There was a time when I’d buy any “supergroup” with members that I knew. Impellitteri had three: Graham Bonnet (Rainbow – vocals), Chuck Wright (Quiet Riot – bass) and Pat Torpey (Mr. Big – drums). This release on Relativity records is basically a showcase for guitarist Chris Impellitteri, and unfortunately that’s exactly what it sounds like. In the credits, Chris states “I promise that my guitar solos will only get faster”. That should tell you everything you need to know about Stand in Line.
Sounding indistinguishable from an Yngwie album, the title track goes first. It boasts some pretty mean Graham Bonnet vocals, but the song sounds exactly like Malmsteen to a “tee”. And it’s one of the best songs. The star is actually Pat Torpey (rest in peace, rock soldier) who rarely got to drum so heavy.
A couple misguided covers don’t do this album any favours. The new version of “Since You Been Gone” metalizes the Rainbow original, and it can’t stand up under the weight. (Interesting note: this track features Randy Rand from Autograph on bass.) It’s too stiff, too schooled, too…supergroup-y. Same with “Over the Rainbow”, which has some beautiful runs, but is otherwise overplayed. Squealing solos don’t compensate for Ritchie Blackmore, or a tight band.
Highlights: “Stand In Line”, “Tonight I Fly”. Turds: “White and Perfect”, a song about colonialism!
Credit where it’s due: Chuck Wright plays some unison lines in sync with Chris Impellitteri, showing off abilities that he doesn’t often exploit. Likewise with Pat Torpey. Unfortunately Stand in Line is too generic (if you can call “Yngwie” an actual genre), and there’s already one neo-classical shredder on the top of the pile. Impellitteri spices his playing up with some Van Halen-esque tricks, but all I can hear is Yngwie, and you will too, right down to the production. Most of the pleasure derived from this album is courtesy of Graham Bonnet, but chances are you already own this if you’re a Bonnet obsessive-compulsive!
2/5 stars
Side note: This CD was salvaged by me, as it had been close to ruined by a house fire! Somebody sold me his stinky CD collection, many of which were scorched. The smell (burned paper and plastic) was unholy. This was one of the lesser-destroyed albums, but you can still see some browning on the top edge of the inside cover, where the smoke and heat got to it. With a lot of effort and gentle cleaning products, I eliminated of the smell and most of the stains.
Of Extreme’s five studio albums, there can be little doubt that Extreme III is the most ambitious. It is a sprawling set over 80 minutes in length; too long for a single CD. So long that only the cassette version has all 15 tracks in one place. In contains three distinct sides, each different from the other, countless styles, and an orchestra. Extreme took what made them popular on the last album, and what was currently going on with grunge rock, and tossed it all out the window. They followed their own direction and were not rewarded with sales, but something more important: a masterpiece.
The first “side” (keep in mind this is a CD) is subtitled “Yours” and consists of rockers both hard and funky. After a comedic intro, “Warheads” annihilates the speakers. A short choppy riff blows in, tempo opened up wide. Gary Cherone tries to keep his messages entertaining, and this anti-war anthem has a pretty obvious message. Nuno Bettencourt joins him for the choruses and breaks for a cool neo-classical solo. The same message carries over into the first single “Rest in Peace”, introduced by a string quartet playing the song’s melody before Nuno kicks it with a funky riff. During the solo, Nuno even quotes Jim Hendrix. “Rest in Peace” was not an immediate single, it takes some growing. This is true of the whole album. There is a lot going on. Even that little Hendrix lick — blink and you’ll miss it, but it’s there making the solo that much cooler. It is worth mentioning that Extreme did a fantastic video for “Rest in Peace” based on a 1952 National Film Board of Canada short called “Neighbours”. This wordless film served as the blueprint, but as a result they got sued and had to change it.
