The occasion: It was Helix’s 25th anniversary. How about an album, and some classic returning band members, for a good time?
The title B-Sides here is misleading; a B-side is a track that appears on the flipside of a single, and is often not on the album. No tracks on this album appeared on the flipside of any singles, at least not these versions. However, the misleading title does not mar the excellent music contained within.
B-Sides contains songs written and/or demo’d for various Helix albums from 1990 onwards. Some of these have been re-recorded, such as “Love Is A Crazy Game”, which appeared as an acoustic version on the Business Doing Pleasure CD. This version is electric and is much heavier. I could imagine this version fitting right in on an Aerosmith album. “S.E.X. Rated” has also been re-recorded. It’s the only song that actually appeared as a B-side, but it’s not the same version as on that single.
Various versions of the Helix band appear on this album, but most interesting is the lineup on the bonus tracks. “Like Taking Candy From A Baby” and “Thinking It Over” are both from the sessions from Helix’s excellent first album (Breaking Loose), left unreleased until now. “Thinking It Over”, a terrific pop rock song, is a Del Shannon cover. Helix worked as Shannon’s backing band during an early 70’s Canadian tour. There are also three songs by a reunited “80’s Helix”, and it’s great to hear that version of the band again.
In a way, it’s a shame that this album was given the title and terrible album cover that it has. Brian Vollmer and Co. could have simply put this out as the next Helix album, which may have given it the respect it deserves. From the ballads to the heavy stuff, this Helix CD has a bit of everything you already liked about the band, with a modern edge. Every song kicks, there’s not a weak track in the bunch. By the time you get to the bonus tracks, Helix have already pummelled your eardrums.
Helix fans absolutely need to hear this music; not B-sides but in fact some of Helix’s best stuff. Along the way, there are appearances from pretty much every major Helix member from the indi days to the mid-90’s. You will even hear songs written and performed by Paul Hackman, the late Helix guitarist who was tragically killed in a 1992 auto accident. The major selling point of the disc was that three songs featured a reunion of the surviving members of the classic 80’s Helix. With Hackman gone, that consisted of leader singer Brian Vollmer, guitarist Brent “the Doctor” Doerner, bassist Daryl Gray, and drummer Greg “Fritz” Hinz.
Personal faves:
“Thinking It Over” which my wife thinks sounds like Sloan.
“Devil’s Gate”, hard and hammering.
“You Got Me Chained”, with killer horn section.
“Take It Or Leave It”, moody and dark but catchy as hell.
Final bonus: a booklet absolutely chock full of never before seen photos. A real treat!
It’s always risky buying a compilation album from a label “series”. Yesterday, we looked at a Judas Priest compilation from Sony’s Steel Book Series. Over 60 Minutes With… was a CD-only (no tapes, no records) series by Capital/EMI in the late 80’s and early 90’s. I remember seeing it over Christmas break in ’89, and trying to decide whether to buy it, or Ace Frehley’s Trouble Walkin’. (I went with the Ace, and saved the Helix for a month or two later.) I was confused: Here was a brand new Helix CD, with Brent “The Doctor” Doerner right there on the front cover. But hadn’t he left the band? He had, but that was how I could tell this was a semi-official release, driven by the label.
The difference between Over 60 Minutes With…Helix and all the other label compilations is that this one is really, really good. In fact to this day, it is still the one of the best Helix compilations assembled (and it was the first!). Here are some reasons:
1. Rare tracks! Three of them in fact. You get demos for “Give It To You” (a new song re-recorded for the Back For Another Taste CD), “Jaws Of The Tiger” (re-recorded for B-Sides) and “Everybody Pays The Price” (later to be the B-side to “The Storm”).
2. Lots of hits. 21 tracks are contained within, and a good solid six of them were hit singles.
Those two points are enough reason to buy this CD (especially the first). Let’s keep listening.
3. Rocker-to-ballad ratio is a generous 17 : 4. Keep me mind, Helix ballads tend to rock anyway. “Never Wanna Lose You” gets pretty heavy come chorus time!
4.Loads of tunes from No Rest for the Wicked. When this CD came out in ’89, that album was unavailable on CD and scarce on cassette. This CD has seven songs from No Rest! That album, loaded with rockers heavy and melodic, is still one of their very best today. Even though there were only three unreleased songs on Over 60 Minutes With…, there were tons that were brand new to me.
That considered, Over 60 Minutes With… has one serious flaw. The record company only included songs from the first three Capitol Helix albums. Obviously nothing from the independent albums Breaking Loose or White Lace & Black Leather were up for grabs. Strangely though, 1987’s Capitol Wild In The Streets CD is strangely missed. The inclusion of one or two tracks from that album would have been appreciated.
