Monthly Archives: December 2021

Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

Australian Method Series and 1996 – Part 4.5: Powderfinger – Double Allergic

“Double Allergic” is their second album released in 1996.

It peaked at No. 4 on the ARIA Albums Chart and was certified triple platinum by ARIA for shipment of 210,000 units by 2007.

Like all second albums it contained material that had been written for the debut album.

You know the saying. Artists have their whole lifetime to write their first and second album and only a few months to write their third.

They worked with an expensive producer on their first album but worked with a less well known producer for this.

From 1992 until their break-up in 2010, the line-up consisted of vocalist Bernard Fanning on vocals, guitarists Darren Middleton and Ian Haug, bass guitarist John Collins and drummer Jon Coghill.

“Pick You Up” was the first single and is by far the best pop song on the album.

“D.A.F.” is the the second single, and it’s title is the chord progression.

“Living Type” was the third single written about the Manson Family cult, and came with an X-Files style music video.

But if you want to press play on a song, then press play on “Oipic” and let the Led Zep exotic Sounds take you away.

By the way, this isn’t the album that got me interested. It was the next one “Internationalist” and the song “Passenger”. But that’s for another post.

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Influenced, Music, My Stories

1996 – Part 4.4: Pantera – The Great Southern Trendkill

Pantera was popular in Australia. Once they broke into our market, they stayed until they remained as a band.

“The Great Southern Trendkill” came out in May, 1996. It went to number 2 on our ARIA charts and it reached number 4 on the Billboard 200 chart.

It’s listed as their eighth album, however for the Phil Anselmo, Dimebag Darrell, Rex Brown and Vinnie Paul version of Pantera its album number 5 as their first album begins with “Power Metal” but it’s number four from their major label debut “Cowboys From Hell”. And that’s when the Pantera I know really started.

Terry Date and Vinnie Paul are producing, recording and mixing the album.

Coming in to the album, even a band like Pantera was on the outer. The marketing machines of the labels had put their dollars in Grunge and Industrial Metal acts like NIN and Ministry.

Internally, the Abbott brothers were not too impressed when Anselmo took time out to do the “Down” project and then do a 13 date tour with the group. And to top it off, Anselmo moved out of Texas and back home to New Orleans so his vocals were done on his own.

Anyway to the music.

The Great Southern Trendkill

It’s like Death Metal.

I like the riffs and the guitar solo, but the song doesn’t really resonate with me.

War Nerve

It’s very Black Sabbath like, doom sludge metal.

Drag the Waters

The main riff is bone crunching.

10’s

Iommi would be proud of this riff. Actually Zakk Wylde in Black Label Society would be proud of this riff. Vocally, Anselmo is strong here.

But press play on this to hear the acoustic arpeggio passages and Dimebag’s unbelievable solo over em.

13 Steps to Nowhere

It’s weird to explain this song. It’s experimental, a mixture of blues like grooves with a lot of distortion and Sabbath like doom breakdowns.

Suicide Note Pt. I

Synths and backwards effects and then the acoustic guitar kicks in. It’s almost Led Zeppelin like, with a bit of Southern Rock and I like it.

Suicide Note Pt. II

And then what happened. It’s death metal like, with blast beats and fast riffing, with some heavy metal like riffs chucked in here and there.

Living Through Me (Hells’ Wrath)

The riffs on this are “fists in the air, head banging” riffs.

Vocally I’m not a huge fan and halfway through it goes into a weird spoken interlude with weird industrial like effects.

Then a cathartic scream from Anselmo and the head banging riffs are back in.

Floods

The clean tone intro with the acoustic guitar under it, grabs my attention immediately. It’s almost Alice In Chains like, even though the band was critical of the Grunge movement.

Then again, Pantera songs like “Cemetery Gates” and “This Love” come to mind.

The whole “Die” section is heavy and demented but there is no denying the power of Dimebag and his bro Vinnie. These dudes nail every syncopated beat and lick down.

It’s been written extensively that the solo on this song is Dimebag’s best. And it is. If you need to press play on a track, then make this the one.

It’s composed of all these little guitar solo ideas he used for his live guitar spot, while Brown and Paul are simple in their foundations, letting Dimebag fill up the space with his leads.

The Underground in America

Musically, I like it. Vocally I hate it.

