On the weekend I had the pleasure of doing a show with D’Arcy Briggs from the YouTube channel @darcyska. The topic was the recently reviewed Sing the Sorrow by A.F.I., which D’Arcy recently picked up thrifting as well. With this happy coincidence, we sat down and reviewed the album. It turns out we mostly agreed when we split it down track by track.
Check out this fun review, and a lot of praise for an album you should get!
A.F.I. – Sing the Sorrow (2003 BMG)
I don’t pretend to know about bands with whom I have only scratched the surface, so here are some basics on A.F.I. I always considered them to be a punk emo band. A.F.I. (A Fire Inside) are fronted by Davey Havok and have been around for almost 35 years now. In 2003, they were new to me. Working at the record store, some of the younger cooler employees put on A.F.I.’s new album Sing the Sorrow, and I immediately liked it. It had a lot of metal riffing, and I dug Davey’s vocals. I was an instant fan of the disc, and I played it regularly while it was charting in 2003. I still spin it today, and though I’m not a pierced up record store guy with eyeliner anymore, I still dig A.F.I.
Sing the Sorrow was the band’s first big mainstream album after several punk/horror oriented releases. One look at the back cover, and you know it’s going to sound amazing: Produced by Butch Vig and Jerry Finn. The front cover is striking, minimalist and classy. All told, Sing the Sorrow is dark, but with spotlights of bright illumination. Let’s give it a listen.
One thing immediately obvious is that A.F.I. like their grandiose song titles, and so the opening piece is called “Miseria Cantare- The Beginning”. Very Ghost today, no? This keyboard and industrial inflected piece begins with percussion and shouting: “Love your hate, your faith lost, you are now one of us.” And then comes Davey Havok, with soothing melodic and smooth vocals, delivering the melancholy hooks. It’s hard to call this a full song as it’s more an intro, but it’s Davey that reels you comfortably in.
“The Leaving Song, Part II” (again with the pompous song titles that I love so much) is the first real song. Based on a cool bunch of guitar notes and a couple catchy riffs, A.F.I. open not with a blitzkrieg but with a slow and determined dirge. The choruses are gang vocal heaven. This song acted a second single for the album, hitting #16 in the US. Only Davey Havok could make these words sound positive: “Break down, and cease all feeling, burn now, what once was breathing.” Somehow his voice gives hope.
Paces accelerate with one of the best tunes on the album: “Bleed Black”. This one should have been a single. In my ears, this album has nothing but singles, and “Bleed Black” is chief among them. “If you listen, listen, listen…listen close, beat by beat, you can hear when the heart stops, I saved the pieces when it broke, and ground them all to dust.” Yet it sounds like a celebration of defiance, not a dirge of defeat! The chorus is layered with alternative band/Davey vocals, and it’s like crowdsurfing on a cloud. Then, A.F.I. take out the acoustics and go full dirge, but back to the chorus again before it’s too late.
“Silver and Cold” was the third single, a dark and slow tune with industrial effects and subtle, quieter sections and bigger bombastic choruses. Mournful, but powerful too. Tempos bounce back on “Dancing Through Sunday”, fast through and through, with incredible hooks from Davey and the band singing backing vocals. Some cool and prominent bass work, some hammer-ons with the guitar, and we’re not far from familiar territory, but hold on – is that a guitar solo? Yes it is, a full metal guitar solo by Jade Puget, with tapping and fancy fretwork, in the middle of this punky album! And it’s the only solo too, one and done. Talk about using that space effectively!
“Girl’s Not Grey” was the big first single, and it’s all tension and hooks. “What follows has led me to this place, where I belong will all be erased.” Is doesn’t sound like a hook, but that’s the magic of Davey Havok. The guy turns a sentence like that into an anthem, because this song has anthemic qualities. It’s all good, and the drumming is exceptional during the quiet section in the middle. These guys just learned to cross genres in the best way, taking the things that work and using them sparingly and effectively. And man, can Davey deliver hooks.
Dark lonely bass opens “Death of Seasons”. Then, enter Davey, screaming as if in pain. The song then shoots off into a punk rock sprint, but still with a chorus that delivers melody and more hooks. The track ends with Davey declaring that “all of this hatred is fucking real,” before falling screaming into the background while mournful violins sing the last notes. Really haunting stuff.
