HELIX – “(Gene Simmons Says) Rock is Dead” (2016 music video from the forthcoming album Rock It Science)
“I don’t need no god of thunder to tell me what is great.” — Brian Vollmer
Helix are back once more, with a new greatest hits album called Rock It Science.* You gotta have a new song on a new greatest hits (teased previously as “Mystery Track”), and this new song is timely and sharp. Gene Simmons does indeed say that rock is dead. In fact he’s been saying that for over 25 years. I have a M.E.A.T Magazine interview with Gene from 1990 where he professes that rock is indeed dead. And he’s still saying it now. But Brian Vollmer retorts, “Don’t believe it when Gene Simmons says rock is dead!”
Sure, lots has changed, but Helix keeps going. It’s not the 80’s anymore. Very few can sell 2,000,000 copies of an album today. It’s hard to make a living just by selling records. You have to diversify. Everything has changed — but like many things, the more they change the more they stay the same. Rock is not dead. In many respects, rock is more popular than ever. Helix are still producing great quality music, and “Gene Simmons Says) Rock is Dead” is one more gem for their rock crown. Daryl Gray and “Fritz” Hinz are still there on the rhythm section. Chris Julke and Kaleb Duck handle the axes just fine. This could have been on an album like Back for Another Taste.
As far as the video goes, Brent Doerner directed this one. The Gene impersonator is bang-on — I hope Helix don’t get sued for this! The video celebrates the old school. It’s performed at Speed City Records in London, Ontario. (Look for cool posters of bands such as Gob and VoiVod, who Gene slammed in the 1990 M.E.A.T interview.) I really dig Daryl Gray’s Helix logo bass guitar. That looks like a bitch to play. Brent captured the fun side of the band in the video. It’s not glossy, but I think it does the trick.
There’s no release date yet, but Rock It Science should be available to purchase soon. Check out the CD cover, also designed by Brent Doerner.
Rock is dead? Hardly. Gene’s been wrong before, and he’s wrong again.
4/5 stars
*The title It’s ROCK Science, Not Rocket Science was a working title for 2009’sVagabond Bones.
Canadian Rawk week continues with a double dose of HELIX! Boppin at boppinsblog reviews the same record today.For his review, click here!
HELIX – Wild in the Streets (1987 Capital, 2011 Rock Candy remaster)
Before this handy-dandy 2011 Rock Candy reissue, Wild in the Streets was an exceptionally hard album to find on CD. By the time I started working at the Record Store in 1994, it was already long deleted. I had a pretty neat cassette version, with a glow in the dark shell, but the sound was pretty muddy and warbly. The CD finally fell into my lap thanks to a kind hearted customer named Len, who picked it up for me at a rival store. The full story of this rare item and the quest to find one was told in Record Store Tales Part 234: Wild in the Streets. Since I’ve already told that story, no further background is necessary and we can cut to the chase.
It has been well documented, both in Brian Vollmer’s book Gimme An R and the fine liner notes in this CD, that Wild in the Streets was not an easy album. This album had to make it, or Helix’s deal with Capital wasn’t going to be renewed. They had trouble coming up with songs. They recorded overseas with a disinterested producer (Mike Stone). The album was mixed and remixed again, until Stone had to demonstrate to the guys that they had lost perspective and couldn’t tell one version from another anymore. Other stressors added to the pressure, but finally some singles were selected and videos filmed. Time to rock!
The action-packed video for the title track made quite an impression. The high-flying Helix were (and are) one of the most exciting live bands around. The video perfectly fit the music, an unforgettable rock anthem about turnin’ on the heat and going wild in the streets. It was written by guitarist Paul Hackman and his friend Ray Lyell, a Canadian solo artist gaining success at the time. This kickin’ track represented a high point for Helix; never before had they combined the rock with catchy melody like this. MuchMusic gave it plenty of exposure, but it failed to jump the border and make an impact down south.
To make up for a shortage of originals, Helix recorded some covers. FM’s “Never Gonna Stop the Rock” was a funky dud. According to the liner notes, the band didn’t particularly like the song either. Manager Bill Seip chose it among many submissions, and on the album it went, because nobody had any better ideas. Nazareth’s “Dream On” was a much more natural fit. Helix always had a way with tender ballads; witness their success with “(Make Me Do) Anything You Want”. An inspired choice like “Dream On” works well as a Helix song, in fact up here in the Great White North, I daresay the song is associated more with Helix than Nazareth. It’s hard to say who plays the subtle keyboards and piano, as three players are credited on the album: Sam Reid from Glass Tiger, the legendary Don Airey, and Helix bassist Daryl Gray. Dr. Doerner brought up his huge doubleneck for the video, an image burned in our memories. Doerner had to be the coolest looking guy on the scene, he had the star quality.
