Welcome back to the Week of Rockin’ Movies. Each movie we take a look at this week will have a significant connection to rock music. If you missed Monday’s installment, click below.
As stated yesterday, I’m generally not a horror movie guy. I grew up on all the classics (good or bad) in the 80’s, but I thought I just outgrew the genre. Then I saw Rob Zombie’s House Of 1000 Corpses, and its sequel The Devil’s Rejects.
Picking up several months after the end of Corpses, the cops are closing in on the murderous Firefly family. The house is surrounded, and a surprisingly cool gun battle ensues. It is only the first of many surprises in this cool conclusion. It may be a sequel, but its stark realistic texture is completely different from the bizarre original film. Set mostly outdoors in the deep south, the titular Rejects are soon on the run. But not all of them.
Mama Firefly (recast from Karen Black to Leslie Easterbrook) has been arrested. Rufus is dead, and the giant Tiny has escaped. Hitting the road, Baby & Otis meet up with Captain Spaulding, who is revealed to be Baby’s daddy! The three are on the run from a cop out to even a personal score. Like something out of a Sergio Leone film, music and scenery complement each other to take you on a trip that will shock and disgust. There are no heroes, only victims and killers. This is not for everyone.
There are buckets full of blood, lots of parts removed from the body to which they were originally attached, and lots of deeds beyond evil. I must stress again: This is not for everyone. The images contained herein will disturb. You may question why they even need to exist. I suppose Rob Zombie would be the guy to ask, I don’t know. All I know is, sometimes I can go for a good horror movie, and The Devil’s Rejects scratches the itch.
Much like the original, there is humour to break up the carnage. Cranked up a tad, Captain Spaulding portrayed by Sid Haig always has a foul line to elicit a reluctant chuckle. I enjoyed that, but I also enjoyed the sudden change of gears that is the epic ending. Going out in a blaze of glory, I will never hear Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird” again without seeing the three faces of the Devil’s Rejects.
As seen here, I own this movie with House of 1000 Corpses in a great DVD 3-pack. The disc has plenty of special features on its own, including a tribute to the late actor Matthew McGrory (Tiny). Also look for a cool deleted scene with Rosario Dawson and Dr. Satan that ties the two films together. Included on the bonus third disc is a feature called 30 Days in Hell, which is the making of The Devil’s Rejects. I enjoyed seeing Zombie work on the finer details; for example finding a specific T-shirt (Cheap Trick) for Brian Posehn’s roadie character.
4/5 stars, and 1 blood-splattered face.
Sid Haig as Johnny Lee Johns Bill Moseley as Otis Driftwood Sheri Moon Zombie as Vera-Ellen Firefly William Forsythe as Sheriff John Quincey Wydell Ken Foree as Charlie Altamont Matthew McGrory as Tiny Firefly Leslie Easterbrook as Gloria Firefly Danny Trejo as Rondo Diamond Dallas Page as Billy Ray Snapper Brian Posehn as Jimmy Tom Towles as George Wydell Tyler Mane as Rufus “RJ” Firefly Jr
Hey! Welcome to another week-long series at mikeladano.com! This time, the theme is Rockin’ Movies. Each movie we take a look at this week will have a significant connection to rock music. Enjoy!
HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES(2003 Universal)
Directed by Rob Zombie
I’m generally not a horror movie guy, although I grew up on all the cheesy classics in the 1980’s. I thought I just outgrew the genre. Then my buddy Thuss implored me to see Rob Zombie’s House Of 1,000 Corpses.
Anchored by Zombie’s uncommon visual stylings and eclectic tastes, this House is rocking, don’t bother knocking. The setup: An ill-fated foursome of young men and ladies are travelling cross country. They stop for gas and chicken at Captain Spaulding’s “Museum of Monsters & Madmen” (as played by the near-legendary Sid Haig). Spaulding is the best character written by Rob Zombie, both hilariously funny and mildly disturbing at the same time. Well, he’s a creepy clown. If you have a clown phobia, Spaulding’s the creepiest I’ve ever seen, but I can’t help but laugh every time he opens his sizable mouth.
