RECORD STORE TALES #1083: The Helicopter Video (The Great Record Album Collection)
1983/84.
Music videos were just starting to happen when I was a kid. There wasn’t a MuchMusic yet, but there were a few ways to catch music videos on your Canadian TV sets. One was Toronto Rocks out of channel 7, City TV. Another was a show called The Great Record Album Collection, which we saw out of WNED TV in Buffalo NY. Channel 29!
I don’t remember much of this show. I recall seeing Quiet Riot, but there was one video I saw twice that I cannot identify.
If you can help me find out the name of the band and song, it would be a great help.
Here’s what I can recall:
I remember seeing a music video with a three-piece band. We have to assume it was a new wave band based on the year. It was not the Police. In the video, I recall there was a helicopter. It had red in it. I think it was a remote control model ‘copter, and at the end of the song, the ‘copter crashed and/or blew up. That’s all I can remember. The band was playing on a black stage as I remember, intercut with occasional shots of this helicopter.
I was transitioning from childhood into adolescence. It was important to like music, and not just John Williams symphonies. I thought “These guys are cool. I like them.” But I only saw them twice and never again.
Ideas? Post a YouTube link to a video in the comments.
The original title for this chapter was “My Sister, Age, and How Things Change”. It was originally Chapter 8.
RECORD STORE TALES #1045: The Lost Chapters: Doctor Kathryn
My sister had some distinct musical phases. Early on, she decided that she was going to like most of the music that I liked. At first that meant Quiet Riot, Kiss, and Motley Crue. Motley Crue was her favourite, but not for the right reasons. They were her favourite because a) Nikki and Tommy were really tall, and b) they both had spikey hair.
There was further evidence that my sister was bordering on wimp territory. One was that she didn’t like W.A.S.P. In fact she hated W.A.S.P. I’m not sure if it was Blackie Lawless’ voice, or if it was the fact that he drank “blood” from a “human skull”. Either way, I liked W.A.S.P. a lot, and if she didn’t like them too, this demonstrated an unhealthy streak of independence.
Then, the proverbial shit hit the fan. (We didn’t have air conditioning back then, just fans.) One day in 1985, she decided that she liked The Pointer Sisters. And Cyndi Lauper. And Corey Hart. She always liked Bryan Adams, but I forgave her this. Bryan wore jeans and T-shirts, so he was still firmly in rock territory, even if he wasn’t heavy metal. (I didn’t find out for a while yet that Bryan did in fact have some metallic roots. He wrote several songs with Kiss, including the heaviest material on the Creatures Of The Night album.) The music that Kathryn liked was incorrectly labelled by us as “New Wave”. We didn’t know that New Wave was a term usually used for bands like Blondie, Devo, or the Talking Heads. We just assumed all crappy pop music with synthesizers was New Wave. And New Wave was bad. Very very bad.
Back then, life was simple. Life was black and white. Whatever MuchMusic’s “Power Hour” played was good. Everything else was bad. The only exceptions to that that rule were Kim Mitchell and Bryan Adams. I’m not sure why Kim was an exception, except that he and long hair, and that I liked him, and so did the next door neighbour. If you wanted to boil it down further, stuff with guitars was good. Stuff with keyboards was bad. And the stuff Kathryn listened to didn’t have any guitars, just lots of keyboards, fake synth drums and people with really silly clothes and hair.
There were a few exceptions. I had never known a Van Halen without keyboards, so I accepted them. They were clearly a heavy metal band. The Power Hour played them all the time, David Lee Roth had wicked hair, and everybody was talking about that guitar player. Even if I didn’t know the difference between a guitar and a bass, and thought that Michael Anthony was in fact Eddie Van Halen, I decided that Van Halen were cool. You were allowed to like them. Eventually I sneaked ZZ Top into the list of music that was allowed as well, because one of the neighbours said they were like Van Halen.
So if the music Kathryn liked was bad, and the music I liked was good, you can imagine the arguments. They were glorious and often ended in physical injury and/or destruction of property, and not just by me.
