This subject came up in discussion a few months ago: Did you used to draw band logos on all of your stuff? Sure you did! If you’re reading this blog, then you’re a music lover, and all true music lovers have scrawled a logo on something at least once.
I found a single page with dozens of my old hand-drawn logos. This goes back to my first days at the Record Store! Some are good, some are shite, some aren’t even the real logo! I think the TS “bone” logo looks pretty good, and I’m going to give myself props for using obscure versions of the Kiss and Helix logos.
First up to bat, my good buddy Aaron, (who as you all know loooooooves Mastodon) decided to rectify the situation that I didn’t yet have their latest album Once More ‘Round the Sun. Which I can tell you, is awesome. Mastodon have a lot of what I liked best in metal, and this album lives up to the hype. I’m really into track 6, “Asleep in the Deep”, which has a very cool chiming Voivod-esque riff.
Proceedings got off to an unofficial start yesterday at noon. We do a monthly lunch out at work regularly, and this one fell on the Friday before my birthday. My co-workers bought me lunch at Beertown, which was very very good. Above, some beer & cheddar soup, as well as some lovely truffled sweet potato fries. I also had some battered calimari.
Jen and her mom always gets me the best T-shirts. Above, two Big Bang Theory T’s, the infamous Walter White, and a spiffy Led Zeppelin swearshirt that will definitely be worn to next year’s Sausagefest.
They also bought me Transformers. FansToys are making some absolutely astounding G1 Masterpiece-class Dinobots right now. Scoria aka Slag is a beautiful, heavy figure. He looks great next to MP Grimlock and MP Prime. If you like Grimlock, you will love this figure. Thank you to Jen’s mom for this amazing figure. I will definitely be getting Swoop. Jen also got me the new Generations Skrapnel/Shrapnel and Reflector, which I also like a lot, for a Scout-class figure.
We went to Mother’s Pizza for dinner tonight. Thanks Dad! I had the small “Grandmother’s”. It tasted a lot like I remember it tasting almost 30 years ago. It had lots of olives and mushrooms, which I topped with double cheese.
Neil DeGrasse-Tyson’s Cosmos on Blu-ray is an absolute treat. Thanks Jen. I hope you don’t mind watching the whole series, over again with me! She also picked up Paul Stanley‘s Face the Music, which I hear is a great read! And who doesn’t like jellybeans?
Thanks everyone for all the birthday wishes. It was a great, laid back day!
Welcome to the semi-regular feature where I reveal stunningly weird search terms that led people to mikeladano.com For the last installment, Heavy Porn Metal edition, click here!
WTF SEARCH TERMS XX: Questions & Comments edition
1.is john norum bald and wears awig(ask Jon Wilmenius, he knows everything about bald Swedish rockers!)
2.did pete woodroffe play in led zepplin (I sincerely hope nobody over the age of 15 needs to ask who was in Led Zeppelin.)
3.chad kroeger douche (yes.)
4.dave donato sucks(meh.)
5.styx goofy keyboard player (Lawrence Gowan is goofy?)
6.what would a record store smell like (as I said in Part 57, farts.)
RECORD STORE TALES Part 277.5: Klassik Kwote – The Dandy Douche Strikes Back
I’m a pretty big Led Zeppelin fan, having bought all their albums more than once (and at least once more) over the years. When this Robert Plant CD came out in November 2003, it was high on my radar. I didn’t own any Plant solo albums (beyond The Honeydrippers), but wanted something of his in my collection. This compilation of hits and rarities was perfect for my needs.
I was listening to it in the store one afternoon when Dandy sauntered in. Always eager to criticize my musical selections on any given day, he had this to say about Robert Plant’s Sixty Six to Timbuktu:
“I was talking to my dad about why Led Zeppelin sucked,”he said. “Now I know. It’s not Led Zeppelin that sucked, it was just Robert Plant all along.”
THEM CROOKED VULTURES – “Mind Eraser, No Chaser” (10″ single)
I love unique looking items and this sure qualifies. Enveloped in a transparent red sleeve is a 10″ picture disc; this is something to behold. It looks great and you’ll want to put it in some kind of protective sleeve right away to keep it pristine, which is what I did.
