From the album Live In Ontario, here is the second music video from the CD: “I Don’t Advocate Drugs”. This video was painstakingly animated, using real Lego bricks, by hand. No AI here folks. Bricks were collected to create these characters including all four members of the band: Max the Axe (lead guitar), Uncle Meat (lead vocals), Mike Mitchell (bass), and Dr. Dave Haslam (drums). Depicting a druggy trip and a stage performance by the band, look for several easter eggs referring to past Max the Axe songs, or even Dr Dave’s well-stated hatred of Transformers.
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
🅻🅸🆅🅴 Episode
Episode 122: The End Continues with Uncle Meat and Dan Chartrand
In September of 2024, Marco D’Auria, Dan Chartrand, and Uncle Meat joined us to celebrate 40 years of This Is Spinal Tap. This comprehensive and loving analysis needed a followup episode once the sequel, The End Continues, had come out. Now it has, and we have all seen it. Dan and the Meat are back tonight to discuss the sequel, and the sequel soundtrack! Tonight we’re gonna rock ya tonight!
Though we have not had 40 years to study up like we did last time, we have done our homework and will be addressing the below topics and more:
What were your hopes and fears going into this movie?
Where and when did you see it?
The new drummer – our impressions.
Favourite scene.
Favourite cameo / callback.
Soundtrack thoughts: New songs, old songs, and CD vs the movie.
The big question: Did it live up to the Spinal Tap legacy?
Please join us live tonight in the comments. There will be blood to let!
Friday October 24 at 7:00 PM EST, 8:00 PM Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube or Facebook.
Thanks to all who joined our special live episode of 50 Years of Iron Maiden celebrating Live After Death. I always like to write up a little show summary every time we do a live episode. For Harrison and I, scheduling guests required pre-recording episodes for this series. However, we aim to do the live albums as live episodes, because why not? Most of them do not have special guests attached to them, but Live After Death had to be an exception, due to its importance in heavy metal. This week our special guest was show co-founder and viewer favourite Uncle Meat!
Together, the three of us broke down the album, side by side. Each side of this album has its own flavour. I had a favourite. We discuss the spectacular vocal acrobatics of Bruce Dickinson, some (perhaps) excessive crowd interactions, some nearly definitive versions of songs, and some interesting stage banter. We also go deep with the three B-sides: “Losfer Words”, “Run to the Hills” and “Running Free”.
Finally, we take a really good look at the original vinyl itself, the gatefold, the Easter eggs, and much more!
And speaking of Easter eggs, we’ll see you next week for our special live Good Friday afternoon show, and following that, our 100th episode celebration!
Recorded:
14–17 March 1985 (sides 1–3) Long Beach Arena
8–12 October 1984 (side 4) Hammersmith Odeon
Released 14 October 1985 (audio)
23 October 1985 (video)
The first release of Churchill’s speech added onto Aces High.
SIDE ONE
String of hits, five in a row. Easily the best first side of any live metal album.
Aces High – a lot of really really “clean” backing vocals – overdubs?
Revelations – “Nice to see ya, to see ya…nice.” “Written about religion, or about washing your car, actually it’s about hanging a pair of curtains.”
Lot of “extra singing” from Bruce. “yeah, yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah oh, oh yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah…” Also lots of variation from the album melody. Lots of extra power from Bruce vocally.
And then “Oh, oh, it is you…” “Motherfucker!” – Nicko?
SIDE TWO
“This is what NOT to do if a bird shits on ya!” One of the most famous song intros of all time?
Also lots of that “extra singing” – “Yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah…”
Followed by “Powerslave” as a serious 1-2 punch.
Ending with Beast is a great record closer. Intro is interesting as it’s pitch-changed with effects added. Also Bruce sings the complete choruses and not just “six”.
SIDE THREE
Another side of smash hits. “Hallowed” (funny twang in Bruce’s delivery)
“Iron Maiden”, “Run to the Hills”, and “Running Free” with the long audience participation section. Kind of the definitive version of this kind of concert activity.
“Hills” is the only song I like a lot less than the album version. Guitar opening sounds thin, Steve’s bass too plunky. Bruce doesn’t sound as enthused compared to Beast Over Hammersmith.
