There is so much more to Kiss than just the original members. Sure, you may think Ace Frehley rules, and that his solo albums are awesome. You’d be right — I’ve reviewed every single Ace Frehley album. But let’s not forget about Bruce Kulick, who humbly held down the fort from 1984-1996. Today, Kulick’s rocking the house with Grand Funk, and doing a fine job of it. But just as there is more to Kiss than just the original members, there is more to Bruce than just Kiss or Grand Funk. Bruce has always treated Kiss with respect, and his solo music shows the same care and love put into it. BK3 is my favourite of his solo albums, including Audio Dog and Transformer.
Surely one of the draws to this Kulick record has to be the big name guest appearances. The best of these is the late Doug Fieger (The Knack) on “Dirty Girl”, an incredibly catchy radio rocker. So good is it, Classic Rock magazine listed it as the 29th best tune of 2010. Hey, that’s a proud moment! If I didn’t know it was Fieger singing, I wouldn’t have guessed. I figured it was some young unknown with a great voice. As great as this song is, and how hit-worthy it could have been, I don’t think it would have suited Kiss. It’s too pop for Kiss, I think, but it’s not sell-out in any way, because Kulick makes sure the guitars are sweet, crunchy and loud. Other guest shots include Steve Lukather, dueling with Bruce on the only instrumental “Between the Lines”. Tobias Sammet shows up to sing the grinding “I’m an Animal”, and on drums is Kiss drummer Eric Singer. As if that’s not enough, there are not one but two Simmons on this album. The old man sings “Ain’t Gonna Die”, a heavy Kiss-like armor plated beast. Then the Son of Simmons, young Nicholas, sings on the even better “Hand of the King”. Almost a dead ringer for his old man, Nick lends the song a demon-like aura.
There is one more cool guest shot that needs to be highlighted. There are 3/4 of Bruce’s old late-90’s band Union, on a great tune called “No Friend of Mine”. John Corabi lends his unmistable gravel to this melancholy rocker. With shades of acoustics and ripping lead vocals, this as good as anything in the original Union catalogue. I still think their debut album was incredible. Canuck Brent Fitz is on drums, also from the Union days but probably on a break from Slash. Only bassist Jamie Hunting is missing, but it’s safe to say that this song could easily fall under the Union umbrella. Kulick’s shredding on this one is insane, used sparingly but effectively.
BK3 is also diverse. Bruce sings the rest of the material, but the most interesting is the closing ballad “Life”. It sounds like a King’s X track circa Faith Hope Love, augmented with violins and the flute! This is truly is an outstanding ballad. Bruce would be the first one to say “I’m not a singer”, so it takes courage to do the lead vocal on a track like this. Bruce’s voice has his personality in it: it sounds like the Bruce Kulick we know and love. It’s a very human sound, and he does a great job. His voice is similar to Steve Vai’s, another artist who is not afraid to sing lead.
If you appreciate great rock music, meticulously and lovingly assembled, then give BK3 a shot. There are so many great songs on here. If you’re a fan of Kiss, The Knack, Motley Crue, or any of the other guests, then this purchase is somewhat of a no-brainer!
BRANT BJORK – Punk Rock Guilt (2008 Dine Alone Records)
Brant Bjork is one prolific mo-fo. Whether it’s solo or with bands such as the Bros, the Operators, or Ché, Bjork always maintains a high level of quality. Punk Rock Guilt is undoubtedly a solo album. All music was written and performed entirely by Bjork. He’s a talented multi-instrumentalist with a wide variety of influences from all over the music spectrum. When they collide in the grooves of the wax, it’s audio ecstasy.
What’s surprising is that an album called Punk Rock Guilt is loaded with both short songs and long bombers. Maybe that’s the guilt part? Sitar commences the album on an Indian note with “Lion One”, the first of the lengthy tracks. At over 10 minutes, the challenge is to keep things interesting, and Bjork does. When the song settles into a slow bass-heavy groove, I’m immediately reminded of his first excellent solo album Jalamanta. The vocals don’t even kick in until the 3:00 mark, and then with a semi-spoken Lou Reed direction. As a long song of this nature should, it picks up speed come solo time. “Lion One” is outstanding rock as it rises and falls in waves.
