Thin Lizzy, Black Rose

Thin Lizzy, Black Rose (Vertigo-1979)

So we have all heard the hits Whiskey in a Jar and The Boys Are Back in Town but most people have missed out on the bands best work and here it is.

With the hits being available on rock compilations I see why most people just skim over the bands catalog thinking they were the only good songs. But here is a chance to get a great rock album.

Opener "Do Anything You Want To" was that good it was a single and a great start. Nice big bass and drums hit you then that trademark twin Lizzy guitar riff comes in. This album welcomes Gary Moore to the studio recording for the first time in the bands history (he had replaced others on tour but left before recording twice). His blues sound is evident but not taking anything from the rock band at all. Riffs are less loud and more melodic. Add in Lynott on Bass the album has plenty of skill here.

"Toughest Street in Town" and " S and M" continue the great rock music and could all easily fill dance floors in any rock pub. "Waiting for an Alibi" has that guitar riffing back again with nice vocals and lyrics from Phil. Classic solos and guitar shapes follow here as well. The outro riff would make most want to pick up a guitar. Catchy and also very raw, the band were known for touring and this can still be heard in the production.

Phil Lynot shows his soft side in "Sarah" written about his newly born daughter. It is a nice slow one with little bits of mouth organ and nice 12 sting guitar. This was released as a single in 1979 and gained some alternative fans who think the band were all about hard rock.

The mellow and less musically serious side from Phil is evident in "Got to Give It Up" a song about his drug problems. You can hear it in his voice he sounds very much unhappy. Classic Lizzy guitars and a great chorus make you forget the real problems.

"Get Out of Here" was co wrote with Midge Ure and could be a small token to all the people who have left the band in the past (Ure was asked to finish the tour as Moore left). "With Love" follows nicely into "Róisín Dubh (Black Rose): A Rock Legend" the album has been named after this stunning song and it is a riff paradise.

The last song is all traditional songs given a rock arrangement. It really should not work but does and so well. The twin guitars work so well here that the reason they were invented is more of skill. For those who do not know why the band have two guitars playing the same riff, the band had and still did have problems with keeping guitar players. So Lynott hired two so that if one went he had another that meant live dates were able to be played. So so simple but it was never done before and let onto the birth of the twin guitar riffs the likes of Metallica and many more guitar bands after them done.

Listen to the song carefully and the lyrics are like a poem to all who are Irish or have have Irish roots. It is really just a tribute to Ireland with Black Rose slang for Ireland other things in the song are famous people from Ireland from James Joyce, William Butler Yeats, Oscar Wilde and Brendan Behan are all Irish authors referenced in this song in amazing ways. Van the man is Van Morrison, soccer man is George Best and many many other things. As said it is all done in a traditional style with four songs used in the whole seven minutes in that twin riffing and his voice it is amazing to listen to. It is like mixing a history lesson and a music lesson in one. Simply stunning and I have yet to hear anything replicate it.

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Ocean Machine, Biomech

Ocean Machine, Biomech (Heavy Devy Records/East West, 1997 )

This is more of a side project than a full on band or even a solo album. If you don't know Devin Townsend he has been in my list before with Strapping Young Lad and the City album. That was a great album and his breakthrough to the music selling world. But at about the same time this was being made as well. Devin did form a band for this project but it seems to be more a part time thing as some of it was recorded at home and at various studios. Even mixing was done in other places over a long time.

With his previous album he had the all out metal attack of Strapping Young lad, this is far more mellow and stripped down. Sure the guitars are still there as is the full band sound but it just feels more... modern in a way.

Take "Seventh Wave" now here we have what Devin is about. He starts a metal record with a quote from Alfred Tennyson's, In Memoriam A.H.H. a poem years in the making as this album could have been as well. The first track is a big sounding metal classic. But the changes are very obvious, very slow riffs and so is the drums. All working in tandem playing slower. Much like Tennyson's poem Devin is in no rush to be done.

With the big start has to be more right? Well "Life" is best describes as a pop song. It has the big sounding intro but it falls nicely into a melodic guitar riff and then into Devin's very subtle voice. I mean it sounds rock and metal like but I feel like singing along. Listen to it and you will see.