Spaulding tips the kids (Rainn Wilson is the only “name” here) off to the creepy legend of “Dr. Satan”. They then decide it’s a good idea to go hunting for Dr. Satan’s hanging tree in the middle of the night. In the rain. It is then that they meet the beautifully disordered Baby Firefly (Sherri Moon Zombie)…and get a flat tire. Things only go downhill for the young ones from there, as I’m sure you can imagine. Baby invites our young travelers to her family’s farm, where her brother can surely fix their flat tire.
Special mention must go to out to Bill Mosely who is terrifyingly unstable as the most amoral member of the Firefly family, Otis B. Driftwood. He only gets more interesting as a character in the sequel, The Devil’s Rejects…but that is another review.
Some horror purists can’t get into Zombie’s style. Indeed, he has a unique vision as any fan of his will know. If you like oddly proportioned monsters and robots, just go see him in concert. Zombie also likes to populate his films with 70’s southern stereotypes. Indeed, one would argue that the movie has no actual characters, just character types. That’s the kind of horror movie that I remember growing up with, and I believe his films pay homage to that very well. He also had a practical reason for setting his movies in the 1970’s. No cellphones. No-one to call for help. No GPS. No way to call AAA and get a tire changed. Isolation.
House of 1,000 Corpses is a visually disturbing film, and that’s one reason I can’t stop watching it. Other horror films are simply cheese-fests. Not this one. There are gallons of blood, body parts, and a couple monsters too, but all presented in a surreal nightmare setting that might have you avoiding country roads at night. Zombie went in a completely different direction in the next movie, so House of 1000 Corpses remains the “weird” chapter in this series.
Will there be justice on the Fireflys? Tune in tomorrow for my review of The Devil’s Rejects.
4/5 stars and 2 severed hands.
Sid Haig as Captain Spaulding Bill Moseley as Otis B. Driftwood Sheri Moon Zombie as Baby Firefly Karen Black as Mother Firefly Rainn Wilson as Bill Hudley Tom Towles as Lieutenant George Wydell Matthew McGrory as Tiny Firefly Robert Mukes as Rufus “RJ” Firefly Jr Dennis Fimple as Grampa Hugo Firefly
RECORD STORE TALES Part 283: Shopping at Other Stores
Straight from my old journal: This is what can happen when Record Store guys go shopping at the competition! Keep in mind these are 2005 prices, not 2014 prices.
Date: 2005/12/12 21:34
Forgive me for praising the “competition” tonight, but I just got home from HMV.
I have no idea how it’s possible to have titles like Pink Floyd’s The Wall, Ummagumma, and Ben Harper’s double Live From Mars, all on sale at 2-for-$30. Ummagumma has a regular price tag of $46.99 on it! Yet they were selling them at 2 for $30! INSANE. I could buy three of ’em for less than it would cost to buy ONE. That is so…fucked up! So I got one of those, and A Collection Of Great Dance Songs remastered. (Strictly for the “new” version of Money.)
And then I sent an email to a co-worker:
I was at HMV tonight, and they have a CRAZY 2/$30 sale on. Check this photo out. That’s right, Pink Floyd UMMAGUMMA remastered for $15. If you buy one, it’s $46 bucks. If you buy two…it’s $15 each. Crazy. BUT they had a bunch of Beatles and a few Stones as well. Double live Ben Harper, all kinds of crazy stuff. I don’t know what you still need for yourself or even gifts, but that kind of sale is worth taking advantage of.
Cool huh? I still have those albums too. I kind of like that I will always have a record of the exact date and circumstances of purchase.
EUROPE – Rock the Night: The Very Best of Europe (2004)
Europe’s successful reunion was one of the most unexpected of the last decade, but thus far four awesome studio albums have been the result. A tougher more rock-oriented Europe emerged with Start From The Dark, but not before this appropriate retrospective was released. Containing music from the first era of Europe, from their debut album to their fifth, Prisoners In Paradise, this compilation is the ideal summary of the 80’s and 90’s era of the band.
All the casual fans need to know is that all the hits are here, in their original studio versions: “The Final Countdown”, “Cherokee”, “Superstitious”, “Carrie”, and the title track. That’s enough to make this worth buying for many. But also included are great lesser known tracks, many of which were also singles: “Open Your Heart” (the original version from Wings of Tomorrow), “Dreamer”, “Sign Of The Times”, “Heart of Stone”, “The King Will Return”, and many more. Two of my personal favourites are included: The rhythmically powerful “Girl From Lebanon” and the pop yet inspiring “Prisoners In Paradise”.
