Classic Album Review, Rancid, Life Wont Wait

Rancid, Life Won't Wait (Epitaph-1998)

How to follow up a million selling album and also better it? Here you go and guess what? It did not sell a million.
Well I think that was the idea as the band were linked to the pop punk movement and to be honest they never really were all bubblegum and guitars. It is hard at times to even notice this as punk as it has so many styles from rockabilly to hip hop. Dub and funk and well a real mix of music and all wrapped up in that classic punk guitar tone.

Kicking off with a track called "intro" ha ha yes an into on a punk album. It his you and takes you to what was the first single "Bloodclot" a classic all out punk rock song. Nothing fancy here just enjoy. Big guitars and tunes for any punk night club. With "gang vocals" guesting from Marky Ramone and Howie Pyro.

Track three could be on a different album "Hoover Street" slows down a bit and keeps the music guitar orientated and even a solo.

One thing I love about this album is the bass on it. Listen to "Black Lung" and the speed and skill of the played is immense. So good this album is used as my template to learn the bass and I still play like this much of the time. Clear concise bass playing is rare and in many rocks bands just gets ignored.

More skillful guitar work (in both four and six strings) with "Life Won't Wait" add in the Reggae sound and funnily enough this song was recorded in Jamaica. Buju Banton added fantastic additional vocals on this track.

The album was recorded in many cities and studios but still seem to maintain a similar sound. Production is clear and fresh and you can feel the sun and fun at times. Many fans who got the previous album just did not take to this album and I have no idea why as it really showcases the bands intentions of making some great all out punk rock. yeah the added influences may scare some but in the end it should gain more fans for it. It did with me.

"New Dress" is as catchy as you can get, try not to do air guitar to it. "Hooligans" adds in the classic ska style and more guests in Specials guitarists Lynval Golding and Roddy Byers. You really are getting your monies worth here.

From now on you have horns and time changes that would make any music teacher disbelieve they could really do this. "Leicester Square" makes you throw the metronome in the bin, great tunes and a mix of classic punk and a feel of ska, reggae and well everything.

"1998" adds in more classic punk rock and "Lady Liberty" makes you want a quiff haircut and pick a fight with the Fonz. This is one of they albums that really needs a listen and if you think you know punk or Rancid but have not heard this I think it is about time to have a listen.

And it is not over yet. last few song keep the punk and other influences but the last track even adds in the steel drums and all you need is a loud shirt and shades and it all makes sense.

The album is called Life Won't Wait. A strong message in the album title alone and for me my personal favorite Rancid album and one that undersold by way too much. This was the last Epitaph album as the band would go onto there own label.

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Classic Album Review, Strapping Young Lad, City

Strapping Young Lad, City (Century Media-1997)

Now and then a metal album comes along and just makes you wonder why bother. I still remember my first listen of this amazing album. March 1997 just back from Music Mania (Old Glasgow shop) and the owner said to me good luck as I left the shop.

I see why for 1997 it is such a crazy album. For 2012 it is still a crazy album. In 2050 it WILL still be a crazy album. But it is a good thing. Devin Townsend hits such highs on this album that it will always be a benchmark for the nosier side of things. The band was started as more of a joke band. Much like Spinal Tap.  Devin was playing guitar with Stevie Vai for a while and was a well respected musician. But he had to break away from being in someone else's band and start his own. And well job done.

I say a joke album not so much as in ha ha look at the haircuts but the music is just so over the top. It was not trying to push boundaries but show how full of shit the boundaries are. We all have seen the Cannibal Corpse album covers and heard the guttural vocals of death metal. At times it is good but much of it is a load of crap. First song 'All Hail the New Flesh' follows on from an epic intro track to really take metal to you.

There is so much going on here on this album I really don't want to review this album with words like"heavy", "Loud" and "Skullcrushing". Saying this album is heavy over and over is again the joke. But Devin is so good at making music. Not just a great writer and guitar player he has crafted this album into more than a white noise album. You can feel some real music in this, it may be layered over and over in the tracking in the album. But you do get a real sense of another listen and each time it gets better.

Songs like 'Detox' that may have a meaning to us all are delivered with such attitude it feels as if it is perfectly normal to play like this. Big riffs and a great drum sound are all here each track builds nicely and shows the listener that at times heavy music can create just as much character as a comedy actor.

Devin deemed himself a musical whore due to being forced to play with other artists that I think this album was his therapy and also the reason to move on. 'Oh my Fucking God' is as it says on the tin. Again mocking the play faster to be fastest band attitude. During the song it slows down with the lyrics just repeating the song name. Point made and at times he is so right.

'AAA' is the song that changes style a little, slower and more industrial feeling. Cleaner guitars are here but still made to sound big by Devin. You could call this a slow song in a way but well the rule book has been binned for this album.

This album really got noticed in the press and only in the metal press. I think it does deserve to be listened by more people who may hate metal music. Remember metal is not just Metallica and Slayer, give this a try and if only to have an album to get one back on the noisy crap music that is played by the neighbors till 4am on a Sunday morning.

The album was on a metal label but that really should not have stopped it selling more. It was also Devin's first full on band album (His first SYL was more him and a drum machine). It really shows what he could do and his fantastic studio skills. This album set him up for all his solo work, a body of work that is more varied than most of the 70s put together. People who say they like classic rock music may mock this album but I say this is never going to sound classic. Now that is worth a listen.

Classic Album Review, Rollins Band, Get Some Go Again

Rollins Band, Get Some Go Again (2000-Dreamworks SKG)

Who does not like Rollins Band! Come on! *Shyly put up my hand*

Yes I was never a fan. Well I do like Henry Rollins and Black Flag but this being has band after Black Flag I struggled. I think it is more me as much of his releases were done when I was a fan of rock and not into punk as much (Mostly due to Offspring and Green Day blinding me).

Bu 2000 comes my tastes have some what changed. Sex Pistols reform and I finally get it, britopop dies and rock is back but the bands love punk and then so do I. Rollins Band pretty much broke up before this album with long standing members leaving the band. He had sung in this band for well over ten years and it must have hurt to start again.

Henry was looking for a change in direction in his music and also looking to make an album that rocked. He had produced the band Mother Superior just before looking to start his new project. Blown away by the bands sound and by how fast the get things recorded in the studio he asked if they would be his band. Some writing later and this album is recorded.

It could be unfair to still use the Rollins Band name as the past members were in it for so long but the band does has his name. Also as Henry says it actually is Rollins and a band so the name stayed. But the sound did swap from the post punk/hardcore/jazz to an all out rock n roll sound.

The band and Henry know each other so well the album just sounds so great, as if friends for years it plays so well.  First song feels a little different and helps ease you into the album 'Illumination' is a mix of old and new. Punk and hardcore with the great bluesy style riffs that are so loud you may have to turn it down a bit. Lead single and the album namesake 'Get Some Go Again' is a great start to the album nailing the rock n roll all out hit the dance floor song on the head. A song about how many bands at the time were not rocking and this song does prove him right. The whole album follows this song in style but add in some nice interludes and great rhythm section the album just kicks in the speakers.

'Monster' reminds me of Sabbaths 'Iron Man'. A big iron bloke is replaced with a monster. Chunky riffs that are all over this album. 'Love's so Heavy' is similar with nice solos and Henry's voice being more sincere.

'Thinking Cap' is one of my favorites with a song about the bullshit we all put up with in normal life. From the way you have to be better than everyone else from the bigger mortgage to the looks and a nice little narration on henry pulling some sort of glamor model apart.  'Are You Ready' is a fantastic cover of the Thin Lizzy classic. It is very much like the original but a little faster, more punky and all round a nice version. The co writer and Guitarist Scott Gorham plays guest on this as well.

The album ends with 'Illuminator' a remix of the first track it does sound good and adds in a small bonus to the albums price.

I say end, not yet the UK edition has a hidden track clocking in at 14 minutes. Simply a session of the band and Henry in the studio. Bass bends and riffs a plenty its a jam worth listening to. And here we come to why this album never made the band bigger or at least the same level. The record company just did not seem to know what to do with this album and so badly they even messed up the production of the album. Missing out Illumination and the Remix on the American album was just stupid. A very important song in building this album, who would by an album with music missing?

The record company should have pulled the albums and redone it but no. You had to write to the record company and ask for the tracks on another CD. Over in the UK the album was out in a 2CD with videos and many extras. I know the album was well received here and given great reviews. Also targeting the the rock market in a time nu metal was starting to really make it was hard.

