RECORD STORE TALES MkII: Getting More Tale Report: Aux 33 Tours in Montréal
My sister, bass clarinetist Kathryn Ladano, just completed the east coast leg of her Canadian tour last month. This was followed by a western leg, but while returning home from the east there was a stop in Montréal. Kathryn is a collector too, though not to the extent that I am. She doesn’t need the physical musical media in her daily life like I do. She still collects some of her favourite bands, and has recently started buying vinyl. While in Montréal, she visited a record store called Aux 33 Tours, located at 1373 Mont-Royal Est. According to their website, it is the largest record store in the city. She emailed me the following day, May 27, raving about the store. I’ll let her take it from here! Enjoy the pictures.
I found the most amazing record store in Montréal yesterday! I found almost all The Spoons’ albums on LP, including ones that aren’t available on CD. I also found a promo live album by them that didn’t have a proper cover because it wasn’t supposed to be sold. They were all dirt cheap – like $2 – $7. One of them was autographed and personalized “To Martin”! [Fortuitously, her husband is also named Martin!] I also got Kid A on record. Kid A and Sgt. Peppers are reissues with heavy packaging. They had an original Sgt Peppers, but the reissue was cheaper, so I got that.
I spent about $140. Which I think is good for that many albums! Note: the Simon and Garfunkel and Gord Downie ones are Martin’s.
I’d also like to point out how rare that Bryan Adams single is. He really tried to bury that song! Watch the video, you’ll hear why. (They sped up his voice which gives him a Chipmunks sound.)
And finally, gratuitous photos of Schnauzers and Starfleet collars:
Part 3 of 3 in this week’s Helix miniseries. The original review was posted in August 2012, but this is completely new and improved!
HELIX – No Rest For the Wicked (1983 EMI)
Finally! The big break came, after nearly 10 years of hard work. The trick was re-branding Helix as a “metal band” instead of a plain old bar rock band. An early video for “Heavy Metal Love” was filmed in T-shirts and jeans. It was only after they switched to leather clothing and a more “metal” image, did people start to take notice. “Heavy Metal Love” was re-filmed for a more metallic music video, and Helix were more or less off to the races. They had a boost from CanCon rules, which meant the video went into rotation on MuchMusic.
“Heavy Metal Love”, written in a crummy hotel room in Seaforth Ontario, is an ode to Joan Jett; or rather a fantasy about Joan Jett. It remains as fun now as it was then. Helix re-recorded the tune in 2006 for their Get Up EP, but it is this version produced by Tom Treumuth that has become timeless. Indeed, it was chosen for the wedding scene in theTrailer Park Boys movie that same year. It’s still a great groove, and a whole lot of fun.
“Fun” is a great word to describe Helix’s music in general, and No Rest For the Wicked is perhaps their strongest effort, at least from their years on Capitol Records. It is true that I gave Breaking Loose (1979) high praise and a 5/5 star rating, but No Rest is easier to sink your teeth into on just one listen.
Helix in 1983 consisted of:
Brian Vollmer – lead vocals
Brent “the Doctor” Doerner – guitar
Paul Hackman – guitar
Mike Uzelac – bass
Greg “Fritz” Hinz – drums
The only lineup change this time was the drum seat. Leo Niebudek departed, and was replaced by Fritz Hinz, ex-Starchild. (Starchild’s claim to history is an early single produced by some unknown guy named Daniel Lanois. Fritz played on their later, uber-rare Children of the Stars album.) With Hinz, the band had acquired an easy-to-love showman who had the chops required. I shall never forget the sight of Fritz’s buttless chaps, giving us the moon at a 1987 concert.
Even though I hold Breaking Loose in very high esteem, No Rest For the Wicked is probably just as good, but in a different way. The new heavier direction didn’t alienate their old fans, but it did gain them plenty of new ones. It seemed a lot of kids on my street had a copy of this LP or cassette. It’s more than just the one song — every track is great, every single one of ’em. The title track still serves as Helix’ show opener. Live, they change part of the lyrics to “Ain’t no rest for the Helix band!” It’s true! It’s an unrelenting and cool metal assault. But again…plenty fun.
