Most of the stuff I picked this year was too obscure. Stuff like “The Cut Runs Deep” by Deep Purple. “The Hockey Theme” by Neil Peart. “Wall of Sound” by Kiss.
I did however vote for the Countdown’s #1 song, “Toronto Tontos” by Max Webster. It was 33rd on my list, but six people also picked it, putting it at the #1 spot on Saturday night.
Four picks from my top 20 made the countdown: “Die Young”, “Zero the Hero”, “Caught Somewhere in Time”, and “Breadfan”!
So, here were my top 20 picks. Tomorrow, I will post the entire Countdown! Stay tuned…
ROCK AID ARMENIA – Smoke on the Water: The Metropolis Sessions (2010 Edel CD/DVD set)
When some of the biggest names in both British and Canadian rock combined together to re-record “Smoke on the Water”, as a mega-collaboration charity track, I don’t care who you are: You gotta listen! Originally released as “Smoke on the Water ’90” on The Earthquake Album, it didn’t garner the attention of, say, a Hear N’ Aid, but it’s definitely a noteworthy track. The Earthquake Album contained just the radio mix, which was an edited down version lacking Paul Rodgers. This package on the other hand is a CD/DVD combo set including all 4 versions of “Smoke ’90” and a documentary.
The region 0 encoded DVD is 40 minutes long, and filled with incredible behind-the-scenes footage and candid interviews. First, an explanation of the cause: rebuilding a children’s music school in Armenia, destroyed in a 1988 earthquake. Then, the musicians arrive! Roger Taylor (Queen) is first in the door. Can’t do anything without the drums! He shows off his considerable chops while warming up. Chris Squire (Yes) is next, who reveals that all egos have been dealt with in advance of the recording. Brian May turns up with a broken arm (skateboarding accident) to offer his support; he would return to record after the arm has healed. The recording takes place over five separate sessions. One benefit of this arrangement was that it enabled Ritchie Blackmore to show up, without having to see Ian Gillan!
Oh, to be in that room…
Soon to arrive: Tony Iommi. Paul Rodgers. Bruce Dickinson. David Gilmour. Alex Lifeson. Two keyboardists: Keith Emerson and Geoff Downes. Even Bryan Adams sings some backing vocals, after he turned up just to check out the recording studio! (Gilmour can’t help but take a stab at Rogers Waters during the interview segments.) Incidentally, I found it cool that Rodgers recorded his vocals with a hand-held mike.
I’ve always been a fan of this version of “Smoke”; in fact this was the first version of that I ever heard, 23 years ago. The band was dubbed Rock Aid Armenia. They got together in late ’89, and recorded this updated sounding cover. Gillan, Dickinson and Rodgers handled the lead vocals, in that order. It’s great to hear Iommi playing those chunky chords again. Chris Squire’s bass work is fairly simple, but perfect.
The CD includes an updated 2010 remix that cuts down a lot of Keith Emerson’s cheesey keyboards. Emerson stated that he wanted to put his own stamp on his parts, based on ELP’s “Fanfare for the Common Man”. He probably wouldn’t be happy to be mixed down on this version, but his keys always stood out like a sore thumb to me. The 2010 mix adds in a lot more previously unheard guitar fills instead. Other extras include a previously unreleased version of the song, with an entire Ian Gillan vocal take.
This is a great little-known recording, and I’m glad an obscurity like this has finally been reissued properly.
4/5 stars
Footnote: In 2011 and 2012, Gillan and Iommi followed this with a single and compilation album under the name WhoCares; also featuring Nicko McBrain, Jon Lord and Jason Newsted!
WTF Search Terms is a new feature here at LeBrain’s, where I reveal some amusing words that people typed into search engines, ending up at my site. Today I’ve gathered 10 of the funnier Rock-related search terms! If you missed the last one, click here.
10.“show me all of iron maidens art dra” “Show me”? Pfft. Show me your dra first.
9.“pol rodgers fire and waters”He knew how to spell Rodgers, but not Paul.
8.“band acting like a puppet”My best guess is Supergrass.
7.“jonbonjovi phoyoes never seen”If you’ve never seen it, neither have I.
6.“where was montly crew attacted in saskatchewan”He spelled Saskatchewan right.
5.“deep purple songs about nature appreciation”This thought had not crossed my mind once before now.
4.“when will def leppard be on itunes”Perhaps the answer is, like my old Psych 301 prof used to say, “On the 12th of Never.”