Flaw aside, the liner notes are informative and the track listing is still generous. You certainly don’t want to miss album tracks such as the awesome “You Keep Me Rocking”, the raunchy “Dirty Dog” or the slinky “Check Out The Love”. They are here along with many others. Pick this up, enjoy it, and then explore some of Helix’s proper albums, such as No Rest for the Wicked. This is great, but it’s only the beginning! Gimme an R indeed.
Helix’s Back For Another Taste was easily their best album since No Rest for the Wicked. It was also their last for Capitol. As such it received a neat, very limited vinyl release with a special cover commemorating the last (planned) printing of Capitol vinyl. I wish I had bought it when I had the chance. I recall seeing it at Sam the Record Man (owned by Gil Zurbrigg, brother of original Helix bassist Keith Zurbrigg) in downtown Kitchener. I didn’t have a good way of playing records back then, so it didn’t seem worth it.
Special release aside, Back For Another Taste will always be associated with some hard times in Helix. Brent “the Doctor” Doerner, with the band since LP #1, decided to move on from rock and roll. Although lead howler Brian Vollmer saw the departure coming, it still hit hard. Doerner stuck around long enough to record some rhythm guitars and solos for the new album. His brother Brian Doerner played drums on three tracks, as he often has on past Helix albums. (Helix mainstay Fritz Hinz played on the rest). The songs were written by Vollmer and guitarist Paul Hackman, with the exception of two. Vollmer took a trip down to the US to work with Marc Ribler who helped him hone his songwriting chops.
Helix presented themselves as a four-piece in promo photos and music videos, for the first time. Doerner would prove hard to replace over the years, with American Denny Balicki taking over for the tour. He was Helix’s first American member. He made notable appearances in a one-hour MuchMusic special called “Waltzing With Helix”, a documentary on Helix’s European tour with Sacred Reich, and opening for Ian Gillan. (Also in that documentary: a kid I grew up with in the neighborhood called Brian Knight. He was a Helix roadie at the time. Brian Vollmer misspelled his name in his book as “Brian McKnight“. Whoops!)
Back For Another Taste was produced by Tony Bongiovi, who gave the band a raw, more kicking sound in the studio. It was clear from track one “The Storm” that Helix meant business again. A mean sounding gritty groove-rocker, “The Storm” was unlike anything they’d done before. It was a completely un-wimpy lead single and a surprising one at that, since it’s not a very commercial. The new four-piece Helix sound great here, with Hackman able to really dig in and play, while bassist Daryl Gray gets more room to groove.
The really impressive track on the album was “Running Wild in the 21st Century”. When every other band seemed to be softening it up, Helix seemed to go full-on metal. An edgy music video featuring London’s “Snake the Tattooed Man” won Helix some acclaim and recognition. Snake was a friend of the band, and when the idea came up for a music video, Vollmer said “I know the perfect guy for this.” (I myself encountered Snake at the Record Store, in Part 118 of Record Store Tales.)
“Running Wild” is a killer track, pure Helix adrenaline with their trademark smooth backing vocals. In the lyrics, Brian seems confident of rock and roll’s future survival. Once again Paul Hackman confidently handles the guitars, allowing his personality to really shine.
Right up the alley of old Helix rockers is “That’s Life”, a classic sounding tune that’s great for drinking to. Just you try not having fun while hoisting a frosty to “That’s Life”! But Helix are more than just a party band, always have been. “Breakdown” is the long dramatic slow one. Vollmer had been going through some rough times: divorce, having to work at a convenience store to pay the rent, getting mugged, and then heave-ho and re-locating to London Ontario. “Breakdown” must come from those times, because you can hear the desperation and the determination. This track is the closest Helix ever got to re-capturing the golden sound of their first album,Breaking Loose. But you gotta end side one on a party rocker, doncha? So “Heavy Metal Cowboys” is that track and it sounds exactly how you expect. Hackman throws down some slide guitar for good measure.
The title track is quintessential Helix. “Back For Another Taste” indeed, this track could have been right at home on Wild in the Streets. It’s dirty and rocking, just like you like it. The stretching out a bit, the pop side of Helix emerges on “Rockin’ Rollercoaster”. I immediately noticed a higher rating on the 10-point Catchiness Factor scale (c), than other songs on this album. But then it’s even higher on “Midnight Express”, a real singalong! I really like these two songs, and even the ballad “Good to the Last Drop” really impressed.