(Reprise) Sandblasted Skin

Dimebag brings the riffs again.

In the end it was certified Platinum in the U.S and it charted well in a lot of other countries.

And while the relationships were strained during the recording, things got even more estranged when Brown decided to leave the tour bus he was sharing with the Abbott brothers to share a tour bus with Anselmo. Brown described it as a way to feel comfortable, because Dimebag would be up early and start cranking the guitar, which upset Brown who wanted to sleep.

During the tour, Anselmo overdosed on heroin and was legally dead for four to five minutes. According to Anselmo, he started using heroin for relief of his chronic back pain. Mick Mars has a degenerative spine issue and never turned to heroin, but then again, he did turn to alcohol and lots of it.

For the record, I hate the hardcore death metal vocals that Anselmo resorted to. His clean tone voice is one of the best. He could move between James Hetfield and Tom Araya style vocals to Rob Halford and Bruce Dickinson siren wails. It’s why I became a fan of the “Cowboys From Hell” album.

And I don’t know the exact specifics of what happened with Anselmo and the white power salute he gave at a gig he did about 5/6 years ago. Robb Flynn from Machine Head called him out on it. Which led to a lot of issues for Robb Flynn, receiving death threats and venue owners who supported Anselmo refused to book Machine Head.

One more album would come from Pantera and that would be the end. The air is thin at the top of the mountain, which means that you are not meant to hang around at the summit for long. Anselmo would put the band on hold because he wanted to deal with the back pain and then went on to record and tour with his side projects with the band officially finished in 2003.

Dimebag recently had a 17th Anniversary from when he was tragically shot dead at a gig on Dec 8, 2004. And it’s been three and bit years since Vinnie Paul died from heart disease.

While Anselmo wanted to reconnect, Vinnie Paul didn’t. And that’s how it ended.

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The Record Vault: Deep Purple – Come Taste The Band

It took Deep Purple seven years to make it to the top and two years to break up. The air is thin at the mountain top.

Deep Purple had lost their lead singer Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover in 1973 and replaced them with David Coverdale and Glen Hughes. This MK3 version recorded two albums and then guitarist Richie Blackmore left at the start of 1975. This was weird as Deep Purple was seen as “his” band. And from looking at it, it’s like the owner of the house vacating their premises for the guests to take over running the house.

But Deep Purple would soldier on, replacing Blackmore with a young guitar hero from the U.S. known as Tommy Bolin. Rounding out the band is the rest of MK3, David Coverdale, Glenn Hughes, Jon Lord and Ian Paice.

And MK4 was created.

“Come Taste The Band” came out in 1975. It’s the usual production team of the band and Martin Birch.

The name Tommy Bolin came into my life because of Motley Crue. The Crue covered the song “Teaser” for a Compilation album and they also released it on a Raw Tracks CD made for the Japanese market, which I got my hands on. The song is so good and sleazy it sounded like a Crue original and I was curious to hear more from Bolin.

So as I was going back into the career of David Coverdale because of Whitesnake’s attention grabbing 87 LP, I was doing the same for Tommy Bolin.

So I got my hands on the “Teaser” and “Private Eyes” album first and imagine my surprise when I came across an album that had both Coverdale and Bolin on it.

Comin’ Home

Written by Tommy Bolin, David Coverdale and Ian Paice with vocals provided by Coverdale.

This song rocks out of the gate paying homage to the fast rock sounds of Deep Purple MK1, MK2 and MK3. But it was more Grand Funk, like “We’re An American Band”.

Lady Luck

Written by Jeffrey Cook who co-wrote songs with Bolin for the “Teaser” record with lyrical contributions from Coverdale.

Vocals are provided by Coverdale. In didn’t really do much for me.

Gettin’ Tighter

Written by Bolin and Hughes with vocals provided by Hughes.

This song is funky out of the gate, and sleazy once the whole band comes in.

Dealer

Written by Bolin and Coverdale with vocals provided by Coverdale and Bolin.

It’s very Hendrix “Purple Haze” like in the riff departments with a Beatles like Folk Rock interlude which Bolin sung.

I Need Love

Written by Bolin and Coverdale with vocals provided by Coverdale.

I like the groove on this, and the way the verse riffs are played out with the heavy synth from Lord.