Need some party rock? Look no further than “Let’s All Do It Tonight”. Listen to that one, and then try to forget the chorus! If you like that kind of melodic hard rock, then you’ll probably also dig “Don’t Get Mad Get Even”, the second (much less seen) video made for the album.
Need some sleeze? Then “Check Out the Love”, before you do the “Dirty Dog”. Both songs are killer grooves. “Dirty Dog” never fails to make the setlists today. It is suspended by a killer riff and Vollmer’s shredded vocal cords. And let’s not forget “White Lace and Black Leather”. (Like they did with the track “Breaking Loose”, Helix put the title song on the next album!) This is about as dirty as they get, and I love it.
Need a ballad? Naw, didn’t think so. But just in case, Helix put on a ballsy one, in “Never Want To Lose You”. Sounds wimpy, yes, but it has the guitars and heavy chorus necessary to keep you from losing your cool.
Need a boost of adrenaline? Then the doctor prescribes “Ain’t No High Like Rock ‘N’ Roll”. Kicking up the pace a few notches, it still retains that Helix knack for melody.
Also recommended, chase this with the live album called Live In Buffalo, which was recorded for radio shortly afterwards. It has high-octane live versions of most of these tracks as well as a sneak preview of the next album, Walkin’ the Razor’s Edge.
I think this one sounds particularly good on vinyl. Gimme an R!
RECORD STORE TALES MkII: Getting More Tale #393: Format of Choice
What is your audio format of choice? Which is the one that makes up the majority of your collection?
In addition to occasionally speaking in the third person, LeBrain has specific wants and needs in his music collection. I have a fast and loose set of rules when it comes to choosing the format on which I buy new music. Some prefer the ease and speed of downloading from iTunes. Others prefer the so-called “warmth” of vinyl. How do you decide what formats to buy your music on?
Here are my collection priorities:
#1. Compact Disc
99% of my collection is on CD. I have many reasons for this. One is the superior sound quality: a CD just sounds better than an mp3. A CD won’t crash like a hard drive. The oldest CDs in my collection are over 25 years old, and still look and play perfect. They have always been stored in their CD cases after use, in a cool dry place. They do not suffer from CD rot, which is a deterioration of the aluminum layer inside a CD due to oxidation. The discs may not last 100 years, but I am confident that most if not all will be enjoyed through my lifetime. CD rot can be minimized or prevented just by handling your CDs correctly.
I have chosen CD as my #1 format for other reasons other than longevity. They are easily transferred to mp3 for better portability (they are already easily portable). Playing mp3 files in a mobile environment like my car can only extend the life of the source CD. Also, compact discs are easy to store and just look cool when all lined up in my collection!
I buy almost all my CDs online now, and they ship fast and easy. Most of the time the packages will even fit in my mailbox, saving me a trip to the post office! For these simple reasons, CDs are the lion’s share of the LeBrain Library.
#2. Vinyl
Today’s vinyl LP has been around since 1948, and even then the technology wasn’t new. It merely updated and standardized something that had been playing on gramophones for a couple decades. They used to be made out of substances such as hard rubber and shellac, but vinyl proved to be versatile and enduring.
Since vinyl has been around so long, and couldn’t even be killed off by the cassette or compact disc, it is safe to say you should always be able to buy something to play an LP. However, an LP doesn’t have the longevity of a CD in terms of a long playing life. Your CD laser never makes contact with the plastic, but your stylus does contact the surface of the vinyl. The force of friction means that every play will wear down your LP, even if it’s only microscopically. The key is to use good clean equipment and records. If you do, a record will outlast a temporary format such as VHS or cassette tape. Minimizing friction-causing dust particles extends the life of both LP and needle.
