50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 6:Â Beast Over Hammersmith
A special 🅻🅸🆅🅴 episode
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK #93
Good evening Hammersmith…or wherever you are! Tonight on 50 Years of Iron Maiden, Harrison and I are appropriately tackling this live album with a live episode!
Beast Over Hammersmith is a double live album recorded just before The Number of the Beast was released. The band played a rare mix of Di’Anno classics and deep cuts, along with new material, and one B-side! Bruce explains to the crowd that it’s not “really” a B-side, which it was, but we’ll get into that, as well as “all the lazy bastards from EMI in the back.”
This episode is our sendoff to Clive Burr, and we’ll be talking about him, though not for the last time in this series.
Beast Over Hammersmith was first issued as a 2 CD set within the Eddie’s Archive box set, which we have taken brief looks at in the past. Today you can get Beast Over Hammersmith on vinyl, so it is a significant enough release to warrant its own episode.
So give us a yo, yo yo yo! and see us tonight, live!
50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 5: The Number of the Beast
With Jex RussellÂ
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK #91
Enter: The Air Raid Siren. “Bruce Bruce”. Paul Bruce Dickinson to his mum. One of the greatest lead vocalists, frontmen, songwriters and lyricists in heavy metal: Bruce Dickinson. None of that is hyperbole.
It’s one of the greatest “replacement singer” success stories in heavy metal. Not just anyone could replace the beloved Paul Di’Anno. What Iron Maiden did with Bruce took the band to a whole new level. They tightened the songwriting, sharpened the production and put out one of the best albums of their lives.  The Number of the Beastpushed Maiden to a new level, and hinted at how they would grow album by album in the future.
In this episode, Mike and Harrison discuss the full track listing, including “Total Eclipse” and the live B-side “Remember Tomorrow”. We’ll talk about the different coloured covers, the different track listings, and of course the tour! Also included, an interview clip with Bruce Dickinson on assumptions made about heavy metal at that time. This in-depth episode is our longest to date at just over an hour. It is filled with praise and critique, but by the end you will understand why this is considered by some to be “the” Maiden classic.
Jex Russell’s favourite Iron Maiden album is The Number of the Beast. He was thrilled to find that no-one had snagged this slot yet. Please welcome Jex back to the show!
A big thank-you to my co-host Jex Russell and special guest Tim Durling for this informative, fun and funny look at the career of Sammy Hagar. The show was also about this new book that Tim has out about the Red Rocker.
OK, sure, the show went off the rails from time to time, but there were plenty of highlights:
A hilarious cold open by Jex
A cool 12″ single for “Heavy Metal” with two bonus tracks
An inside look at Tim’s process and priorities when writing this book
Lots of interesting opinions on Sammy and his various bands
Great interaction in the comments section with loads of great questions
Enjoy the show!
Show notes:
How do you go about asking Greg Renoff to write a forward. Just “Hey Greg…”?
Thanks for the shout out about the “late tax”.
Do you think Roth still listens to Montrose?
Have you ever heard “Sammy Hagar Weekend” by Thelonious Monster?
Regarding the “contractual obligation album”, there was a lot of information here that I was not aware of before, such as that note inside 5150 that says “Sammy’s solo albums can be found on Geffen records.” When you first notice that?
Capital Special Markets – were these only serviced to certain kinds of stores?
THE QUIZ:
Who engineered Chickenfoot III? – Mike Fraser
What is the name of the alien race that Sammy believes abducted him, and inspired many of his lyrics? – The Nine
Did the Sam & Dave actually happen, or was it just a Mandela Effect?
A true throwback to the early days of Grab A Stack of Rock, and a showcase for the Mad Metal Man. That was Friday night on Grab A Stack of Rock.
Harrison showed us several CDs that Mike wants to add to his collection, including a 2 CD edition of Alice Cooper in El Paso 1980, Iron Maiden bootlegs with Paul, Bruce and Blaze, Black Sabbath with Ian Gillan, a Bruce Dickinson single, and many more. Harrison also had a rare Nintendo NES video game soundtrack on 7″ vinyl, and possibly the only Arkells CD in all of Australia. (We just don’t know!)