Her awful taste in music even held back my own progress. She liked Bon Jovi first, therefore I had to dislike Bon Jovi—until they released that damned “Wanted: Dead Or Alive” song. The song was so good, so undeniable, I had to let Bon Jovi into my life. I still think it’s a fantastic song, well written, well played, with some beautiful 12 string guitar. (Another reason Bon Jovi didn’t make the grade at first was due to their keyboards. This does not explain why Europe did make the grade. There were many inconsistencies.)
Kathryn’s rebellion worsened. Her taste in music declined. I won’t even begin to list some of the awful music she listened to, but I will say that she bottomed out in 1990 with New Kids On The Block, MC Hammer, and Vanilla Ice. Obviously, this was a person who had no clear idea about integrity within music. However, like a junkie who hits rock bottom, she eventually started to rise up again, with a little encouragement from Her Loving Brother.
The turning point was when Vanilla Ice cancelled his Kitchener tour date in early 1991. His reason stated was that he was too big a star to play a town like Kitchener. There was an instant hatred for the man all over town. Kathryn sold her Vanilla Ice tape immediately.
There were some other clear signs of improvement. A newfound obsession with Cheap Trick was good. Sure, they weren’t metal, but they were definitely rock! Hell, they even worshipped Kiss within their song lyrics. I happily encouraged this love of Cheap Trick, and even bought her Cheap Trick tapes. I think most of her Cheap Trick collection was courtesy of moi.
Rod Stewart came next. I feel that perhaps Rod snuck in the door due to his enormous hair, but I didn’t care. Rod still had a rock pedigree. I encouraged her love of Rod. I asked her questions about him and his music. It was like carefully manipulating a mentally ill person back to health, and I was succeeding in a marginal way. I felt that she’d never come all the way back to metal, even though she owned tapes by Bon Jovi, Def Leppard and Poison. Yet I was satisfied with the progress we were making.
Now, 15 years later, I own Rod Stewart, Cheap Trick, Bryan Adams, The Payola$…all music that she introduced me to. She got the last laugh. I’ll never admit that she was always the smarter one (I can’t, since she never understood any movies we watched) but I’ll admit that she got the better of me on this one. We even attended concerts together. It started with Blue Rodeo, then we saw Jann Arden and Amanda Marshall. While I still won’t own any albums by Arden or Marshall, they both put on excellent shows. Blue Rodeo blew us both away and now they’re one of my favourites. I’ve never seen any band more often than Blue Rodeo, and I’ll argue that they’re Canada’s best band, with Rush as a close second.
Even my parents get points. They sure hated “Big Balls” by AC/DC, but now I own more Johnny Cash and Gordon Lightfoot than they do.
Now, I certainly can’t allow Kathryn to come off as the winner in this chapter. So here’s a punch in the arm for you. There, now we’re even.
ALICE COOPER ’80 – Flush the Fashion(1980 Warner, Japanese CD)
The early 80s were a tough time for the Coop. His previous record, From the Inside, was written about getting clean in the loony bin. Staying clean wasn’t easy and so we enter the “lost years”: the records Alice doesn’t remember making due to being blackout drunk. Flush the Fashion is a divisive album, with some fans loving its straight-ahead new wave direction, while others despaired Alice’s temporary abandonment of rock. The truth lies somewhere in the middle. It was the 80s and if that wasn’t obvious by the “ALICE COOPER ’80” title at the top, it definitely was clear by the keyboards and programming. Roy Thomas Baker of Queen and The Cars fame produced.
With song titles ripped from the National Enquirer, Flush the Fashion contains a number of short, fast, punky new wave songs beginning with “Talk Talk” at barely two minutes long. You will either love this tough nut of a guitar-driver, or you will be indifferent to it for being light on hooks and brittle in sound.
“Clones (We’re All)”, which was written by outsider David Carron, is the clear album highlight. It was later covered by Smashing Pumpkins on the B-side to “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”, and has seen action in Alice’s live set occasionally over the years. This fun, keyboard-heavy new wave song really nails the 80s sound Alice was going for. Programmed beats, a bouncy keyboard, catchy words and you have a keeper. It went Top 40 and evokes a smile and maybe even a little bit of fist pounding.