For all these reasons, vinyl is my second priority in format collecting. They are bigger and take up more room, but when I want the warmth of an LP or just bigger cover art, there is only one way to go. 180 gram vinyl is especially nice to hold and listen to. For buying old albums affordably, vinyl is a great alternative to CD. Some old metal albums have had limited CD releases in other territories, making them expensive and hard to get once they go out of print. Vinyl can be a cheaper alternative for your collection.
Vinyl bonus tracks are a slam-dunk reason to buy an LP. Alice Cooper’s Welcome 2 My Nightmare is a great example of an LP that has a track unavailable on any other format (“Flatline”). And of course Jack White took the idea of LP bonuses to the ultimate level with his “Ultra LP” version of Lazaretto.
#3. Digital download (mp3)
I hate paying money for something that does not physically exist. If I have to, I will, but I only “have to” when there are bonus tracks unavailable on any physical format. Given the choice and the money, I will always buy the physical version, not just 1’s and 0’s floating around on a magnetic hard drive. I hate that you (usually) don’t get any info or liner notes with an mp3. I hate that your hard drive just needs to have a nice crash for you to lose this music that you paid for. I understand the convenience, but digital downloads do not service my needs.
I know there are high quality download formats such as FLAC, but that still doesn’t solve the problem of not being on a physical format that won’t crash, and my issue of paying for a non-physical entity. I also know that a lot of people don’t care about these things, and I wanted to understand why. I asked one reader why he prefers his iTunes:
“Here’s my deal: At the time when iTunes first came out, I had three young daughters. Getting to the record store (when there were record stores) was tuff to say the least, let alone the cost as well! I just couldn’t drop $20 all the time. Sure, I made exceptions and I bought actual product like Maiden and Rush, but iTunes became my way of music buying. Especially re-buying albums I had owned on cassette or vinyl. I just re-buy them on iTunes and download straight to my iPod! Now that my daughters are teens, I have just stayed the course with iTunes. I pre-order product from them, like the latest Priest, and the Van Halen live album. Convenience is just the way of life for me now! Don’t get me wrong though, I would still enjoy buying the actual product, but man it does boil down to affordability! iTunes delivers that and I can stay current with adding to my dinosaur rock collection! Ha!”
#4. Cassette
Once the mighty majority of my collection, cassettes have been reduced to a mere novelty. I treasured them for portability and convenience, but now I loathe them. I debated putting mp3 last on my formats of choice, but the truth is, cassette is far worse.
Cassettes have several things going against them. The first is moving parts. A CD or LP requires no moving parts, but a cassette has spindles and rollers that rub against and wear the magnetic tape. Sometimes a cassette’s parts can be too tight inside, causing it to warble when you play it. But it’s the analog tape itself that is the real problem. Even brand new, a cassette will not sound as rich as an LP because it’s not capable of reproducing the same range of frequencies. A cassette has a built-in high level of static noise. Then once you start playing it, magnetic particles begin to wear off. In fact over time, tapes will degrade to be unlistenable, no matter how well you take care of them. Even worse, record companies used the worst quality tape for their releases. If you bought a cheap blank Sony tape, you would have better quality than a store-bought record label’s cassette.
The poor sound and lack of longevity are the two main reasons I’m still replacing all of my old tapes with CDs and LPs. Anybody got a copy of Bonham’s Mat Hatter on CD for me to upgrade to? How about Wolfsbane’s first? Still looking for those!
#5. Miscellaneous
Not really ranked last, I just wanted to mention other formats that I own music on.
5.1 surround sound can’t be encoded on a standard CD, so DVD and Blu-ray have to step up to the plate. I have several Rush, Queen, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple albums (among many others) that have been given official Quadrophonic or 5.1 surround mixes. Often, these mixes include bits of music that are not in the stereo versions, such as guitar solos and fills.
