Fresh in today’s mail, it is the latest KISS Off the Soundboard CD, Asylum Tour 1985, in Texas!
“But Mike,” you query. “I thought that was a vinyl exclusive, and I thought it sold out too.”
True, it was a stupid coloured 3 LP set, exclusive to the KISS store, and now sold out except in bundles with a shirt.
The Japanese record company said いいえ and issued it on CD anyway. They did a smashing job of it! Some fans received a free sticker; I did not. Inside the cardboard gatefold sleeve was a mini KISS poster, and 2 CDs, each one within its own plastic sleeve within its own printed paper sleeve. The design for this album was a little different from the previous five in that this time there is a picture on the outer cover.
The CD sounds great, and it’s classic fastfastfast 80s Kiss with the unforgettable Eric Carr on drums. That’s why you only see CD 2 in this photo. CD 1 is in the deck! This could have been released officially in 1985.
On the weekend I had the pleasure of doing a show with D’Arcy Briggs from the YouTube channel @darcyska. The topic was the recently reviewed Sing the Sorrow by A.F.I., which D’Arcy recently picked up thrifting as well. With this happy coincidence, we sat down and reviewed the album. It turns out we mostly agreed when we split it down track by track.
Check out this fun review, and a lot of praise for an album you should get!
I don’t pretend to know about bands with whom I have only scratched the surface, so here are some basics on A.F.I. I always considered them to be a punk emo band. A.F.I. (A Fire Inside) are fronted by Davey Havok and have been around for almost 35 years now. In 2003, they were new to me. Working at the record store, some of the younger cooler employees put on A.F.I.’s new album Sing the Sorrow, and I immediately liked it. It had a lot of metal riffing, and I dug Davey’s vocals. I was an instant fan of the disc, and I played it regularly while it was charting in 2003. I still spin it today, and though I’m not a pierced up record store guy with eyeliner anymore, I still dig A.F.I.
Sing the Sorrow was the band’s first big mainstream album after several punk/horror oriented releases. One look at the back cover, and you know it’s going to sound amazing: Produced by Butch Vig and Jerry Finn. The front cover is striking, minimalist and classy. All told, Sing the Sorrow is dark, but with spotlights of bright illumination. Let’s give it a listen.
One thing immediately obvious is that A.F.I. like their grandiose song titles, and so the opening piece is called “Miseria Cantare- The Beginning”. Very Ghost today, no? This keyboard and industrial inflected piece begins with percussion and shouting: “Love your hate, your faith lost, you are now one of us.” And then comes Davey Havok, with soothing melodic and smooth vocals, delivering the melancholy hooks. It’s hard to call this a full song as it’s more an intro, but it’s Davey that reels you comfortably in.
“The Leaving Song, Part II” (again with the pompous song titles that I love so much) is the first real song. Based on a cool bunch of guitar notes and a couple catchy riffs, A.F.I. open not with a blitzkrieg but with a slow and determined dirge. The choruses are gang vocal heaven. This song acted a second single for the album, hitting #16 in the US. Only Davey Havok could make these words sound positive: “Break down, and cease all feeling, burn now, what once was breathing.” Somehow his voice gives hope.
Paces accelerate with one of the best tunes on the album: “Bleed Black”. This one should have been a single. In my ears, this album has nothing but singles, and “Bleed Black” is chief among them. “If you listen, listen, listen…listen close, beat by beat, you can hear when the heart stops, I saved the pieces when it broke, and ground them all to dust.” Yet it sounds like a celebration of defiance, not a dirge of defeat! The chorus is layered with alternative band/Davey vocals, and it’s like crowdsurfing on a cloud. Then, A.F.I. take out the acoustics and go full dirge, but back to the chorus again before it’s too late.
“Silver and Cold” was the third single, a dark and slow tune with industrial effects and subtle, quieter sections and bigger bombastic choruses. Mournful, but powerful too. Tempos bounce back on “Dancing Through Sunday”, fast through and through, with incredible hooks from Davey and the band singing backing vocals. Some cool and prominent bass work, some hammer-ons with the guitar, and we’re not far from familiar territory, but hold on – is that a guitar solo? Yes it is, a full metal guitar solo by Jade Puget, with tapping and fancy fretwork, in the middle of this punky album! And it’s the only solo too, one and done. Talk about using that space effectively!
