vinyl

REVIEW: Brant Bjork – Jalamanta (1999/2009 vinyl)

 

BRANT BJORK – Jalamanta (1999 / 180 gram vinyl 2009 reissue)

I still remember the circumstances surrounding me originally getting this on CD.  As recounted in an earlier Record Store Tale, Tom and I were at a party.  We were listening to some sHeavy, and Tom mentioned the Brant Bjork solo album as another must-have.  Being a fan of Brant Bjork’s drumming from Fu Manchu, I ordered it without hearing a single track.  Tom attempted to describe it by calling it “a cross between Fu Manchu and surf rock.”  Interesting.

10 years later, when Bjork reissued it on vinyl, he added the UFO-centric Blue Oyster Cult cover bonus track, “Take Me Away”.  Automatic re-buy.  It doesn’t really sound like the rest of the album, but who cares?  It’s Brant Bjork covering Blue Oyster Cult.  But that’s not the only reason to re-buy Jalamanta.

What a beautiful record! The first thing you’ll notice is the new cover.  All black with the Brant Bjork skull embossed.  Beautiful.  Open it up to get at the booklet with all new photos. The booklet truly is a work of art. Remember when you used to buy an LP, and you’d sit down in front of your stereo staring at the pictures, trying to make out every little detail until the record was done? Brant Bjork takes us back to that time.

The cover page is what appears to be an awesomely greasy Mexican meal, and then the final page is the empty plate — a satisfied customer. Just like with this LP.  You can really get stuffed on the grooves and tones contained herein.  There are plenty of low-key, incessantly grooving instruments.  The music is simple, repetitive, but effective.  It’s not heavy, but it feels weighty nonetheless.

The lyrics are included.  Here’s an example, from “Automatic Fantastic”:

The man shakes me down, that’s why I’m broke. Rich man’s got all the green but it ain’t the kind you smoke. So we turn up the rock, and we roll it slow. We’re always flying high, and the ride is always low.

Musically, if you haven’t heard this album before, I don’t really know how to describe the songs.  Bjork plays almost everything himself, and the vibe is laid back.  He sings on every song but “Toot” which is handled by Mario Lalli (Fatso Jetson). He’s chosen to mix his vocals way back and emphasize the unadorned guitars and drums.  The mix is spare, quiet at times, loud at others, but always trippy. Imagine driving down a deserted highway on a hot summer night with the windows down. This is the soundtrack to that ride.

This is one of those album that sounds like it was just meant to be heard on 180 gram vinyl. There’s no sound like it in the world. I noticed a heck of a lot more bass, the bassline on “Lets Get Chinese Eyes” being particularly sublime. This album just sounds stunning now.

5/5 stars

  1. “Lazy Bones” – 1:29
  2. “Automatic Fantastic” – 6:59
  3. “Cobra Jab” – 3:18
  4. “Too Many Chiefs…Not Enough Indians” – 3:44
  5. “Sun Brother” – 4:45
  6. “Lets Get Chinese Eyes” – 4:45
  1. “Toot” – 5:58
  2. “Defender of the Oleander” – 7:53
  3. “The Low Desert Punk” – 5:20
  4. “Waiting for a Coconut to Drop” – 4:17
  5. “Her Brown Blood” – 4:16
  6. “Indio” – 4:15
  7. “Take Me Away” – 5:35 (Blue Öyster Cult cover) vinyl only bonus track

REVIEW: Def Leppard – High ‘n’ Dry (1981)

Part one of a Def Leppard two-parter!

Def_Leppard_-_High_'n'_DryDEF LEPPARD – High ‘n’ Dry (1981 Polygram)

Now that Pyromania, Hysteria, Slang and Adrenalize have been remastered and reissued with bonus tracks, it is High ‘N’ Dry that needs to be given the deluxe treatment next.  The fact that Adrenalize has been given an elaborate deluxe edition, but High ‘n’ Dry hasn’t even been remastered yet, is injustice.  Any time I listen to High ‘n’ Dry, I leave with one conclusion:  This is Def Leppard’s best album.  And not only that, it’s just one of the best by any hard rock band, period.

