Iron Maiden

REVIEW: Blaze – Silicon Messiah (2000)

BLAZE_0001BLAZE – Silicon Messiah (2000 SPV)

It took Blaze Bayley a couple years to bounce back with a new band and album, and given the fan reception to his work with Iron Maiden, I was skeptical.  I didn’t shell out for the Japanese, but I did grab the domestic CD as soon as a copy arrived in our stores.  I was pleasantly surprised, as Blaze’s debut solo release Silicon Messiah is a very heavy and memorable disc.

The weakness for some will be Blaze’s voice.  You either like it or you don’t.  Outside of the context of Iron Maiden, his deep vocals work better.  The opening track “Ghost in the Machine” for example is a de-tuned chugger the likes of which Maiden wouldn’t do.  Blaze’s vocals work better with this kind of low, growly metal.  Fortunately there is still enough melody (on the killer chorus) and riffage to keep heads banging.  And no wonder: the CD is produced by metal master Andy Sneap, who laid waste to several excellent Accept albums recently.  Blaze wrote the music with his new eponymous band:  Steve Wray and John Slater (guitars), Jeff Singer (drums), and Rob Naylor (bass).  The band is somewhat faceless, aside from Blaze himself there’s nothing identifiable about the band.

If there is a weakness to Silicon Messiah, it’s that there is a certain sameness to the songs.  It’s a bit homogeneous:  grinding, de-tuned riffs, melodic choruses and solos, with powerful but low vocals.   Fortunately Blaze has written some surprisingly decent lyrics to go with the songs, with several seeming to fit together into some kind of cyberpunk concept.

Highlights:

  • “Silicon Messiah”, perhaps the most Maiden-like track.
  • “Born as a Stranger”, also Maiden-like (think “Be Quick or Be Dead”); speedy goodness.
  • “The Brave”, another fast one that kicks all the asses in the room.  “Fortune favours the brave” indeed.
  • “Identity” which boasts lots of tasty guitar bits along with loud and quiet parts.
  • “The Launch” which is essentially “Man of the Edge” by Iron Maiden re-written (but with a better chorus).
  • “Stare at the Sun”, your typical Maiden-inspired epic closer.

Blaze Bayley, his band and Andy Sneap created a pretty decent metal album here.  It’s perfectly listenable throughout, if a bit anonymous sounding.  Fans of Blaze will dig it.

3.25/5 stars

#325: Answer to 4-Play Quiz No. 1

Congrats to Brian Zinger for the win!

Play the tracks in order and solve the 4-Play: what is the common thread to these four song?

1. Iron Maiden – “Flight of Icarus”

2. Nirvana – “Lithium”

3. Freddie Mercury – “Mr. Bad Guy”

4. David Lee Roth – “Just Like Paradise”

Answer:

PERIODIC TABLE OF ELEMENTS!

1. IRON Maiden (Fe)

2. LITHIUM (Li)

3. Freddie MERCURY (Hg)

4. David Lee Roth aka DIAMOND Dave = CARBON (C)

FACT:  C also stands for curveball.

#325: Unreleased 4-Play Quiz No. 1 (RSTs Mk II: Getting More Tale)

FLIGHT

RECORD STORE TALES Mk II:  Getting More Tale

#325:  Unreleased 4-Play Quiz No. 1 

At the conclusion of Record Store Tales, I told the story of how I earned the nickname LeBrain.  It’s a fairly common question.  It all came down to a contest on the Craig Fee Show (on 107.5 Dave FM) called the 4 O’Clock 4-Play…which I dominated.  I was the undisputed champion.  I had more wins under my belt than anyone, including two wins on the very first song.  I also sent Craig numerous 4-Plays of my own creation, some of which still haven’t been used yet. I thought it would be fun to post one or two that I especially liked.  Here’s my favourite.