“Girl’s Not Grey” was the big first single, and it’s all tension and hooks. “What follows has led me to this place, where I belong will all be erased.” Is doesn’t sound like a hook, but that’s the magic of Davey Havok. The guy turns a sentence like that into an anthem, because this song has anthemic qualities. It’s all good, and the drumming is exceptional during the quiet section in the middle. These guys just learned to cross genres in the best way, taking the things that work and using them sparingly and effectively. And man, can Davey deliver hooks.
Dark lonely bass opens “Death of Seasons”. Then, enter Davey, screaming as if in pain. The song then shoots off into a punk rock sprint, but still with a chorus that delivers melody and more hooks. The track ends with Davey declaring that “all of this hatred is fucking real,” before falling screaming into the background while mournful violins sing the last notes. Really haunting stuff.
Guitars fade into “The Great Disappointment”, layered and ringing a haunted chord. The bass indicates that there are still hooks ahead, so stick with it. This could be considered the first ballad on the album. A power ballad – power combined with pain. It’s bleak.
“Paper Airplanes (Makeshift Wings)” is another notably dramatic title, with a punky blast of a song behind it. This track allows you to climb back into the light. With Davey combining his shouting voice with the clean singing in the same lines, it’s a great fun track to headbang to for a while and forget the misery. Pay attention to the drums and percussion, as it’s not all simple bashing. This band, with Hunter Burgan on bass and Adam Carson on drums, can play!
One of the biggest songs in terms of memorable melody is “This Celluloid Dream”, which is a great deep cut and easily could have been a single. The tempo’s not too fast and Davey continues to deliver the goods vocally and melodically. Same with all the backing vocalists: they deliver. Everything sums together like mathematics. 1+2+3=hooks. Among the best songs on the album, and one that deserves some serious listens.
Remember way back when the album began, and we heard Part II of “The Leaving Song”? Now we finally get to Part I, as second last “track” on the CD. This quiet dirge begins with just some bare guitars and Davey singing mournfully. “Leaving” seems to be a recurring things on the album, as “This Celluloid Dream” also uses the word. Though sad, it’s a beautiful song. I suppose you could consider the outro guitars here to be a “solo”, but that would be pushing it.
The album really goes out in a dramatic fashion. The final track on the CD is a 15 minute bulk consisting of three actual pieces of music, two of them “hidden”. “…But Home is Nowhere” is something of a return to form, with the tense guitars hammering out a stuttering riff while Davey delivers the mournful hooks. “This is my life, this is eternal!” goes part of the anthemic chorus.
“The Spoken Word” is untitled in the CD booklet, but its lyrics are included. After a silent pause we are greeted by piano and a creepy child’s voice. This goes on a while, like an Alice Cooper interlude. Then we get to the final real song, “The Time Imperfect” which is bare guitar and vocals, much like “The Leaving Song” at first. Then the drums and bass come in to complete what we’ll call a ballad. There’s one final blast of heavy as we drift along towards the end, followed by creepy, atmospheric reversed guitars, into the dusk.
Sing the Sorrow could not have been more accurately titled. This album is an expression of pain, solitude, loss and also victory. The victory is in the survival of it, and turning it into art. Each chorus allows you to release pain. Beyond that, it is clear that A.F.I. created a sonic painting here. It is an album that takes one on a journey, and features no boundaries to its creative expression. Special credit must go to guitarist Jade Puget who refuses to play it simple, safe, or uninteresting, but never puts the hooks second.
Don’t try to do any math and figure why Rush 50 is out in 2025 instead of 2024. What matters is: Rush 50 is out. It is stunning, both sonically and visually. The box art by Hugh Syme fits right in that Rush mold, akin to Chronicles. That’s to say nothing of the hardcover book inside, which we will discuss later on. The design is excellent. In the back, the CDs peek out of thee sleeve like golden coins. It’s just a really cool looking, and sounding, box set. The remastering here is terrific. Geddy’s bass is wonderfully separate from the guitars, and you can really hear the details as you remember them. Brilliant job here.
Rush 50‘s four discs follow roughly chronologically. They include a generous number of live tracks, which is not at all to the detriment of this set. Some of the live tracks come from other box sets, from live albums, and some are rare or unreleased versions. “Garden Road” is one long desired by Rush fans, though “Fancy Dancer” is conspicuous by its absence. (Don’t assume this is the last collection that Rush will release.)
