singles

GALLERY: 7 New Japanese Imports!

For those who often find themselves victims of mail theft, having parcels sent from Japan is a risky and anxiety-inducing activity.  You cannot have parcels shipped by regular mail, only courier, and dealing with DHL is a nightmare.  Fortunately, Jen happened to be home when DHL delivered the parcel on the wrong day when I was not.

I unboxed these Japanese import CDs on Friday February 3’s episode with my good friend MarriedAndHeels.  I didn’t spend a heck of a lot of time going through them, so here is a closer look at each!

D-A-D – Osaka After Dark (1990 live EP)

 

EXTREME – Extragraffitti (1990 EP)

 

EXTREME – Waiting For the Punchline (1995 Japanese version with “Fair Weather Faith”)

 

AEROSMITH – Vacation Club (1988 EP)

 

LOUDNESS – Slap In the Face (1991 EP)

 

BON JOVI – I Believe – Live At Milton Keynes – September 93 (1993 EP)

 

BON JOVI – Hey God (2 CD Japanese singles)

 

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REVIEW: Helix – “Don’t Get Mad Get Even” (7″ single)

HELIX – “Don’t Get Mad Get Even” (1981 Capitol Records 7″ single)

Here’s a rarity for you, with a picture sleeve, even!  “Don’t Get Mad Get Even” is one of Helix’s least-known singles.  As a No Rest for the Wicked track, it has always been overshadowed by “Heavy Metal Love”.  I saw the music video, which was filmed at the same time as “Heavy Metal Love”, just once.  You never heard it on the radio.  It’s only on one (out of print) Helix “best of” CD appropriately titled Deep Cuts.  It wasn’t even on Over 60 Minutes With…, which focused on this period from Capitol Records.  In short, it’s a forgotten track except among the faithful.

Written by Lisa Dalbello and Tim Thorney, “Don’t Get Mad Get Even” boasts dual strengths. First there is the guitar hook, as tasty as any on classic rock radio today. Second is the chorus, an exceptional one at that, the kind Helix are good at. Powerful, melodic, emphatic and rebellious! Add in some cool solo work and what you have is a lost Helix classic. It’s truly a gem that deserves another listen from strangers and fans alike.

Interestingly enough, in 1982 “Don’t Get Mad Get Even” was recorded by Canadian rock singer Lydia Taylor (1983’s Most Promising Female Vocalist at the Juno Awards).

The B-side, “Check Out the Love” (credited to Helix as a band) is a little more well known than the A-side.  It was on both Over 60 Minutes With… and a live album recorded in Buffalo, NY.  I’ve probably heard ’em play it live on one of the many times I’ve seen Helix since 1987.  One way or another, this is a solid Helix banger with a dirty guitar hook.  The guitars on this song are just lethal, whether soloing or sliding.  Brian Vollmer’s vocals are melodic with grit.  It’s just the kind of song Helix are known for.  Rough n’ tough, but memorable.

The picture sleeve is an added bonus.  On the front, back row, that’s Greg “Fritz” Hinz, Brian Vollmer and Mike Uzelac.  In the front, the guitar duo of Paul Hackman and Brent “The Doctor” Doerner.  Every kid on our street thought Doctor Doerner was the coolest.  You can see why — he just that “look”.

Thanks to pal Craig Fee for locating this and many other Helix singles for me.

5/5 stars

 

7 Inches: LeBrain’s Singles Collection Show

Tons of fun tonight as I went through my two boxes of 7″ singles!  Some dated back to the 1970s (“Smoke on the Water”, “Christine Sixteen”).   A large number (Def Leppard!) came from my vinyl collecting days in the 80s.  Most are from the 1990s to present.

This was, truthfully, one of the most fun shows ever for me!  I got to rediscover a bunch of records that I haven’t looked at in a long time, and show them all to you!  This is 98% of my 7″ singles collection, not including records that came inside box sets or magazines, which are filed in different places.  This is simply the contents of two boxes of my records, and it took a solid 90 minutes to get through them all!

There was also a special unboxing from Aaron, and some mail from Sean Kelly!  What?!  Check them out below on the LeBrain Train!

 

My 7″ Singles Collection – Show & Tell Show

The LeBrain Train: 2000 Words or More with Mike Ladano

Episode 94 – My 7″ Singles Collection

Just a simple, one hour show tonight as we go through my 7″ vinyl, record by record!