The diehards are also baited with B-sides and rare tracks. Many of these such as “On Broken Wings” and “Mr. Government Man” have since been issued on Europe remasters and other compilations, but there were a couple I never had before: live takes of “Time Has Come” and “Let The Good Times Rock” from the 1980’s. There’s also a studio track that I’m unfamiliar with called “Here Comes the Night”. This appears to be from the Prisoners In Paradise sessions, previously unreleased, and it’s a decent track. Best for me was a later B-side version of “Seven Doors Hotel”, with Joey Tempest enunciating a lot more clearly.
For my personal tastes, I didn’t like Prisoners In Paradise much. I found it overproduced and way too commercial and American-sounding. Europe were always much more European sounding, like a more radio-friendly Deep Purple or UFO. So there are too many tracks here from Prisoners for me, including a few that I just hate: “Got Your Mind In The Gutter” (dull blooze-rock) and “Seventh Sign” are not that great. But, it is what it is. I preferred a lot of the songs from Out Of This World and previous albums. I would have preferred to hear “Tomorrow”, “Ninja”, or “Paradize Bay”.
But hey, it’s two CDs of Europe, right? And Europe were and are a good band. In North America, I don’t think they ever got any respect. They are remembered here for the big hair, and the big anthem. That’s too bad. As this collection demonstrates, Europe had a lot more to offer then. There are ballads indeed, but there is also mighty heavy metal, many grand melodies, and hard rock performed with precision.
FLYING COLORS – Live In Europe (2013 Mascot Music)
There hasn’t been a new band that got me going like Flying Colors did in a dog’s age. Their 2012 debut is a fantastic album, and it’s only grown on me more since I first reviewed it. Songs like “Kayla”, “The Storm”, and “Shoulda Coulda Woulda” had me hooked on repeat — in the car, at home, it didn’t matter. Flying Colors has been on constantly for months.
That’s why I decided to get the double Live In Europe CD. I had to have more. Who cares that it’s a double live album immediately following a debut! All 11 songs from that album are here, plus covers and songs from each member’s past. I am glad to report that Live In Europe is as stunning as the debut, even over its long running time. When you have a band made up of guys like Mike Portnoy, Steve Morse, Dave LaRue, Neal Morse and Casey McPherson, you can count on a live show full of explosive instrumental pyrotechnics. And that is present. But it’s the quality of the songs and the humour of the band that makes it special.
The band open the set with three album tracks in a row, each different from the last. “Blue Ocean” is the long, breezy opener, which is followed by the pummeling “Shoulda Coulda Woulda”. Then, “Love Is What I’m Waiting For” is more soulful. All three are outstanding songs with stunning playing.
Portnoy does most of the talking, but Casey McPherson gets the first solo outing. “Can’t Find a Way” is from his former band Endochine, but played by Flying Colors, it fits seemlessly in the set. Its soft vibe is similar to some of the quieter material on Flying Colors, and McPherson’s emotive vocals set it apart. Steve Morse throws down one of his classic solos and seals the deal. This powerful number could have been on the album easily. They follow this one with my favourite song, “The Storm,” and the whole place ignites.
From 1978’s What If album comes the Dixie Dregs’ “Oddyssey”. Since Flying Colors don’t have a violin player, it’s very different, but every bit as jumpy and complicated. Coming back to something a little more straightforward, the band rock out to “Forever In A Daze.” Then McPherson stuns the crowd with Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”. Yeah, it’s been a trendy song to cover lately, but when you pull it off as well as MacPherson does, why not?
The first CD ends with a mellow “Better Than Walking Away,” and by now a Flying Colors concert already feels like an emotionally uplifting experience. It is a song like this that underlines not just the chops, but the melodic tendencies of this band. It’s always fun to listen to a bunch of guys shred for 90 minutes, but it’s even better when they play a bunch of great songs, too.
The second CD commences with “Kayla,” which to me is already a classic. The vocal harmonies of Neal Morse and Casey McPherson really dance. After this, Mike Portnoy takes over, at the request of Neal Morse, sings lead on his “Fool In My Heart.” I quite this swinging little ballad, and there’s nothing wrong with Portnoy’s vocal. Dave LaRue’s solo piece, “Spur of the Moment,” leads into a Dream Theater classic. “Repentance,” from 2007’s excellent Systematic Chaos, is part of Mike’s “12 Step Suite.” As such it’s only fitting that he sings it himself. It’s not the whole 10 minute version, it’s pretty much just the first half, “Regret.” But it is every bit as powerful as Dream Theater’s original, yet very different.