Gary Cherone loves creating his own portmanteaus (“Americocaine”, “Pornograffitti”), so “Politicalamity” is the title of the third track. It’s a wah-wah soaked funky rocker with fully-loaded horns making their first album appearance, in the tradition of “Get the Funk Out”. Lyrically it continues the anti-war theme dominating the first side, and also social injustice, but in a fun catchy style. “Rich and poor, salute your country’s colours. Less is more, When one oppresses the other.” That was 1992; I wonder what Gary would have to say about today? Racial equality dominates “Color Me Blind”, one of the hardest rockers on the side. “I had a dream last night, I was blind, and I couldn’t see colour of any kind.” It is possible that the lyrical tone of the album turned off some old fans, though Gary keeps things from getting preachy.
“Cupid’s Dead” is the only song on the first side without a serious message. This rap-rock hybrid features a guest rapper (John Preziosa Jr.) and a chugging, funky riff. Hard rock bands who incorporated rapping were seldom successful, but Extreme dodged this bullet. “Cupid’s Dead” is good enough that is was recently dusted off for the Pornograffitti Live 25 tour. Drummer Paul Geary and bassist Pat Badger keep the funk rolling in heavy fashion. The side-ending “Peacemaker Die” features Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech, surely some of the most powerful words in American history. It is difficult to not get the chills when Dr. King speaks, framed in this excellent funk rock lament.
Take a moment’s break here and pretend you’re flipping a record. Side two is subtitled “Mine” as a contrast to “Yours” for side one. “Mine” consists of six ballads, but only five are on the CD due to the 80 minute time restriction. Nuno expressed regret that the sixth track didn’t fit and hoped one day a 2 CD edition would be released. Still hoping!
“Seven Sundays” is a romantic song, a piano ballad with Gary in falsetto mode. Nuno adds synth strings for textures. “If I had one wish, it wouldn’t be hard to choose. Seven Sundays in a row, because that’s the day that I spend with you.” Quite a turn from “Cupid’s Dead”, but that’s why it’s on another side. “Tragic Comic” was the natural successor to the hits on Extreme II, a fun acoustic track with a “Hole Hearted” beat. The lyrics are clever comedy and the track was selected as a single. Many will identify with the hapless romantic, the titular stut-tut-tuttering p-poet. “And when we dine, I forget to push in your seat. I wear the wine, spillin’ it all over my sleeves.” Been there done that Gary! The lighthearted song is a delightful contrast to the darker material on side one.
Van Halen-style volume swells make up the intro guitar melody of “Our Father”, an electric power ballad with some stunning six-string mastery. “Stop the World” was chosen as a single, a light melancholy ballad reminding us that if we forget history we are bound to repeat it. These serious songs were not destined to repeat the big singles of albums past. When you play these songs, you feel things and you think things, and not everybody wants music to do that to them. Nuno’s solo on “Stop the World” is warm, immaculate perfection. “Stop the World” merges directly into “God Isn’t Dead?” (except in single form of course). “God Isn’t Dead?” is the darkest spot yet, quiet and painfully plaintive. Piano and orchestra paint a stark picture.
The final song on the side, and a hint of the daybreak ahead, is “Don’t Leave Me Alone”, which is only on the cassette version. Fear not however; it can be found in CD form on CD singles. Just rip everything to your computer and slide “Don’t Leave Me Alone” into the correction position in the running order. It belongs here at the end of the “Mine” side. It deliberately ends it on a brighter note than “God Isn’t Dead?” though it is still far from a good-time ballad. It is dusky lament, but with hints of light in the tunnel. Nuno’s moog solo is a treat.
At 12 songs, the “Yours” and “Mine” sides would make a complete album on their own, and it would still be an ambitious project at that. Regardless, the third side titled “& the Truth” is the most industrious of them all, an eager fulfillment of talents bursting at the seams. III Sides to Every Story…”Yours”, “Mine”, “& the Truth”. This time, the side is made up of one massive 22 minute song called “Everything Under the Sun”. It in turn is subdivided into three parts. This is where the orchestra really comes into play.