Such a shame I love this album and I never hear any reference to it by rock or punk fans. I have been at Rollins Band gigs and talked to fans who don't have it. Well if you didn't know about it you do now.

Get Some Go Again is available but get the UK edition or the Re Release 2CD (Done by Rollins himself) so you get all the tracks.

Classic Album Review, Kicked in the Teeth, Zeke

Zeke, Kicked in the Teeth (Epitaph Records-1998)

This album is one of those great punk albums that you just don't get too often. Formed in 1993 they put out a couple of great albums before signing with Epitaph in 98. Great move by Epitaph as I think they were easily capable of gaining more sales and fans. There all out punk rock at the time could have easily taken fans of Green Day and the Offspring with them. They had paid there dues in touring and releasing on indi labels but for some reason the sales never happened. 

Album number three should be a walk in the park and it was for them this is fast as you can go. Mix Motorhead, Slayer and the Ramones and you have Zeke. First track sets it off and gets you going. Simple lines of lyrics bit like Discharge (same sentence over and over). Big rhythm guitar in this much like Johnny Ramones machine gun trashiness back in the 70s. Now this is fast and so far typing this one paragraph I am onto track four.

Ha ha yes that fast I really can't review the album in a song by song fashion as some tracks barley make it out of 60 seconds. track four is 'Twisted' much like the music but this one is one of the slower songs but vocals by Blind Marky Felchtone make sure it stays with you. 

With a decent size label and a pretty simple sound the album is easy to record, it sounds well produced but just enough looseness to satisfy hardened punk fans. Solos are very quick and more like a riff at times like in 'Dogfight' bending the strings at the right time repeated can make more of a rock and roll noise than the most flashy solo. If done right of course, and it is here. The drums are so repetitive the drummer must have RSI. Relentless is all I can say, no big drum fills or build ups for a song. Forget atmosphere and building up a feeling to the music. This will catch you and take you on a roller coaster ride to hell. 

Sometimes a trip in hell is needed and an album needs just to kick your arse and show you what it really is all about. Punk music has been so raped by the music industry I think kids really don't know how to rock at times. The one and only time I saw this band live was at the Arena in Glasgow (Fuck that shows my age). Third song in the singer is throwing himself about the stage and falls over and breaks his arm. Gig over! ha ha. 

There is a cover here and it is a Kiss cover. Thankfully it is one of the best songs they done in 'Shout it out Loud' respect paid and respect back as it is a great cover. This album still 14 years later gets a spin and every time I do play it I look at the cd player thinking I am on track two when it is really on track five. I love that in an album and the whole thing is over in 20 minutes. As Joe Strummer used to say "get it over and done as people are busy and have things to do" well said. This album is best for pre night out drinks and/or a 20 minute bus ride to work. But if playing it on the bus make sure everyone else can hear it so they know you are having a good time. It will piss them off.

I am not sure why the band didn't make it bigger as the punk bands were still selling well in 98. They did seem to be connected with the skater style bands and fans so they could have been pigeonholed into that area. I know they have had songs on the Tony Hawk games. But what a punk album to miss out on. Well not anymore eh?

If pissed off play it, if happy play it and if it is only 20 minutes long play it again.

Kicked in the Teeth is easily available to download but track for track it will cost ya ;-)

Classic Album Review,Manic Street Preachers, The Holy Bible (US MIX)

Manic Street Preachers, The Holy Bible (US MIX) (Epic-1994)

I have never been a big fan of this band, well till now. I have heard this album many times before and each time I did enjoy it but I always felt that something was missing. The first single 'Faster' I always loved. With the first single being so good the album was for me going to be great.

Not so. For me the UK mix just sounds so weak, as if they just didn't know how to record the album. But this band is a live band who play gigs all the time. Most of the time the studio album is trying to capture the band in there element. Here in the UK mix it sounds as if the band have been told by the older neighbors to turn it down and have done so.

Again like previous blogs I will not go on and talk about the songs individually as many people have heard this and know it. What you have here is a review of a mix, ha ha yes it is that simple. Most bands that have a record deal in the UK and America can have there albums changed in some way for the American market. The Manic Street Preachers were also given this treatment.

The above picture is from the Beatles album 'Yesterday and Today' taken in 1966 it was a picture never intended to be used as an album cover. But the band insisted stating the butchering of the toy dolls represents what the American record company was doing to there albums. It was very normal for the US record companies to split albums into compilation style albums and release more of them that a named 'studio' album. This is why the Beatles sold so many more albums in America as the tracks were split up between more albums than in the UK. With fewer tracks and more albums that means more money to the record company. The band were more annoyed at this not just as it ripped people off but also as they really did put a lot of effort into the sequence the albums were played. The cover was at the time so insulting that the complaints poured in and the record company pulled all 250,000 copies.
All albums were destroyed and most punters never saw it but the label learned a lesson.

If you know someone with this album in mint condition in both stereo and mono then you have about $10,000-$13,000 worth of record.

Back to the Manics, they had a UK remix and were happy with it. It was now going to be printed and released so all is well. The band had sent there two previous albums to the US for them to 'butcher' the albums. This was hated by the band and the instantly felt it was a waste of time on this third album to even think the US mix will be anything that they are after. The other albums were re sequenced and tracks removed due to religious or political reasons. but this time a re mix was suggested.

The mixer this time was Tom Lord-Alge. At the time he was not really known in the music business outside of the US and even then much of his work had been out with rock music. The band got the mix back expecting to hate it and return it back with the usual dismissive remarks. But shock horror it was good. Really good so good it was way better than the UK mix. It is bigger and louder, the band sound alive on this album. The drums come over as they should, as does the whole band. The band are great musicians and can play. Now you can hear it. This mix was intended for college radio in the states (In America you don't get paid for radio plays so ANY radio is a must) hoping to get the rock and grunge fans as well it was exactly as an album this angry should sound.

There was a problem as the album was pretty much out in the UK and the band do not have the money to pull and replace an album. So it was decided to let the UK mix stay and the US mix be released as normal. After some time the album was picked up by college radio and started to get the band there first interest in America.  And rightfully so the album sounds amazing, nothing like what was in the charts in the mid 90s. Everything else was pop music and dance music. The time was right and the band looked so out of place that they market themselves so easily.

The UK festivals were booked and played but without Richey James as he was in rehab. After coming out of rehab a winter tour was played and during this the band were gaining more interest in America. A tour was booked for them, only a support tour but that is how you break the states.

On 1 February 1995, Edwards disappeared from the Embassy Hotel at Bayswater Road in London after checking out at 7:00 am. This was the same day that he and James were to travel to America for interviews prior to the gigs they were to play, The tour was canceled and the band went on hiatus.

I don't blame anyone for the failing this album had in selling as it was too late to change the UK album. Also the trouble Edwards had mentally can't be blamed on anyone as well. The US mix was never released after Edwards went missing. Only being added into the Special Edition in the 10 year anniversary album in 2004.

If it had come out and if they had played those gigs this could have been a big album. It was big in its contents and sound but the sales never happened and it has yet to even get an award in the UK. For years a secret kept by the band and due to the fact Edwards has never been found the band put this album out the way as it must have been hard to look at it so soon after Edwards diapered. Now you have a chance to own a great album listen to the UK mix and enjoy a band frustrated and anagary at the world and then listen to the US mix for an all out rock attack. I think 94 would have loved the rock feel of the album and taken it to heart. I also think the sales would have been there. But not sure on Richey.

Classic Album Review, Metallica, Load

Metallica, Load (Vertigo-1996)

So a blog on albums that did not sell enough or that were over looked. And I pick this, a five million selling album done by a band at the time at the height of there success.

I pick this as at the time it was absolutely slated. And I mean by EVERYONE! Fans, press and even the own record company. Many of the fans blamed that fact it was not thrash metal or too rock. But it is a good album with thrash influences and it showcases the backbone of rock and metal in the use of blues.

The album was a change in style as the last album sold so many album that I can't even be bothered looking it up. When you sell that much the next album will be a disappointment. And I have it here as I think the band got it right and made a great album that stands the test of time. Taking things back to the blues is nothing new as much of what a metal/rock guitarist plays are blues scales. 

The big problem here are the ones listening to the music. It is normal for an artist to make albums in a certain style and with success never move from that. But musicans should always want to learn and that is all that has happened here. Five years after the last album and the band have changed as have there musical tastes.

