Monthly Archives: February 2010
DIO – Dream Evil
Dio – Dream Evil (1987, Warner Bros. Records)
1. “Night People” … 4:06
2. “Dream Evil” … 4:26
3. “Sunset Superman” … 5:45
4. “All the Fools Sailed Away” … 7:10
5. “Naked In The Rain” … 5:09
6. “Overlove” … 3:26
7. “I Could Have Been a Dreamer” … 4:42
8. “Faces in the Window” … 3:53
9. “When a Woman Cries” … 4:43
Band:
Ronnie James Dio – Vocals
Craig Goldy – Guitar
Jimmy Bain – Bass
Vinny Appice – Drums
Claude Schnell – Keyboards
Producer: Ronnie James Dio
I’m not really sure why I put off buying Dio’s solo albums for so long. I’ve never had a problem with the music or the man and I’ve become a HUGE Black Sabbath fan over the last two years. I basically figured Ronnie’s Stand Up and Shout collection was pretty much all I’d ever need but boy was I wrong! Dio is going to be one of those artists for me where I eventually plan on collecting all of his studio albums.
I bought this album the same time I bought Lock Up the Wolves. For whatever reason, I was drawn to Lock Up the Wolves first but now that I’ve backtracked chronologically to this album — I can say as much as I liked Lock Up the Wolves, Dream Evil is much better. Dream Evil is right up there with Holy Diver and The Last in Line as far as classic Dio goes. Perhaps if 1986′s Sacred Heart had stuck to the traditional Dio sound a bit more closely, Dio wouldn’t have already seen such quickly diminishing returns by the time this album was released.
Their really isn’t any filler to be found on this album in my opinion but I have to admit the album’s second single, “I Could Have Been a Dreamer”, is a guilty pleasure. Definitely the slickest most radio-ready song of the bunch but it peaked at No. 33 on the U.S. rock radio charts.
It’s a shame this album started Ronnie’s spiral into obscurity (though it was the gold-status Sacred Heart that did the damage, really) when it comes to the masses because this is a great heavy metal album that stands shoulder to shoulder with the group’s first two efforts.
Highlights: “Night People”, “Dream Evil”, “Sunset Superman”, “All The Fools Sailed Away”, “I Could Have Been a Dreamer”
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SCORPIONS – Love At First Sting
Scorpions – Love At First Sting (1984, Mercury Records)
1. “Bad Boys Running Wild” … 3:53
2. “Rock You Like a Hurricane” … 4:10
3. “I’m Leaving You” … 4:10
4. “Coming Home” … 4:58
5. “The Same Thrill” … 3:30
6. “Big City Nights” … 4:02
7. “As Soon as the Good Times Roll” … 5:02
8. “Crossfire” … 4:33
9. “Still Loving You” … 6:27
Band:
Klaus Meine – Lead Vocals
Matthias Jabs – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Rudolf Schenker – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Francis Buchholz – Bass, Backing Vocals
Herman Rarebell – Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals
Producer: Dieter Dierks
Another Scorpions album, another fantastic release. It’d really hard to pick my favorite Scorpions album because when they were good they were very good and almost always have zero filler.
Blackout had the classic hit rocker “No One Like You” and Love At First Sting gives us another classic and huge hit for the band: “Rock You Like A Hurricane”. This is a song that is still talked about and ranks high on many best hard rock/metal song lists to this day and also is featured often in commercials, movies and video games. On the back of this song and with support from the follow up singles “Big City Nights” and “Still Loving You” (both minor hits) the album has been driven to sales of 3x platinum and it is the band’s most successful release.
“Still Loving You” is one of the greatest power ballads ever and I always gets a kick out of “Big City Nights” because I usually replace “city” with a popular slang word for a woman’s breast.
This album is a heavy metal classic that in my opinion marks the end of an era for the band. Scorpions would continue to release entertaining albums (for the most part) but the rest of their career would see the band becoming more commercial minded and/or performing a few musical experiments that may or may not have worked depending on your own tastes.
On the cover, I never really noticed until now that the guy is tattooing the woman’s leg. I never closely examined the cover and just assumed he had his hand on her thigh.