SIDE FOUR
“Wrathchild” is a brilliant addition from the Di’Anno days though “Killers” would have been great too. A definitive Bruce version of “Wrathchild”. Lots of that “extra singing” and you can hear Harris on the chorus clearly.
“Acacia” – “Speak to me, Hammersmith!” – I like Bruce’s echo – “I know a place where we can go go go go…” Great guitar solo work here.
“Damned” – “Let me see those hands, yeeeah!” Magnificent vocal performance by Bruce, top notch all the way! Lovely guitar harmonics after Bruce sings “If he had lived, he would have crucified us all!”
“Boots” – Very frantic vocal delivery with speed.
“Phantom” – an absolutely epic way to end the album. When I first got it, it was an unexpected track. It was my first time hearing it.
B-SIDES
“Losfer Words” – Feels faster and more intense than the album version. A great bonus track and the only live performance available to buy.
“Sanctuary” – Too much “extra singing” in this one!
“Murders in the Rue Morgue” – “Got a surprise for ya!”
50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 10: Live After Death
A special 🅻🅸🆅🅴 episode
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK #98
Some call it the greatest metal live album of all time. It was certainly of an unusually high quality when it was released in 1985, for Iron Maiden’s Live After Death was over 100 minutes of masterful classics, accompanied by a generous booklet with liner notes and hundreds of tour photos. It had no equal in heavy metal.
Tonight on 50 Years of Iron Maiden, Harrison and I will be live! It’s a gimmick we want to try for live albums: live episodes to celebrate the live experience! Joining us is show co-founder Uncle Meat, returning to the channel for this special deep dive. Not only is 2025 the 50th anniversary of Iron Maiden, but it is the 40th anniversary of this legendary live album. Meat and I were there in 1985, relishing every note when it was brand new.
Together we will break down all four sides of vinyl (the original CD only featured the first three sides, and the cassette had an edited version of side two, so vinyl used to be the only way to get the whole album). We will also go deep on the rarely heard live B-sides “Sanctuary”, “Murders in the Rue Morgue” and “Losfer Words”. For physical media, we will look at the 1995 2 CD reissue, the remastered 2 CD reissue, the original vinyl, and the singles…one of which didn’t even have Eddie on the cover!
Since this is a live episode, we’ll also be able to take your comments live! Don’t miss this special episode of Grab A Stack of Rock.
LIVE on Friday April 11 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy on YouTube or Facebook.
Kitchener Ontario’s Max the Axe has several studio albums and EPs, plus a “best of”, but never before have they released a live album. Until now!
Recorded in 2006, 2017, and 2018, the album features a spread of Max classics new and old, including favourites like “Scales of Justice” and “Gods On the Radio”. Each song features Eric “Uncle Meat” Litwiller on vocals.
“But Mike,” you ask. “I thought Meat joined the band later than 2006.”
True. While we won’t get into details, if you consider Kiss Alive to be a great album, then you should have no problem with Live In Ontario!
The first six tracks come from a 2006 recording called Heads or Tails, recorded in Etobicoke Ontario. The lineup includes Litwiller, Mike “Max the Axe” Koutis on guitar, Tom Cole on bass, and Jeff Slauenwhite on drums. These tracks are heavy on bottom end. The guitars are pure sludge. Opener “Blood Runs Red” sounds great with Meat singing; a fantastic vocal performance. The familiar “River Grand” follows, and once again the vocals stand out, with Eric adding twists that aren’t on the album versions.
“Labyrinth” has distortion and groove. Max wrings some cool sounds from his axe on this frantic, messy, punky classic. It’s very shambolic, definitely with a punk rock appeal. Back to a more metallic sound on “Immortal” (subtitled “I Feel the Sun”). The vocals are more tentative here, as the song was less familiar when recorded.
“Mexican Standoff” opens with the traditional Mexican sounding guitar lick, and then it’s off to the races with Meat in peak voice. This version lacks the shouted backing vocals, but is cool nonetheless. Max throws some wah-wah on during a noisy interlude. One more song from this gig is the Metallica-like “Space Marine”. It is great to finally have versions of these older songs with Meat singing, tentative as some are.