Marc Ribler wanted to write a song called “Can’t Eat Just One”, but Vollmer found the title cumbersome, so he suggested “Good to the Last Drop” instead. What came from this was a hit ballad with heaps of class and all the right ingredients – a solid 9 on the Catchiness Factor scale. The music video received a swanky remix with extra keyboard overdubs, and that’s the version I go for. (It’s on many Helix best-of’s, but not this CD.)
“Give It to You” wasn’t exactly a new song. An earlier version (more raw) surfaced on 1989’s Over 20 Minutes With…Helix compilation. I prefer the raw version, but it’s still a great dirty lil’ Helix number. “Pull the trigger of my honey gun.” Oh, Brian. “Special delivery, just for you!”
So Helix stretched out on this album a bit, and went back to their roots while exercising their melodic songwriting muscles. They went heavier, they went softer, they went dramatic, and they revisited some of their pop roots. What’s left? Faster, faster, faster!
“Wheels of Thunder” is probably the fastest, heaviest Helix track of all time and it closes Back For Another Taste on a killer note. Dr. Doerner handles the solo on this one, and Fritz is absolutely thrash metal mad. The only Helix track that might be faster is “Jaws of a Tiger” (also from Over 20 Minutes With…Helix), but we’re splitting hairs. What a ballsy way to end the album.
There were some cool singles available, but most interesting was the cassette single for “Good to the Last Drop”. That had an unreleased B-side, a song called “S.E.X. Rated”. This is a completely different version from the one that later appeared on the album B-Sides. This one has Paul Hackman, and that’s significant.
In July of 1992, Fritz Hinz was injured (slipped disc) and unable to tour, so Brian Doerner returned for a few western Canadian dates. As a bonus, so did his brother Brent. After a final date in Vancouver the band headed home. Paul Hackman elected to travel home in the tour van with bassist Daryl Gray, while the rest of the band booked flights. Hackman, not wearing a seat belt, went to sleep. Then, according to reports, the van veered off the road and down an embankment when the driver fell asleep at the wheel. Three men were thrown from the vehicle, and Hackman was killed. Daryl Gray suffered minor injuries and flagged down help. 20 cars passed the frantic, bleeding bassist before someone stopped.
Back For Another Taste was Paul’s final recording.
Part 3 of 3 in this week’s Helix miniseries. The original review was posted in August 2012, but this is completely new and improved!
HELIX – No Rest For the Wicked (1983 EMI)
Finally! The big break came, after nearly 10 years of hard work. The trick was re-branding Helix as a “metal band” instead of a plain old bar rock band. An early video for “Heavy Metal Love” was filmed in T-shirts and jeans. It was only after they switched to leather clothing and a more “metal” image, did people start to take notice. “Heavy Metal Love” was re-filmed for a more metallic music video, and Helix were more or less off to the races. They had a boost from CanCon rules, which meant the video went into rotation on MuchMusic.
“Heavy Metal Love”, written in a crummy hotel room in Seaforth Ontario, is an ode to Joan Jett; or rather a fantasy about Joan Jett. It remains as fun now as it was then. Helix re-recorded the tune in 2006 for their Get Up EP, but it is this version produced by Tom Treumuth that has become timeless. Indeed, it was chosen for the wedding scene in theTrailer Park Boys movie that same year. It’s still a great groove, and a whole lot of fun.
“Fun” is a great word to describe Helix’s music in general, and No Rest For the Wicked is perhaps their strongest effort, at least from their years on Capitol Records. It is true that I gave Breaking Loose (1979) high praise and a 5/5 star rating, but No Rest is easier to sink your teeth into on just one listen.
Helix in 1983 consisted of:
Brian Vollmer – lead vocals
Brent “the Doctor” Doerner – guitar
Paul Hackman – guitar
Mike Uzelac – bass
Greg “Fritz” Hinz – drums
The only lineup change this time was the drum seat. Leo Niebudek departed, and was replaced by Fritz Hinz, ex-Starchild. (Starchild’s claim to history is an early single produced by some unknown guy named Daniel Lanois. Fritz played on their later, uber-rare Children of the Stars album.) With Hinz, the band had acquired an easy-to-love showman who had the chops required. I shall never forget the sight of Fritz’s buttless chaps, giving us the moon at a 1987 concert.
Even though I hold Breaking Loose in very high esteem, No Rest For the Wicked is probably just as good, but in a different way. The new heavier direction didn’t alienate their old fans, but it did gain them plenty of new ones. It seemed a lot of kids on my street had a copy of this LP or cassette. It’s more than just the one song — every track is great, every single one of ’em. The title track still serves as Helix’ show opener. Live, they change part of the lyrics to “Ain’t no rest for the Helix band!” It’s true! It’s an unrelenting and cool metal assault. But again…plenty fun.