In the days of downloading via Bittorrent, I found crappy vinyl rips of Rush’s first single “Not Fade Away” / “I Can’t Fight It”. I burned them to a CD, and lamented that this would likely be the only “physical” copy of the single that I would ever own. 15 or 20 years later, this new anthology-style box set Rush 50 includes the single as the first two tracks on disc one. To finally have these songs, officially, physically, and sounding so full and rich compared that that old CDr, it scratches that itch that I have as a collector. If I could afford that first single, I’d have it already. This will do even better, because it’s clean and digitally perfect. It’s also quaint. The almost psychedelic echo on “Not Fade Away” is a detail I didn’t remember.
Similarly, about 15 years ago Rush released the “Vault Edition” of the track “Working Man” for a limited time on iTunes. I burned that to a CD too. Now it is here physically, along with another “Vault Edition” of “The Trees” that I was unaware of. Now we have both on CD. Itch scratched once again.
Wisely, Rush made sure some of the biggest hits that people want are studio versions: “Closer to the Heart”, “Tom Sawyer”, and “Subdivisions” for example. Joe Average, who just wants a cool box set instead of all the albums, often ends up complaining when bands out live versions instead of studio versions of the songs they really wanted. (Trust me, I worked at the Beat Goes On for 12 years.) The other thing is, the live versions they did select are superb. Let me tell you, the Bonham-esque drums on the jammy “Before and After (live)” sound absolutely massive. It’s certainly appropriate for a band of this reputation to include so many live versions. Most of disc two is live.
With equal wisdom, Rush ended this box set with the last songs plays at the their last ever concert. Going back to the very beginning, Rush end the anthology with those final live takes of “What You’re Doing/Working Man”, with just a smidgen of “Garden Road”. It’s an emotional way to end the journey, and this box set is indeed a journey. That’s the wonderful thing about anthology style sets.
The remarkable Hugh Syme worked overtime to produce the art for the hardcover book. Yes, not only do you get words and photos, but also brand new double-page artwork for most of the songs on Rush 50. It is the kind of box set that will give you enjoyment every time you listen to it, because you can crack open that book and just study. My study has barely begun; I have not really been able to look at each and every piece of art yet. Rest assured though, Hugh Syme provides all the justification for the price of this set, with the book alone. If this were a hardcover sold in a store on its own, it would probably be at least $60 bucks as a book.
A massive career like Rush’s deserves a massive box set. You won’t believe it until you hold it in hand. This thing is monolithic; a purchase that will not be regretted.
ROSE TATTOO – Rose Tattoo (1978 Albert Productions/1990 Repetoire Records “Limited Edition” CD reissue)
It is amazing how in North America, you can spend half a lifetime listening to music without ever running into an album by Rose Tattoo, Australia’s “Angry” exports. Legendary back home, but over here most of us just know them from “Nice Boys” by Guns N’ Roses. Some may also remember “Rock ‘n’ Roll Outlaw” by Keel. Both covers of Rose Tattoo tracks from their eponymous 1978 debut.
Led by the diminutive Angry Anderson, Rose Tattoo were produced by Harry Vanda and George Young, the same duo that helmed those early AC/DC classics among others. AC/DC comparisons are easy, but Rose Tattoo had two things going for them that other bands did not: 1) dominant slide guitar on every track, and 2) Angry Anderson himself. Don’t underestimate what you see. This guy has gritty power that elevates each song, and blows away the most famous cover version you’ve heard. Furthermore, the lyrics should be mentioned as different from what many bands were doing at the time: Gritty social observational lyrics, featuring real life stories of the streets (too wild to be true), with colourful characters such a drug dealers and tough guys.
Opening with the slide guitars of “Rock ‘n’ Roll Outlaw”, we can accuse another band who clearly ripped off Rose Tattoo in their early days, that being the Four Horsemen. If their “Tired Wings” didn’t take inspiration from this song, then I’ll be damned. The steady beat of Rose Tattoo is the perfect backing for drive this tough boastful rocker. Besides that beat and slide guitar, Angry Anderson’s voice is the magical ingredient. It sounds perpetually pushed to the edge, with a delightful squeak highlighting the emphatic parts. The powerhouse voice of Anderson automatically blows away Keel’s cover. Sorry Ron.
Guns N’ Roses came close to capturing the frenetic energy of “Nice Boys”, but not even Axl can bottle the energy of Angry Anderson. Now playing at a punk-like tempo, but with frantic slide guitar punctuation, “Nice Boys” easily kills the famed GN’R cover version. Hearing it, one gets the sense of “ah, this is what they were trying to do.”