We took a glance at some favourite singles in the past, but that was when I was only able to do Facebook Live.  There have been some new additions since then.  You’ll see some surprises and even a record or two that I have not yet listened to.

There will also be a special unboxing from Aaron, and some mail from Sean Kelly!  What?!  Don’t miss this.  Check them out tonight on the LeBrain Train!

 

REVIEW: Triumph – “Spellbound” (1984 special promo 12″)

TRIUMPH – “Spellbound” (1984 MCA 12″ radio promo disc)

1984’s Thunder Seven was a big one in Canada, with “Spellbound” and “Follow Your Heart” both hitting the top 100 singles chart.  Triumph singles rarely offered up much in the way of non-album material, but the odd curiosity could be found.  This Triumph single for “Spellbound” was acquired by a friend, from Jerry’s Records in Pittsburgh back in 2013.

On the A-side, the standard 5:12 single version of “Spellbound” without edits.  You can really hear why this was a hit in 1984.  Triumph had learned to marry keyboard and guitar riffs for a bigger radio-ready sound.  With Gil Moore on lead vocals, “Spellbound” had huge chorus.  The track was also made into a cool video.

The B-side was specially designed for radio airplay.  Each track on Thunder Seven is given a brief special intro by the three band members.  You could look at this as an interview disc.  It’s nine minutes in length and not without value.  By listening we learn that “Spellbound”, for example, changed much from conception to release.  It was once titled “White Lies” before it was rewritten.  “Time Canon” was made up of 18 parts over 66 tracks.  Amazing stuff.  Their Canadian accents are adorable.

An excellent purchase for Triumph fans who have it all and need a little more.

4/5 stars

REVIEW: Faith No More – “From Out of Nowhere” (1990 UK 3 track 7″ single)

FAITH NO MORE – “From Out of Nowhere” (1990 Slash records 3 track 7″ single)

When I was beginning to seriously collect Faith No More in 1991 onwards, I had no idea what was out there.  I found the UK 7″ single for “From Out of Nowhere” at a record show in Guelph.  There are different versions of this single out there with “Cowboy Song” on the B-side, but that track can also be found on Live at the Brixton Academy.  The UK single on Slash/London has two live tracks you can’t find anywhere else, recorded by the BBC on March 2 1990.  Shortly after “Epic” was released as a single, but before it went mega.

The problem is, with 10 minutes of music squeezed onto the B-side, this single sounds horribly thin and is ridiculously quiet.  Tons of surface noise too.  The A-side, which spins at 45 rpm, is better.  Have a look at the unaltered waveform in Audacity for comparison.

Faith No More didn’t truly make it big until the end of the (first) vinyl age.  The album version of “From Out of Nowhere” was always an excellent song; one of their most “mainstream” if you can call it that.  The keyboard hook is the main angle, and Patton’s notable for using that clean nasal voice he discontinued not long after.  An excellent song, and a cornerstone of any nutritious Faith No More collection.

The B-side, the exclusive live recordings, rotates at 33 1/3 rpm.  Captured in Norwich, “Woodpecker From Mars” is Faith No More’s instrumental classic led by a keyboard violin voice by Roddy Bottum.  There is a different performance on a home video called You Fat Bastards (which is the complete Brixton set) but nothing else on audio.  “Epic” is disappointingly edited by the BBC.  They obscure the line where Mike Patton naughtily sings “get down on it and fuck it some more.”  The band sound fresh and almost green with enthusiasm for the song, playing it a bit more straight than they would later on.

On the plus side, this single comes packaged in a gatefold sleeve, a rarity for 7″ release.  Inside Mike Patton is givin’ ‘er live on stage.  Some kids probably taped this to the wall as-is.

In short, the music is great.  The vinyl is not.

2.5/5 stars

REVIEW: Sloan – “Stood Up” / “Same Old Flame” (1995 7″ single)

SLOAN – “Stood Up” / “Same Old Flame” (1995 murderecords 7″ single)

Though those without the syrup of the Mighty Maple flowing through their veins might not be familiar with Sloan, there are some who consider the east-coast quartet to be Canada’s greatest rock band.  With four writers / singers / instrumentalists, it’s an argument with some merit.  Though some say they are too sloppy live, in the studio they have some truly shining diamonds.  Some of those gems aren’t even from albums.

