With all the head-banging going on, it’s no surprise that the majority of rockers do not wear hats on stage. The flailing around in musical ecstasy means that hats don’t stay on top for long. Also, with those hot stage lights beating down, nobody needs to preserve their body heat with a hat.
Yet some rockers have managed to make hats a trademark. Let’s have a look at five of the best.*
5. Jeff Ament’s whatever hat
During the Ten period, Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament used to sport some cool, huge hats. We have no idea what you call these hats, but there is no denying their 90’s cool-ness. If I had long hair again, I’d want one of these hats.
4.Ritchie Blackmore’s pilgrim hat
Blackmore is well known for his anachronistic mixture of time periods. Playing medieval music with electric guitars? Sure, why not. We don’t know why Blackmore wants to look like a passenger on the Mayflower, but it does not matter. The hat has become iconic, though not as iconic as…
3.Lemmy Kilmister’s assortment of Motorhats
God bless Lemmy, for he had a fine collection of headgear, usually emblazoned with skulls, crossbones, and World War II symbology. Lemmy may not have been a fashion icon, but he did own some pretty cool hats.
2.Brian Johnson’s newsboy hat
This one is near and dear to my heart. Brian’s hat was to cover a receding hairline, but I had one just like it. It was perfect for keeping a tangled mess of hair under cover. Best of all, I could use it as a “hair mold”. I would comb my hair in the morning, tuck it under the hat to “set” it, and an hour later it would come out looking perfect!
1.Slash’s top hat
At LeBrain HQ, we think Slash’s hat has become the most iconic rock and roll piece of headgear. One look at that hat, and you automatically know who is underneath it. The fact that Slash hid his face behind curtains of hair meant that fans had to recognize him in other ways. That’s where the hat comes in! Even if you wouldn’t recognize Slash’s face in a crowd, it’s a guarantee that you know his hat.
25 years ago on this day, millions of fans used their illusions.
1991: First year of university, and I was hard at work on some reading. My sister and my mom were out shopping at the mall. The record store I eventually worked at opened up just that summer. Unbeknownst to me, they popped in on my behalf and returned with a present.
“Mike!” yelled my sister excitedly as they returned home. The dog barked loudly in shrill Schnauzer barks as she talked. “Did you know Guns N’ Roses have TWO NEW ALBUMS OUT?”
I sure did! Use Your Illusion I and II were the long-awaited true followups to Appetite for Destruction. With 30 brand new songs, Guns released the music as two separate but complimentary albums. My sister eagerly handed me a gift: a new cassette copy of Use Your Illusion II!
Why she chose II, I don’t know and it doesn’t matter. For this fan, II was the first. I had it a whole week before I caught up and bought Illusion I (again, at the same store I would work at only three years later). It was $10.99. Perhaps because I had the second album a week ahead of the first, I still really prefer II over I. Songs such as “Breakdown”, “Pretty Tied Up”, and “Locomotive” are three of the strongest and most ambitious rock songs on an already strong set. They stand up today as my personal favourites.
The Use Your Illusion albums spawned a combined eight singles: “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door”, “Civil War”, “You Could Be Mine”, “Don’t Cry”, “Live and Let Die”, “November Rain”, “Yesterdays” and “Estranged”. Additionally, music videos were made for the tracks “Garden of Eden”, “The Garden”, and “Dead Horse”. Guns N’ Roses assaulted all formats as they trounced the world in a two year long world tour, with acts such as Skid Row, Metallica and Faith No More. They even suffered their most devastating lineup change right at the very start of it. Chief songwriter Izzy Stradlin departed in November of 1991, to be replaced shortly after by Gilby Clarke. Although he has made numerous guest appearances since, Izzy has never rejoined Guns N’ Roses.
Did you buy Use Your Illusion I and II 25 years ago today? Do you have a favourite?
ALICE COOPER – A Fistful of Alice (1999 Guardian records, Japanese edition with bonus tracks)
A Fistful of Alice was released at a time when the sometimes maligned The Alice Cooper Showwas the only official live Cooper album. As only the second live Alice record, Fistful didn’t receive the attention it deserved. That’s especially too bad, considering it had cool guests including Slash, Rob Zombie, and Sammy Hagar. There are lots of Alice Cooper live recordings to get today, but in ’99 that wasn’t quite the case. Fistful, recorded at Hagar’s Cabo Wabo Cantina, came a full five years after Cooper’s last studio album,The Last Temptation, ending the long drought. The single new song, “Is Anyone Home?” was a pleasant acoustic rock keeper, but the main feature was the live stuff.
There are lots of versions of this album, but only the Japanese has the full 17 song track list. It took me 15 years to finally track one down at a decent price. The Japanese edition is worth the effort just for “Clones (We’re All)”, a song that was rarely played for a lot of Cooper’s career. It’s from near the start of Alice’s 80’s art-punk persona, but its robotic synth-pop was catchy enough for the Smashing Pumpkins to cover it. The other two bonus tracks are “Bed of Nails” from Trash, and the classic “No More Mr. Nice Guy”. One that wasn’t on the domestic edition, but was on the UK version is “Under My Wheels”. Cooper’s band at this time featured Reb Beach (Winger/Whitesnake) on guitar, and damn does he shred on “Under My Wheels”! The rest of the lineup consisted of Jimmy DeGrasso (Megadeth/Black Star Riders) on drums, guitarist Ryan Roxie (Slash), bassist Todd Jensen (David Lee Roth) and Beach’s old Winger bandmate Paul Taylor on keyboards. This was Taylor’s second stint with Cooper. His first stint in the mid-80’s eventually launched the band Winger, since Kip Winger was in the Cooper band at the time.