Guitars fade into “The Great Disappointment”, layered and ringing a haunted chord. The bass indicates that there are still hooks ahead, so stick with it. This could be considered the first ballad on the album. A power ballad – power combined with pain. It’s bleak.
“Paper Airplanes (Makeshift Wings)” is another notably dramatic title, with a punky blast of a song behind it. This track allows you to climb back into the light. With Davey combining his shouting voice with the clean singing in the same lines, it’s a great fun track to headbang to for a while and forget the misery. Pay attention to the drums and percussion, as it’s not all simple bashing. This band, with Hunter Burgan on bass and Adam Carson on drums, can play!
One of the biggest songs in terms of memorable melody is “This Celluloid Dream”, which is a great deep cut and easily could have been a single. The tempo’s not too fast and Davey continues to deliver the goods vocally and melodically. Same with all the backing vocalists: they deliver. Everything sums together like mathematics. 1+2+3=hooks. Among the best songs on the album, and one that deserves some serious listens.
Remember way back when the album began, and we heard Part II of “The Leaving Song”? Now we finally get to Part I, as second last “track” on the CD. This quiet dirge begins with just some bare guitars and Davey singing mournfully. “Leaving” seems to be a recurring things on the album, as “This Celluloid Dream” also uses the word. Though sad, it’s a beautiful song. I suppose you could consider the outro guitars here to be a “solo”, but that would be pushing it.
The album really goes out in a dramatic fashion. The final track on the CD is a 15 minute bulk consisting of three actual pieces of music, two of them “hidden”. “…But Home is Nowhere” is something of a return to form, with the tense guitars hammering out a stuttering riff while Davey delivers the mournful hooks. “This is my life, this is eternal!” goes part of the anthemic chorus.
“The Spoken Word” is untitled in the CD booklet, but its lyrics are included. After a silent pause we are greeted by piano and a creepy child’s voice. This goes on a while, like an Alice Cooper interlude. Then we get to the final real song, “The Time Imperfect” which is bare guitar and vocals, much like “The Leaving Song” at first. Then the drums and bass come in to complete what we’ll call a ballad. There’s one final blast of heavy as we drift along towards the end, followed by creepy, atmospheric reversed guitars, into the dusk.
Sing the Sorrow could not have been more accurately titled. This album is an expression of pain, solitude, loss and also victory. The victory is in the survival of it, and turning it into art. Each chorus allows you to release pain. Beyond that, it is clear that A.F.I. created a sonic painting here. It is an album that takes one on a journey, and features no boundaries to its creative expression. Special credit must go to guitarist Jade Puget who refuses to play it simple, safe, or uninteresting, but never puts the hooks second.
A masterpiece.
5/5 stars
ROSE TATTOO – Rose Tattoo (1978 Albert Productions/1990 Repetoire Records “Limited Edition” CD reissue)
It is amazing how in North America, you can spend half a lifetime listening to music without ever running into an album by Rose Tattoo, Australia’s “Angry” exports. Legendary back home, but over here most of us just know them from “Nice Boys” by Guns N’ Roses. Some may also remember “Rock ‘n’ Roll Outlaw” by Keel. Both covers of Rose Tattoo tracks from their eponymous 1978 debut.
Led by the diminutive Angry Anderson, Rose Tattoo were produced by Harry Vanda and George Young, the same duo that helmed those early AC/DC classics among others. AC/DC comparisons are easy, but Rose Tattoo had two things going for them that other bands did not: 1) dominant slide guitar on every track, and 2) Angry Anderson himself. Don’t underestimate what you see. This guy has gritty power that elevates each song, and blows away the most famous cover version you’ve heard. Furthermore, the lyrics should be mentioned as different from what many bands were doing at the time: Gritty social observational lyrics, featuring real life stories of the streets (too wild to be true), with colourful characters such a drug dealers and tough guys.
