During a trip to Encore Records in Kitchener, Ontario, I found some pretty cool stuff among their used discs. I used to work with the guy behind the counter, Chris — trained him in fact. We had a chance to catch up and discuss the difficulties of being a collector. Piles and piles of discs, an expanding collection and lack of space for it. Filing systems. How easy it is to get behind in your filing. Good to know there are still kindred spirits out there.
Thanks for the discs Chris, and without further delay…
1. VAN HALEN – In Concert
This double CD is at least partially taken from Live Without A Net, the old Van Halen home video. That’s cool to me — some of those versions, like “Love Walks In”, were the originals that I was first familiar with. It’s weird today hearing Sammy Hagar play guitar solos on Van Halen songs, but that’s how I first heard them. $9 used.
2. HELIX – Wild In The Streets (Rock Candy remaster)
PROS: These hard-to-find (in Canada) Rock Candy reissues have great liner notes and pictures. CONS: It lacks the lyric sheet from my old Capitol Records version. This one was expensive ($14 used) but the great Heavy Metal OverloRd tells me they are well worth it.
3. FISH – “Credo” CD single
Limited edition, #5945. Cool? Yeah, but how many copies did they make of a Fish single? Anyway, this has two non-album cuts, a 7″ remix of the title track and a song called “Poet’s Moon”. “Credo” itself is a great song from Internal Exile. Great cover art by Mark Wilkinson! $6 used.
4. IRON MAIDEN – Virtual XI with limited edition lenticular cover
This was a limited edition (expensive in Canada) that had a 3D cover similar to the current Kiss Monster CD. I tried to get an idea of this in the photos. Look at Eddie’s finger in relation to the boy’s headphones. You can see it’s not in the same place in the two photos. It’s much cooler in person. Now, I know Aaron is probably going to give me shit for buying a Blaze Bayley album — any Blaze Bayley album — twice. But it’s more about the Maiden collection than Blaze. This is one I’d wanted back in the day but completely forgotten about. $10 used.
REPORT CARD
Encore Records, 54 Queen St. South, Kitchener ON, (519) 744-1370
Encore is as good as as any of the stores that Aaron and I reported on in Toronto. Sure, I’m biased in that I did train the guy behind the counter, and it was great having a conversation with somebody who understands my point of view vis-à-vis collecting. But their selection is second-to-none in this town (rock, indi, roots, jazz, blues, vinyl), with fair prices, and excellent quality. Not one blemish on any of the discs that I purchased. As an added note I found a number of Guided By Voices singles for Aaron (some stealthily pictured below) — although he is apparently banned from purchasing them at this time, until he wins the lottery!
Bruce’s studio band from the last album, Balls To Picasso, had a regular gig to get back to (Tribe of Gypies) and Bruce formed a new young band he called Skunkworks: Alex Dickson (guitar), Chris Dale (bass), and Alessandro Elena (drums). Dickson’s since turned up on Robbie Williams albums. (I know because I bought one.)
Why Skunkworks? Well, you know Bruce and his love of aviation. Skunk Works is the top secret project that brought to life the Lockheed Martin SR-71 Blackbird among other advanced aircraft.
Skunkworks, the album, was a new direction once again. Just as Balls To Picasso was very different from Maiden, Skunkworks was another hard left turn. It polarized fans: Some praised Bruce for doing something new and different again, others were puzzled and disappointed.
And some were just pissed that he’d cut his hair.
With most songs of the 13 clocking in between 3 and 4 minutes (none exceeding 5), Bruce and Alex had written a set of tight songs. Bruce was clearly in tune with what was happening with music in the 1990’s as most songs have that alterna-90’s vibe mixed with a heady prog-rock tendency. The sound of the album is dry and in your face.