Highlights: “Rock You Like A Hurricane”, “I’m Leaving You”, “Coming Home”, “Big City Nights”, “Still Loving You”
THOR vs. THOR
Only one can survive! Which Thor do you prefer?
Thor
Place of Birth: Asgard
Nickname: The God of Thunder
1st Comic Book Appearance: Journey Into Mystery #83 (August 1962, Marvel Comics)
Worst Movie Appearance: The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988)
VS
Jon Mikl Thor
Place of Birth: Canada
Nickname: The Legendary Rock Warrior
1st Comic Book Appearance: Thor: The Rock Warrior #1 (August 2001, Amryl Entertainment)
Worst Movie Appearance: Zombie Nightmare (1986)
NIGHT RANGER – The Best of Night Ranger
Night Ranger – 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Night Ranger (2000, MCA Records)
1. “Sister Christian” … 5:03
2. “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me” … 4:22
3. “Sing Me Away” … 4:13
4. “Eddie’s Comin’ Out Tonight” … 4:30
5. “(You Can Still) Rock in America” … 4:16
6. “When You Close Your Eyes” … 4:16
7. “Sentimental Street” … 4:13
8. “Four In The Morning (I Can’t Take Anymore)” … 3:54
9. “Goodbye” … 4:21
10. “The Secret of My Success” … 4:30
11. “I Did It for Love” … 4:48
I guess the official title is the one I typed out above, but whatever, that’s ridiculous. Tons of artists falling under the umbrella of the Universal Music Group were getting the 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection treatment around this time.
I’ve documented my love/hate relationship with AOR and melodic rock in the past so that’s why this is my one and only Night Ranger purchase. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to try any of their albums so I started simple with a collection built for the casual listener. Casual I shall remain. It’s not that this album is bad, there’s nothing wrong with it but Night Ranger strays too far on the wimpy side of rock too often to prove interesting enough to warrant a further look into their catalog.
Slick rock like this is good, but in small doses, and it just doesn’t hook me enough to feel like I need to own a studio album. Basically, every song here sounds like it was written for a motion picture soundtrack. In fact, “The Secret of My Success” was written for a movie — the Michael J. Fox film of the same name.
The band could come up with some fun rockers when they wanted to though. “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me” and “(You Can Still) Rock in America” are especially enjoyable. Most people know this band for “Sister Christian” but I’ve always hated that song. If they band was going to have a hit power ballad, it should’ve been the relaxing “Goodbye”.
Highlights: “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me”, “(You Can Still) Rock in America”, “When You Close Your Eyes”, “Sentimental Street”, “Four In The Morning (I Can’t Take Anymore)”, “Goodbye”
ANGEL – Angel
Angel – Angel (1975, Mercury Records)
1. “Tower” … 6:59
2. “Long Time” … 7:02
3. “Rock & Rollers” … 4:01
4. “Broken Dreams” … 5:15
5. “Mariner” … 4:23
6. “Sunday Morning” … 4:10
7. “On & On” … 4:19
8. “Angel (Theme)” … 1:39
Band:
Frank DiMino – Vocals
Punky Meadows – Guitar
Mickey Jones – Bass
Barry Brandt – Drums, Percussion
Gregg Giuffria – Synthesizers, Organ, Piano, Clavinet, Harpsichord, Mellotron
Producer: Derek Lawrence and Big Jim Sullivan
Mish-mash of a debut that finds the band walking the line between glam rock and prog rock. I’ve known of Angel for years and have sampled a few of their songs time and again online. They’ve never been high on my list of priorities but since most of their albums are available at a good price, I decided to finally pick a few up.
One of those albums just happened to be this one, their debut. I wasn’t expecting as much of a progressive rock influence, which knocks the album back a few points for me. I don’t hate prog rock, I just generally find it to be boring. While I’m not much of a keyboard guy, it would be hard not to recognize and comment on the work of Gregg Giuffria on this album. He’s featured strongly on this release and comes up with some interesting pieces.
“Broken Dreams” and “Mariner” are easily my favorite tracks on this album. “Broken Dreams” is a pretty heavy song that kind of shocked me considering what the three previous songs sound like. It draws stark contrast to the next song, “Mariner”, which is a great haunting ballad.