The ballad “Pain” is the second in a pair of keepers. A piano-based mourner with a powerful pound, “Pain” possesses tremendous appeal. Alice’s interesting lyrics provide a number of metaphors for your own internal pain. “The loudest one laughing at the saddest wake,” for example, and “the lump on your head when you step on a rake.” Not overly serious, but suiting the character of Alice the masochist. There’s a simply wonderful dual guitar harmony in the middle that is worth rewinding several times on its own.
“Clones” and “Pain” together are seven solid minutes of Alice that you simply cannot help but sing along to. The songs will burrow into your mind until they are a permanent part of your grey matter. They are the proverbial keepers. The same cannot be said for the rest of the album, which defies memorability at almost every turn. Fortunately, all these songs are short.
“Leather Boots” isn’t a great song, but it is at least a fun twangy rocker. Similarly, “Aspirin Damage” is fun if forgettable. Regardless of the music, Alice’s lyrics always offer some interesting twist or perspective. There’s probably something autobiographical happening in the back of his mind here too.
That’s side one in a nutshell, under 14 minutes of music. Side two is over and out in under 15. These are short songs! “Nuclear Infected” has some unremarkable guitar crunch. “Grim Facts” is cooler. This steadfast stomper has a certain Cars-like vibe courtesy of Baker. “Model Citizen” leans a bit more into a punky direction, until the chorus which is kitschy Alice with lush backing vocals while Alice does his sinister speak-sing. For a more traditional Alice song, there’s “Dance Yourself to Death”, which would probably be a third keeper if you were willing to extend it that honour. No new wave trappings here, just traditional rock like the Alice Cooper Band of old. It just…it doesn’t stick. It’s notable for being one of those good second-last tunes though. The final song is “Headlines”, which has a variety of different sections and tempos, and one cool riff.
Another listener could probably make a case for a solid 3.5/5 star album. Others will enjoy isolated moments, but will struggle through. Which are you?
THE CARS – Candy-O(1979 Elektra, 2017 expanded edition)
How many perfect albums are there in the world? Albums with no filler, only songs vital to the whole and valuable to the listening experience? Hopefully you have included The Cars’ Candy-O in your count. The often “difficult” second album was apparently no problem for The Cars. Ric Ocasek came in with a huge batch of new minimalist songs, plus a couple outtakes.
“I like the night life, baby!” Ben Orr takes the first lead vocal on “Let’s Go”, the Max Webster-like lead single. Already off to a great start, this tight little number is subtle and loaded to the gills with hooks.
“Somethin’ in the night just don’t sit right.” Ric Ocasek enters the fray with a quirky “Since I Held You”. The Cars’ unique way with a melody is apparent on this track, one of those deeper cuts you don’t want to miss. David Robinson’s drums — loud and effective at punctuation. Give credit to producer Roy Thomas Baker for wringing every last hook out of these songs.
“And once in a night, I dreamed you were there.” A restrained ballad, it unleashes the melodic power of the Cars at the chorus, given a bump by Greg Hawkes’ mini moog. One of their more accomplished compositions, every part serving its purpose.
“It takes a fast car, lady, to lead a double life.” The possible centrepiece of the album, Ocasek’s “Double Life” smoulders and builds into a dark masterpiece. At one point this track was to be dropped from the album; let’s be glad the Cars came to their sense. Though the song is built on a punchy, sharp beat, Elliot Easton’s guitar melody floats detached above.
“You ride around in your cadium car, keep wishin’ upon a star.” A robotic pulse and frantic vocal make up “Shoo Be Doo”, a transitional piece that serves to bridge the two songs it falls between. Candy-O is beginning to sound like a concept album to the ears.
“Edge of night, distract yourself.” The fierce title track “Candy-O”, fronted by Ben Orr, is another possible centerpoint of the album. The song is layered thick with Elliot Easton’s guitar hooks and Greg Hawkes’ keyboard blips. Though not a single, “Candy-O” has become a favourite and a great example of the Cars’ musical abilities as players.
“Ooh, how you shake me up and down, when we hit the night spots on the town.” Jittery and caffeinated, the noturnal “Night Spots” again verges on Max Webster territory. Ocasek stutters his way through the lyrics while the hyper band get bouncing in behind. It feels like you’ve been staying awake for three days and three nights with nothing but coffee in your blood.