Besides “Clones”, other pleasant surprises in the set include “Desperado” (“a song I wrote for Jim Morrison a long time ago”), “Teenage Lament ’74” (dedicated to the glitter and glam rockers) and “I Never Cry”. “Welcome to My Nightmare” is preceded by an excerpt from the chilling classic “Steven”. Familiar concert perennials include “Feed My Frankenstein” with Rob Zombie, “Only Women Bleed” with Slash, and “Elected” featuring both. Slash also plays on the newer tune “Lost in America”, fitting right in there naturally. It’s quite a decent track list, and Cooper’s band is as professional as any other lineup. The sonics are great, and Fistful is a nice full recording without a lot of crowd noise. The Cabo Wabo is probably a great stage for capturing a live recording.
Finally, Alice self-produced the new song “Is Anyone Home?”, featuring a different set of musicians. Unexpectedly pop sounding and even featuring a Beatles-like string section, “Is Anyone Home?” was very unlike most of Alice’s stuff. Take acoustic rock a-la popular 90’s acts like Fastball or the Goo Goo Dolls, crank it up a notch, and add Alice Cooper’s unmistakable voice. It’s a good track to throw on as a bonus for a live album. It did not indicate at all where Cooper was going musically, which would prove to be the industro-metal of Brutal Planet. “Is Anyone Home?” then is an interesting sideline from the main trajectory, but worth having.
A Fistful of Alice was an important album in some ways. At the time, many fans wondered if Alice had quietly retired. He hadn’t. He was playing a lot of golf, but he was also touring regularly. I saw him play a similar set in Kitchener Ontario in 1997, with the lineup including Reb Beach. Like on Fistful, he played a few songs from his most recent album even though he technically wasn’t supporting it, and I liked that. Pick up A Fistful of Alice for a good single-disc summary of the Alice Cooper live experience, and a pretty decent new tune too.
FACT #1: Covers albums rarely have enough fuel in the tank to get an engine running.
FACT #2: Ace Frehley has never done a covers album before.
The main thing is that Ace Frehley is still alive and making music. He’s never been the most prolific writer in Kiss, hence this diverse assortment of covers. In the pot are songs from bands that influenced Ace, a few Kiss covers (including one that Ace never played on originally), and a guest shot by Paul Stanley (among others). Sometimes it’s hard to feign interest in a covers album, but these factors make Ace’s enticing. Not to mention, it’s a clean and sober Ace playing these songs.
Ace and drummer Scot Coogan play everything on Cream’s “White Room”, with Coogan singing the bridges. This guitar-heavy version takes what Clapton did, and “Aces” it up. It’s guitar solo nirvana, though the Stones’ “Street Fighting Man” takes a few minutes to get to that same point. Ace has always done well with Stones covers, and it seems he can identify with songs like “Street Fighting Man” due to his rough past. It’s a fun excursion but the solos are the draw. Imagine the Stones but with the bright fun Gibson stylings of Ace Frehley. Hendrix’s “Spanish Castle Magic” is a natural choice since Ace’s speak-sing style always seemed influenced by Jimi. Purists may scoff, but Ace’s take on “Spanish Castle Magic” is pretty enjoyable and guitar-heavy (John 5 on guest guitars).
The online hype focused on Paul Stanley’s return to Ace’s orbit. While Ace plays all the guitars, Paul ably takes all the vocals on Free’s “Fire and Water”. As Kiss fans are well aware, Paul has suffered from some serious vocal issues in the last few years. Live, Paul can be a bit of a mess. In the studio, he makes it work. Paul lacks the power he had back in the Kiss days, but his singing here is great considering. It’s over far too quickly. Paul singing Rodgers is quite a moment.
Ace is well suited to Thin Lizzy, a band you don’t think of as influential to Kiss since they were contemporaries more or less. “Emerald” has gone down in history of one of Lizzy’s heaviest favourites. Predictably, the highlight of “Emerald” is the solo section. Lizzy were a two-guitar band, so Ace got Slash to come in and solo back and forth, answering each other like Gorham and Robertson. The two go toe-to-toe in a blur of Gibson Les Pauls.
Led Zeppelin had a serious impact on young Kiss, and Ace’s covering of “Bring it on Home” is inspired and transformational. Lord knows what guitar effects Ace has up his sleeve, but he nails this Zep classic without any missteps. Ace sings the bluesy intro, but drummer Scot Coogan ably handles the higher main vocal.
One of the most notorious and difficult songs to cover without sounding like an asshole is “Wild Thing”, 51 years old and still inspiring cover versions. Lita Ford makes a surprise appearance on both lead guitar and vocals, and she sounds amazing on both counts. There is just no good reason to cover “Wild Thing”, because the Troggs did that definitively in 1966 and that’s that. More significant is Frehley’s update to his own “Parasite”, a song originally from 1974’s Hotter Than Hell. Gene Simmons sang it originally, though Ace wrote it. Speaking of “definitive”, it’s very tempting to think of this as Ace’s conclusive statement on “Parasite”. After all, Hotter Than Hell was sonically pretty disappointing. Plus Ace had 40+ years to grow as a guitarist since then, and believe it — Ace blows the doors off “Parasite”. This is a song worth buying the CD for.
Unfortunately “Parasite” is book-ended by two songs that didn’t need remakes, the first being “Wild Thing” and the second “Magic Carpet Ride”. Ace does inject it with his trademark fun style, but it’s all very unnecessary. Brilliant playing though.