For High ‘n’ Dry, my g-to version is my vinyl US pressing.   The CD is still in my collection, because it includes two songs not on the original LP: 1984 Remixes of “Bringin’ On The Heartbreak” and “Me and My Wine” (the versions that were used for the music videos).  So that’s cool, good enough reason to own the CD, but the LP has one more gimmick that you can’t get on CD.  The final track on side two, “No No No”, ends in an infinite loop of Joe screaming “NO!”  I love vinyl gimmicks.  I also love that the vinyl has inner sleeve photos that you don’t get on CD (even if one appears to be Rick Allen’s genitals covered in whipped cream).

This is one solid LP.  Def Leppard teamed up with Mutt Lange for the first time and his influence is palpable.  Def Leppard had been heavy before, but now they were channeling a serious AC/DC vibe.  Mutt had just produced a little album called Back In Black.  Surely it was no coincidence that High ‘n’ Dry has similar riffy and sonic qualities?  Def Leppard’s edge had yet to be blunted in their search for hits.  Instead, it had been sharpened.  On Through the Night could have been better, more tightly focused.  High ‘n’ Dry is as focused as a laser beam.  Aside from one guitar-driven power ballad (“Bringin’ On the Heartbreak”) every song seeks only to scorch.

Although there is not one single throw-away or filler track on High ‘n’ Dry, everybody has their favourites,   Mine:  The melancholy vibe of “Lady Strange” and “Mirror, Mirror (Look Into My Eyes)”.  The pedal-to-the-metal hard rock of “High ‘N’ Dry (Saturday Night)”, “Another Hit And Run”, and the instrumental “Switch 625”.  And my personal favourite song, “You Got Me Runnin'”.  I don’t know why that is so, but that’s the one right there that puts fuel in my tank.

Unlike the band that Def Leppard has become today, this album was all about the hot riffs and the Joe Elliott screams! Hard to believe it’s the same band. But, of course, today they have two different guitar players, so the meat of this band is also not the same.  Having said that, the band acquitted themselves nicely on the recent live album Viva! Hysteria.

Every Leppard fan should own High ‘n’ Dry.   Everybody who’s ever liked a Def Leppard song needs to check out High ‘n’ Dry.  Actually, anyone who breathes should check this album out at least once.  It’s on my desert island list for sure.

5/5 stars, but come on, we need a reissue!

Part 279: Record Store Gallery Deux

RECORD STORE TALES Part 279:  Record Store Gallery Deux

I found another whack of old photos going back to the record store days.  Allow me to take you on a guided tour!

Gallery #1:  This would have been 2002.  The tragus was the most painful piercing I experienced.  It was the only time that somebody said, “he’s turning white, get him some juice to drink.”  The piercer was my friend Lois who works at Stigmata in Guelph.  She was apprenticing, with me as a test subject.  She even gave me the labret stud that they pierced it with, so the experience was free!  Note that Marillion shirt, and my then-sveldt shape!

Gallery #2:  A variety of sushi and fancy dinners with our Niagara Falls store owner Lemon Kurri Klopek, Guinness’ Book alumnus Sweet Pepper Klopek, the British piercer Sarge, and the mysterious man known only as Mr. Lebowski.

I look like a goth Leprechaun.

Gallery #3:  New arrivals! My birthday 2004! The Paul Stanley interview picture disc was from a friend in York, England named Kim. The Marillion singles were a birthday gift from a guy in France named Charly. And the Marillion Marbles deluxe edition was a gift for me, from me, that happened to arrive at the right time!

 

Last Words:  I love that this photo gallery contains three completely different facial hair styles:  A simple goatee, my Ian Paice mutton chops, and finally a full beard.  Cool!

REVIEW: Bon Jovi – New Jersey (1988)

BON JERSEY_0001BON JOVI – New Jersey (1988 Mercury)

Slippery When Wet sold 28 million copies and went to #1 in over half a dozen countries, including Canada. The easy way to follow that might have been creating a carbon copy album, a sequel to follow it. Bravely, Bon Jovi chose not to do that. Their ambition was running high. The next album (tentatively titled Sons of Beaches after a line in the song “99 In the Shade”), was intended to be a double. The record company ixnay’d that due to the cost, but Bon Jovi had written and recorded plenty of good songs. The proof of this is that some of the best, including the B-side “Love Is War”, didn’t make the final single disc album.