The problem with DVD and Blu-ray is that I only have one home theater system. I only have one place, one room in the house, where I can listen to these special albums. I can’t play them in the car, on a walk, or at the cottage. As such, a Quad or 5.1 release gets limited listens at Chez LeBrain.
How many people are there like me? Let me know your favourite formats in the comments section!
RECORD STORE TALES MkII: Getting More Tale #391.5: Mail from Cataraqui
I got mail!
The only thing sweeter than the arrival of an Amazon order, or that of imported Transformers toys from China, is surprise mail from a fellow music lover. This time that music lover is Geoff over at the 1001 Albums in 10 Years blog. Geoff sent me a cryptic email a few weeks ago about some things he found that I might be interested in having for my collection:
“Mike, I picked up a couple practically-free musical treasures at our local Value Village this week. I’m not sure if they’ll actually play, but when I saw them I thought they’d be neat assets in the LeBrain collection!”
What a guy! I love surprises!
There are a few major audio formats that have no representation in my music collection. If I can’t play it, as a collector I generally don’t seek it out. As a music geek however, I love odd formats and releases. There are certain bands that I would collect just about anything from, and the big one is Kiss. Geoff knew this. Now I can add 8-track to the formats I own of Kiss Alive! This is definitely getting a place of honour in LeBrain’s displays of treasure. Probably right next to that weird Def Leppard Pyromania cassette that Aaron found for me at Sonic Boom.
Also in the package, and presumed worthless by Geoff, are two 45’s. According to Geoff’s accompanying letter, the records “you would be able to play, but are too damaged to do so!”
Fooey. My USB turntable only cost $50. Let’s give it a shot.
Both singles are records I didn’t have before. Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It” / “You Can’t Stop Rock ‘N’ Roll” has a different B-side from the 12″ single that I do have. The 7″ has the studio version of “You Can’t Stop Rock ‘N’ Roll” instead of the live. And it played fine! It was dusty but cleaned up fine. Score!
The Kiss single, for “I Was Made For Lovin’ You” / “Hard Times”, was not as fortunate. It is massively warped. I measured the warp at 1/4 inch at its largest point. But get this…it played! It didn’t sound the greatest, but it played!
In his letter, Geoff says “Thought they still work as collectibles or conversation starting coasters.” Well, Twisted Sister and Kiss Alive! are officially entering the LeBrain Library. As for “I Was Made For Lovin’ You”? Though it plays, I don’t think I will play it again. I think this might make an excellent wall decoration, however!
Thanks Geoff! I’ll find something funky and cool to send in return.
I thought it would prudent to post a mini-review today, lest some of you thoughtI had lost my mind earlier. What’s the date again?
BON JOVI – “Born To Be My Baby” (1988 Polygram 7″ single)
This single is a beauty. I bought this 45 at the Zellers store at Stanley Park Mall in Kitchener when I was a young fella. It doesn’t have any exclusive tracks — not even single edits which were very common on Bon Jovi 7″ singles. Instead it came in a collector’s package with cardboard picture sleeve, and three postcards.
The postcards are interesting to me for a reason. Look at the group photos of the band. Jon’s face is always obscured. These pictures from the New Jersey period represent a brief time when Jon was trying to give the band more face time. Check many photos from that era — his back is often to the camera while the others look straight ahead. I read a quote in a magazine where Jon was pissed that people only knew Richie Sambora as “the guy in the cowboy hat”. He was trying to give them attention and I think that’s cool.
The two tracks on the single are two of my New Jersey favourites! “Born To Be My Baby” was always a cool groove. I enjoy listening to Tico Torres’ drums on this track. Understated but perfect. But “Love For Sale”? Shit, I think that’s the best tune on New Jersey! Proof of the talent of this band, drunk or sober. Hard to imagine it was just something that happened and got recorded. It actually makes me a little sad today — sad that Jon and Richie have now broken up this amazing chemistry.
Fun single though! Glad to have kept it all these years.