A second Kiss update is “Cold Gin”, featuring Mike McCready of Pearl Jam. Like “Parasite”, Gene Simmons sang the original, but “Cold Gin” was one of the first stone cold classic Ace-written Kiss tunes. Ace has every right to try and reclaim it as his, a difficult task since the Kiss Alive! version is the only one you will ever truly need. Now with Ace doing the vocals and more soloing added, this version can perhaps be considered the second most important take — the one with Ace singing.
A pretty standard Kinks cover (“Til the End of the Day”) works fine. You can trust Ace to know how to treat the Kinks. The final and possibly biggest surprise is the final Kiss cover. The odd thing about it is that Ace never played on the original version of “Rock and Roll Hell”. This tune came from the batch that Kiss wrote with Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance in the early 80’s. It was recorded for 1982’s Creatures of the Night, the album that Ace didn’t participate in, before leaving the band. He appeared on the cover, he appeared in the videos, and fans didn’t know any differently, but Ace didn’t play or write anything on Creatures. In fact Ace never heard “Rock and Roll Hell” until recently. When coming up for ideas of songs to cover for Origins Vol. 1, Ace’s label rep Ken Gulick burned Ace a CD of tracks to listen to for consideration. (The CD contained two Who songs, two Cheap Trick songs, and mind-blowingly, two by Rush.)* Because Gulick felt that Ace had some unfinished business with Creatures of the Night, he also included two songs from Creatures on the CD. The ballad “I Still Love You” was the other track. Frehley apparently went bonkers for the Simmons-sung “Rock and Roll Hell”, and now we finally get to hear what might have been if Ace hadn’t left Kiss when he did. Perhaps if Ace was in good enough shape, Simmons could have given him “Rock and Roll Hell” to sing, and it would have sounded something like this. Matt Starr’s drums are given a similar echoey treatment to replicate Eric Carr’s sound from the original LP.
Does this close the book for Ace making amends with his Kiss past? I sure hope note. Vol. 1 implies a Vol. 2. If Ace were to continue covering Kiss tunes he never had the chance to sing in the studio, that leaves “Strange Ways”, “Comin’ Home” and possibly more that he could consider updating with his stamp. Although Origins has some “blah” moments as most covers albums do, among the highlights are undoubtedly the Kiss tracks. They push the album out from being a mere curiosity, to a must-have for any Kiss fan.**
** Made a double must-have by the low low price. I paid $12.88 at Wally World (plus I scored a“holy shit, jackpot”load of rare Star Wars figures). HMV were charging $15.99, and had him filed under “Ace Freshley“. HMV – the music store – has Ace’s name spelled wrong. Yet one more strike against the once-mighty HMV chain! See below for the evidence.
“ACE FRESHLEY” at HMV
Jackpot at Wally World
For Jon Wilmenius’ excellent review of this album, click here.
GETTING MORE TALE (Retro) #469: Stump LeBrain Week, by Aaron!
“Getting More Retro” is a sub-series of my music stories Getting More Tale. I posted this back in March in 2012, when nobody was reading except Aaron and my old boss from the Record Store. Before that, Aaron posted it on the KeepsMeAlive (Feb. 19). And now, for the third time, here’s Stump LeBrain Week!
I had become such a dominating force on the 4 O’Clock 4-Play, my favourite music contest on 107.5 Dave Rocks, that listeners were now writing in 4-Play quizzes specifically to stump me! For a while there it seemed everybody wanted to be the one to put an end to LeBrain’s reign!
Craig had me in the studio for the contest, live on the Craig Fee show, during what he dubbed “Stump LeBrain Week”. Each day that week, I came in at 4 o’clock in order to play the contest on the air. Craig selected five 4-Plays, one for each day. If I answered correctly, I won the prize (I Mother Earth tickets). If I was stumped, the person who wrote the 4-Play question would win the prize.
At the end of the week, I sent Aaron audio CDs of all my appearances minus commercials. He was kind enough to document it in the written word for history. Since very few saw this when I re-posted it at the launch of this site, I’m re-posting it once again for you! Re-use and recycle, baby!
Big thanks to Aaron for listening to all five shows and writing it down, and of course thanks to Craig for giving me the opportunity! Here we go. Ready?
Four-Play #1 (submitted by Chris Cottingham)
01 Motley Crue – Shout At The Devil
01 Mike’s Guess: ‘tracks that were not singles’ (no)
02 Rolling Stones – Brown Sugar
02 Mike’s Guess: ‘bands that have toured with guns ‘n roses’ (no)
* at this point, before Mike’s last guess, it was exposed that the Motley Crue song was supposed to have been Live Wire, which changed everything, and he got it from there.
Comment: He still got it, even with a wrong song played. Improbable? Never! The man is a machine.
Comment: He nailed this one before the first song was even over. Jeez.
Score: Mike is 2/2.
Four-Play #3 (submitted by Kathryn Ladano, Mike’s sister)
01 Rush – Subdivisions
01 Mike’s Guess: ‘album covers with dogs on them’ (no)
02 Neil Young – Rockin’ In The Free World
02 Mike’s Guess: ‘all Canadian artists’ (no)
03 Guess Who – Runnin’ Back To Saskatoon
03 Mike’s Guess: ‘songs about Canadian cities’ (no)
04 Loverboy – Turn Me Loose
04 Mike’s Guess: ‘all artists who sang on Tears Are Not Enough’ (yes!)
Comment:
Broadcasted live from Chicopee ski resort. This was not the Four Play that Kathryn had wanted played, so her confidence at being able to stump her brother was pretty low, at the outset. It shocked me that Mike had never heard the Guess Who song before. I thought everybody knew that song.