The A-side contains the album version of “Mind Eraser, No Chaser” and a live cut of an unreleased song called “Hwy 1”. This live track was recorded in January in Sydney, Australia. It’s an awesome tune, punctuated by some seriously dexterous playing from John Paul Jones. Those who have heard his solo album Zooma know exactly what I’m talking about. I really liked this song a lot, it gets into a great groove, locking in with Dave and Josh, and a melody that makes it a real standout. If it had been on the album it would have been one of the choicest cuts.
“Mind Eraser, No Chaser” itself was one of the better album tracks as well, making this side a great listen. It’s a pretty succinct track that could be easily mistaken for a Queens of the Stone Age song. No matter that John Paul Jones is 1/3 of the band, Them Crooked Vultures simply resembles QOTSA more than they don’t.
The B-side is an 11-minute interview conducted by film director Liam Lynch (Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny). It’s actually quite a good interview, with all three members of the band. Both Dave Grohl and Josh Homme went into the album without having played their “main” instruments in a long time (drums and guitar respectively). John Paul expresses his disappointment that many metal bands are simply parodies of the genre; but that the Vultures are certainly not. My favourite quote is Dave Grohl’s:
“I’m never nervous about hitting ‘record’, and I’m never worried that, ‘hmmm, I hope I come up with a riff’. ‘Cause riffs…I don’t have a problem coming up with riffs. It’s songs that are important. I even said that to Josh after the first we time we jammed. I said, ‘You know, you and I could fill the Grand Canyon with riffs. But we need to write some songs’. That’s the hard part. And that’s where John comes in handy ’cause he’s the genius composer/arranger.”
This was an April 17 2010 Record Store Day exclusive, but even today you can find them all over the place. Don’t pay more than you need to, because you don’t need to.
I originally had this review scheduled for later. I pushed it up in light of recent events. #biebersucks
SCHOOL OF ROCK (2003 Paramount)
Directed by Richard Linklater
Do you have kids? This movie should be compulsory viewing for all parents who want their children to kick their Justin Bieber or Miley Cyrus habits. In this surprisingly family-friendly rocker, Jack Black turns a group of school kids on to the greatest sounds known to man: classic rock! Funny with great songs, School of Rock is among my favourite Jack Black films. Even those who aren’t particularly into classic rock have been lured in by this movie, such is its charm.
Down-and-out rocker Dewey Finn has been kicked out of his metal band, and replaced by a shirtless guitar player named Spider. Desperate to pay his share of the rent to his substitute teacher roommate Ned Schneebly (Mike White), Dewey steals a teaching gig at a private school. He pretends to be “Mr. Schneebly”, but is barely literate himself. Of course, Dewey’s a bit of a burnout, but he has never let go of his dream. He believes that the world can be made a better place by performing the public service of rocking out. He believes that he has what it takes to rock out. All he needs is some money and a new band….
Starting at the school, he is under the watchful eye of the principal, perfectly played by Black’s High Fidelity castmate Joan Cusack. When Dewey hears the kids play classical music at the school, he realizes he’s found his band. He just needs to teach them a little bit about rocking.
Black is infinitely quotable in this movie, and the music is top notch. The original songs are all stellar, particularly “Way Hard Core”. The classic rock soundtrack are some of the best ever assembled: Metallica, rare Kiss, The Ramones, and even Zeppelin who gave special permission for “The Immigrant Song,” which is used to full effect. The cast is more than good, and lots of very talented young people all appear. And these kids all play their own instruments, too.
Bonus features are generous, and include Black and the kids begging Zeppelin to use “The Immigrant Song”. Insightful behind-the-scenes features concentrate on the kids, and they seem so happy to be taking part in this film and the music.
This film is fun for the entire family, perhaps the only Black film that is appropriate for that. Most importantly, it will give kids an appreciation for the greatest music in the world: rock and roll. And a healthy dose of stickin’ it to the man!