“What Ya Bringin’ to the Party” is the question, on another Lyell/Hackman original. The slicker production of Wild in the Streets doesn’t really do it any favours. If it had been on an earlier album like No Rest for the Wicked (and been a teensy bit faster), it could have been a sleezey rock classic. “High Voltage Kicks” is better because it delivers what it promises. This sounds like Helix to me. It’s fast, high-octane, and recommended for head banging. You’ll want a breather afterwards, which is good because it’s time to flip the album over to Side Two.
Ready to “Give ‘Em Hell”? Helix are, and this is a good quality album track to do it. It fits that mid-tempo rock niche that Helix often call home. It’s back to hot flashy rock on “Shot Full of Love”, a Vollmer/Doerner co-write with some pure lead guitar smoke. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s his twin brother Brian laying waste on the drums. Brian Doerner is one of four drummers credited, including Mickey Curry, Matt Frenette, and of course Helix skinsman Greg “Fritz” Hinz. “Love Hungry Eyes” is one of the strongest songs in the bunch, and I think if there was to be a third single, it would have been “Love Hungry Eyes”. Brian Vollmer kicks this one right in the ass. I don’t think Helix get enough credit for their background vocals, but all five members sing. Brent Doerner has a unique voice and when the Helix backing vocals kick in on the chorus, you get a whallop of the Doctor right in the ears. That’ll cure what ails ya.
Joe Elliot of Def Leppard contributed “She’s Too Tough”, but then the shit hit the fan. Leppard’s label (Polygram) were terrified of Elliot competing with the soon-to-be released Hysteria album. Even though “She’s Too Tough” never passed the demo stage and was never in consideration for Hysteria, the label was so afraid that they were going to force Helix to remove it from their album. A compromise was reached: Helix could keep the song for their album, but could not release it as a single. As such, you’ve probably never heard Helix’s version of it. Leppard eventually recorded a proper version for a single B-side (“Heaven Is“) and it has become the more famous of the two. That’s too bad, because Helix’s version is far more adrenalized, pardon the pun.
“Kiss It Goodbye” inspired the infamous Helix tour shirt that I would never have been allowed to buy or wear to school! The song, another Doerner/Vollmer rocker, was unforgettable in concert. It’s still a barnstormer on CD, certainly one of the most memorable tracks from this era. The album is over and out in under 40 minutes, but you’ll probably have lost a couple pounds in sweat, if you were rocking out properly during those 40 minutes.
Unfortunately for Helix, despite a great live show featuring their fancy new stage set, the album failed to perform and the writing was on the wall. Morale took another blow when Brent Doerner told the band that he was leaving. The guitarist had been there since 1975. He was integral to every album they made, and he was a charismatic personality on stage. What were a band to do? If you’re Helix, you do what you have always done. You keep on givin’ ‘er. They responded to this dire time with one of the best albums of their career.
Wild in the Streets was the end of an era. It was also the last Helix album of the 1980’s. With the benefit of hindsight, Wild in the Streets capped the decade off properly. Mushy production aside, it was a strong collection of songs that probably could have been presented better. Too bad!
We will return to theDeep Purple Projectafter this instalment of Getting More Tale.
GETTING MORE TALE #468: The Lies of Ian
I feel blessed to have grown up in the 1980’s. What an era! It was the age of Star Wars, Van Halen, Dio, GI Joe, and Transformers. We had the A-Team and Magnum PI fighting on the side of good. By the end of the decade, hard rock had hit another major peak again (before being dethroned by grunge in 1991). It was a good time to be in school. In fact I would argue it was the best time to be in school.
I spent nine years, from Kindergarten to grade eight, in the same place: St. Anthony Daniel Catholic school. Or, as my sister used to call it, the “Hell Hole”. I lived in a great time to be in school; too bad I went to a shite school! The bullies were mean and the teachers did not give one shit — not even one. In fact the teachers often exacerbated the situation by embarrassing the shy and fragile in obvious loud ways, giving the bullies more ammunition come recess time.
It was in this environment that I befriended Ian Johnson, a kid with a pretty wild imagination. He was a good guy, we had birthday parties together and sleepovers and went to movies. We played a lot of Star Wars. His dad made Star Wars “tables”: giant playsets of Dagobah and the Death Star, built out of actual tables with bits cut out. Ian was definitely the only kid around who had one of those! He was also the only kid in class who claimed to have ninjas training in his basement.
Ian Johnson lived in a townhouse. He did not have a basement.
We would walk home from school together, usually in a small group with one or two other kids. Ian was well known for his tall tales. He would swear up and down that every word was true. If that is the case, I have some startling news to share with the world!
1. It was not Walt Disney that came up with the ideas for Bambi. It was in fact Ian Johnson who gave Disney the idea to make it. Please don’t scrutinize the timeline of events too closely. Ian said it; it had to be true.
