hard rock

REVIEW: The Forrest Williams Democracy – “In Service of the Greater Good” (2022 single)

THE FORREST WILLIAMS DEMOCRACY – “In Service of the Greater Good” (2022 single)

Anybody who ever dug Big Wreck (and there are lots of you) should be checking out The Forrest Williams Democracy. Williams was the drummer on the first two essential Wreck albums with the original lineup. After the band dissolved in 2002, Williams settled down into a family life. Rock and roll always beckons again, and in this case it came in the form of musician Scott Maybee. Together with original Big Wreck producer Matt DeMatteo, the new song “In Service of the Greater Good” was released twenty years after the original Big Wreck ended. So whatsit sound like?

The Forrest Williams Democracy has an uncanny knack for a Soundgarden aura, circa Badmotorfinger and Superunknown. A lot of that has to do with the vocals (shared between Maybee and DeMatteo). Powerful with range, but also subtlety. The riffs (and there are a few!) are heavy. And as for the drums? If you listen to this and the first Big Wreck, you can hear that it’s the same guy. The style, and the thump, remains. “In Service of the Greater Good” is a complex, multi-faceted heavy rocker, but also with the acoustics and added textures that you would hope for. Sabbath and Zeppelin are named as influences and you can hear both seeping through the speakers. You can sense the Bonham influence on Williams, but the Zeppelin also comes out clearly in acoustic sections. Meanwhile the lead guitar work would make Iommi smile.

“In Service of the Greater Good” is more than just the influences. There’s a lot going on here — some serious musical ambition. There was clearly no intent to just write some rock song for the summer. This is impressive stuff. The vocals are outstanding. The musically-inclined will enjoy all the changes and tempos, while the rest of us can just pump our fists when the heavy parts come! Great tune that has the feeling of an album side-ending closer epic. We hope an album will follow.

In the meantime, you can check out the Forrest Williams Democracy on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon and Bandcamp. They also have shirts for sale. Hope more is coming.

4/5 stars

REVIEW: ZZ Top – Raw – ‘That Little Ol’ Band From Texas’ Original Soundtrack (2022)

ZZ TOP – Raw – ‘That Little Ol’ Band From Texas’ Original Soundtrack (2022 BMG)

In 2019, ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill was still alive, and filmmaker Sam Dunn brought us the critically acclaimed documentary That Little Ol’ Band from Texas. The film was cherished for a number of reasons, not least of which was the music, old and new. A big part of the film was seeing the modern-day ZZ Top jamming away on their classics. And it was clear they lost nothing.

With Dusty gone, it’s appropriate to release his final recordings as the soundtrack to the documentary. As the title boldly states, this is ZZ Top raw, playing live in the studio, as only they could. 12 tracks; nothing beyond Eliminator. Every song a classic.

Going back to the first album, “Brown Sugar” opens with some amp hiss and seriously bluesly licks from Billy Gibbons. Raw yes, but also crisp and clear with plenty of bottom end. These are not simple re-recordings, nor are they vastly different re-imaginings. They are just 12 tracks of ZZ Top playing hard and heavy, backed with modern equipment and techniques. The groove flows right through the speakers like jelly. Sonically the tracks are heavier simply because of the modern equipment, though they are still…you guessed it…raw! Dusty’s bass on “Just Got Paid”…oh man. Track after track of familiar rock will hit your ears, satisfying your need for that dirty greasy blues that ZZ Top peddle in. Jamming solos, rolling bass and luscious blues licks await within.

As far as surprises go, there are not many, but it is fun to hear “Legs” done in this raw settling. The sequencers are there but back in the mix. It’s much more rocking. Interesting to hear no backing guitars when Billy is soloing. “Gimme All Your Lovin'” benefits similarly from the raw treatment. No sequencers here, just guitars, drums and bass. No loss either. A slow jam version of “Thunderbird” is another treat. Finally, it’s a blast to hear Frank Beard playing hard on the surf rock of “Tube Snake Boogie”.

From rockers, to blues rockers and just plain ol’ blues, this album contains a nice cross section of songs from 1971 to 1983. Arguably, the essential years. While not essential itself, ZZ Top Raw should make your purchase list. It’s an excellent set of recordings, of some of the best ZZ Top songs, with modern fidelity and of course, the last of Dusty Hill. You loved it when you saw ZZ Top jamming these tunes in the film. Now you can own the soundtrack. So get on it!