Opening with the slide guitars of “Rock ‘n’ Roll Outlaw”, we can accuse another band who clearly ripped off Rose Tattoo in their early days, that being the Four Horsemen. If their “Tired Wings” didn’t take inspiration from this song, then I’ll be damned. The steady beat of Rose Tattoo is the perfect backing for drive this tough boastful rocker. Besides that beat and slide guitar, Angry Anderson’s voice is the magical ingredient. It sounds perpetually pushed to the edge, with a delightful squeak highlighting the emphatic parts. The powerhouse voice of Anderson automatically blows away Keel’s cover. Sorry Ron.
Guns N’ Roses came close to capturing the frenetic energy of “Nice Boys”, but not even Axl can bottle the energy of Angry Anderson. Now playing at a punk-like tempo, but with frantic slide guitar punctuation, “Nice Boys” easily kills the famed GN’R cover version. Hearing it, one gets the sense of “ah, this is what they were trying to do.”
One of the most menacing songs is “The Butcher and Fast Eddy”, slowing things down to that nocturnal crawl that AC/DC mastered with Bon Scott. Much as Scott filled his lyrics with true stories and colourful characters, Anderson tells a tale here like a novelist. “Across the river lived Fast Eddy, he was known to be treacherous, very mean. Even Eddy’s sweet young sister out on the streets, just a girl, barely fifteen.” Is Anderson the Bob Dylan of the dirty streets? He keeps the story going for six and a half spellbinding minutes, with the band mostly just playing the backing music, with a few picks scraped for noisy blasts. Angry Anderson’s voice and delivery carries it.
A stomping beat slams through one of the catchiest songs, “One of the Boys”. It’s an unsubtle ode to being a tough guy with a bunch of tough guys to back you up. Yet Angry’s words offer more than just boasting. OK sure, there’s boasting. “What you need is mates, staunch and true, hold out your back they’re gonna see you through. I don’t look for trouble but I won’t hide, I’ll jump on you if you don’t step aside.” There are also hints of deeper themes, such a loyalty.
Now at top speed, “Remedy” brings the punk rock tempos with a single heavy riff and killer hooks. The message here is simple: gimme rock and roll. It’s good for you. It’s healthy. Turn it up and blast it, and at this tempo you’ll probably be headbanging too. Top notch party rock on the edge of punk.
“Bad Boy for Love” uses the slide to bring a sleezy vibe to a slower groove. In this song, the main character got drunk, ripped up the town, and is now just being released from prison. Then, he went to go see his girl, whom he finds with another man. He kills them both and ends up back in the slammer. This is followed by a jailbreak and “a thousand guns” pursuing him. Not original, but delivered with bona fide sounding cred.
Keepings things to a breakneck pace, “T.V.” might get you pulled over for a speeding ticket. Angry’s voice is pushed to the limit again, and the slide guitar is as relentless as the tempo.
The one surprising song is the acoustic “Stuck On You”, featuring the line “like a rose tattoo”. The slide is now applied to various acoustic stringed instruments, and though it’s clearly the same band, the approach is very different. A more traditional blues direction does not temper Angry’s voice, still pushing it on the choruses and verses alike. Sometimes the lyrics verge on the absurd. “I had a fish named Sam, he lived in bowl. I heated up the water, so he wouldn’t get cold.” The lead character seems like a possible stage five loser, but it’s all open to interpretation. Either way, a great song with memorable words and a delivery impossible to duplicate.
Back to the punk-like rock, “Tramp” tells a more familiar story. It’s over and done real fast, and then we’re onto the epic closer “Astra Wally”. Rose Tattoo do best when they tell these kinds of stories. Astra Wally was a real cool cat, but he sounds like trouble to me. A drug dealer who samples his own wares, perhaps. “He don’t get shot, he go by O.D.” The slide guitar is once again in the spotlight, always fast and always tasty. That’s founding member Peter Wells on slide. Then we have Mick Cocks on lead and rhythm, Geordie Leach on bass and Dallas Royale on drums. When they get down and just lay down grooves like this, you can listen to them all day. “Astra Wally” is indeed a “super fun thing” as the lyrics state.
That’s a 5/5 star album right there. But we’re not through yet, because in 1990 this album was reissued with eight bonus tracks.