2. Ian was a mathematician. He was one of the world’s leading mathematicians. When I asked him why he failed the math quiz in class, it was because he was “not an expert in math that hasn’t been invented yet.” (That would be long division.)
3. He had a squad of ninjas training in his basement. Below his townhouse, he had a training facility several storeys deep. The exact depth changed from tale to tale. The main takeaway from this is that Ian had a huge concrete ninja bunker full of the deadliest weaponry hiding under his townhouse in suburban Kitchener, Ontario. This one, nobody bought. We’d fallen for some of his lies before but this one was just too big and fat to swallow. We nodded and smiled because to question Johnson’s stories would lead to endless arguing.
4. Ian knew George Lucas. He had read Star Wars episodes I, II and III. He knew what happened in them and described it in great detail. There was an encounter between Jabba the Hutt and Han Solo, setting up the bounty on Solo’s head. The level of detail made this one hard to disbelieve. Solo took a shot at Jabba with his blaster, who jumped out of the way, dodging the bolt. Indeed early versions of Jabba the Hutt before 1983 did have legs. He also described a sequence including creatures called “stonemites”. Solo was hiding in a cave full of these things which could eat through stone like termites through wood. It wasn’t until 2002 that I learned Ian had lifted these elements wholesale from Marvel Comics’ Star Wars issue #28, from 1979. That’s why his descriptions were so clear and believable. It was things like this that made it hard to tell when Johnson was lying or telling the truth.
5. Mixing half-truths with fiction, Ian told us all how he knew Brian Vollmer of Helix. I later confirmed this part of the story to be true. Back in Record Store Tales Part 2: Gimme an R! we talked in great detail about a time when Helix were local legends in these parts. I confirmed with Vollmer myself that he did live on Breckenridge Drive in Kitchener, three doors down from Johnson, exactly as Ian described it. He would often point to the Vollmers’ townhouse as we rode by on our bikes, but there was rarely anyone home. Ian also described a Christmas card that Brian Vollmer received from Blackie Lawless of W.A.S.P. This also turned out to be a true story. I recognized the card when Brian added a picture of it to the official Helix website. Again, it was exactly as Johnson told us. What was not true is that Ian took credit for the “Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'” music video. “That music video was my idea,” claimed Ian. “I was talking to Brian Vollmer and I told him, ‘what you really need is a video with lots and lots of girls in it.'”
I will give Ian Johnson credit for one thing, which is while I was still listening to Iron Maiden and Kiss, he had discovered a newer heavier band called Metallica. They only had two albums out, Kill ‘Em All and Ride the Lightning. “Have you ever heard Metallica?” he asked me. “You will.” He brought the tapes to school and played a track or two. Giving credit when it’s due, Ian was the first kid I knew to have heard of Metallica. He was on top of his heavy metal.
That is, until 1986. That is when Ian Johnson dropped the metal and went full-bore new wave. “Girls don’t like heavy metal,” he explained to me during a heated argument. Girls. PAH! Like many kids, Ian turned from friend to bully later in school.
This one is for Ian Johnson wherever you are. I’m sure he’s still out there, consulting Disney on the new Star Wars movie backed by a squad of fully trained ninjas.
GETTING MORE TALE #440: What’s the Best Concert You’ve Ever Seen?
What’s the best concert you have ever been to? Maybe it was that band that was always on your bucket list. Perhaps it was a group who puts on an incredible spectacle, or perhaps even your first show. Maybe you’ve seen so many shows that you don’t even know where to begin!
I’ve had a lot of memorable concerts in my years.
In 1983, my dad took me to see Johnny Cash at the Center in the Square in Kitchener. My dad worked for Canada Trust, and Johnny was doing a promotional deal with them and their new “Johnny Cash” money machines. In light of that, Johnny introduced himself at the start of the show as “I’m Johnny Cash, 24 hour money machine.” Canada Trust even printed their own “Johnny Cash” money. I wish I still had some. Cash played all his classics such as “Orange Blossom Special” and “I Got Stripes”. June Carter kicked off her shoes. Not a bad first concert experience at all.
In ’87 I finally saw my first rock show. At the same venue, Helix rolled into town headlining for their new Wild in the Streets album. Opening for them were a so-so pop rock band from Prince Edward Island called Haywire. Their big hit was called “Dance Desire” and the girls were going nuts for them. They were all going ga-ga for the singer Paul MacAusland. (Years and years later I actually dated a cousin of his.) I thought they sucked. The guitar player Marvin Birt was good, but MacAusland’s idea of stage moves involved him lying down flat on his face!