New Jersey is not a carbon copy of Slippery nor any other Bon Jovi record. It’s more raw, more rock and roll, with bluesy elements added. There are dueling solos, long song structures, live jams and even a song in mono! Bon Jovi’s three main musicians (Richie Sambora, David Bryan, Tico Torres) performed and recorded some of their best playing on this album. Indeed, if New Jersey had come out under a different band name I don’t think many people would have recognized it as Bon Jovi. I think it remains one of their highest achievements, if not the very highest. Clocking in at almost an hour, it was a long varied album even if it wasn’t a double.

Slippery began with a long, ominous opening and New Jersey maintained that. “Lay Your Hands On Me” begins with drums and chants, but soon morphs into a top-ten (US) soul-rock single. The guitar is muscular and song is about as heavy as Bon Jovi get. “Bad Medicine” follows; the first single and one of the more pop-rock oriented songs. On the last album, Jon claimed he had a “Social Disease”, this time he needs a shot of “Bad Medicine”. I don’t think “Bad Medicine” is one of their best songs (I felt it was “just another Bon Jovi song” back then) but it sure had legs. It’s still a concert highlight today. I do prefer the album version to the single version with its playful, “Wait a minute, wait a minute, I’m not done!” false ending.

“Born To Be My Baby” was written acoustically and intended to be “the hit”. I think it’s just fine electrically, which is how it was recorded. I got this one as a single in a cardboard sleeve with post cards (see below), and I prefer it to “Bad Medicine” by a fair deal. The “na na na, na na na” vocal part is catchy as hell and the song rocks hard enough for the dudes. The ballad and single “Living In Sin” follows. It too was a huge hit, helped by a black & white video with some blonde-haired male model that looked like Mike Tramp, for the ladies.

Side one’s closer was the heartfelt epic “Blood On Blood”, which was not a single, but still gets played live today. Once again, Jon has managed to capture the essence of his young adulthood, growing up in Sayreville, New Jersey. Jon, “Danny” and “Bobby” are three friends who went through everything together. But with the years and miles between them, Jon lets them know that if he got that call, he’d be right by their sides. Lyrically, it’s this kind of thing that was Jon’s bread and butter, and it also resulted in a great song musically. “Blood On Blood” is one of the band’s proudest achievements.

BON JERSEY_0002If “Blood On Blood” was not enough musicality for ya, then “Homebound Train” is Bon Jovi at their most impressive. A 5-minute blues-rock workout, “Homebound Train” is one of those tracks that laymen just won’t believe is Bon Jovi. The band laid down some harmonica and guitar solos backed by some serious groove, something not often associated with Bon Jovi. “Homebound Train” would have to be among the band’s best tracks, and it serves to open a killer side of vinyl.

“Wild Is the Wind” might be considered a ballad, I think it’s more an anthem. If you can’t stop singing along to it, congratulations, you have a pulse! The chorus is brain-explodingly good. “Ride Cowboy Ride” follows, which is a brief instrumental in mono. Although it’s intentionally just an intro to the next song, on its own it’s an enjoyable listen – in fact it made my own mix tapes on its own a few times. “Ride Cowboy Ride” serves to introduce another cowboy anthem, “Stick To Your Guns”. The title reflects the positive affirmations of the lyrics, but this is just another standout song. Any one of these songs could have been singles.

A massive single, “I’ll Be There For You”, slows the side down a bit by being so soft. I’m sure there are those out there who don’t hate this song. Musically it’s fine, but the lyrics…I just can’t handle the lyrics. “When you breathe, I wanna be the air for you.” What does that even mean?

“99 In the Shade” contains the lyric that almost named the album: “I see those Sons of Beaches out there living it up, in the surf and the sand, yeah that life ain’t so tough.” This would be the weakest song on the album. It’s a standard Bon Jovi boogie, nothing wrong with it, but it pales compared to the rest of the songs on the record. Having said that if it were on Bon Jovi’s latest, it would be one of the best songs…

A personal favourite is last: “Love For Sale”, recorded live “during one hell of a party”. This drunken jam is among the most magical musical moments on any Bon Jovi album. Consider that it was the 1980’s, and the band just came off the ultra-sleek Slippery When Wet. They threw down a drunken, smoking acoustic blues jam to close the album? Yeah, man – cool! I’m down. It’s hilarious and fun, not to mention Richie just smokes on that six-string. Tico’s on the brushes and Jon sounds blasted.