The next is the shortest song, “Dr. Special”, and already much rock ground has been covered. “Dr. Special” has a funky 70’s porn soundtrack vibe but heavy and sparse. (This sounds like it’s a lot of fun to play.) Over to “Punk Rock Guilt”, which is surprisingly classic rock. The melodic riffs and catchy vocals give it something in common with Boston, but without leaving the Bjork sound behind.
“This Place (Just Ain’t Our Place)” returns to the Bjork groove, laid back, heavy and probably stoned. There is no lyric sheet included but I’m pretty sure Bjork has returned to one of my favourite lyrical subjects: UFOs! The guitar solo has a spacey sound. On vinyl (a double record set for its total 46 minute length), this closes LP 1. The second record commences with a riff and “Shocked by the Static”. Even though the copy here is a CD, you can hear this is a natural spot for a side break. Lacking any major hooks, the way to enjoy “Shocked by the Static” is to focus on the groove and just air drum along.
The surprise of the album is “Born to Rock”, starting light and airy like some U2 outtake. Clean guitars and Lynott-like vocals do the trick: this is a killer. Contrasting this is “Plant Your Seed” which has Sabbathy guitar tones and a singular groove. Finally it’s another 10 minute tune, “Locked and Loaded”, to finish the album. “It’s a hijack groove, electric boogaloo, and bloodshot eyes are watching you.” Not sure what that means, but the groove is ZZ Top’s from “I Thank You”. Cool vibe on which to end a cool album.
AEROSMITH – Music From Another Dimension! (2012 Sony Music Japan)
When this album came out in 2012, Tommy Morais and I both took a shot at reviewing it, and you can find both those reviews here. With the benefit of hindsight, Tommy’s review (2/5 stars) is more in line with how I feel now, compared to the 4/5 stars I rated it in 2012.
Having recently acquired a Japanese import of Music From Another Dimension, with two exclusive bonus cuts, now is the time to revisit the album for yet another review. It can be interesting to document how music does or doesn’t grow on you over the years. Unfortunately for me, Music From Another Dimension has become more irritating, and I am less willing to overlook its flaws.
The core weakness is that the album sounds like a collection of soundalike outtakes from Get A Grip. The modern production and layers and layers of overdubs do it no favours. “Luv XXX” sounds incomplete. I praised it as “really good” before; I’m not willing to go that far this time. The production is unnecessary and that’s true of most of the album. I think that’s why nobody believes Aerosmith when they say “it sounds like Rocks“.It was never going to sound like Rocks. Aerosmith simply do not record things basic and live like that anymore.
“Oh Yeah” is still pretty good, as is “Street Jesus” and the funky “Out Go the Lights”. Given a few years to absorb the album, “Out Go the Lights” is one of the few tracks that really does harken back to better days. More cowbell! Probably the best tune on the album, and certainly the most vintage. The ballads, as before, are largely crud. “Another Last Goodbye” is the only one still memorable today.
The Japanese fans did not get the same bonus tracks that we got on our North American deluxe edition (“Sunny Side of Love”, “Oasis in the Night”, “Up on the Mountain”). They got some equally interesting stuff instead. “Shakey Ground” is so good, it’s insane that it wasn’t included on the album proper. Just nuts — “Shakey Ground” is the most authentic thing Aerosmith have done in decades. With full-on horns, sax and female backing vocals at the ready, Aerosmith finally really turn up the funk again! I want to know who’s playing clavinet, but the credits don’t say. Tyler? “I’m Not Talkin'” is also quite good, being a rockabilly experiment. No layers of production, no additional accoutrements, this is just Aerosmith playing, and Tyler singin’. Unlike much of the rest of the album, this sounds like something real; an actual band!
Can you imagine if Aerosmith had cut just a little bit of fat from the album (mainly ballads), and included the bonus tracks instead? You’d have a shorter, harder, more Aero-sounding disc. Less is more. Music From Another Dimension is the musical proof of this concept. The less fiddling in the studio, the less overdubbing, the better. And fewer songs are better, too. Aerosmith albums used to have 10 songs on them. Maybe they should get back to that, especially considering that Music From Another Dimension has 20 altogether.