Listening to music for most is done in a certain way. Say driving home from work, before going out or just when plain lazy. I have albums I listen to for my different moods, days of the week or even times of the year (Its amazing how great Jimmy Cliff sounds on a sunny day). I think the typical headbanner listens to Metallica in the rock bar/club and expects the same again. They bought this but never listened to it, really listened I mean.

Much like my Sex Pistols blog I will not bore you with a full review but give a bit of extra info on this album. First up the cover. A great cover and by far the best Metallica ever has had. Done by Andres Serrano, many fans disliked it but I fear they don't get it. The contents of the cover is simply human blood and seamen. Yes it's official name is "Semen and Blood III" Looking at the cover again you can see why it caused problems when released. This only happened when press found out what it was as the name of the cover is not printed in the CD booklet.

As the album is coming out the normal tour dates go out to support the album. And again the fans show anger towards the band and not because of the music or artwork but when the posters of the band went up in France the sales of the tour tickets stopped instantly. Reason being simply the band cut there hair. And I am not kidding, stated by Hetfield himself. Also add in eye makeup on some of the members (Kirk and Lars mainly) some right old school homophobia came out of some fans. Amazing to think it is 1996 there were  knuckle dragging so called music fans that consider someone gay cause of a hair cut and make up. Again this album is here as I think the album got rid of those idiots no band or artist want. Who wants a homophobic/racist/bigoted fan base? 

One of the single 'Mama Said' cause more fans to throw out there albums. And I am not joking, there were fans who destroyed the albums due to the previous events. Yeah I know that is a simplistic chosen few but it did happen. This song is simply James Hetfield playing a ballad with an acoustic guitar. Just not what a thrash metal fan wants to hear. But the song is about Hetfield's troubled relationship with his mother (Who died when he was 16). For some fans thing go from bad to worse and on the video James is wearing a cowboy hat. Ha ha, yes that pissed of some as well. So add in the country, make up and short hair. Wow it was all over eh? 

This album split fans so much the follow up (Reload) was re recorded and made more heavy. The band felt the pressure and made that one more what the fans were after. But in doing so make a crap album. It even sold far less than this. Some of the music here is so well done and at times very personal. 'Mama Said' has a great feel to it, honest and to the point. 'Bleeding Me' is a hidden gem and a song about the inner daemons of the lead singer. it was redone in 1999 on the 'S & M' album with a full orchestra and it really comes alive then. It has the rock/metal tracks as well check out 'King Nothing' a song so good it persuaded me to pick up a bass guitar. 'Ain't My bitch' should have been a single. 'Poor Twisted Me' is as fast and raw as this album gets and does it well. 

It was 1996 and the hair metal of the 80s had died as had the Grunge bands of the early 90s. They took a gamble and I like to think it paid off. Albums after this sold less but I take that as a positive. The kids that got this may have liked it and stayed with the band. This recycling is why they can still be here now. When I saw the band in 1999 the crowd were 90% my age (at the time 19) and enjoying a great line up of bands that would never have shared the stage with Metallica in the 80s. The band moved on and took some fans with them.

Next time you see a Metallica fan in a music shop and they are looking at a Nick Cave CD ask em if they like this album. 

Classic Album Review, Bruce Dickinson, The Chemical Wedding

Bruce Dickinson, The Chemical Wedding (Air Raid-1998)

Ahh yes old Brucie is back. And the follow up to 1997s great 'Accident of Birth'. That album was a great come back to the metal world for Bruce as he was toying with the classic rock area for a while. Again produced by Roy Z it is crystal clear and having at the time a former Iron Maiden guitarist in Adrian Smith you know it will be good.

But it was way better than that, so much so this album really did put Bruce back into the eyes of the music press all around the world. When released it didn't have as much press at the previous album but I think that was for a reason, to make the press listen.

The cover is The Ghost of a Flea by William Blake. The Painting was done on a small hardwood panel but musically this album is not small at all. First track 'King in Crimson' reminds me of classic Dio mixed with a more extreme death metal style. Big drums and guitars. The bass kicks in and takes your head off. Then Bruce starts his classic singing style, he needs good lungs for this one as to get over the band he needs them.

Bruce said every track was written like the artwork, a small frame depicting an emotion. The first was about fear (so that's why it is so loud) second track 'Chemical Wedding' is about tragedy and you do feel it with Bruce's voice dipping and almost just talking to you. The music is simple and mixes some loud guitar parts with some nice harmonies that are used to help depict tragedy.

Track three 'The Tower' brings in that guitar player, Adrian Smith is considered the backbone of Maidens sound. More so as when he left the band really went on a downward spiral (He went in 1988) and Maiden albums never sounded the same till his return. Here is the track that proves what has been missing. Theme here is union and what a union of Bruce, Adrian and Roy Z. An idea was made to have bass strings on the guitars, and they did. This song just blasts the speakers out the house, big loud and heavy. Again all very simple with nice little lead guitar parts that flow between the vocals. Telling a story and keeping the great Blake theme going. The song goes into a fantastic solo that shows what we have all missed. the solo is more than a solo, not showing off just the guitar player but the drummer, bass, producers and the studio engineer. It is stunning and up there with the best.

'Killing Floor' starts off and nails the bass guitar sounding riffs so well you could let it go on. And it does. With Bruce shouting "Satan, has left his killing floor" the song feels bluesy and builds up all the time, riffing and interluding to a fantastic end.

'Book of Thel' opens up with some nice clean bass and the album really changes here. The clean bass builds into a nice big full band assault and Bruce again nails it. This song is so spooky and the lyrics just grab you by the throat. Verse two is worth the album alone! It grabs you and will not let you away. This is what metal is and what sabbath wanted scary doom maiden music. The band play so well here knowing when to slow down and/or speed up as if you are in a horror movie. The piano and spoken word narration at the end is so eerie you may just as well check over your shoulder.

'Gates of Urizen' takes back to a classic rock style, no that is unfair as it is more of an operatic feel. It is very melodic and would easily sound great with just an acoustic guitar. but musicians as good as this they make it better.

'Jerusalem' has that classic folk sound to it. I think Bruce and the band have a great sense of humor and all traces of Stonehenge disappear from your thoughts quickly. Building up with mainly vocals and some nice melodic guitar.

'Trumpets of Jericho' and 'Machine Men' offer up the great sounding big hitting guitar from earlier. Still catchy and still kicking you about the room. More nice melodic parts here and great guitar work. You can really feel the guitar sound more in later tracks and it is very addictive.

Final track 'The Alchemist' takes you on a journey of the whole album. Ending as the first started in fear. But uses a more  disorientated feel to confuse and scare you. The vocals change from singing to melodic harmonies to shouting just adding to the fear and feel.

Black Sabbath started this in 69 and it is rare an album can scare you or at least make you feel the eeriness. You listen to this and you feel like you are back in the 1800s and watching William Blake working on a poem or piece of art. What is weird is Blake's work for the best part when he was alive was ignored. Or more so was considered crazy and blasphemous. Even after he died some of his work was destroyed due to it being considered politically radical. Much like Blake's work this album has slipped by the mainstream for too long. And with that Iron Maiden fans who have never heard it. They are the last people that should hear this as they have had there chance.

This is more than just a music album, it is a history lesson, a lesson in story telling and above all a lesson in metal.

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Classic Album Review, Ian McNabb, Head Like a Rock

Classic Album Review, Ian McNabb, Head Like a Rock (This Way Up-1994)

This album from the lead singer of the Icicle Works was a Mercury Nominated album released back in 1994. A straight forward rock album, nothing fancy here ten songs that rock.

Well it has a bit more than that, Ian had made his previous album 'Truth and Beauty' the year before. And I have to say I don't really like it. That aside it was ok but not great, his first album should have been good as the Icicle Works were at the end just him in the studio with hired musicians on the road.

This album is really just a continuation of his debut solo but a little louder. To me it sounds more fun, loose and overall just skillful. The songs are all pretty simple but delivered in fine form. Solos sound great but not over the top. Add in a big backing band...

Crazy Horse. Yes Neil Young's backing band. Apparently after making his last album was wound up by the studio engineer about his rock days are behind him. Returning to Liverpool he made a demo, the record label teased saying it sounds like Crazy Horse. Ian was happy to record with Crazy Horse if the record company could get them. Well a few phone calls later and Ian is on a flight to LA.