4/5 stars

Thanks to John T. Snow for kindly gifting this copy!

RE-REVIEW: Def Leppard – “C’Mon C’Mon”(2008 12” picture single)

Part Thirty-Five of the Def Leppard Review Series

Original Review: “C’Mon C’Mon” (2008 12″ picture single)

DEF LEPPARD – “C’Mon C’Mon” (2008 12″ Mercury picture single)

We haven’t reviewed many actual Def Leppard singles in this review series. Why? Because we reviewed the CD Collection box sets in detail instead, which do an excellent job of collecting all the albums and B-sides from specific eras. This picture disc for “C’Mon C’Mon” from Songs From the Sparkle Lounge is one single for which the B-side has yet to be issued in box set form.

The B-side in question is a live version of “Rocket” from an unknown place and time. What we do know is this: It’s not a pipsqueak edit version from a live album. This is a full-on 10 minute recording with all the extended bells and whistles.

Opening with the usual backwards vocals (“We’re fighting for the gods of war” in reverse), “Rocket” is a Rick Allen vehicle. It’s endurance. The drums are a main feature, but Screamin’ Joe Elliott doesn’t take a back seat to anyone. Still, by the 3:30 mark it’s the Rick Allen show. Soon he’s accompanied by Rick Savage on bass, before the guitar solos begin. Phil Collen goes first followed by Vivian Campbell, in a call & response series of licks. Together the two weave notes and squeals into a tapestry of cool, with Vivian going full metal into speed and tapping.

Around 7:50, Joe surprises the crowd by going into “Whole Lotta Love”. “You need coolin’, baby I ain’t foolin’,” with guitars that replicate what Jimmy Page might have done had he been on stage that night. Back into “Rocket” for the finale, the whole thing works from start to finish as if it wasn’t 10 minutes long but maybe half that. A valuable B-side for your collection, just spectacular stuff.

The A-side is hit or miss. “C’Mon C’Mon” was in the vein of that “Pour Some Sugar” sound, ultimately derived from Gary Glitter. It’s…well, to overuse a phrase, “it is what it is”. Def Leppard are always going to have this kind of song in their repertoire. It’s not bad, just nothing new. Performance-wise, Rick Allen is once again a champion. The guitars have a really sweet crunch. It’s a great sounding single, just an unnecessary direction to keep toiling away at.

3.5/5 stars

Next: Leppard goes country with…yes, we’re at that point now…with Taylor Swift.

36. CMT Crossroads (DVD with Taylor Swift)
37. B-Sides
38. Yeah! II
39. Yeah! Live
40. Mirror Ball – Live & More (Japanese import)
41. iTunes re-recordings

REVIEW: KISS – Off the Soundboard – Virginia Beach 2004 (2022)

– Off the Soundboard – Live in Virginia Beach (July 25, 2004 – 2022 Universal)

Some might question the logic of releasing a 2004 live release with the Stanley/Singer/Simmons/Thayer lineup in the official Kiss bootleg series. Necessary? We already have live material from this lineup, such as Kiss Rocks Vegas. Fans could be forgiven for skipping this, the second instalment of the Off the Soundboard series of releases. (It’s a little late now, but it would have been cool if Kiss numbered these releases!)

Opening with a sluggish sounding “Love Gun”, Paul Stanley is in good voice. The cracks were beginning to show but there is no comparison to the Paul of today. If you want vintage Paul, this is not the album for you. If you want Paul before things went to hell, this is just fine. Gene goes second with “Deuce”, also sounding a big sluggish. Eric Singer is busy on drums, which will be either to your taste, or not.

It’s Tommy Thayer who fails to thrill in the night. Something about his solo work here just falls short of lighting the spark. It’s one of those things that’s not quite right, on the quantum level. Your brain knows the solos, knows how they usually sound, and that’s with fire and a touch of reckless abandon. Say what you will about Tommy Thayer, but nobody uses the word “reckless” to describe his playing. Ace Frehley, on the other hand, had a song called “Reckless”. You see where we’re going here. It’s that touch of professionalism that these solos don’t need. Tommy is welcome on backing vocals, where he helps thicken things up with Eric, such as on “Lick It Up”.