“I can’t put out your fire, I know it’s too late.” The album then takes a sudden left turn back to smoother ground, playing looser on the ballad “You Can’t Hold On Too Long”. The lyrics take a darker turn, with the shadow of addictions.
“He’s got his plastic sneakers, she’s got her Robuck purse.” Ocasek sings an anthem to the mismatched on “Lust for Kicks”, another punchy Cars song though with a laid back tempo. Hawkes’ simple keyboard hook is the main structure, with Easton providing guitar noise far in the background. Ocasek’s expressive vocal is the focus.
“Send me a letter on a midnight scroll.” There’s a frantic energy to “Got a Lot on My Head”, a sense of panic and urgency. This time it’s the guitar in front and some of the Cars proto-punk roots break through. A lot is packed into a short song.
“Can I bring you out in the light? My curiosity’s got me tonight.” A third contender for centerpiece of the album is the closer “Dangerous Type”, and its closing position might be its only disqualifier. Though it has a “Bang-a-Gong” knockoff riff for the verses, the chorus dips into much darker territory. Then another Max Webster moment creeps in when Hawkes adds his moog. This brilliant track is an apt closer for such a quirky yet dark album.
Indeed, Candy-O seems semi-obsessed with the night, with shadows, and with secrets. So it’s quite unexpected how uplifted you feel after listening to it — lighter and brighter. As if the shadows have been exorcised, at least for a little while.
Candy-O itself is only 36 minutes, so if you need a deeper immersion, the expanded edition is perfect. It contains seven bonus tracks: five alternate versions, one B-side and one unreleased song. (There is an additional piece of rare music available separately, a very different early version of “Night Spots” on Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology). Remarkably, though rougher, most of these are probably good enough for an album already. If you already love Candy-O, you will dig the slightly different and more raw versions offered as bonus tracks. “Dangerous Type” is far less dark, and “Let’s Go” is busier.
“They Won’t See You”, like early 80s Alice Cooper, has a dark campy quality but also a biting guitar hook. It’s actually better than a lot of Cooper from that period, even though it was never released. Apparently it was a popular Cars encore. Finally (and appropriately) its “That’s It”, ending the CD at an hour in length (easy enough to digest in a single sitting). If not for the technical limits of vinyl at the time, it might have made an excellent coda for the original album. It’s a song about endings, so it works naturally at the end of this edition.
Candy-O, with or without the extras, is a perfectly brilliant listen and an album that deserves a place of honour in a collection. But why get 36 minutes when you can have an hour, plus an expanded booklet with lyrics, photos and Easton essay? “Let’s Go”!
Welcome to Holen’s Halloween Extravaganza year two. This month I’ll being reviewing some spooky stuff leading up to the big day. What day? It’s Halloween! That’s why it’s called Holen’s Halloween Extravaganza. Do try to keep up!!! Today I’ve got an album full of dead men, parties, and a combination of the two. I’m already pissing my pants in fear just typing about it. Oh God, that’s warm.
Hey, I bet you’ve heard a Danny Elfman score. Maybe even a plethora of scores that fit that descriptor. But did you know this dude was the lead singer of rock band Oingo Boingo? You did? Well I’m so sorry that I tried to teach you something new Mr. Smartypants! Or is that Mrs. Smartypants, or Ms. Smartypants? This is an inclusive review. Anyway, in 1985 the Elf Man and company released Dead Man’s Party, their most commercially successful album, and one of their most eclectic. As Chris Farley would say, this is some kickass shit.
For such a commercial album, it sure is stylistically diverse, and incredibly strange. One of the highest compliments you could pay this group is to say that every song sounds like them, but no two songs sound alike. This is a group with many first-rate musicians, including a brass section. How many rock bands have a brass section? What we have on this album is a strange blend of many influences that makes a surprisingly delicious smoothie. Imagine rock, pop, dance music, soul, ‘60s surfer music, circus music, musical theater, and film score sprinkles all seamless blended in a digestible package. You’ve got Dead Man’s Party. You may be thinking to yourself, ‘Gee whiz! These folks sound a lot like Mr. Bungle.’ And you’d be right, as I’m convinced that Mr. Bungle’s entire career is based on the Oingo Boingo song here entitled “No One Lives Forever”.