3.“why does burke shelley sound like a woman”Maybe because his last name is Shelley, huh-huh, huh-huh.
2. “paul di anno teh beast”Teh.
1.“does sebastian bach really like model trains”Yes, him and Sheldon Cooper!
Blank discs are so cheap, and musical tastes so fleeting today, that I wonder if anybody but me still has the first mix CD they ever burned?
I’m hoping some of you have, and I’m hoping to hear it about from you too. My first disc was made in early 2001 when we got our first burner. It was made for a very specific purpose.
At the store, there was an informal rule that if you were closing one day and opening the next, it was “OK” to borrow a movie overnight, watch and return it. So if that was true for movies, why not a CD? Why not a dozen? A few nights after having the CD burner installed, I borrowed a bag full of discs and burned this compilation on a Maxell CD-R 650. 74 minutes! Up to 16x certified!
I returned the discs the next day, all albums that I wanted one or two songs from, but not the whole album. Many were soundtracks and tribute albums. I ended up buying The Strokes’ album a few weeks later, an ill-advised purchase that yielded only two or three listens. I don’t have that one anymore. But I still have my mix CD with “Last Nite”!
The Robbie Williams + Queen track is taken from the soundtrack to A Knight’s Tale. I shall maintain the anonymity of the store employee who had the crush on Heath Ledger and inundated us with this soundtrack. The same disc also yielded “I Want to Take You Higher” by Sly and the Family Stone.
Track 3 is an industrial-rock hybrid tune called “Violent New Breed”. I later purchased the Violent New Breed album by Shotgun Messiah. Industrial rock fans will know that Messiah’s original bassist/singer was Tim Tim, aka Tim Sköld of KMFDM, Marilyn Manson, and his eponymous band. I liked the title track enough to later buy the album and the prior one too. Both were keepers.
I’ve been a Goo Goo Dolls fan for a while so I thought I would grab their INXS cover “Don’t Change” from an Ace Ventura soundtrack. Their cover of “Bitch” came from the 1993 No Alternative compilation album.
Apparently I was on a Warrior Soul kick at that time as well. Shame that there isn’t a great Warrior Soul compilation album that suits all my needs. I bought and sold their studio albums. As for Michael Jackson, I later decided to add a single disc compilation to my collection, offsetting my burning of “Billie Jean”.
This being a real odds n’ ends disc, it’s not a spellbinding listen today. It’s fun to remind myself of some oddball tracks that I liked enough to burn but not enough to buy. I’m also amused by the title Mix One, the first of many! And I was even doing cover art back then, too. On the cover is myself dressed up as the alien from Part 148: Navigate the Seas of the Sun!
THE DARKNESS – “Get Your Hands Off My Woman…Again” (2004 Atlantic mp3 single)
After the surprise hit Permission To Land (which was essentially just a released demo) The Darkness were determined to make a better sounding second album. At first it was announced they were going to be working with one Mutt Lange; that didn’t pan out. Up next was Roy Thomas Baker, of Queen fame.
Their first released collaboration was a re-recording of “Get Your Hands Off My Woman” re-titled “Get Your Hands Off My Woman…Again”. It differs only slightly from the original. Better sounding bass, better sounding drums, but almost identical otherwise. There are only two moments were the song deviates from the original: a 5 second piano break at 1:54, and a different, more abrupt ending.
This was released November 8 2004, for one month only, for 99p on the official Darkness site. Since then I understand it’s been very difficult to find online. I like when bands release stuff like this, even though for most people it’s fairly redundant. A lot of bands test the waters by re-recording older material, Axl’s done that and so have others. When they make it available for almost nothing for a limited time, sure, I’ll bite. It’s a kind of immediate release that didn’t exist 20 years ago.
Not to mention that this is just one of the Darkness’ best songs, ever. Gratuitous language, hot riffs, screeching high vocals, ripping solos, and hooks for miles. I was sold on the original song on first listen. As for this re-recorded update, I like the better quality sound, but I don’t like the piano break or the ending. Great tune, great sonics thanks to RTB, but I’ll stick with the original!
3.5/5 stars
Since you can’t take a picture of a non-physical product, here’s the CD single that I burned!
TED (Universal, 2012, directed by Seth MacFarlane)
I don’t often go out to the store to buy a movie on the first day of release anymore, but I did for Ted. I grabbed it at the local Best Buy and immediately popped it in, since I missed its theatrical run. I’m a Seth MacFarlane fan, see? I like Family Guy and recently American Dad too. If you don’t like those shows, chances are, you probably won’t like Ted either. May as well stop reading now.