THE SWORD – London Music Hall, London Ontario 04/12/2016
I don’t think we ever found out the name of the first band that played on this night. They had some great riffy moments, nothing too spectacular but a good way to warm up the crowd. Seconds after they finished their set, Tom turned to me and said, “Never too old to enjoy a Rock Show.” A month earlier we had enjoyed another Rock Show, catching ZZ (that little band from Texas) Top when they rode into town. Ironically enough, tonight was all about seeing The Sword, another band of Texans who actually cite ZZ as a major influence. Six degrees of integrity, or something like that. Thus begins yet another musical journey, and yes Thomas is right. In our 40’s and still lovin’ the Rock Show.
I had the pleasure of seeing The Sword once before as openers for Kyuss Lives: Relentless hard-rock riffing personified. We realized that this would be quite the different experience. Not only because they were playing a headlining set, but more importantly, we were seeing a completely different band than they were just a few years ago. Debuting in 2006, The Sword released four great metal albums. Albums that I definitely enjoyed, but apart from a few exceptional tracks, to me they were just another metal band. While I can still appreciate a good thrashing once in a red Satanic moon, the genre as a whole has kind of taken a nostalgic back seat for me. Before their latest album High Country was released, I didn’t LOVE The Sword. When I read comments from The Sword that basically stated that this new album would reflect more of who they really are, and that if they made another similar “metal” album it wouldn’t be authentic, it instantly intrigued me. From the first listen I connected with the polarizing High Country in a serious way. So much so that I actually over-played it and had to put it away for a bit. However “metal” fans had a different take on it. Almost every review I read was negative and most of them could have been summed up with three words: “not heavy enough”. That’s OK, cement-heads. They didn’t make this album for you. They made this album for themselves, and apparently me. Several songs on High Country tap into the 70’s soft-rock genre (Ambrosia/Little River Band/Bee Gees) that I am a huge sucker for. Thank you The Sword.
Since this is the home of Record Store Tales, I should include this. While we were in London we stopped by the Record Store Tom used to own in London. I don’t think the name of this particular chain can be mentioned around these parts, but I swear it doesn’t rhyme with “Pete Rose Con”. Anyways, I witnessed first-hand that while record stores are a dying breed, there are still gems to be mined out there. Tom’s face lights up as he finds a new copy of a Spiritual Beggars CD being sold new, at a used record store. Irony ensues as we find out that the store manager that ordered in that particular CD was a guy Tom trained 20 years ago. Sowing the seeds of Rock. But I digress.
Second opening band Royal Thunder took the stage and began doing a…umm…sound check? Considering there was a fair crowd in the London Music Theater at this point, this was something I haven’t seen very often, if at all. After their first song which understandably sounded pretty shitty, the female lead singer goes on a bit of a tirade about problems at the border and that Canadian cops are assholes. Aha! Live sound check explained. Royal Thunder had some great groove moments, but too many scattered riffs going nowhere. And too much “plinkilly plinkilly” with the guitars going on; it overall needed some more beef to it. Female lead singer/bass player certainly had some good pipes on her, but and I quote from Tom, “I liked their sound check better than most of their set.” To me they kinda sounded as if Bonnie Tyler developed an affinity for Satan and became the singer of Concrete Blonde. I also enjoyed that the drummer looked like our friend Tyler Generoux or 1971 Ian Paice, and he played like 1971 Bill Ward. In all reality their whole set acted as a glorified sound check for The Sword anyways. Step aside…this is High Country.
The lights go down and before The Sword come out, Christopher Cross’s “Ride Like the Wind” blares through the theater and it’s a glorious confirmation to me. This band is making a statement right away. High Country’s opening track “Unicorn Farm” plays as the hombres walk on stage. Launching into the album’s next track, Empty Temples, all sound issues have been corrected and they sound great. It’s during this song that it hits me. The Sword is one of my favorite bands and I don’t know even the first name of any band member on stage. I can still tell you off the top of my head that the classic lineup of Ratt is Stephen Pearcy, Juan Croucier, Bobby Blotzer, Warren DiMartini and Robbin Crosby. I even know how to spell them. But I have to use Google to find out the names of the members of one of my favourite bands. That’s just freakin’ stupid.