All week, Aaron over at theKeepsMeAliveand I will be colluding. Monday to Friday, we will be talking about the same CDs. He hasn’t read my reviews, and I haven’t read his. Today, we’re both discussing Quiet Riot‘s landmark Metal Health. Be sure to check both reviews each day this week!
QUIET RIOT – Metal Health (1983, 2001 Sony remastered edition)
While my first rock album ever was Kilroy Was Here, by Styx, my first metal album ever was this one: Metal Health, by Quiet Riot. Although I was really into Styx, Quiet Riot were the first band that I “loved”. Some music that people liked when they were in grade school embarrasses them today that they ever owned it. Not me, not this album. Since buying it in ’84, I’ve owned this album on cassette, LP and twice on CD. And I’ll probably buy it again; I understand there is a more recent reissue out with more bonus tracks. Metal Health was the crucial cornerstone in my musical development, and always will be one of my all-time favourites. Read on!
The opening drum crash to “Metal Health”, sometimes also referred to as “Bang Your Head (Metal Health)”, instantly transports me back in time. Chuck Wright played bass on this one, extra slinky and funky (although Rudy Sarzo plays on most of the album). Suddenly I’m in the basement at my parents’ house, listening to this cassette on my old Sanyo ghetto blaster. I still recall, the cassette shell was white. I played the crap out of it, annoying everyone.
“I got a mouth like an alligator” sings lead howler Kevin DuBrow, and how accurate he was. I had no idea that Kevin’s mouth would cause the band to oust him only a few years down the road. I liked the attitude of the lyrics, and the aggression of the guitars. Impossible to ignore was new drummer Frankie Banali, who to this day is an absolute ballcrusher of a hard rock drummer. His metronomic groove on Metal Health gave it the drive. I wouldn’t have been able to break it down and articulate it like that when I was a kid, but these are the factors that attracted me to the song.
“Cum On Feel The Noize”, the Slade cover, is now more famous than the Slade original or Oasis’ version for that matter. It’s a great tune, but Quiet Riot and producer Spencer Proffer nailed the sound and the vibe. The gang vocals are irresistible. The cover was a huge hit, but it painted them into a corner.
Much like my first rock purchase Kilroy Was Here, there were songs I liked and songs I hated. I don’t think I was the only 12 year old kid who didn’t have the patience for ballads. Girls? Who cares! So I also hated “Don’t Wanna Let You Go”. I wasn’t obsessive about listening to whole albums back then, since I was brought up in the LP age where we just dropped the needle. So I often fast-forwarded through “Don’t Wanna Let You Go”. Or we would play side one of the cassette, rewind, and play it again. (“Don’t Wanna Let You Go” was on side two of the cassette version). Shortly after I suddenly noticed girls were EVERYWHERE, the song started to click with me. Its sparse arrangement driven by Frankie’s drums make it a really special song. Carlos Cavazo’s guitar solo had melody and composition to it, and drew my attention to the fact that a guitar solo wasn’t just a 30 second bore, but a micro-structure within the song, like a song all its own.
“Slick Black Cadillac” is a remake of a song from the second Quiet Riot album (cleverly titled Quiet Riot II) although we didn’t know that at the time. “Slick Black Cadillac” is simply a classic today, and even though there isn’t a Randy Rhoads writing credit on it, you can hear the echo of his influence in Carlos’ guitar fills. The lyrics to this song are so catchy, and soon you too will be singin’ about those solid gold hubcaps. I was attracted to songs that told a story, and the rudimentary story here is a guy in a Caddy runnin’ from the “coppers on his trail”. There’s no Dylanesque poetry, and DuBrow was never a crooner. This is about loud guitars and drums, a singer who is screaming his face off, and songs about cars and rocking!
You know I got a fully equipped rock ‘n’ roll machine, At speeds that take me high, high, high, At dead man’s curve, I only hear one word, drive, drive, drive!