I miscalculated the length of tonight’s show. I expected it to run an hour. I invited some surprise guests to welcome back Harrison after his long absence, and so we were joined by Peter Kerr, Johnny Clauser, and Jex Russell at the one hour mark. Thank you guys for joining us on this special night.
Mike also had some CDs to show off, such as Prince, Paul Stanley, ELP, King Kobra, and Faster Pussycat. However, storytelling was his main role. The Sultans of Ping FC and the Arkells featured into two stories.
Thank you for watching and see you next week on Grab A Stack of Rock for our Mad Max movie ranking!
RECORD STORE TALES #1159: The Community is Dead – Long Live the Community!
Once Upon A Time, the old WordPress music Community was an important part of our daily breakfast. It was a wonderful way to connect and talk music with like-minded folks. It was even a good way to seek support in our lives.
Then in 2023, the Community died. I don’t know why, and I no longer care. It’s possibly a “type of feint, or fake technique, whereby a player draws an opposing player out of position or skates by the opponent while maintaining possession and control of the puck.” People just…disappeared. Ghosted. I actually don’t want to know why. “Let the past die,” Kylo Ren said. “Kill it, if you have to.” That is done, but not by my own hand.
I knew it was dead in 2024, when several people from the old Community refused to watch or acknowledge my trip to Toronto with Aaron, the Community’s spiritual leader.  It was a shunning, with intent. Rest in peace, Community!
Whatever their issues are, I hope they find peace and harmony, wherever they went and whatever they are doing now. I miss them. But there was a silver lining.
A new Community awaited me. A bigger, more welcoming Community. A Community that stretches from Australia to America, east coast to west, and up north to Canada. A stronger Community. For me it began as the old Community died in 2023. Marco D’Auria encouraged me to work with the Contrarians, and suddenly I started getting invites to appear on other shows, such as Rock Daydream Nation and My Music Corner. With these fine folks, together, we have rebuilt what was lost. Bigger, better, faster, stronger!
I welcome you to the Community! A place where we support each other, collaborate, and celebrate the power of music! A place where you will not be judged for your mistakes, nor shunned.
Apologies to those who missed the beginning of today’s show; we decided to go early by 15 minutes.
Thank you for joining this fun Friday hangout! Jex and I both had stacks of CDs to show off, as well an an 8-track tape, a “gas station cassette”, and some vinyl. Recent arrivals, gifts and thrift finds were on hand today.
Additionally, we offered our opinions of the current goings-on with P. Diddy aka Puff Daddy. This discussion came by request of my mother. Jex and I avoid details but have some thoughts on a couple Diddy-related movies we enjoyed.
If you watch from the beginning of the show, you will see me land my drone live on the LakeCam. Yes that’s right – LakeCam was back on Grab A Stack of Rock with more wildlife sightings than ever before!
Thanks for watching! See you next week at 7:00 PM for Spinal Tap with Marco D’Auria and the Meat Man.
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man Episode 71:Â The Last Hurrah – One More Cottage Afternoon Show of 2024 with Jex Russell
UPDATED – WE ARE GOING LIVE EARLY – 3:45 est / 4:45 atlantic
It is fall! The summer 2024 season of Grab A Stack of Rock rolls to a conclusion.
If all goes well, Jex and I will ring out cottage season just as we rang it in: With an afternoon episode of Grab A Stack of Rock! There has been a lot (a lot!) going on with both of us lately, so this will not be a big list show or a gigantic show-and-tell. This is just your chance to come and chill with Jex and I on a Friday afternoon at the cottage. We do have CDs, and I have some vinyl to show off. An unboxing, some new music, and some conversation starters!
As always, the comments will be on, and we will be chatting with you, live. The plan is for a relaxing atmosphere to end the week, and plenty of musical talk. Maybe even some current events…
Join us live to take part; if not you can check it out on YouTube or Facebook after the fact!