This is a debut that definitely shows promise. I can’t wait to pick up further releases and see how the band evolves.
Highlights: “Tower”, “Rock & Rollers”, “Broken Dreams”, “Mariner”, “On & On”
DIO – Lock Up The Wolves
Dio – Lock Up The Wolves (2008, Reprise Records)
Original Release: 1990, Reprise Records
1.”Wild One” … 4:02
2.”Born on the Sun” … 5:39
3.”Hey Angel” … 4:59
4.”Between Two Hearts” … 6:27
5.”Night Music” … 5:05
6.”Lock Up The Wolves” … 8:30
7.”Evil on Queen Street” … 6:01
8.”Walk on Water” … 3:42
9.”Twisted” … 4:44
10.”Why Are They Watching Me” … 5:00
11.”My Eyes” … 6:34
Band:
Ronnie James Dio – Vocals
Rowan Robertson – Guitar
Teddy Cook – Bass
Simon Wright – Drums
Jens Johansson – Keyboards
Producer: Tony Platt and Ronnie James Dio
This album is from a reissue series called ‘Flashback’, a line of budget priced titles from artists and labels that fall under the giant umbrella of Warner Bros. Barnes & Noble’s website lists the label releasing this edition as Rhino Entertainment but all I see on the CD and in the liner notes is Reprise Records, so I’m still going with that. Doesn’t really matter though, since both Rhino Entertainment and Reprise are owned by Warner Bros.
To be honest, I never intended to buy this album. I’ve always read mixed reviews on it. For an album with mixed reviews, I never saw a price low enough to warrant the investment. Luckily, these Flashback titles are priced to sell at $5.99 so I couldn’t resist when I saw it at Barnes & Noble and figured it nothing else I’d be getting a cool piece of cover art. The insert folds out to reveal Dio posing with some hair band.
For my tastes, Dio albums (while good) can sometimes be a bit too slow. That’s not really the case here. This album was recorded and released when heavy metal was flashy and more often than not it was accessible to the mainstream as well. Therefore, this release find itself straddling the line between Dio’s typical brand of metal and a more “eighties” metal sound. The results are really enjoyable if not really amazing.
“Wild One” is a fast number and the best choice to open the album. “Born on the Sun”, “Lock Up the Wolves” (Does anyone else think of Back to the Future with those clocks ticking?) and “Hey Angel” are typically epic Dio songs. “My Eyes” is a fun nod to Dio’s past bands and songs. I’m usually a sucker for a song like this from veteran bands.
Definitely worth the $5.99 I paid for it and I think this is an underrated Dio album. I think it probably isn’t favored as much from Dio fans just because it’s a bit more flashy and polished than his albums are usually known to be. There’s some great guitar playing here from Rowan Robertson.
I would have like to have heard more from this line-up that consisted of former AC/DC drummer Simon Wright, wunderkind Rowan Robertson (who went on to do a series of instructional guitar videos and plays in various bands to this day) and Jens Johnasson (who has played in power metal band Stratovarius since 1995). Don’t ask me about Teddy Cook. I don’t know.
Highlights: “Wild One”, “Born on the Sun”, “Hey Angel”, “Night Music”, “Lock Up The Wolves”, “My Eyes”
KISS – Nashville 1984
KISS – Nashville 1984 (CDR bootleg)
Recorded: January 11, 1984 at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, TN
Disc 1
1. “Creatures Of The Night” … 4:19
2. “Detroit Rock City” … 4:05
3. “Cold Gin” … 5:34
4. “Fits Like A Glove” … 4:35
5. “Firehouse” … 4:03
6. Paul Stanley Guitar Solo … 1:00
7. “Gimme More” … 3:44
8. Vinnie Vincent Guitar Solo … 5:12
9. “War Machine” … 4:06
10. Gene Simmons Bass Solo … 4:30
11. “I Love It Loud” … 3:15
Disc 2
1. “I Still Love You” … 5:44
2. Eric Carr Drum Solo … 6:35
3. “Young And Wasted” … 4:44
4. “Love Gun” … 3:55
5. “All Hell’s Breakin’ Loose” … 5:20
6. “Black Diamond” … 7:11
7. “Lick It Up” … 6:15
8. “Rock And Roll All Nite” … 7:37
Band:
Paul Stanley – Lead Vocals, Guitar, Backing Vocals
Gene Simmons – Lead Vocals, Bass, Backing Vocals
Vinnie Vincent – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Eric Carr – Drums, Backing Vocals
I’ve never made it a secret that I’m not the biggest fan of live albums. If I want to hear a band warts and all, I’ll go see them in concert. When it comes to listening to them at home or in my car, give me the perfected and produced version of their songs. Besides, 99% of all live albums usually fall somewhere in between live and studio making them completely obsolete.
