Harrison the Mad Metal Man continues to be under the weather, and insisted that I open his parcel in the meantime. So I got Metal Roger on the line and opened Harrison’s box.
My memory is horrible and there is a good chance I already knew about all of this stuff, but here’s what Harrison sent me in a handy-dandy video. Or, if you’re not patient, there are some photos with additional details below as well.
This video is for fans of metal, CDs, and those damned Marvel Lego blind boxes that cursed me last fall! At the end, Roger and I took a brief foray into an interesting subject – the Mount Rushmore of metal mascots. A topic for a future show to be sure.
Thank you Harrison for your generosity once again.
Iron Maiden – Live After Death – remaster in digipack
Food For Thought – Iron Maiden tribute
Dio – Holy Diver – 2005 Rock Candy reissue with bonus interview track
KEEL – The Right to Rock (1985, 2000 Metal Mayhem Music/bonus track)
From the Gene Simmons Song Factory, heeeeere’s Keel!
Let’s talk about the bonus track first. Anybody could tell you that “Easier Said Than Done” was a Simmons song, just from one listen. Surely enough, scan the liner notes, and it’s Gene and Mitch Weissman, whom fans know from 1984’s Animalize album. Like many Gene Simmons productions, The Right to Rock bears his name on a few writing credits. “Easier Said Than Done” is right down mid-80s Kiss alley. What about the remix? Structurally, it is unchanged. The drums sound different, and on a whole the track sounds a little brighter.
That’s it for extras. The booket is only a single fold-out, with no lyrics. It has a note from Ron Keel, indicating that this is the first CD issue of the album outside Japan.
The rest of the non-Simmons songs are basically reworkings of tracks from Keel’s first album Lay Down the Law. That album, like Ron Keel’s debut with Steeler (featuring one Yngwie J. Malmsteen) were on Shrapnel. For the A&M Records debut, they pulled out the big guns. They got Gene Simmons in all his wig-ness, and put out a very corny but tremendously fun music video.
It is “America 1989”, and rock and roll is outlawed. “Those who are apprehended suffer severe consequences.” Can our young teenage Keel lookalike get away from the rock police? Quiet Riot did something similar with their “The Wild and the Young” video a year later. It’s corny fun.
The song too is corny fun. I guess it’s a classic now. It has that stock heavy metal riff that you need: something Motley Crue or the Scorpions would be comfortable with. It has that rebellious rock theme that was so prominent in the 80’s. It has a shout-along chorus. “You got it! The Right to Rock!” Hey, I grew up in a Catholic school. I know what this is about. “Don’t let anyone tell you how to live your life!” I had a teacher call me out on the first day of school for wearing a Judas Priest T-shirt. I could relate to this song in a big way when I was 13.
It should be noted that Gene Simmons, as a producer, is not known for his sonics. The Right to Rock sounds pretty good for the period, but the drums ring shallow and weak. There’s not much presence for the bass guitar, and the backing vocals are the typical rock mush. That’s what you get with Gene behind the console.
“Back to the City” has a good Priest-like chug to it. I think Keel were going for something middle of the road with their music, like Priest-meets-Scorps-meets-Crue-meets-Kiss. If so, this hit the mark. Ron’s vocals are overwrought but that’s his style. If you don’t like that kind of vocal, you won’t like Keel.
Kinda stinky is “Let’s Spend the Night Together”. You know, I still gotta give the guys credit. They have made this into a pretty fine pop metal song. If you didn’t know the song, you’d assume it’s an original, in the pop metal genre. So from that perspective, I think it’s kinda cool. Stinky and cool — like good gorgonzola.
“Easier Said Than Done” was written by Simmons/Weissman, the same team responsible for much of the Animalize album. The lyrics even reference “Russian Roulette”, a song title Gene had been toying with for years. (A song called “Russian Roulette” was finally released on Sonic Boom.) So, guess who “Easier Said Than Done” sounds like? That’s right — it is a dead ringer for Simmons-style Kiss. And it’s actually a pretty good song. The problem is Ron’s Gene impression. I can’t help but chuckle at his dead-on Gene vocals. I dare you to refrain from a giggle yourself. Same deal with “So Many Girls, So Little Time”. Kiss fans will recognize that’s a line recycled from the Kiss song “Burn Bitch Burn”.
Onto side two, “Electric Love” is a Keel original, but you immediately notice that the song isn’t as immediate as the two previous Simmons tunes. “Speed Demon”, another original, sounds exactly as the title implies. Quality-wise, it’s only at “Priest outtake” level (Defenders of the Faith era). Then it’s back to Simmons outtakes, with “Get Down”, the weakest of the Simmons songs by a long shot. “You’re the Victim (I’m the Crime)” is a Gene-like title, but this too is a Keel tune. It’s in the same vein as “Speed Demon”, and the same level of quality.
It’s fun to revisit The Right To Rock periodically…but sparingly.
In the early 1970’s, a new young band was rumbling out of Europe with a fresh, sludgy heavy rock sound. With a debut album produced by Rodger Bain under their belts, they peddled that new style of music often called “heavy metal”, known for its loud distorted guitars and long-haired musicians.