03 Mike’s Guess: ‘bands that opened for Sabbath’ (no)
04 Dio – Rainbow In The Dark
04 Mike’s Guess: ‘all four albums covers were paintings with mascots’ (yes!)
Comment: Definitely a HEAVY set, which I thoroughly enjoyed. And Mike nails it. So cool.
Score: Mike is 4/4.
Four-Play #5 (submitted by Nick Byerjean sp?)
01 KISS – Beth
01 Mike’s Guess: ‘songs that originated as b-sides’ (no)
01 Mike’s Extra Guess: ‘no members of the band played on the track’ (no)
01 Mike’s Extra Guess: ‘crappy songs from great albums’ (no)
02 Guns ‘N Roses – Used To Love Her
02 Mike’s Guess: ‘single monikered album titles’ (no)
02 Mike’s Extra Guess: ‘songs with unusual percussion’ (no)
02 Mike’s Extra Guess: ‘songs people think is about one thing, but it’s about something else” (no)
02 Mike’s Extra Guess: ‘acoustic ballads’ (no)
03 Aerosmith – Angel
03 Mike’s Guess: ‘bands led by duos’ (no)
03 Mike’s Extra Guess: ‘bands who shortened their name from something longer (no)
03 Mike’s Extra Guess ‘all are bands from America’ (no)
04 Slash with Andrew Stockdale – By The Sword
04 Mike’s Guess: ‘songs released in even numbered years’ (no)
04 Mike’s Extra Guess: ‘all albums released in leap years’ (no)
04 Mike’s Extra Guess: ‘songs released in Canadian-hosted Olympic years’ (yes!)
Comment: OK, that was RIDICULOUS. Hearing him work through that last one was incredible. Even with all the extra guesses, that answer was from so far out of left field. Wow.
Unless you have been living under a pile of rock (and roll), then you know that the hype machine for a 2016 Guns N’ Roses “reunion” has already begun.
But this is not a reunion. This is not Axl, Slash, Duff, Izzy, and Steven. Matt Sorum is not involved, nor is Gilby Clarke. The new lineup is supposed to consist of: W. Axl Rose, Slash, Duff “Rose” McKagan, Richard Fortus, Frank Ferrer, Dizzy Reed, and Chris Pittman, with new member Dave Kushner (Velvet Revolver) in the third guitar slot.
Of course, many lineups labelled as “reunions” in the past were not. Van Halen’s current “reunited” lineup consists of three classic members and one new guy, Wolfgang Van Halen. Any time The Who go out there for a tour, there are only two original members. Not much can be done about that, with Keith and John both gone. Not that it matters since both bands have made millions on these tours, and both bands even managed to put out new albums, without the full original lineups. New music always trumps a tour.
Few bands seem to reunite with all the beloved members intact, either due to death or stubbornness. There are exceptions, obviously. The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac came together with their most beloved lineups, and a tremendous amount of success, but even they couldn’t make it last. Don Felder was fired from the Eagles years ago. Christine McVie only recently returned to the Mac after being gone for ages, and meanwhile the band did a new album without her. And Black Sabbath? Their farewell tour only has ¾ of the original lineup! Meanwhile Bill Ward sits at home, having alienated the band and Sharon Osbourne. The chances of Ward ever playing drums again in the band he co-founded are slim to none. One does not piss off the Osbourne camp without consequences. Regardless of his reasons, justified or not, a Black Sabbath farewell tour without its still capable original drummer is a hollow thing indeed.
Even when you do get the full original lineup of a band that you wanted, that doesn’t necessarily mean the band is returning to full functionality. When Kiss reunited in 1996 with the full original band, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss were hired hands. They didn’t get a say, they didn’t get a vote. They got a contract stating their responsibilities and compensation. As if Paul and Gene would ever give up any control in their band, now! So what we saw live was Kiss, but what we got behind the scenes and on the album Psycho-Circus was just “more of the same”. Ace and Peter didn’t even appear on many of the songs, even though they were on the album cover. But that’s nothing new for Kiss!
What band has had the most successful reunion? I’m not talking in terms of numbers; then we would probably have to include Spice Girls and New Kids on the Block. Who has had the most success in terms of quality? That would have to be Iron Maiden.
Steve Harris did something very creative when he reunited with Bruce Dickinson. Instead of just bringing Bruce back into the band, he also brought in Bruce’s guitarist and former Maiden member Adrian Smith. But Adrian was not cool with coming in to replace somebody else. “What about Janick Gers?” he asked. Janick had been in Maiden for a successful decade, and Adrian didn’t want him out of a job. Steve always envisioned a three-guitar Iron Maiden, and Adrian Smith coming back gave him that opportunity. It worked out brilliantly, especially live, when it could have been a train wreck. Technically, what Iron Maiden did is the same thing Guns N’ Roses are said to be doing: a new version of the band, with both classic and current members. Maiden made it last, too. Harris was very clear with Bruce: nobody was coming back to Maiden just to hang around a while and leave again. Anybody coming back to Maiden was coming back for life, and that is exactly what happened. Five more studio albums later, Maiden rule absolutely.
