I don’t like Linkin Park too much, but Mrs. LeBrain does so I’ve heard a lot of their albums. I did like their singer Chester Bennington, I thought he had amazing pipes. It was more the rapping and the samples I didn’t like. I always kind of wished Chester was in a band that I liked.
I do like Stone Temple Pilots though, and “Out of Time” sounds like Stone Temple Pilots! It sounds like the young STP, when Weiland could really wail. I don’t think I’m alone in saying that Scott’s voice is simply not what it once was, but Chester is in his prime. And the song is great! Solid riff, powerful sound. If it lacks any of Scott’s swagger, the track makes up for it with Chester’s lungs. It’s just great to hear Eric Kretz and Robert & Dean DeLeo rocking behind such a strong song. Album and a tour? Sure. My interest is peaked.
BILL WARD – “Straws” (mp3: October 9, 2002 CD: October 11, 2003)
A true rarity indeed, this is one that I wished I owned a physical copy of. Sadly I do not. Only 2200 were made. 1200 were sent out to the heads of state all over the globe, including George W. Bush. The other 1000 copies were sold at billward.com, and are so rare now that Discogs doesn’t even have a listing for it. Each copy was signed and numbered with the proceeds going to your choice of five charities. For all the details, check out Joe Siegler’s excellent article at black-sabbath.com.
Jesus Murphy! George W. Bush owns a Sabbath related CD that I don’t??
I’ve had to make due with a mere mp3, also purchased directly from Bill’s site. The charity I chose was the National Veterans Foundation. Now, even the mp3 is unavailable for purchase, making this a true rarity today. We can hope that Bill’s Beyond Aston solo album will one day be released, as over 10 years have passed since this single from it was released!
Previously on LeBrain’s Record Store Tales & Reviews, we took a look at Bill’s excellent debut, Ward One: Along the Way. “Straws” is reminiscent of that and his second solo album, When the Bough Breaks. Like much of his solo work, it is complex and passionate. Understated but powerful. It begins jittery but soon evolves into an anthem of sorts with some very heavy Bonham-esque drums performed by Ronnie Ciago. On this track, like When the Bough Breaks, Bill does not play drums. He is only singing on Beyond Aston. He did, however, write all 17 tracks slated for that album himself.
“The Dark Half Hour” (2005)
According to Joe Siegler’s information, Beyond Aston has been completed but shelved. I hope this is not a permanent situation. The only other track released was called “The Dark Half Hour (web mix)”. It was made available for free in 2005 and is still available for free. It too has the stomping Zeppelin drums, but is much heavier than “Straws”. This is Sabbath-level heaviness. It has some solid riffing and some amazing buzzy noisy solos on instruments I can barely identify! This is one heavy track, saturated with distortion. Since this is “not the final version” I would expect the sound to be cleaned up for CD. I kind of like it overdriven and noisy though.
If these two tracks are any indication, Beyond Aston is going to be an incredible album, if it is ever released.
THE DARKNESS – “Get Your Hands Off My Woman…Again” (2004 Atlantic mp3 single)
After the surprise hit Permission To Land (which was essentially just a released demo) The Darkness were determined to make a better sounding second album. At first it was announced they were going to be working with one Mutt Lange; that didn’t pan out. Up next was Roy Thomas Baker, of Queen fame.
Their first released collaboration was a re-recording of “Get Your Hands Off My Woman” re-titled “Get Your Hands Off My Woman…Again”. It differs only slightly from the original. Better sounding bass, better sounding drums, but almost identical otherwise. There are only two moments were the song deviates from the original: a 5 second piano break at 1:54, and a different, more abrupt ending.
This was released November 8 2004, for one month only, for 99p on the official Darkness site. Since then I understand it’s been very difficult to find online. I like when bands release stuff like this, even though for most people it’s fairly redundant. A lot of bands test the waters by re-recording older material, Axl’s done that and so have others. When they make it available for almost nothing for a limited time, sure, I’ll bite. It’s a kind of immediate release that didn’t exist 20 years ago.
Not to mention that this is just one of the Darkness’ best songs, ever. Gratuitous language, hot riffs, screeching high vocals, ripping solos, and hooks for miles. I was sold on the original song on first listen. As for this re-recorded update, I like the better quality sound, but I don’t like the piano break or the ending. Great tune, great sonics thanks to RTB, but I’ll stick with the original!
3.5/5 stars
Since you can’t take a picture of a non-physical product, here’s the CD single that I burned!
Add my voice to the chorus of people disappointed with British Lion, the debut solo offering from Iron Maiden’s visionary founder, Steve Harris. It’s not just because it doesn’t sound like Iron Maiden, because I wouldn’t want it to sound like Iron Maiden. It’s because Steve’s hired the most bland lead vocalist I’ve heard in many moons. Mr. Bland’s name is Richard Taylor, and he lacks any sort of grit, power, or character. I’m sure there was a method to Steve’s madness, and a reason he chose Mr. Bland to sing for him. I’ll be damned if I can figure it out.
Steve self-produced this album, with Kevin Shirley mixing, and sonically it sounds good, especially the final track: The lush “The Lesson” features strings and acoustics, and sounds great. Unfortunately a good sounding production can’t inject life into these dull songs.
I hate to use such harsh language as “dull” and “bland” where Steve Harris is concerned, but I’ve played the album five or six times now, and I still can’t remember most of these songs distinctly. There’s one standout: the pop metal “Eyes of the Young”, which has a catchy chorus and is instantly memorable. There are far more songs that are instantly forgettable: the single “This Is My God”, for example, and the aforementioned “The Lesson” despite its production values. “Us Against the World” isn’t bad, starting with keys and organ before some dual guitar harmonies kick in. But then Mr. Bland opens his mouth.
Steve’s trademark bass is more groove oriented and less rinky-dink, which is fine. He seems to gel well with the rest of the band, but unfortunately aside from some tasty guitar solos, the rest of the band is generic sounding and lack a distinct identity. I lay most of that straight at the feet of Mr. Bland. A really great singer could have injected some passion into these otherwise unremarkable songs.
A nice added touch: The CD comes with mp3 copies, so you don’t have to rip to your portable device. It comes in two forms: mastered loud, and mastered very loud!
mikeladano.com 