Black Sabbath? Not this time. Let’s not forget Cardiff’s own Budgie.
Budgie’s 1971 self-titled debut album demonstrates that the band had already found their own niche. Lead throat Burke Shelley had the looks and the voice of a young Geddy Lee, but three full years before Rush’s first album in 1974. They had obvious Sabbathy elements, but without the doom and evil overtones. They wrote long, groove oriented songs unlike anything Ozzy & co. were writing. Shelley’s lyrics and song titles ran from unusual to bizarre. The opener “Guts” is a great example of the strangeness and groove coming together in one addictive sludgy confection.
Budgie were also known for soft acoustic interludes. “Everything in My Heart” is one, clocking in at less than a minute. (According to the liner notes, Shelley recalls he wrote this for some girl he liked.) This acts as a sort of prelude to “The Author” which combines the quiet side with the sludge. The droning heavy riffage, switching lanes with softer sections, make for a pretty epic Budgie track. As a power trio, Shelley’s bass becomes the deliverer of many hooks. However on “Nude Disintegrating Parachutist Woman” the bass joins forces with Tony Bourge’s distorted axe to build a wall of riff. Both the album and single versions are included on the 2004 deluxe CD edition. One is over twice as long as the other! The album cut contains a long Purple-like instrumental section.
“Rape of the Locks” (a satire about a hair cut, get it?) commences with a very Blackmore guitar freakout. The riffs are more Sabbath, while its jammy aspects remind of the first album by the Scorpions. Burke Shelley continues the groove on “All Night Petrol”, both punishing and catchy. “You and I” is another acoustic interlude, 1:42 of Burke trying to be lovey-dovey. It acts as a reset before the final onslaught: “Homicidal Suicidal”. Soundgarden covered this one in 1991 on an obscure B-side. Perhaps it is the definitive example of the early Budgie sound. Almost seven minutes of heavy Budgie, drums hammering at the walls while Burke rumbles the foundation. Meanwhile there’s Tony Bourge with the riff of riffs.
The bonus tracks on this edition are well worth seeking. In addition to the above mentioned single edit of “Nude Disintegrating Parachutist Woman” there is its B-side “Crash Course in Brain Surgery” which Metallica covered. This is an unreleased alternate mix of one of Budgie’s best known metal thrashers. Finally there are 2003 re-recordings by the reformed Budgie composed of Shelley, Steve Williams and Simon Lees. “Parachutist Woman” and “Guts” are very different from the originals, although the arrangements are pretty much the same. It’s just a matter of different musicians and 32 years!
The Budgie remasters can be expensive to track down, but well worth it. May as well get all the extra tracks if you’re going to hunt for some Budgie.
It has been an incredibly busy week here at Chez LeBrain. They tell me it’s Saturday. I’ve lost all track of time. The first week of my holidays are gone! I have a feeling that the next week will be filled with lots of music….
After our annual family Christmas Eve dinner/gathering, we re-convened for Christmas Day. My Grandma’s 90th Christmas was also her first since breaking her leg in the summertime. She did awesome! Another amazing Christmas, all finished. Hard to believe.
On to the good stuff!
First up: the fun stuff. Some Kiss dolls. Is it Ace and Peter? Or is it Tommy and Eric? Who knows! A Kiss keychain to boot. Got some Transformers too. Should I open up the rare Treadshot figure? Or no? I can’t decide! Jen also bought me a Transformers pen with a light in it that acts like a Bat signal…but it’s a Bee signal!
Some assorted goodies…
That Fart game looks interesting.
Finally got the game Risk: Legacy. Interesting twist on this one. It must always be played by the same group of players. Changes you make to the game are permanent. What you do in game 1 may come back to haunt you in game 6. Cards and the board itself are modified permanently as you go. Most elements of the game are completely secret until you reach the point where you can break seals on additional instructions. Cool eh?
Lastly, the music! Here we go.
The first five Zep remasters! Holy Zep overload! These are all doubles. Queen Live at the Rainbow ’74 — also a double. Dio live in ’93, another double. Several CD/DVD sets: Bon Jovi New Jersey deluxe (yes!!) with 2 CDs and a DVD. Journey’s Escape Tour CD + DVD set. (Listening that one right now, actually.) Whitesnake Live in ’94 is another CD + DVD set. Then some new music: Foo Fighters and AC/DC’s Rock Or Bust! I really like the packaging on the AC/DC disc. Can’t wait to hear it.
Last but certainly not least: ZZ Top’s The Complete Studio Albums 1970-1990. 10 CDs, baby! As if all that Zeppelin wasn’t enough, now this! Thank you, Mrs. LeBrain’s Mom, for this one! I only had one of these albums before, which is Eliminator. Some of these discs are available separately with bonus tracks, but that’s OK: this box set is the only place you can get several of these Top albums in their original mix. Remember in the 80’s when they remixed and re-released the Top back catalogue? Those 80’s mixes have persisted on CD for a long time. This box set represents the first time you could listen to albums like Rio Grande Mud in their original form on CD. I like that very much.
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