Need some party rock? Look no further than “Let’s All Do It Tonight”. Listen to that one, and then try to forget the chorus! If you like that kind of melodic hard rock, then you’ll probably also dig “Don’t Get Mad Get Even”, the second (much less seen) video made for the album.
Need some sleeze? Then “Check Out the Love”, before you do the “Dirty Dog”. Both songs are killer grooves. “Dirty Dog” never fails to make the setlists today. It is suspended by a killer riff and Vollmer’s shredded vocal cords. And let’s not forget “White Lace and Black Leather”. (Like they did with the track “Breaking Loose”, Helix put the title song on the next album!) This is about as dirty as they get, and I love it.
Need a ballad? Naw, didn’t think so. But just in case, Helix put on a ballsy one, in “Never Want To Lose You”. Sounds wimpy, yes, but it has the guitars and heavy chorus necessary to keep you from losing your cool.
Need a boost of adrenaline? Then the doctor prescribes “Ain’t No High Like Rock ‘N’ Roll”. Kicking up the pace a few notches, it still retains that Helix knack for melody.
Also recommended, chase this with the live album called Live In Buffalo, which was recorded for radio shortly afterwards. It has high-octane live versions of most of these tracks as well as a sneak preview of the next album, Walkin’ the Razor’s Edge.
I think this one sounds particularly good on vinyl. Gimme an R!
Having already done it once themselves, why not do it again? Once again Helix with manager Bill Seip raised the funds to record an independent album. Drummer Brian Doerner was gone, replaced by Leo Niebudek. On bass, Keith “Bert” Zurbrigg hung around long enough to record one new song (“It’s Too Late”). He was replaced by the young, talented and troubled Mike Uzelac. He was only 17 when he first joined Helix. He told them he was 19.
Sticking to the same formula as Breaking Loose, there is really no deviation in sound. Some members have changed but little else. The band still managed to come up with enough good material to fill an album to follow the first. I don’t know if the track “Breaking Loose” was a leftover from the first album or not, but quality-wise there is nothing “leftover” about it. I would call it a typical Helix party rocker: a fast one, often used back in the day to open their sets. The lyrics are the kind of thing that Helix were about: the weekend!
“4 O’clock Friday afternoon, Punch that time clock, now you’ll be home soon, Your week’s all done, now it’s time to roll, You’re like a time bomb about to explode.”
Vollmer reminds us “You only got two days, so make it last,” a philosophy I heartily agree with. Brent Doerner and Paul Hackman lay down a pair of ripping guitar solos for the icing on the cake. Then “It’s Too Late” is the kind of melodic mid-tempo rocker that their first album was loaded with. Surely something like “It’s Too Late” could have worked on the radio, and I think that was the intent. That takes away nothing from the song, which is classy with quality.
“Long Distance Heartbreak” at almost seven minutes is Helix’s longest song ever. In the early days they tended to experiment with their songwriting, coming up with the odd mini-epic. Like many Helix classics, this one reads as a road song. Thin Lizzy they were not, but Vollmer captures the heartbreak in their lyrics while Doerner and Hackman take care of the guitar drama.
Helix get even more serious for a moment with “Time For a Change”, and “Hangman’s Tree” also brings a few issues to the table. “Time For a Change” is sadly even more valid today.
“Everyday there’s a new headline, Another war and another lie, When will we learn to stop this killing while we can?”
It’s interesting that Helix didn’t seem to know their direction yet, but still infused every song with their bare honesty. They were riding a line between a party band and a more serious, more experimental rock band. In the end they chose the route that they were intended for, but that takes nothing away from these early songs. “Time For a Change” and “Hangman’s Tree” are unexpectedly ambitious for a young bar band from Canada. In each case, it is the guitar work that elevates the songs.
“It’s What I Wanted” lightens the mood, a mid-tempo rocker with a great melody. I don’t know why it is, but these melodic rock songs really sound like home to me. They conjure images of a more innocent time, when the world seemed smaller to me. They capture and bring back hazy, happy pictures of Kitchener in the late 70’s.
Brent Doener comes back with his only lead vocal on the track “Mainline”. Sounds like Brent was having no trouble getting satisfaction back then. “She keeps me happy, what can I say?” he sings, lamenting that his lady keeps him up all night and late for work in the morning! “Pick up my cheque at the end of the day, I find I’m down a couple hours’ pay.” So in essence, “Mainline” is about choices. You can either have tons and tons of sex at all hours of the day, or get to work on time. It’s your choice, people!