The problem for me is most of the songs are just not memorable. The single “Back From the Edge” (which we’ll talk about later) is great, a rocket trip to the moon in a very sleek vehicle. Also great is the metallic and angry (but lyrically obtuse) “Solar Confinement”. These songs I like a lot. Most of the lyrics have a sci-fi bent that Bruce would revisit on later solo albums, which is also fine by me.
I don’t mind the epic closer “Strange Death In Paradise”, nor the chrome choruses of “Inside the Machine”. I like the velocity of “Innerspace”. But a day after listening to it, I couldn’t tell you how it went.
I love the Floydian artwork that unified the album with its singles. Compared to later Bruce albums, the artwork doesn’t stand out as much, but as a whole with all the singles it works great.
As I mentioned, fans are really polarized on this album. There has to be something here that I’m missing. I do like the B-sides, which were mostly fantastic! Some were heavy, some melodic, some acoustic. All worth having.
“Back From the Edge” CD1 contained:
“Rescue Day”
“God’s Not Coming Back”
“Armchair Hero”
“Back From the Edge” CD2 contained:
“R 101”
“Re-Entry”
“Americans Are Behind” (one of Bruce’s trademark joke songs)
And the “Back From the Edge” 7″ picture disc contained:
“I’m In A Band With An Italian Drummer” (another joke song based on Alessandro Elena)
SKUNKWORKS – Live(1996 Japanese EP)
There would also be a cool live EP, billed under the name Skunkworks, and just titled Live. This was only made available in Japan, and I paid $30 for a copy at HMV 333 Yonge St. Now, this and all the B-sides are available on a deluxe edition of the album. Then, I spent a lot of money to get all the songs, but the end result is a bunch of cool looking discs with united artwork.
The Live EP had four tracks, three from Skunkworks: “Inertia”, “Faith”, and “Innerspace”. It was capped off by a Maiden cover, “The Prisoner”, something Bruce was only beginning to do as a solo artist. As a cover it highlights the differences in bands.
For the album Skunkworks:
2.75/5 stars
For the EP Skunkworks Live:
3/5 stars
Perhaps Bruce felt a tugging in his heart for heavy metal, or perhaps the fans were too vocal in their rejection of Skunkworks. Whatever the case may be, Bruce decided to abandon the band Skunkworks. He turned to his friend Roy Z, from Tribe of Gypsies and co-writer of Balls To Picasso.
“I want to make a heavy metal album,” said Bruce. “Do you have any metal riffs?”
As it turned out, Mr. Z had plenty. The Balls To Picasso lineup was back. And that wasn’t the only reunion in the works.
I’m not sure what prompted Iron Maiden to put out their first greatest hits disc in 1996, but at least they did it in style. Originally available as a limited edition 2 CD book set, it was pretty extravagant packaging for the time. My only beef is by the nature of such packaging, the paper sleeves will always scratch your discs, 100% of the time.
This album was also available in a standard edition single disc, with the songs in a different running order. I don’t have that one so I’m not going to talk aboot it.
The 2 disc version, perhaps to emphasize that Blaze Bayley is the current Maiden vocalist, starts at the present and then rewinds all the way back to the beginning, closing with The Soundhouse Tapes! An interesting approach indeed. As a listening experience I’m not sure that it works that well.
Since we’re starting at the present, the album kicks off with a new song. “Virus” is 6:30 of same-old same-old X Factor Maiden, but not as good as anything on that album. It drags and drags for three minutes before finally kicking into gear, but it is otherwise repetitive and boring until then. Lyrically, it is another attack on the sicknesses in society, much like “Be Quick Or Be Dead” and “Justice of the Peace” were.
Then back in time one year, to “Sign of the Cross”, the dramatic 11 minute epic from The X Factor, as well as “Man on the Edge”. (I would have preferred “Lord of the Flies” to “Man on the Edge”, but perhaps “Man” was the bigger single of the two.)
To bridge into the Fear of the Dark album, a new live version of “Afraid To Shoot Strangers” is featured, with Blaze Bayley singing. It’s a good live version, but it’s immediately obvious that Blaze is no Bruce.