What will happen with Guns N’ Roses? That is harder to predict. It is unlikely their most talented member, Izzy Stradlin, would want to return to the circus of insanity that is a GN’R tour. As for Slash, he has always preferred a stripped down band. It’s hard to imagine how he will be happy playing in a band with two keyboardists, but that’s what they say is happening. How long will it last? A few shows? Coachella and gone? Much like Ace Frehley, Slash will probably be a contracted musician.
A band of Guns’ stature all but had to reunite. The fans have been loudly demanding something like this for over a decade. The fans hoped Izzy and Steven Adler or Matt Sorum would be a part of it, but that has always seemed unlikely. Slash couldn’t even get Izzy into Velvet Revolver. What they are doing is probably the closest to a reunion that is likely. Perhaps Izzy will show up to guest as he has in the past, but fans shouldn’t get their hopes up of seeing Adler on stage.
Perhaps this, the most anticipated “reunion” since Led Zeppelin (also a new lineup with Jason Bonham), will stop the constant questions from the media and fans. “Will you ever get back together?” It must be tiring answering that question daily, when you have new music out there to play. Sometimes a band just has to give in and take a step backwards. Sometimes, as in the case of Iron Maiden, the way forward is to go backwards.
Will it work? The only way to find out is to stay tuned. You know where you are? You in the jungle, baby.
Let’s see if the bad boys of rock and roll can still survive the jungle.
ALICE COOPER / HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES – Hollywood Vampires(2015 Universal Japan)
Ignore the hype. The press has been going ga-ga over this new supergroup featuring movie star Johnny Depp (rhythm guitar), Joe Perry (lead guitar), and Alice Cooper (lead vocals). Just ignore the hype completely. Cooper fans know what this is. This is the covers album that Alice has been talking about doing ever since Welcome 2 My Nightmare in 2011. Alice has even been playing a number of these tunes, in these arrangements, live. Check out his Raise the Dead double live album/video for a few.
According to an interview with Ultimate Classic Rock earlier this year, “I can’t tell you who’s on what right now, ’cause it’s not gonna be released yet, but it’s the ‘who’s who’ of everything. It was one of those things where, at one point, I’m looking around in the studio and I’m going, ‘Holy crap! Look who’s in the studio.” Bob Ezrin, Alice’s long-time producer and musical collaborator came up with the concept. Alice continues: “Bob came up with the idea, ‘Let’s concentrate it on all the guys that you drank with in L.A., the Hollywood Vampires, the ones that are all dead.’ I like the title All My Dead Drunk Friends. It’s just offensive enough to work, but all those guys would have totally got it. They had the same sense of humor. If you told them you were going to do an album after they were gone called All My Dead Drunk Friends, they would have died laughing.” Ultimately the album was simply called Hollywood Vampires. That’s also the name of this “supergroup” which is essentially just Alice with Depp and guests.
I have this album filed in my Alice Cooper section, and that’s how I’m treating this review.
Hollywood Vampires consists of 14 tracks, except in Japan who have 15. Two of these are brand-new songs, and one is an intro called “The Last Vampire”. Fittingly, this features the narration of Sir Christopher Lee, who passed away earlier this year. Lee’s old friend from the Hammer horror days, Vincent Price, appeared on Cooper’s original Welcome to my Nightmare in 1975. Today, Alice Cooper truly is the last vampire left from those old days. Lee’s rich voice is backed by spooky keys and theremin by Ezrin, Depp and engineer Justin Cortelyou. “Listen to them, children of the night…what music they make.”
Alice then kicks it with “Raise the Dead”. Depp appears on every track, and Alice’s drummer Glen Sobol plays on this one and several others. It’s an upbeat stomper of a track, and a perfect introduction to this covers album that is also a concept album. The first of Alice’s dead drunk friends to be covered is Keith Moon on “My Generation”, an authentic and pounding version. Alice Cooper is one of the few that does justice to it. Bassist Bruce Witkin perfectly tackles John Entwistle’s signature bass solo. One thing that is immediately obvious is how massive this album sounds. Ezrin wrought a monster-sounding disc, so full and heavy, but textured when required.
John Bonham is up next. “Whole Lotta Love” was handled in a completely different way than you’d expect. Starting as a low, prowling Cooper blues it soon blasts into gear. Alice isn’t known for hitting those high Plant notes, so who joins him? None other than Brian Johnson of AC/DC, who kicks my ass completely. Joe Walsh and Cooper’s former lead guitarist Orianthi play some jaw droppingly greasy guitars, but Alice’s harmonica work is also worthy of praise! Even though very few can cover Led Zeppelin, “Whole Lotta Love” turned out to be my favourite track. It’s also the heaviest sounding, like a skid of concrete blocks assaulting your face! That’s Zak Starkey (son of Ringo) on drums.
Cooper has covered “I Got a Line on You” (Spirit) before, on the soundtrack to Iron Eagle 3, of all things. That 1988 take is my preferred version, but Alice remade it on Hollywood Vampires. Abe Laboriel Jr., Joe Walsh, and Alice’s old bassist Kip Winger join as guests. Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction helps Alice out on the lead vocals, but his part isn’t prominent. Then it’s time for the Doors, and a medley of “Five to One” and “Break on Through”. Alice had been playing “Break on Through” live, but this version has Robby Krieger! Alice heavies both of them up, but he is also one of the few singers who can do Morrison.
Farrell and Krieger return for a Harry Nilsson medley, joined by David E. Grohl on drums. “One” is rendered as a haunting, creepy piece as if Alice himself wrote it. This merges into “Jump Into the Fire”, a strangely upbeat companion which rocks in a vintage 70’s fashion. It’s like guitar nirvana. There’s also a cute outro of “Coconut”, also by Nilsson.