Onto the next batch of songs from 2016 at “The Farm” in Woodstock Ontario. This was the very first gig with the new (and definitive) lineup: Mike Mitchell on bass and Dr. Dave Haslam on drums. Having never played live before, and with a batch of brand new songs, the gig sounds much as you would expect. It’s energetic and engaged, but good as the songs would come to be, they are not there yet. The set features a number of compositions that would later appear on the Status Electric album, plus “I Don’t Advocate Drugs”, the first version available with Eric on vocals. He cranks it up a couple notches.
A very cool band intro leads into “The Other Side”, a very embryonic version. The parts are all there, but it’s not tight yet. “Loose” is a good word to describe this live album in general. There’s also an extended guitar solo. From there, Eric asks the audience if anyone out there owns a snake? Which means, of course, that “Scales of Justice” is up next. It’s not as crunchy as the album. If anything, maybe it’s a bit more Zeppy. Yet those vocal hooks are there, and Meat is in peak voice. This track needed some work before it was album worthy, but it is fun to hear these early versions, flaws and all.
“This is a song about gambling,” explains Eric. This means the “Next Plane to Vegas” is about to land. It barely hangs together, but it’s over in a flash. Finally, “Gods On the Radio” closes the set with Max’s best song. Again, it’s not quite what it would become on album yet, but the bones are there and the vocal hooks are 100% intact. It doesn’t have the drive of the album version and unfortunately the drums are hard to hear. The guitar solos also haven’t evolved yet.
Finally, “Randy” from 2018 was recorded on a cell phone by your’s truly. While a limited run of one (1) single picture disc was made, this is its first CD release, and in much better sound quality. In terms of performance, this is by far the best track. All the songs were by now well rehearsed by the band, as the album had been completed. The difference between this and the Farm tracks is clear.
It is a shame the whole 2018 Boathouse set was not recorded. That said, you do the best with what you got. In this case we have a 2006 recording of an early band lineup, with the older songs. Then you have the 2017 recording of the definitive lineup, but with songs that they were still honing. So it’s not a perfect situation, but it’s history recorded. Something to remind us that albums don’t come fully formed. They must be worked on diligently, and if anything, Live In Ontario! makes us appreciate Status Electric that much more.
“Randy” on the other hand could be the best version of that song, period.
Johnny Metal earned a new nickname tonight: Johnny Homework! His meticulous research and notes provided a solid backbone of knowledge on which we arranged an awesome discussion. The topic: the now-classic Christopher Guest mockumentary A Mighty Wind!
Together with Uncle Meat and Dan from Off the Charts, we tried to cover every aspect that we love about this movie. We went deep on the following topics:
The cast
Our favourite bands
Our favourite songs
Favourite scenes
Fred Willard
The Kiss at the End of the Rainbow
The ending
Additionally, we looked at CDs, vinyl, and a very nice songbook from Johnny Homework. Gotta get that physical product in.
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man Episode 73: A Mighty Wind Appreciation, with Dan Chartrand, Uncle Meat & Johnny Metal
In 2003, Christopher Guest unveiled his third improv comedy movie, following Waiting For Guffman (1996) and Best In Show (2000). While each film has its focus (a small town play; a dog show), it was 2003’s A Mighty Wind that “tapped” into the spirit of music that made Guest a fan favourite in the first place. This time it’s folk music!
The Folksmen are a fictional folk band that actually opened for Guest’s “other” band, Spinal Tap. Ironically, all three members are the same: Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer. Together with Mitch & Mickey (Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara) and the New Main Street Singers (Jane Lynch, John Michael Higgins, Parker Posey, Paul Dooley et. al.), the bands have reunited for a big folk show in New York City. As he often does, Fred Willard stole the show in this film.
This hilarious comedy boasts an incredible soundtrack of originals and one cover (“Start Me Up”), and tonight I’ll be joined again by Dan Chartrand and Uncle Meat to discuss it. With them will be John “Johnny Metal” Clauser, who has wanted to do this topic with us for some time now.
You might not be as family with A Mighty Wind as you were with This Is Spinal Tap, but you won’t regret spending an hour with us tonight. It may not be heavy metal, but good music is good music, and this soundtrack is loaded with great songs. Join us tonight!
Friday October 4 at 8:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 9:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy onYouTube or on Facebook!