I mean come on, Patton. Did you really think no one would notice just because you made it more demented and less commercial? Silly Patton. Go sing your Nestles songs. While Mike is off singing about chocolate, allow me to tell you about the topic at hand. This whole album is incredibly consistent, from the paranoid theatrical rock romp “Just Another Day” (a personal favorite), to the get down on the dance floor spooky staple from Back to School “Dead Man’s Party”, to the cowboy ‘80s pop love song “Stay”. This is an album where every song is crammed full of as many ideas as possible, while somehow sticking to a traditional pop format with great melodies from the golden voiced, red headed front-man. I’ve found that listening to normal music directly after this album is incredibly hard, just because normal stuff seems so simplistic in nature after the “everything and the kitchen sink” bombast of Oingo Boingo. Another favorite is “Help Me”, which sounds like U2 fucked The Police and was raised by Motown music from the ‘60s, with just a pinch of church gospel.
None of these contrasting influences are jarring. Elfman has a knack for working them in with a grace and subtlety that throws a veil over his nihilistic dark humor. These songs sound great on the radio, but there’s something off about them, something strange going on underneath the surface, a tension, exuberance. You can hear traces of his future days as a composer here, and they make his ability to compact that talent into a catchy three minute rock song even more impressive. Filler is nowhere to be found, every song is clearly crafted with an incredible amount of care and attention. While not every song is completely to my tastes, I’d say 8.5/9 are winners that make me want to move and groove, cry, sweat, and cower. This is music that plays great in the background, but is so much more rewarding upon attempting to dissect every nuance, every nook and cranny in this jam packed record.
If you’ve ever seen them in concert, or a concert video, you’ll know they throw one hell of a party. So why not make your next party a dead man’s party? Sleep with this CD nestled tight in your arms this holiday season. Happy October all you people. Holen’s back.
I’m not reviewing this movie. I’m off to change clothes. I’ve still got piss in my pants.
THE CARS – Anthology: Just What I Needed (1995 Rhino)
Ric Ocasek was cool. Whether it was the sunglasses, or the black hair and leather jacket combo, he was just cool. The Cars were birth attendants to MTV. “You Might Think” was arguably the greatest music video on this side of Michael Jackson. And The Cars were far, far more than just a one hit band. This Cars Anthology proves just how much gas they had in the tank. With 40 songs including a number of rarities, this anthology is just what YOU needed.
The first four songs in a row, all from the Cars’ self-title debut, are radio staples. “Just What I Needed”, “My Best Friend’s Girl”, “Let the Good Times Roll” and “You’re All I’ve Got Tonight” still rock the airwaves, proving their timelessness. The Cars could write a song, and whether it was Ric Ocasek or Benjamin Orr on vocals, the hits kept rolling in. It’s a combination of choppy guitar hooks, keyboard candy, and plain ol’ songwriting ability.
The Cars were also consistent. There is no dry spell for hits, not until we get to 1987’s Door to Door. When you listen to a cross section of material in chronological order like this, it’s quite noticeable when Robert John “Mutt” Lange takes over production duties. Heartbeat City and its synthetic drums are the prototype for Def Leppard’s Hysteria album. The backing vocals, the bass tones, and impeccable production all foreshadow the sound of things to come in Mutt-ville. Roy Thomas Baker didn’t put so much of his own fingerprints on the Cars (although you can definitely hear a Cars influence via Baker on Alice Cooper’s Flush the Fashion). Mutt sounds like Mutt, for better or for worse. The album sold four million copies. Whatever Ric learned from Mutt and Baker, he put to good use as a producer himself.
There are some songs that are just special. Even though their fellow tunes are unique, important and classic, some rise even higher. One is the legendary ballad “Drive”, written by Ric and sung by Benjamin. Soft and gentle, “Drive” has been our companion for decades now, through lonely nights and happy days alike. Another immortal song is the aforementioned “Just What I Needed”, for all it’s pop-punk perfection, before that was even a term. I believe they just used to call it “New Wave”. Finally “You Might Think” must be remembered as not only an important video, but also an ageless pop song that still grabs you today.