The challenge is to figure out the common thread that ties all four songs together. I had to choose songs that Dave FM would be willing to play. This one isn’t overly difficult (although I may have thrown a curveball in there), but I did enjoy constructing it.   So put yourselves in the shoes of a listener, and trying to figure out the theme one song at a time.  Also keep in mind that Craig would not tell you what song he is about to play.  A casual listener could easily mistake the Freddie Mercury track for Queen, or the David Lee Roth song for Van Halen.  This could potentially affect your guess.  But the theme could be anything: lyrical, musical, background trivia, artist…and I liked to come up with unique themes.

Play the tracks in order as a listener would, and make a guess in the comments section!

1. Iron Maiden – “Flight of Icarus”

2. Nirvana – “Lithium”

3. Freddie Mercury – “Mr. Bad Guy”

4. David Lee Roth – “Just Like Paradise”

I’ll post the answer right here later today, so check back. Good luck! Take a swing at the piñata and post a guess!

Gallery: Other Stuff I Collect That Isn’t Music

I collect toys.  Lots of toys.

Part 308: The Cottage in the Woods (VIDEO BLOG)

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RECORD STORE TALES PART 308:  The Cottage in the Woods

As bad as the stress used to get, there was always one place I could return and truly recharge my batteries:  the cottage.

I’d pack a dozen or so CDs (tapes in the early days) and go on long walks with my Discman.  Eat some steaks.  Check out the water, rivers and funky bridges.  The phone never rang.  Heck in the early days there were no phones here.  No cable TV, no wi-fi.

Today, I created, edited and posted the video you’re about to see in one day, entirely at the cottage.  How unimaginable to me back then.

I tried to re-create the experience of being here visually — probably the most peaceful place in the world.  I hope this gives you a taste.  Enjoy

REVIEW: Iron Maiden – Revenge Is Living In the Past (2006 live bootleg CD)

Part two of a two-part series on live bootlegs. For part one, click here!

IRON MAIDEN –  Revenge Is Living In the Past (2006 live bootleg CD, The Godfatherecords)

Astute metal fans know that there have been couple very special Iron Maiden tours of late that were not commemorated with a live album. That’s shocking considering how many live albums Maiden’s done since reuniting with Bruce and Adrian in 1999 (four). The one I had been seeking the most was the Matter of Life and Death tour. On that tour, Maiden played every song from that excellent album in sequence. Some moaned and complained about the shows being loaded top-heavy with an album 70 minutes in length. Those people did not appreciate what they were witnessing, which was the only time you were going to be hearing most of these songs live. And what great songs they are. I am on record with A Matter of Life and Death being among my favourite Iron Maiden albums.

Then, at the Toronto Musical Collectibles Record & CD Sale 2014, I found it: A soundboard recorded double CD from Stockholm, November 18 2006. This was the second of two nights at the Globe arena. (They would return to Stockholm again a week later on the 25th!) I do not pay money for “burned” (CD-R) bootlegs, and one vendor had hundreds of beautifully packaged, factory pressed live bootlegs. They had many from this label, The Godfatherecords, all in lovely digipacks. I paid $40, the most I paid for any single item at the CD show. This was well below the $60 that I paid 15 years ago for the awful Virtual Lights Strikes Over France, also by Iron Maiden. I think $40 was a fair price for a double bootleg CD of this quality.

MAIDEN REVENGE_0006

How does a live performance of A Matter of Life and Death hold up?  Remarkably well!  In fact there was only one song that I felt didn’t work well, which was “The Longest Day”.  It’s a great song on album, but live, Bruce’s vocal is more erratic.  Still, it is hard to be critical since this is but a blip in the course of the CD.  The songs are remarkably album-accurate otherwise, with Steve and Adrian providing backing vocals where needed.

“Different World” is a brilliant opener, and the crowd is immediately fired up.  Also well received was the single “The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg”.  At the conclusion of A Matter of Life and Death, Maiden break into “Fear of the Dark,” and the crowd sings along to every word, as they often do.  The set closes with classics:  “Iron Maiden,” “2 Minutes to Midnight,” “The Evil That Men Do,” and “Hallowed Be Thy Name”.  All brilliant of course.  It is good to have an excellent sounding commemoration of this tour.  I had never really understood why Iron Maiden did not release their own official CD.  That’s why the world needs bootleggers.