Lead singer John D. Cronise (who also plays rhythm/lead guitar) never had your typical heavy metal voice, so their new direction sits right in his wheelhouse. His partner in axemanship, Kyle Shutt, is the most rambunctious one in the band, and these two guys trade rhythm/lead guitar with the grace and prowess of combos like Adrian Smith/Dave Murray or any or all of the twin guitar combinations within the under-appreciated Thin Lizzy, and the great Wishbone Ash. Watching these guys together was a pure joy. Perhaps the most interesting musician on stage was bass player Bryan Richie, realizing early on that the standing synthesizer and keyboard foot pedals surrounding him make it possible for them to play some of the more eclectic material from High Country on stage. The band’s new direction has basically made him the most important member of the band, for live performances. Last but not least, in the immortal words of David St. Hubbins…“Great drummah…great drummah”. Fittingly enough, he even has a Spinal Tap-esque name. His name is Santiago “Jimmy” Vela III. You just can’t make that shit up. But seriously, he was a very solid drummer. Every few songs he would ride that cowbell all the way to Valhalla! There is just something about the cowbell that cuts clean through, especially with live music. It’s powers certainly worked on Tom and I, as we often found ourselves screaming ROCK SHOW!!…ROCK SHOW!!, in appreciation of The majestic Sword.
Staying mostly within the hallowed fields of High Country, more aggressive tracks “Ghost Eye” and “Suffer No Fools” actually conjured up a mini mosh-pit, which thankfully faded away as fast as it started. Who needs that bullshit anymore. Stand-out track “The Dreamthieves” was executed perfectly with background vocals and keyboards abound. The mind-blowing portion of the night comes when they play the robust “Mist & Shadow”, putting everyone in a rock and roll haze. I have been calling this song “The ‘Layla’ of hard rock” since I first heard it, and the patience in the composition and performance of “Mist & Shadow” defines not only this show for me but what this band has become.
The Sword left and subsequently returned to the stage for their encore. This is when I believe the band made its most profound statement of the night. I am sure that the metal fans wanted to hear their classic riffer “How Heavy This Axe”: Great heavy tune off their second album that I wanted to hear as well. Almost seemed to be what they should do. Instead, they chose to play the two tracks on High Country that are the most un-metal songs of not only the album, but their career. It was a brilliant choice and the message was clear. A message that became clearer as the lights come on and America’s “You Can Do Magic” starts playing. The look on some of the stunned faces around me in the crowd were pretty comical, and made me almost me feel proud of this band for not taking the easy way and going through the motions with just another metal album. This is what happens when musicians know who they are and what they want to become. Maybe the message is that once you get to this magical place that The Sword are in musically…You can do magic. You can play anything that you desire.
Part one of a THE SWORD two-parter. Epic conclusion comes tomorrow!
THE SWORD – High Country(2015 Razor & Tie)
Right, so let’s get to it! The brief intro “Unicorn Farm” sounds like Queens of the Stone Age discovering synthesizers for the first time, or The Sword’s version of “Sunday Afternoon in the Park” by Van Halen. Then “Empty Temples”, the first real song, sounds like The Cream gone stoner metal. The truth is these songs do not sound as if recorded in 2015. They inhabit a netherworld between 1975 and 2015, where the two are one. The sonics have the quality of today, the grooves are as valid as anything in the Fu Manchu catalogue, but the songs are out of the 70’s. “High Country” is Sabbath meets the Eagles in its metally groove.
The laid-back psychedelic metal of “Tears Like Diamonds” is right up my alley. Lead vocals by John D. Cronise are relaxed and somehow hypnotic in an Ozzy-like fashion. “Mist and Shadow” on the other hand is swampy and blues-laden. Of course it’s as heavy as weapons grade plutonium, but it still resides in some swamp in the deep south. Either way it’s an album highlight.
Progressive synth with crazy drums up your alley? “Agartha” is the instrumental for you, like something out of an old Tom Baker-era Dr. Who, but amped and hard to resist. Continuing with the synth, “Seriously Mysterious” is impossible to categorize and very difficult to describe. Synth rock with balls? That’s the best I can do. Again I can’t help but think that 1984-era Van Halen must be an inspiration, somewhere. This is the “I’ll Wait” of the album.
We gallop off with “Suffer No Fools”, plenty heavy enough and this time sounding inspired by another album from 1984, but this one’s called Powerslave. This is only an instrumental, which in a way is too bad, but not really because it’s awesome. “Early Snow” then takes inspiration from the slowest and heaviest Sabbath grooves. Even lyrically, you could imagine Ozzy howling about the days getting shorter and leaves falling from the trees. Then the horns blast in. What the fuck? Chicago/Sabbath! This is absolutely insane stuff! Into “The Dreamthieves”, riffs and melody coalesce perfectly into a sweetly pummelling song. The mixture of guitars, sweet vocals and keys render it strangely Ghost-like. The riff and guitar solo section seem directly inspired by Judas Priest’s version of “Green Manalishi”. “Dreamthieves” is classic, and instantly so.