Sir Paul himself, rock royalty if there ever was one, shows up for Badfinger’s “Come and Get It”, which Paul wrote. Joe Perry has spoken about how incredible it was when McCartney showed up in the studio with his Hofner bass, and actually allowed them to hold it! “Come and Get It” is simple rock/pop, not the kind of timeless thing that happened when Paul wrote with John, but certainly a notch above what mere mortals can write. I love hearing Paul’s “screaming” voice, and I’m sure everybody in the studio had a great time. Sure sounds that way.
Marc Bolan’s “Jeepster” is one I could pass on. Alice makes it sound like an original from 1972’s School’s Out, but if you’re only going to skip one song, it’s probably going to be “Jeepster”. Lennon’s “Cold Turkey” featuring Joe Perry has more kick and grind to it, and it’s always a pleasure to hear Joe Perry do some Aero-jammin’ on lead guitar. (I think it would have been amazing to get McCartney to play bass on this Lennon classic — shame nobody thought of it. That could have been history made.)
The Japanese bonus track is “I’m A Boy”, the second Who cover. Once again, Alice nails it. This is such a difficult song to attempt. Alice makes it work, and if anybody can do it, it’s Alice. “My name is Alice I’m a head-case…” Just that one change makes the song work. “I’m a boy, I’m a boy, but my mom won’t admit it…I’m a boy, but if I say I am, I get it.” And he’s got the girl’s name. It’s perfect! This bonus track is worth tracking down if you’re a Cooper fan. You’ll definitely need it in your collection.
Jimi Hendrix was a Hollywood Vampire, and “Manic Depression” is the song Alice chose to cover. (He’d already done “Fire” back in the Hey Stoopid days.) Like “Jeepster”, this is one that could be skipped. Joe Walsh fans will enjoy his lead guitar work, but otherwise, it’s a stock cover. Way, way better is “Itchycoo Park”. Alice’s treatment of the Small Faces is far more entertaining, and its melodic base continue to deliver the hooks.
Brian Johnson returns to belt it out on the “School’s Out”/”Another Brick in the Wall Part 2” medley. This arrangement is similar to the way Alice did it live, and it’s cool how the two songs work together perfectly. It’s a genius mashup. Guests include Slash, and original Cooper band members Dennis Dunaway and Neal Smith. “School’s Out”, of course, is here for Glen Buxton, of the original Alice Cooper band. Buxton had suffered the consequences of alcohol abuse, and dropped out of music completely when the original band split in ’74. Buxton died in 1997.
The final song is an original, “My Dead Drunk Friends,” the song that Alice wanted to use as a title track. If you don’t mind some black comedy, you will love this tribute to all the lost Hollywood Vampires. It’s irresistible, and also sounds vintage Alice. So chants the crowd: “We drink and we fight and we fight and we puke and we puke and we fight and we drink!” Doesn’t sound particularly glamorous, but Alice isn’t about to have a mournful wake. Alice is about entertainment, and even though a brilliant artist who drinks themselves to death is sad, Alice has thrown a party for them instead. “My Dead Drunk Friends” ends the party on a darkly celebrating note, as only he can. Job well done.
Hollywood Vampires is pleasantly surprising. 9/10 covers albums are not worth the money you paid for them. Alice’s is. They call it a supergroup for marketing purposes but it only takes one listen to know what this is. This is a project that Alice, Bob Ezrin and friends have been passionate about for years, and has finally been finished. It is an apt follow-up to Welcome 2 My Nightmare, and another killer concept album from the kings of concept albums.
GUNS N’ ROSES – New York, New York (Live at the Ritz 1988 – FM Radio Broadcast, Gossip)
‘Twas Scott who alerted me to the release of this classic Guns N’ Roses concert on CD. A few tracks from the gig are missing, most notably “Shadow of Your Love”, but most of what I remember seeing on MuchMusic back in the 80’s is intact. Although I do not recall seeing “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” on the TV version, I used to love this concert. I watched it over and over. I had seen it over half a dozen times before I even bought Appetite for Destruction. I dubbed an audio version to cassette, before my buddy T-Rev recorded the entire show for me later on. I used to know these versions better than the originals. It’s a pleasure to finally have them on CD.
Remember the sound of the guitars being picked up in the darkness before Duff’s opening bassline to “It’s So Easy”? I don’t think I’d seen a band on TV before who seemed so…dangerous. The sound of Duff singing the backing vocals are another element I distinctly remember. Axl could get pretty mobile on stage, and his vocals often fell apart mid-sentence, while Duff held it all together. He was Guns’ secret weapon, Duff McKagan. Up next in the spotlight is Slash with those chugging, scraping guitars on “Mr. Brownstone”. Axl then delivers his first classic monologue of the evening:
“I don’t know what by chance the television audience will see…what anyone will see…but what we’ll see tonight…is that we wanna dedicate this song to the people who try to hold you back! The people that tell you how to live! People that tell you how to dress! People that tell you how to talk! People that tell you what you can say and what you can’t say. I personally don’t need that! Those are the kind of people that been getting me down. They make me feel like somebody…somebody out there….is ‘Out Ta Get Me’!”
Funny story about this song. I had a highschool buddy named Anand who was the first kid I knew in our class to get Appetite. Anand had strict parents. One day he was down in the basement studying, rocking out to Appetite. His little brother strolled in during his homework, and kept coming around to bug him. He hung around long enough to learn the words to some songs, and returned upstairs to his parents singing, “They’re out to get me! I’m fucking innocent!” Anand got grounded.