Bruce takes over on the next track, “Be Quick Or Be Dead”, and we’re back in the saddle. Singles (including the popular live version of “Fear of the Dark”) and album tracks are counted down from 1993 to 1986’s Somewhere In Time album, ending disc 1 with “Wasted Years”, a great closer. My beef here: I would have preferred the single “Stranger In A Strange Land” to the album track “Heaven Can Wait” (but I know the Heavy Metal OverloRd doesn’t agree with me!)
Disc 2 is the glory years, if you will, everything from Live After Death to the beginning. It begins with the epic “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, a ballsy move for a greatest hits album, and the live version at that. Chasing it is the live single version of “Running Free”. Then we count them down, all the singles from Powerslave to “Run To The Hills”, plus “Where Eagles Dare” and “Hallowed Be Thy Name” thrown in for good measure.
Then it’s the Di’Anno years, which are given an unfortunately brief expose. “Wrathchild”, from Killers is one of the best songs from that era, but the only included track from that album. Maiden’s first epic, “Phantom of the Opera” and the single “Sanctuary” represent the debut Iron Maiden. Finally, an unreleased track from The Soundhouse Tapes sessions (“Strange World”), and the rare Soundhouse version of “Iron Maiden” close the set. To read my review of The Soundhouse Tapes and these tracks, click here.
There was also a 4 LP vinyl edition available, with 7 extra tracks: “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son”, “The Prisoner”, “Killers”, “Remember Tomorrow”, an exclusive live version of “Revelations” from the Piece of Mind tour, plus the final two songs from The Soundhouse Tapes, “Prowler” and “Invasion”. You can read a story about the 4 LP edition by clicking here.
And there you have it, Maiden’s first greatest hits set, with lots of the hits and plenty of rarities thrown in for the collectors. I confess that I don’t listen to it often, and this time for this review was the first time in roughly two years.
The cover art was once again by Derek Riggs, doing a sort of mash-up of his (and nobody else’s) Eddie’s. It’s a suitably glorious piece of art for such a monument of metal. The inside of the book is loaded with concert dates, lyrics, liner notes, and chart positions, as well as more Eddie’s and photos!
I still want to talk about the single, “Virus”, but I think that it should get an article of its own. Check back soon for that!
Curiosity: the cover features an ad for the never-to-be Iron Maiden video game, Melt! Maiden did eventually release a video game, but we’re not going there yet….
A lot of fans confidently proclaimed that you can’t replace Bruce Dicksinson. To some degree, they were right, but Iron Maiden refused to pack it in. Steve Harris was going through dark times, particularly a painful divorce. It was Dave Murray who fired up the demoralized band: “Why should we pack it in just because he quit?”
They began the audition process, eventually calling Wolfsbane vocalist Blaze Bayley. Wolfsbane were once the new proteges of none other than Rick Rubin, who signed the band to Def American and produced their first album. Regardless of Rubin’s involvement, Wolfsbane made little impact.
Bayley turned up at the audition and they played roughly seven numbers including “Hallowed” and “The Trooper”. The personalities meshed and after listening back to the tapes, it was Nicko who declared, “There, now that sounds like Iron Maiden, dunnit?”
With the resulting album, The X Factor, as the only evidence before us, one might wonder just what Nicko was hearing. I remember being quite surprised when I listened for the first time: “This guy doesn’t have any range!” His voice fit in better with the darker tone of the 1990’s than Bruce’s did, but would it work?
As an album – disregarding the live shows, stage presence, or what happens later – I think The X Factor is damn fine. Perhaps it’s not a fine Iron Maiden album, although Steve ranks it among his top three. It’s decidedly darker, softer & slower and sparse, but it is also deeply personal. Characters on all songs are tortured souls, reflecting Steve’s inner torment.
Also important to note: This is the first Iron Maiden album since the first one, not to be produced by Martin Birch. Now, Steve Harris and Nigel Green were producing at Steve’s home studio.