Helix stormed the stage with “No Rest for the Wicked” and put on an incredible show, involving Brian Vollmer climbing the scaffolding into the loges. He then ran from there onto the mezzanine, right past us, as I was too shy to hold out my hand for him to slap! Then drummer Greg “Fritz” Hinz mooned the crowd…all backed by high octane Canadian rock and roll. Every time I have seen Helix, Vollmer has been an energetic mobile threat. Helix showed us that a rock show was about the on-stage energy rather than lights and explosions.
Best show I’ve ever seen? No, but it’s in the top ten.
Sometimes it’s the smaller shows that matter most. In the late 90’s I went to see local Cambridge band The Candidates. I believe it was a CD release party. They were playing hard, and drummer Robbie Hancock busted his drum pedal mid-song. After the show, I told him I thought it was actually their best performance yet. He didn’t agree, but I told him, “The drum pedal stuff, that doesn’t matter. The reason it broke is that you were playing so fucking hard, and that’s why the show was so good!”
Next on the list: Deep Purple, 1996, Purpendicular tour. T-Rev, Iron Tom Sharpe and I trekked to Toronto to catch the new lineup featuring Ian Gillan, Steve Morse, Ian Paice, Roger Glover, and of course Jon Lord. Playing a set of personal favourites including “Fireball” (the opener) and “No One Came”, we all left exhausted and satisfied. Opening act: Wild T & the Spirit. Incredible and indelibly scorched into my memory, Purple proved that age does not matter one lick.
In 1997 I scratched Rush off my list. This experience was commemorated in Record Store Tales Part 70: Canada Day Weekend Rush. Seeing Rush on the most patriotic weekend of the year was a perfect experience. The played all of 2112 live, an experience not to be missed. It was also my first time meeting such friends as Tyler (from Tyler and LeBrain fame), and rock god Dr. Dave Haslam.
The final concert on this list would have to be Helix, once again, opening for Alice Cooper in 2006. The venue was the trusty old Center in the Square, and this time we were in the second row. Alice Cooper was on his Dirty Diamonds tour, a killer record and a great live set. Helix were in the midst of working on a new EP to be called Get Up, and they played the instantly catchy title track live. This time, when Brian came down to the seats, I succeeded in shaking his hand. He must have noticed the guy in the front who knew every word….
Honorable mentions: Blue Rodeo and “Weird Al” Yankovic. I’ve seen Blue Rodeo so many times that I could almost make a list of the best Blue Rodeo concerts I’ve ever seen. As for Weird Al, what’s not to like? He has a crack band that can play anything.
Conspicuous by their absence on this list: Kiss. This experience was recorded in Record Store Tales Part 8. Not only did Iron Tom make us miss the first few songs, but it was a boring by-the-numbers setlist. That would have been fine except for the after-concert shenanigans that didn’t see me getting home until 4 am the next day…with a 10 am opening shift at the Record Store. Good times? Not!
Of these shows, I really don’t know which was the best. Maybe they were all the best! What’s yours?
It’s always risky buying a compilation album from a label “series”. Yesterday, we looked at a Judas Priest compilation from Sony’s Steel Book Series. Over 60 Minutes With… was a CD-only (no tapes, no records) series by Capital/EMI in the late 80’s and early 90’s. I remember seeing it over Christmas break in ’89, and trying to decide whether to buy it, or Ace Frehley’s Trouble Walkin’. (I went with the Ace, and saved the Helix for a month or two later.) I was confused: Here was a brand new Helix CD, with Brent “The Doctor” Doerner right there on the front cover. But hadn’t he left the band? He had, but that was how I could tell this was a semi-official release, driven by the label.
The difference between Over 60 Minutes With…Helix and all the other label compilations is that this one is really, really good. In fact to this day, it is still the one of the best Helix compilations assembled (and it was the first!). Here are some reasons:
1. Rare tracks! Three of them in fact. You get demos for “Give It To You” (a new song re-recorded for the Back For Another Taste CD), “Jaws Of The Tiger” (re-recorded for B-Sides) and “Everybody Pays The Price” (later to be the B-side to “The Storm”).
2. Lots of hits. 21 tracks are contained within, and a good solid six of them were hit singles.
Those two points are enough reason to buy this CD (especially the first). Let’s keep listening.
3. Rocker-to-ballad ratio is a generous 17 : 4. Keep me mind, Helix ballads tend to rock anyway. “Never Wanna Lose You” gets pretty heavy come chorus time!
4.Loads of tunes from No Rest for the Wicked. When this CD came out in ’89, that album was unavailable on CD and scarce on cassette. This CD has seven songs from No Rest! That album, loaded with rockers heavy and melodic, is still one of their very best today. Even though there were only three unreleased songs on Over 60 Minutes With…, there were tons that were brand new to me.
That considered, Over 60 Minutes With… has one serious flaw. The record company only included songs from the first three Capitol Helix albums. Obviously nothing from the independent albums Breaking Loose or White Lace & Black Leather were up for grabs. Strangely though, 1987’s Capitol Wild In The Streets CD is strangely missed. The inclusion of one or two tracks from that album would have been appreciated.