Drifter

Side 2 begins with this song written by Bolin and Coverdale with vocals provided by Coverdale.

It’s got a great Intro which reminds of “You Really Got Me” or “American Woman” and check out the groove that comes in once the drums and bass kick in.

Coverdale’s bluesy voice is a highlight.

At 2.36 there is just a bass and keys section over a drum groove. It reminds me of things that Rush would do.

Then Bolin comes in, with volume swells and a solo begins. The drums and bass become busy as they build it up, and the vocals come back in. Its brilliant, it gives me goose bumps all the time, so press play just to hear that.

Love Child

“Heartbreaker” anyone. Press play and listen to the intro.

Written by Bolin and Coverdale with vocals provided by Coverdale.

The verse groove and riff are my favourites even though the whole “love child driving me wild” lyric didn’t set the world on fire.

At 1.50, they go into a progressive rock style groove and Lord solos over it.

This Time Around / Owed to ‘G’

Written by Hughes, Lord and Bolin with vocals provided by Hughes.

It’s very progressive sounding, like ELO and it moves into a great instrumental jam over a 12/8 groove with excellent lead guitar from Mr Bolin himself.

You Keep On Moving

Written by Coverdale and Hughes with vocals provided by Coverdale and Hughes.

This is the standout track. Its haunting and melancholic and it was written during the “Burn” sessions but not used.

Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Czechoslovakia and West Germany all got behind this version of the band. The Japanese still loved em and New Zealand loved em even more.

But.

The classical progressions and jams had been replaced with groove, soul and funk. It could be seen as an early Whitesnake album, as a few tracks have “Love” in the title, which is similar to every Whitesnake album.

Also in 1975, Tommy Bolin had two records competing against each other, which probably wasn’t the best scenario for Deep Purple however I have seen “Teaser” album pictures with a sticker on em that said “Guitarist Of Deep Purple”. Since most of the songs were written by Coverdale and Bolin, the project could have been billed as Coverdale/Bolin.

After the tour for this album finished in March, 1976, Deep Purple MK4 was no more. Glen Hughes was already having issues and was in and out of rehab. David Coverdale would form Whitesnake and get Jon Lord and Ian Paice into the project. And Tommy Bolin by December 1976, was dead from drug intoxication as morphine, cocaine, lidocaine and alcohol were all found in his system.

But the music lives on.

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1996 – Part 4.3: In Flames – The Jester Race

In Flames was founded in 1990 by Jesper Stromblad as a side project from his then-current death metal band, Ceremonial Oath as he wanted to write more melodic songs.

Three years later, he quit Ceremonial Oath due to the overused “musical differences” reason and began focusing on In Flames.

By 1995, Stromblad grew tired of using session musicians to record an album or to do live shows, and the first version of the band was assembled.

“The Jester Race” released in February 1996, is the second studio album. The album is considered a classic album of the melodic death metal genre, along with At the Gates “Slaughter of the Soul” and Dark Tranquillity’s “The Gallery”, exhibiting the dual guitar leads, growled vocals and acoustic sections typical of the genre.

The band for the album is Anders Friden on vocals, Jesper Stromblad on Lead Guitar, Acoustic Guitar and Keyboards, Glenn Ljungstrom on Lead Guitar, Johan Larsson on bass and Bjorn Gelotte on Drums and Additional guitars. Yep, a drummer who also plays guitar, and this is a common thing in Sweden to have musicians who can play multiple instruments in a component manner as they promote the Arts sector in schools.

It’s produced by Fredrik Nordstrom (who also plays additional keyboards) along with the band members.

Moonshield

The Medieval sounding acoustic guitars to start the song sets the tone of a journey to come. After about a minute the distorted guitars crash in.

Musically speaking, it is similar in melody and structure to bands such as Iron Maiden or Judas Priest. However, the death metal influence lies within the vocals.

The Jester’s Dance

It’s an instrumental.

Full of different moods like “The Call Of Ktulu” and a bass groove that could have come from the fingers of Eddie Jackson from Queensryche.

There is even a section that reminds me of “Wasting Love”.

So if you want to press play on a song without vocals, press play on this or on the other instrumental “Wayfaerer”.

Artifacts of the Black Rain

I like the twin harmony melodic riffs on this.

Graveland

It’s fast very “Ride The Lightning” like.