There are a few tracks here that are played live less often, which is one reason to pick up the disc. “Makin’ Love”, “Tears Are Falling”, “Got to Choose”, “God Gave Rock and Roll to You” and “Unholy” are fun when you get ’em, though “Unholy” always sounds a bit awkward live (Thayer butchers the solo). One of the best of these tunes is “Got to Choose” which benefits from the backing vocals of the newer Kiss guys. Creepy as it may be, “Christine Sixteen” is always fun, but Gene doesn’t need to keep augmenting the song with things like “I like it!” And check out the sly Mott the Hoople melody in “God Gave Rock and Roll to You”!

We could all probably do without “I Love It Loud” at this point. “War Machine” can be tiring. As much as we love Eric Singer, he does overplay some songs. “Shout it Out Loud” has a few fills that just don’t need to be there. Yet somehow, “Psycho Circus” is refreshing and “King of the Night Time World” is never a bad thing.

There are two lengthy “jammers” on this album that make for good listenin’. “100,000 Years” and “She” both steam on with the familiar Kiss instrumental bits that you know and love. “Do you feel alriiiiiight?” screams Paul, and damn, he could still really sing. Vocally, Kiss were really good at this stage. Gene was kickin’ ass, Eric and Tommy were the solid backing, and Paul was still 90% there.

This lineup hadn’t been together long, and the members sound more comfortable in their roles today. You won’t be reaching for Virginia Beach 2004 often when you reach for a live Kiss album. It’s a good setlist for the most part though, and it’s good to have for that reason. The sonics are also pretty decent, though obviously short of live album standards. It’s an official bootleg, not Alive XIII. You can hear every flaw and mistake, and that’s a good thing. When you listen understanding that this is indeed 100% live, with Paul Stanley jumping around and his guitar banging erratically, then you realize, shit, Kiss are a pretty damn good live band! A lot of the set sounds like the billionth time they’ve played the songs…but they don’t sound bored doing it. There’s not a lot of that looseness, but plenty of excitement.

3.5/5 stars

RE-REVIEW: Def Leppard – Songs From the Sparkle Lounge (2008)

Part Thirty-Four of the Def Leppard Review Series

Original Review: Songs From the Sparkle Lounge (2008)

DEF LEPPARD – Songs From the Sparkle Lounge (CD Collection Volume 3 Disc 3) (Originally 2008, 2021 remaster)

Finally! Three misfires in a row (Euphoria, X, Yeah!) and Def Leppard finally had a new album that rocked and was worth listening to again. While imperfect, the badly-titled new album Songs From the Sparkle Lounge really felt like an actual effort this time. With the exception of one credit on one song, everything here was written by Def Leppard and only Def Leppard. And — hallelujah! — no ballads. What a refreshing turn of events. A lot of the album was written and recorded on tour. It seemed like Def Leppard were really listening to the fans who said “We’re tired of pop and ballads. Please, write us a rock record again like you used to.”

We mostly got it.

Of course, in the press Leppard exaggerated as they often did, comparing the album to High ‘N’ Dry, AC/DC, and Led Zeppelin. And so, the fans knew not to get their hopes up too high. The album rocked, but not like that. The standard version of Sparkle Lounge was a tight eleven tracks, just under 40 minutes. No bloat. But let’s get to the elephant in the room first.

When discussing this album, dissenters often point to track 2, the first single “Nine Lives” as the main offender. As a collaboration with Tim McGraw, it reeks of terrible offences committed by Bon Jovi earlier in the decade. In order to find new success, too many rock bands went to Nashville for fresh names and influences. Fortunately, Japanese fans were able to buy a version of the album including the song without Tim McGraw, and just Joe Elliott ripping the lead vocals. That is definitely a preferred experience. McGraw’s voice makes it sound…not like Def Leppard! The two worlds simply do not mesh. Fortunately “Nine Lives” is not a country song, but a hard rocker with a slight twang in the electric guitars. It’s actually a pretty good song, when you edit Tim out. So there’s that.

However, opening Songs From the Sparkle Lounge is a song you can only describe as “real” Def Leppard! Combining the loopy vibe of the Slang era with the riffiness of Pyromania, “Go” is out of the gates on the right note. It slams. Heavy, modern, guitar-heavy and hooky without pandering to trends. It merely combines some of Leppard’s best and heaviest ingredients in a modern way. The only critique would be the title. “Go” is a word that Leppard overuse. “Go”, “Let’s Go”, “Gotta Let It Go”, “Let It Go”…just too much “going” on!