Rarities in this set include single B-sides, demos and previously unreleased songs. Some have since found homes on the Cars’ deluxe reissue CDs, but some seem to still be exclusive to Just What I Needed. One interesting outtake is a bang-on cover of Iggy Pop’s “Funtime”. The liner notes are also exemplary, as Rhino usually do. You could consider this to be a miniature box set for all the care put into it. While buying The Cars by the album will not lead you astray, there is much to be said for a really good anthology. You’re looking at one right now.
In the mood for some good old fashioned Canadian AOR rock, but don’t know where to turn?
Easily solved. Just drive down to Niagara Falls and take a left at Honeymoon Suite.
The Singles compiles all their best tunes from the first three LPs (Honeymoon Suite, The Big Prize, Racing After Midnight). If you are a native of the Great White North, chances are you have already heard all 12 of these tracks. Honeymoon Suite have been radio staples ever since their 1984 debut single, “New Girl Now”. Even when they dropped off the face of the earth for much of the 1990s and 2000s, they got consistent radio play and gigs. T-Rev and I saw them at Lulu’s in the 1990s when they were supporting a live album. Even though singer Johnnie Dee seemed a lil’ tipsy they pulled out all the stops for an enjoyable gig.
When Honeymoon Suite kicked it off with “New Girl Now”, they tapped into a rock/new wave hybrid that earned them tons of video play in Canada. Derry Grehan was (and is) a fine guitarist, certainly one of the most respected in the Great White North. He gave the band the rock credibility they needed, meanwhile Johnny Dee had the pipes and the heartthrob looks. The 80s angst of “Burning in Love” landed them another hit, with one foot a little more firmly in the rock arena. Bonus points for the very 80’s chorus echo. “I am still (still! still! still!) a lonely man burning in love,” sings Dee, and you know many ladies swooned. The sound is not too distant from the Bon Jovi of the same period, burning up the clubs many miles away in New Jersey.
Filmed on location in Niagara Falls Ontario
“Stay in the Light” captures the same vibe, a keyboard-y tension with guitars providing the edge. A sharp rhythm and indelible chorus keeps “Stay in the Light” burning in your memory long after it ceased playing. “Wave Babies” is a bit hokey but that hasn’t kept it from airplay 30 years later.
Album #2, The Big Prize, edged their sound further into keyboard pop, which provided more hits but also turned some fans off. “Feel It Again” maintained the guitars without straying too far, but the ballad anthem “What Does It Take” was a full-on 80s pop ballad. The band had some serious firepower in the studio control room this time out. The success of the first album gave them a shot with Bruce Fairbairn, and a young engineer named Bob Rock. You can hear their impact in the improved sound of the drums, and the sonic clarity overall. The production values help make “What Does It Take” palatable, but there is too much syrup for some. “Bad Attitude” has some crunch but it’s overshadowed by those omnipresent keyboards.
Racing After Midnight returned rock to the forefront. There were a couple lineup changes including on the keyboards. The captain’s chair was manned this time by veteran Van Halen producer Ted Templeman. With him they recorded “Lethal Weapon” for the film soundtrack of the same name. Because it was written by Michael Kamen for a movie, we can forgive Honeymoon Suite for another soft rock ballad. The guitar laden “Love Changes Everything” was a more proper introduction to the new album. Derry has a chance to show off his enviable chops at the start, and has a good crunchy sound. One of Honeymoon Suite’s most memorable choruses made it easy to love. “Lookin’ Out for Number One” was equally powerful, especially when it comes to Derry Grehan’s impeccable shreddery.
Any good greatest hits album needs new material. The Singles had two new songs: big hit “Still Loving You”, and “Long Way”. For a big anthemic ballad, “Still Loving You” nails it with class. “Long Way” finishes it with a dark edgy acoustic vibe. These two tracks do not negate the album title The Singles, because both were released as singles.
Factor in some great liner notes and lots of band photos, and The Singles is a pretty easy purchase to justify.
DaDa is one of the most fascinating albums in the Alice Cooper catalogue. So interesting in fact that this is the second time I’ve tackled a review of it. The first, posted on Amazon years ago shortly after buying the album, was not flattering. The entire thing is below:
This is what happens when you drink too much and can’t remember years of your life anymore.
This is what happens when your producer is nursing his own drug problems.