The Godfatherecords generously filled out the second CD with four songs from another very special show:  Rome, October 27 1981.  Why is that special?  It was only Bruce Dickinson’s second show with the band!  Ever!  Paul Di’Anno’s final show was only a couple weeks prior, on the 10th.   From this show, we get “Iron Maiden,” “Transylvania” (what a bizarre song to include since it’s instrumental), “Drifter” and “Prowler”.  I don’t think I have a copy of Bruce singing “Drifter” on anything else I own!

The sound quality is not that great, as expected.  The lineup then was Bruce Dickinson, Steve Harris, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, and Clive Burr.  Immediately obvious is that the band were playing much faster back then, and Bruce’s range was greater.  It’s very cool to hear Steve Harris himself do the song introduction on “Transylvania”!  I don’t think I’ve ever hear him speak so much on stage before.  (He also introduces “Prowler” with Bruce.)   And Bruce singing “Drifter”?  Very different.  The audience “Yo yo yo yo’s!” along to Bruce, but it sure sounds weird to hear anybody but Paul Di’Anno doing it.

This is a great CD, and if you happen upon it, I recommend you add it to your collection.

4.5/5 stars

Gallery: The Toronto Musical Collectibles Record & CD Sale 2014

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T-Rev, Wes, Doug and I had a great time at the Toronto Musical Collectibles Record & CD Sale 2014. Trevor came home with some kind of Asian import of Foo Fighters’ In Your Honor with at least a dozen bonus tracks. He also scored a cool silver Grand Funk LP with a round cover. Wes stocked up on Tom Petty vinyl.

My treasures are below.  Let’s start with the Japanese imports!  Yes, the same vendor was there.  I probably cleared out his best stuff last year, but he still had some good ones left for me.

Japanese imports purchased:

  • Ozzy Osbourne – Under Cover ($25 with obi strip intact)  I am well on record as not being a fan of this album.  But it’s one of only two Ozzy albums that I didn’t own.  Finding a Japanese version made it easy to justify for my collection.  The bonus track is “Changes” with Kelly Osbourne, but I had that already on the Prince of Darkness box set.  This comes with a region 2 DVD.
  • Europe – Start From the Dark (sealed, $20)  I already had this album as a bonus CD within Europe’s Live From the Dark DVD set.  The Japanese get two live tracks from Sweden Rock 2004:  “Seven Doors Hotel” and “Wings Of Tomorrow”.
  • White Wolf – Endangered Species (sealed, $20) Last year I bought Standing Alone on vinyl, this year I got Endangered Species!  I always liked that song “She.”  There are no bonus tracks on it but it’s so hard to find this on CD at all, let alone Japanese.
  • Paul Gilbert – Get Out of My Yard (sealed, $20) I’ve long been a fan of Paul Gilbert (Mr. Big), and he’s a cult hero in Japan.  I know his solo stuff is pretty out there.  Although I have tracks of his on guitar compilations, this is the first solo album of his that I have found.
  • Aerosmith – “Pink” (sealed CD single, $15) In Record Store Tales Part 42, I made fun of the “Barefoot DJ” because he was looking for this Aerosmith dud.  Regardless, I’m probably most excited about this CD.  If there’s one thing rarer than Japanese CDs, it might be Japanese CD singles.  They’re produced in even more limited number.  I won’t get all the B-sides for “Pink” on this CD single, but it has plenty of tracks that I believe are exclusive to this disc.
  • Aerosmith – “Amazing” (CD single, $5 with obi strip intact) I had a domestic copy of this CD with the exact same tracks, just in a different order.  I wasn’t sure if I had it or not when I bought it, but for $5 I figured it’s still a win-win situation.  It’s in mint condition and I paid a fair price for it.