Part I, “Rise ‘n Shine” is the sunrise after the blackness of the second side. Gentle acoustics rouse you from your slumber, and Nuno takes the first verse of this duet. Gary follows on the second as the orchestra swells. “Rise ‘n Shine” is the most hopeful sounding music on the album, a bright and steady composition brilliantly structured. Daniel and his dreams may be a Biblical reference but they don’t have to be. A brief interlude foreshadows the melody of Part III, but first is Part II, “Am I Ever Gonna Change”. This section was chopped out and used as an individual song live and on compilations. You can hear why, since it has that echoey Van Halen guitar lick and a powerful nut-kicking chorus. The orchestra returns and it’s Extreme at full power. This eventually fades into the quiet start of Part III, “Who Cares?”. Inaudible voices whisper during a piano passage, and then the orchestra returns at maximum. Biblical overtones: “Tell me Jesus, are you angry? One more sheep has just gone astray.” Nuno’s singing is run through a vocoder giving him a computerized voice. Some might think it sounds like The Elder gone wrong, but that would be selling “Who Cares?” short. Finally Nuno breaks out of the circuit boards and come in at full voice for the final choruses. The melodies from “Rise n’ Shine” and “Am I Ever Gonna Change” are reprised as the epic piece finally comes to a close.
There is little debate that “Everything Under the Sun” is the grandest thing Extreme have attempted in the studio. It was a successful experiment, as it remains interesting and engaging through its entire 22 minute length. You cannot say that for every Rush song of that nature.
Unfortunately for Extreme, the timing was all wrong, and this album soon found its way in bargain bins at cut rate prices. The good news is that means you can get a copy yourself for next to nothing. Try also to track down copies of the “Stop the World” or “Tragic Comic” singles, in order to get the full package. They are plentiful on sites such as Discogs, and it’s important to hear the album at its full complete length. III Sides to Every Story is an unsung hard rock masterwork, and if you want some softer rock songs with lots of brains and a huge heart, give it a shot.
EXTREME – Saudades de Rock(2008 Frontiers in Europe, Victor in Japan, with exclusive bonus tracks)
Extreme were one of those bands that always seemed to resist reuniting. Nuno didn’t seem interested, or was too busy with Perry Farrell and Rihanna. When they finally did get the band back together, they did it right with a few tours and a new album to prove they still had the goods. 2008’s Saudades de Rock (Portuguese for “Nostalgic Yearnings of Rock”) earned positive reviews from rock critics. It did moderate sales but the important thing was that it was good.
Immediately “Star” reminds us why Extreme were special in the first place: Those harmonies, the good time Halen-inspired riffs, the kick-ass singer and a solid beat. Gary Cherone’s voice has aged well, coming over as a cross between Sammy Hagar, Freddie Mercury and Paul Stanley (good company to be in). This song best exemplifies the “nostalgic yearnings of rock”, as the arrangement could have come from 1990. Extensive (jaw-dropping) solos and a big chorus immediately remind us why this band was so critically acclaimed 25 years ago.
It’s not all longing for days gone by. “Comfortably Dumb” concentrates its focus on the groove, like a bizarre cross between Soundgarden and the Trews. The space-age guitar work by Nuno Bettencourt separates it from anyone else. His style has matured nicely but still makes you wonder just how the hell he does it. His machine-gun guitar riff on “Learn to Love” does the same. It’s not all trickery: these are also great compositions, with challenging rock arrangements. Time changes and flurries of notes keep it interesting. The middle section gives all the members a little time to shine including new drummer Kevin Figueiredo.
The first knuckleball is thrown on “Take Us Alive”, a genuine electric bluegrass shuffle. Remember Extreme always prided themselves in their diversity, modeling themselves after Queen who were unafraid to do anything. “Take Us Alive” is a new step for Extreme who have never gone this twangy. Unsurprisingly they mastered this direction too. A saucy funk rocker called “Run” goes in another direction, akin to Queen’s own funky experiments, just heavier. Like Queen, Extreme topped it with a fine melodic chorus, but stay tuned for a superb outro.
