Kevin Beamish

REVIEW: Dudes – The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1987)

A collaboration with Jex Russell – check out his review of the vinyl by clicking here.

DUDES – The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1987 MCA)

Every collector is different.  My time is a valuable commodity, so when I buy movie soundtracks made up of mixed songs, I generally only play the songs by the bands I like, and I may never hear the rest of of the album.   So it came to be, I have never played the Dudes soundtrack, despite owning it almost 30 years.  I don’t know the premise of the movie either.  All I know is the old Keel music video for “Rock ‘N’ Roll Outlaw” featured some of the movie footage, starring Jon Cryer, Flea, and Mary Catherine Stewart.  It was clearly a comedy.  Back then, they didn’t tell you what movie or album a video was from, so I never knew the movie was called Dudes until I saw the CD physically.

I bought this disc at the Record Store in 1997 mostly for Keel, W.A.S.P. and Steve Vai.  One look at the cover and I said “This is that movie with the Keel song!  I recognize those two guys!”  And so it was.

The Keel video commences with a stern warning from a police officer: “You know, maybe this wouldn’t have happened if you looked like normal folks.”  He scolds a hilariously punky-looking Jon Cryer.  We know what kind of movie this is without seeing it.  (Lee Ving of Fear is also in the film.)

“Rock ‘N’ Roll Outlaw”, produced by Kevin Beamish, is the opening track.  It’s loaded with attitude and a cool riff, backed by electric slide guitar.  “All I need is a rock and roll band, and somewhere new to play!” howls Ron Keel, a distinct singer that never achieved the level of success he was due.  There’s a dual solo, with Marc Ferrari comedically using a pistol as a slide in the music video.  “Rock ‘N’ Roll Outlaw” is one of Keel’s top tunes, and it wasn’t on their album.  The drums are recorded a little clanky, but otherwise this tune is top-notch road rock.

I have never listened to the Vandals, as far as I know, in my life until this moment.  “Urban Struggle” begins with a mock Indian war beat, and a mutation of The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly theme.  It’s a joke song with cowboy-themed lyrics in a mock accent, and then going into a punk western style, and words about mechanical bulls.  Not a song I’ll be coming back to.

“Show No Mercy” by W.A.S.P. (produced by Mike Varney) is more my speed.  A non-album track, it hearkens back to early W.A.S.P.  The lineup pictured inside was the current W.A.S.P., including Johnny Rod and Steve Riley.  The actual track is from an earlier lineup with Tony Richards and Randy Piper.  As such, it sounds exactly like the first album, and having more tunes with that sound is never a bad thing.  It is a smoker, and Chris Holmes’ familiar guitar sound is welcome in my ears.  This song easily could have been on the album, if not used as a single.

Simon Steele & The Claw don’t seem to have released much music over the years.  Shame.  “Vengeance Is Mine” is a traditional metal gallop.  The vocals are decent, usually occupying a low John Bush-like growl, but occasionally releasing into a scream.  There’s an awkward key change midway through, but the pace remains relentless throughout.

Megadeth’s jokey cover of “These Boots Are Made For Walkin'” was on their first album as “These Boots”, but this version is slightly longer.  Produced by Paul Lani, it is a different recording from the album version by Dave Mustaine and Karat Faye.   It remains as entertaining as ever.  It may as well be an original if not for the lyrics.  You’d never think it was “These Boots” if it was purely instrumental.

A complete change of pace is the pop rocker “Time Forgot You” by Legal Weapon.  Apparently they were primarily a punk band, but this is a really cool mainstream 80s rock track that could have been a big hit on radio if circumstances allowed.  Singer Kat Arthurs is a breath of fresh air after the grit of Mustaine!  This is the hidden gem of the album, with a strong bassline and catchy, well-recorded stabs of shimmering rhythm guitar.

“Jesus Came Driving Along” by Swedish band The Leather Nun is like a gothic punk rock hybrid.  The vocals are recorded low in the mix and odd sounds are rampant, but it’s pretty cool.  It has a beat you can drive to, which might be the intent.