5/5 stars
Jack Black as Dewey Finn (lead singer, guitar) Joan Cusack as Principal Rosalie Mullins Mike White as Ned Schneebly Sarah Silverman as Patty De Marco Miranda Cosgrove as Summer Hathaway (band manager) Joey Gaydos Jr. as Zack Mooneyham (guitar) Kevin Clark as Freddy Jones (drums) Rebecca Brown as Katie “Posh Spice” (bass) Robert Tsai as Lawrence “Mr. Cool” (keyboard)
Following the demise of Whitesnake and the failure of Zeppelin to mount a 1991 tour in support of their first box set, it was almost inevitable what happened next. It was something that many Zeppelin fans feared. Lead Snake David Coverdale, who was once derided as “David Coverversion” by Robert Plant, joined Plant’s erstwhile bandmate Jimmy Page in a new supergroup. Geffen’s John Kalodner (John Kalodner) helped facilitate this move which should have generated sales over 10 million units. Unfortunately another thing also happened in 1991: grunge.
The shame of it is that Coverdale-Page is a stunning rock album. For years it haunted my bargain bins, simply because of the hard rock stigma that permeated the 1990’s. Many fans refused to listen to it, others simply chose to mock superficial elements of it, such as Coverdale’s man-shrieks. The fact that Page was looking and sounding great should be enough to warrant multiple listens by any serious rock fan. He hadn’t released any new material since 1988’s Outrider. As for Coverdale, it was a chance to get back to his bluesy rock roots, something he expressed a desire to do shortly after Whitesnake’s dissolution.
The studio band weren’t hacks either. Ricky Phillips had played bass with Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain in Bad English, and he’s been in Styx for ages now. Drummer Denny Carmassi was in Montrose (that’s him on the cover of the classic 1973 self-titled record) among many stellar bands, and he later did a stint in Whitesnake itself. Coverdale and Page co-produced the album with veteran Mike Fraser.
Finally, the most important elements were also in place: the songs. 11 songs, most in the 5-6 minute range, make up Coverdale-Page. Those expecting or even hoping for a Zeppelin album were bound to be disappointed. Despite the “Coverversion” nickname, Cov the Gov is his own person and persona. Singing over Pagey’s classic Zeppish riffs does not a Zeppelin make. Rather, Page and Coverdale comingle over their common ground, and naturally there are elements that have a Whitesnake aura. To expect otherwise would be folly.
“Shake My Tree” was the perfect opener. Pagey’s tricky little licks have that familiar sound, immediately. Then the great lothario Cov the Gov starts howlin’…the stage was set within the first minute of the album. The closest comparison I can think of would be “Slow An’ Easy” in terms of overall vibe. Just replace Moody’ slide guitar with Jimmy’s intricate chicken pickin’. David’s lyrics were as naughty as ever. It must have burned Robert Plant’s ass to have to sing it when he reunited with Jimmy later on himself. He seemed to be freestyling it quite a bit with David’s lyrics, barely sticking to the words at all!
“Waiting On You” would have been a radio-ready single. It has that kind of smoking hard rock riff, a killer of a chorus, and great vocals. Coverdale’s no poet, but I dig his words. “Ever since I started drinkin’, my ship’s been slowly sinkin’, so tell me what a man’s supposed to do.” Well, let me tell you David. 1) Drinking and boating is against the law, just like drinking and driving. 2) Put on your goddamn life vest!
I hesitate to call “Take Me A Little While” a ballad. I mean, it is a ballad, but it’s also a pretty good bluesy workout for David. It’s a little classier than the average “power ballad”, because hey…it’s Jimmy Page. It doesn’t sound like other ballads by other bands, because not too many bands have Jimmy Page. His playing and writing are unlike anyone else’s, he is one of the most recognizable musicians in rock and roll.
“Pride And Joy” was the first single, and what a single it was. It starts off swampy and acoustic, before Jimmy’s big Les Paul announces its presence with some big chords. Then David’s back in lothario-land, seducing “daddy’s little princess, Momma’s pride and joy.” Despite the lyrics, the song’s still a stunner. “Over Now” is also cool; a thinly veiled attack on Tawny Kitaen.
You told me of your innocence, An’ I believed it all, But your best friend is your vanity, And the mirror on the wall.
It doesn’t get any nicer from there, but musically this is one of the most Zeppelin-ish songs. While you can’t compare it to any specific song in the Zeppelin oeuvre, but it’s there in that slow relentless drum beat, the orchestration, and Pagey’s unorthodox guitar.