Lord Hypnos

How good is the intro on this?

It’s some of the best metal music written in the 90’s, reminding me of 80’s Judas Priest and Queensryche.

And the subject matter this time around are Greek Gods.

Listen to the musical section between 1.33 and 2.43.

Dead Eternity

It’s very Iron Maiden like when it starts off, before it moves into a power metal like riff with blast beats. Something which Parkway Drive uses a lot of.

Its spoken word intro is haunting; about death, and how once you die you never have to worry about dying again, as you are stuck in a purgatory known as dead eternity.

The Jester Race

The intro is like a “Top 10 Hard Rock riff with a bullet” like. And throughout the song, its littered with melodic riffs and harmonies.

December Flower

Fast, angry with a lot of tremolo riffing and blast beats.

Check out the guitar leads between Verses and the guitar lead itself is “guitar hero” worthy.

Wayfaerer

An instrumental.

Very Judas Priest and Helloween like.

And then at the 1.50 mark, there is this Van Halen “Dance The Night Away” vibe with a bit of Joe Satriani “Crushing Day” and “Lords Of Karma” chucked in.

Dead God in Me

The closer.

It’s almost thrash metal like, with disturbing lyrics about a recollection of a molestation that took place.

The album took some criticisms from being too melodic in its riffs and harmonies from Melodeath purists, but that’s why I listened to it.

For me, that melodic element was the selling point.

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The Record Vault: Deep Purple – Stormbringer

“Stormbringer” came out about 9 months after “Burn”. In the space of a year, Deep Purple were busy writing and recording frequently.

What a novel idea.

Try and tell that to a lot of acts, who want to record an album every three to five years. And the usual argument of ‘no money from recordings’ doesn’t work, because even back in the 70’s, the acts were getting ripped off on the sales part. So they had to tour to make coin. Then again it was normal in the 70’s to release an album a year. It was expected.

The album cover also has a story, about a tornado in a U.S town during the 1920s which was photographed and added to the Copyright free archives, which allowed the image to be used.

And the same photograph was used for Miles Davis’ album “Bitches Brew” in 1970.

And Siouxsie and the Banshees’ album “Tinderbox” in 1986.

MK3 Deep Purple is Ritchie Blackmore on Guitars, David Coverdale on Vocals (except “Holy Man”), Glenn Hughes on Bass and Vocals (except “Soldier of Fortune”), Jon Lord on Organ and Keys and Ian Paice on Drums.

Its Produced by Deep Purple and Martin Birch again.

Stormbringer

Another thunderous opener written by Blackmore and Coverdale.

If there wasn’t a Heavy Metal movement before, well there was one now. By 1974, each major rock act like Led Zeppelin, Free, Bad Company and Black Sabbath had a heavy song or two on each album that young blue collared youths would take and run with to create even heavier tracks.

I like the exotic flavouring in the solo. It’s not fast, but goddamn, it sounds progressive.

Love Don’t Mean A Thing

Written by Blackmore, Coverdale, Glenn Hughes, Jon Lord and Ian Paice.

This is the whole funk blues soul jam that Glenn Hughes brings. In saying that, the riffs here work so well within the Deep Purple sound.

Holy Man

The Bad Company/Free brand of hard rock had caught on and suddenly Deep Purple was doing a cut that wouldn’t be out of place on the first two Bad Company albums or Free albums.

If the intro sounds familiar, it should, as it’s a common progression used throughtout the 70s, but it went missing a bit in the 80s and came back in the 90s.

I recall Motley Crue using it for “Misunderstood”.

And Blackmore was not the main writer anymore as this song was written by Coverdale, Hughes and Lord.

Hold On

The funk blues rock in the verses grooves and the Chorus is like Soul Rock Music. Blackmore again is missing from the song writing credits, with Coverdale, Hughes, Lord and Paice listed as the writers.

Coverdale and Hughes share vocal duties here and Blackmore brings out his rockabilly Chuck Berry licks which gives way to a Jon Lord solo.

Lady Double Dealer

It’s that fast blues rock that Deep Purple was known for and something that David Coverdale would do a fair bit with the early versions of Whitesnake.

There is a cool Blackmore solo as well.

You Can’t Do It Right

Play that funky blues music white boys.

High Ball Shooter

I like the Intro as it always reminds me of another song which I can’t thing off right now.