Watch out for the “Buzzards”: straight heavy rock, but at the same quality level as the rest of the album. The final instrumental, “Silver Petals” showcases the acoustic guitar, much like how Savatage would throw an acoustic thing right after something heavy. Or right before something heavy: “Ghost Eye” is certainly that. A jagged Dio-ish riff precedes some quiet picking and melodic vocals, but it is quickly back to the heavy again. The penultimate track “Turned to Dust” is quiet and spare, though dramatic. Finally make way for “The Bees of Spring”, a strange Deep Purple circa 1968-ish track that is as great as it is bizarre. Hippie-era Purple with Rod Evans on vocals is the perfect description. It could have fit right in on their self titled record.
There is little question that High Country is a great album. It has diverse influences, but a cohesive sound. It packs in more great riffs per minute than most bands can write in a single album. Instrumental excellent is a given. How do you rate something like that?
Mike andAaron are doing simultaneous daily reviews of albums that these two intrepid music reporters have sent to each other. Buckle up, buttercups, it’s gonna be a blast!
You know what really grinds my gears? How the media goes ape-shit gaga over every fart or burp that Dave Grohl makes.
The only problem with that is, most of what Dave Grohl says and does is usually quite good.
He’s been on a roll lately, too. The last real clunker he’s released (under any guise, be it Foo Fighters, Them Crooked Vultures, or whoever else) was Foo Fighters’ One By One. None of the following albums could be considered poor by any stretch, though Wasting Light has to be the high water mark of them. Perhaps Grohl’s only weakness is his prolific output. After a while, many of the songs just blur together in a haze of Fooey rock.
Saint Cecilia, released on iTunes last year but only now getting the vinyl treatment, is another quality Foo Fighters release. They dedicated its release to the victims of the terrorist attacks on the Bataclan hall. As usual, it boasts a variety of Foo stylings, all of them loud.
“Saint Cecilia” has become a radio smash, and while its indistinguishable from any other fast melodic Foo rocker, it does stick to your brain. This is my favourite kind of Foo Fighters song anyway — fast, easy to remember, guitar-heavy and loaded with killer drums. A great albeit obvious choice for a single. Faster still is “Sean” recalling Dave’s punk roots. It recalls the sound of the first Foo Fighters album back in ’95, but amped up with a full three guitar band. Two minutes, in-and-out, that’s it for “Sean”. Then “Savior Breath” is vintage metal, making this three genres in three songs and nine minutes! It’s good stuff and even boasts a pretty smoking 80’s guitar solo.
The B-side of the EP commences with the nifty acoustic “Iron Rooster”. It has a cool atmospheric vibe, peaceful, but with the occasional loud bursts of electric guitar. It’s the only break on an otherwise pretty relentless stream of music. “The Neverending Sigh” is anything but. It’s instead a blast of riffage, three guitar’s worth and layered effectively. It defies categorization so we’ll just call it pure Foo Fighters. It’s action packed, complex and it qualifies as one of the finest Foo Fighters compositions in recent memory. Bully for you, Mr. Grohl and Co.!
Incidentally, according to the liner notes, Foo Fighters lineup appears to have expanded to a six piece. Joining Dave, Taylor, Pat (Smear – guitars), Chris (Shiflett – guitars) and Nate (Mendel – bass) is Rami Jaffee on keyboards, listed as a member of Foo Fighters. That’s cool. I always seem to get excited when a band expands its lineup. It’s my Kryptonite!
Mike andAaron will be doing simultaneous daily reviews of albums these two intrepid music reporters have sent to each other. Buckle up, buttercups, it’s gonna be a blast!
BLUE RODEO – Just Like a Vacation / “Joker’s Wild” bonus track from Stardust Picnic (1999 Warner)
I spent a lot of days in the summer of 1999 working in the Record Store in Cambridge. That was T-Rev’s store, normally, but he was out of town. He was Ajax, I think, helping build our next franchise. T-Rev is handy so his role was, in theory, supposed to transition to building new stores full time. That never fully happened, which in a way was a good thing, because they never had a plan for filling T-Rev’s time slot as store manager in Cambridge! In the interim, they sent me there and I was responsible for managing two stores. Not the first time and certainly not the last time.