The band made no bones about the new direction, starting off with the 11 minute epic “Sign of the Cross”. A new sound, Gregorian chanting, begins this tale based on The Name of the Rose, specifically the torture part! Blaze ominously warns that “Eleven saintly shrouded men have come to wash my sins away.” The song was written solely by Steve Harris and it follows in the mold set by Fear of the Dark: long, soft, bass-driven sections backed by soft keyboard beds.
It suddenly lurches into a slow march around the 2:45 mark, sounding much like Iron Maiden, but slowed down, more precise, and with a lower, rougher voice spitting out the words. It is similar to past epics in that it goes through different sections and dynamics. Although a soft epic, it is one of the best songs of the Blaze era. Indeed, the band continued to perform it even on the Brave New World tour.
As if to allay your fears that Maiden has gone soft, “Lord of the Flies” is next, retelling the old story of the boys stranded on the jungle island . It stutters forward at first before breaking into a solid groove. This Harris/Gers winner was chosen as the second single. Once again, Maiden continued to perform it even into the Dance of Death tour. Blaze growls his way through the words, his solid baritone carrying the catchy verses and choruses. Davey’s familiar guitar stylings in the solo are vintage Iron Maiden.
The third song on the album to be based on a book or movie is next, the manic “Man on the Edge”. Blaze’s first writing credit with Steve, it’s based on the excellent (and my personal favourite) Michael Douglas film, Falling Down. Lyrically though…this one is pretty poor:
The freeway is jammed and it’s backed up for miles
The car is an oven and baking is wild
Nothing is ever the way it should be
What we deserve we just don’t get you see
A briefcase, a lunch and a man on the edge
Each step gets closer to losing his head
Is someone in heaven are they looking down
‘Cause nothing is fair just you look around
Really guys? “The car is an oven and baking is wild”? What does that even mean?
Even though the band continued to play this one into the Ed Hunter tour, it’s not really a standout Maiden track to me. While it serves as a fast manic number to bang your head to while singing along, it’s simply not that great a song.
Maiden wisely sequenced these three songs first, three songs that wouldn’t alienate fans or critics even with the change at the microphone. It is only now that The X Factor begins to show its true dark face.
“Fortunes of War” is a slow, mournful ballad, a beautiful song, perhaps the sequel to “Afraid to Shoot Strangers” lyrically and musically. There’s Steve’s bass, backing the soft sections with faint keyboards. As if you couldn’t tell by the bass being one of the lead melodic instruments, this one was solely written by Steve. I like this song. Reading between the lines you can hear Steve’s pain, and you can definitely hear it musically, before the song kicks into a triumphant upbeat section with guitar harmonies at 4:35.
“Look For the Truth” is next, beginning ballad-like before going into a mid-tempo stomp. This song featured the new writing triumvirate of Steve, Blaze and Janick. Lyrically, it would be seem to be inspired by Steve’s personal struggles. Musically, I think this is another strong number, and it has a great Davey solo. If there is one thing that always grounds Iron Maiden to its roots on The X Factor, it is Davey’s solos.
This concluded the first side. Side two begins with another slow one, “The Aftermath”, written by the same triumvirate. It is at this point that I began to tire of the slow pace. Lyrically I don’t think this one stands up to anything on side one. Another war song, it doesn’t really bring anything new to the table. It was dropped from the live set after this tour.
Although it’s still the bass carrying the melody, “Judgement of Heaven” quickens the pace. “I’ve been depressed so long, it’s hard to remember when I was happy,” sings Blaze on this obviously Steve-written piece. Yet it’s a positive message, Steve trying to stay strong and look to the future. Once it gets going, it’s a pretty good song, with the chorus being particularly catchy. Blaze’s “yeah yeah’s!” are as close as we get to hearing Blaze trying to do anything in an upper range!