From 1998’s The Kindness Of Strangers, Neal Morse performs “June” by Spock’s Beard. This bright ballad enables McPherson and Portnoy to harmonize very nicely with Morse. It’s certainly a nice respite before the slamming “All Falls Down.” After the band lays waste with that tune, it’s only epics from there forward. From the album, 8 minutes of “Everything Changes” is only topped by 12 minutes of “Infinite Fire”. While these two are still “songs,” the shredders get their wishes granted with some long-bomb jams.
In a band like Flying Colors, you can’t single out any one player as an MVP. It seems like a band powered by all five members equally. Having said that, Steve’s Morse’s guitar solos are always a treat, and it also a pleasure to hear the rhythm section of LaRue and Portnoy gel like this. They give the whole album a tremendous pulse. Turn up your bass and see what I mean.
RECORD STORE TALES Part 282:
T-Rev, Mike, and the Neurotic Outsiders…
T-Rev called me from his store one afternoon in 1996.
“Mikey! Have you heard this Neurotic Outsiders CD? It fuckin’ rocks!”
I had not heard the Neurotic Outsiders CD.
It actually took T-Rev some talking to get me to buy it. (Playing it in-store was forbidden due to the foul language contained therein.) I knew Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum were in the band, with Steve Jones and John Taylor from Duran Duran. I was getting pretty bored with GN’R related solo albums, and while I found this combo intriguing, I was also inundated with other new releases at the same time. These included a new Rush studio album, a Rush tribute album, a new Scorpions, and a new King’s X. I had plenty of new music to keep me occupied!
He persisted, T-Rev did, and I caved and bought the CD. It only took one listen to know that he was right about the Neurotic Outsiders. They did indeed fucking rock. I was hooked immediately.
We played Neurotic Outsiders in the car a lot that summer. If I was driving, Trevor would be playing air drums along with Matt Sorum. Trev’s a drummer and he was damn good at doing Sorum’s style. You know that rolling drum intro to “You Could be Mine”? T-Rev had that one mastered, and there’s loads of that on Neurotic Outsiders. “Good News” is a great example. Trevor used to say my car had “good bass”, but he wasn’t talking about my stereo system. He was talking about the sound he could make when playing double bass on my floor with his feet. He could bruise his legs (snare drums) just from playing in the car.
I didn’t really drink back in those days so I was usually designated driver, which worked out really well. Driving home from a party, Neurotic Outsiders blasting, T-Rev playing slightly tipsy but always awesome air drums next to me. I didn’t have a CD player in that car either, which would have been my old Plymouth Sundance. Piece of shit car. The left driver’s side speaker was blown, making everything sound absolutely weak and lopsided. I recorded Neurotic Outsiders to cassette for car play. T-Rev’s modus operandi was the mix tape, whereas I chose to record entire albums. Either way, we heard “Good News” and “Angelina” a hell of a lot that year.
This album kind of snuck in under the radar in ’96. Guns N’ Roses was disintegrating (Slash quit in October), but Matt & Duff teamed up with Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols and John Taylor of Duran Duran to form this supergroup of sorts. Lead vocals are handled by everyone except Matt Sorum, who provides plenty of his unique double bass/snare/crash cymbol pounding. In fact if any one member dominates in this album, I’d say it’s Matt Sorum! The other three guys all have their own songs, but Matt is the consistent common thread. Taylor tends to handle most of the slower material, Jonesy the heavy snarky stuff, and Duff sings a couple rockers too.
Very few stinkers on this album. Lots of winners. Lyrics with loads of attitude! “The good news is / You’re dying, the bad new is / I’m alive.” (“Good News”) Then, there’s “Jerk”:
“You’re a bitch, I’m a jerk, I don’t think that we can work, You’re a prat, I’m a prick, I don’t think that we will stick, I’m a cat, you’re a chick, I think you deserve one more lick.”