This is what happened to Alice Cooper in the early 80’s. Guitars, drums and bass have been jettisoned in favour of samples, keyboards, and programs. Songs? Non-existant. This album is worthless, filled with dreck that Cooper wouldn’t have even considered a decade earlier, or later. I defy anyone to explain the concept of the story to me. No songs ever played live, no tour.
One novelty track: “I Love America”, which is actually hilarious. It is also available on the Cooper boxed set. Pick that up, not this.
0/5 stars. The absolute nadir of the man’s storied career.
That’s what I said then, and I have to own it now. I could delete it and pretend I never said it, but that would be dishonest.
Rich at Kamertunesblog did a fantastic Alice Cooper series a few years back. When he got to DaDa, I said that “I still have not really penetrated [it]. I don’t know if I so much as appreciate it, rather than like it.” When Rich said he found that surprising, I realized I must be missing something with DaDa. So how does DaDa sit now, after a few years to let it absorb?
It’s different. It’s creepy. It’s funny. It’s worth the time spent with it.
The story of DaDa itself is almost as interesting as the story of how one man can go from hating it to loving it.
Alice re-teamed with Bob Ezrin on this album, for the first time in years. Dick Wagner came back for guitar, bass and songwriting duties. Wagner claimed in his autobiography that Alice wasn’t that enthused about making this album, and confessed that contracts stipulated he had to. Backing up Wagner’s claim is the fact that this was Alice’s last album for Warner, followed by a three year hiatus to finally get clean and sober for good. There was no tour, in fact no band.
In lieu of a drummer, all beats are programmed. This lends a stark early 80’s synthpop sound to DaDa. It works exceptionally well on the title track, an Ezrin instrumental creation. The echoey electronics sound as if from a frightening science fiction horror movie from the period. Punctuating this is the mechanical repeating sample of a child saying “da da”…and heavenly new age keyboard melodies. Talk about chills! If that doesn’t get you, perhaps the spoken word conversation between a therapist and a patient will give you the shivers. “I have a daughter too,” says the elderly patient. “You don’t have a daughter,” responds the doctor. “Yeah, I have a daughter,” insists the sick man. “Sir, you have a son,” insists the doctor as the conversation gets creepier. Alice Cooper is not even on this piece. Perhaps that is one reason it failed to make an impression on me all those years ago.
Alice emerges on “Enough’s Enough”, changing to the perspective of the son. “I just want to tell you, you’re a lousy dad, to hell with you!” Dark but strangely upbeat, “Enough’s Enough” has some of those Bob Ezrin touches that you love, such as the perfectly arranged backing vocals. The Dick Wagner guitars are the only real touch of rock and roll; the song otherwise lives in a punky new wave land. The best song is much creepier: “Former Lee Warmer”. Alice alludes to the character of “Former Lee” on the previous song: “Why’d you hide your brother?” “Former Lee Warmer” reveals that the body of the brother was locked in a chest in the attic. “All the mops and brooms keep him company, misconceived of the family.” Musically and thematically, this is just as good as Welcome to My Nightmare! This is all done in Alice’s brilliant speak-sing style.
The concept becomes harder to follow on “No Man’s Land”, a good rock and roll song only weakened by the clanky electronic percussion. Wagner is outstanding. Similarly disconnected is “Dyslexia”, which sounds like Devo snuck into the studio. Harmless fun; I wonder how many songs have been written about dyslexia in popular music? It’s not clear who is on bass (probably Prakash John rather than Wagner), but the bass pulse is brilliantly subtle and perfect. “Scarlet and Sheba” is an album highlight, electronically exotic and heavy too. It’s perfectly dressed a with killer chorus and kinky lyrics, topped with a brilliant Ezrin arrangement.
“I Love America” is admittedly a novelty track, but I still like it today. Taking on the persona of a redneck, Alice lampoons every cliche about his homeland. “I love Velveeta slapped on Wonder Bread! I love a Commie…if’un he’s good ‘n dead!” The reason it works is because it’s Alice Cooper. I don’t think anyone else could have pulled it off. Ezrin provides suitably pompous backing music, turning it into a rock national anthem. (My favourite lyric is the last one: “I love my bar, and I love my truck. I’d do most anything to make a buck! I love a waitress who loves to ffff…flirt. They’re the best kind!”)