Some guitar FX and that big band sound help "Nightlife" come to life. It is close to his previous work but still has the feeling of that album and some nice melodic parts to keep the head nodding. "Hide Nowhere" is one of the most upbeat songs here, not that the album is depressing but again that is why I love this album. You can play it any time and feel good. The contents have been done so well even 16 years later I can find a new thing.

"Sister and "3 AM" are more like small snippets with overdubs of other things. It does feel like its half way and "Voices in the Fan" comes in with some nice melodic vocals. Confusing at times as you feel the album has lost some of it's way but as it falls into "Greetings" you switch again to a guitar intro done with some nice multi tracking. This is not prog but it feels simple yet really good. Again no real riffs or even a tune here but it falls in place so well.

With this album done as a side project and self funded the pressure was off and so the creative juices could flow. It is not the sort of album you could tour with "Funeral" gives us our first big riff and I can see elements of this album in all of his music from now onwards. Not so much as copying but he seems to really enjoy this music. "Regulator" sounds much like the first track, in no hurry to get anything done quickly. The last three tracks end the album in a similar way. Very minimalist, noises here and there. A small bit of guitar and an over dub there. The ending is like a journey and possibly the start of something new. As the album opens with a memorandum could it be an album in reverse? Is this a birth at the end?  What ever he was doing it is fantastic and an album that should be in any record collection. I once saw this album in the classical section of HMV (It was even printed on the barcode) it is not often a high street mass retailer get it right but if they sold one copy by mistake it was on good terms.

Released on his own label as Ocean Machine, Biomech the album was re released with Devin Townsend as the project name. Easily available from Amazon  and all good classical shops.

@29xthefun  

Motörhead, Inferno - Kiss of Death - Motörizer

Motörhead, Inferno, Kiss of Death and Motörizer (Steamhammer 2004-2006-2008)

As you can see I have three Motorhead albums as albums you may have missed. Many people think this band started with Overkill and ended with Ace of Spades but the truth is they did have many more great albums. 

I have chosen the three here as I really can't pick between them and I wanted to have one from the bands later career. Inferno was for the band a bit of a change in sound. Not so much a choice as the band switched producers and in came Cameron Webb. 

Sound wise the albums are more direct and far sharper. These albums showcase how great a drummer Mikkey Dee is. Far more attention and time is given to the rhythm section here and that bass sound Lemmy has feels even more louder now than it has ever done. Old school noise recorded in a new school way, it really should not work but does. Mostly as the band are a great live unit and with Lemmy writing the lyrics you have three great albums. 

Inferno was first up and with some changes that may have scared some older fans. "Terminal Show" and "Killers" really show what the change is about. The production is so crystal clear it feels real. "In the Name of Tragedy" is another classic and last track on the album "Whorehouse Blues" is the one that shocked people. More a mix of country and blues, out comes Lemmy and a harmonica with the drummer helping on second acoustic guitar. A great song and one that would go down well in any acoustic night.

The album says its produced, mixed and engineered by Cameron Webb and that seems to be the real key here. 

Onto Kiss of Death and again the album sounds like where Inferno left off but they really cant have any more killer songs like before. But not only that but faster. "Sucker" and "One Night Stand" come blasting out and checking wikipedia you see Lemmy is in his 60s and still making bands about now sound slow and pathetic. 

Both songs have the trademark sound but they just seem faster and that bass sound seems to have evolved a little. You don't feel like head banging but dancing. And that flows all throw the album. Even "God Was Never on Your Side"  a tearjerker of a song could get you grabbing the first dancing partner available for a slow dance as it is a very slow ballad. 

The whole album if again full of great guitar riffs and some amazing solos. The production is fantastic with everything sounding amazing again. So if the relationship between the band and Webb is working so well how about another album...