Flaw aside, the liner notes are informative and the track listing is still generous. You certainly don’t want to miss album tracks such as the awesome “You Keep Me Rocking”, the raunchy “Dirty Dog” or the slinky “Check Out The Love”. They are here along with many others. Pick this up, enjoy it, and then explore some of Helix’s proper albums, such as No Rest for the Wicked. This is great, but it’s only the beginning! Gimme an R indeed.
Part five in a series on singles from Def Leppard’s Adrenalize, including hard to find B-sides!
DEF LEPPARD – “Tonight” (1993 Phonogram CD singles)
LeBrain HQ has two different “Tonight” singles in the library, each with its own B-sides. Things get murky when we start looking at singles released in different territories, but each CD features the same great A-side. Although the lushly layered harmony vocals that lead off the track sound overly sweet, that’s not indicative of the song itself. “Tonight” is the sparsest ballad on Adrenalize, and also the toughest. Original guitarist Steve Clark had a hand in writing it, so perhaps he supplied some of the memorable guitar hooks. As far as the Adrenalize album went, “Tonight” was a highlight in a mixed bag of songs.
The US single has “She’s Too Tough” as its second track, but we already looked at that song (originally released by Helix but written by Joe Elliot) last time. Skipping to the end, we get a live version of “Pour Some Sugar on Me” from the 1992 club tour. This was from Bonn, Germany and is also available on the deluxe Adrenalize. I don’t think “Sugar” has ever particularly worked well live.
Onto the UK single, there are some more interesting B-sides. For Def Leppard fans, one of their most memorable appearances had to be the Freddie Mercury tribute concert in 1992. As part of their set, Brian May came out on stage to play “Now I’m Here”. What a great version of a Queen song perfectly suited to Def Leppard. With Brian May on stage it doesn’t get much more authentic. From Bonn once again comes “Photograph” performed live. This is probably the best of the recordings from Bonn.
Unusually for Def Leppard singles of this period, every single track is available elsewhere. “She’s Too Tough” was on the single for “Heaven Is”, and all the live songs were later reissued on the deluxe Adrenalize. Therefore, collectors can breath a little easier. If you don’t have “Tonight”, you probably don’t really need it. If you do, at least the two singles combine to form an excellent listening experience.
Part four in a series on singles from Def Leppard’s Adrenalize, including hard to find B-sides!
DEF LEPPARD – “Heaven Is” (1993 Phonogram CD single)
“Heaven Is” and “Stand Up (Kick Love Into Motion)” were released as singles at roughly the same time (different territories and whatnot), but I don’t have a copy of “Stand Up”. It doesn’t matter though, since both singles shared the exact same B-sides. These are an interesting mix of new and old.
The Canadian rock band Helix released “She’s Too Tough” on 1987’s Wild in the Streets album. While their version is faster and louder, the Leppard version sounds way better. Helix had production issues on their album, while Leppard recorded theirs with trusted engineer Pete Woodroffe as a quartet during the Adrenalize sessions. The single contains the original version of the track. Rick Allen re-recorded the drums in June 1993, and that version was released on the Retro-Active album. No matter which version you have, it’s an absolute pleasure to hear Leppard with Joe screaming like he used to.
“Elected” is indeed a live cover of the Alice Cooper classic. This one dates back to 1987 and features the late Steve Clark on guitar! A young, energized Leppard have no problem filling this with all the electricity needed. One must assume the old tapes were not the best, since the credits claim the track was “salvaged” by engineer Pete Woodroffe! Following this is a new live recording, of “Let’s Get Rocked” in 1992, from Bonn, Germany. Naturally that means this features the new boy Vivian Campbell on rhythm guitar. This version, from the 1992 club tour, is available on the deluxe Adrenalize.
As for the A-side itself, “Heaven Is” works as a pleasant enough pop rock song. Fans were tiring of that schtick, but “Heaven Is” is fine for a second-tier Def Leppard hit. When Steve Clark died I don’t think the band felt it was the time to stretch out and find new musical avenues. Writing safe rock was the easiest and probably only real course of action.
HELIX – It’s a Business Doing Pleasure (1993 Aquarius)
This is a good album — but it’s utterly ridiculous to see Amazon sellers asking $125 for a CD that I used to sell in store for $8.99.
After the death of guitar player Paul Hackman, killed in a tragic bus accident prior to this, Helix decided to carry on, somehow. Before the crash that prematurely ended the talented guitarist’s life, he and Brian Vollmer had been working on two separate projected discs. Brian had written songs with Marc Ribler, as he did on the previous record Back For Another Taste, which were earmarked for a solo album. Meanwhile, Hackman was writing music for the next Helix album. When it came time to pick up the pieces and carry on, there wasn’t much written for Helix. Although he regrets doing it today, Brian Vollmer decided to use the Ribler songs for the Helix record.