There’s a Clash cover, a deliciously noisy “Janie Jones”, but even that great song is overshadowed by the Outsiders’ originals. Check out the opener “Nasty Ho,” one of Jonesy’s hilarious and thunderous punk songs. And if you have any doubts as to punk rock authenticity, I think Duff McKagan is well on record on a connoisseur of fine punk rock.
“Union”, a ballad, seems to be Jonesey lamenting that the Sex Pistols were never a real united band, slagging off everyone (himself included), except his “mate, old Cookie”. It’s a slow song but it has some bite to it. Two John Taylor songs are two of the heavier ones: “Always Wrong” and the smokin’ “Feelings Are Good”. Both these songs were also featured on Taylor’s solo album Feelings Are Good and Other Lies. (The title track was renamed “Feelings R Good”.) Best tune is “Angelina”, a fast punk rocker (today would they call this pop-punk?) with an insanely catchy chorus.
The only tunes that I could skip over are the really slow ones: “Better Way” and “Story Of My Life”. Yet even so, they have some charm. They’re not bad songs at all, just completely overshadowed by all the super-fun punk rock songs. Producer Jerry Harrison captured a raw performance, and I like that you can hear the ambiance of the room on “Story Of My Life”.
As you read in the above Record Store Tale, I was hooked immediately on Neurotic Outsiders, and that proved to be a lasting feeling. I wanted more, and at a visit to HMV Toronto (333 Yonge) I found the CD single for “Jerk”. It contained a “clean” version of “Jerk” (kind of pointless, but you have to at least try to get played on the radio, right?). Most interestingly was the B-side track “Seattle Head”. Duff was born in Seattle and had a connection with many of the artists that came from that city. (He was also one of the last people to speak to Kurt Cobain.) I can’t say that this song has that “Seattle sound”, it sounds like Duff McKagan to me. But it’s also obvious why it’s a B-side; because it’s the weakest of all the songs.
There was another single, a Japanese import for “Angelina”. This one had two more B-sides: “Spanish Ballroom” and “Planet Earth”. I would really, really, really like to have that. Amazon is asking $45. Hard to justify for two songs (although I have done things like that before).
It’s a shame Neurotic Outsiders never made a second album. But maybe not — maybe a second album would have tarnished my memories. As it stands, it is just a one-off and will likely remain so, but it is also an album I still listen to 18 years later.
I wrote a review for this album back in 2010, not so glowing. For me, the album just sat there. Even though Crash Karma are made up of members of some of my favourite Canadian bands from the 90’s wave of alterna-hard rock, nothing happened. I did the review, gave it a middling review and forgot about it.
About six months later, I’ll be damned if the whole thing didn’t just suddenly “click” with me. Rethinking my position, I had to re-write my review. I think Crash Karma works best after a few listens.
Crash Karma consist of Edwin (ex-I Mother Earth) on lead vocals, guitarist Mike Turner (ex-Our Lady Peace), drummer Jeff Burrows (The Tea Party), and someone named Amir Epstein on bass. They combine some of the best elements of the bands that spawned them. At first I saw a another faceless post-grunge band rocking past their prime, but now I’m getting it a little more. To the contrary, it sounds like these guys have some ideas to get off their chests. Wracked with Mike Turner’s angular guitar riffage and some mature and pensive lyrics by Edwin, this album rocks. Edwin is singing better than he has in years, pushing the voice to the limits we remember from the heady I Mother Earth prime. Turner is rocking much harder than Our Lady Peace, and much more straightforwardly. Burrows, freed of The Tea Party’s exotic leanings, lays down hard fast fills, recorded expertly by Turner. The result is a collection of songs that combines some of the best elements from the original bands, mixed in with some latter-day Rush. (Edwin is a veteran of Alex Lifeson’s Victor album.)
Best songs include IME-like “Like A Wave” (the opener), “Awake”, and the furious “Fight”. Another track I begrundingly like is “Lost”, a slow one that sounds a bit too close to Edwin’s solo hit “Alive”. The melodies and vibe are suspiciously alike. However there is no filler on this album. It works better as an album, a single piece, than individual songs. Rather than make a road CD with your favourites on it, this one works as a front-to-back listen.