The Gypsy

The riffs on this are metal like, but the way Blackmore delivers em, it’s almost progressive like, with a fusion of blues, southern rock and metal like grooves.

Soldier Of Fortune

A great acoustic ballad to end the album, something which David Coverdale would recreate with “Sailing Ships”.

The long jam sessions from the past had disappeared. Replaced with a more structured song arrangement. It’s a bridge between this album and their next album.

Blackmore obviously didn’t like this new direction and left after the tour. And he wasn’t one to keep his thoughts to himself, so he publicly declared his dislike for the funky direction the band was taking and made it clear that was the reason why he left.

But Scandinavian Melodic Rock and Metal was being born with the MK3 albums as they did big business in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. Austria and Germany also liked this era, along with the UK, France and the U.S.

Check it out.

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1996 – Part 4.2: Slayer – Undisputed Attitude

“Undisputed Attitude” is the seventh studio album by American thrash metal band Slayer, released on May 28, 1996.

The album consists almost entirely of covers of punk rock and hardcore punk songs. It also includes two tracks written by guitarist Jeff Hanneman in 1984 and 1985 for a side project called Pap Smear and its closing track, “Gemini”, is the only original track.

The album was largely the brainchild of guitarist Kerry King, who stated that the songs chosen were from highly influential bands who “made Slayer what it is”.

The album was initially to feature material from classic heavy metal artists such as Judas Priest, UFO and Deep Purple. However, after several rehearsals “things didn’t pan out” according to King, so the band instead elected to cover punk songs. Then again, maybe Tom Araya’s rough bark just didn’t suit the Judas Priest, UFO and Deep Purple style of songs.

The band for this album is Tom Araya on Bass and Vocals, Kerry King on Guitars, Jeff Hanneman (RIP) on Guitars and Paul Bostaph on Drums. The way Araya sounds vocally on this is how James Hetfield would sound on “St Anger” in six to seven years’ time.

The album is produced by Dave Sardy with Rick Rubin listed as an Executive Producer, whatever an Exec Producer means.

“Disintegration/Free Money”

The original artist is Verbal Abuse and its 1.41 of fast and aggressive metal punk.

“Verbal Abuse/Leeches”

And its followed up by another Verbal Abuse cover, which clocks in at 1.58. While its fast and aggressive punk, there is a small breakdown section which slows things down a little.

“Abolish Government/Superficial Love”

A T.S.O.L. cover and it’s a full 1:48 in length.

Three songs in and it’s like listening to one song.

“Can’t Stand You”

Written by Jeff Hanneman and listed as a Pap Smear cover which clocks in at 1:27. And Tom Araya doesn’t take a breath as he spits out the verses.

“DDAMM (Drunk Drivers Against Mad Mothers)”

Another track written by Jeff Hanneman and listed as a Pap Smear cover which clocks in at the super long length of 1:01.

“Guilty of Being White”

A cover from Minor Threat and it clocks in at another super long time of 1:07.

When the album was released in 1996, there was no controversy over the song or any possible message of white supremacy.

But the internet and social networks are different beasts and people take a moral high ground.

The other controversy was changing the lyrics in the songs ending from “guilty of being white” to “guilty of being right”.

This little changed didn’t go down well with Minor Threat front man Ian MacKaye, who found this change “offensive”.

“I Hate You”

Verbal Abuse makes another appearance on this album with a song that goes into the 2 minute range. This one is more punk like, with a rock tempo and Sex Pistols “Anarchy” style attitude.

“Filler/I Don’t Want to Hear It”

And Minor Threat makes another appearance with a super-fast punk hardcore song.

“Spiritual Law”

A cover from D.I. and its pushing at being the longest song on the album at 3 minutes long. Press play to hear the intro which is very Metal like, otherwise the rest is stock standard fast beats, vocals that cover the microphone in spit and fast alternate picked punk metal riffs.

But at 1.20 a Sabbath like doom groove comes in, before it picks back up into the fast punk metal at the 2.10 mark.

“Mr. Freeze”

A cover from Dr Know. Its 2.24 in length and at times when the song goes into its rock riffs I feel like I am listening to Beatsie Boys, “Fight For Your Rights”.

“Violent Pacification”

A cover from D.R.I. at 2:38 in length.