Vollmer recorded the album with Ribler, bassist Rob Laidlaw, and former Helix drummer Brian Doerner. Having spoken to Doerner about this album, I know he felt it was strong and underrated. I would have to agree. Vollmer also needed a new Helix band to take the album on tour. Greg “Fritz” Hinz and Daryl Gray remained on board. Though they did not play on the album, they are pictured inside. For the vacant guitar slots, they recruited former Brighton Rock guitar maestro Greg Fraser. Even more exciting to fans was the return of Brent “the Doctor” Doerner. This was easily the most exciting band lineup since the 1980’s.
The record was a definite change of pace, due to its genesis as a Vollmer solo album. Starting off, it’s instantly noticeable a Nashville influence . Almost every song has that terrific old school Fender guitar sound, but with a rock n’ roll edge–a little like Mark Knopfler. The songs are by and large a lot softer and more radio-ready, but also significantly more melodic and memorable. “Classy” is a good word to describe the direction.
The first single “That Day Is Gonna Come” is upbeat, a tribute to the life of Paul Hackman. Next to “Billy Oxygen”, I think it’s possibly the best song they’ve ever done. It received an excellent music video loaded with Brian’s own video-8 footage recorded over the years on the road. Just about every major Helix members appears in the footage. It’s hard not to get nostalgic. Have you been to any of those towns? This is the best video Helix have made yet.
“Tug Of War” would have made a great hit, but sadly the record company weren’t behind the album enough to push it. Vollmer and Fraser did an acoustic rendition of this ballad live on MuchMusic, a recording I’m glad to have on VHS. The album version is more bombastic but just as good. “Wrong Side of the Bed” and “Can’t Even Afford to Die” are both upbeat acoustic rock tunes with lush backing vocals. Think John Cougar meets Helix. Lyrically, Brian was writing about subjects people could relate to, rather than pining over Joan Jett. Being broke, being hurt, but keepin’ on keeping on. Still upbeat but a little harder is “Misery Loves Company”. There are some dirty guitars and driving piano, but we’re still driving in the country. Even without a heavy rock band behind him, Brian’s voice keeps it in the realm of Helix.
“Look Me Straight in the Heart” was supposed to be a video. This power ballad is a duet with Brian and Canada’s Metal Queen, Lee Aaron. The video funding was pulled when Aaron couldn’t appear in the clip with Vollmer. It’s too bad, because it’s a great song and I love hearing Lee Aaron belt it out. Lee Aaron and Brian Vollmer singing a ballad? How could it not have balls! (Just enough.)
“Trust the Feeling” is largely forgettable balladry, but “Love is a Crazy Game” is haunting and quiet. There is a heavier, electric version on the B-Sides CD, and it’s hard to choose which is best. This one is certainly more unique. Of course, you can’t have too many ballads in a row, and they were pushing it with three, but thankfully “Sleepin’ in the Dog House Again” will wake you from your slumber. Kim Mitchell dropped in to play one of his typical gonzo guitar solos, topping off the only real ass-kicking rocker on the album. The closing song “Mad Mad World” (not the Tom Cochrane tune) is one of the best. Who doesn’t love whistles? Humorous lyrics and a great chorus help to end the album in style.
Some lamented that Helix “softened up” on the album; others admired the growth and maturity. Brian Vollmer called the record “a huge mistake on my part, and I take full credit for the blunder. The really sad thing about it all was that I was really proud of all those songs on the album and they were wasted because they did not fit under the Helix name.”
I’d hate to think of those songs wasted, because here I’ve been enjoying them for over 20 years. Perhaps under another name they could have been hits, perhaps not. In the end, this album helped Helix stay a band. It gave them something of quality to release in the wake of their greatest tragedy. It allowed the band to get out and play supporting it. Ultimately, those who were unhappy about the direction would satisfied by the heavy songs on the next album, 1998’s half-ALIVE.
I’d be happy if this album got a little more recognition, so here’s me doing my part.
Helix’s Back For Another Taste was easily their best album since No Rest for the Wicked. It was also their last for Capitol. As such it received a neat, very limited vinyl release with a special cover commemorating the last (planned) printing of Capitol vinyl. I wish I had bought it when I had the chance. I recall seeing it at Sam the Record Man (owned by Gil Zurbrigg, brother of original Helix bassist Keith Zurbrigg) in downtown Kitchener. I didn’t have a good way of playing records back then, so it didn’t seem worth it.