Love’s A Bitch” is less successful but it has a mournful quality that isn’t bad. “Breathless” is better, a fast rocker featuring Frankie’s breakneck but steady pounding of the skins. Following at the same pace, “Run for Cover” is just as furious, but lacking in melody. Carlos Cavazo’s guitar showcase “Battle Axe” used to precede “Slick Black Cadillac” on my cassette version, which it was perfectly suited for. On the original LP and the CD, it opens “Let’s Get Crazy”. Because the running order of the cassette is permanently branded into my memory, it’s hard to get used to. “Let’s Get Crazy” is goofy, seemingly an attempt to have another song like “Metal Health” on the same album. As such it’s filler.
Finally there is “Thunderbird”, the piano-based ballad that Kevin wrote for the late Randy Rhoads. Didn’t like it then, love it today.* It’s a beautiful song and maybe the best thing DuBrow’s ever written. It’s cheesy as hell, but who cares? The heart is there.
CD bonus tracks include a fun live take of “Slick Black Cadillac” (complete with DuBrow’s “vrroooom, vrrrrroooom!”) taken from a radio promo release. Also present is “Danger Zone”, an outtake that is not quite up to the album standards, but certainly close. Remastering is loud and clear, and liner notes are informative enough.
Enjoy. Doesn’t matter if it’s 1984 or 2015, this is a great album.
4.5/5 stars
* When we were kids, my sister and I used to play ‘air bands’ to this album. I’d always make her sing “Thunderbird” while I would get the ‘better’ songs!
It’s Epic Review Time! The fourth review from Mike and Aaron Go to Toronto…Again! Yet another score from Sonic Boom! I bought this one new, for $24.99. Warning: image heavy!
LENNY KRAVITZ – Are You Gonna Go My Way (2013 Virgin deluxe edition, 1993 vinyl edition)
Man, I love this record. This was the last legitimately great Lenny Kravitz album. I’m pleased that with a fresh 2013 remastering job, it still sounds vital and raw. Back in those days, Lenny was recording on vintage equipment all but exclusively. In the included interview track, Kravitz discusses the collection that he and drummer Henry Hirsch had acquired, including gear that dated back to the 1940’s and 50’s. The upkeep of said equipment is a nightmare, he states, as you can imagine. The results that it yielded, especially on Are You Gonna Go My Way, justify the antique gear and maintenance costs.
I first got this sucker on (clear vinyl) LP back in ’94, which came with a stellar 8-song bonus CD. I didn’t even have a good way of playing vinyl back then. My turntable was pretty crap, so I never actually played the LP. I got Are You Gonna Go My Way on CD a bit later, used, when I started working at the Record Store. Now I can discard that old CD, because this deluxe renders it obsolete. (But not the vinyl; more on that in a bit.)
Hopefully everyone knows the energetic title track, a massive smash hit single. The simple repeating guitar riff is nothing but classic. The track itself is basic blues-based classic rock, albeit with the tempo maxed out. This track convinced that Lenny was ready, willing and able to be a rock hero, filling the shoes of his forebears such as Zeppelin and Hendrix. Yet it was actually the second single, the organ-based ballad “Believe”, that shows what Lenny is truly capable of. I consider this his best song, bar none. The 2001 influenced video was so cool, but the delicate song stands on its own. Its ending is epic in quality.
The other singles on the album included the frighteningly good soul-rock song “Is There Any Love In Your Heart.” The guitar riff is pure rock, the falsetto vocal pure soul. The song is deceptively angry. Though Lenny does not sound enraged, the lyric is pretty clear:
“Babe you say I’m the only one, But you’re fucking all my friends, Baby all that you care about, Is Gucci and Mercedes Benz, You’re just the kind that’s up on all the latest trends.”
The last single from Are You Gonna Go My Way was the gentle love song, “Heaven Help”. The amazing acoustic track was softer than I generally liked, but it’s hard not to. It spawned a five-track CD single (or EP?), which we’ll get to shortly.