That said, for my most favorite bands, I’ll sometimes check out the myriad of bootleg sites out there just to see what’s available. The seldom times I’ll download a bootleg, my main goal is to hear songs that these bands will never play live again. Plus with bootlegs… It really is love! No overdubs, no touch ups! Straight from some sneaky fan to the rest of us!
This brings me to this KISS bootleg called simply called Nashville 1984 but was apparently recorded for the old King Biscuit radio show. It finds the band in fine form with a set list dominated by then-recent Creatures of the Night and Lick It Up albums– two of KISS’ best. Coupled with the fact that Vinnie Vincent is on guitar, this was a must have for me. According to the site I found this this at, this bootleg is straight from the soundboard. I’m no audio expert, but that sounds about right me. Really good quality here.
The band is absolutely on fire for this show and full of energy. The Stanley/Simmons/Vincent/Carr line-up is probably the best the band ever had in terms of power, abilities and songwriting. Paul’s voice sounds great and near identical to what he was putting on the albums at the time. Definitely a far cry from how he sounds today. Gene sounds a bit off on this show though.
It’s really great to hear so many Lick It Up songs (five) and Creatures of the Night songs (four). This whole era was incredibly underrated. One thing that I find hilarious is that KISS plays all of their ’70s material at a quicker tempo. I’ve read they did that throughout the entire decade. I guess they felt they needed to compete with the heavy, speedier bands of the day. It’s a bit silly but what makes things even sillier is the new stuff is played faster too! Why didn’t they just record it the same way? For the record, the original tempos found on the albums are better than what they play live for both songs new and old.
Another quirky thing about this show is Paul’s over-the-top stage rap shtick. With New Year’s Eve only a few days behind them, the intro to “Cold Gin” is an odd one with Paul bragging about how drunk (“fucked up”) he got that night. Really, Paul? Did you really down 12 shots of tequila in ten seconds that night? Given Gene & Paul’s disdain for alcohol, I have to believe this was just Paul trying to have some type of bad boy image to compete with other ’80s metal acts. By the way, does anyone else think it’s weird that Gene sings a song (still to this day) praising alcohol?
Then for the rap right before “All Hell’s Breakin’ Loose”, Paul’s delivery of “there are some hot lookin’ girls here tonight!” cracks me up.
All in all, this is a classic live performance. Really makes you wish Gene & Paul would rethink their self-imposed setlist “obligations” of playing a show dominated by their 1970s material.
W.A.S.P. – The Sting/Helldorado
W.A.S.P. – The Sting/Helldorado (2005, Snapper Music)
I LOVE when albums get compiled like this. Why spend $10-15 a piece when I can get them together for $10? I think the Snapper label mostly does reissues but they do them well, at least where W.A.S.P. is concerned. Cool digipaks full of photos and information. If you’re ever in need of a W.A.S.P. album, you should check to see if Snapper has reissued it because they’ve done so for many of them.
By the way, I probably care more about band logos and album covers than most people so I feel like I should mention the W.A.S.P. logo SUCKED for these two albums. It looks like something some kid would sketch out on his notebook during school. The Sting cover art is pretty awful as well.