And that’s New Jersey, an album the band had to be proud of. It went #1 all over the place, and multi-platinum in the US. It’s a curious mix of rootsy hard rock quality, and pop melody. It’s certainly among the best examples of such a mixture.

4.5/5 stars

BONUS GALLERY!  “Born To Be My Baby” 45 rpm single!

I believe this baby was about $2.99 at Zellers in 1988.  It came with postcards which I obviously kept.

REVIEW: Deep Purple – Perfect Strangers Live (2013 2LP/2CD/1DVD set)

NEW RELEASE

DEEP PURPLE – Perfect Strangers Live (2013 Eagle Vision 2LP/2CD/1DVD deluxe edition)

Perfect Strangers Live, a new 2013 release of a 1984 recording in Sydney, proves many things but one of them is this:  The proverbial “vaults” must be an endless place where this band is concerned.  Year after year newly released archival recordings hit the shelves, all worthy of your hard-earned music budget dollars.  Perfect Strangers Live is available in multiple formats, but I chose to go with the deluxe 180 gram vinyl set, complete with 2 CD and single DVD versions included.  I bought this via the Deep Purple Appreciation Society, who I especially appreciated this time.  I ordered the set and it got lost in the mail.  After contacting Ann directly she posted another one right off to me which arrived safely to my delight.

IMG_20140217_082459It’s a beautiful beast of a package.  The heavy vinyl gives the set real heft, but it’s also a triple gatefold sleeve as well.  If you loved the reunion era of Deep Purple Mk II then some version of this set will be an obvious must for you.  You can buy it separately as a 2 CD set, a DVD, a 3 disc set, or go hogwild like I did with the vinyl deluxe set.  Hell if you’re really nuts for the band there’s a 3 LP, 2 CD Japanese version with extra goodies.   As to the version I own, the only disappointment comes in the way the CDs and DVD are housed in the set.  I hate spending a lot of money on a package that will absolutely scratch your CDs.  No matter how careful you are, something will get scratched and that’s a bummer.  So I ripped the CDs and put them away for good.

The music contained within is 100% worth your money and probably the best documentation of this era of Deep Purple.  There are other collections out there, most notably the 1985 recording In the Absence of Pink (Knebworth).  There was also the Highway Stars bootleg contained within the Bootleg Series box set.  This one tops the rest sonically.  The recording and mix are excellent.  You could easily mistake it sonically for a modern recording.  Everything is audible, including Gillan’s oft-buried congas.

Speaking of Gillan, the man was in absolutely stunning shape.  I don’t know why the band used backing tapes (quite obviously) during the screams on “Child In Time”.  Gillan’s live screams didn’t need the boost.  Somehow he keeps it going all the way to the 12 minute closer “Smoke on the Water”.  Gillan had just finished his stint with Black Sabbath, but he sounds infinitely better here than on any live recording I’ve heard with Black Sabbath.

It’s hard to pick a single MVP on Perfect Strangers Live, such is the dynamic of Deep Purple when firing on all five cylinders.  Certainly Ritchie Blackmore is a delight, projecting intensity and playfulness at every turn.  During “Strange Kind of Woman”, Blackmore treats the Australians to “Waltzing Matilda”.   On “Under the Gun”, he’s mesmerizing as he tortures his Fender.  Ritchie’s solo that closes a 15 minute “Space Truckin'” is among the most electrifying moments you will hear.  Jon Lord is as wonderful as ever on that same song, and of course “Child In Time”.  Not to go without mention are Glover and Paice.  Ian Paice is the little engine that would not quit; Roger Glover the anchor.

IMG_20140217_082623

Also important to mention are the “new” songs.  Deep Purple played more than half of their new LP including both singles:  “Knockin’ On Your Back Door”, “Perfect Strangers”, “Nobody’s Home”, “Under the Gun” and “A Gypsy’s Kiss” (preceded by a bluesy Blackmore jam).  Purple rarely played so much off Perfect Strangers at one time, and some of these versions are just scorching!  “Nobody’s Home”, possibly “Under the Gun” too, are superior to the album versions…even when Gillan forgets the words. (That’s kind of my favourite part.)