Singles aside, the album is loaded with incredible deep cuts. One of the best is the emotional “Sister”, which really knocks you out by the end. “Sugar” boats some cool, funky retro horns. “Eleutheria” is reggae; I can’t think of a better way to describe it. It’s also a standout, and probably could have been a single in its own right. “My Love” is psychedelic, while “Just Be A Woman” is simply lovely. There is plenty of variety on Are You Gonna Go My Way, without sounding fragmented. It still sounds completely unified.
There’s only one tune I still don’t like, which is “Black Girl”. It’s one of the softer numbers, but I just don’t find it catchy at all. But it’s the only one.
The deluxe edition is jam packed with value. Disc one boasts seven bonus tracks, all of astounding quality for B-sides. These tracks had been previously issued on the aforementioned “Heaven Help” single and vinyl edition, so I am well familiar with each. The upbeat “Ascension” should have been a hit. “All My Life” is as strong as any of the album cuts. “Brother” is the funkiest thing here, and maybe should have been included for that reason. “Someone Like You” is a cool, 60’s-style droning rock song, a bit more upbeat than “My Love”. “For the First Time” is a quiet slow dance, so for that reason, I can see why it was excluded. On an album, it could kill momentum. On a dance floor, it would result in many babies being conceived later in the evening.
Without a doubt, the most hilarious moment is the song “B-Side Blues”, a dirty spontaneous sounding song with spiteful lyrics. In the words, Lenny complains that he’s been working hard, and only has six days off. Yet the record company wants new songs! This is what Lenny presumably gave them. “Take this song and shove it up your ass,” croons Lenny. Fortunately there’s enough Zeppelin-y blues here to keep the party going. “Top 40, yeah!”
The second CD has some great hotel room acoustic recordings. Sounds like cassette to me! “Believe” is one I had previously, on the vinyl edition. The rest are new to me, but every bit as raw and plaintive as the acoustic “Believe”. Then there are some fantastic unfinished songs and demos. I could not believe the quality of his throw-aways. I don’t know if these tunes surfaced later on or not, but they certainly should. “Work Like the Devil” has elements that sound like “Are You Gonna Go My Way”, but it’s definitely not the same song. It only has about half the lyrics in place, but damn. If it was on the album, it would have been a highlight. Most of these demos are loud rock jams. “Getting Out” though is a pure funk jam, sounding similar to Zeppelin’s “The Crunge”. The best of these songs is the instrumental “Blood/Papa (A Long and Sad Goodbye)” which, once you get past the name is a 10 minute slow jam. In my opinion, this one doesn’t need to be finished. I think it’s perfect as-is.
The last three songs are rough demos of songs written for the album Vanessa Paradis, which Lenny wrote and produced. These are a bit soft for my tastes. They are very unlike the rest of the material on this deluxe edition. I know that “Lonely Rainbows” was on the album, but I don’t know if the other two were used under different names.
Finally, I want to mention two songs that I know of that are missing from this deluxe. From the vinyl’s bonus CD is a live version of “Sister”. This take is absolutely epic and it sends shivers up and down my spine at the end. Just an incredible, raw live performance. I assume somebody made a decision that live stuff wasn’t going to be on the deluxe. That means you’re also missing the live medley of “Freedom Train/Always On the Run” from the “Heaven Help” single. Too bad. I think most fans would rather have those than the BBC interview. The interview is good, don’t get me wrong, but it’s also 15 minutes long.
I wholeheartedly recommend this deluxe edition of Are You Gonna Go My Way to anybody who wants to check out Lenny Kravitz on the harder side of rock. You will not be disappointed with either the album, or the deluxe. In the meantime, I suggest die-hard collectors find the vinyl too, just for that astounding live version of “Sister”.
It’s finally done! Enjoy this video souvenir from our (Mike and Aaron) 2014 Record Store Excursion in Toronto .