Disc 1: The Sting: Live at the Key Club (2000, Snapper Music)
1. “Helldorado” … 3:20
2. “Inside the Electric Circus” … 1:45
3. “Chainsaw Charlie (Murders In The New Morgue)” … 5:47
4. “Wild Child” … 6:51
5. “L.O.V.E. Machine” … 6:15
6. “Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)” … 5:16
7. “Sleeping (In the Fire)” … 6:24
8. “Damnation Angels” … 5:59
9. “Dirty Balls” … 5:05
10. “The Real Me” … 4:02
11. “I Wanna Be Somebody” … 8:23
12. “Blind In Texas” … 6:57
Band:
Blackie Lawless – Vocals, Guitar
Chris Holmes – Guitar
Mike Duda – Bass
Stet Howland – Drums
Recorded April 22, 2000. Didn’t really care about getting this album, I just wanted Helldorado and figured I might as well get two albums for $10 instead of one album for $10. The show was streamed live online. Not sure if it was free or not to do so but according to the liner notes for this collection (which are actually quite hilarious) 10,000 people streamed it and 100,000 people tried to stream it but were not able to do so. Somehow, I think both of those numbers are inflated and how would they even know who wasn’t able to listen to? You might as well say the other six billion people in the world tried to stream it but only that lucky 10,000 were able to do so.
I’ve seen this show being knocked as lifeless but I think negative feelings for Helldorado (three songs from that album are featured) are playing a part in some critics’ overall opinion of the album. Then again, this is the band’s THIRD live album, so I assume perhaps for most that one live W.A.S.P. album is enough. I’ve never been the biggest fan of live albums, but I personally think the album is fine for what it is even if Blackie himself isn’t happy with the production. As to who actually produced it, I’m not sure, I couldn’t find any info.
This album was originally packaged with the DVD of the show.
Highlights: “Inside the Electric Circus”, “Wild Child”, “L.O.V.E. Machine”, “The Real Me”, “I Wanna Be Somebody”
Disc 2: Helldorado (1999, CMC International Records)
1. “Drive By” … 0:55
2. “Helldorado” … 5:05
3. “Don’t Cry (Just Suck)” … 4:16
4. “Damnation Angels” … 6:27
5. “Dirty Balls” … 5:19
6. “High on the Flames” … 4:11
7. “Cocaine Cowboys” … 3:57
8. “Can’t Die Tonight” … 4:04
9. “Saturday Night Cockfight” … 3:20
10. “Hot Rods to Hell (Helldorado Reprise)” … 4:14
Band:
Blackie Lawless – Vocals, Guitar
Chris Holmes – Guitar
Mike Duda – Bass
Stet Howland – Drums
Producer: Blackie Lawless
I remember when this album first came out. 1999 was about the time I was heavily starting to get into the whole ’80s metal scene and I remember Metal Edge magazine and the Metal Sludge website both reviewing this album. As I recall, the reviews weren’t glowing which is probably why it took me over a decade to finally pick it up. The reason I did so is because I’m a W.A.S.P. fan and I wanted to form an opinion for myself. I also have to admit the fact that the lyrics on this album have been described as “vile” really piqued my interest.
Lyrically and sonically, the album is a return to form for Blackie and his crew. It’s 1986 all over again but this time the lyrics are even more outrageous. I guess Blackie was hoping for lightning to strike twice and become singled out as a controversial artist again but by 1999 no one was paying attention to any new contributions from the ’80s veterans.
Blackie has claimed in recent years that he is a reformed Christian so I would really love to hear his thoughts on this album these days. There’s some really twisted humor here backed up by tons of anger and misogyny. Often times all in the same song! Granted, this is generally how you could describe W.A.S.P. except this time it’s turned up to ELEVEN. His head seems like it was probably in a really bad place at the time to feel the need to revert back to such a snarling primitive beast after hitting upon mature themes and concepts (that garnered much praise, mind you) from the last few albums.
This is an obscene and crass album, more so than any other W.A.S.P. release. I’m not really offended or put off by it. I highly doubt I’ll ever get a hankerin’ to play some “Dirty Balls” or “Don’t Cry (Just Suck)” but for better or worse, these are the types of lyrics you put up and become unfazed by when dealing with ’80s metal.
The music itself is what really matters and I have to agree with so many reviews I’ve read that were not impressed with this release. There’s just something missing here. It sounds like W.A.S.P. but there are very few standout tracks. It’s almost like an album made up entirely of filler and it’s hard to differentiate one song from another.
Highlights: “Helldorado”, “Damnation Angels”, “Dirty Balls”, “Can’t Die Tonight”