As for the DVD, it too looks and sounds amazing.  I don’t know what else is out there video-wise from this period but I haven’t seen anything better than this.   You know Blackmore and cameras, he’s often got his side to the camera, or he turns away just as they turn to him.  That’s the man in black, that’s the enigma.  It’s a great DVD, although Lord and Paice are often buried behind their instruments.  Lord goes from keyboard to keyboard, extracting different sounds.

The cherry on top is a 20+ minute tour documentary.  It’s a rare look at a time when Deep Purple was more or less getting along as well as they ever would!

I haven’t played the vinyl.  I haven’t decided if I will.  Let me know if you care enough for me to review the vinyl, and I’ll consider it as a possibility.  I’ll be honest, after struggling to get the records back in the sleeve after taking the photos for this review, I’m not eager to take them out again.

4.5/5 stars

More PURPLE at mikeladano.com:

DEEP PURPLE – “Above and Beyond” (CD and 7″ singles, Edel)
DEEP PURPLE – ”All the Time in the World” (2013 Edel single)
DEEP PURPLE – The Battle Rages On… (1993 BMG)
DEEP PURPLE – Collector’s Edition: The Bootleg Series 1984-2000 (12 CD set)
DEEP PURPLE – Come Taste the Band (35th Anniversary edition)
DEEP PURPLE – Deep Purple (1969 EMI, 2000 reissue)
DEEP PURPLE – Inglewood (2002 Purple Records/Sonic Zoom)
DEEP PURPLE – Listen, Learn, Read On (6 CD box set, 2002)
DEEP PURPLE – Machine Head (40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition + vinyl + In Concert ’72 vinyl)
DEEP PURPLE – NOW What?! (2013 edel)
DEEP PURPLE – Perks and Tit (2003 Purple Records/Sonic Zoom)
DEEP PURPLE – Power House (1977 Warner Bros, Japanese import)
DEEP PURPLE – Rapture of the Deep (2 CD special edition)
DEEP PURPLE – Shades 1968-1998 (4 CD Rhino 1999 box set)
DEEP PURPLE – Stormbringer (35th Anniversary Edition)

REVIEW: Them Crooked Vultures – “Mind Eraser, No Chaser” (10″ single)

Welcome back to the WEEK OF SINGLES 2!  We’re looking at rare singles all week.

Monday: Dream Theater – “Lie” (CD single)
Tuesday: Jimi Hendrix – “Valleys of Neptune” (7″ single)

VULTURES

 

THEM CROOKED VULTURES – “Mind Eraser, No Chaser” (10″ single)

I love unique looking items and this sure qualifies. Enveloped in a transparent red sleeve is a 10″ picture disc; this is something to behold. It looks great and you’ll want to put it in some kind of protective sleeve right away to keep it pristine, which is what I did.

The A-side contains the album version of “Mind Eraser, No Chaser” and a live cut of an unreleased song called “Hwy 1”. This  live track was recorded in January in Sydney, Australia. It’s an awesome tune, punctuated by some seriously dexterous playing from John Paul Jones. Those who have heard his solo album Zooma know exactly what I’m talking about. I really liked this song a lot, it gets into a great groove, locking in with Dave and Josh, and a melody that makes it a real standout. If it had been on the album it would have been one of the choicest cuts.

“Mind Eraser, No Chaser” itself was one of the better album tracks as well, making this side a great listen.  It’s a pretty succinct track that could be easily mistaken for a Queens of the Stone Age song.  No matter that John Paul Jones is 1/3 of the band, Them Crooked Vultures simply resembles QOTSA more than they don’t.

The B-side is an 11-minute interview conducted by film director Liam Lynch (Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny).  It’s actually quite a good interview, with all three members of the band.  Both Dave Grohl and Josh Homme went into the album without having played their “main” instruments in a long time (drums and guitar respectively).  John Paul expresses his disappointment that many metal bands are simply parodies of the genre; but that the Vultures are certainly not.  My favourite quote is Dave Grohl’s:

“I’m never nervous about hitting ‘record’, and I’m never worried that, ‘hmmm, I hope I come up with a riff’.  ‘Cause riffs…I don’t have a problem coming up with riffs.  It’s songs that are important.  I even said that to Josh after the first we time we jammed.  I said, ‘You know, you and I could fill the Grand Canyon with riffs.  But we need to write some songs’.  That’s the hard part.  And that’s where John comes in handy ’cause he’s the genius composer/arranger.”