Special release aside, Back For Another Taste will always be associated with some hard times in Helix. Brent “the Doctor” Doerner, with the band since LP #1, decided to move on from rock and roll. Although lead howler Brian Vollmer saw the departure coming, it still hit hard. Doerner stuck around long enough to record some rhythm guitars and solos for the new album. His brother Brian Doerner played drums on three tracks, as he often has on past Helix albums. (Helix mainstay Fritz Hinz played on the rest). The songs were written by Vollmer and guitarist Paul Hackman, with the exception of two. Vollmer took a trip down to the US to work with Marc Ribler who helped him hone his songwriting chops.
Helix presented themselves as a four-piece in promo photos and music videos, for the first time. Doerner would prove hard to replace over the years, with American Denny Balicki taking over for the tour. He was Helix’s first American member. He made notable appearances in a one-hour MuchMusic special called “Waltzing With Helix”, a documentary on Helix’s European tour with Sacred Reich, and opening for Ian Gillan. (Also in that documentary: a kid I grew up with in the neighborhood called Brian Knight. He was a Helix roadie at the time. Brian Vollmer misspelled his name in his book as “Brian McKnight“. Whoops!)
Back For Another Taste was produced by Tony Bongiovi, who gave the band a raw, more kicking sound in the studio. It was clear from track one “The Storm” that Helix meant business again. A mean sounding gritty groove-rocker, “The Storm” was unlike anything they’d done before. It was a completely un-wimpy lead single and a surprising one at that, since it’s not a very commercial. The new four-piece Helix sound great here, with Hackman able to really dig in and play, while bassist Daryl Gray gets more room to groove.
The really impressive track on the album was “Running Wild in the 21st Century”. When every other band seemed to be softening it up, Helix seemed to go full-on metal. An edgy music video featuring London’s “Snake the Tattooed Man” won Helix some acclaim and recognition. Snake was a friend of the band, and when the idea came up for a music video, Vollmer said “I know the perfect guy for this.” (I myself encountered Snake at the Record Store, in Part 118 of Record Store Tales.)
“Running Wild” is a killer track, pure Helix adrenaline with their trademark smooth backing vocals. In the lyrics, Brian seems confident of rock and roll’s future survival. Once again Paul Hackman confidently handles the guitars, allowing his personality to really shine.
Right up the alley of old Helix rockers is “That’s Life”, a classic sounding tune that’s great for drinking to. Just you try not having fun while hoisting a frosty to “That’s Life”! But Helix are more than just a party band, always have been. “Breakdown” is the long dramatic slow one. Vollmer had been going through some rough times: divorce, having to work at a convenience store to pay the rent, getting mugged, and then heave-ho and re-locating to London Ontario. “Breakdown” must come from those times, because you can hear the desperation and the determination. This track is the closest Helix ever got to re-capturing the golden sound of their first album,Breaking Loose. But you gotta end side one on a party rocker, doncha? So “Heavy Metal Cowboys” is that track and it sounds exactly how you expect. Hackman throws down some slide guitar for good measure.
The title track is quintessential Helix. “Back For Another Taste” indeed, this track could have been right at home on Wild in the Streets. It’s dirty and rocking, just like you like it. The stretching out a bit, the pop side of Helix emerges on “Rockin’ Rollercoaster”. I immediately noticed a higher rating on the 10-point Catchiness Factor scale (c), than other songs on this album. But then it’s even higher on “Midnight Express”, a real singalong! I really like these two songs, and even the ballad “Good to the Last Drop” really impressed.
Marc Ribler wanted to write a song called “Can’t Eat Just One”, but Vollmer found the title cumbersome, so he suggested “Good to the Last Drop” instead. What came from this was a hit ballad with heaps of class and all the right ingredients – a solid 9 on the Catchiness Factor scale. The music video received a swanky remix with extra keyboard overdubs, and that’s the version I go for. (It’s on many Helix best-of’s, but not this CD.)
“Give It to You” wasn’t exactly a new song. An earlier version (more raw) surfaced on 1989’s Over 20 Minutes With…Helix compilation. I prefer the raw version, but it’s still a great dirty lil’ Helix number. “Pull the trigger of my honey gun.” Oh, Brian. “Special delivery, just for you!”
So Helix stretched out on this album a bit, and went back to their roots while exercising their melodic songwriting muscles. They went heavier, they went softer, they went dramatic, and they revisited some of their pop roots. What’s left? Faster, faster, faster!
“Wheels of Thunder” is probably the fastest, heaviest Helix track of all time and it closes Back For Another Taste on a killer note. Dr. Doerner handles the solo on this one, and Fritz is absolutely thrash metal mad. The only Helix track that might be faster is “Jaws of a Tiger” (also from Over 20 Minutes With…Helix), but we’re splitting hairs. What a ballsy way to end the album.