One of the most menacing songs is “The Butcher and Fast Eddy”, slowing things down to that nocturnal crawl that AC/DC mastered with Bon Scott. Much as Scott filled his lyrics with true stories and colourful characters, Anderson tells a tale here like a novelist. “Across the river lived Fast Eddy, he was known to be treacherous, very mean. Even Eddy’s sweet young sister out on the streets, just a girl, barely fifteen.” Is Anderson the Bob Dylan of the dirty streets? He keeps the story going for six and a half spellbinding minutes, with the band mostly just playing the backing music, with a few picks scraped for noisy blasts. Angry Anderson’s voice and delivery carries it.
A stomping beat slams through one of the catchiest songs, “One of the Boys”. It’s an unsubtle ode to being a tough guy with a bunch of tough guys to back you up. Yet Angry’s words offer more than just boasting. OK sure, there’s boasting. “What you need is mates, staunch and true, hold out your back they’re gonna see you through. I don’t look for trouble but I won’t hide, I’ll jump on you if you don’t step aside.” There are also hints of deeper themes, such a loyalty.
Now at top speed, “Remedy” brings the punk rock tempos with a single heavy riff and killer hooks. The message here is simple: gimme rock and roll. It’s good for you. It’s healthy. Turn it up and blast it, and at this tempo you’ll probably be headbanging too. Top notch party rock on the edge of punk.
“Bad Boy for Love” uses the slide to bring a sleezy vibe to a slower groove. In this song, the main character got drunk, ripped up the town, and is now just being released from prison. Then, he went to go see his girl, whom he finds with another man. He kills them both and ends up back in the slammer. This is followed by a jailbreak and “a thousand guns” pursuing him. Not original, but delivered with bona fide sounding cred.
Keepings things to a breakneck pace, “T.V.” might get you pulled over for a speeding ticket. Angry’s voice is pushed to the limit again, and the slide guitar is as relentless as the tempo.
The one surprising song is the acoustic “Stuck On You”, featuring the line “like a rose tattoo”. The slide is now applied to various acoustic stringed instruments, and though it’s clearly the same band, the approach is very different. A more traditional blues direction does not temper Angry’s voice, still pushing it on the choruses and verses alike. Sometimes the lyrics verge on the absurd. “I had a fish named Sam, he lived in bowl. I heated up the water, so he wouldn’t get cold.” The lead character seems like a possible stage five loser, but it’s all open to interpretation. Either way, a great song with memorable words and a delivery impossible to duplicate.
Back to the punk-like rock, “Tramp” tells a more familiar story. It’s over and done real fast, and then we’re onto the epic closer “Astra Wally”. Rose Tattoo do best when they tell these kinds of stories. Astra Wally was a real cool cat, but he sounds like trouble to me. A drug dealer who samples his own wares, perhaps. “He don’t get shot, he go by O.D.” The slide guitar is once again in the spotlight, always fast and always tasty. That’s founding member Peter Wells on slide. Then we have Mick Cocks on lead and rhythm, Geordie Leach on bass and Dallas Royale on drums. When they get down and just lay down grooves like this, you can listen to them all day. “Astra Wally” is indeed a “super fun thing” as the lyrics state.
That’s a 5/5 star album right there. But we’re not through yet, because in 1990 this album was reissued with eight bonus tracks.
Up first are a batch of studio tracks. A B-side called “Never Too Loud” backed the “No Secrets” single in 1984. Regardless of the time difference, it does sound like it roughly fits in. It’s less frantic and tighter, with a slightly cleaner sound. Slightly. It’s still not anywhere near the polished rock starting to come out of North America at the time, and it maintains the slide and steady beat.
“I Had You First” is from 1981’s “Rock ‘n’ Roll King”. The punk vibe is first and foremost here, but the chorus is still a blast.
From 1982, “Fightin’ Sons” comes from the “It’s Gonna Work Itself Out” single, and it’s another vibe altogether. It has a bit of an early 70s vibe with a blues base. This is about going to war to fight for your country, but it’s more than that. It offers its own perspective; its own angle on the experience, gleaned from friends. The lyrics are more interesting than the music, perhaps.
The final studio track is “Snow Queen”. This one lies somewhere in the middle, a reliable rocker with an undeniable AC/DC beat. It’s the voice and slide that differentiate it. It’s low on hooks, but it bangs pretty hard.