The closest thing to filler on Coverdale-Page is “Feeling Hot”. It’s not outstanding, but it does show off the faster side of Jimmy’s playing. It’s akin to “Wearing and Tearing” but with naughtier lyrics. Once again it is Jimmy’s playing that I’m tuned in to. That continues with “Easy Does It” which begins acoustically. Like most acoustic moments on the album (and like Zeppelin), Jimmy’s guitar is recorded in layers, giving it real heft. This all changes halfway through the song, when Jimmy’s Les Paul once again takes center stage. Then it transforms into a bluesy prowl.
Possibly the most commercial song is “Take A Look At Yourself”. Not a bad song, but definitely the most “pop rock”. It’s probably closest to a Whitesnake song such as “The Deeper The Love”. Had the year been 1990 or even 1991, “Take A Look At Yourself” would have been a top charting single everywhere. David seems to have cheered up with new found love here. However the heartbreak is not over. “Don’t Leave Me This Way” is about as earnest as it gets. At 8 minutes, it’s also the most ambitious song. It’s the centerpiece of the album. It sounds at once like it’s the most sincere song, showcasing some of Jimmy Page’s best post-Zeppelin guitar work. As for David, he’s never sung better.
“Absolution Blues” begins similarly to “In The Evening”. Fading in are layers of atmospheric guitars as only Jimmy plays them. These give way to the fastest, heaviest song on the album. It’s also one of my favourites. You you can hear the elements of Jimmy and David separately, but working together. The song goes through numerous changes before returning to that riff. If you thought Jimmy Page had already written every great riff in Led Zeppelin, think again. It’s “Black Dog” sped up to ludicrous speed.
Album closer “Whisper A Prayer For the Dying” is as cheerful and uplifting as the title alludes. It’s has an epic quality and length like “Don’t Leave Me This Way”, but this time the lyrics are less personal and more topical. David laments the innocent casualties of modern warfare, and refers to politicians as “bodyguards of lies”. While certainly not profound, it’s refreshing to hear Coverdale change the bloody subject away from the female of the species every now and again. Profound or not, I’m certain that it was heartfelt, and musically it kicks ass. It’s also a perfect album closer for a dark and brooding record like this. So there.
Hugh Syme (Rush) did the artwork. Say what you will about the bland cover itself, but I like the way he used the “merge” sign much like the “object” was in the artwork for Presence. And like many Zeppelin albums, there are no pictures of the artists anywhere.
The year 1993 was not a kind one to singers of Coverdale’s ilk. Most of his competition had been replaced by Chris Cornell, Eddie Vedder, and Kurt Cobain. One way or the other, the Coverdale-Page tour was not doing enough business and the plug was pulled. David has since mentioned that he and Page had more songs, enough to get started on a second album. He’s also expressed a desire to release those songs on some kind of deluxe edition reissue. I hope that happens. I’d buy Coverdale-Page again. It would only be the third time.
Take a trip back to September, 1993. Led Zeppelin had no greatest hits albums available and just three years previous, the monstrous Led Zeppelin box set was a smash hit. I believe it was the most successful box set ever at the time!
It was, however, just a sampling of Zeppelin’s catalogue. A generous sampling, but a sampling nevertheless. 31 album tracks were missing, as it was just a four disc set. The missing tracks are not throwaways though. How could you say that about “Good Times, Bad Times”, “Living Loving Maid”, “Out On The Tiles”, “The Rover”?
So, predictably, three years later came Box Set 2 with all those tracks plus the recently discovered “Baby Come On Home”. The result is a complementary set; you really can’t have one without the other. Having both sets is how I originally heard the Zeppelin catalogue, and I do have a certain nostalgia for these sets.
Much like the first box, this set was lovingly sequenced and remastered by Jimmy Page himself. As such, the track order takes you on a journey of sorts. Unfortunately it’s just not as epic a journey as the first box. How can there be? With no “Kashmir” or “Stairway” available, it could never be as monumental. Still, it’s a pretty cool trip. Starting you off on disc one with “Good Times, Bad Times” and closing disc 2 with the melancholy “Tea For One”, this tracklist does what it was meant to do. Sandwiched between there are some of the best Zeppelin album cuts of all time.