I was never a big Jane’s Addiction fan, but “Mountain Song” is a brilliant piece of swirly-whirly rock brilliance.  A big Jane’s fan told me at the time that he never heard this particular version of “Mountain Song” before, produced by the band themselves.  He considered it a rarity.  The riff to “Mountain Song” seems like it has been ripped off so many times over the years since.  There’s a Zeppelin-esque massiveness to it, but with a tribal beat, an 80s haze, and a howling Perry Farrell.  Utter musical magnificence.

Punk band The Little Kings have a very cool song here called “The Lost Highway”.  The exaggerated warbling mannerisms of the singer recall Elvis a bit, as the band chop out a greasy rockabilly sound behind him.  It’s hard hitting and unique.  It goes breakneck for a moment, and then back into a rockabilly groove.

A short instrumental from the movie score, “Dudes Showdown” has twangy guitar, and tense synth backing.  It certainly sets a scene.  It sounds like a setup for a climax.

The final song is almost a coda.  It’s Steve Vai’s rare rendition of “Amazing Grace”, which he has since released as part of his Secret Jewel Box collection.  At the time however, it was one of those scattered one-off rarities.  Vai goes surprisingly delicate here, with heavy, dreamy guitar effects and a very experimental arrangement of the traditional music.  Steve used to say, “Sorry, I can’t help myself!” and here’s an example.  He couldn’t help doing something completely different.

And that’s the album!  Not bad actually, with only the Vandals track being the one I’d skip today.

4/5 stars

 

REVIEW: Leatherwolf – Street Ready (1989 Japanese import)

LEATHERWOLF – Street Ready (1989 Island/Polystar Japan)

Leatherwolf progressed in just three albums from an unremarkable thrash band to a melodic, heavy rock quintet with a knack for a hook.  They also had a gimmick: the “Triple Axe Attack”.  Unlike most bands of the time, Leatherwolf boasted three guitarists.  Geoff Gayer and Carey Howe handled the leads while singer Michael Olivieri played the rhythm.  Their first album was just OK, but on their second they signed to a major label and had some decent production.  They also wrote better tunes, and embellished their sound with keyboards and ballads.

By the third, their songwriting chops had really grown.  In the end, this album is less heavy than the first two; a little more straightforward. It still retains thrash metal aspects mixed with ballads, but on the whole this album is more middle of the road.  Track for track, it’s free of filler and each song has some kind of memorable hook that makes return visits a pleasure.

Traditional metal guitar harmonies and thrashing chords blend on the opener “Wicked Ways”, which careens from slow to fast and back again.  Focus is solidly on the guitars, though Michael Olivieri certainly blows all the fuses on lead vocals.  A great melding of styles, like an 80s Iron Maiden song fueled by nuclear fusion.

For a song called “Street Ready”, a dirty groove is most appropriate.  That’s where Leatherwolf take this nasty little tune with bite.  The riff recalls their single “The Calling” from the previous album.  But the first single this time was the balladesque “Hideaway”. A power ballad with the emphasis on power.  Singer Michael Olivieri had a great range and plenty of lung capacity.  A ballad with bite.

Back to heavy, “Take A Chance” is quite thrash, but faster than the mainstream.  The choppy riff could have come from an early Scorpions album, when they had sting.  Keeping the pace is “Black Knight”, an instrumental thrash rocker with amazing drumming courtesy of Dean “Drum Machine” Roberts.  Faster and heavier than anything since their debut.

Back when albums had sides, side two opened with a big powerful anthem, a roll of bass, and earthshaking chorus.  “I am the thunder that starts the rain.”  This song must have been a killer live.  Slow in pace, but the weight comes from that heavy anthemic feeling, defying the storm.

A second ballad “The Way I Feel” is soft by comparison, but doesn’t lack backbone.  Comparable to “Share A Dream” from the last album. Not for everyone — thrash metal people should certainly avoid.  Everyone else will enjoy its melodic power.  Speaking of power, back in that direction is the ragged “Too Much”, careening off the rails at top acceleration.

“Lonely Road” takes us back to huge anthem territory, like “Thunder”, but faster.  A soft keyboard intro is deceptive.  This ain’t no ballad.  This is a banger; you have to let it get going.  They go full-on for closer “Spirits In The Wind”.  Great tune with lots of metal guitar thrills.