Needless to say the chorus to this amazing song was beeped when I first saw it on TV. I loved it anyway. That Izzy Stradlin riff kicks it classic-style, while Duff once again holds down the backing vocals. Slash is shambolic, losing control several times but always pulling it back together, cig in mouth the whole time. I love this one big sour chord he hits at 2:25 into the song. If I remember he almost fell at that moment in the show; the audience were pulling at his guitar, but all you can hear is this big awful chord. Then it happens again at 3:00! And again at 3:10! The whole solo is a fucking disaster, and that must have been fun for the people in the front row. Guns N’ Roses were so in the face of the crowd that there was constant physical contact. That’s a fucking concert.
“Sweet Child” comes early in the set, and obviously it’s not nearly as sweet as the album version, and Axl’s hoarse. Still, Axl hoarse in 1988 is something very different from 2014, and it sounds great to these ears. “My Michelle” is credited on the back cover as written by Rose and “Stardlin”, making obvious that this is not an official release. I hope Izzy Stardlin gets paid his due royalties. The band get more and more reckless/loose/inebriated as the concert goes on. Again it’s McKagan who seems to be holding it together and cheerleading from behind.
A very intense version of “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” follows which I am less familiar with because it didn’t make the TV version I had seen. Axl dedicates this to a friend named Todd who had “danced a little bit too hard with Mr. Brownstone”. Needless to say, it’s very cool hearing this song played by the classic five piece lineup. With Steven Adler on drums, it’s more to the point. The arrangement is slightly different than what you know from the Use Your Illusion I album, but it still has the slow singalong part that later evolved into the “reggae” section that they were known to play live later on. Axl was a charismatic frontman and this was his moment to show off his power over an audience.
His next introduction was another memorable one:
“About five or six years ago I hitchhiked here, and ended up stuck out…in the middle of this place. Climbed up out of the freeway, and this little old black man comes up to me and my friend with our backpacks and about ten bucks between us…and he goes, ‘You know where you are?! You in the jungle, baby! You’re gonna die!’ That’s a true story, that ain’t no lie. So ‘Welcome to the Jungle’, rats!”
This was the only tune of theirs that I knew really well back in early ’88. It is played tight, possibly the only song of the night that is. There’s magic in hearing this lineup play this song, their song. And speaking of them, I always enjoy Axl’s band introductions: Mr. Duff “Rose” McKagan on bass guitar. Mr. Steven “Popcorn” Adler on the drums. Mr. Izzy Stradlin on the white guitar. Axl says he and Izzy have been together for 13 years. He saves the most recognizable member for last:
“And last, but definitely not least…in a world that he did not create, but he will go through it as if it was his own making…half man, half beast…I’m not sure what it is, but whatever it is, it’s weird and it’s pissed off and it calls itself Slash.”
Slash then introduces a song about “a walk in the park”, called “Nightrain”. Of the songs they played that night I thought “Nightrain” was a little less than great. It always seems to be the one I wait to finish. Then, Slash opens “Paradise City” with a little surf rock guitar before the classic opening lick. This is the song where things got a little out of control for W. Axl Rose. Doing his trademark slinky snake dance, he got a little too close to the crowd and was pulled in. The band kept on playing and Slash took an extended solo, but you can see Axl trying to climb out. Security finally pulled him up, and then you can see Axl getting his bearings and checking himself over. His shirt and several pieces of jewelry were ripped off, but as soon as Axl sees that he is OK, he resumes snake dancing and finishes the song! Slash’s solo during Axl’s “down time” remains a show highlight, as does Axl’s quick recovery!
For encores you get Aerosmith’s “Mama Kin” (dedicated to Steven Tyler) and “Rocket Queen”. The former is fast and tight, and the latter is epic and ominous. It is a natural closer, especially with Slash’s extended soloing. Axl delivers the closing in full-on ragged scream mode, as it should be.
I’m very glad to have this time capsule of a concert in my CD collection. Highly recommended.
GUNS N’ ROSES – “The Spaghetti Incident?” (1993 Geffen)
The hype surrounding this album was palpable. The disappointment was legendary. When I began working in a record store in July 1994, less than a year after the release of “The Spaghetti Incident?”, we couldn’t give these away, no matter how low we marked them down. This disc effectively ended Guns N’ Roses domination and ushered in an era of a new wave of bands, the post-grunge onslaught. GN’R survived grunge only to be put to bed with this terrible album!
The reason is, while most of these songs are great in their own rights, these versions are not. The recording is sparse and basic, a far cry from the layered intricacy of the Illusions albums. While Slash’s goal was to get the production back to basics (read: Appetite), this album was an ugly beast and not even close to the shiny black gleam of Destruction. Some songs are just plain boring. “Since I Don’t Have You” was an odd choice for a single, and “Black Leather” just plain sucked. I think there were quite a few fans who were baffled by the number of Duff lead vocals too.
The best song (which wasn’t even recorded by GN’R), is Johnny Thunders’ “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory”. This is actually a Duff McKagan solo track, an outtake recorded for his first solo album, Believe In Me. Other standouts include Axl’s raging “I Don’t Care About You”, Duff’s “Attitude”, and “Down On The Farm” which had been played live way way back when Izzy was still in the band. A lot of fans were off-put by Axl’s faux-English accent on “Down On The Farm”, but that’s the way it was played live and I don’t mind. The New York Dolls’ “Human Being” is a great Guns cover. “Ain’t It Fun” is also an angry standout.