Before heading to the US he managed to write three more songs for the recording with Crazy horse. After that the best session musicians in the city played on this. It is rare that an album sounds this good with so many people playing in different songs. It is odd but it just worked, the album runs so well you can not notice any difference in the music.

With limited time Crazy Horse only recorded four songs and the first three and last song is by them and Ian. Album opener 'Fire Inside My Soul' should have been a big hit, it could have been. Big bold sound and guitar riffs all over the place. I love how easy the music is to play but how well its played. It is like making a cup of tea but with the best tea and milk the world has to offer. A catchy song that will stay with you forever, Ian's lyrics will make sure of that. From the heart and not the wallet.

'You Must Be Prepared To Dream' again another single and bad news it missed the top 40. Why, why why!? One listen and you want to buy the album. Quickly written for this the band really show how good they are as it was pretty much all done live. Jamming can at times make some of the best music. Again just some simple riffs that plugs away at you. Ian has one of the most underrated voices in the UK. His vocals here are powerful and all that matters is he means it.

One thing that can be understood in how this was not a chart hit was the song lengths. Track one and two are over that big 3 minute pop song for the radio.

The third Crazy Horse song is over 9 minutes and again as good as the rest. 'Child Inside A Father' was recorded on the strongest cannabis Ian has ever had. The zone the band were in could not be broken and a defining start to a song with Ian standing all over his guitar pedals and then off into a fantastic song, the amp used was destroyed on this song, worth a listen eh?

'Still Got The Fever' takes us back to planet earth and classic McNabb vocals. Big choruses backed up by a church choir and some nice keyboards done again in a church organ sound. Grab a mate for a sing along here.

Some classic acoustic rock in 'Potency' gets you foot tapping into the funky sounding 'Go Into The Light' a song that makes you ask where this was made (LA) oh right thats why its so fun.

Next song is adding into the American sound and some steal guitar (It is actually called a Dobro) adds a nice touch, mouth organ and a great slow number. 'Sad Strange Solitary Catholic Mystic' continues the acoustic feel but the feet is not tapping as much. A very eerie song that is played very slowly with some nice Cello, Violin arrangements to keep the feel.

Last song 'May You Always' is the fourth and final Crazy Horse song. It is a mellow and thoughtful ending to the album. The band show all there skills here, from when not to play and let Ian's voice do the hard work. One thing you should do is listen to Ian's lyrics, they can be very easy to dismiss but at times it really is such amazing lines of poetry.

And again another addition to an album that has been missed. Ian McNabb is still making music and touring but I think this album was his time to break it big. But not so, people didn't buy it even after the music press liking it. As I said it was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. But back then it was uncool and the winners were M People (I ain't kidding). Ian took his mother to the celebration with a slight hope of winning. It should not matter but now looking back it may have helped. M People may not be around but they did sell a truck load of music (10 platinum awards) in the UK.

Just before this album was recorded Ian helped a mate record a few songs. As he was a mate it was done for a few drinks and a few quid. The mate was Ian Broudie, the album Jollification. Just shows how well he was writing at that point eh?

Classic Album Review, The Sex Pistols, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols

The Sex Pistols, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols (virgin-1977)

This blog is for albums I feel people have missed out on and also ones I feel have undersold. This is not so much a review of the album as we have all heard this (I hope). But more info on it.

Out in October 1977 this album had to live up to the hype of what punk rock was. And it did, the fans went out and bought it to the point it got a gold award (100,000) in the UK within a few weeks. The album was a gamble by the record company and well, any record company. The hard work paid off.

Hitting the top of the charts as well in 1977 many kids got this and instantly went on to form bands and learn how to play. For anyone to want to play in a band they must want success, I mean who would want to play a gig to know one? The band wanted more success and also money. This album should have provided this. but the media in the UK had painted them as some sort of terrorist faction. So bad was the heat in the UK the band just could not play. Banned in many towns and cities in the UK it is hard to promote an album if you can't play live.

As a music fan I see a band on record as a totally different entity as a live act. Bands like this who thrive and exist due to live gigs the album can be like a keepsake, a memento if you like of a great live gig. But for many this was not the case banned even in Glasgow where the Lord Provost said "that Scotland had enough hooligans already without importing them from south of the border" Ha ha, what can a band do? banned in Glasgow! John loved it. But even outside the UK. Banned by the Catholic church in Italy and Ireland. The next gig was all the way to Norway.

And now onto why this album is in my blog. A blog for albums you may have missed. And for some who read this you may have heard some of the songs on this album. And liked them but it is a great album well produced and well written. It was so much more than it should have been. It was expected to be loud and noisy and a total mess. But producer Chris Thomas has worked with some of the biggest and best in the business (Floyd, Beatles) and his skills are used well here. Extracting some great music and recording something unknown at the time was to be one of the most influential albums ever made.

Even as the album was being recorded the band had no bass player and also no record deal. And half way through Thomas left the recording to leave studio engineer Bill Price to produce some of it. A band that could not get a gig or a record contract facing an uphill struggle and people wonder why they were full of anger. Contrary to popular belief the band was in good spirits when recording. More to do with not really knowing what they were doing. Add in the sacking of Glen Matlock who was the bands member with any real music knowledge.

As the album was about to be released the record company learned that demos of the same tracks were going to be released in France a week before this album. That other album was to be called 'Spunk' and was easy to get in the UK as the importing of albums was a big seller then. With this in mind Virgin rushed the albums release a week early. In doing so an error in the printing of the album missed out one track that was included on the French LP. Know one would buy an album that was missing a track so the LP was accompanied with a 7" single that had the missing song 'Submission'.

Once in the shops the album sold and thankfully music shops found the sale of guitars, drums and bass guitars wee also increasing. back in 77 the only way to learn was to listen and you need a teacher. This album has that, great songwriting that still means something. Johns voice has such a venomous rasp. He sings what he believes add in Steve Jones a riff machine that could give Toni Iommi a run for his money. Countless bands were formed and all because of this album. I really think if this album was crap or a least sounded bad I think everything could have been different. Even to the point a second album could have been made. Again not to go over old ground but the band fell apart while in America on tour. Missing any real normality the band were hounded everywhere and were pretty much locked out of the UK. This album has had so much of an effect on the band that both Steve and John moved to the US as they just could not stay in the UK.

What happened after this was pretty much called post Punk as many of the band changed there style. More aggressive music came out like Discharge and this in turn would go on to start the Hardcore Punk/Metal, Thrash, Grindcore and on an on it goes...

One thing that is shocking is the album too 11 years to go Platinum (300,000) in the UK. Getting to this in 1988. That means the album slowly sold over time. Kids getting to read about the punks and wanting to hear it. By the 1990s music and the industry had changed. Green Day and the Offspring would sell a shed load of albums (Dookie sold 10 million in the US alone). In a way the band were before there time and also a bit behind. There sound and style is not a million miles away from MC5 but the timing was what made it here.

I have this album here as I think many people have overlooked this album. More so the kids, the album is a history lesson as well as a rock n roll album. Hated by adults and loathed by the establishment. The band and album seem to set up boundaries and it simply would not have happened if it was crap. If you own any of the 90s punk bands albums and not this then seriously get a copy. If you have had it for years give it another spin you may be shocked at how fresh is sounds.

Classic Album Review, Milla, The Divine Comedy

Milla, The Divine Comedy (SBK/EMI Records)

Where to start with this one. Sometimes an artist only gets the chance to do one album before something happens. Much of the time it is the band splitting, record company dropping them or unusually the artist becoming a Hollywood star. This time time it did happen.

Well not quite that fast but it did happen. I am sure you have heard of Milla Jovovich. Ukrainian born and star of films and magazine covers the world over due to a big modeling career.

She is a very good singer and in her early teens made a demo tape that was instantly picked up by EMI. Signing a record deal and starting work on her first album. Produced by Rupert Hine the record company were not messing about here.

She describes the album as a mix of Kate Bush, Sinéad O'Connor, This Mortal Coil, and the Cocteau Twins. And I do agree with that but she really did put something of her own into it. Don't get me wrong this is not the best album made that year or anything. It has its faults but listening to this debut and not many artists can make that good a first album. Add in she was in her early teens when she wrote the lyrics and still upon its release she was only 17. It is a remarkable achievement.