The worst song is up next, “Blood on the World’s Hands”. A really dull Steve bass melody (guess who wrote this song!) takes a full 1:12 to introduce the damn song! There’s nothing here that really makes the song memorable.
Although it starts very slow (again) with bass melodies carrying it (again), “The Edge of Darkness” is a much better song. It follows the plot and quotes dialogue from Apocalypse Now: “What I wanted a mission, and for my sins they gave me one.” Musically, Nicko pounds this one into submission. It stomps forward like a powerful beast, unstoppable, albeit slow and plodding. But fear not, it picks up again at 2:55, going into a faster guitar-harmony based section. Although the album certainly does not need more slower songs at this point, “The Edge of Darkness” is a win.
Less successful is the introspective “2 a.m.”. It’s not dreadful, but it’s pretty pedestrian for Maiden, although I’m sure it was deeply personal to Steve. It’s yet another slow song that goes into a powerful stomp, but that’s too many now.
The quirky “The Unbeliever” ends the album on a better note. It has a neat slippery little riff, and it’s rhythmically very different. Written by Harris/Gers, it’s marked with a standout Janick solo. Even though it’s fast paced, there’s no denying that “The Unbeliever” lacks the crunch and volume of Maiden songs of yore.
And that perhaps is one of the most surprising things about The X Factor. Regardless of the change in direction, singer and artwork, it is the production that shocked me. Clean, free of dirt and distortion, Iron Maiden had never sounded this clear on record. But is that a good thing? I desperately wanted a little more grit and grime in the guitars, not to mention volume. The production is otherwise excellent. The drums are like Bonham on steroids and the bass (of course) chimes perfectly on every cut. I just wish there was more guitar. It’s Iron Maiden, and I felt like I didn’t get enough guitar.
This being a new era for Iron Maiden, the band chose Hugh Syme (he of many Rush and Megadeth covers not to mention dozens more) for the new Eddie. Going for a realistic look, the Eddie lobotomy cover was deemed too scary for some markets, and we received the less graphic electric chair cover facing front.
Now, onto the singles.
The first single, “Man on the Edge” had numerous B-sides.
“Justice of the Peace”: A fast paced rocker about injustice in today’s “sick society”, again reflecting Maiden’s new darker, serious lyrical bent. This is Dave Murray’s only writing credit (with Steve). (Available on US CD single or UK CD single part 1.)
“Judgement Day”: Manic and fast like “Man on the Edge”, relentless although not tremendously catchy. (Available on US CD single, or UK CD single part 2.)
“I Live Way Way”: Starts slow and chime-y like many of the album songs. Yet it launches up to speed after this intro. Another fast B-side, I’m now wondering why Maiden chose to stack the album so heavy with slow songs and pseudo-ballads when they had all this stuff waiting in the wings? Perhaps replacing two album songs with two of these could have changed the balance so much. (Available only on 12″ single or Japanese 2 CD version of The X Factor. The 12″ single comes with a massive poster.)
Parts 1 and 2 of the UK CD single also had a two part Blaze Bayley interview. Essential only to the fan.
It also came with a box designed to house the album and future singles. But even when I include my redundant US “Man On The Edge” CD in the box, there’s still room to spare. This indicates to me that there were more singles planned but cancelled.
The second single, “Lord of the Flies” had two awesome B-sides! Covers. Covers of “My Generation” (The Who) and “Doctor Doctor” (UFO)! And let me tell you, Maiden is one of a few bands that can do “My Generation” properly. Steve ably handles the backing vocals while Blaze spits his way through the lead. This sounds very live off the floor and perhaps it was. “Doctor Doctor” is one that I actually prefer to the UFO original. Blaze nails the vocal, the band are solidly in the groove, and Nicko nails it home. Surely, this must be considered one of the best Maiden covers of all time!