A huge thank you to Marco D’Auria of the Contrarians, Dan Chartrand of Off the Charts, and the near-legendary Uncle Meat for comprising our expert panel tonight. The subject was Spinal Tap, the band and the music. It may be fair to call Dan a “superfan”, as he had some Spinal Tap rarities that I don’t. Dan provided some cool physical product, including CDs and LPs of This is Spinal Tap, Break Like the Wind, and he even unfolded his Back From the Dead CD packaging to show us what it looks like when it’s a little paper stage set.
Taking a cue from another big Spinal Tap fan, Peter Kerr, I stole a tactic from Rock Daydream Nation and did some discussion questions in rounds. Here’s what we tackled:
Were you ever in the blissful unawareness that Spinal Tap was a fake band? Or were you always in on the joke?
Evaluate the musicianship of Tap.
Pick a favourite song from the soundtrack.
Pick a favourite song from Break Like the Wind.
And a quick discussion of Back from the Dead.
Along the way we discussed the history of Tap, both real and fictional. We had a look at the DVD for the Return of Spinal Tap, and had a chat on that subject. I peppered the panel with trivia throughout the night. We had an insightful discussion about talent, and the three actors who played the central characters: Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer. We speculated on director Rob Reiner’s role in the songwriting, and technical aspects of the writing and playing. Did Harry Shearer play fretless bass on “Break Like the Wind”? I don’t know, but we do know he can play upright bass thanks to his role in A Mighty Wind. In short, the music and movie were given as much appraisal and analysis as we could do in an hour.
Meanwhile in the comments, Pete Jones provided quote after quote after quote, from a variety of Tap interviews and performances. Thank you Peter! And thank you to everyone who watched and joined in.
I started the show with a quick unboxing, from Australia’s Ash Geisler, who has been a huge supporter of the show. Thanks again Ash for watching, and for sending me this awesome package. I guarantee some of them will be getting a review.
One topic I didn’t get to mention on the show, but did come up among the viewers: Spinal Tap II is coming to theaters in 2025. How do you feel about this? Let us know in the comments. I for one don’t think it’s necessary or a good idea. The cameo-laden cast seems gimmicky, but Rob Reiner is back is the director’s chair.
Thanks for watching, and if you didn’t, the link is below. This is one I’ll be watching over again.
NEXT WEEK: A Mighty Wind with Dan Chartrand, John Clauser & Uncle Meat!
GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man Episode 72: 40 Years of Spinal Tap: The Music with Marco D’Auria, Dan Chartrand and Uncle Meat
Tonight we’re gonna rock ya, tonight!
Formed as the Thamesmen in 1964, Nigel Tufnel and David St. Hubbins scored a hit with the single “Gimmie Some Money” / “Cups and Cakes”. The band soon employed bassist Derek Smalls. After a name change to Spinal Tap, the band wandered through progressive rock, jazz fusion, funk, reggae, hard rock, and heavy metal. In 1984 they became a household name with the release of the documentary film by Marty DiBergi, called This Is Spinal Tap. It is hard to believe it has been 40 years since that film brought Tap to the silver screen.
Tonight, Contrarians Marco D’Auria and new face Dan Chartrand will join Uncle Meat and I, as we Tap into the history of this great band’s music.
From rock and roll (“Gimme Some Money”) to hippie flower power (“Listen to What the Flower People Say”, “Rainy Day Sun”) to heavy metal (“Stonehenge”), few bands have struggled to find a direction like Spinal Tap has. Now with DiBergi back on board, the band are primed to release a new documentary film on their more recent exploits. Our panel tonight will try to avoid talking about the drama (puppet shows, air force bases, girlfriends) and focus on the music. And what music it is! Nigel Tufnel is one of the most critically acclaimed guitar players in the world, not just for volume but also for pioneering the art of double his guitar solos with voice. David St. Hubbins is such a legendary lead singer, that Ronnie James Dio wouldn’t allow him to sing lead on Hear N’ Aid’s “Stars” for fear of breaking the board. And Derek Smalls? His solo album Smalls Change proves he’s not a one-trick moustached pony.
Join us tonight, and Tap into the music of Spinal Tap.
Friday September 27 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic. Enjoy onYouTube or on Facebook!
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