1995 was a difficult time for Sloan.  After receiving no support from Geffen for their shoulda-been breakthrough album Twice Removed, the band either broke up, or were about to break up, or considered themselves broken up even though they weren’t.  The double A-sided “Stood Up” and “Same Old Flame” single comes from this murky period in their timeline, released on their own label murderecords.  (In Japan, these two songs were included as bonus tracks on their third full length CD, One Chord to Another.)

“Stood Up” is a Chris Murphy number with a catchy tremolo guitar hook.  The lo-fi recording is so tasty.  Sloan’s usual vocal harmonies create the melodic blend you expect, but that relentless guitar groove is center stage.  Not dark, but shady, with energetic shouts.  By contrast, Patrick Pentland’s “Same Old Flame” is light and upbeat.  The fun verses set up a more plaintive chorus, all danceable.  Though both songs are equally strong, it’s “Same Old Flame” that you will singing and tapping your feet to.

For only $7, I found this single at yet another record show in Guelph with my buddy Peter.  Today it sells for twice that.  Though I hoped to find more than just one Sloan single that day (“Rhodes Jam” still eludes me), at least I left with what I came for.  A great single for any Sloan collection, big or small.  An essential one in fact, now that everybody is into vinyl again as their primary format.

5/5 stars

REVIEW: Metallica – “Mama Said” (1996 7″ picture disc single)

Part One of a two-part “Mama Said” review

METALLICA – “Mama Said” (1996 Vertigo picture disc 7″ single)

I can admit that my first Metallica album was Load.  I concede that they were more Rocktallica than Metallica on that album, but the fact of the matter is that for the genre, Rocktallica was good!  A lot of hard rock and heavy metal albums in the mid-90s were not good.   Metallica introduced themselves to me with an album that was what I wanted, when I wanted it.  “Mama Said” was the third single from Load, a an acoustic ballad, and with an exclusive live B-side on the vinyl that wasn’t on the CD singles (to be reviewed next).

The 7″ single contains the album version, not the shorter single edit.  James Hetfield wasn’t afraid of getting personal in his lyrics anymore, and “Mama Said” is about his late mother.  It’s audible that he is getting something deeply important off his chest.  The music is notable for its distinct country twang.  Trash Metallica all you like, but this sounds great.  The thing about Metallica is that they usually (not always) do whatever it is they set out to do, and do it well.

That said, a 7″ picture disc is not the best way to hear Metallica play an acoustic ballad.  It can’t deliver the clarity and dynamics that a CD can.  The B-side, “Ain’t My Bitch” recorded live in California on August 4 1996, is a louder song and can get away with the format a little better.

James gets the crowd to shout “We don’t give a shit!” a couple times before they break into the song.  “Ain’t My Bitch” remains a fun little blast precisely about not giving a shit.  “Outta my way, outta my day!”  It might not be “Creeping Death” you can’t deny it’s fun to just bang along.  “Mama Said” might have been James dealing with deep shit, but “Ain’t My Bitch” says “just forget it and let go”.  Kirk Hammett’s solo on this one is mega fun, and it’s always a bonus to get Jason’s Newsted’s backing growls.  An underappreciated ex-Metallica member.

Including the tracks released over the two additional CD singles, “Ain’t My Bitch” is the seventh of seven total B-sides to “Mama Said”.  All the live ones are from the same show in Irvine Meadows.  If you gotta get ’em all, then “Mama Said” you need this picture single too!  Shame about the audio quality.

3/5 stars

Part Two tomorrow.

Gallery: A closer look at Alice Cooper and Japanese import unboxings

This week’s live show included some cool unboxings.  Here is a closer look at the three new arrivals at LeBrain HQ.

#1 Dokken – The Lost Songs: 1978-1981 Japanese import.  Old unreleased demos polished and finished for release.  This baby has a bonus track called “Going Under”.

#2 Accept – Blind Rage Japanese import.  2014 studio album.  “Thrown to the Wolves” is the name of this Teutonic terror’s bonus track.

# Alice Cooper – “Don’t Give Up” 7 inch picture disc single.  Great to finally have this new Covid-related recording on a physical format.

 

Live Stream – More Vinyl & Special Guests – Saturday May 9

Pardon the technical difficulties, we had some audio lag and some viewers experienced frozen video. I think we pushed the limits of what Facebook and our own bandwidth could handle.

The best live stream of the series so far is available for you to watch below! We went for 90 minutes and featured so much vinyl your head will spin. We also had three special guests joining us: Dr. Kathryn Ladano, Uncle Meat, Scotty P, all local legends in their own rights!