’99 was a great summer for double live albums. There were two in particular I played daily: Sloan’s 4 Nights at the Palais Royale, and Blue Rodeo’s Just Like a Vacation. Despite the added stress and mileage on the car, these two double live albums helped ensure that summer was hot and fresh with great music. Blue Rodeo are one of the greatest live bands I’ve seen and I had long been awaiting a full-on double CD set of the live concert experience.
Just Like a Vacation is the absolutely perfect document of the Blue Rodeo experience circa 1999. Hard edged and jamming, Blue Rodeo were at this time a mixture of country crooning and long noisy Neil Young jams. The set is taken from a variety of shows and assembled into a coherent running order. Perhaps the first track, the upbeat country of “Til I am Myself Again” was recorded in Stratford; Jim warns the crowd they may be snowed in that night, a common threat at the Stratford festival during their annual show there!
The first seven Blue Rodeo albums, from Outskirts (1987) to Tremolo (1997) are all essential listening. This live set is loaded heavy with some of the best songs from that era, from the tender Jim Cuddy ballads (“Try”, “After the Rain”, “Bad Timing”) to the more epic Greg Keelor blasts of power: “Hasn’t Hit Me Yet”, “Diamond Mine”, “Girl in Green”. There’s country jazz (“Piranha Pool”), songs for singalongs (“Cynthia”) and even comedic stories of heartbreak (“Florida”). Jaw-dropping musicianship ensures there is never a dull moment. Even the slow dance hit ballad “After the Rain” boasts a long, noisy guitar jam at the end. Blue Rodeo are fearless on stage and this album delivers that.
Some fans noticed that earlier tracks from Outskirts such as “Rebel” and “Joker’s Wild” were seldom played as Blue Rodeo amassed more and more studio albums. Thanks to HMV, one bonus track is available to add to this live collection: “Joker’s Wild”, from their promotional Stardust Picnic Sampler CD. The back cover of the Stardust CD claims there was no room left for “Joker’s Wild” on Just Like a Vacation, but that’s not true. The first disc is under an hour, and the second is 1:07. Lots of room on either disc for a four minute bonus track! Regardless, here is “Joker’s Wild”, a rarity to be sure since it was never available for purchase. “Joker’s Wild” is done acoustically, very different from the original version. It transforms from a spy movie theme to a swampy jam with slide and fiddle.
Sure, you could go and buy a Blue Rodeo Greatest Hits CD with your hard-earned dollars. That’ll get you 14 songs; this’ll get you 22. Blue Rodeo songs are just as great live as they were in the studio, just different. You won’t have to suffer through a too-loud audience track, so get Just Like a Vacation instead and experience Blue Rodeo in the venue they were intended for — the stage. There are even liner notes with a story or two about every song. It’s a package to be enjoyed for a long period of time, and years later you will still smile.
ATTENTION ALL PLANETS OF THE SOLAR FEDERATION! ATTENTION ALL PLANETS OF THE SOLAR FEDERATION! ATTENTION ALL PLANETS OF THE SOLAR FEDERATION! We have assumed control. We have assumed control. We have assumed control….
Welcome to anApril Fools Day switcheroo!! Mike and I have told each other what to listen to for today’s post. Fun times!! Initially, we were even gonna try to write in each others’ styles, and really try to fool you guys. But, as you’ll see from the album choices, it might have been a nigh on impossible task!
For Mike, I chose Robert Pollard & Doug Gillard’s ‘Speak Kindly Of Your Volunteer Fire Department,’ largely because Mike awesomely found it and bought it for me in Ottawa, but I already had it, so I said he should rock it himself! But it’s awesome that he’ll get to hear a bit of the MAJESTY of Bob Pollard! I can’t wait to read what he says about it…
And for me, Mike has chosen Deep Purple’s In Rock (for which I thank him profusely). And here is where I really worried about trying to write like Mike for a post. That man KNOWS his Deep Purple, and there’s no way I could bring perspective to an album he’s heard for years and probably has coded directly into his DNA by now. It just wouldn’t work. You’d all know it wasn’t Mike!
Anyway, we hope you enjoy this April Fools site switcheroo! Let’s get in there and GIVE ‘ER!!