Album opener is a simple look into whats out there 'The Alien Song' has Milla in a real calm relaxed mood. Taking you on a small trip through space. Violin, mandolin, key fiddle and guitar are some of the intuments used on this album and in this song it really builds a nice wall of sound. Swooshing and big air noises make this small trip fun. Next song was a minor hit in America. "Gentleman Who Fell" had two videos made, Milla knows what she wants in her music and in her videos or video art as it turns out. Check out the vido on You tube as it really is amazing. Again watch it and remind yourself she is only 17, so many ideas and such a great understanding of what she wants in not only her music but the whole package. that is something only a handful of bands/artists ever get.

All the songs are heavily influenced by Ukranian folk music at times and this again adds to the albums unique atmosphere. Next single is a little more straight forward. "It's Your Life" is more of a produced song for the record company. It is good still and entertains you with her different ways of singing.

Milla has said she was signed as a dance chart act, expected to have 6 months of chart hits then be out of the music industry for good, it happens all the time. She fought the record company to do this her way. "Bang Your Head" could be a small tribute to the record company and what it must have felt like taking to the suits.

At the end of the day this is a pop album and this is evident on "Clock" a simple synth driven song with nice harmonies to help get her voice into the mind of the listener. Last song "In a Glade" is a classic Ukranian folk song. This lady is classy and knows how to pay her respects, she also nails the song well and can hold her head up high when ever she goes back home.

This album is considered a lost pop classic. And I see why, the record company really did not know what to do with it. Enya and Kate Bush have this side of the market taken. Or did they? This is way different and due to Milla being 17 when it was out a totally different market (Teenagers don't just like boybands).

One gig in the UK then a quick tour of America was the promotion here. But that alone did cause a spark and in America a minor hit single got her onto a support tour. But I think Hollywood was waiting and here film career took over. Milla still writes and records and releases songs on her website. Her latest film Bringing Up Bobby has her on the soundtrack.

Milla Jovovich now kicks the arse of zombies in international blockbuster films. But in her teens she was doing the same to conglomerate record companies. 

Classic Album Review, Reverend Bizarre, II Crush the Insects

Reverend Bizarre, II Crush the Insects (Spinefarm 2005)

And now for something completely different...
Well on paper it does look quite different. But in reality Doom Metal is very close to Black Sabbath and this band were one of the best doom bands about.

This is album number two and what a great album it is. Mixing classic funeral doom and metal while adding in little bits of  classic metal.
In Finland the band were getting a lot of attention, so much that the band had a number one single with "Slave of Satan" a 20 minute single at number one is just not heard of. But it happened and I see why.

The albums first track "Doom over the World" is a classic catchy metal song. A song that could be used to promote doom metal as it is like a small sample of what you can get with the style of music. Track two "The Devil Rides Out" and three "Cromwell" are like the first track. A little faster paced doom metal with more riffs than just all out noise. The first three tracks get you ready for "Slave of Satan".

Now we are talking, big crunching bass guitar that sounds like it has been played by a giant on a giant bass guitar. Big slow guitar chords and operatic vocals will make you look at the cd cover trying to figure out what drugs were taken for influencing this track. But that is what I like about it, the drumming and bass all sounds out of sync and while doing so add in the syncopated guitar you get a real odd feeling that something is going to happen. Like a horror film that builds to the part when the person turns into a victim after opening a door that had growls and screams behind it.

"Council of Ten" brings the album back to a more parallel sounding metal album, still slow and doom as can be. "By This Axe I Rule" contains some great lyrics with the vocalist Albert Witchfinder almost reading out aloud instead of singing. Add into this the down tuned bass and cymbal crashes that blast the speakers each time and you have another song that is over ten minutes long.

"Eternal Forest" would scare you from ever going into the woods again. This track really gives an eerie sound using the guitar to hit really high notes and king of shakes you a bit. To make such a great album with all the emotions and not use keyboards is really amazing. And this is evident in the last track "Fucking Wizard" has so much linking it to Black Sabbath and more so the bands first album. Close your eyes and you can feel Ozzy in the room. There is nothing wrong with paying tribute to another band but when it is done as well as this you have to give the band credit. Every note is perfect as is each hit of the drum. Guitarist Peter Vicar must be the most patient guitarist in the world. It is easy for a guitarist to simply want to shred all the time but his cool calm playing gives this album such a great sound.

Again another album passes much of the music world by and this time the band could be blamed. Albert Witchfinder during recording was having a lot of trouble with depression and the band was just not getting on. This is something you can kind of hear in the album as if each band member is playing while having there backs to each other.

Also the big amount of interest in the bands own country seem to have a negative effect on the band. Three more albums were planed but scrapped and the 3rd and last album was a double LP. The band played some shows in 2006 and split. The style of music is for the very few but I feel they had a little extra to give us. This is the sort of metal album that gets none metal fans interested as well. If the band could have done more touring and more so supporting bigger bands I think they could have done so much more.

 II Crush the Insects is available on Amazon.

Classic Album Review, The Hellacopters, High Visibility

The Hellacopters, High Visibility(Universal 2000)

This is an odd one for me to review as this blog is about albums that were missed and/or did not sell as much as they should. In my eyes this sold well and influenced many people to form a band and play rock n roll music. Just about any rock fan should know of the Hellacopters as many of the bands that were influenced by them would go on to have success. To me this album achived everything it could have done but in the eyes of the music work it did not sell as much.

This band was formed as a side project for Entombed drummer Nicke Andersson. First album was a noisy all out punk rock album, a great one at that 'Suppershitty to the Max' was recorded in what sounds like a minute on a personal stereo and comes out all the better for it. Fast forward to this album (Number four) the band have a deal with Universal and teaming up with producer Chips Kiesbye the sound changed. Not so much commercial rock and nothing like AOR it was a stripped down cleaner sound.

The record company needs something they can sell and I think the band produced a great balanced album that is radio friendly and rocks just as much as AC DC does. Album opener "Hopeless Case of a Kid in Denial" has one of the best intro riffs this writer has ever heard. Simple arpeggiated chords are used and make the album sound £1 million better. Throwing in a little bit of acoustic guitar helps build on the sound and with lyrics as catchy as these you have to sing along no matter what you are doing.

If you like solos you will love this album. It was kind of uncool to have solos back in 2000. and "Baby Borderline" consists of singing "Baby Borderline" and soloing. But that is all you need right?  Chips Kiesbye production is simple but effective, making the band sound tight and clear. All the riffs hit you in the right place and backed up with some nice drumming the band keep the foot taping no matter what they do.

"Toys and Flavors" is so good it should have a video, oh they did make one but like me most people never seemed to see it. Some nice added in piano parts gives that 70s feel and the nod that its OK to wear flairs again. "Truckloads of Nothin'"  shows off how good this band is at using the old six stringer. The riffs are that fast you may have to duck for cover. "A Heart Without Home" adds in what the drummer can do, Robert Eriksson directs the band and shows how to riff.

"I Wanna Touch" sounds like the CD player has been set of fast forward, more made for dancing than air guitar it gives the album that nice all round feel revisiting dance halls of the 50s. Album ends with "Envious" the band seem to know its the last song and jam away for the first 40 seconds and give you the feeling the band have more energy to have done a double album.

To me this is not even the best Hellacopters album but as album number four and at the time limited success outside Scandinavian this album should have taken them to the big festivals and big tours in America. For some reason it didn't happen, even in the UK the band only played London as demand was low. This album did go gold in Sweden and rightfully got them much more exposure there. But everywhere else nothing.

During the albums tour of America the band filmed and released a video Goodnight Cleveland that shows the band playing very small clubs across the USA. Those at the shows get it, but why do so many other people not know of the band? With many artists recommending this band in the press and three great albums before this one this should have been a no- brainer. Again I blame the public here, buying an AC DC album every so often does not mean you like rock music. And there was room for the Hellacopters just look at the joke rock band The Darkness a few years later selling 1.5 million albums in the UK and touring the biggest arenas while pretty much playing the same song over and over. The Hellacopters made two more albums before disbanding in 2007.

Again this band and this album to me achieved so much, influencing countless bands and kids to play and enjoy other rock bands. When I am old and in my rocking chair with my slippers on hand me a guitar and I will play the intro to  "Hopeless Case of a Kid in Denial" just doing that alone means there job is done. 

This band were that good I WANT people to rip them off.

High Visibility is easily available on Amazon.