Conclusion and final thoughts:
As always, context is very important. When The X Factor came out, I was working at the store, and I had been waiting three long years to hear it. It was the mid-90’s, and most bands chose to get “darker” or “more serious” or “modernize” in order to stay relevant. It was true from Bon Jovi to Metallica with varying degrees of success.
For me, The X Factor was one of the few things that had come out worth listening to that fall, and I listened to it non-stop. It was largely the novelty, and partly the lack of other new options, but I grew to really like most of The X Factor. It took three listens, I do remember that much. But in the 1990’s, all things considered, it really wasn’t that bad.
Next in line of my reviews from Record Store Excursion 2012! Check out the video below if you missed it. This one bought at Paradise Bound.
MIKE AND AARON GO TO TORONTO
THE CULT – “Lil’ Devil”(1987 double 12″ single, Polygram)
I had to pick this up. Two 12″ discs, one single. Although all the Cult studio B-sides are collected on the excellent Rare Cult box set, none of the live ones are. And I only have one other single from Electric, “Wild Flower”. This is a double 12″ single, 38 minutes long, including a 19 minute interview with Billy and Ian.
What can you say about “Lil’ Devil”? It’s sometimes forgotten on radio, next to “Love Removal Machine” and the aforementioned “Wild Flower”, but it’s certainly as good as either of those two songs. A swaggering rock song, this is a pinnacle of some sort for this type of track. Four guys in the room with amps. Marshalls. AC/DC comparisons were bandied about.
The B-sides include the familiar “Zap City”, a song that has cropped numerous times since, including The Manor Sessions EP and Best of Rare Cult. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s from the abandoned Peace sessions, which they ditched in order to re-record with Rick Rubin. It’s a lightning-like rock song, much like what The Cult would later do on Sonic Temple. It would have fit right in on that album.
Two live tracks, “Wild Thing/Louie Louie” and “Phoenix” are present as well. I love the live cover, it’s plenty fun. “Phoenix” is ragged with plenty of guitar noise and even a drum solo.
Last is in the interview. It’s informative but far too long. The best bits involve recording with Rick Rubin, and the decision to re-record the album that became Electric. I could have done without the extended song snippets (most people buying the single already owned the album!).
Part 13.5 of my series of Iron Maiden reviews!(?) I just dug up this single from my collection, so this one actually falls right afterNo Prayer For The Dying!
IRON MAIDEN – “Bring Your Daughter…To The Slaughter” (1990, etched 7″ single)
Next in line of my reviews from Record Store Excursion 2012! Check out the video below if you missed it. This one bought at Paradise Bound. If you recall, this is actually one of two drummer solo albums I bought that day, the other being Over The Top by Cozy Powell.
MIKE AND AARON GO TO TORONTO
CARMINE APPICE – Carmine Appice (1981, CBS/Pasha)
Well hey. He did co-wrote “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy”, and that ended up being one of Rod’s more massive hits. Why not do a solo album?
Carmine co-wrote all tracks herein, and sings lead as well. There are a couple interesting co-writes: “Drum City Rocker” was co-written by an unknown named Vincent Cusano. Cusano would later change his name to Vinnie Vincent when he joined Kiss the following year. Another alumnus from the school of Gene & Paul, Ron Leejack (ex-Wicked Lester) “Am I Losing You”.
The sound is pop rock with pounding drums, a sound I don’t mind too much. I’ve always been a fan of Carmine’s drumming, and his drum sound here is what I like. A big snare drum that sounds like a snare drum, lots of toms and a non-stop approach.
The songs are not great, especially dreadful is a tribal keyboard-drenched “Paint It Black”. Perhaps inspired by Ian Paice, Carmine chose this Stones cover for a drum salvo. He plays it very tribal but…how many people have done covers of this song and buggered them up? Most. The minority do it well.
Better is the ballad “Blue Cafe” with its mournful sounding vocal and keyboard lines. The rockers fare less well, with “Have You Heard” and “Keep On Rolling” both sounding pretty weak kneed for rock songs. The drumming’s great of course, the singing less so. Carmine barely holds it together at times.