After “Go”, you have to sit through the Tim McGraw song before we’re back to tunes with integrity. The glam rock “C’Mon C’Mon” was in the vein of that “Pour Some Sugar” sound, ultimately derived from Gary Glitter. It too was a single (to be discussed next time) and sits comfortably in the Hysteria-style box. Not exactly like AC/DC and Led Zeppelin as Joe claimed, but not a bad track if a bit too much like a sequel.

“Love” written by Rick Savage was an important tune and surprisingly the longest at 4:17. It’s the one that they called “not a ballad” and you can get where they were coming from. Yes there’s a soft acoustic intro but the song is bigger and more dramatic than the average ballad. A big heavy chunky section rises towards the end. The acoustic version on the Japanese release could fairly be pigeonholed as a ballad, but the standard album cut it more like Leppard meets Queen. Freddie and the boys seem to be the biggest influence on “Love”, especially vocally.

Phil Collen wrote “Tomorrow” which is one of the most pop of the tunes, sort of in an Adrenalize mold. The chorus is solid and there’s a nice guitar part to bite into. Not a highlight but not a throwaway. Just a good hard rock tune that sounds great in the car come chorus time.

Vivian Campbell contributed the low groove of “Cruise Control”, whose bassline is the main feature, rolling and churning beneath the song. Interesting tune with some truly great and adventurous guitar playing from Viv. Playing for feel and not speed. But the band reverts to their standard form again on the uptempo rocker “Hallucinate”. Though the hooks sound like you’ve heard ’em all before, they’re all welcome to return on this great track.

Another solid song, “Only the Good Die Young”, boasts some mellotron that always seems to recall the Beatles. Not a constituent part of the average Def Leppard rocker, but an enhancement that works well here. Joe ever references a “diamond in the sky” so it’s probably not coincidence. A good tune made better by stepping just slightly outside the box without destroying the box.

Joe’s “Bad Actress” is by far the hardest rocker on the album, going full speed ahead to a place that Leppard had not gone in many years. Pure heavy and reckless rock, pedal to the metal, just givin’ ‘er as much as there is in the gas tank. This, yes this, is what fans had been begging for! Something that really drives but still sounds like Def Leppard. Something that wouldn’t have sounded too out of place in the early years. Finally, we got “Bad Actress” out of them!

The penultimate track “Come Undone” slows it back down to a deliberate 90s pace. Decent album track, but might have been considered filler in an earlier age. Unfortunately, it’s just one of those easy to forget second-last album tracks.

Fortunately, Leppard saved the best track for last: “Gotta Let It Go”, which rocks so hard on the chorus that it might just rip your head off. This Vivian contribution opens with deceivingly soft drum programs before absolutely exploding on the epic chorus. It’s a brilliant slice of songwriting from the Irish rock wizard, and the way the lead and backing vocals overlap on the chorus is just the kind of thing Def Leppard do so exceptionally well. An absolute triumph that leaves a sweet taste in the mouth when the album is complete. This kind of closer invites repeat listens.

Sparkle Lounge ends as it began: rocking.

Fortunately for Def Leppard, a young American fan of both them and Tim McGraw was hitting brand new heights in her fresh solo career. At just 19 years old, she was born while Def Leppard were still the biggest rock band in the universe. So, leaning even further into country music, Def Leppard would gain a lot of attention from a new younger crowd thanks to their big fan Taylor Swift. It seemed a strange move for Leppard to make while they were just starting to rock again, but we’ll discuss the Swift collaboration in a future instalment.

Though Songs From the Sparkle Lounge does contain some fillers and some cuts that fail to stick in the memory, there are no outright “deletes” except arguably the McGraw track. It doesn’t even fit with the vibe of the album. The Leppard version should have been in the main album sequence, with the McGraw version as a bonus track and single in special markets. Guaranteed, this album would be better remembered if that was the case.

3.5/5 stars

35. “C’Mon C’Mon” (12″ picture disc)
36. CMT Crossroads (DVD with Taylor Swift)
37. B-Sides
38. Yeah! II
39. Yeah! Live
40. Mirror Ball – Live & More (Japanese import)
41. iTunes re-recordings

#998: Yeah…Nah!