Going into “Fresh Blood” you’ll notice the synth horns, not really a substitute for the real thing. It’s actually a pretty good funky rock tune. Alice sings melodically with layered vocals, and once again the bass sounds awesome if you pay attention to it. The final track is another drama-laden burner called “Pass the Gun Around”. The character (referred to as “Sonny”; perhaps the son from earlier in the album) wakes up in a hotel room after another blackout night. It’s not a pretty scene but it ends the album on a suitably serious and musically complex note. It’s actually one of the better Cooper tracks from any era, thanks in no small part to Bob Ezrin and Dick Wagner.
Interesting trivia: Probably because Ezrin recorded the album in his native land (Canada), Lisa DalBello is credited on backing vocals. Queensryche would later cover one of her singles, “Gonna Get Close to You”. She was also a part of Alex Lifeson’s Victor project.
Today’s rating: 4/5 stars, but only after a long journey. And the concept still seems to derail halfway through the album.
Warning: The delightfully titled Hot Tub Time Machine is the same as every other modern comedy. Outrageous situations! Gross-outs! Swearing! Hollow characters!…but I liked it. What can I say, I’m easily amused. I don’t mind this kind of movie, plus it has an 80’s metal slant. The performances by John Cusack and Rob Corddry were good enough to keep me entertained long enough.
Plot in a nutshell: Three dudes plus Cusack’s nephew are going nowhere in life and in their relationships. Trying to dip back into the past, they visit the same ski resort that they went to back in ’86. It’s gone downhill since then, but after a drunken night in the hot tub, they wake up (gasp!) back in 1986, forced to relive one of the most interesting vacations of their lives! Will they do things the same? Will they try to change the future? Can they even get back to the future? What about the nephew? Watch to find out!
Each character has his own trip to relive, Corddry’s being the lynchpin of the whole situation. The plot is pretty simple but the movie is fun. Great music from the 80’s — Poison, Motley Crue, and more — make this a movie for the balding generation. Heck, there’s even a vintage-looking Poison concert complete with some dude that looks exactly like C.C. Deville circa Look What The Cat Dragged In.
To its credit, the ending was a twist I didn’t expect, and I enjoyed the cast including Chevy Chase. It was fun revisiting some aspects of 1986 (even though some tunes, such as “Kickstart My Heart” didn’t come out until ’89).
Blu-ray special features include commentaries, deleted scenes and extended scenes. The best deleted scenes were multiple hilarious takes of Corrdry, who’s comes across as a pretty funny guy. Digital copy is included but don’t ask me about it, because I don’t use them. All I know is that the digital copy is just the “rated” version of the film.
I’ll admit that this is the only Jam that I own; about 10 years ago I decided that I loved this compilation enough to buy the Direction Reaction Creation box set. That box contained the entirety of their studio recordings. Maybe it was too much Jam at once, or maybe their albums were just not as good as their singles. Whatever; I found that this Greatest Hits was enough Jam for me. Yet I love all 19 songs. You’d think I’d be into their albums, if I already liked 19/19 Jam songs on this CD
There’s a great variety of tunes on Greatest Hits: everything’s here from the punk rock snarl of the opener “In The City” to the mournful “That’s Entertainment” to the upbeat fun of “Beat Surrender”. In between you will find some of the catchiest bass lines ever recorded, topped by the undeniable lyrics of Paul Weller. To write this many truly great singles…well you just don’t see it that often.
The Jam rocked, The Jam were cool, from punk rock to Motown soul and funk, these guys did it all and did it well. You would be well advised to pick this up. It’s cheap now, too. Less than $5, used.
Songs I really, really like that you may already know:
“Down at the Tube Station at Midnight”
“The Eton Rifles”
“Town Called Malice”
“David Watts”
“The Bitterst Pill (I Ever Had To Swallow)”
I later bought a second Jam compilation album called Collection. It concentrated on album tracks and deep cuts and I didn’t like it. Normally I would advise readers to pick up original studio albums rather than compilations. This time I feel the opposite way. I have to rate Greatest Hits:
HONEYMOON SUITE – The Singles (1989 Warner)
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