I still don’t like the cover. The punk dude makes it look like I’m buying something from fucking Simple Plan or Theory Of a Dead Man. It’s not like the guys’ faces are all that recognizable, even in Canada. It’s a shame because this album just disappeared. I never heard the tracks on the radio and back in the early 90’s, these guys were the kings of radio. I rarely saw it in the stores, I never saw ads for these guys on tour. It seems that this album will appeal to dudes from the post grunge era, not so much for younger kids. They did release a second album in 2013, called Rock Musique Deluxe (co-produced by Terry Brown) — but I have not heard it yet. (Send me a copy, E1, and I’ll be happy to review it!)
Crash Karma: great musicianship, great songs, very good album. Check it out.
I still remember the circumstances surrounding me originally getting this on CD. As recounted in an earlier Record Store Tale, Tom and I were at a party. We were listening to some sHeavy, and Tom mentioned the Brant Bjork solo album as another must-have. Being a fan of Brant Bjork’s drumming from Fu Manchu, I ordered it without hearing a single track. Tom attempted to describe it by calling it “a cross between Fu Manchu and surf rock.” Interesting.
10 years later, when Bjork reissued it on vinyl, he added the UFO-centric Blue Oyster Cult cover bonus track, “Take Me Away”. Automatic re-buy. It doesn’t really sound like the rest of the album, but who cares? It’s Brant Bjork covering Blue Oyster Cult. But that’s not the only reason to re-buy Jalamanta.
What a beautiful record! The first thing you’ll notice is the new cover. All black with the Brant Bjork skull embossed. Beautiful. Open it up to get at the booklet with all new photos. The booklet truly is a work of art. Remember when you used to buy an LP, and you’d sit down in front of your stereo staring at the pictures, trying to make out every little detail until the record was done? Brant Bjork takes us back to that time.
The cover page is what appears to be an awesomely greasy Mexican meal, and then the final page is the empty plate — a satisfied customer. Just like with this LP. You can really get stuffed on the grooves and tones contained herein. There are plenty of low-key, incessantly grooving instruments. The music is simple, repetitive, but effective. It’s not heavy, but it feels weighty nonetheless.
The lyrics are included. Here’s an example, from “Automatic Fantastic”:
The man shakes me down, that’s why I’m broke. Rich man’s got all the green but it ain’t the kind you smoke. So we turn up the rock, and we roll it slow. We’re always flying high, and the ride is always low.
Musically, if you haven’t heard this album before, I don’t really know how to describe the songs. Bjork plays almost everything himself, and the vibe is laid back. He sings on every song but “Toot” which is handled by Mario Lalli (Fatso Jetson). He’s chosen to mix his vocals way back and emphasize the unadorned guitars and drums. The mix is spare, quiet at times, loud at others, but always trippy. Imagine driving down a deserted highway on a hot summer night with the windows down. This is the soundtrack to that ride.
This is one of those album that sounds like it was just meant to be heard on 180 gram vinyl. There’s no sound like it in the world. I noticed a heck of a lot more bass, the bassline on “Lets Get Chinese Eyes” being particularly sublime. This album just sounds stunning now.
5/5 stars
“Lazy Bones” – 1:29
“Automatic Fantastic” – 6:59
“Cobra Jab” – 3:18
“Too Many Chiefs…Not Enough Indians” – 3:44
“Sun Brother” – 4:45
“Lets Get Chinese Eyes” – 4:45
“Toot” – 5:58
“Defender of the Oleander” – 7:53
“The Low Desert Punk” – 5:20
“Waiting for a Coconut to Drop” – 4:17
“Her Brown Blood” – 4:16
“Indio” – 4:15
“Take Me Away” – 5:35 (Blue Öyster Cult cover) vinyl only bonus track
This was a great EP, ranking among some of the better examples of such a format in metal. I love the MAD-Magazine-esque cover artwork. I also loved the concept of this EP as a bit of a treat to tide the fans over during the excruciatingly long four year wait between albums. The five selections are all fun, performed competently, and sound like Skid Row. They also sound like a band who truly loves these songs and knows them backwards and forwards. It’s not quite as satisfying as you want it to be, as it’s only about 18 1/2 minutes long. (I mean hey, there’s a Ramones cover on here so there you go.) This is meant to be nothing more than a fun snack, and as such pay no more for this than you’d be willing to pay for any 18 minute CD.
Tracklist time!
1. “Psycho Therapy”
Bassist Rachel Bolan sings this Ramones-approved cover (backed by Faster Pussycat’s Taime Downe). It was chosen as the first single/video. Excellent cover, very authentic. So well received, it was even included on their Forty Seasons: The Best Of CD.