Other CDs purchased:

  • Anthrax – We’ve Come For You All (sealed German import, $10) I’ve always wanted this album, and I always promised myself I’d get it if I found an import with bonus tracks for a good price.  I have done that now.
  • Deep Purple – Smoke On My Mega-mix ($5) This is a bootleg.  I bought this from the same guy who sold me the Aerosmith “Amazing” single.  Years and years ago, there was a Deep Purple compilation LP called Anthology.  If you bought that and four other singles, you could mail away for a “Smoke On My Mega-mix” exclusive single.  This bootleg has that track, and a whole bunch of other rarities.  One such track is Deep Purple Mk V’s “Fire, Ice & Dynamite” which is only on a DVD called New, Live & Rare.
  • Iron Maiden – Revenge Is Living In the Past (bootleg from A Matter of Life and Death tour, $40)  This is a beautifully packaged triple-gatefold live bootleg.  One of the few recent tours that Maiden have not released a live album from was A Matter of Life and Death.  On that tour, they played the whole album live, and now I have it.  It’s really nicely packaged and I’m looking forward to listening to it soon.

 

“Holy Grails” seen but not purchased:

“Holy Grails” bought:

  • None

One funny story: At record shows, you always find vendors who “know it all”. T-Rev found a CD copy of Kim Mitchell’s self-titled solo EP for $5, but it was burned. Trevor asked, “Do you have the original CD of this? Because if you do, I will buy it.” The vendor swore up and down that no such CD exists. Trevor said, “Yes it does, my buddy has it.” He’s right, because I am that buddy. Here are pictures of my copy of that EP; Amazon are asking over $100 for it, since it went out of print. Photographic proof that it exists below (Wounded Bird CD edition):

Here’s a list of the next bunch of shows.  Attendance is pending funds:

  • London, April 18 2014 (Centennial Hall, 550 Wellington St.)
  • Cambridge, April 27 2014 (Holiday Inn, 200 Holiday Inn Dr.)
  • Woodstock, (Nostalgia Show & Sale), May 25 2014 (Woodstock Fairgrounds, 875 Nellis St.)
  • Ancaster, (Nostalgia Show & Sale), June 22 2014 (Ancaster Fairgrounds, 630 Trinity Rd.)
  • Mississauga, October 19 2014 (Capitol Cenvention Centre, 6435 Dixie Rd.)
  • London, October 26 2014 (Centennial Hall, 550 Wellington St.)

All four of us had a blast.  In the car, Wes commented, “I don’t think I’ve ever had musical conversations like this before!”  Then, I found something out.  Last year, Wes gave me a copy of Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It.”  He did this on condition that I rip and email him the tracks.  I did that as soon as I got home, only I sent them via Trevor, since I didn’t have Wes’ email.

Wes said he never got them.  “I emailed the tracks like a year ago,” I replied.  I explained that Trevor instructed to just send them to him, and he’d forward them along.  That never happened.  Wes said, “All this time I thought it was Ladano’s fault, turns out it’s my friend right here!” and points at Trevor.

This is turning into an annual event.  We might make it semi-annual by checking out the October show.  I’ll be sure to be you posted!

Part 269: CD Singles (of every variety) featuring T-Rev

Welcome back to the WEEK OF SINGLES 2! Each day this week we’re look at rare singles. Today, we’re looking at lots and lots of them!  WARNING:  Image heavy!

Monday: Dream Theater – “Lie” (CD single)
Tuesday: Jimi Hendrix – “Valleys of Neptune” (7″ single)
Wednesday: Them Crooked Vultures – “Mind Eraser, No Chaser” (10″ single)
Thursday: Megadeth – “Creepy Baby Head” (“Crown of Worms” CD single)

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RECORD STORE TALES Part 269:  CD Singles (of every variety)

Featuring T-Rev

I’m going to take the blame for this.  It was I who got T-Rev into collecting singles in 1994-1995.  Oasis kicked his addiction into gear big time, but it was I that sparked his interest in singles.  According to Trevor today, “I suppose it was Oasis that started that ball rolling…then Blur taught me the tricks…Metallica helped mix the sauce…and then I was almost a pro, like you!”