“Sweet Senorita” which closes side one is a Bon Jovi-esque rocker that might have been hit worthy in 1981. Really the weakest aspect of the album is the vocal. Carmine’s voice lacks character, sounding very much like Joe Pop Singer. It’s too bad because “Sweet Senorita” boasts a great groove and fine guitar solo, along with memorable hooks.
Side two opens with a drum salvo!…and then this lame vocal part kicks in, “Drum city, drum city…” Yes, it’s “Drum City Rocker”. Why couldn’t they have left it instrumental? It’s otherwise fine, with punchy drum fills and a great boogie!
“Hollywood Heartbeart”, much like the earlier song “Keep On Rolling” sounds like a Journey reject, without any of Steve Perry’s vocal grace. They sound like pale imitations. I had higher hopes for Phil Spector’s “Be My Baby”, being a personal favourite. Thankfully this is more suited to Carmine’s style and he doesn’t butcher it. The backing vocals are pretty sucky though.
“Am I Losing You” is another strong ballad, a good song, a decent vocal from Carmine. I hate buying a rock album only to find that the best songs are the ballads, but in this case, that’s the way it is. Both ballads are good and have some feeling to them.
“Drums Drums Drums” closes the album, and as you can guess, it’s a plethora of drums…with Carmine’s annoying vocals! “Drums drums drums…” he sings. This is followed by an awful “Heyyyyy, heyyy, heyyy–o!” section.
Produced by Richard Polodor. It has this dry, dull sound kind like a Peter Criss solo album.
The record sleeve has an ad (expiring December 31, 1982) to send $12 to buy Carmine’s own book, The Ultimate Realistic Rock Drum Method! A quick Amazon search reveals that the book is still in print today, available for $18 on Amazon.
Next in line of my reviews from Record Store Excursion 2012! Check out the video below if you missed it. This one bought at Sonic Boom Kensington.
MIKE AND AARON GO TO TORONTO
Let’s boogie!
The lineup is impressive enough: Joining Cozy are Don Airey on keyboards/moog and Jack Bruce on bass. Guitarists include Gary Moore, Bernie Marsden and Clem Clempson. So, that’s all good.
But Over The Top starts with the disco-sounding “Theme I” (written by George Martin of all people). There’s too much of Don’s dated sounding synth. That continues into the next track, “Killer” featuring Gary Moore. Don’s ray-gun keyboard are too much, although Gary is brilliant, and a highlight to the track.
Cozy expertly steps his way through every track, sounding like nobody but Cozy. But these cheesey keyboard anthems don’t lend themselves well to his style. Too much disco, too much funk, too much boogie and not enough rock. Jack Bruce is great, of course, very few can do what he does. His bass here is articulate and precise but for me, too much jazz fusion and not enough anchor!
Most of this is progressive-based rock, but the dated synth echoes too many things that nobody really liked anymore. The songs are not especially stiking, and Cozy doesn’t really go nuts until the final song, “Over The Top”. The producer behind this mess? None other than Martin Birch!
Best Song: “El Sid” which has some groove and stomp to it, the keys are toned down while Jack plays some beautifully stretchy basslines, and Bernie Marsden throws in one of those bluesy solos that you know and love from early Whitesnake. (Bernie wrote this one.) Second best is “Sweet Poison” which has moments that smoke.
I dig the cover art with Cozy jumping his drums with his bike! Sweet.
2/5 stars. I think it likely that if Cozy were with us, hey’d probably regret the keyboard-saturated sound today.