“Last Hour” is not a ballad; more of a heavy dirge. Nuno takes a quiet solo full of volume swells before going full shred. He then rips a page from the book of his solo album with the punky “Flower Man” (I say “punky” rather than “punk” since few genuine punk songs have a blazing Nuno Bettencourt guitar solo). “King of the Ladies” is something else entirely, featuring Nuno on lead vocals. It’s trippy, slinky, drony, modern and sultry with smoking instrumental sections and sounds like nothing else you can think of. Few bands can take so many directions on one album and have it sound like a cohesive whole.
Every Extreme album has at least one ballad, and “Ghost” is a wonderful continuation of this tradition. With the focus on the piano, it’s a reprieve in the relentless guitar assault that makes up the majority of Saudades de Rock. You have heard this sound before on albums like Extreme III. We then visit the Houses of the Holy with “Slide” which possesses the unmistakable Zeppelin funk. You’ll be wondering, where’s that confounded bridge? The riff is a wink and a nod to “Sweet Emotion” and there is definitely some of that Aero-groove mixed with the Zoso Magic.
An acoustic reprieve is offered with “Interface”, a floaty ballad that fits this leg of the running order. It merges into the funk-Halen of “Sunrise”, a nice heavy track before “Peace (Saudades)” takes us out on a dreamy, Queen-like ballad. Yes that’s a lot of ballads late in the game and on paper it shouldn’t work. It does because Extreme are consummate balladeers (each one being different) and successful composers of album-length works with a start, middle and ending. “Peace” is a triumph and uplifting finale.
There are two bonus tracks available at the end of different versions of Saudades de Rock. Both are old demos from the vaults, ancient relics of a pre-fame Extreme. It’s a cool idea to release old unheard songs as bonus tracks, though unorthodox. “Mr. Bates” (1986) is exclusive to Japan only. It’s something like seeing old baby photos, or highschool yearbook grad pictures. You wince and think “Well, they were young.” Even so young, Nuno obviously had more talent than the average bear. Europe got the better song “Americocaine” (1985), which shows off that blend of Gary and Nuno’s voices that, one day, would earn them millions. You could imagine “Americocaine” showing up at the end credits of a minor 80s action movie.
Extreme played to their strengths, didn’t try to repeat anything from the past, while giving fans exactly the kind of album they needed. The bonus tracks don’t fit, but who says a “bonus track” has to fit? These are bonuses in the truest sense. Rare little treats you can’t find anywhere else. Any fan of the 1989 debut album Extreme will love them, because that is the era they resemble.
EXTREME – Pornograffitti Live 25 (2016 Victor Japan 2 CD set)
When you hear that an album like Pornograffitti (which defined one of our teenage summers) turned 25 last year, don’t it make you feel old? Maybe you haven’t played it in a while. (If you haven’t, here is a refresher course.) It was one of those discs that had appealing songs from start to finish, each different from the last. All 13 songs (14 if you include the solo “Flight of the Wounded Bumblebee”) are reproduced in sequence on this new live CD release, fresh from a hot show in Vegas in 2015. You can buy a blu-ray or DVD of the concert too, but CD collectors will want to spring for this Japanese double set. On a second disc you get “Play With Me” (given more exposure in the movie Air Guitar Nation) and “Cupid’s Dead”, normally exclusive to the video version. The total package is close to an hour and a half of some of Extreme’s best songs. The Japanese printing also has its own cover art, though no other exclusives.
The familiar taped intro of rain and piano inaugurates the “funked-up fairy tail” that is Pornograffitti. “Trying so hard to keep up with the Joneses!” begins Gary and and the Vegas crowd knows all the words. With Nuno Bettencourt and Pat Badger helping out, the Extreme vocals are nice and thick live. The sound is beefy goodness, wound up in electric guitar strings. Kicking it on drums, Kevin Figueiredo keeps things pretty close to the way original drummer Paul Geary did it. “Decadence Dance” is sincerely good nostalgia.