All I can say about this song is chaos until the 46 second mark, when the drums start a rock style groove and the tempo of the song goes down a notch for the band to rock out. And Tom Araya is barking out “Violent Pacification” over and over and over again.

“Richard Hung Himself”

A cover from D.I. and this song takes the title for the longest song of the cover songs at 3:22.

And for a song with a grisly title it’s actually a catchy rock song.

“I’m Gonna Be Your God” (“I Wanna Be Your Dog”)

A song from The Stooges, clocking in over the 3 minute mark and it received a makeover and some slightly modified lyrics and a faster tempo.

It’s by far my favorite cover and it leads in perfectly to the original track.

“Gemini”

Written by Kerry King and Tom Araya, and it is the longest song on the album at 4.53.

The song begins as a sludge/doom number reminding me of “Season In The Abyss”, before becoming a more typical Slayer song.

But being added to the end, doesn’t do this song proper justice. It’s one of their best tracks written in the 90’s.

And Tom Araya is evil reincarnated with his melodic but sinister vocal melody.

In the end, this is a 33-minute-long release and Slayer wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s not a classic album but the song “Gemini” makes up for it.

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The Week In Destroyer Of Harmony History – November 28 to December 4

4 Years Ago (2017)

OUR BEST WORK

When you create your most important work, it could be ignored by the audience because it’s ahead of its time. It requires people to change their thoughts and beliefs. But all important work ends up rising above the noise.

Black Sabbath’s debut album didn’t reach platinum in the U.S until October 13, 1986. Yep 16 years later, the most influential heavy metal album had moved a million units in the U.S.

But their tours sold out, which goes to show that people didn’t always buy recorded music.

You could be an artist creating work which is popular, and it resonates with the audience who already like what you do. “Dr Feelgood” was always going to be Motley’s best seller. They spent 7 plus years building an audience with each release and tour.

In addition, it spawned a new production sound that would become known as the “Black” sound after Metallica’s self-titled album destroyed our senses and the charts.

Our best work is the heart of what we do and sometimes getting it out there is a long difficult journey full of scams and rip offs, highs and lows, good and bad people, rejection and acceptance.

But you will not get there if you quit. It’s what you do in the dark, which will make you shine in the light.

8 Years Ago (2013)

CONCERT ATTENDANCES

The highs of success and fame are brief. The air at the top of the mountain is thin, so you’re not expected to hang around for a long time.

Vince Neil

On July 6, 2013, Vince Neil played a solo show in Mexico City.

The venue was Jose Cuervo Salon.

The capacity of the venue is 1,500. The attendance was 64 people.

That’s right, less than 5% of the total venue size.

Total Gross sales for the night was $2,286.

Does anyone really care about Vince Neil outside of Motley Crue?

Based on the ticket sales, Mexico sure don’t.

What a hard truth that is.

His debut album “Exposed” celebrated 20 years in 2013, but Vince went out and played Motley songs.

Power Metal Rules In Europe

On April 18, 2013, Helloween, Gamma Ray and Shadowside played a Power Metal feast in Hamburg, Germany. The venue was the Docks.

The capacity of the venue is 1,500. The attendance was 1,171.

Total Gross sales for the night was $51,299.

The thing with power metal bands is that they know the size of their audience. It is a niche and it has a hard core and devoted fan base.

The Black Crowes still do good business

On July 19, 2013, The Black Crowes, Tedeschi Trucks Band and The London Souls played a show in Nashville, Tennesse.

The venue was the Woods Amphitheater at Fontanel.

The capacity of the venue is 4,056. The attendance was 3,273.

Total Gross sales for the night was $215,641.

In the end there is plenty of money available in music and the more people that have access to recorded music means more fans that could turn into customers.

COPYRIGHT TERMS

In Australia (and a lot of other countries) a copyright for a sound recording lasts for the life of the creator + 70 years after death.

If the creator lives to 80, then the Total Copyright is a 150 year term.

And since the large Corporations control a lot of the copyrights, a 150 year term benefits them.

Keith Richards famously said that you can’t copyright the blues.

The acts from the Sixties and Seventies, brazenly borrowed and built upon songs that already existed.

And didn’t we got a lot of glorious music.

RED DRAGON CARTEL

As a fan of Jake E. Lee and the work he did with Ozzy and Badlands, it was cool to hear that he made the decision to record music again.