ROBERT POLLARD with DOUG GILLARD – Speak Kindly of Your Volunteer Fire Department(1999 Luna)
Guided By Voices have always eluded me. Aaron says they’re brilliant but not for everybody. This Robert Pollard “duo” album with Doug Gillard looks really interesting. Let’s see if I’m everybody or not!
“Frequent Weaver Who Burns” is instantly likeable. The lo-fi but genuine recording sounds right out of 1969, and the song recalls some of the best hippie rock bands from that era. I hear a hint of 54-40’s “I Go Blind” in the guitar, but this is far more ambitious, as it descends into dance music madness. “Soul Train College Policeman” (how the hell do they come up with these titles?) is different and indescribable, but “Pop Zeus” is brilliant. Simple guitar melodies weave together with layers of rhythm guitars creating a power-pop rock track without embellishment.
Most of these songs are short bursts of ideas; in and out and no nonsense. The longest track at 4:20 is “Slick as Snails”, a slow and enticing exercise in mixing sweet notes with sour notes and making a delectable concoction regardless. Regal guitar chords keep the ship from running aground. Power pop returns on “Do Something Real”, a simple guitar riff melded with an unorthodox melody. In fact the album in general is built from these ingredients. The guitars retain catchy rhythms, often classic sounding in nature. Meanwhile the vocals are not constrained to sing anything simple or straightforward. The lo-fi tape hiss and nature of the recordings do not detract; they enhance. “Life is Beautiful” sounds as if recorded in the can. Mix in a smidgen of psychedelia. There is also a contrasting bombast on the album, a power just bursting at the seams. Drama is often the companion of the arrangements, “Port Authority” being a fine example of this. The short tunes meld influences varied far and wide. Aaron hears the Who, and it’s there, and I think I even picked up on some Ace Frehley in the ring of the guitars.
Speak Kindly of Your Volunteer Fire Department comes highly recommended for the musically fearless.
Do you watch award shows? I don’t — not anymore, anyway. In the Record Store days,we had to keep an eye on this sort of thing. If somebody swept the Grammys, we had to be prepared with inventory. The day after an award show, the requests would circle around the winners and headline-makers. The same still happens today, with much of the post-show sales being downloads. Adele is most grateful.
As a child I was aware that award shows didn’t seem to recognize any music that I liked, but I also knew that didn’t mean squat. It’s nice when a talented artist is honoured for their music, but the Grammys are the same organization who awarded Milli Vanilli with “best new artist”. To even call such commercial product “art” at all is such a deception. They were manufactured from the ground up as a money-making endeavour and nothing more. That was 1990, but the year before was another titanic embarrassment for the besieged awards.
I didn’t watch the ’89 awards but I heard all about it the next day. The following morning, my mom asked me, “Who is Jethro Tull?” I had to confess I didn’t really know. Old guys. “They won best heavy metal,” my mom explained. Who? I was a metal fanatic but I never heard any of their music.
The actual category was best “Hard Rock/Metal” and it was introduced in 1989. The nominees included a couple actual hard rock and heavy metal artists: AC/DC, Tull, Metallica, Jane’s Addiction, and Iggy Pop. Of those bands, I think only two can be consider unambiguously “hard rock” or “heavy metal”. I’m sure the members of Jane’s Addiction didn’t consider themselves either. God knows what Iggy Pop thinks of his music as, since he’s been all over the board. With the benefit of hindsight, we know today that the most important album historically in that category was …And Justice For All by Metallica followed by Jane’s Nothing’s Shocking. Tull’s Crest of a Knave was a good, solid return but hardly “hard rock”. Ian Anderson was gracious but befuddled by it all. Metal fans declared it highway robbery. To them, Metallica was clearly the only band who deserved that trophy that year, and with all due respect to AC/DC and Jane’s Addiction, it is hard to argue with that. …And Justice For All was one of the most challenging albums for the genre, real art, yet it sold millions. Not to mention overcoming the personal tragedy of losing Cliff Burton in that crash a few years before. Plainly, Metallica deserved that award. Fans were livid.