Still with me? Good. Because this is a fuckin’ funny movie! Once you get past the concept of the walking talking driving tweeting teddy bear who loves coke and prostitutes.
Patrick Stewart narrarates our intro, as we meet John Bennett, a little Star Wars loving boy who gets a teddy bear for Christmas. He doesn’t have many friends, so one night he wishes that Teddy was alive. Connect the dots from here.
Ted becomes a world famous superstar phenomenon (Johnny Carson show and all), only to crash and burn hard by the 1990’s. Now today, he sits on John’s couch drinking beer, smoking pot, watching Flash Gordon; the 1980 bomb that starred Sam J. Jones as the titular Flash. And once again, the lush strains of “Flash”, by Queen, fills the room. This is all fine and dandy until Mila Kunis (insert hot girlfriend way too good for immature boyfriend here) says enough is enough. If Marky Mark and Mila are to stay together, Ted’s gotta move out and get his own place.
Their lives pretty much go down hill from there. Ted gets a job at the local grocer and starts banging a checkout girl on top of the lettuce. But John just can’t separate himself from his best bud, especially when Sam J. Jones himself turns up to party with the boys. Can John achieve the balance between friendship and domestic bliss that eludes him?
Throw in an evil, creepy stalker played perfectly by Giovanni Ribisi, and cameos by Norah Jones and Ted Danson as themselves, and you have a movie.
I’m not going to sit here and lie to you by saying that this is substantially different from any other bro-mances you’ve seen out there. There’s the girl who’s fed up, the jerky male romantic rival, and the two dudes, one of whom wants to get his life together while the other seemingly holds him back. If you’ve watched Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, or Seth Rogen films, you know where I’m going.
What makes Ted so much better than any of those movies (which I already like anyway) is MacFarlane himself. Yes, Ted does sound like Peter Griffin (even acknowledged in the film) but that voice just works for this bear! Ted is easily one of the sickest, yet lovable characters in cinema history. A horny drug using teddy bear has never been depicted on film before, as far as I know. Of course, Ted needs Johnny as much as Johnny needs Ted. They are a movie pair, and they can never be happy apart.
The blu-ray gives you the “unrated” (boobs) and theatrical versions. There’s a DVD, a digital copy, all that extra crap that I never use. Deleted scenes, gag reels, commentary, all that good stuff. Still, there’s no point buying a movie unless you plan on watching it more than once. I’ve watched Ted five times so far, and I still love it.
I guess I have a thing for f-bomb dropping teddy bears that sound like Peter Griffin. What does that make me? Ahh, who cares.
Pyromania is one of those landmark albums that every melodic rock fan should own: Over 10 million copies sold, four classic hit singles, and a sound that at the time was so new and fresh that everybody took notice. This is before Rick Allen’s accident, before Steve Clark’s death, and before Def Leppard had any serious hits. Three would prove to be their lucky number when they set down to record their third album.
Pyromania is also the only Leppard album to feature a three-guitar lineup, in a sense. Pete Willis was fired mid-way through recording, ironically for alcohol abuse, the same illness that would take Steve Clark 8 years later. Phil Collen (ex-Girl, with Phil Lewis of the future L.A. Guns) was hired to complete the unfinished guitar rhythms and solos. Willis’ rhythm guitar appears on all 10 tracks, making this his final Def Leppard album.
Girl, featuring Phil Collen and Phil Lewis
At some point in the 1990’s, Pyromania was licensed out to Mobile Fidelity labs, who used the original master tapes to create a 24kt gold “Ultradisc II”. The discs are “custom pressed” (don’t know what that really means) on gold, because it doesn’t oxidize (IE, it’ll last longer). Although the back cover states that “all liner notes, photos and artwork from the original LP are faithfully recreated”, this is not so. All the Ultradisc comes with are the lyrics, and nothing else. Not even a producer credit. And the weird thing is, Leppard didn’t even print lyrics in their albums at the time.
The ultradisc comes in its own unique case seen below, and does sound tremendous, I can vouch for that. Does it sound better than the remaster? Hell, I don’t know. I’m no audiophile. They both sound good to me! The 24kt gold is obviously collectible, which is why I still have it, even though I upgraded to the deluxe since then.