Up first are a batch of studio tracks. A B-side called “Never Too Loud” backed the “No Secrets” single in 1984. Regardless of the time difference, it does sound like it roughly fits in. It’s less frantic and tighter, with a slightly cleaner sound. Slightly. It’s still not anywhere near the polished rock starting to come out of North America at the time, and it maintains the slide and steady beat.
“I Had You First” is from 1981’s “Rock ‘n’ Roll King”. The punk vibe is first and foremost here, but the chorus is still a blast.
From 1982, “Fightin’ Sons” comes from the “It’s Gonna Work Itself Out” single, and it’s another vibe altogether. It has a bit of an early 70s vibe with a blues base. This is about going to war to fight for your country, but it’s more than that. It offers its own perspective; its own angle on the experience, gleaned from friends. The lyrics are more interesting than the music, perhaps.
The final studio track is “Snow Queen”. This one lies somewhere in the middle, a reliable rocker with an undeniable AC/DC beat. It’s the voice and slide that differentiate it. It’s low on hooks, but it bangs pretty hard.
The final four tracks are all live ones from an unspecified source. “Rock ‘n’ Roll Outlaw” and “Bad Boy for Love” feature Angry pushing it even further than on album. What a singer and what a pair of lungs. “Bad Boy for Love” is considerably longer than the album version, with loads more solos. “Rock ‘n’ Roll is King” and “Suicide City” are later tracks. An obvious single, “Rock ‘n’ Roll is King” is catchy through and through, with Angry still singing at top volume. Yet it’s all hooks. Finally, “Suicide City” is probably the most over the top song of them all, total punk rock frenzy.
In short: If you like rock and roll, get the album, and in particular this reissue.
5/5 stars
RECORD STORE TALES #1077: Lunch With Aaron & Son
In the last five years, my world has changed drastically. We lost Jen’s mom, we’ve lost friends, but on the positive side, we’ve also lost weight! The world has gone through a transformative pandemic, but one constant is Aaron KMA, a man I have not seen since 2018. I am happy to report that Aaron is still out there being Aaron – bearing gifts and warmth as always!
We met halfway, at the Elk & Finch in Southampton Ontario. He brought his son, who I’ve never met before, but has good taste in hamburgers. We sat down to some amazing food, including the best smoked salmon I’ve ever tasted in my life. This is it: as good as it gets.
Food aside, I knew Aaron would arrive bearing gifts, and as usual, he did: Books, CDs, and more. Let’s have a gander, shall we? Let’s go through the contents of Aaron’s gift bag bit by bit.
Not pictured, there were four bottle of Iron Maiden’s Trooper beer! Not pictured because I didn’t think I should pull out liquor of my own at a restaurant. You understand of course! You are probably familiar with this acclaimed brew already. That made up a lot of the weight of the gift bag. Much of the rest of the weight was taken up by books. One book specifically.
The big one is The Art of Classic Rock by Paul Brushkin, with foreward by Alice Cooper. Aaron has showed this off on my show before. We also have rock magazines (with CDs)! Other reading: Gods of the Hammer by Geoff Pevere, the story of Teenage Head. The “Hammer” in this case is Hamilton Ontario. Keeping a punk vibe, Aaron also gave me Perfect Youth: The Birth of Canadian Punk by Sam Sutherland. Finally, it’s The Story of Tommy which is really gorgeous!
I’m very excited about the music. I actually didn’t own a copy of Garbage’s self titled debut, until now. This one is signed by all four members, and lo and behold, it’s dedicated to Mike! Just a coincidence I assure you but how cool is that? I now also owned Backwaxed by Anvil, which I was missing until now, and now I also own the Hip side project Stripper’s Union.
I get more and more excited the further we go!
These Hot Wheels are really cool. I think I need to open them. The Yellow Submarine (Beatles) is groovy. The USS Enterprise though…I just enjoy swooshing those ships around. This Enterprise is NCC-1701 from the 2009 film Star Trek, directed by JJ Abrams and starring Chris Pine as Captain Kirk. (I have to be honest, I prefer Paul Wesley’s Kirk from Strange New Worlds, which I am trying to get Aaron to watch!) I enjoy these very much, and this is not the first time Aaron has found an appropriate Hot Wheels to gift me.