Classic Album Review, Rainbow, Rising

Rainbow, Rising (Polydor 1976)

Long story short Richie Blackmore left Deep Purple and formed Rainbow. Lead singer at the time is Ronnie James Dio. Two names just about anyone who is a fan of music knows add in drummer Cozy Powell and you have a formidable line up.

So why is it here? Well yes the band did do very well and indeed even this album went gold in the UK. But most people know Rainbow for the cover of  "Since You Been Gone" that was a top ten in 1979 with a different line up. From this album to that single the band changed so much.

Here you have a band who just seem to fit so well, recording of the album was done with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, now that adds in something really special.

Most people regard rock fans to just like guitar riffs and that is it. But here opening track starts with a keyboard intro by Tony Carey, he throws the sound from left to right but it is soon followed up by the rest of the band. A simple track that helps you settle into the album. Some nice drumming from Cozy and even nice keyboard accompaniment helps the melody come through. Richie steels the light later on with a fantastic solo.

This album was only six tracks long but first track "Tarot Woman"  clocks in at six minutes. Next up "Run with the Wolf" is more what people are used to three minutes and a catch chorus that uses the songs name. It really shows what Dio can do with his voice, he makes the song sound like Dio. The song does feel rushed but ultimately it may have been a track to please the record company as a single.

"Starstruck" starts to show what Cosy can do, you could set your watch on his timing on the intro. Something that you never really get back in the 70s was BIG drum intros I think it was more to do with producers not really knowing how to record it. But here it is as clear as a bell. Producer Martin Birch has recorded them all and knows a thing or two about getting the drums just right, Dio takes a step back and just lets the band jam on this one and it is a great foot tapper. Feel free to start air drumming as well.  Next song "Do You Close Your Eyes" is a great radio song, Dio makes the most of the vocals and adds in some of his signature volume that would guarantee that all in the room (and next) can hear him.

Flip the album over to the last two tracks and here is the big song "Stargazer". This long, epic track with symphonic influences adds in the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. Clocking in at over 8 minutes it really needs some attention as it does feel to the untrained ear as if not much is going on. But that is why I think this track is so sneaky. The orchestra has been mixed in as if it is a guitar. Also the keyboards take back a major role in this song and they also beef up the atmosphere. Richie's guitar work here is stunning and never feels over done or too guitar wanky as some may say it. The galloping drums reminds along with the orchestra could have been used in a Hollywood film as it just works so well. Dio indulges in his passion for lyrics in fantasy, swords and wizards. With his voice bellowing over the whole production you would think you were in a concert hall. The skill involved in getting this sound onto one grove of a record is nothing short of a miracle. And it is not over.

Last track "A Light in the Black" shows the band at there metal maximum with Richie riffing like mad and carrying the song away into another world. More amazing Dio vocals and lyrics help make the trip here seem like you have been dreaming of lands far away. This track showcases a solo on the keyboard done again by Carey. This is why the album is so good as Blackmore lets the band do what they are best at, the keyboard solo would make Rick Wakeman blush. It is fantastic and so over the top it needs to be to end the album. Again clocking in over eight minutes it is a stayer.

Back to why it is here, put simply it has been overlooked for too long. I only ever see it in magazines that promote classic rock music and it really should be heard by all music fans. It never really done anything in America and I think the only place it done well was the UK.

Richie would later sack Dio as he refused to write pop songs. Rainbow did do well after this but not musically in my eyes. Dio then went on to sing and write in Black Sabbath and have Platinum and gold albums in America and was regarded as one of the best metal vocalists ever.

I think this album is overlooked is due to the metal movement in the late 70s and early 80s when bands like Iron Maiden, Saxon and Motorhead would be louder and faster. And the fans would then regard keyboards and orchestras as pop music.

When Dio died of cancer many people of the rock and metal world paid tribute to him and his voice and for me this is the best example of what he can do.

You can get Rising on a great remastered 2CD from Amazon but for me get the Back on Black reissue Vinyl as it really shows how great music can be on the old faithful LP.

Classic Album Review, Honeycrack, Prozaic

Honeycrack, Prazaic (1996 Sony)

This is a weird one to blog on as it is a well kept secret. Honeycrack are a great band and this is a great album but for those who don't know them you have heard the main artist in this band many a time.

Willie Dowling writes many of the songs contained here and after this bands only album went on to work in the television industry as a composer. yup you have heard him before and never had a clue.

So this is his big break in a way, the band was formed and signed to Sony and went on to play pretty much every dive and pub they could. All this to limited success.

Just as the singles started charting the album came out and what an album. Many of the singles were catchy pop/rock but the album developed this and took it away from the three minute pop song a little.

This album is like flypaper, as catchy as it gets. Singles 'King of Misery' and 'Go Away' could have you hooked alone. pop melodies and rock out guitars catch you unawares, tangle you up in the melodies and the tunes that need that extra listen.

Now the album kicks in with the 'Genius is Loose' a track that should be used to describe the main song writer. Power pop guitars clash into a drummers paradise to make a tune that will stay in your head all week. You will air drum/guitar/bass/sing to this album for months and that is a guarantee.

'Good, Good Feeling' continues the all out rock and air guitar but the band can be very serious and 'If I Had A Life' starts out with a nice  arpeggiated intro that feeds into a nice alt rock style ballad. nothing Bon jovi here it is all real and you can feel it.

'I Hate Myself & Everybody Else' could be the hidden gem, fast and loose it attracts the highest quality of air guitarists. 'Animals' still gets played by Mr Dowling to this day and to hear it you will see why.

Production wise this album is spot on, not too much pop and just enough guitars to get it accepted as cool. Radio One was made for this album and band. Three guitarists was never really done then and one of them being a former Wildheart (Chris Jagdhar) you have a line up that could be too good.

Hit single 'Sitting at Home' was the albums all out rock track and a song that went down well live. Made for the kareoke stage and for middle age men to sing due to its success in the charts....

Eh?! no the band seem to have one more single and then split, no big PR release about the split. Kerrang! did not care as did the music world. But the loss is our gain as this album is a classic brit rock/pop gem. Many fans were followers of the Brit Rock movement and went on to follow many of the othe bands about so this one really just slipped away.

Not for me I love it and still play it to this day, as far as I can see much of the band has stayed in the music business.  More than likely earning more money now that they could ever have done in Honeycrack. But at the end of the day the music counts and this is an album that will have you counting for years.

Prazaic is easily available on Amazon via CD.

Classic album review. The Gathering, Mandylion

The Gathering, Mandylion (Century Media-1995)

After two albums with two different vocalists the Gathering decided to head in another direction. Enter Anneke van Giersbergen who not only provided vocals on the album but was the writer of all the songs.

The band were part of the gothic metal movement from the early 90s. And as slowly bands like Paradise Lost and Type O Negative gained popularity. This band seemed to struggle till this album.

Mandylion is more of a hybrid metal album. Gothic in feel but classic in sound. First track "Strange Machines" starts with a big guitar sound more like the big metal bands of the early 80s. Production wise it is crystal clear and makes the album sound very big. Drums feel loose but controlled and melt in well with the bass and guitar. Then it is  Anneke van Giersbergen time to show why she got the job.

A big difference is she sings with clean operatic styled vocals so after such a heavy start it is a real surprise to get such a nice vocal lead. A nice touch is the guitar riffings seems to follow the vocals. Really makes it sound more epic and also at times heavy. Add in some galloping riffs much like a slowed down thrash band the first track alone gets you.

The album flows with song after song just engulfing you in its gothic brilliance. Second track "Eléanor" is so simple with some basic drum fills and a nifty little keyboard melodic riffs. Keyboard player Frank Boeijen takes a big credit in the sound of this album. His keyboards trades with the guitars and drums and make the album just sound so amazing.

I did call this a hybrid for a reason as it does mix two styles and comes out better in the end. "Leaves" adds in some acoustic guitars and has a feel of a ballad but retains the albums flow.

Track six "Mandylion" is an instrumental and the first track to move away from the guitar sound. It has a more celtic/folk sound to it. With flute and keyboards taking main stage. It has a great relaxed feel to it almost like a tape you have to get asleep.

"Sand & Mercury" continues the previous track but adds in some cool guitar riffs. The track shows how well the band can play together whilst playing very little. Speed and loudness are replaced with trying to play as little as possible. Clocking in at just under ten minutes it may be a little too much for many serious gothic fans.

It is nice to hear an album that lets you sit back and just dream, you can fill in areas with your imagination. The gothic sound at times can be very limited but this album really broke away from it.