The final four tracks are all live ones from an unspecified source. “Rock ‘n’ Roll Outlaw” and “Bad Boy for Love” feature Angry pushing it even further than on album. What a singer and what a pair of lungs. “Bad Boy for Love” is considerably longer than the album version, with loads more solos. “Rock ‘n’ Roll is King” and “Suicide City” are later tracks. An obvious single, “Rock ‘n’ Roll is King” is catchy through and through, with Angry still singing at top volume. Yet it’s all hooks. Finally, “Suicide City” is probably the most over the top song of them all, total punk rock frenzy.
In short: If you like rock and roll, get the album, and in particular this reissue.
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.
WOLFSBANE – “After Midnight” (1991 Def American CD single)
It was 1991, and though Wolfsbane were on Def American records, their second single from their second album Down Fall the Good Guys failed to chart. Though the critics were consistently positive about the UK quartet featuring one Blaze Bayley on vocals, it was not translating into sales. “After Midnight” is the name of the track, but its lack of chart performance is not a reflection upon the song. Brendan O’Brien was the producer, which boggles the mind that Wolfsbane didn’t have more success in 1991.
“After Midnight” has a slight country & western feel, which comes unexpected. This was a style that was becoming popular for American rock bands to throw into their tunes for some radio play. “After Midnight” would fit in with any of those better known tracks: acoustic-based with electric guitars for soloing and accent. The easiest comparison is another Def American act, the Four Horsemen, but with a baritone.
This CD single is valuable for the inclusion of three non-album tracks. “Idol” has a tricky little guitar part, but with a punk-like energy and thumping bass. The chorus has potential. “Win Or Lose” is a high-speed rock and roll blast, but without any significant hooks. Good for headbanging or air guitar, but not for singing along. The best track of the B-sides is an acoustic (self-produced) rendition of “Hey Babe” from their prior EP. It was always a pretty good ballad, and this version is stripped back to the basics. Hand-played percussion replaces the big drums, and it has the feeling of a campfire singalong.
Nothing particularly outstanding on this single, but a good collectible nonetheless.
JUDAS PRIEST – Rocka Rolla (1974 Gull, 2024 Exciter Records Remixed and Remastered)
How did he do it?! Somehow, by some digital miracle of the master tape gods, producer Tom Allom has remixed Rocka Rolla, and transformed it from one of my least favourite Priest albums of all time, to one of my favourites.
Generally I can’t get into the remixed versions of albums. Even if the remix is objectively a better release, such as Rush’s Vapor Trails or Marillion’s Radiat10n, I always find myself coming back to the flawed originals.
Not this time.
For context, Tom Allom didn’t originally produce Rocka Rolla, and this is not the first remix of it. Rodger Bain produced, but his name appears smaller than Allom’s on the new back cover. The Rocka Rolla (full album) remix that appeared on Hero, Hero (1981) was helmed by Bain, less effectively. Tom Allom is best known for producing the run of Judas Priest albums from Unleashed in the East (1979) to Ram It Down (1988). What he has done with Rocka Rolla is somehow give it a makeover to sound more like a real 1970’s Priest album. Sonically, it now has thickness. There’s a real beefiness to the mix, but not in the sense that you immediate say “oh yeah, this is different.” It just sounds like the album always sounded that way, and you just got your stereo system upgraded.
The track listing is unchanged. “One For the Road” still opens with a groove, but now that groove hits different. You can better appreciate the guitar fills at the end, and the songs goes well past its old fade-out. This is a trick that remixed album should do more often.
“Rocka Rolla” remains a metal delight, but there is new shimmer to Rob’s vocals and the song chugs with more edge. It’s all very objective and subtle, but once again Tom Allom took a Priest classic and made it sound like it was always this weighty.
The “Winter” suite is the most altered of any of the tracks. Notably, Allom chose to separate the tracks from the suite format, and leave them as individual songs.
John Hinch’s drums sound crushingly Bonham-like on “Winter” itself, and the backing riff far more weighty. The biggest change is that it no longer fades into KK’s guitar showcase “Deep Freeze”. You can hear more of KK at the end, with some experimental playing that was inaudible before. The track fades out past its previous point, and “Winter Retreat” stands on its own as a song. In the 70s, Priest were experimenting with acoustics and psychedelic sounds from time to time. “Winter Retreat” can now join those songs as something that sonically fits in better. Finally, “Cheater” always was its own song really, and now it’s just heavier. Rob’s harmonica is more prominent, which of course recalls the heaviness of Black Sabbath.