This was an April 17 2010 Record Store Day exclusive, but even today you can find them all over the place.  Don’t pay more than you need to, because you don’t need to.

5/5 stars

REVIEW: Jimi Hendrix – “Valleys of Neptune” (2010 7″ single)

Welcome back to the WEEK OF SINGLES 2!  Yesterday we took a look at Dream Theater’s “Lie” — click here if you missed it.

 

JIMI HENDRIX – “Valleys of Neptune” (2010 Experience Hendrix, Record Store Day release)

I’m just a casual fan, certainly not an expert on the labyrinthine Hendrix back catalog of songs. There are so many takes both released and “previously unreleased” of so many songs. Anyway, bottom line, here is “Valleys of Neptune”, a previously unreleased 40-year old take of a Hendrix song, the title track to the 2010 album it comes from. This is via the official Hendrix-family-approved reissue program. It’s a pretty cool looking single, with suitably 60’s cover art suiting the title, and painted by Jimi himself. The tune itself is a catchy toe-tapping Hendrix rocker performed with Mitch Mitchell and Billy Cox.  It’s pieced together from recording sessions in 1969 and 1970.

The B-side is a previously unreleased version of “Cat Talking To Me”.  This one was not made available on Valleys of Neptune, not even as a digital download bonus track.  You can only get it on this single.  Jimi cut this one with the Experience in 1967, but Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding returned to the studio in 1987 to add the bass and drums.  Why it wasn’t released in ’87, I don’t know.  I like this one better than the A-side.  It has a good little groove going, at times anticipating where Aerosmith would take American rock and roll in the 1970’s.  The lead vocal is by Mitchell.

For something cool to add to your collection, you can’t go wrong with “Valleys of Neptune”. It looks neat, it sounds great, and the cover art and rare track are sure to make this a collectible.

4/5 stars

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REVIEW: The Black Crowes – Wiser For The Time (4 LP box set)

THE BLACK CROWES – Wiser For The Time (2013 4 LP box set, Silver Arrow/Megaforce Records)

I enjoy when bands do releases that are exclusive to certain formats.  In 2013 the Crowes put out this mammoth live album/box set, and let me tell you it’s gorgeous.  All it lacks is a booklet with pictures or liner notes.  I am otherwise completely thrilled with this release.  I’ve been on a Crowes kick these last few weeks, being drawn to the feel and impeccable musicianship of the band.  Wiser For The Time is largely acoustic, featuring mellow songs and arrangements spanning their entire career.  It also has plenty of electric rock, funk and blues.  It boasts 26 tracks and a running time of over 2 1/2 hours.  There was also a bonus 27th song given away for free last year, “Under A Mountain” taken from the same series of five New York concerts that comprise the album.

The Black Crowes pulled out all the stops.  From familiar hits such as “Jealous Again” to non-album obscurities like the scorching “Exit”, Wiser For The Time is treat after treat.  “Exit” in particular was a delicacy for me.  I had never heard the song before and was taken aback by its heavy groove.  And this is a song that has never been released on an album!?  Well, until now.  Even familiar songs like “No Speak No Slave” have new exciting moments, making the album a fresh listening experience.  Other songs like “Only Halfway to Everywhere” are extended to the 10 minute mark.

Covers?  Of the Crowes always surprise with interesting covers choices.  Here the biggest joy may be “Hot Burrito #1” and “Hot Burrito #2,” in sequence, by the Flying Burrito Brothers. That’s pretty hard core.  There were plenty of unfamiliar songs to me on Wiser For The Time.  Whether they are covers or Crowes obscurities I don’t know.  Regardless, I enjoy a good live album with unfamiliar material on it.  Who wants the same songs all the time?

SAM_0439Personal highlight:  “The Garden Gate” is my favourite song from 2009’s sprawling 2-LP Before the Frost…Until the Freeze.  I’m pleased that it made the album.  It’s every bit as good here as it was on Before the Frost.

But whether it’s the funky “Make Glad” or the extended jamming that makes up the end of “Tied Up and Swallowed”, there is not a dull moment on Wiser For The Time.  I solidly enjoyed the whole album.  I hope I can find the time to do so frequently in the future, but let’s be honest.  In our rat-race lives, few of us have the time to really spend time with an album anymore, particularly a 4 LP live box set.  And this isn’t a cheap set.  Sunrise had it for about $81, but Amazon were asking $73 with free shipping.  For those who can’t justify paying that much, iTunes have it too.  But these are beautiful 180 gram records, and iTunes can’t sell you the warmth that you will hear on a turntable.  Think wisely before buying.