Following the vague storyline of the original album, “Lil’ Jack Horny” shows up amidst shimmery guitar harmonics and a funky lil’ riff. The horn parts (tapes?) jack up the funky little guitar number, which carries over to “When I’m President”. Nuno squeaks and squonks while Gary waxes poetic. “So go ask Alice, ah you know what he said? What did he say — remember, I wanna be elected?” Maybe one day Gary, because it is indeed true: just about anyone can be president! Cherone promises that things’ll be different. You can even be in his cabinet!
The funk peaks (obviously) on “Get the Funk Out” which remains as silly and fun as it was 15 years ago. (Listen for a little bit of a lyrical modernization from Nuno!) It’s pure live smoke only slowed down by the obligatory audience participation section. This appropriately segues into “More Than Words”, which is slightly more than a singalong. Stripped naked of the loud guitars, Nuno and Gary can still harmonize as clean and perfect as they always have.
“Money” resumes the rock, as Gary bemoans the modern worship of the almighty dollar. Nimbly killing it on both guitar and harmonies, Nuno Bettencourt is a super hero. He does it again on “It (‘s a Monster)”, a stock album track that goes from point A to point B at top speed. Some real gems start showing up a in steady string from there. “Pornograffitti” possesses some serious funk metal riffage and guitar tricks, performed at an unbelievable level of rock supremacy. Then it is time for the slow jazz lounge croon “When I First Kissed You”. Piano flourishes and Figueiredo on brushes lend it a really pretty dusky sound.
“And now back to our regularly scheduled program!” shouts Gary as Extreme once again puts on their rock and roll shoes. It’s time for “Suzi (Wants Her All Day What?)”, another funky rock combo. Nuno plays some of the fastest licks ever attempted, but that is mere warm-up, for next is “Flight of the Wounded Bumblebee”, the legendary guitar instrumental that re-defined the guitar instrumental for a short while. There is no time to recover because it’s straight into “He-Man Woman Hater”. This Van Halen-like blast contains some of Nuno’s finest fret abuse.
Pornograffitti was also a little different, and one aspect of that is that it ended with two ballads. Historically that has been demonstrated as a risky way to end an album, but Extreme pulled it off by using two that were different from any of the others on the CD. “Song For Love” was a big pompous Queen-like anthem, and you can all but see the lighters and cell phones waving in the air. “Hole Hearted” was the memorable acoustic closing number, great for campfires and rock concerts alike. Live is just as solid as the studio original.
Onto to the Japanese bonus CD with its two bonus tracks. “Play With Me” has always been a bit of a novelty, but notable for its sheer velocity and Mozart-a-go-go guitar dexterity. Few players have chops like these. “Cupid’s Dead” is a set highlight – heavy, funky and progressive at times. Extreme III deserves as much praise as Extreme II: Pornograffitti so it is quite pleasing to have this adventurous track close.
Bravo to Extreme for making this trip back in time a real treat.
MARK ST. JOHN – Magic Bullet Theory (2003 Loch Ness Monster Records)
Mark St. John (1956-2007) is best remembered as the lead guitarist on Kiss’ 1984 Animalize album. He was however much more than just a Kiss guitarist. His exotic shredding was the basis of an instrumental solo album, Magic Bullet Theory. Thanks Lemon Kurri for hooking me up with this CD.
“AWOL” blasts the doors open wide: high-octane tempo, high-speed shred, high-tech tricks. There are Yngwie-like moments, Van Halen harmonics but also enough melody and song structure to keep it interesting. Mark’s solos feature a number of different sounds and styles. Intricate flamenco and electric guitars open the title track “Magic Bullet Theory”. Then it turns into a melodic instrumental with lead guitar center stage. Next, out of left-field comes the jazz workout of “Bourbon Street”. This delicate number features non-stop jazz guitar shredding, full speed ahead, which some will find to be just too much to absorb. “Too many notes,” some might say. I am not one who would say that.