Part Thirty-Three of the Def Leppard Review Series

There comes in a time in many, but not all, bands’ lives. Its a fan moment, not a band moment, but just as important. It’s the point in time when a fan starts losing interest. Every fan has their own reasons. I can chart the trajectory of my own Def Leppard love on a graph.

In grades 10 and 11, when Hysteria was at its peak, Def Leppard were my favourite band. I cut them some slack for the lack of anything truly new on Adrenalize, given what the band had endured to get there. Slang was the spiritual successor to Hysteria, returning to musical experimentation and dramatic change. But it didn’t catch on, so Leppard were forced to contrive a “return to roots” on Euphoria, which failed to resonate with me. The X debacle with all the boy-band pretensions was a right turnoff. Only on Sparkle Lounge did the trajectory start to return in the right direction.

But…it was not the same. A trust had been broken. The band that I had loved in highschool (when my previous favourite band, Kiss, made some dubious direction choices in the late 80s) had taken some serious detours over the years that left me unsure. As much as Kiss had let the quality slide themselves, I had a hard time forgiving Def Leppard over X. And I don’t think that feeling from the before-fore times ever really comes back.

The Taylor Swift thing was like a reminder. “Def Leppard are going to do things that you don’t like much.” Nothing against Taylor who has her own style of art. There is an entire demographic of fans that are not going to listen to a collaboration with Taylor Swift. Many of them are reading this now. Meanwhile, there are fans who have delighted to one degree or another in every twist and turn in the Def Leppard discography. And that’s fine too. There is no right or wrong. It’s only fair for you to know where the head of the reviewer is. This is your disclaimer.

Because of my love for this band, I’ll always give them a fair shot. I just won’t always care. And that’s the big difference. Def Leppard went from a band that I cared deeply about, to one that I was buying music from out of routine instead of passion. Similarly, with these reviews, they are being written out of diligence and not a place of deep commitment. It is becoming harder work, so beware!

Thanks to Holen for the inspiration

34. Songs From the Sparkle Lounge

REVIEW: Def Leppard – Yeah! Bonus CD With Backstage Interviews (2006)

Part Thirty-Two of the Def Leppard Review Series

DEF LEPPARD – Yeah! Bonus CD With Backstage Interviews (2006 Walmart exclusive)

Hard truth: A lot of the Yeah! bonus tracks were better than the album itself. Bonus tracks were issued to iTunes, Best Buy, Target, and Japan, but Walmart received an entire bonus CD. If you could only afford two versions, Walmart would have been the way to go. Sold separately, their bonus CD included both Japanese bonus tracks, three exclusive songs, and three exclusive backstage interview tracks. That means if you owned this CD, you didn’t have to track down the Japanese printing to get all the songs. You just had to buy three other different versions too!

The five songs on the Walmart set are as follows:

“American Girl” (Tom Petty)
“Search & Destroy” (The Stooges)
“Space Oddity” (David Bowie)
“Dear Friends” (Queen)
“Heartbeat” (Jobriath)

Because these tracks are included on a disc called Yeah! II in The CD Collection Vol. 3, we will review them individually (along with the other five bonus tracks) when we get there. For now we’ll just give you some spoilers. The Petty song is incredible, surprisingly so. “Dear Friends” features Rick Savage on vocals and all instruments, and is completely different from Queen’s original (in a good way). In fact all the songs tend to spotlight one or two members without the full band. When we get to that disc in The CD Collection Vol. 3 then we’ll spill all the beans.

The CD Collection does not include the interviews, which isn’t surprising. They remain exclusive to the Walmart CD. They are in the 2-3 minute range and total just 7:55 combined. Still, that’s better listening than 45 minutes of Lars Ulrich in the Metallica box set.

Backstage interview #1 is compiled from all five members, and concerns the 2005 tour, and Leppard’s longevity. It was Joe’s first tour as a non-smoker, though they didn’t get around as much as they would have liked.

Interview #2 is about the Yeah! album. Joe is credited with the idea by Phil, having wanted to do his version of Bowie’s Pin-Ups album. Coincidentally, someone at the record label thought it would be a good idea to do right at the same time that Joe felt the same way at the end of the X tour.