4/5 stars

4 LP setIMG_00001630

  1. Cursed Diamond
  2. Sister Luck
  3. Smile
  4. Downtown Money Waster
  5. Hot Burrito #1
  6. Hot Burrito #2
  7. The Garden Gate
  8. Better When You’re Not Alone
  9. Darling Of The Underground Press
  10. Jealous Again
  11. Hotel Illness
  12. Thunderstorm
  13. Oh The Rain
  14. Soul Singing
  15. Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With YouIMG_00001632
  16. Exit
  17. No Speak No Slave
  18. Only Halfway To Everywhere
  19. A Conspiracy
  20. Title Song 
  21. My Morning Song/Stare It Cold
  22. Tied Up and Swallowed
  23. Make Glad
  24. Waiting Guilty
  25. She Talk To Angels
  26. Willin’

Free Download Bonus Track

  1. Under A Mountain

REVIEW: Alice Cooper – For Britain Only (EP)

It’s the end of THE WEEK OF SINGLES!  Each day this week we saw reviews and images of a recent CD or vinyl single acquisition.  Thanks for hanging out and reading along!  

Monday:  Van Halen – “Best of Both Worlds” 7″ single
Tuesday:  Deep Purple – “Above and Beyond” CD and 7″ singles
Wednesday:  Aerosmith – “Dude (Looks Like A Lady)” 12″ single
Thursday:  David Lee Roth – “Stand Up” 12″ promo remix single

ALICE COOPER – For Britain Only (1982 Warner UK EP)

Long ago, when I first acquired the uber-cool The Life and Death of Alice Cooper box set, I discovered the Alice Cooper song “For Britain Only”.  According to the liner notes, this was from a 1982 EP produced (you guessed it) for Britain only.  I think it’s cool when an artist records a song for a specific region such as this.  W.A.S.P. did something similar with a song called “Tokyo is Burning” from a Japanese release.

I need to preface my review by saying that I do not own the Special Forces album.  Subsequently I don’t know a lot about this period of Alice Cooper.  It’s one of the few albums I’m still missing.  (The “need” list:  Easy Action, Special Forces, Zipper Catches Skin, Constrictor, and a few live CDs.)  I know some people hold Special Forces as a hidden gem.  This EP was released after Special Forces,  and contains three live tracks from that tour. These were recorded in Glasgow on February 19, 1982.

The live tracks are pretty good.  “Who Do We Think We Are” has a long, atmospheric intro.  Alice’s delivery is very current for the time, and the song has one foot in New Wave.  Even Alice’s look on the sleeve is a little more punky.  Note the Samurai hair, which would return around the time of Brutal Planet and Dragontown.  This merges seamlessly into “Model Citizen” from Flush the Fashion.  It’s not one of my favourite tracks, as I find the chorus a little annoying.  I like it much better in this live guise.  The final live track is an oldie, “Under My Wheels”.  It’s a little faster than the original, but pretty cool.  Alice is in good voice, and the band is tight, as Cooper’s backing bands always are.  The players are not credited, but they would have been Mike Pinera and John Nitzinger (guitars), Erik Scott (bass), Duane Hitchings (keyboards) and Jan Uvena (drums).

Although the title track, “For Britain Only” has never been one of Alice’s most notable, it’s grown on me a lot through the years.  It kind of reminds me of Killers-era Kiss.  It has a similar sound and direction to the new songs Kiss did for that album.  I like that there’s a basic stripped-back hard rock sound to “For Britain Only”.  It has a basic riff and hooks, it’s catchy, and it’s rock and roll.  For Alice Cooper fans in 1982, that was probably enough.   It rocks hard enough, and it sounds great to my ears.

And that’s the EP. I paid £6.00 for my copy, perhaps a bit steep for 14 minutes of music (only 11 minutes that I didn’t have before) but I’m still satisfied.