T-Rev was already familiar with the dominance of singles in Europe.  “They’re so much cheaper in England!” he told me then.  “They have entire walls of them, like we do here with albums, but with them it’s singles.”

He had seen me go crazy for some of the singles that came into the store in the early days.  He saw me plunk down my hard earned pay for CD singles by Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, and many more.  He didn’t get why I was spending so much money on so few songs.  CD singles are much rarer here and commanded (new) prices similar to full albums.

IMG_20140205_130708“Why do you buy singles?” he asked me one day.  “I don’t get it.  The song is on the album, they come in those little cases, and they’re expensive.”

“I buy them for the unreleased tracks,” I explained.  “I don’t buy a single if it has nothing unreleased on it, but I want all the different songs.”

“But the unreleased songs aren’t usually any good, are they?” he continued.

“Sometimes,” I answered.  “But check out this Bon Jovi single here.”  I handed him a CD single that I had bought recently at an HMV store. “This one has ‘Edge of a Broken Heart’.  It’s a song that was recorded for Slippery When Wet, but it didn’t make the album.  Sometimes you find these amazing songs that are totally worth having.  Sometimes you only get live songs or remixes, but I still collect those because I try to get everything.”

When Oasis came out with (What’s The Story) Morning Glory, there were ample new singles out there to collect with bonus tracks galore.  T-Rev got me into the band very quickly.  Oasis were known not just for their mouths, but also for their B-sides.  Noel Gallagher was passionate about giving fans good songs as B-sides; he wanted them to be as good as the album.  Oasis had a lot of singles from the prior album Definitely Maybe as well, and one non-album single called “Whatever” that was absolutely marvelous.

Once T-Rev got onto the singles train, he had his own rules about what he wanted to collect and what he didn’t.  Packaging was important to him.  He hated CD singles that came inside little cardboard sleeves.  He couldn’t see them once filed on his CD tower, because there was no thickness to it; no spine to read from the side.  It didn’t matter what was on those CD singles; if the packaging sucked T-Rev was not usually interested.  This applied when we both started collecting old Metallica singles.  I found an Australian copy of “Sad But True” with the rare B-side “So What” at Encore Records for $20. This came in a cardboard sleeve; T-Rev didn’t want it.  (He also already had a live version via the Live Shit: Bing & Purge box set.)  Oasis started releasing their old singles in complete box sets, but T-Rev was only really interested in collecting the UK pressings.  There were a lot of variables to consider.  If you can’t or don’t want to buy everything, you have to set rules and pick and choose.

Once we understood each others’ needs, we were able to keep an eye open for each other.  T-Rev knew if it said Bon Jovi, Faith No More, or Def Leppard on it, that I’d be interested.  If it was a Brit-pop band like Blur or Supergrass, he’d want it (as long as it didn’t come in a paper sleeve).  Foo Fighters too, or virtually anything with Dave Grohl.  Our collections grew prodigiously with rare tracks, EPs we never heard of before, and loads of Metallica.  I believe at one point, T-Rev and I had nearly identical Metallica collections, duplicated between us.  More than half was singles and rarities.  We used to joke that there were probably only two copies of some of these things in town, and we had both of them in one apartment.

IMG_00000064T-Rev sold a lot of his singles but not all.  He still has some treasures.  Highlights include a Steve Earle tin can “Copperhead Road” promo (that he got from local legend Al “the King”).    There’s also Megadeth’s uber-rare “Sweating Bullets” featuring the in-demand “Gristle Mix” by Trent Reznor  Then there was a Blur thing, some kind of “special collectors edition” signed by Damon Albarn, in a Japanese pressing.  Trevor’s seen one sell for upwards of $100.  Then there was another band called “A”.  As Trevor said, “Remember these guys? It was like ‘Britpop punk’. I liked it anyway.”