TRACK LIST:
Side One – “Theme I”, “Killer”, “Heidi Goes To Town”, “El Sid”
Side Two – “Sweet Poison”, “The Loner”, “Over The Top”
Late weekend night and I’m at the Bojar Grill,
I got decisions to be made between lager and ale
KIM MITCHELL – Akimbo Alogo (Alert, 1984)
Some Max Webster fans were disappointed in this, Kim Mitchell’s first full-length solo album. I guess I could see why, because Akimbo Alogo is pretty straight-forward rock. There’s not a trace of that prog or experimentation that made Max Webster such a unique creature. However, those fans were too quick to judge, as this is simply a great sincere album loaded with stellar playing and hooky songs.
Akimbo Alogo(great title) still stands up on its own as Kim’s finest solo album. Back in that hazy summer of 1984 it spawned four hit videos: “Lager & Ale”, “That’s A Man”, the fantastic ballad “All We Are” and of course, the immortal “Go For Soda”. Although the album cut “Rumour Has It” is no slouch, “Lager & Ale” is one of the hardest driving tunes Kim’s done. The video was one of those great 80’s ones that was just a live performance — but then that live performance becomes so ingrained into your head, that it’s your default version!
But Kim’s always been tender too, and his excellent feel on the six string assures us that the few ballads are still memorable. There’s the hit “All We Are” (still gets airplay today!), but “Caroline” and “Called Off” are both excellent songs. “Called Off” in fact scorches with Kim’s fiery guitar work.
The only holdover from the Max days is lyricist Pye Dubois, spinning words as only he could, with humour and poetry. “All We Are” was written during the tail end of Max, but Kim knew nobody in that band could sing the high notes in the chorus. Along comes Peter Fredette, a talented musician and singer in his own right. His vocal made this song something truly special. (Live, Fredette also sings Geddy Lee’s high part in “Battle Scar” as well as “All We Are”.)
Of course, Kim’s guitar playing is among some of the best he’s ever laid down on vinyl, and that includes the Max stuff. His soloing here is vibrant and warm, loaded with feeling. Kim makes it sound easy — if only!
There’s also a minimum of synth programming going on here, compared to the albums that followed. I think Kim got a little too carried away with it on Shakin’ Like A Human Being. I’m not sure why Kim thought it was a good idea to start doing stuff like that anyway, but at this point he hadn’t gotten too carried away with it…yet. There’s a little programmed percussion in “Love Ties” and elsewhere.
I wish the CD had been digitally remastered. My vinyl sounds better than the CD. The only B-side I’m aware of is the “Syphon Remix” of “Go For Soda”.
First of my reviews from Record Store Excursion 2012! Check out the video below if you missed it. This one bought at Sonic Boom Kensington.
MIKE AND AARON GO TO TORONTO
TWISTED SISTER – Under The Blade (1985 remix)
The original 1982 Secret Records mix of this album was raw and heavy, like a bulldozer with a singer and sense of rhythm. Secret folded and Atlantic re-released the album in ’85 with a remix helmed by Mark Mendoza. For added measure they added Twisted’s first single, “I’ll Never Grow Up, Now!” as a bonus track.
Although less so in its remixed for, Under the Blade served as a brutal reminder that Twisted Sister were and are a heavy metal band, before the MTV hits happened. No ballads, the only slow moment is the intro to “Run For Your Life” which soon hits the gas and takes off at breakneck speed. Like a cross between early Kiss, Cooper, Sabbath and Priest, Under the Blade was an aural assault. The assault was assisted by a brutally ragtag heavy production and mix, frayed at the edges and certainly way too heavy for kiddies weaned on autotune today. Elsewhere, more melodic fare like “Bad Boys (of Rock and Roll)” and “Shoot ‘Em Down” plot the way for the more commercial years about to unfold.
But then they did that remix, and toned everything down. The drums aren’t as loud, the guitars less cutting. In short, it sounds like they were trying to make Under the Blade fit in more with the Stay Hungry sound. I did like that they included “I’ll Never Grow Up, Now!”, one of my favourite TS tracks of all time.
Production is by Pete Way (UFO), and Fast Eddie Clarke (Motorhead) takes a guest guitar solo.
mikeladano.com 