In Japan however that wasn’t the closer.  A bonus track “Alone in the Night” is tacked on for added value.  This originated on the 1988 Return of the Living Dead Part II soundtrack (which also featured Zodiac Mindwarp and two Anthrax tunes).  It has a thinner sound to it, indicating it came from a separate recording session.  Not one of Leatherwolf’s better songs, but not a throwaway either.  Just not as memorable, but a valuable addition.

Song for song, Street Ready is the best Leatherwolf album.  Metal bands just don’t try to sound like this anymore.

5/5 stars

 

REVIEW: Leatherwolf- Leatherwolf (1988)

Found in the late 1990’s at Natural Sound in Kitchener.

 

LEATHERWOLF – Leatherwolf (1988 Island)

I first saw Leatherwolf in a 1988 Hit Parader magazine. Their gimmick was the “triple-axe attack”. Their singer, Michael Olivieri, doubled on guitar so during those twin harmony solos, the rhythm guitar wouldn’t drop out. Yeah, I know, that doesn’t sound like much, now that Maiden have three full time lead guitarists. At the time it was enough to get me interested enough to have a listen. I saw the video for “The Calling” on MuchMusic — instant fan!

This album, originally released on Island records (then home of U2), is quite good.  It’s an amalgam of thrash metal’s heaviness and pounding double bass — and glam rock. An odd mixture, but it works. The first album Endangered Species was pretty straight forward thrash, but this self-titled is tempered by keyboards and ballads.

Leatherwolf commences with some sweet acoustics: “Rise Or Fall” soon kicks into gear with some march-style drums and “Genghis Khan” (Iron Maiden)-style riffing. Then, another time change and the song careens into high gear with thick backing vocals, time changes, and guitar harmonies.  The aforementioned “The Calling” was the anthemic first single. A fist pumper. I love the riff on this one. Very cool and chunky.  The chorus ain’t too shabby either, nor the verses.  Although it’s a bit early for a balld, “Share a Dream” is next.  Most metal guys out there will probably have no problem skipping this too soft keyboard ballad. I don’t mind it, but it’s a jarring change of pace.

At first you might think “Cry Out” is another ballad, but once the intro is over the song nails it. This one is quite the anthem, with plenty of shouted backing vocals, and power to spare.  That was the side closer, and side two was introduced by “Gypsies And Thieves”.  Like the album opener, it’s complex with plenty of changes and fast parts.  Good for getting back on track.  Leatherwolf are a metal band after all, not Bon Jovi!

I was enamored with “Bad Moon Rising”a a teenager.  Yes, the CCR cover, but performed as a fast-paced two-minute thrash rocker. Some won’t like it, as a cover is always a dangerous weapon to behold.  I always thought it would have made a great theme song to an 80’s horror movie.  Remember back when you absolutely had to have a rock theme song in every horror movie?  In fact, in the 12th grade I gathered my friends Anand and Danesh with the intent of creating a student film along those lines.  Unfortunately we only finished one scene before our star one day just decided to stop showing up at school!

“Princess Of Love” is not a ballad, but it is quite keyboard heavy and gothic. Another winner in my books.  “Magical Eyes” is one of the only dull songs on the record.  It’s heavy, but inferior in quality to a song like “Rise Or Fall”.  Skip button territory. Because it would have been folly to end the album on anything but, “Rule The Night” is a metallic anthem. Shout-able choruses redeem the album.  Leatherwolf threatens to run off the rails once or twice, but it always centers itself before it’s too late.

As you have seen, Leatherwolf walks the fine line between thrash metal and commercial pop metal. As such the band never fell in with either camp and broke up after the next album Street Ready, which was actually way better than this one. Some closed-minded listeners didn’t get this strange mixture of seemingly contradictory styles.  That’s too bad.  There’s a lot to like here.  The only real drawback to this CD is the 80’s production values by Kevin Beamish. It’s a little too dense, a little too echo-y.

The band reunited in the 90’s with the live Wide Open CD, and went through several lineup changes in the lead vocals department. Olivieri left to be replaced by former Racer X singer Jeff Martin who did some awesome demos with them (check them out).  Then he in turn was replaced by ex-Crimson Glory singer Wade Black on the studio album World Asylum. When he left, World Asylum was re-recorded with Olivieri back on vocals and retitled New World Asylum! Whew!  And I believe the band are working on new music as you read this.  Stay tuned.

4/5 stars