I wonder if all the female fronted metal bands could have existed at all if this was not out in 95? Lacuna Coil, Evanescence, Nightwish and many more all used this album as a template and have done very well out of it.

Some bands went on to much success like Paradise Lost and Type O Negative. But I don't see why this was not picked up. Signed to Century Media they had a chance to sell CDs. Paradise Lost went on to sign with EMI and Type had platinum albums in America. The gathering seem to go the other way, falling out with there record company and going elsewhere.

Again another great album passes by, this time I think the blame is on the music fan. It was not hard to find or even hear due to the record company they had. Fans of gothic metal could easily read this and suggest I am wrong as the band were successful to them. I feel this album covers so many bases in metal music, regarded as gothic by some. Some Goths say its metal. I say if you like to hear something new give it a go.

Kids this is that good you can trade in all your Lacuna Coil albums for this and still be happy.

 Mandylion is easily available from Amazon.

Classic Album review. Celtic Frost, Into the Pandemonium

Celtic Frost, Into the Pandemonium (Noise-1987)

Heavy metal music in the 80s had went through some big changes. With the thrash bands all of a sudden making a fortune and selling records many labels thought they were onto a winner if they signed a thrash band.

Celtic Frost were considered one of the most extreme metal band on the go in 1987 as previous albums were more of a death metal style. They were influenced by the classic metal bands of the 70s mostly Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, with this they added some of the elements of gothic music from the likes of Bauhaus and Siouxsie and the Banshees to make a new heaver style of metal.

Not a band to sit still too long album number three was to be made and for some reason they really changed the whole sound of the band and also metal. Most none metal fans will easily point out what makes metal music from the loud distorted guitars to the frantic drumming. The new bands on the go were taking that and upping it all a notch. Faster, heaver, louder and even more metal.

Take all that and throw it out the window. This band at the time were considered pioneers of the death metal and black metal styles. Both very much new and totally underground styles of music that not till the end of the 90s would get any mainstream acknowledgement.

Industrial music had been going for a while and that is a big part of this sound but add in some love songs, classical piece with female vocals and even a cover. This was nothing that had been done in metal.

Album opener is a great start to any album a cover of "Mexican Radio" (by Wall of Voodoo) it is more a classic rock/metal track and sits nicely to help a new lister or someone with unexperienced ears.

"Inner Sanctum" is a nice slice of what was happening in metal with a thrash style riffing that adds in some nice rhythmic elements. "Tristesses de la Lune" is where it all goes wrong (or right) here we have a track made up of operatic vocals sung in French and accompanied by classical instruments. It really should not work but does, I could see people thinking the LP was a miss press of a compilation as the first side has so many different styles on it.

Flip it over and a hip hop/dance track greets you as the second song "One in Their Pride " just under three minutes and has what seems to be radio CB voices as lyrics. It really is as far away from metal as you can get and I bet Ice T would have loved it.

Gothic, industrial and operatic influences all continues in the last three songs. Last song is just under six minutes and is a real eye opener, not so much as new music but it does not follow the traditional metal style of a longer song. It feels more like the soundtrack to an art house film. The normal themes of heavy music are here from daemons to death and destruction but given a real twist as the band have "borrowed" lyrics from other sources.

Progressive or avant-garde metal is where this has been listed in. You only make new genres when you don't know what it is and even this one has to be subbed out to other styles. It has to be heard by all fans of alt music as it just contains some amazing examples of 80s music at its best. Feel free to listen to it and say it is crap and not what you like but a music fan would be curious at the least for a few more listens then the magic happens.

I have not mentioned the vocals, production or musicianship as I just feel that means nothing. Don't be fooled by the cover and list this as a headbanners only album. Many bands now set this album as a pivotal album in changing metal, taking it away from the traditional big band sound and just letting the music flow. Play how you feel and you can tell with this album metal heads fall in love too.

Into the Pandemonium is easily available on Amazon.

Classic Album Reviews, The Ramones, ¡Adios Amigos!

The Ramones, ¡Adios Amigos! (Radioactive 1995)

Again I am not going to insult your intelligence and explain how influential and important this bad were as you know this and if you don't basically that the Killers or Kaiser Chiefs albums you have would never have sounded like they do.

I know I could pretty much have chosen any of there early albums and done a blog about that. But that would be too easy and also been done before. Again my blog looks at it a little differently.

Something many people don't know is the Ramones wanted chart success and million selling albums but it never happened. Early albums were just too punk and later ones were not at the same quality. But by 95 the music industry was a revolving door of bands. And time had come to split up.

This album was never set to be that good but it was. A big reason is the speed of the music, they tend to have just went for it on many of there albums but this one was slowed down. And it was a decision made by the band because they went in and re recorded the album slower. Mostly due to Joey Ramones voice becoming more problematic due to years on the road singing.

The buzzsaw guitars noise they are known for was cut down on this one. Even to the point the only real part you would hear is a solo like on single "I Don't Want to Grow Up" Even the songs are simpler to the point "Life's a Gas" has a total of six words in the whole song. But it works.

Dee Dee Ramone is back on this album but only writing for this one as CJ is still the bands Bass player. Many people don't know that Dee Dee was the main songwriter, many of the songs written did have co writers but most of the ideas were his in the past so his inclusion is a real big help.

Most people tend to not like cover songs on an album. I do agree but this one has four of them. Well two songs were written and released by Dee Dee in 1993 and the other two are "I Don't Want to Grow Up" by Tom Waits and Johnny Thunders "I love you". It more signals the band were at the end and to keep the quality high they felt its best to have these songs instead of fillers. Right choice as the album flows nicely with the Ramones sound making each track unique.

The album was backed by a world tour and billed as the last ever. And it was. The last show was recorded and released as a live album thus putting the final nail on the coffin.

It should have sold as it was the last album, they should have played arenas and bowed out with a few top ten singles and money in the pocket. But it was not to be.

Much like Vincent van Gogh upon the death of Johnny, Joey and Dee Dee the band seemed to finally get some respect with induction into the rock hall of fame. But more important was they finally started to sell albums. Most reviews were so positive for the first four or five albums but mark later ones as less important. Not so, here you have a fine rock n roll album that was make as a goodbye to the fans.

Just a year after this was out the Sex Pistols Reform to make some money and guess what? The make it selling tickets, CDs and T shirts. Just like in 1977 the pistols steal the light.

You see Ramones T Shirts being worn all the time and there is nothing wrong with that but ask the next person you see wearing one if they like this album (Or even ever heard of it) I bet they say no.


 ¡Adios Amigos! is available on Download and should be purchased even if you don't ever listen to it.

Classic Album Review. Slayer, Reign in Blood

Slayer, Reign in Blood (Def Jam, 1986)

Yes the album is Slayers Reign in Blood, and again I have a reason. This is a blog on albums that I feel were not only missed by most people. But also to albums I feel that never sold enough.

Slayer were one of the many thrash metal acts coming out from America in the mid 90s. But they were different to the others. Not just on the style of music they played but how they went about there business. Signed to Metal Blade Records they were doing well and selling more albums as each album came out. But to have a real chance of selling albums you really need help and that is where a major label comes into the mix.

Slayer were managed very well and so well that future producer Rick Rubin was asked to attend  one of the bands gigs, he did so and was blown away by the band asked if he could sign them to his label. this is where things go in a different direction, Def jam was at the time a Hip Hop label and a very successful one at that. Even Rubin himself at the time was considered a hip hop producer. So for an underground metal band to sign to a hip hop label is pretty much the end of a band.

Not so, Rubin is an amazing producer and here we have one of the finest metal albums ever made.
The thing about this album is the production, the guitars sound so real and in your face. you pretty much have no bass from the guitar at all with a wall of treble to rock your teeth out. it is a sound that was never done before and again a big gamble.

Fast are the guitar riffs but the drums and bass really are not that frantic and still follow that same metal neck chugging speed. Rarely does the rhythm section get you feeling as if the album is at all that fast or even heavy. Even the vocals are as clean as you would have heard all year in 86. Vocalist Tom Araya is also the bass player in the band so this would help to explain some of the set up of the bands sound (It's hard to play fast and sing fast at the same time).