The Ultradisc II’s unique case
Now, onto the deluxe. This was freshly remastered. It brings the glory of Mutt Lange’s groundbreaking production to daylight. The liner notes (by one of my favourite writers, Rolling Stone’s David Fricke) reveal Mutt’s obsession: At one point the band were laying down entire chords one note at a time in order to get the right alchemy. Their goal was to create an album that nobody had made before, and they succeeded. (Hard to believe that they would pull off the same stunt twice, and do it again on Hysteria, as different from Pyromania as Pyromania was from On Through the Night!)
This landmark album contains no weak songs: All 10 of its tracks were valuable use of precious vinyl. It even filled the vinyl, a full 45 minutes, pretty close to the maximum afforded by the format. From the melancholy apocalyptic riffage of the power ballad “Too Late For Love”, to the manic gallop of “Rock! Rock! (‘Til You Drop)”, this album is nearly flawless. Album cuts like “Comin’ Underfire” (tied for my favourite on the album) and “Stagefright” stick to the brain like peanut butter in the mouth. (“Too Late” is my other favourite.)
And that’s not including the hits: “Rock of Ages”, “Foolin'”, and “Photograph”, all classics in their own right, which I certainly hope you already know by heart. The combo of Def and Mutt had, by this point, gotten quite good at writing riffs with hooks, and the songs to go with them. “Rock of Ages” has a life of its own now, radio will never let this one die. “Photograph” was a mid-tempo pop rock classic, pointing the way to Hysteria, four years later….
Unlike the Hysteria and Adrenalize deluxe editions on the market, Pyromania has no B-sides. There were no extra tracks lying around unreleased, and no B-sides available. The liner notes reveal that an 11th song was written, but not much else is known about it.
Instead, the bonus second CD contains an awesome sounding show from the Pyromania tour. It’s important to remember that no live albums or videos were released by Def Leppard until post-Hysteria, so this is the only live release featuring Rick Allen before his accident. Def Leppard sound absolutely ferocious. Joe Elliot’s voice is at its vocal-cord-shredding best, gargling glass like Brian Johnson possessed. Steve Clark and Phil Collen (the new boy) rip and shred on their guitars, and weave them into a wall of thunder (listen to “Switch 625”). The two Ricks, Allen and Savage, keep it rolling on the rhythm, steady as she goes. And then Brian May of Queen even shows up at the end for a CCR cover tune (with a surprise foray into Led Zeppelin)! Some of these songs have never been heard live on a CD before. Indeed, Leppard rarely play anything pre-Pyromania anymore.
I mean, it’s always a treat to hear “Wasted”, isn’t it? Combine that with some great tunage from High N’ Dry, such as “Mirror Mirror” and “Another Hit and Run”. These are some of my favourite Def Leppard tracks anyway, and to hear them live in ’83 by a young and hungry band is really, really entertaining.
Pyromania being their third release, it would have been totally appropriate (and in hindsight very wise, considering the gap between albums) to release this concert as a live album back in the 80’s as the band buckled in for the very hard Hysteria recording sessions. For whatever reason, that didn’t happen. At least we get to hear it now!
5/5 stars
Pictured below: the three versions I currently own. The original LP, the 24 kt gold Ultradisc II, and the deluxe.
QUEEN + PAUL RODGERS – “Fire and Water” (The Cosmos Rocks Amazon.com bonus track, 2008)
When I reviewed the full album, The Cosmos Rocks, I was frustratingly missing one song: “Fire and Water”, their Free cover only available by download on Amazon.com. The reason I was missing it, is that Amazon.com tracks can only be downloaded by people living in the United States. I don’t know if they can tell by your IP address, or by where your credit card is registered, but only Americans can download this track. I’d tried to acquire it via the dark recesses of the internet, but no such luck.
Aaron, being the good chap that he is, offered to ask his brother in law in the United States if he could help. Unfortunately, this song being an Amazon exclusive, of course you have to buy the whole album to get the one track. Anyway, Aaron’s bro in law was a good soul too, and did me that favour, sending me the track.
Am I a sucker for buying the whole album again for one song? Let’s not get into that. I’ve paid more for less in the past. It was a quest long completed and that’s what matters to me.
“Fire and Water” is of course a cover of Paul’s classic Free song, written by Rodgers and Andy Fraser. Unfortunately, Amazon didn’t advertise that this was a live cover. I had assumed that, like the iTunes bonus track “Runaway” (a Del Shannon cover) that this was a studio version. It is not.