Here’s to an awesome 2024 cottage season, as short as it felt. Thanks Jex for making this happen two years in a row. Fear not; we have lots of fall rock action in store, and a winter season to come!
Friday September 20 at 4:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 5:00 P.M. Atlantic. Â Enjoy onYouTube or on Facebook!
Aerosmith have called it a day, at least insofar as playing live is concerned. While we know a series of reissues is coming, it is likely that Aerosmith are done as an active band. I never got to see them live, but at least I did get to participate in this great Top Five album ranking with Tim, Jex and Will! (The same team that did a “least favourite Kiss list last year.)
The task was simple: Pick our top five Aerosmith albums, and two runners-up. This time, Jex didn’t go wild and pick, like, Just Push Play as his #1. In fact we think these lists were pretty rock solid! Some lesser-appreciated albums were given love, and the “big ones” were well represented. Studio only, no live or compilations.
Please enjoy this show as much as we enjoyed making it.
After you hit the big 50, it seems birthdays are less important and a little hum-drum. My 52nd birthday fell on a Friday, so I decided to take advantage of that and have a little long weekend for myself. My week ended on Thursday, which coincided with one of the boss’ birthdays at work. He was turning 65, so we had a bit of an upscale lunch to celebrate both birthdays. My coworkers and I enjoyed an afternoon at Milestones in Cambridge. I had a delectable penne pasta with shrimp, mushrooms, bacon and a creamy truffle sauce. The sauce was aromatic, and quite deliciously pungent. It was almost more an experience of smell rather than taste, but I enjoyed it thoroughly. A wonderful start to the birthday weekend.
Thursday night was an evening to chill. I bought a Lego set, the Atreides Ornithopter set which will give me my first Jason Momoa, Oscar Isaac and Josh Brolin minifigs for my collection. This difficult set kept my hands occupied while I enjoyed a traditional movie treat. I went with 1984’s The Last Starfighter, a movie that I watched with Bob Schipper the summer it came out 40 years ago. “Better than Star Wars!” I told my parents when I got home. Watching it again today, it’s definitely derivative of Star Wars though able to deliver new things in a grounded Earthly setting. I smiled the whole way through.
I couldn’t sleep that night. We had water coming into the home office, and after the shelf disaster of three weeks ago, it kept me up at night. I also slept on my arm in a way that pinched my nerves and left me with two numb fingers on my left hand. Ah, 52. But I had morning plans.
I wanted to head down to the Grand River at 6:00 am when nobody is around, and take the drone up. With Jen at my side on second camera, we had a quick flight over the fog at sunrise and got some remarkable footage. First birthday goal accomplished!
I wanted to do something special for my birthday meal, and so I chose a lunch instead of a dinner. Why? Because as you get older, bed time gets earlier. I also wanted to do something different that we don’t usually do. And so, Jen sucked up a Benadryl for me, and we hit up Ye’s Sushi. There was plenty of stuff that Jen could eat, but an allergic reaction is impossible to avoid, so precautions were taken. I really appreciated this sacrifice on her part. Her favourite was the edamame, while mine was the beef short ribs. For me, generally, beef won the show.  Dessert was deep fried banana with chocolate dip sauce.
Jen had to crash for a couple hours after the allergy meds kicked in, but she enjoyed her first sushi outing and I really appreciate her doing it. Next year we’ll do something different, but this was a first for us and it was really special.
At that point, it was time to get ready for Grab A Stack of Rock at 3:30. I warmed up my coffee and jumped in front of the camera. I had originally thought of taking my birthday off from the show, but as the week wore on, I felt like I wanted to celebrate a bit with my friends. So, I scheduled a show and Jex Russell, Tim Durling and John Clauser joined me for gifts and memories. And much more.
All Jen’s gifts came from Encore Records in Kitchener. They were:
Ratt – Rarities (2024)
A good compilation of demos and live stuff. There’s a 1989 demo called “Love on the Rocks”, which is a Pearcy/Crosby composition that never made it onto an album. Good song, and a CD that is hard to find.