It’s back to instrumental heavy metal with “Slave Driver”, which reminds me of Yngwie’s “Leviathan”. “Utopian Trip” is more laid back, and I can hear mandolin on this one. Mark lays a blistering lead guitar line over the largely acoustic track. “Communicator” offers plenty more shred, perhaps resembling the high pitched screech of some 60’s sci-fi communication device. “Baghdad” has guitars that sound like air raid sirens, certainly appropriate given the title. But the song itself is Arabic is style, with a lot of very complicated acoustic guitars.
“Wait No More” is more melodic instrumental hard rock, but with complex rhythms and tricks aplenty. “Between the Lines” is ballad-like, with layers of shimmering guitars,until the song gives way to a nice rock riff. This is of course accentuated by plenty of lead and melody guitars. Finally “The Lone Gunman” closes the album on a heavy note. (Notice how this title ties in with “Magic Bullet Theory”.) The is a riffy track, which frankly the album could have used more of. It’s also the longest song on the album, and probably the most epic emotionally.
Although Magic Bullet Theory is not as song-oriented as I prefer instrumental albums to be, it has plenty of memorable moments and tracks. It certainly shows off the talent that Mark had, that the world doesn’t know enough about. Magic Bullet Theory comes recommended to all dyed-in-the-wool Kiss fans, and those who enjoy intelligent shreddery.
3/5 stars
…But wait, it’s not over! After a five minute silence is an unlisted classical guitar rough recording, melodically lovely and astonishingly fast! A nice coda.
1990: Everybody was buzzing about the sophomore album by Boston’s Extreme, and their stellar lead guitarist Nuno Bettencourt. Extreme II: Pornograffitti (“A Funked Up Fairytale”) is one of the last great hair metal albums of the era. It is chock full of diverse songs, great playing, great writing, and adventurous arrangements. Big kudos must of course go to Nuno whose guitar playing is at once tasteful and (pardon the pun) extreme. Not to be outshone is lead vocalist Gary Cherone who was at his peak here.
A loose (very loose) concept album, Extreme II commences with atmospheric rainfall, which introduces us to “Francis”: our protagonist and the kid on the front cover. The crashing licks of “Decadence Dance”, the first single, interrupts this moment. Gary’s lyrics are witty and Nuno’s fingers nimble. The song kills.
There is a wide swath of styles covered on Extreme II. Obviously funk is a big one (“Get the Funk Out” with a blazing horn section, “When I’m President”, the title track.) Of course there are the landmark acoustic ballads “More Than Words”, “Song For Love” and “Hole Hearted”. The cool thing about this trio of singles is that all three ballads are different. None of them share the same style as well. “Hole Hearted” is more a campfire rock song than a ballad anyway. While “More Than Words” is now considered the prototypical acoustic ballad, it must be remembered that when it came out, it was unlike most. It contains no drums and only one acoustic guitar. Gary Cherone’s vocals merge harmoniously with Nuno’s creating this lullaby effect.
Other interesting songs include the lounge tune, “When I First Kissed You”. I once read Nuno saying that his inspirations were Queen and Prince, artists who were fearless to include different styles on their albums. Meanwhile, “Flight of the Wounded Bumblebee” contains some of the greatest and fastest guitar soloing of any era. It doesn’t get much more diverse than this withoug losing coherance, but Extreme II holds together as a concept and an album.
The album is filled out with killer hard rockers: Songs like “Suzy Wants Her All-Day Sucker” and “He-Man Woman Hater” are some of the catchiest rock songs this side of Aerosmith, but are tricky enough to keep your interest peaked. By the time the album ends, you’ll be exhausted from rocking out so much, but you’ll still want to start over again from the beginning. The album appears to be designed that way, since it closes with the same rain and thunder.
This is a must-own classic for any hard rock fan who likes it smart.
5/5 stars
Once you absorb this album, you have to pick up the following companion pieces:
1. The “More Than Words” and “Hole Hearted” singles, which contained different remixes of “More Than Words”, one being A Capella with congas.