Motörizer again adds more fast and brutal rock and roll riffing with the opener "Runaround Man" showing that business is indeed back to usual. This album has some great song writing and a favorite of mine is "English Rose" a fantastic nod to the classic rock n roll of bands from the past, hearing Lemmy sing at the start of this song just gives me chills. His voice sounds superb. "Rock Out" keeps the pedal to the metal as always and "Teach You How To Sing The Blues" makes you dust off those dance shows from the last album. 

Three albums in about four years that are well up there with the best of rock music in the 00s. Some people will always say they are not better than the first few albums back in 78-81. Technically these are better, faster, louder and more melodic than them. It is easy to say older music is always better but all who listen properly to music know that is bullshit. This is album number 17, 18 and 19 for this three piece and if they felt that there would never be a better album to make they would have gave up. 

Twitter: @29xthefun

60ft Dolls, the big 3

60ft Dolls, the big 3 (Indolent-1996)

I am glad I do not do a headline on my blog as this headline would just be calling the music buying public a load of swear words. 

Seriously I am shocked why they never made it, they had the chance and the right time was there. Kicking about from 92 and hitting the charts in the mid 90s they only had low end chart hits. But it was hits anyhow and for me that is all you need to be noticed back then.

Here we have a debut album that rocked better than most bands out at the time. It sounded great and had no filler tracks. Add in the band playing great live sets they were the whole package. I have always had a fondness or a better way is more respect to three piece bands but they did sound bigger. 

The album is a classic Brit rocker. All out guitar driver rock n roll but they had some really great slower songs and ones I still play. "New Loafers" kicks the album off on a great positive way. The guitar sounds great on this album and this first track sets this in stone. Great punky rhythms and a great tune. Single "Talk to Me" shows how sing along they can be and they can make a great pop song. "Stay" follows on the great melodic tunes and it is like a smart love song "you have to hear it". 

Now time for a slower song and on first listen "Hair" sound nothing special. But that is the key, simple and melodic. It is a song that any American rock band would have killed for. But it is still rock as the guitars are all there, never being hidden away at the back of the mix they sequel and crunch through the track. "Happy Shopper" gets back to business and at first the intro riff sounds familiar, yes. Last time was when you were having fun. Get ready to sing along and wonder why it only got to number 38. 

"The One" is another one. Another great song and a killer guitar work here as well. "Good Times" takes a step back to the punky feel and as ever great lyrics "let the good times roll" and why not? Some songs can be played to make you feel better so far I have counted seven. How about another one?

"No 1 Pure Alcohol" has a real indi rock feel to it. It was there first single and you can hear how they have progressed but again it is still a great song and one that shows the rest of the band can add something great here. Nice bass guitar here gets the shoes tapping at least. As the album comes to a close it has one song that I discovered the band with "Pig Valentine" all out indie rock at it's best. Not too fast or even too difficult to play but it has the sound of a bigger band in a bigger venue. All the guitar bands now would kill for this song alone never mind this album. 

Last two songs "Terminal Crash Fear" and "Buzz" keep the quality high with the latter a slight change in style ending on a slower song. This album seem to get great reviews in the day and if I remember it was well championed on Radio One. Looking at the rock bands who have made it today this act would slide right in and out do every one of them.

This band were asked to support Oasis as they were making it and you would think the Oasis fans would have seen this and loved it, but sadly no. Why? I have no idea as I have seen the band myself in 96 and I have to put there performance up there with one of the best. The guitar player made that much of an impact on Oasis he was asked to join. But with him favoring the Dolls and hoping they would make it he turned it down. Respect for that I say but what would Oasis be like with him in the band? Get a listen to this and just dream.

I also have to mention the drummer Carl Bevan continued in the music industry and produced Black Junk by Exit_International. Keep an eye on that band and get that album for more fantastic new noises. In Wales this band are regarded as heroes by many music fans and I can only agree. After making the second album they were to split not long after it's release. Too much touring and I think the sales were not high.

I enjoy doing this blog more for stopping boredom and I also find it fun but albums like this have to be heard. I have had the album playing for a week now and I really can't fault it. Great album and go get it now. If you do not like it I will give you the money back. 