The Grammys furthered their embarrassment by contritely awarding Metallica the “best metal” award for the three years in a row that followed, even when it was not deserved. In 1990 they split “hard rock” and “metal” into two awards, and gave Metallica a trophy for “One”. The real head-shaker was 1991, when Metallica won again for a cover of Queen’s “Stone Cold Crazy” (from Rubáiyát: Elektra’s 40th Anniversary). This little-heard cover beat out stunning new albums by Judas Priest, Anthrax and Megadeth. A single Metallica cover from an obscure compilation CD beat Rust in Peace by Megadeth? Yeah, right. You could not take this seriously. Their streak continued into 1992, when they won the prize for the Black album, Metallica, once again beating Anthrax and Megadeth (and Motorhead and Soundgarden).
Here are some other stunningly bad decisions the Grammys made that you may not be as familiar with. The same year of the Tull debocle, the awards introduced a “best rap” category, but chose not to air them. The Fresh Prince Will Smith compared it to graduating high school but not being allowed on stage to accept your diploma. Not to mention, the “best new artist” award is often a curse. Just ask Hootie and the Blowfish, Debby Boone, Marc Cohn or Milli Vanilli. Then there was the year that Steely Dan beat Radiohead’s Kid A and the Marshall Mathers LP.
What you may not realize is that the Grammy awards were never designed to recognize the raucous and rebellious artists of rock and roll. In fact, they were created to stem the tide. In order to protect “quality” and tradition against the rockers of the 1950’s, the Grammys were created in the mold of the Oscars. And on their very first night, their mission to promote and honour quality music was blown spectacularly. Check out this tale from my Uncle John’s desktop calendar:
Hey, at least Frankie won. But the awards remain as troubled today as when they began.
It’s nice to see artists and albums that you like win awards for their work. Ultimately however the impact is zero. How the music makes you feel is everything.
AMERICAN DAD! – “The Life Aquatic with Steve Smith” (Episode 2, season 12)
American Dad is back! The 12th (or 13th) season (depending on how you count) commenced last week. While last week’s instalment was ho-hum, this week’s was a brilliant return to form, thanks in no small part to the mighty metal music of Metallica.
It is spring time. 14 year old Steve Smith has vowed that this year, he will finally get to touch his first real boobs. His latest scheme is simple. Varsity athletes seem to touch boobs all the time. Therefore, Steve needs a varsity jacket. The water polo team is looking for members, and hardly anyone has signed up. At tryouts, we meet the coach: “I’m the new coach, James Hetfield. I know what you’re thinking. ‘Woah! The James Hetfield from Metallica?’ The answer is no way. Even though I look and sound like him, and have all his guitars. The point is, if I had to deal with the kind of pressure that guy is under, I’d probably crack and end up as a high school water polo coach. So it’s a good thing that I’m just this very different James Hetfield.”
Unfortunately Steve cannot swim and is cut from the team. Only when he colludes with the family goldfish Klaus (an East German ski jumper whose brain was transferred into the body of a fish) does he have a chance. They realize that Steve can become the greatest water polo player in the world, with a little extra help from Klaus. Klaus operates Steve’s legs by using his short n’ curlies as puppet strings, and Steve is unstoppable! With his legs being controlled by Klaus, Steve can concentrate on the ball. Cue: “Master of Puppets”. Steve is back on the team! In fact, he’s the star.
The next musical number is the more recent “All Nightmare Long” (one of the best tunes from Death Magnetic), accompanying a montage scene. Steve and Klaus’ plan seems to be working, as Steve attracts the attention of Amy (Ashley Tisdale), the school sports editor. She wants to know what makes Steve so skilled at water polo, and the pressure is on. James Hetfield orders the team to take the rival highschool “off to neva-neva-land-ah!”
The side plot involves Stan Smith and Roger the alien buying a sailboat at a CIA auction. Roger’s antics are always hilarious, but the side plot can’t help but remain in the shadow of the main Metallica feature. Still, Roger’s voice is always hilarious to me, and I crack up when I get to hear Roger calling people “assholes”. I am easily amused. The show does benefit from the ability to use mild swearing now. Roger and Stan realize that owning a boat is kind of useless since they have nowhere to go and no idea how to sail. They must get rid of it…somehow!
If American Dad can maintain this level of quality, it is bound to be a great season. It’s also good to know that American Dad is maintaining its strong musical connections, even though showrunner Mike Barker left in 2013. Barker was responsible for many of the show’s best such moments, such as the My Morning Jacket episode. Although last season was a little bumpy, this episode might be the best one since Barker left.
BRUCE KULICK – BK3 (2010 Rocket Science)
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