Of the albums I bought in Toronto, one stood out as an immediate killer. Just an awesome disc, that I’ll be reviewing tomorrow. See if you can guess which one blew me away.
Aaron and I have returned safely from Toronto, with treasures in hand! He has posted to the KMA a non-spoiler update regarding the trip. We both did very well. As a “Taranna First” I was providing live photographic updates of the trip via social media.
As I did on the previous two trips, I took plenty of photos and video with the intent of creating another great trip video! With that in mind, we don’t want to spoil too much about our adventure, so this is just a brief preview. Of note, Aaron bore gifts, and one of them is a book that I am just as happy to get as I am some of my musical finds. Aaron also helped add to my 6″ Stormtrooper army!
The sad news: Even though I was quite confident that we would find at least one item from somebody’s KMA Holy Grail list, we did not. I was sure that we would at least be able to find one of Sarca’s, such as the Ray Lyell CD. I was surprised that we didn’t. I might have an easier time finding it locally.
Having said that: I encourage you to check out the KMA Grail list and add your own long-sought albums to it. Though we did not have luck with it this time, we did look hard. The more people who participate in the Holy Grail list, the better, so as my buddy Aaron would say GIVE’R!
Enjoy the photo gallery, and if you missed the videos from the 2012 and 2013 trips, you can check those out below.
LeBrain (who, I am glad to say, did not fart once in Aaron’s car this time.)
Eager to cross over to new fans, in 2004 Marillion released an album called Remixomatosis. It was a 2 CD set of fan remixes of tracks from 2001’s Anoraknophobia. Hogarth-era Marillion have not been remix-shy, having done something like this on 1998’s Tales From the Engine Room EP. Aware that chances of being played in the clubs were slim, the following year Marillion released a promo EP of three more remixes under the band name Remixomatosis. The name Marillion appears nowhere on the sleeve.
99% of the time, I really dislike remixes, especially when songs are danced up. I bought this for the collection, but let’s give it a spin. “You’re Gone”, originally from Marbles, sounded very little like the “Debonair Dub Mix” on this EP. All I can hear from the original track is Hogarth’s vocals. Maybe some keyboards, but who knows because the dominant part of the song is an annoyingly repetitive synth & beat. This goes on for an agonizing 7:55. This is not a song I would listen to for enjoyment.
The “Plasma Dub Mix” of “Between You and Me” is almost twice as long as the “Marillion Vs. Plasma” version on the Remixomastosis CD. This track adds a new bass line consisting of four notes that repeat over and over and over and over and over. Then a little bit of Hogarth’s vocal is dubbed over synthesizer lines. There have been better remixes of this song, notably the Mark Kelly remix from the “Between You and Me” CD single. After a couple minutes, the remixer Robert de Fresnes throws in some acoustic guitar from the original song, which really only makes me want to hear the original song. If you like repetitive music made by computers, go for it.
The closing track is the best (and shortest) one, the “Into the Fire Mix” of the superb “Don’t Hurt Yourself” from Marbles. As arguably the best song on Marbles, it is a difficult track to ruin. The remixer Cameron Lasswell wisely leaves Steve Hogarth’s vocal intact. The vocal hooks on this song have always been fetching. They are now cloaked in spacey synths, which I prefer to dumb repetitive synths. It sounds like a song by Lights, perhaps, or one of her soundalikes.
I can’t rate this EP very high. This is a collectible, pure and simple.
Today’s vinyl LP has been around since 1948, and even then the technology wasn’t new. It merely updated and standardized something that had been playing on gramophones for a couple decades. They used to be made out of substances such as hard rubber and shellac, but vinyl proved to be versatile and enduring.
Once the mighty majority of my collection, cassettes have been reduced to a mere novelty. I treasured them for portability and convenience, but now I loathe them. I debated putting mp3 last on my formats of choice, but the truth is, cassette is far worse.
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