Also still residing in his collection:  a Japanese print of Oasis’ “Some Might Say” that has two bonus tracks over the domestic version, and two versions of Foo Fighters’ “Big Me”.  One is from Canada, the other from the UK.  Both have different tracks.  I’d forgotten about these until I saw the pictures.

Those were the glory days of collecting.  I miss collecting CD singles.  I preferred hunting the stores downtown to get all the extra tracks to the way it is now.  Now, often you need to buy an iTunes download and several “deluxe editions” to get all the songs.  CD singles were just better, period.  Even just for the cover art of those Oasis singles, singles were much more fun to collect.  I miss those days!
T-Rev’s pics:
LeBrain’s pics:

DVD REVIEW: Bruce Dickinson – Anthology (2006)

I acquired this DVD for ridiculously cheap at my old place of employ via their web order service, but after I left their employ so no staff discount.  Its condition is impeccable!  Very impressive.

BRUCE DICKINSON – Anthology (2006 Sanctuary)

Bruce Dickinson is that rare kind of artist, one whose solo work has the same level of quality, integrity and emotional impact as the work with his better-known band. I think it is safe to say that most Iron Maiden fans have enjoyed Bruce Dickinson’s solo work, or at least most of it. This DVD Anthology is a complete collection of all of Dickinson’s solo video material in one 3-disc package.

Up first is Bruce’s live video supporting his first solo album whilst still in Maiden, Tattooed Millionaire. This video, which was extremely rare when it first came out (I never located a copy), was called Dive! Dive! Live! and featured Maiden guitarist Janick Gers. It also features every song from that Tattooed Millionaire performed live, plus several B-sides and a handful of covers.  No Maiden.  As Bruce was proud to say, this video is very raw. Also on the first DVD is the video Skunkworks Live, which was released in the mid 1990’s. It featured Dickinson’s new solo band, also called Skunkworks, featuring guitarist Alex Dickson. I was not a huge fan of Skunkworks, as I found their style (particularly the bass by Chris Dale) not to mesh so well with Bruce’s songs. Most of the Skunkworks album is performed live, plus some older songs and B-sides, and one Maiden cover (“The Prisoner”). This is another very rare performance as once again, the original video was very hard to find.

Disc 2 is the Scream For Me Brazil show, featuring my favourite lineup of Bruce’s band. Roy Z and Adrian Smith on guitars, the hulking Eddie Casilias on bass, and the talented tribal and bizarre Dave Ingraham on drums. This to me was Bruce’s finest moment as a solo artist. The performance itself was never meant to be released at first, this is a rough and raw video feed. However, as grainy as it is, the raw energy and sheer performance chops of Bruce and his ace band come through. The tracklist is a mix of songs from the three albums featuring Roy Z (Balls to Picasso, Accident of Birth, and Chemical Wedding).

Disc 3 is my personal favourite disc, seeing as Bruce’s music videos were rarely shown on Much. Every video is included here. There are some really off the wall videos directed by Storm Thorgerson (check out “Tattooed Millionaire”! Shoes for hats?) and some really cool horror-chiller-theater-type videos directed by Julian Doyle. Further on, I loved “Accident Of Birth” (directed by Bruce himself), mainly because Dave Ingraham makes awesome faces while playing the drums, and is wearing this funny leather aviation hat through the whole thing. But that’s nothing, wait until you see “Road To Hell”. Ingraham is now wearing a gas mask through the whole thing! Julian Doyle’s “Abduction” video is also cool, as Bruce himself is captured by mysterious Men in Black, and experimented upon….

But there are some pretty bad videos too. “Tears of the Dragon” comes to mind, a great song, but a terrible video. Here’s Bruce, looking all pensive…then there’s some weird sumo wrestler looking guy…fire…a beach…Bruce wrecking stuff…I would have preferred to see his band. It was the early 90’s, and this was the kind of video that people were sick of seeing, pompous and self-important. Awful video.