Songs are again unusual as at the time other bands were singing about political subjects and drugs. Slayer choose Satanic influences and Nazi experiments. All so grim and linking to the hip hop world very real. Same goes for the cover of the album, designed by Larry Carroll it was so controversial the album release was delayed. With the album cover including the Reichsadler (Considered a Nazi symbol) and the 'S' in Slayer written in the style of the Nazi SS style. I am not going to give you a history lesson but we all know that these symbols existed 1000s of years before Hitler was even born. You simply can't say any subject matter is not allowed to be used for a song or book. If so then the cinema would be very empty as would be the book shops. Also to sweep these subjects away under the carpet is nothing but censorship and the less of that the more people learn what the world is like and know what is right and what is wrong.

This album would go onto influence so may bands and artists and not just in metal music. The lyrics, artwork and recording technique were all new. The PMRC Filthy Fifteen list made a year previous tried to ban 15 songs that were deemed too extreme due to drug or sexual references now looks like a children's cartoon.

We have all heard of this album but have you heard the album? It was not a hit album at the time so much so it took 6 years to go gold in America. I feel it should have sold more than Metallica as they sold six million units of Master of Puppets in the U.S. alone. Slayer would easily win the award as the most progressive and ground breaking metal bands ever.

Reign in Blood is easily available just about everywhere apart from countries that have banned it.

The Slingbacks, All Pop No Star

The Slingbacks, All Pop No Star ( Virgin -1996)

I know very little about this band and pretty much all I know is they starting life being called MS45 this band lasted just one album and a few singles.

Signed to Virgin they had this album on the label and that is it. One single as MS45 and three as The Slingbacks. I remember Raw magazine at the time rated them highly and after I saw the 'All Pop No Star' video on Top of the Pops 2 I got the single.

With britpop doing so well pop music was what was in the charts. And there is nothing wrong with a pop tune or thirteen as it turns out (unlucky for some).
Taster single was enough for me to buy the album and I am glad I did, it is one of my highlights of British music in the 90s and it is still played all the time by me.

If you want an album to put a smile of your face then this is it. This album is catchy, tuneful and sing along perfect. First single 'No Way Down' is an all out rock n roll song that makes any rock fan happy. And the big part is that voice! Shireen Liane could melt you into your seat.

 'Trashy Broken Heart' should have been a single and a big hit. As is 'Hey Douglas' (Tribute to Douglas Hopkins) it deals with depression and alcohol problems, the song is delivered with some of the best writing you will ever hear on ANY album. This album is real and it can easily be played in 20 years and the inspiration for the songs still relevant in anyones life.

Now you see the potential of this album a few tracks in and it is possible singles all the way. Not one bad track is on this CD, each song sounds fantastic and it also sounds new to my ears. More due to the crystal clear production that MTV rarely got by britpop bands.

The band had a great songwriter and one that seems to know how to turn any song into a catchy number.  'Sometimes I Hate You' is again back to the guitar driven rock n roll like the first song but it is grounded and made pop friendly by the vocals. More of a nod of respect to punk bands than a clenched fist at the pop sellouts.

 'The Boy Who Wanted A Heroine' was another single and a last attempt for stardom. A song with a fantastic guitar solo that needs to be heard bay anyone who plays or even likes guitar music. And again the single failed to chart and that was it, the last I heard of them was this single.

More great songs are to come 'Whorehouse Priest' and 'Junkstruck' both show are just amazing songs and serious front runners as my favorite on the album.
Album closer 'Stupid Boyfriend' gives you one last chance to hear Shireen and it is great acoustic number to end things on a quality track.

Most of the pop world even back then was ghost writers and singers who really could not sing. But to get a truly great pop album is rare and here we have one. There is nothing wrong with a good sing along album that has great tunes and something to say.

This blog was started because albums like this just can't be forgotten. Not just missing a chance to make it big in the music business but to miss out on a second album or even a new single is a shame. The album should have been in the top ten and I also think the American college radio market could have made them very big as the cross of rock and pop at the time was really popular.

Remember the 7" single was invented for pop music songs so take this album as a tribute to that invention.

All hail the three minute pop song.


I have noticed the album is now available to download but copies can be easily obtained second hand on e bay and amazon.

Classic Album Review. Vision of Disorder, Imprint

Vision of Disorder, Imprint (Roadrunner Records-1998)

Now here we have some real heavy metal for you. Ok not so much metal but hardcore and a band that were a member of the NYHC (New York hardcore) scene. Many take the HC music to be just a bit much for them to listen to. Or as some say 'too loud' or 'too heavy'.

Put that a side for now and think about the logistics of what this band were doing. They were involved in a scene, one that was pretty one dimensional at that. Many of the bands did sound similar, but they were offered a major label deal. There first album was released on a subsidiary of Roadrunner and gained many positive reviews.

So Roadrunner took the band under there wing and let them do the next on there label. Imprint was recorded in two weeks and you can tell. Raw and loud but with melodic undertones it seems to mix hardcore and metal and split fans when released.

Many of the fans felt the sound was not what they liked, shame they missed out on a fine album. It may not sound like true NYHC but it does sound fucking amazing.
The limited production here does nothing but add to the sound, two weeks in a studio to put down an album going out around the world on a major label is insane. But the pressure paid off!

Vocalist Tim Williams could cut through an army with his screaming and shouting. I have never heard a performance like it, every track has the same utter sharp spiteful voice. But here is where it splits the old fans as he will sing as well in what could be described a clean voice. Well more so to add calm to the music, and it works. It is easy to make heavy music sound different but near impossible to make it sound different and good.

Oh don't forget the guitars here as well, Guitarists Matt Baumbach and Mike Kennedy seem to gel so well in a scene where it is uncool and unnecessary to have two guitarists they have rewrote the book. Riffs and palm muted thrash are littered all over this album at the same time adding to the sound with small interludes for the vocals to come in and make you wonder if this band are made with CGI. 

This album is the reason the band parted ways with some in the band wanting the old sound and some seeing where they wanted to be. It was also the reason they walked away from Roadrunner as they deemed the two week recording way to little. But sometimes the record company get it right and here they did.

The band went on to make two more albums with the first being rerecorded demos and the second a bizarre attempt to break the grunge/nu metal market.

Roadrunner took a gamble here and it did not work. but the next gamble did, Slipknot had a double platinum selling debut the next year. Vision of Disorder were and are way better then them and I hate to say it.. but it could have been them.

Imprint is available on amazon via download and CD.    

Classic Album Review. Monster Magnet, Dopes to Infinity

Monster Magnet, Dopes to Infinity (1995 A&M)

Dave Wyndorf and co had made two albums before this. The first picked them up a major label deal and the hopes that they could make the big time with an album. First album on A&M was Superjudge. For me a great album but just too stoner rock and acid filled for a mainstream audience.

The major was trying to cash in on the grunge rock highs that were being made by Nirvana and Soundgarden but the next album was a great cross of stoner and grunge and shows a band that could be even more alternative.

Mixing Hawkwind styled space rock and stoner rock they made a fantastic album that was released to glowing reviews but copies just did not sell.
The production is big for this album and unlike much of the stoner underground it is needed. This band can play and riff with the best in the planet.

Don't get me wrong they are more of a rock band than anything else and that come through here. But it takes guts to write songs that are 6 minutes long and add in lyrics about sci-fi daemons and orgies in another world while hopping about on a spaceship full of drugs.

The band did get some mainstream with the "Negasonic Teenage Warhead" single being a minor hit but for some reason the album sales stalled. To be fair the album does sound very good with the guitars getting a typical forward mix and the band accompanying the riffs. Even track six "Blow em off" shows a real relaxed side to the band with an acoustic song in its entirety, so it is not all out space rock.

With this album being number three they have had time to become a great band and also have some time to mess about in the studio "Dead Christmas" shows a band who know what they want to play. Dave's vocals make you want to close your eyes and think of something else, he can sing in such a relaxing way that you swear he is in the room. When you get to the last track "Vertigo" he is singing "There's a tiny little monkey, he lives inside my head" and clocking in at over 11 minutes there was never going to be a music video on MTV for this one.

The band was miles ahead of all the other stoner rock bands who tend to just simply make the same album time after time. They had the guts to make a change to there sound and try and incorporate the rock n roll style into there psychedelic stoner senses.

One thing people did do was buy the next album "Powertrip" gaining a gold certificate in America and even having hit singles in the UK everything did work out in the end. But this should be selling the same as there big album.

But again what do I know? All I know this is a classic stoner rock album and needs to be played with headphones on and a peace sign to the devil.

Dopes to Infinity is easily available on CD via Amazon.