2. The “Song For Love” single, the B-side of which was Extreme’s amazing cover of Queen’s “Love of my Life”. Incredible cover, which was designed to segue into “More Than Words”. They did it this way when played live, as they did at the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert.
3.The Guitars The Rule the World (the first one, not Vol 2). This has a Nuno Bettencourt electric blues instrumental called “Bumble Bee (Crash Landing)”. This is the second part to “Flight of the Wounded Bumble Bee”, which on the album was trimmed down to exclude the “Crash Landing” portion. When I recently ripped this album to my computer, I used Audacity to recreate the original complete “Bumble Bee” track. I dropped the file into the correct place on the album to create an “unedited” Pornograffitti experience. It was kind of cool how it worked, segueing into “He-Man Woman Hater”.
Today, the album. Tomorrow, the singles! Yes it’s a two-part Mr. Big feature! Happy long weekend, hope you’re partying safely!
MR. BIG – Lean Into It (1991 Atlantic)
Yeah yeah yeah…”To Be With You”! As Mr. Big said themselves on a later album, “Get over it”!
I’ve always considered Mr. Big to be more shred-lite than glam metal or pop metal. After all, with credentials like these…Talas…Racer X…Impelliteri…these guys know how to play. Eric Martin is a unique blue-eyed-soul singer, one of a kind, absolutely brilliant. Martin and the band also know how to write catchy hard rock tunes. Combine that with their playing pedigree and adventurous arrangements, and I’ll call ’em shred-lite if you let me. And this is a pretty damn good album for rockers who want just a touch of integrity in their pop.
The opener kicks you right in the nuts with one of the best Big tunes ever, “Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song)” (whew). The album starts with an adrenaline rush straight to the head. Why the “Electric Drill Song”? Because it opens with the sound of Paul Gilbert and Billy Sheehan playing their instruments with electric drills with guitar picks glued to the bit! In unison? Basically spoofing the whole “How fast can you play?” question, Big’s creativity make this speed rocker a standout.
“Alive and Kickin'” is nothing more than a hard rocker with soulful vocal and killer chorus, but “Green-Tinted Sixties Mind” is classy and cool. Pure pop with an incredible retro melody and adventurous guitar arrangement, this first single went tragically ignored. I don’t remember it getting much airplay though it deserved it. I’m not sure if the world of 1991 would have accepted a song like this from a hard rock band.
“CDFF – Lucky This Time” is another weird title. See, “CDFF” stands for CD Fast Forward which is the sound you’re hearing at the opening of this rather ordinary ballad. The only thing really oustanding about this song is Billy’s rumbling bass groove. The guy doesn’t sound like anybody else, and he raises the song to another level. “CDFF” is followed by the cool and swampy “Voodoo Kiss”, which ended side 1 of the original album.
Side 2 kicked off with another pop rocker, “Never Say Never”, co-written by Canada’s own Jim Vallance. Catchy but non-descript. “Just Take My Heart” is the second ballad, and a forgettable song to me. “My Kinda Woman” kicks the adrenaline back in. Yet it is Paul Gilbert’s “A Little Too Loose” that rekindles the creative fires on this album. Bluesy and fun, this was one of the high points of this record. “Road To Ruin” shows off the vocal harmonies of the guys, all good singers in their own right. It’s another creative arrangement. Then, of course, the album ends with “To Be With You” which, hard to believe, was actually a really creative song too! Before it got played to death. Now, it’s the typical rock ballad, but at the time of release, it was very different from the kind of ballads that other bands were putting out, except possibly Extreme. It has a sparse, vocal-oriented arrangement, an acoustic guitar solo, and no drums to speak of.
Tomorrow we’ll be talking about two singles from this album “Green-Tinted Sixties Mind”, and “To Be With You” itself, both of which have worthwhile rare songs!
RICHIE KOTZEN – Electric Joy by Richie Kotzen (1991 Shrapnel)
Albums by Richie Kotzen were impossible to find in Canada. My only exposure to his music was “Dream of a New Day”, from his second album Fever Dream. Fever Dream was his first vocal album, but Kotzen returned to instrumentals on his third, Electric Joy. I’d seen his picture in dozens of guitar magazines, but hadn’t heard his tunes until “Dream of a New Day” was included on the Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey soundtrack.