Black Country Communion – V (2024)
I hear good things! I am missing a few BCC releases, but there has never been a better time to jump back into the band. I’m spinning it now and enjoying that bluesy rock groove with just a hint of Zeppelin that I love so much.
Prince and the Revolution – Live(2022)
From the Purple Rain tour, I figured this release would make a great accompaniment to my Purple Rain deluxe edition. It will go well in the car on a future cottage trip. Contents: two CDs and a blu-ray, including favourites of mine like “Computer Blue” and “I Would Die 4 U” . Closing the set is nearly 20 minutes of “Purple Rain”. This will be epic!
The gifts were just a precursor to the main event, which caught me by surprise and knocked me out of my chair. With the help with Tim Durling, Jex arranged special surprise birthday messages in a video that we ran live on the show. I was blown away by the words and sentiments from so many people!
Jex Russell
John Clauser, performing an acoustic version of “Grab A Stack of Rock”
Rob Daniels from Visions in Sound, with some kind words that hit me in the heart
Aaron Stewart of the KMA
Harrison Kopp with Lego art
Uncle Meat with some comments that left me head over heels…
Martin Popoff with some more kind words that left my jaw on the floor
Dr. Kathryn Ladano (with Molli, Daisi, Winston and Bruce)
Grant Arthur from the Rock Warehaus with good advice
Metal Roger with metal vocals
Todd Evans of the Contrarians to grab a stack of cake
Tom Brislin, keyboard player from Kansas
Jen Ladano right from the bowling alley
D’Arcy Briggs from darcyska on YouTube!
Marco D’Auria with a funny name mix-up and more kind words that I don’t think I deserve
Brent “the Doctor” Doerner of Helix to grab a stack of beer
Steve Deluxe and some wise words about B-sides
Tim Durling, who helped connect some of these people with Jex
Peter Kerr of Rock Daydream Nation with a pretty excellent vocal performance
Chris Preston of MyRockandRollHeaven on Twitter
My Aunt Lynda and cousin Geoff with embarrassing stories
Matt Phillips of GoNorth Design, with a custom Lego Stratocaster
My mom and dad
By the end of it, I was emotionally exhausted…so much love and encouragement from people I really look up to. The one common recurring thread was a message I really need to hear: keep doing what you do.
What better birthday gift could anyone want?
The rest of the weekend will be spent enjoying music, and reflecting upon the blessings I have in my life.
I cannot thank you, my friends, enough for this very special birthday. No matter how hard I try to search for the words, they remain out of my reach. My words cannot sum up the feeling of a full heart.
The birthdays keep coming, relentlessly as the tides, but Jex Russell ensured that this one was special and different indeed.
This birthday, I was joined by Jex, John Clauser and Tim Durling for a fun Friday afternoon that turned quite epic by the end. Before that surprise unfolded, we took a look at my new shelving and a large chunk at my CD collection. We discussed favourite birthday memories and a movie in its 40th anniversary this year: The Last Starfighter. (This led into a side discussion on Howard the Duck.)
Jen joined us for gifts at the halfway point of the show. She gifted me with two new releases and one deluxe live album. You’ll have to watch the show and see! (Clue: royal rodents and the Phoenix lights.)
As a finale, Jex unveiled his surprise. With the assistance of Tim Durling, it was like an episode of “This Is Your Life”, or a Cameo with all my favourite people. Jex’s presentation included friends both famous and infamous. There was even an acoustic version of the Grab A Stack of Rock theme song performed by Johnny Metal himself. Thank you, John!
Here is Jex’s presentation:
By the end of it, I was flattered and honoured, and maybe my eyes were a little wet. I’m not crying, you’re crying. All my reactions to the kind words and surprise guests are live and unfiltered.
I’m the guy who usually has all the words. I don’t have any this time. If a picture is worth 1000 words, just watch my face.
Thank you everyone for everything. Here’s to another year.
mikeladano.com 