Lastly as a bonus there is an old Samson video directed by Julian Temple. I don’t even know what to say about Biceps of Steel except it’s an odd one! There is also a lot of supplimentary bonus material, including some introductions and explanations from Bruce himself….

This package was extremely well assembled, and is very enjoyable for all Bruce Dickinson fans. You won’t be let down.  Completists in particular will appreciate that Bruce is very hands-on with his product and tends to give the fans what they wanted along with stuff they didn’t know existed.  Full endorsement from LeBrain.

5/5 stars

More BRUCE DICKINSON at mikeladano.com:

Accident of Birth (1997) Man of Sorrows EP (1997)
Balls To Picasso (1994 & deluxe edition)
The Chemical Wedding (1998 Japanese import)
Skunkworks, Skunkworks Live EP (1996)
Tattooed Millionaire (1990, 2005 Sanctuary 2 disc set)
Tyranny of Souls (2005, Japanese version)
RECORD STORE TALES Part 148: Navigate the Seas of the Sun

Top Five(s) of 2013 – Part 3: 2013’s Rockin’ Stats

What Do the Stats Say?

I always enjoy doing these year-end lists.  I’ve compiled some of the stats from the last 12 months for you, and for my own amusement.  For the 2012 installment click here.

2013 was an exciting year for me.  I enjoyed reviewing some great albums, although I only did one real “series” in 2013 — Ace Frehley.  I did some mini-series such as the Week of Singles, but nothing as epic as the 50 part Maiden series from 2012.

In 2013, I took a bigger leap into making videos.  Three this year that I was particularly proud of:

1. Toronto Record Store Excursion 2013
2. Sausagefest XII Video Report
3. Top Five Discs that Got Us in Shit at the Record Store

Not including these end-of-year lists, 2013 had only 9 Guest Shots.  I’d really like more in 2013, so drop me a line if you are interested in contributing.  Uncle Meat was the most prolific contributor this year, with notable work also posted by Mrs. LeBrain, Lemon Kurri Klopek, and Tommy Morais.

In 2013, I posted 103 installments of Record Store Tales, 12 editions of the ever popular WTF Search Terms, and a whopping 275 Reviews.

My biggest personal blogging achievement this year however was the completion of a massive project:  A Table of Contents!  It was a mind-numbing task in its monotony, but rewarding in its final form.  Finally all Record Store Tales and Reviews are listed and easy to find in a couple clicks.

TOP FIVE  LeBRAIN-READING COUNTRIES

WHERE DID THEY COME FROM

United States FlagUnited States 31,256
Canada FlagCanada 24,154
United Kingdom FlagUnited Kingdom 9,884
Germany FlagGermany 3,479
Sweden FlagSweden 3,080

TOP FIVE REVIEWS by hits

Queensryche absolutely dominated this year, their combined hits overshadowing even the mighty Iron Maiden.

1. Iron Maiden – Maiden England ’88 (2013 CD reissue)…1,391
2. Marillion – Radiation 2013…1,240
3. Queensrÿche – “Redemption” (2013 single)…927
4. Queensrÿche – Queensrÿche (2013 Japanese edition with bonus tracks)…907
5. Geoff Tate’s Queensrÿche – “Cold” (2013 single)…737
6. (Runner-up) Brian May & Friends – Star Fleet Project…691

TOP SEARCH TERMS

1. marillion radiation 2013…145
2. queensryche redemption…127
3. 69porn…118
4. paul stanley voice problems…90
5. mike ladano…75

TOP COMMENTORS

1.  Aaron! 1047 comments

2.  Heavy Metal OverloRd 817 comments

3.  Former reader “DW” 407 comments

4.  Jon Wilmenius 355 comments

* Because of a glitch I only have a Top 4

Tomorrow, we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled programming with a new Record Store Tale. Thanks for reading in 2013, and I promise more fun in 2014!