There were some cool singles available, but most interesting was the cassette single for “Good to the Last Drop”. That had an unreleased B-side, a song called “S.E.X. Rated”. This is a completely different version from the one that later appeared on the album B-Sides. This one has Paul Hackman, and that’s significant.
In July of 1992, Fritz Hinz was injured (slipped disc) and unable to tour, so Brian Doerner returned for a few western Canadian dates. As a bonus, so did his brother Brent. After a final date in Vancouver the band headed home. Paul Hackman elected to travel home in the tour van with bassist Daryl Gray, while the rest of the band booked flights. Hackman, not wearing a seat belt, went to sleep. Then, according to reports, the van veered off the road and down an embankment when the driver fell asleep at the wheel. Three men were thrown from the vehicle, and Hackman was killed. Daryl Gray suffered minor injuries and flagged down help. 20 cars passed the frantic, bleeding bassist before someone stopped.
Back For Another Taste was Paul’s final recording.
Part 3 of 3 in this week’s Helix miniseries. The original review was posted in August 2012, but this is completely new and improved!
HELIX – No Rest For the Wicked (1983 EMI)
Finally! The big break came, after nearly 10 years of hard work. The trick was re-branding Helix as a “metal band” instead of a plain old bar rock band. An early video for “Heavy Metal Love” was filmed in T-shirts and jeans. It was only after they switched to leather clothing and a more “metal” image, did people start to take notice. “Heavy Metal Love” was re-filmed for a more metallic music video, and Helix were more or less off to the races. They had a boost from CanCon rules, which meant the video went into rotation on MuchMusic.
“Heavy Metal Love”, written in a crummy hotel room in Seaforth Ontario, is an ode to Joan Jett; or rather a fantasy about Joan Jett. It remains as fun now as it was then. Helix re-recorded the tune in 2006 for their Get Up EP, but it is this version produced by Tom Treumuth that has become timeless. Indeed, it was chosen for the wedding scene in theTrailer Park Boys movie that same year. It’s still a great groove, and a whole lot of fun.
“Fun” is a great word to describe Helix’s music in general, and No Rest For the Wicked is perhaps their strongest effort, at least from their years on Capitol Records. It is true that I gave Breaking Loose (1979) high praise and a 5/5 star rating, but No Rest is easier to sink your teeth into on just one listen.
Helix in 1983 consisted of:
Brian Vollmer – lead vocals
Brent “the Doctor” Doerner – guitar
Paul Hackman – guitar
Mike Uzelac – bass
Greg “Fritz” Hinz – drums
The only lineup change this time was the drum seat. Leo Niebudek departed, and was replaced by Fritz Hinz, ex-Starchild. (Starchild’s claim to history is an early single produced by some unknown guy named Daniel Lanois. Fritz played on their later, uber-rare Children of the Stars album.) With Hinz, the band had acquired an easy-to-love showman who had the chops required. I shall never forget the sight of Fritz’s buttless chaps, giving us the moon at a 1987 concert.
Even though I hold Breaking Loose in very high esteem, No Rest For the Wicked is probably just as good, but in a different way. The new heavier direction didn’t alienate their old fans, but it did gain them plenty of new ones. It seemed a lot of kids on my street had a copy of this LP or cassette. It’s more than just the one song — every track is great, every single one of ’em. The title track still serves as Helix’ show opener. Live, they change part of the lyrics to “Ain’t no rest for the Helix band!” It’s true! It’s an unrelenting and cool metal assault. But again…plenty fun.
Need some party rock? Look no further than “Let’s All Do It Tonight”. Listen to that one, and then try to forget the chorus! If you like that kind of melodic hard rock, then you’ll probably also dig “Don’t Get Mad Get Even”, the second (much less seen) video made for the album.
Need some sleeze? Then “Check Out the Love”, before you do the “Dirty Dog”. Both songs are killer grooves. “Dirty Dog” never fails to make the setlists today. It is suspended by a killer riff and Vollmer’s shredded vocal cords. And let’s not forget “White Lace and Black Leather”. (Like they did with the track “Breaking Loose”, Helix put the title song on the next album!) This is about as dirty as they get, and I love it.
Need a ballad? Naw, didn’t think so. But just in case, Helix put on a ballsy one, in “Never Want To Lose You”. Sounds wimpy, yes, but it has the guitars and heavy chorus necessary to keep you from losing your cool.
Need a boost of adrenaline? Then the doctor prescribes “Ain’t No High Like Rock ‘N’ Roll”. Kicking up the pace a few notches, it still retains that Helix knack for melody.
Also recommended, chase this with the live album called Live In Buffalo, which was recorded for radio shortly afterwards. It has high-octane live versions of most of these tracks as well as a sneak preview of the next album, Walkin’ the Razor’s Edge.
I think this one sounds particularly good on vinyl. Gimme an R!
HELIX – It’s a Business Doing Pleasure (1993 Aquarius)
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