His debut album was a hit with the shredders, but three albums in, Kotzen had already delivered three completely different pieces of work. Electric Joy has some of the playfulness of the debut, but is mostly a jaw-dropping collection of intricately composed pieces that skirt multiple genres including funk, country, bluegrass, jazz, fusion, and blues. If I had to pick out an influence, I would say that Electric Joy sounds like Richie had been listening to a lot of the “two Steves”: Vai and Morse. His technique is top-notch.
I first got this on a trip to Frankenmuth, Michigan. My parents made a point of going there every spring and I started tagging along, and then later on my friend Peter joined us as well. We’d stay at the Bavarian Inn and on the way back to Ontario, we’d stop at the stores in Port Huron, where I found this as well as old rare Savatage cassettes.
“B Funk” opens the album with some light-speed bluegrass-y licks, but it keeps changing, from a funked up rocker with shredding, to a melodic “chorus” section. Then it’s back to the bluegrass from space.
At this point I’ll point out that Kotzen plays all the instruments except drums, himself. That’s Richie’s standby Atma Anur on drums. What this means is, that incredibly dexterous bassline you’re hearing on “B Funk” is also performed by Kotzen! And it’s almost every bit as stunning as the guitar!
“Electric Toy” begins ballady, with some lyrical Vai-like moments. Of course, Kotzen can’t help but do what he does, so there are different sections, some at lickity-split tempos. This is followed by “Shufina”, which is essentially a blues jam. Kotzen’s deep bends are appropriate, but before too long he’s harmonizing with himself on some unconventional melodies.
A smoking hot riff ignites “Acid Lips”, little lightning licks flicker in and out, but this one has a solid groove. (It can’t be easy grooving with yourself on bass.) “Slow Blues” contains some of Richie’s most lyrical lead work. If you can imagine the lead guitar taking on the role of a singer, then “Slow Blues” is probably the most accessible song on the album.
The next song “High Wire” is uncatagorizable, suffice to say that like all of Electric Joy it combines quirky notes with shreddery, funk and groove. My favourite song is “Dr. Glee”. It sounds like it seems it should – gleeful. I find this pleasant melody to be very summery. Kotzen guitar has so many different sounds and shades, even just within this one song.
“Hot Rails” is another one that sounds like advertized…a train racing down the track. Kotzen’s slide work is anything but simple. This one’s so fast it’s hard to keep track of all the cool different guitar parts. It almost sounds like Kotzen wrote a blues shuffle, and then decided to hit fast forward on his tape deck and learn it at that speed!
Electric Joy closes with “The Deece Song”, which thankfully is mid-tempo allowing us to catch our collective breath. It’s another great performance, similar in style to “Dr. Glee”. It has its sweeping Satriani moments as well.
The production on the album is very dry, which is different from what a lot of the other instrumentalists were doing at the time. While this means it might take some more time to penetrate an album that is loaded to the brim with dense ideas already, it is a worthwhile endevour.
In a bizarre turn of events, Kotzen briefly put his solo career on hold. He received a phone call from Bret Michaels. The Poison frontman was looking for a replacement for the departed CC Deville. The fact that Kotzen was from Pennsylvania, not already in a band, and wrote and sang original material caught Michaels’ eye in a magazine article. Having a shredder, but one with some feel too, might garner Poison some respect in the tough 1990’s.
Kotzen did succeed in co-writing (and in some cases, writing entire songs himself) their most accomplished album, Native Tongue. Of course, it did not sell. The Poison relationship imploded because of another relationship: the one that Kotzen was secretly having with drummer Rikki Rockett’s fiance! Kotzen eventually married her, and he was replaced in Poison by another shredder, Blues Saraceno (who was in the running with Kotzen in the first place).
IMPELLITTERI – Stand In Line (1988 Relativity)
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