”, this song comes closest to capturing the classic Guns vibe – think Illusions era GN’R. Slash imbues the riff with his trademark snakelike style, and Axl is in full-scream mode on the powerful chorus. The cowbell brings us back to the 80s a bit, but the experimental solo section is more modern.
The other new/old song “ABSUЯD” is much more Chi-Dem, and more divisize. Formerly known as “Silkworms”, it was largely enjoyed by those who knew it from live bootlegs but thought it should have been on the album. The keyboard intro has been axed, the riff emphasized and the lyrics slightly modified. The main hook “What can I do, with a bitch like you?” has been replaced with a refrain of “Absurd!” The words are otherwise just as angry. “Listen motherfuckers to the song that should be heard!” bellows Axl on the opening line. “Parasitic demons sucking acid through your heart!” I wonder who this was written about? Vocally, Axl’s in the faux accent he utilized on “Down on the Farm” and you’ll love it or hate it. Interestingly former keyboardist Chris Pitman, who was credited with songwriting on the original “Silkworms” version, no longer has a credit. It is now credited to Axl, Slash, Duff and Dizzy. Presumably the Pitman parts were chopped. At the time of its writing, Pitman said: “It ended up being this incredible track that sounded like Guns N’ Roses 10 or 15 years in the future. It was so far removed from our other songs that we had to put it in this other place. Concept-wise, it didn’t fit with Chinese Democracy. We hope we will have other songs that match that kind of futuristic sound. It’s a really exciting track because it morphs into this crazy sound, but it was out so much in the other direction that we have to let time catch up with it.” While that was true of “Silkworms”, the version known as “ABSUЯD” is more guitar-oriented.
The live songs commence with “Don’t Cry”. Slash and rhythm guitarist Richard Fortus sound great together on this, but Axl struggles when the singing gets high at the end. It’s a demanding song, and 1991 was a long time ago. “You’re Crazy” on the other hand is really good. Using the slower Lies arrangement, but played on electric, this version is like brand new. A real cool addition to your GN’R library.
The third live track is exclusive to the 7″ vinyl: “ABSUЯD”. Not only do we get new songs on this EP, but we already get one in a live version. Guns started playing “ABSUЯD” live in 2021 as a surprise before it was released on iTunes. Axl’s voice is pretty strange here, sounding a bit muppet-ish. (The screaming portion sounds like tape.) This live track will take some getting used to. It’s not that Axl’s voice is bad just…different than what you’re used to.
The 7″ vinyl came with a sticker while the cassette and CD versions come with no extras. The CD is packed in a slipcase, and the cassette in a cassingle cardboard sleeve. This got crushed a bit in the mail; a jewel case would have been better.
The cover artwork includes an interesting visual clue. On a school locker door, the classic Guns N’ Roses logo is stickered overtop a graffiti style logo reminiscent of Chinese Democracy. Almost a metaphor for what these new songs are.
It’s encouraging that Guns N’ Roses have finally released something new, even if the songs are just reworked tunes from 20+ years ago. Perhaps they’re clearing the decks before working on truly new material. It’s all but certain that we will see more, and hopefully a longer release next time. While some moments on the live tunes are shaky, and the new tunes were not as warmly received by some, the Hard Skool EP is wonderful to hold in hand. New physical music from GN’R! About time.
4/5 stars
All cautions made Every chance was given No effort spared to save what we had All in good faith I would not hesitate To extend myself and lend you my hand
But you had to play it cool, had to do it your way Had to be a fool, had to throw it all away Too hard school and you thought you were here to stay If that were true, it wouldn’t matter anyway
As tempers fade And lies forgiven No cause embraced could break what we had In its place A storm is lifting I would’ve thought you could be more of a man
But you had to play it cool, had to do it your way Had to be a fool, had to throw it all away Too hard school and you thought you were here to stay If that were true, it wouldn’t matter anyway
But you had to play it cool, had to do it your way Had to be a fool, had to throw it all away Too hard school and you thought you were here to stay If that were true, it wouldn’t matter anyway
You had to play it cool, had to do it your way Had to be a fool, had to throw it all away Too hard school and you thought you were here to stay If that were true, it wouldn’t matter anyway
You had to play it cool, had to do it your way Had to be a fool, had to throw it all away Too hard school and you thought you were here to stay If that were true, it wouldn’t matter anyway
JOE SATRIANI – Dreaming #11 (1988 Relativity EP)
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