2. “C’Mon And Love Me”
Classic Kiss cover from Dressed To Kill! A great riffy Kiss song. Skid Row do it justice. It’s one of those solid, meat & potatoes rock songs that requires no frills, just some solid guitars. I think this is definitely one of my favourite Kiss covers ever.
3. “Delivering the Goods” (Live)
Featuring the Metal God himself, Rob Halford, in a duet with his buddy Baz! One thing that is immediately obvious is that Baz is absolutely pumped. But then again, he does state that he’s been waiting his whole life to share a stage with Halford. Great cover, very live sounding, mistakes and all. Still, “Delivering the Goods” is the weakest of these covers…yet it still blows away most bands.
4. “What You’re Doing”
Perhaps the best cover on the album. This is a first-album Rush cover. Back when Geddy was writing the lyrics, and before Rush were singing about how trees are talking to each other and how different sides of your brain works, or outerspace bullshit. It’s an absolutely ferocious, angry Skid Row cover with Baz paying tribute to his countrymen. Excellent, obscure choice and the only cover on the album that I hadn’t heard somebody else do before (or since).
5. “Little Wing”
A surprisingly great turn on the Hendrix classic. Very different from Jimi’s version (obviously), this sounds nonetheless authentic and classy. Of note, the Skids also did a live-in-the-studio version for the music video. I wish that version was released on a CD as well. Unlikely we’ll see that happen.
Covers records can be so very hit-or-miss, but this one is five hits. Battleship sunk. Just wish it wasn’t all over in 18 minutes.
DREAM THEATER: The Number of the Beast (2002 Ytsejam Records, Covers Series)
For the most part, Dream Theater is a band you either love or you hate. Some Metal fans are put off by the keyboards perhaps, while many others find Dream Theater hard to listen to because of the effeminate tone to the voice of singer James LaBrie. On the other hand, music fans who are not into the sensibilities of progressive music would label Dream Theater as “pretentious,” or which have you. Most music fans though can appreciate the musical talent of everyone involved. They are also a very busy unit, often branching out into different projects between DT albums and tours.
While still in the band, and then after his departure from DT in 2010, Mike Portnoy has been the busiest of all the DT members. So much so, that while researching to do this review of Dream Theater’s Official Bootleg: The Number of the Beast, I was blown away with how many projects Portnoy has been a part of that I truly love. Simply said, Mike Portnoy comes off as the biggest music fan in the music business. On top of his resume of original music, his obsessively accurate tribute projects can only be pulled off by someone who is an authentic “music geek super fan”. Sound familiar, LeBrain? So yes, this review has morphed itself into a bit of a Mike Portnoy love fest. Check out this list of his accomplishments outside of Dream Theater.
LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT – The two studio albums with John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess and Tony Levin are fantastic albums. Their self-titled CD is one of my favorite progressive rock albums. With three subsequent live albums with that lineup and two albums with a name change to Liquid Trio Experiment, that makes seven albums with the great Tony Levin alone.
TRANSATLANTIC – Four studio albums and four live albums with this Prog super group along with Roine Stolt (The Flower Kings), Neal Morse(Spock’s Beard, Flying Colors) and the bassist from one of my favorite bands…Marillion…Pete Trewavas.
AVENGED SEVENFOLD – After the death of their drummer, Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan, during the writing of a new album, Mike Portnoy stepped in and played drums on their 2010 CD titled Nightmare. He also joined them for a few shows over in Iran and Kuwait for American troops overseas.
ADRENALINE MOB – Two albums with this band consisting of members from Symphony X and Fozzy. I honestly do not think I have heard it so can’t say much really.
FLYING COLORS – One studio album and one live album playing with my favorite musician of all time… Steve Morse. Consisting of Neal Morse again and others, including the incredible Steve Morse Band bassist Dave LaRue. Maybe you should just read LeBrain’s review of this band right “here”.