Out of print but still on Amazon second hand for 1p (I did say I would give you the money back)

Twitter:  @29xthefun

X Factor, Iron Maiden

X Factor, Iron Maiden (EMI-1995)

So I have been doing this blog for a little under a year and have never had an Iron Maiden album in it. Well that shows you how unbiased I can be. Also the fact is they are one of the highest selling metal bands ever.
Every album up till this one had sold significant numbers and all got a reward in America and the UK. Be it platinum or gold it sold but in 1993 the lead singer choose to leave the band.

I will not go into the departure of Bruce Dickinson now as one of the reason he left is in the sound of this album. The bands sales had diminished a little over the years and in 1992s Fear of the Dark album was to be the last with the singer till 2000. The band had no obvious replacement so advertised for a singer and auditioned many. Enter Blaze Bayley singer of Wolfsbane he had supported the band and was a fan and his voice stood out amongst the other tapes received.

Iron Maiden do not mess about it was right into the studio, the band just wrote it all and got the job done. Bayley was used to demoing music but not for this band. I think a reason I like this album is how raw it is and how loud it is. Sometimes under producing an album can make it better. There is nothing big sounding on here and it does sound very different to all of there other albums. Described as being a darker album by the press, it did sound a little less positive but at the end of the day it is a rock album. If you take the content of the songs over the music the you will be shocked to understand what many other songs are about (for instance Tutti Frutti is about gay sex).

Starting off with "Sign Of The Cross" and over 11 minutes it is the hardest song to take here. But it feels like an intro track with the monks awwwing (real name is a Gregorian chant) and the atmosphere building. The song is about a murder mystery in a monastery based on the book "The Name of the Rose" it is a good start and has some nice riffs and really shows the band are together on this one. "Lord Of The Flies" is a classic all out rock song and a second single (Yes it is based on William Golding's novel) no real surprises and the first single "Man on the Edge" is the first you really hear Mr Bayley. It is the classic Iron Maiden single and a great song, the band really play loud here and I think it is to keep up with Blaze. All the classic stuff is here from solos big bass lines and a great air drum track.

"Fortunes Of War" is a classic tale of war and the loss. The guitar players get a chance to show there skills with some nice little acoustic intros and even keyboards to help it all flow nice and lite. Blaze shows his softer side. The song never builds into the classic Maiden wall of noise but a nice little melodic riff and simple drum sound. All very cozy and I love it. More so "Look For The Truth" keeps that idea going and a similar song, nice guitar arpeggio helped by the odd bass string to build to the band coming in but it is not that big and still very melodic more in a dance sort of way. Choppy riffs and trashy drumming. The band follow the singers melody here and it sound great, simple and fun.

"The Aftermath" feels bigger but it really continues the war theme with vocals concisely singing the words and lyrics like "should we be fighting at all?" make you think. "Judgment Of Heaven" is self explanatory in it's title. But it is a more upbeat sounding song, more like the sound you get on a funny story at the end of the news. Again a classic rock song and again some nice melodic vocals from the singer. My least favorite song "Blood On The World's Hands" is nothing bad but it does not sound quite right on the album. Next track "The Edge Of Darkness" was on the first single as taster to the album and I see where the opinion in the press of a darker album comes from. Based upon the film Apocalypse Now if you have ever seen the film it is real grim stuff but the band pull it off with some classic metal. And a tune that should have been out as a single. The guitars really get an exercise in riffing here. Again the vocals belt over the music and really make you look at the lyrics.

This album clocks in at 71 minutes and even the last two tracks still fit in some highlights "The Unbeliever" has some nice bass playing and the band let rip a few times. The writing for this album seem to go that well they even had some songs left over. The three leftovers were used on singles as b sides.

The album does sound a bit rough by todays standards and a reason that Bruce Dickinson left was the recording studio the band used. They were using Barnyard Studios, a studio owned and in the house of bass player Steve Harris. Bruce felt the quality was not up to the bands level. But listening to the last album done outside the studio 1988s Seventh Son of a Seventh Son I feel that album is way poorer than this. Yeah it has some classic songs like The Evil That Men Do and Can I Play with Madness but the rest are not that great.