Onto the shirt, which was actually the first item in the bag. Jeff Woods is legendary in my circles – he is THE Legend of Classic Rock. Jeff Woods even contributed to the Sausagefest countdowns a number of times. Aaron, however, isn’t a radio listener and isn’t intimate with the works of Mr. Woods as I am. Yet Aaron found this shirt, thought of me, and put it in the bag. I am thrilled. This is a shirt I would have bought myself anyway!
Finally…
I just loved the Sheik. I have always loved the Sheik. He was one of the greatest villains in WWF history. We talked to Spenny about the Iron Sheik back in May on Grab A Stack of Rock. And now I have a little loveable stuffed Sheik of my own. I couldn’t be more happy. This is the kind of gift that just screams “Mike”.
Aaron, it was a delight to hook up again and finally meet your son. I hope we do something like this again soon. I could go for some salmon again. And the coffee was great too.
Three cheers for Aaron!
Tonight I will be LIVE on Grant’s Rock Warehaus to discuss a forgotten 90s supergroup: the Neurotic Outsiders!
The 90s were a weird time. For all intents and purposes, one of the biggest bands in the world was gone: Guns N’ Roses. We had to settle for solo albums from Duff, Slash, Gilby and Izzy.
Matt Sorum and Duff McKagan teamed up with Steve Jones from the Sex Pistols, and John Taylor from Duran Duran, to form the punky supergroup Neurotic Outsiders. They made one album. One and done! But what an album it was. We’ll be discussing all this and more tonight on Grant’s Rock Warehaus!
7:00 PM EST
As premiered on the Friday November 12 episode of the LeBrain Train, here’s the new video for “Thirsty and Miserable” by Max the Axe — a Blag Flag cover via Lemmy Kilmister. From the new EP Oktoberfest Cheer.
Max the Axe went off the rails of the LeBrain Train, and we were hanging on for the ride!
This wide ranging interview with all four Max the Axe band members included the following subjects:
Thank you to Harrison the Mad Metal Man who helped me helm this car crash that you just can’t look away from!
NEXT WEEK:
Harrison and Uncle Meat back to discuss key albums of the year 1981! This is both a sequel to a show I did least year with Superdekes, and also a sister show to Scotch On the Rocks’ own special on the year 1981 featuring Deke and Muc. I was unable to participate in that show myself, but still wanted to celebrate four decades of great albums from that year. Join us next week!
The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike and Harrison
Episode 87 – Max the Axe band interview
Hear ye, hear ye! One band has consistently rocked us all since before the start of the pandemic. That band is Max the Axe, and tonight we will have 3/4 of the group with us.
They are:
This will be their first-ever interview together, and Harrison the Mad Metal Man will be with me to quiz the band on the new EP Oktoberfest Cheer. The current crisis had a huge impact on its making and eventual release, and Max is eager to tell the story. The EP certainly brought a lot of joy as we crawled through the second year of this pandemic.
On a serious note: Please give this a “share” on your social media and help the guys out. It’s no secret that views have been down, but every time we do an interview show, we sell a CD or two to a viewer. You can help by sharing this show and maybe some of your friends will watch too. I guarantee a great night and some great tunes!
Today is the last day for Oktoberfest…but “Oktoberfest Cheer” goes on and on!
From the new EP Oktoberbest Cheer, written by Mike Koutis, here is the video for “Oktoberfest Cheer”. Have a schnitzel on a bun and a frosty cold one, and get your copy at Encore Records in Kitchener, or by dropping us a line here.
Notes: Since Eric deleted the only rehearsal footage of “Oktoberfest Cheer”, I was forced to use the video for “Randy” live at the Boathouse somewhat ham-fistedly. However this works perfect with the punky off-the-rails nature of the song. Speeding things up and slowing things down hides a multitude of sins in the edit, and the Keystone Cops flavour of the high-speed footage lends a comedic profile to the video. Which is necessary for any song that contains lyrics like “don’t crush my smokes, don’t spill my beer.”
“Pygmy Blowdart” (2021 Koutis)
From the brand new EP Oktoberfest Cheer.
mikeladano.com 