4/5 stars

More ALICE COOPER at mikeladano.com:

Old School (1964-1974) (4 CD/DVD/LP/7″ single & book box set) – Lace and Whiskey – “Keepin’ Halloween Alive” (single) – Alice Does Alice (EP) – Welcome 2 My Nightmare (all editions and bonus tracks) – “I’ll Bite Your Face Off” (7″ single) – VIDEO: Record Store Tales Part 139 – Billion Dollar Baby by Bob Greene

 

REVIEW: Aerosmith – “Dude (Looks Like A Lady)” 12″ single

It’s THE WEEK OF SINGLES!  Each day this week I’ll be bringing you reviews and images of a recent CD or vinyl single acquisition.  

Monday:  Van Halen – “Best of Both Worlds” 7″ single
Tuesday:  Deep Purple – “Above and Beyond” CD and 7″ singles

 

AEROSMITH – “Dude (Looks Like A Lady)” (1987 Geffen 12″ single)

There was an old Canadian magazine called Music Express that was…well, it was OK.  Back in 1987 they did a spread on the new Aerosmith (Permanent Vacation), including a really cool caricature of Steven Tyler that I cut out and kept.  This Aerosmith article contained what I now consider to be a myth, although one that led me on a wild goose chase for years.

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Music Express

The magazine claimed that one of the new Aerosmith B-sides was a song called “Once is Enough”, a collaboration with Willie Nelson.  Not only did I believe this to be true, but it was seemingly confirmed by an old customer of mine who insisted she had this Willie Nelson tune.  Now I’ve finally acquired the “Dude (Looks Like A Lady)” 12″ single with “Once is Enough”, and there is absolutely no indication that Nelson had anything to do with it.  I wonder if the confused writer thought that John Kalodner in the music video for “Dude (Looks Like A Lady)” was Willie Nelson?  That’s as much insight as I can offer on this strange myth.

As it turns out, “Once is Enough” is an outstanding song, and no wonder:  It was written by Richie Supa, who also wrote three of my personal Aero-faves:  “Chip Away the Stone”, “Lightning Strikes”, and “Amazing”.  Supa has a certain magic in his melodies, rooted in old time rock n’ roll.  When Aerosmith record a Supa song, the results are seldom disappointing (“Pink” being the only letdown I can think of).  It does have a country twang to it, particularly the intro, but otherwise this is a rock n’ roller.

Although “Once is Enough” is instantly likeable and arguably an unknown classic, it was never released on any of the numerous Geffen Aerosmith compilations.  I think it’s stronger than much of the material on Permanent Vacation itself.  I can only assume it did not make the album because it’s too different from the songs that did.  In fact it probably would have fit better on Pump, which also had some twang on the hit “What It Takes”.  The country vocal harmonies are really sweet, and Joe Perry lays on some awesome slide.  When it takes off into full-on rocker mode, it’s irresistible.  Why a great tune like this remains so hard to get more than 25 years after its release, I don’t know.

The rest of the songs on the single are Permanent Vacation album tracks:  “Dude”, “Simoriah” and “The Movie”.  I’ll be honest, I never thought much of “Dude”.   It was originally titled “Cruisin’ For A Lady”, but obviously the new words (supposedly inspired by Motley Crue) have become a Tyler landmark.  So, good on them.  It’s been used in numerous movies and is a radio staple today.  With that Bruce Fairbairn horn section in there, I just thought it was too pop.   No matter how I feel about this commercial rock song, Joe Perry’s solo smokes.

Both “Simoriah” and “The Movie” are filler as far as I’m concerned.  For its merits, Permanent Vacation had a bit too much filler on it.  I’m more of a Pump guy myself.  As filler goes, “Simoriah” has a speedy groove going for it, but it’s not an outstanding song.  “The Movie” is just an atmospheric instrumental.  I’ve never felt that Aerosmith compose the most interesting instrumentals in the world.

Just 3/5 stars for this one…but 5/5 stars for “Once is Enough”!

One last thing:  I also have a CD single for “Dude (Looks Like A Lady)” completely different from this.  It was obviously a later release, since one of the B-sides was “Love In An Elevator” live.  “Once is Enough” was not on that CD single.

More AEROSMITH at mikeladano.com:

Music From Another Dimension! (2012 deluxe & regular editions) – Get A Grip (1993 limited “cow hide” cover) – Draw the Line (1977) – Record Store Tales Part 95:  Aerodouche Dandy