At the time this came out the fans hated the album, they hated the new singer and so much so people would spit at Blaze at gigs. Sometimes a change can just throw people who are used to repetitive things. A new singer who at the time really helped keep the band going and so much he is credited on six songs. Ignore the press as they can get it wrong and if like me you like a change give it a go. In 1995 it was all pop punk and britpop. The band took the hard option they really could have called it a day or even just waited longer but not for these guys.

So much about this album is good I love the artwork, done by Hugh Syme it was a model that was photographed and at the time it was decided it was too graphic due to the lifelike Eddie having another lobotomy. It is my second favorite Maiden cover after the Thatcher killing of Killers.  Looking at the cover and listening to the music it does not look sound like 1995 and that is what I like about it.

Classic Album Review, Deckerd, Dreams Of Dynamite And Divinity

Deckerd, Dreams Of Dynamite And Divinity (Cadiz-2004)

I have done this blog for some time now and I am shocked I have not done this album till now. From Glasgow the band was made up from members of a band called Baby Chaos who I have got an album on here already check it out. Again information is low here but it seems to be the same band and from what I can see on there own label so here you have to me is another baby chaos album right?

For this album was there second with Stereo Dream Scene being out in 2000. That album was great but this album is essential. How often do you get a review that is 10/10? Very rare and If i did give marks that is the score I give this one.

First listen the album opens with "To Your Soul" and "We're Aching" to the listener there is nothing special about this. But a close listen you can really feel something happening. Gone are the big riffs and drum sound but a more all rounded pop sound. The vocals come over like they really care and all words are pronounced so well that it should sound like some sort of boy band chart crap but the style and words work so well.

"When Picking Fights" takes you back to the old days of the 90s brit rock sound. Well just for the start of the song, a nice riff and drum intro flow into melodic but spiky guitars and that voice. The album now really starts to get to you and in the best way "Be Nobody Else" has a nice guitar start that slowdowns and has nice almost whisper vocals. Building into that great well produced guitar sound that really makes all the big guitar bands sound tiny. There are no big producers and engineers on this album. All self recorded and produced by Chris Gordon he is also the singer and writer of all lyrics.

"Holy Rolling" was that good the band made a single for it but not just a two or three track cd but a seven track mini album (Check that out as it has more new stuff). Again flowing much like the album has done this song has hit single all over it. Bouncing about the stereo and equally making the listener want to do the same, nothing new but just catchy and one for the rockers and rollers.

"Say Something Stupid" sounds like a ballad but is it a love ballad. Not with that title, again with melodies that could be used as a tractor beam in Star Trek. Some nice little interludes and great drumming the time has been taken for the track to really come alive. I have seen this band live once and I feel this song is as close as you get to them.

Slowing done somewhat for "Fall Down At Their Feet" it is all too easy to use the acoustic guitar or have simple chords to show a change in style to the slower music. How about still using the electric and plucking of some nice melodic shapes instead. Minimal singing is needed but done well, building into a big ending that still sounds and feels the way it started. Great song!

Last few tracks contain a little change in direction "Grace's Estate" is a bit like a demo track from a compilation, more a mix of songs and a little confusing. But that is the effect they wanted I believe.  "I Dream Of Dynamite" ends the album well. More a band effort and a one last song for the fans. Sadly it is still the last song I have heard from the band. I think they still exist but as the music industry really does not pay bands who are good but more ones with a gimmick.

If they had put on masks and got dressed up for a support slot on a Muse tour they could have made it. Well not possible as to support a big tour costs money and there is none here. Seriously if you like Muse, Foo Fighters and QOTSA you will love this album. It is like the best of what those bands can do. But self made music rarely gets much of a break and unless you are "invited" onto a tour the mainstream fans will never see you.

But this album is more for the people who go out there way to get into music. Recommended by a mate who gets you a ticket, good review in Rock Sound and you decide to keep an eye open for it in HMV. That style of music buying has sadly all but left us. It is websites like this and the fans who still hold onto it that keep us all following.

Deckerd, Dreams Of Dynamite And Divinity  is easily still available on Amazon market 

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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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