WINERY DOGS – With a more straight ahead rock and roll approach, the Winery Dogs is his current gig with bassist Billy Sheehan and guitarist Richie Kotzen. [Check out Jon Wilmenius’ excellent review here — LeBrain]
And that’s just the original music he has been a part of. He has gone to great lengths to put together live shows recreating the concerts of, and playing the music of, his favorite drummers. He has arranged one for Led Zeppelin called Hammer of the Gods. He has also done one for Rush called Cygnus & the Sea Monsters. I actually learned about these while researching the review that I haven’t even got around to yet (yes this has become a much larger project than initially thought), so I am curious to search these out. You should be as well. The one I can comment on is his Beatles tribute called Yellow Matter Custard, named from a lyric within the song “I Am the Walrus”.
Consisting of Matt Bissonette, Paul Gilbert and Neal Morse and himself, this unit recreates what it would have been like to see The Beatles live. A lot of the songs were never played by the Beatles live. I listened to this with a good friend of mine who himself is a great musician and huge Beatles fan. Listening to it brought the Beatles super-fan out of him, most especially loving the somewhat obscure tracks performed live by the band. I highly recommend checking this out if you are a Beatles fan. So that pretty much means everyone.
I can’t believe I am now just starting the intended review, but here goes. In 2002, while touring for the album Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, Dream Theater went on a short club tour in Europe where they played a different album in its entirety, track for track. Among the albums covered in this tour were Master of Puppets – Metallica, Dark Side of the Moon – Pink Floyd and Made in Japan – Deep Purple. (Who covers a live album? And one of my favorite live albums of all time? Dream Theater does, that’s who).
On October 24, 2002 DT played a small club called La Mutualite in Paris, France. The album on the menu that night was The Number of the Beast by Iron Maiden. From the sound of the enthusiastic crowd you can clearly hear throughout the album, this was a well-appreciated re-creation of one of the greatest Metal albums of all time.
The show starts off with album opener “Invaders”. My first impression was how great it sounded. Lively version and a thick guitar sound. Another thing I quickly realized is this: say what you want about James LaBrie and his effeminate style. Not many singers, including Bruce Dickinson himself can sing these songs live. I have seen Iron Maiden play several of these songs live, and even in a reduced key it is a struggle for Dickinson to sing the songs how they are recorded on the album. The opening track just left me looking forward to the rest of the set.
“Children of the Damned” was a joy to listen to, again mostly because of the vocals. This is probably his best singing on the album. Bruce Dickinson would have to get himself on a Lance Armstrong-like drug program to ever have a chance of singing this song in this key again. This song is also where I first really noted one of the truly great and original things about this album. Iron Maiden is a classic two-guitar fueled machine. DT is doing this with one guitar and a keyboard. Check out the twin guitar/keyboard solo in this song and hear throughout as the guitar and keyboard trade solos. A magnificent treat for the ears and surprisingly seamlessly done.
The crowd revs up as the classic Patrick McGoohan intro to “The Prisoner” plays as it is on the album. Chanting along with the intro just before Portnoy launches into the classic Clive Burr drum beat, this makes for a great listen, hearing the energy of the crowd and their appreciation of this show. Awesome version as well I must say.
“22 Acacia Avenue” is another track that is a treat to hear live. Live favorites “The Number of the Beast” and “Run to the Hills” follow. These two Heavy Metal anthems go over with the crowd extremely well as you would think they would. A case could be made that these back to back songs are the two most popular Iron Maiden songs of all time. Agreed? Discuss….
Coming next is their amazing version of “Gangland”. This is easily the most ambitious moment of the show. Kind of making the song their own, they begin the song off as a piano ballad and then make a left turn and turn it into a progressive, almost jazz fusion-ish groove as the song closes out. Absolutely brilliant and is probably my favorite track on the album. The show ends with a perfect version of “Hallowed Be Thy Name”, and the performance is over.
This is not just re-hashing of a great album. This was a well thought out and rehearsed celebration of this album, allowing true Maiden fans to hear what these songs may have sounded like when the album was toured in the 80’s. A friend of mine scoffed at the idea of DT covering this album and I may have shared some of his trepidation before I heard this recording. After listening to it now several times it has become obvious that this is not only a very relevant capturing of Number of the Beast, but it makes a very simple statement. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the players in Dream Theater have a higher level of musicianship than really any of their peers in popular music. And as listed earlier, it seems that everything Mike Portnoy does comes from the heart of just another music fan like you and I. So who is gonna come along and play one of Dream Theater’s albums track for track? Well Dream Theater of course. Who else possibly could? Good luck with that, Three Days Grace.
mikeladano.com 