Moving on to side two, “Never Satisfied” finally has the punch it always felt like it had inside: A little more echo on this this vocal line, a lot more weight behind the drums, more texture on the guitars, and a few things made audible for the first time. We now have the definitive version of this song. With the impressive soloing mixed in just right, this becomes a long, jammy Priest thumper as it always should have been. If Rocka Rolla sounded like this when I was a kid, I would have got it immediately.
“Run of the Mill” takes time to build as it always has. It has a long instrumental section, with some mindblowing guitar playing, and now it’s all finally hitting right. The bass isn’t just sitting there. It’s picking you up and taking you along with the groove. The keyboards in the background are more ominous. Everything about this is just so much better than the original.
Perhaps the only song that still bores, for the first half anyway, “Dying to Meet You” is similarly upgraded but benefits less from the treatment. That is until it picks up midway in the “Hero, Hero” section. This part of the song still cooks, but has a different, more spare feel. Finally, the light instrumental “Caviar and Meths” really benefits from the remix treatment. The drums, once again, really add atmosphere to it.
As an added attention to detail, the front cover of Rocka Rolla is now as three dimension as the music. The water drops are now tactile. You can feel the bumps with your fingers. A perfect topper.
What did Tom Allom do with these master tapes? Did he conjure some kind of heavy metal spell and make a two dimensional album sound big and beefy? Only Allom knows, but now I do believe in magic.
“Recently, a young journalist asked me how many songs I had written in my life. I replied that the last time my assistant counted, twenty years ago, it was over 500. I felt quite accomplished until she pointed out Dolly Parton’s 5,000 songs, calling me a lazy sod.” – Ian Gillan
DEEP PURPLE – “Lazy Sod” (2024 Ear Music)
Since Deep Purple’s =1 album was my #1 album of 2024, it should be no surprise that I love the single “Lazy Sod”. It exemplifies what Simon McBride brings to Deep Purple on this new album. His smooth playing is loaded with feel and perhaps he adds just a tad more hooky riffiness into the band. “Lazy Sod” is a fantastic track, a shorty at 3:40, even loaded with solos by Simon and Don Airey. No fat, just like those old Deep Purple Machine Head firecrackers from the early 70s.
Back when we reviewed the =1 box set, we speculated why a live version of “Highway Star” with Simon McBride wasn’t included. Same with “Lazy”. Here they are. “Highway Star” (Milan, October 17 2022) is pretty damn energetic and features the Simon stuff that we were waiting for. His sound might be likened as somewhere between Steve Morse and Ritchie Blackmore, but what he brings to the table fits perfectly, without copying either.
“Lazy” (Sofia, May 23 2022) is the lengthy one, at 8:33. Don Airey opens it with some meandering organ soloing, before playing some more familiar notes. Then it’s Simon’s turn, sending out a delightfully original solo for “Lazy”. He throws it back to Don like a game of ball, and Don slays it some more. “Fun” doesn’t begin to sum it up. There are old Deep Purple versions of “Lazy” where it does not sound like they are having fun. This does, for Don and Simon in particular. The rest of the band have to be able to feed off that. Ian Gillan doesn’t enter the picture for over five minutes. He turns in a performance more like a lounge singer, but with some screams towards the end.
Another great single from the Purples. Thanks for keeping the format alive. It’s limited to 2000 copies but hopefully that’s enough for the collectors who want it.
Accept finally proved they didn’t need Udo Dirkschneider with Mark Tornillo. He has had a steady run of reliable albums that continues to this day. 2014’s Blind Rage was his third with the German metal legends. Blood of the Nations and Stalingrad are hard to beat, and Blind Rage comes in third.
The album debuted at number one on the German albums chart. It Accept’s last album with guitarist Herman Frank and drummer Stefan Schwarzmann, and produced generically by Andy Sneap. Sneap gets a great sound, but as we’ll see, there’s too much formula and same-sameyness to the songs as the album goes on. Fortunately, the album gets off to a good start.
“Stampede” is a quintessential opener! Breakneck speed, but with melodic harmonies on guitar. Wolf Hoffman certainly knows how to write riffs and guitar melodies. Mark Tornillo is in great voice, growling low before hitting you with those screams, punctuated sparingly. A tad generic with that shouted “Stampede!,” chorus but the screams and the tempo make it worthwhile.