This being a download, there are of course no liner notes, no way to tell where this song was recorded or when. I’m working on the assumption that it was probably recorded at the same concert as the live iTunes bonus track, “The Show Must Go On”, which was the Super Live in Japan concert.
Anyway, I have it now. And of course it’s great. “Fire and Water” is a classic song, and I believe that Brian May does the guitar work total justice. It’s a chance for him to deep dig and groove with Roger Taylor. Paul Rodgers is perpetually young, although the song’s key has been lowered to accommodate an older voice. I don’t think this detracts from the song, which is a pretty authentic rendering of a true rock classic.
I don’t have much else to say, I’m glad to finally have the track, completing my Cosmos Rocks album. Right? Right?
Now, none of this information was easily available before, which is what led me to this problem. So for what must surely be an internet first, I give you the most comprehensive overview of The Cosmos Rocks available. There’s all the tracks, and there’s the best ways to find them.
Ahh well. A collector and his money are soon parted.
Harem Scarem didn’t emerge from the Toronto rock scene fully formed. Rather, they first appeared as an AOR pop rock group, assisted by pro writers such as Marc Ribler, Christopher Ward (“Black Velvet”) and Honeymoon Suite’s Ray Coburn. My sister Kathryn liked Harem Scarem because their singer’s hair made him visually resemble a lion! It would take them until album #2 to shed the outside writers and find their feet as a progressive pop rock band more akin to Extreme than Bon Jovi.
They did, however, create a buzz by selling loads of copies of their demo CD. This was a rare thing, since most bands released demos on tape. Very few had the resources to put together a CD, and this got them signed to Warner.
The result is Harem Scarem, a somewhat faceless but incredibly hooky pop rock record waiting for radio play. It spawned five singles, including the huge (Canadian) hit “Honestly”. “Honestly” might be most notable today for its video, a cheesy affair starring Judge Reinhold!
What makes Harem Scarem special is the vocal work of lead singer Harry Hess. The man has a powerful voice, and when teamed up with drummer Darren Smith, the result is a big thick layered harmony. The band was rounded out by bassist Mike Gionet, and virtuoso guitarist Pete Lesperance, who really didn’t get to properly show off his chops until album #2. He does shred here, but sparingly and somewhat buried in the mix.
The debut album is loaded with mid-tempo rockers and ballads. A few too many ballads if you asked me, side one of the album has three ballady tracks in a row. It was 1991, grunge had yet to appear, and a mixture of ballads and rockers was the tried and true path to radio and video play. The best ballad isn’t the hit “Honestly”, which I find incredibly boring, but the closing song “Something To Say”. It’s an acoustic winner, and features plenty of Pete’s enviable chops. Harry sings passionately; this is a song that fits in with the acoustic hits of the day such as “More Than Words” and “To Be With You”.
Rather than the ballads, I keep coming back to the rockers. “Hard To Love”, which opens the album, is one of those AOR tunes that Bon Jovi only wishes he could have written. “How Long” is similar, catchy as hell, a singalong rocker that begs the windows to be rolled down on a hot summer day.
The centrepiece of the album was “Slowly Slipping Away”, the debut single/video. Still a great song today, this straddles the boundary between rocker and ballad. Opening with acoustic guitars, it soon works its way into a killer chorus, with guitar hooks and powerful harmonies galore. This is the song that got me into the band, as soon as I heard it, I knew this band had something uniquely theirs to offer. Unfortunately it took them a while to fully expand upon their sound.
I saw Harem Scarem live at Stages in Kitchener early in 1992. They played most of this album, some new material, as well as a couple covers: “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” and “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”. They complained that the bar owners made them play covers, but it was “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” that underlined their potential. They absolutely nailed it and proved that they had a lot more to offer than the simple AOR of their album.
I signed up to be a member of the fanclub, and I still have my membership card. I’m glad I was on board from the ground up, since the band grew by leaps and bounds in the years to follow.
If you’re into AOR rock, with lush harmonies, ballads, and melody, then you need to add Harem Scarem to your collection, particularly since the band have recently reunited. If that’s not your thing, fear not: I have a feeling you’d be into their later material such as Mood Swings and Karma Cleansing. This band had a lot more to offer than just rockers and ballads.
Most of the stuff I picked this year was too obscure. Stuff like “The Cut Runs Deep” by Deep Purple. “The Hockey Theme” by Neil Peart. “Wall of Sound” by Kiss.
mikeladano.com 