“Women, Whiskey & Sin” is pretty simple in its message. This smoking track is more like Helix would evolve on later albums like No Rest For the Wicked. “Ain’t no laws to hold us back on a Saturday night,” sings Brian Vollmer. (Hate to tell ya Brian, there actually are laws about some of the things you boys were doing back in the day!) Then “Thoughts That Bleed” is a proggy, slow closer with lots of dynamics, similar to how Helix ended the first album with “Wish I Could Be There”.
Ultimately there is no question that Helix made the right move to drop some of these softer, more progressive moments and focus on the heavy metal side of their sound. It got them signed to Capitol Records and secured their biggest hits. That leaves these first two albums as evidence of an earlier, more naive Helix willing to stretch out a bit more.
Long before they gave you an ‘R’, Helix earned a reputation as the hardest working band in Canada, year after year in the cold dirty clubs of the Great White North. Formed in 1974, Helix had a number of lineup changes before they even recorded their debut. If you want to get technical about it, even on their first album, Helix only had two remaining original members in singer Brian Vollmer and bassist Keith “Bert” Zurbrigg. Helix really solidified when they eventually acquired guitarist Paul Hackman, and twin brothers Brent (guitar) and Brian Doerner (drums).
Manager Bill Seip, who eventually guided Helix to a major label deal with Capitol Records in the early 80’s, was an early believer. Under his leadership, they managed to scrape together enough cash to record an independent album — something very few bands did back then. They released it on their own “H&S Records”, for Helix & Seip. What is remarkable about the album they created, Breaking Loose, is how great it still is today. I know people, very respected in the local rock community, who will tell you this is Helix’s best album.
Breaking Loose isn’t metal, but what it lacks in firepower is made up for in class, ambition and natural talent. Brian Doerner is one of the most respected drummers around, having acquired an extensive discography over the decades. As for Brent Doener and Paul Hackman, together they forged a guitar partnership that would take them up to the big leagues. They are not Downing & Tipton, nor are they Smith & Murray. Doerner & Hackman (R.I.P.) were in a hard rocking bar band, and Helix were damn good for their demographic. What they brought to the table was ability, but not flash. Both were capable of writing songs on their own, as the writing credits on Breaking Loose attest to.
Having toured extensively, Helix worked up a number of originals. The entire album is written by the trio of Doerner, Hackman and Vollmer, in various permutations. Even then, Brian Vollmer had a remarkable voice: power with just a tiny bit of grit, but also the ability to sing clean. The production on the album is flat by today’s standards, but perspective and context are everything. For a self-financed album in 1979, it sounds incredible! Though it lacks the oomph of Helix today, it’s perfectly listenable.
Starting with the mid-tempo “I Could Never Leave”, Helix right away hit you right off the bat with one of their catchiest tunes. You’ll notice the nice backing vocals, Brent being particularly audible. “Don’t Hide Your Love” has a similar vibe, that being hard rock with an emphasis on catchy melodies. Maybe Helix were aiming for the radio, but the songs aren’t wimpy by any stretch.
“Down in the City” is a Vollmer ballad, and a pretty good one too. The lyrics are cringe-worthy, but the music had ambition. It starts as a pretty, folky acoustic song and eventually builds with more guitars into something different. Plenty of guitars to go around. Then like night and day it’s onto “Crazy Women”, written and vocalized by Brent, otherwise known as “The Doctor”. Doerner has a quirkier writing style, which is a good thing, because it helped Helix stand out a little more from the pack. “Crazy Women” has plenty of guitars of course, but also has a neat drunken stumble to it.
Brent closed side one, and opened side two with a legendary song that helped them get a following on the west coast: “Billy Oxygen”. It’s still a favourite to this day, a short fast rocker about a guy named Billy Oxygen, captain of a starship called an ES-335, looking to meet some aliens to party with. Out of this world? Wait until you hear the band playing the shit out of it! Brian’s drumming reminds me of a good jazz drummer — fast, accurate, and hard! Keith Zurbrigg throws down a little bass, playing off with Brent and Paul in a three-way solo for the ages.
If you don’t like “Billy Oxygen”, then I’m not sure if we can be friends. The impact this song had on me cannot really be measured, as I played it on repeat ad-nauseum. As I recounted in Record Store Tales Part 2 (!), this tune even inspired me to do some writing of my own:
When I was in University I tried my hand at bad, bad science fiction short stories. Suffice to say, none of it survives today with good reason. However, Helix had a little moment in my fiction: My spaceship was called an ES-335, named after Billy Oxygen’s ship in the song. And only a little while ago did I learn that ES-335 wasn’t the name of a spaceship at all. An ES-335 was a Gibson guitar.