The lyrics on “Dying Breed” are cringe worthy, I’m so sorry to say. Some sample lines so you get the idea:
“Long ago a sabbath black cut through the purple haze.”
“Screaming with a vengeance that we will forever hear.”
“The zeppelin led it’s voyage thru skies of purple deep.”
“And in a land down under highway to hell was paved.”
“An iron fist cut the deck and drew the ace of spades.”
I am on record as disliking these kinds of references within lyrics. Fortunately, Mark sings it with conviction, and the song itself is pretty awesome. Guitar melodies are very much like a national anthem. There’s another shouted chorus, “We’re the last of a dying breed!” but let’s hope metal doesn’t die prematurely. Wolf throws in some classical-influenced guitar thrills to compensate.
The best song on the album is the desperation-drenched “Dark Side of My Heart” Melancholy metal with a stunning chorus. You can’t help but sing along, and all this is augmented by stunning guitar melodies by Wolf. Accept always keep things moving, but it’s so much better when it’s melodic, and this is the most melodic song on the album.
The first slow song on the record is track #4, “Fall of the Empire”. It takes a little longer to sink in, but the chorus is melodic enough. However, Accept’s penchant for those low pitched gang choruses is already starting to wear. Wolf’s solo here is really different, with a nice dry tube-y tone and some really unusual melodic choices.
Crank up the afterburners for “Trail of Tears”, a song about the trials of the Native American. “Who are the savages now?” asks Tornillo. The drums by Schwarzmann are phenomenal. Another high speed blur of modern metal, and one that sticks in the brain afterwards. Classical influences can still be heard in Wolf’s melodies.
Guitar harmonies take center stage for “Wanna Be Free”. Slower, more deliberate, dark and with a message. “No more crime and poverty,” “No more human trafficking”. Fairly simple, but that’s often the goal of these kinds of songs. Keep it positive, and not political. Though the guitars are always enticing, this might be the first one you feel like skipping.
Nuclear war is always a hot topic for metal bands, ever since Black Sabbath popularized it in the 1970s. In “200 Years”, nuclear war has devastated the planet to population zero: “200 years after mankind”. We’re back to the stone age just as prophesied. “I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” That’s a quote often attributed to Albert Einstein. Great topic, great song, with a neat little exotic interlude by Wolf in the middle before the solo.
Skipworthy “Bloodbath Mastermind” is just generic metal. Yes, it bangs, but there are no exceptional hooks. Pass.
Ear fatigue setting in, “From the Ashes We Rise” repeats the grooves that are becoming monotonous. We realize now that the Japanese 12 song track listing is just too long. This album should have been a simple, traditional 10 songs. Having said that, at least “From the Ashes We Rise” has melody, while “Bloodbath Mastermind” did not. Ultimately it sounds like a knockoff of another song on the album. A good knockoff, at least.
Back to quality, “The Curse” is a little more unique, and focused once again on melody. It’s a little somber, which is a nice change of pace after so much defiant headbanging. Some memorable hooks; different from the rest of the album. A highlight.
The closing track on the standard album is the Priest-like “Final Journey”, the guitar solo of which creatively features a very recognizable melody lifted from Grieg’s “Morning Mood”. Good closer, lots of building tension in the guitars.
The Japanese closer is “Thrown to the Wolves” which is fine, just like many of the album tracks, though like many of them, plagued with generic riffing and melodies. Catchy enough, just…not unique enough.
Blind Rage is a solid album, but Accept’s repeated use of certain elements such as those low-pitched choruses makes some songs really hard to remember and differentiate. Of the 12 songs, there are probably 10 keepers. It’s not a bad album by any means, but the formula is starting to set in and it takes many listens to really separate the songs in your mind. A little editing would have been wise.
ROSE TATTOO – Rose Tattoo (1978 Albert Productions/1990 Repetoire Records “Limited Edition” CD reissue)
“Bad Boy for Love” uses the slide to bring a sleezy vibe to a slower groove. In this song, the main character got drunk, ripped up the town, and is now just being released from prison. Then, he went to go see his girl, whom he finds with another man. He kills them both and ends up back in the slammer. This is followed by a jailbreak and “a thousand guns” pursuing him. Not original, but delivered with bona fide sounding cred.
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