Nazareth’s “Hair of the Dog” is underwhelming although Axl does nail the lead vocal. Why GN’R covered a Soundgarden song (“Big Dumb Sex”) is beyond me, and of course there’s the worst track on the album, and most legendary — Charles Manson’s “Look At Your Game, Girl”. Axl’s obsession with Manson was just another nail in the coffin for GN’R, as most fans couldn’t wrap their heads around it. It didn’t help that Slash publicly said that the song “sucked” and that he refused to play on it.*
“The Spaghetti Incident?” will go down in history as the last music of the Illusions sessions to be released, and also is the only album of the Rose/Slash/McKagan/Sorum/Clarke/Reed lineup. By the time Guns N’ Roses released their next single (another cover, the Stones’ “Sympathy For The Devil”), Gilby Clarke was fired by Axl and replaced by Axl’s hometown bud Paul Huge. And that was the last straw for Slash, and the beginning of what would later be known as Chinese Democracy. And that was it. “The Spaghetti Incident?” is the last album to feature Slash, Duff, and Matt, and I think that is just sad and kind of weird too.
If you love Guns N’ Roses, then you already have this, because you have everything by the band. If you only “like” Guns N’ Roses, you don’t need this. You’ll play it a few times and then file it away, never to be heard again.
By request of reader Johnny Sixx: A review of Guns N’ Roses’ Chinese Democracy so long that I split it into two installments.For the first part, click here.
GUNS N’ ROSES – Chinese Democracy(2008 Geffen)
Chinese Democracy, over a decade in the making, became both the biggest joke in rock and the most anticipated album of all time. It polarized music fans as expected. Was it worth the wait? That’s a pretty hard question to quantify. Ultimately it’s up to the individual. Did I expect more, personally?
No. I didn’t expect more. I got what I expected. I did hope for more, but by and large I was very happy with Chinese Democracy.
My first exposure to these songs came in 2001, after the Rock In Rio concert. I downloaded all the new tunes from Limewire. (Remember Limewire?) My favourite of the new tunes was “The Blues” (later renamed “Street of Dreams”) but I also loved “Chinese Democracy”, “Madagascar” and a track called “Silkworms”. Those of us who had heard the songs in advance of the album release were much more likely to enjoy the new GN’R for what it is: Axl attempting to keep the GN’R name going, and stay current. For better or for worse.
For Axl, staying current meant incorporating more electronics. It also meant replacing feel-based guitar players like Slash with shredders. No, this does not sound like the dirty, blues-based majesty of Appetite. Yet, it does rock. Hard. Add in some samples, lush ballads and some cool lyrics and we have a modern followup to Use Your Illusion I and II. It has the same diversity and experimental bent, even if it sounds nothing like those two albums.
I won’t sit here and defend Axl’s decision to keep going with the name, that’s a dead horse that’s been flogged over and over again. It is what it is, and at least Axl has chosen musicians that are at the top of their fields. The Rock In Rio lineup was already long gone by the time of this album release, but all those guys contributed to Chinese Democracy. That means you will hear guitar solos by ex-members Robin Finck (an underrated player) and the incredible Buckethead. You will also hear drums by Brain, and Frank Ferrer too. You will have contributions from everybody. Hell, you will even get one song that dates back to the Slash n’ Duff years called “This I Love”, another epic ballad. It was written way back in 1993; it’s most likely the oldest song here.
The album is chock full of riffage. The title track itself (written by Axl and ex-drummer Josh Freese, yes that Josh Freese) is a monster. That riff is infectious, as are the verses. Axl loads the whole album full of vocal hooks, piano hooks, guitar hooks — this album may pack more hooks per minute than any other in history, who knows? He certainly had time to come up with and perfect them.
This is an even more dramatic Guns N’ Roses than anything before. Some might say over-dramatic. You thought “Estranged” was epic? This is even more so. Yet, boiled down, “Street of Dreams”, “Madagascar”, and “Better” are all emotion-drenched tunes and extremely well written and executed. The production, as expected, is thick and sweet. Maybe too sweet. A tune like “If The World” for example might have been better served with more basic guitar oriented production? Who knows? I’m sure Axl has done a thousand mixes of each of these songs, before selecting these final versions.
Highlights: “Better” for its angry, awesome riffage. “Street of Dreams” as the natural successor to “November Rain”. The title track, for anger and aggression. “Madagascar” as the next “Civil War”.
Lowlights: Wasn’t much into “Scraped”, “If The World”, and the overly-techno “Shackler’s Revenge”. Illusions had filler too, y’know.
Most of all I love the playing. These are some of the best players in the world, bar none. Plus a guy like Tommy Stinson is a rock veteran with a history longer than Axl’s. With these kinds of experienced rockers on board, Chinese Democracy was bound to be impressive. What Chinese Democracy lacks are two things:
1. Band chemistry. You can’t fake it.
2. A suitable predecessor. If Guns had even one interim album to bridge the sounds and introduce new members gradually, Chinese Democracy wouldn’t sound like such a shock to the old-time fans.
It may turn out that Chinese Democracy is as close to a “bridge” record as we will get. Axl claims the next two albums that he’s written are even more extreme departure from the Guns sound.
Hopefully, those next two Guns N’ Roses records will eventually materialize. They should include “Silkworms” a great punky synth-rocker, and a song that Sebastian Bach raves about called “The General”. Whenever Axl feels motivated enough to finish them.
mikeladano.com 