“Here I Go Again” is not the Whitesnake song, but another one of those melodic rock songs that seemed a bit contrived to get some radio play. That’s just speculation on my part, but I’m glad it was “Billy Oxygen” that did get the airplay. That’s not to say anything negative about the fine “Here I Go Again”. There isn’t a weak song on this album, but two other highlights are definitely “You’re A Woman Now”, featuring female backing vocals and a structure that builds into something dramatic, as if it’s Helix’s own “Stairway To Heaven”. “Wish I Could Be There” brings back the outer space theme, and has acoustic and heavy sections, sort of Helix’s foray into prog rock.
I should note that both “Wish I Could Be There” and “Billy Oxygen” made the Sausagefest countdown a few years ago, a lofty achievement indeed. “Billy” even cracked the top five. Musical scholar Scotty Geffros holds both songs in high esteem, and voted for them accordingly, as did I. Our host, Iron Tom Sharpe also voted for “Billy”.
This lineup only lasted for one album, both Brian Doerner and Keith Zurbrigg departed shortly after this, leaving Vollmer the sole original member. Their legacy of the lineup is this debut album, something any band would be proud of. Unfortunately, CDs are hard to find. Capitol did a bare-bones but fine CD reissue in 1992, with both Breaking Loose and the second album White Lace & Black Leather, on one disc. That release was called The Early Years, but it went out of print many years ago. Brian Vollmer did a CD reissue of each individually, but both are now sold out.
Now, fair warning: I have to disclose that I am biased when it comes to this band. I’ve met them a number of times, and I have the phone numbers of two guys who played on this album. For another perspective, I asked Scotty Geffros, who has a Masters degree in Rockology, about his relationship with Breaking Loose:
After being handed this album, as a youngster of maybe 9 or 10, I remember examining the cover first…and seeing the photos of the band on the back, and wondering why the singer had a Blackhawks jersey on? I was told by my father to listen to “Billy Oxygen” and quickly went to the turntable to give it a spin. Low and behold, instant love. From catchy tunes like “Here I Go Again”, to more epic works like “Wish I Could Be There”, this album grabbed me and holds up today as a really good, albeit under-appreciated record.
[Note: I was wondering the same thing. Brian, why are you wearing a Blackhawks jersey?]
I’d go a step further than Scott and call it really great. Being completely honest though, the only complaint I have about this album would be that some of the lyrics were a little weak. Young band…first album…I’ll forgive them. If you can too, then I suggest you hear Breaking Loose at your earliest convenience.
Every good Canadian that was alive and rocking in the mid-80’s remembers the music video: The dudes are breaking rocks in the quarry, in chains. Then the singer stands up and yells, “Gimme an R! O! C! K! Whatcha got? Rock! And whatcha gonna do? Rock you!” And then, freedom! It’s just one of those great 80’s rock music videos, and it’s only one of many on this DVD. Here, you get ’em all from the Capitol years.
The videos are not in chronological order, which would be my preferred arrangement. The DVD commences with the award winning “Running Wild in the 21st Century” featuring Snake the Tattooed Man from London Ontario. The older classics range from edgy to campy, but are always cool in their own way. My preference is towards the live on stage type of video, like the exciting “Wild in the Streets”. On the other hand, “The Kids are all Shakin'” is undeniably fun, with Brian Vollmer playing multiple characters from an old man to a radio DJ. You can’t help but chuckle in your beer.
There are also a handful of rarities here, including the “topless” version of “Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'” that you definitely won’t see on MuchMusic. “Don’t Get Mad Get Even” was only played on Much, like, twice. So it’s pretty rare too. What’s missing is the alternate version of “Wild In The Street” that I have somewhere on a VHS tape, and any sort of special extras like interviews. Also, I have to say that I wish the video for “That Day Is Gonna Come” was on here. It is my all time favourite Helix video but it wasn’t on Capitol. It was on Aquarius.
[I have a buddy, Rob, who used to work for Rogers TV. He told me that he had seen and knew where the tape was for the original “Heavy Metal Love” video. They did an early version of it in T-shirts and jeans, before they changed their image to black leather. Rob offered to copy it for me but I didn’t believe him so I said no!]
Great little DVD. Extra interviews would have been awesome. However a lot of that stuff is available on other Helix DVDs. (Check ’em out.) S.E.X. Rated has one last bonus going for it — it is encoded for NTSC on one side, and PAL on the other. No matter where you are, you can buy it and enjoy the classic videos of 80’s Helix.
4/5 stars
How fucking cool does Brent Doerner look in every single video?