I don’t think I need to go over highlights. I do? Alright. “Down By the Seaside” is simply gorgeous, one of my personal favourite Zeppelin songs. It’s in my top five for sure. Although it’s a bit silly, I dig the country hoe-down of “Hot Dog”. It’s certainly the heaviest country music I ever heard. With John Bonham on drums, how could it not be? “That’s the Way” is another beauty, acoustic and pretty. It’s “Carouselambra” that throws me the most, a complex swirl of synthesizers and howling Plant vocals.
The sound quality was great for its time, but technology, tastes and standards change. The songs have been remastered since, and will be again. Personally I have no qualms with the sound and I still enjoy this box to this day, even though I own the massive 10-disc Complete Studio Recordings as well. Really, my only issue was the inclusion of just one previously unreleased song. “Baby Come On Home” is a wonderful slice of soul, a young Plant belting about a cheating woman while Pagey plays some elegant notes behind him. Yet, as we saw later with the release of the BBC Sessions, there was more in the vaults. Why couldn’t “The Girl I Love She Got Long Black Wavy Hair” or “Something Else” be included here much like “Traveling Riverside Blues” was included on the first box set? We know Jimmy has dug up more rarities since.
It is what it is. Maybe it was a bit shameful to bait die-hard fans with one new song, but the remastering of the set was also considered a major selling feature. The set, being only a 2 disc set, is physically much smaller than the original, and contains one new essay, by David Fricke. The packaging is quite beautiful, and everything from the cover art to the layout echoes the first box. Clearly, you are meant to have both.
I put in just shy of 12 years at the record store. That’s a lot of time to work retail. If you’ve worked retail, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, it has its ups and downs. The ups include discounts. The downs entail being abused by the general public on a daily basis.
I have a nice plaque around here somewhere, commemorating 7 years at the store. It was a pretty cool gift. It was a total surprise, how it happened. My boss phoned me out of the blue one day.
“Mike,” he said. “I need a list of the top 5 albums of all time. It’s for an article we’re doing.”
“Cool!” I responded eagerly. “But what are the parameters? Is it like rock, or all genres? Because that’s just a wide-open question.”
“Just what you think are the top albums of all time, that’s all I really need.”
Cool! I started work on it. I wanted to be objective, fair. If I were making a personalized list of a top 5, it would be easy, I know there would be some Kiss and Sabbath in there. I wanted to discount my own personal biases and try to be as open as possible for this particular list.
First of all, I chose The Wall. I admit that I chose this over Dark Side due to personal preference, also I think a double album like The Wall deserves many accolades. I obviously had to give respect to two of the greatest bands of all time, Led Zeppelin and The Beatles. I chose Zeppelin IV and Abbey Road. I really couldn’t choose a Zeppelin, so I went with IV as kind of a default answer. Abbey Road is arguably the most genius the Beatles ever were, so I could easily choose that over Sgt. Pepper’s.
OK, three down! Even though all three artists I chose were different from each other, they were all rock, so I needed to go outside that box. To represent country, I decided on Folson Prison by Johnny Cash. Were this a more personalized list, I would choose San Quentin, but I went with Folsom as it seems to be the best known.
I didn’t know what to pick last, so I went with a cop-out answer. Back In Black. What a weak, spineless choice! What am I a college student? Anyway, again I decided to be open and think about how many copies it sold, not about the many superior AC/DC albums.
I submitted my list. A month or two later, I was presented with this plaque! And these five albums were on the plaque! My boss had collected lists from a few of us who had been there a while, and given us custom made plaques, with the CDs and everything. It was really cool and I treasured mine for years.
I only wish he had worded his question differently! If I had known in advance what he was really asking (thus spoiling the surprise) I would have chosen these five:
5. Iron Maiden – Piece of Mind
4. Kiss – Alive
3. Kiss – Hotter Than Hell
2. Deep Purple – Fireball
1. Black Sabbath – Born Again
The original plaque is packed up in a box, as Mrs. LeBrain and I are planning a move to a bigger place. Here’s the five albums that made it onto the plaque though, at least all albums I proudly own. And because I don’t do anything small, I own them all in some kind of crazy deluxe box set. Enjoy.
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