In interview #3, Joe discusses the reasoning for picking the songs. There were three rules: all songs had to be hits, British, and pre-date Leppard signing their record deal. Clearly, these rules applied to the core album only and not the bonus tracks! When it came down to the members agreeing on covers, things went much more smoothly than anyone expected.

With the very cool exclusive songs here alongside the interviews, this Walmart CD was a must! It’s less so today due to the songs now being reissued in box set form, but Leppard fans will certainly enjoy giving it a spin.

4/5 stars

33. Yeah…Nah! (Record Store Tales)

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

32. Yeah! Bonus CD With Backstage Interviews

REVIEW: Guns N’ Roses – Hard Skool (2022 Nightrain club clear 7″)

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

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

REVIEW: Rock Of Ages: The Definitive Collection (US 2005)

Part Thirty of the Def Leppard Review Series

DEF LEPPARD – Rock Of Ages: The Definitive Collection (2005 Universal)

The Def Leppard’s Best Of released in the UK in 2004, North America followed suit in 2005 with Rock Of Ages: The Definitive Collection. We’re not going to comment on that “definitive” claim, but this new compilation covered a bit of ground that the UK version did not. With ten years and three albums since 1995’s Vault, it was a logical time to put out an updated collection. With the musical Rock of Ages hitting the stage in Los Angeles, everything seemed to be lined up for Leppard.

Disc One is much the same as Best Of and Vault. Same tracks in the same order with some slight variation. The big difference here is that Disc One closes on something very special: The High N’ Dry instrumental scorcher “Switch 625”. It was a side closer on High N’ Dry and so fits the role of ending Disc One very well. It’s the heaviest song on the disc by a mile, and the only one that was not a single somewhere. A brilliant surprise especially to those who didn’t know Leppard’s heavy side. This version fades in from “Bringin’ On the Heartbreak” just like it did on album. Really, it’s a one-two combo.

Disc Two is a larger departure from that on Best Of. They both begin with “Rock Rock (Till You Drop)” and then diverge. Here, we carry on with a killer streak of early tracks from High N’ Dry and Pyromania. “Let It Go”, “High ‘N’ Dry (Saturday Night)”, “Too Late For Love”, all rifftastic tracks of Clarkian proportions. “Let It Go” isn’t on Best Of.

The key “bait” on these new greatest hits compilations was the inclusion of one new cover song. On Best Of, it was “Waterloo Sunset” by the Kinks. Here it is “No Matter What” by Badfinger, a truly poptastic inclusion that benefits from Leppard’s vocal prowess. According to Phil in the liner notes, the band started playing it live on the X tour and therefore decided to record it. With two great covers in the bag and on the shelves, we’d certainly expect the band’s forthcoming covers album to knock the socks off….

More great songs follow the Badfinger cover, beginning with the hit “Promises” from Euphoria which does deserve the spot. “Mirror Mirror (Look Into My Eyes)” (which wasn’t on Best Of) and “Another Hit and Run” sandwich the hit “Women” from Hysteria. It’s just a constant stream of awesome. “Slang” follows, which although a great song indeed, sounds out of place next to these riff rockers.

The excellent ballad “Stand Up (Kick Love Into Motion)” is a disc highlight. So is the early track “Rock Brigade”, a blazer from On Through the Night. “Now”, from X, could have been left off. It is however the only representation of the X album here. The superior “Long, Long Way to Go” was included on Best Of, but not here. Instead, we get a great epic track that was not on Best Of called “Paper Sun”. A universal favourite from Euphoria, it really deserved to be on a compilation of some kind. Then “Work It Out” from Slang is a modern sounding track that might not be heavy, but sure is worth uncountable listens over the years.

The closing trio of rockers are a delight. “Die Hard the Hunter”, “Wasted” and “Billy’s Got a Gun” are beloved Leppard non-singles that have been cherished by fandom for a long time. Particularly “Wasted”, likely the heaviest Leppard track of all time. It’s all riff! As for “Billy’s Got a Gun”, it gets the closing position that it should have had on Best Of. They got the running order right this time.

Similar to the UK Best Of, this compilation has ample photos and liner notes inside. The band track commentary remains, as does the opening essay. For overall listening, this is probably the better of the two.

3.5/5 stars

31. Yeah!

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