“Ain’t no rest for the Helix band!” – Brian Vollmer
HELIX – half-ALIVE (1998 DeRock)
The 90’s weren’t a kind decade to Helix. Longtime guitarist Paul Hackman was killed in a 1992 auto accident. Without any Helix tracks written for a new album, Brian Vollmer chose to reconceive his in-the-works solo album as a Helix one, It’s a Business Doing Pleasure. The largely acoustic leanings of that (excellent) album didn’t fit with the overall Helix sound, and the album was tragically ignored. It would be five years before half-ALIVE finally followed it.
With their original heavy rock sound intact, Helix came roaring back with this mostly live, partly studio recording. With some live gigs recorded, as well as a handful of unreleased and unfinished new songs, half-ALIVE maybe should have been called one-third-ALIVE. Either way, it rocks. If you’ve seen this band live, then you know how much they kick it on stage.
After the death of Paul Hackman, it seemed like Helix became more a “project” than a band, with rotating members around the nucleus of Brian Vollmer (vocals) and Daryl Gray (bass). On half-ALIVE, you will hear appearances from members such as Greg “Fritz” Hinz (drums), Paul Hackman and Dr. Doerner (guitars), and even a song written by Mike Uzelac, their bass player when they signed to Capitol Records (who was actually a missing person for a long time). In addition, newer members like drummer Glen “Archie” Gamble and guitarists Denny Balicki, Gary Borden, Rick Mead and Mark Chichkan all contribute. These guys helped keep Helix going as a touring entity in the 90’s. Gamble in particular, since he was in the band for almost a whole decade.
Could the Helix of the 90’s cut it as much as the classic 80’s band? The five studio tracks roar “yes”! A far cry from the acoustic rock of It’s a Business Doing Pleasure, this is a return to the hard rock/metal sounds of Walkin’ the Razor’s Edge. Best tracks among the studio crop are “Wrecking Ball”, Steppenwolf’s “The Pusher” and a ballad called “The Same Room” (the single). “Big Bang Boom” is the only one I do not care for. The rest are decent songs, not necessarily career highlights, but solid. Of course, Vollmer’s voice is in fine form. It always is. No matter what Helix do on an album, you can count on Brian’s vocals sounding as they always has. That’s his Bel Canto training.
Video shoot for the unreleased “The Same Room” clip
From there we go to the live material. Virtually all the hits are present (“Rock You”, “Running Wild In The 21st Century”, “Good To The Last Drop”, “Heavy Metal Love”, “Wild In The Streets”, etc.) There’s also a new acoustic composition called “Smile”, written and performed by Gary Borden. What really sets this live stuff apart from their studio albums is Vollmer’s friendly on-stage banter. As he relates a tale of staying in a hotel in Seaforth Ontario (population at the time: less than 2000), you’ll laugh along, especially if you’ve been there! Equally good is Brian’s mid-song speech in “No Rest for the Wicked”. (Hits that are missing include “The Kids are all Shakin'”.)
The live songs were taken from various tours, 1992-1997, so there are a variety of material and band members (as noted above). Yet there’s a cohesiveness that similar live albums lack. The songs are mixed together and flow seamlessly, and you really can’t hear the five years passing. The sound is hard, clear, and rocking, and begs the question: “What took them five years to release this stuff?” I guess it was circumstance. It had nothing to do with quality, that’s for sure. The performances are raw though, and it doesn’t sound like much in terms of overdubs was done to the recordings.
My only real complaint about this otherwise competent live album is the cheesy cover art. Up close, it kind of looks cheap and crappy. And Brian’s haircut…I’m sorry man! I’ve met Brian and he was so cool and kind, so I hate to say bad things, but yeah…I’m glad you grew your hair back man!
BRIAN VOLLMER – Gimme An R!
The story of Brian Vollmer, lead vocalist of Helix (2005)
Forget all those books by the mega stars like Slash and Sammy Hagar that have come out in recent years. Those books have one thing in common — they were written (or co-written, anyway) by guys who are rock superstars! Megastars! It’s hard for me as a reader to relate to a guy who hasn’t had to hold down a job in 30 years. Not that there’s anything wrong with stardom, it’s just an observation. I can’t relate to the human beings. Not so with this book!
Brian Vollmer, lead vocalist of the hardest working band in Canada (that would be Helix), comes across as a pretty regular guy. (I’ve met him a number of times, and he’s about as regular as anybody you’d know.) Yes, he’s traveled the world in a rock band and played for thousands of people, but at the end of the day the book is something I can still relate to. Through crappy jobs in crappy convenience stores, crappy apartments, getting mugged, it doesn’t seem like a rock star’s life. There are parallels in the story similar to other bands such as Anvil (another hard-working Canadian band). While Vollmer always manages to scrape by and continue to Rock Us, nothing comes easy. Incredibly through it all Brian Vollmer never really stopped being an artist. He seemed to always keep music, and Helix in his life even after dozens of lineup changes and band members. (Approximately 35 people have been in Helix since 1974. The newest member is Cambridge’s Chris Julke, replacing John Claus.)
From humble beginnings in Listowel Ontario to playing in Sweden, England and Trinidad, Vollmer’s tome has plenty of rock and roll stories. As one of the first Canadian bands to release independent albums in the 1970’s, he was a bit of a pioneer. Gimme An R! is loaded with rock star encounters one after the other, from Eddie Van Halen (on stage!) to Gene Simmons. Vollmer remains himself through it all, even after Helix signed their big deal with Capitol and released “Rock You”. The tragic death of primary co-writer Paul Hackman nearly derailed the band. Even after the departures of longtime partners Brent Doerner, Fritz Hinz, and finally Daryl Gray, Brian kept going. He kept the Helix name alive, finding success on the internet which was a brand new way for him to make contact, and sell albums directly to his fans. Then, a little TV show called Trailer Park Boys helped expose Helix to a new audience.
Included between the covers are dozens of black and white photos of the band over the years. From small-town Ontario to meeting superstars like Richard Pryor and Robin Williams, it’s a pretty cool collection of snaps. Unfortunately while reading I found myself distracted by spelling errors — “Atlantis Morissette” for example. I would like to see a second printing that corrects these mistakes. (A new chapter on the last decade would be cool too Brian!)
Vollmer’s prose is not frilly or poetic, but it’s conversational and descriptive. There’s no ghost writer, so the pictures that Brian paints of all those seedy bars in the dead of winter come straight from his memory to the page. He’s a great storyteller. The bottom line is that the story of Helix keeps you hooked. I’ve had friends come over and pick up the book, and they just get entranced. It’s a really different side of the rock and roll tales. It shows what old fashioned determination and hard work can accomplish.
I have to knock off half a star for the spelling errors. It’s just one of those pet peeves — nothing personal, Brian! I do highly recommend it Gimme An R! to rock fans world wide who’d like a different, more humble angle on the whole rock star thing.
Smash Hits…Unplugged!, the first ever acoustic release by Helix, was certainly a release that deserved more attention. While Helix have continued to make albums (and good ones, too), many of them have been ignored by the media in general. While an album such as The Power of Rock and Roll kicked as much ass as Walkin’ the Razor’s Edge, it went largely unheard. Smash Hits…Uplugged! was a more accessible version of Helix, but it still failed to garner the attention it deserved. I do hear “That Day Is Gonna Come” from this album on the radio from time to time, but this album is too good not to be heard by masses.
This, to me, was the real “classic Helix lineup” reunion album. Unlike Vagabond Bones, you can actually hear Brent and Daryl singing. Daryl Gray in particular contributes a lot to this album, including singing, bass, guitars, and more exotic instruments such as bodhran. All five Helix members participated, including Kaleb Duck with his first Helix album. Old friends such as Sean Kelly and Cheryl Lescom also dropped in.
Every song on this album was a hit somewhere or another, and every song on this album had the potential to be a hit once again. Vollmer sang his butt off as always. Some of these arrangements are startlingly original. Particularly “Gimme Gimme Good Lovin”, which shines with great harmony vocals and mandolin courtesy of former guitar slinger Brent Doerner. This excellent, energetic version is followed by a great single-worthy take of “The Kids Are All Shakin”. The ballads are also well done, in particular the shoulda-woulda-coulda-been hit “That Day Is Gonna Come” and their cover of “Dream On”.
It is a new cover version that really blew me away. Vollmer sings his very best on “Touch of Magic” originally by the late great James Leroy. This long forgotten song is a wonderful tribute to Leroy, an under-appreciated Canadian singer and songwriter from the 1970’s. His original version of “Touch of Magic” was a #6 charting single. While I can’t say that Helix have topped or equaled him, it is a nice tribute and let’s leave it at that.
Really in total honesty, every version here is great — I can’t say much more than that. I found some arrangements, such as “Rock You”, to be pretty standard, while others to be more adventurous especially in instrumentation. A sprinkle of fiddle here, some 12-string there, and you get a rich unplugged album much more interesting than most major bands’.
Pick up Smash Hits…Unplugged! by Helix. Not only do you know all these songs already, but you’re supporting a band that really deserves it.
HELIX – B-Sides (1999 Beak Records)
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