Frontiers Records signed the project.

Are there any Classic Eighties metal/rock bands or stars that Frontiers haven’t signed?

And “Feeder” was doing the rounds and i didn’t like it because there was no classic riff that stuck around forever to haunt my eardrums.

The expectation that most artists have is that since they have talent, can write a song and love what they do, they should be able to charge people to listen.

The reality is that there are thousands of artists trying to reach the same fans that are very careful with the money they spend on music.

Music is never a sure thing.

LOYALTY PROGRAM

We live in a world of loyalty schemes. If you shop at any major retailer there is a pretty good chance that you have signed up to their loyalty scheme and after you spend a certain amount of dollars with them, you get a discount or some other reward for your next purchase.

So why isn’t this happening in the music business.

THE BATTLE FOR QUEENSRYCHE

Back in 2013, two Queensryche bands did the rounds.

The Geoff Tate version is on Cleopatra Records and the Todd LaTorre version is on Century Media Records.

And there wasn’t a demand for two versions of Queensryche?

Then again demand for Queensryche was diminishing since Chris DeGarmo left.

And that’s another wrap for another week.

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Australian Method Series; Airbourne – Black Dog Barking

“Black Dog Barking” is album number three, released in May 2013 via Roadrunner Records.

By now, everyone knew that Airbourne sounds like AC/DC.

But on this album, they amped up the AC/DC sounds with a bit of 80s rock like Cinderella and the first two albums from Def Leppard along with some Euro Metal like Scorpions.

And those backing vocals.

The Personnel for the album is Joel O’Keeffe on Vocals and Lead Guitar, David Roads on Rhythm Guitar, Justin Street on ass and Ryan O’Keeffe on Drums.

Producer Brian Howes has worked on the slick productions with Nickelback and Puddle Of Mudd, but on this album he captures the energy of the band performing live.

Ready to Rock

The blast out of the gate with it. It’s loud, aggressive and it feels like a circle pit punch up in a pub.

Animalize

I think of Kiss and Paul Stanley singing this tune.

No One Fits Me (Better Than You)

A take on “Let Me Put My Love Into You”.

Back in the Game

This one is the best song, bringing that Acca Rock and Euro/80s Rock vibe. There are Whitesnake, Cinderella, AC/DC and Scorpions influences.

Firepower

This one reminds me of “Let It Go” from Def Leppard in the verses and I like it.

Live It Up

The whole Intro is Acca Dacca with that open string acting as a pedal point while a melodic riff is played on the other notes. Think of the Intro to “For Those About To Rock”.

Woman Like That

This could be on a Bon Jovi album or a Cinderella album and not be out of place.

Hungry

Another favorite, which borders on speed rock.

More WASP like and it has a cool Spanish like guitar lead,

Cradle to the Grave

Crank it and enjoy. While the verses are stock standard hard rock, the Chorus has some of that Euro arpeggios.

Black Dog Barking

It closes with the barking and aggressive title track.

Airbourne does what they’re good at, the same way that AC/DC does what they’re good at.

Its better produced and the songwriting is concise, as the album is done in under 38 minutes.

This is rock’n’roll, the way it should be. Loud, aggressive, dumb and no ballads.

And Joel O’Keeffe gets a lot of credit for his vocal chops, i also believe that his Lead Guitar playing should also get some notice.

Because the dude can play.

Crank it.

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A to Z of Making It, Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

The Record Vault: Deep Purple – Burn

When a band loses members, no one really knows what would come next. Will the band break up or will they continue with new members?

When bands lose their lead singers, the uncertainty is even higher.

But when Deep Purple lost Ian Gillan and Roger Glover, Richie Blackmore stepped up even more to push the band forward. As far as Blackmore was concerned, he was the driving force behind the band and this grit and determination would lead him to find not one but two vocalists who would assist him in moving forward with the massive riffs he was coming up with.

“Burn” is the eighth studio album, released in February 1974, and the first to feature an unknown David Coverdale on vocals and Glenn Hughes, from Trapeze, on bass and vocals.

The album was recorded in Montreux, Switzerland, in November 1973, with the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio.

Deep Purple MK3 is Ritchie Blackmore on Guitars, David Coverdale on Vocals, Glenn Hughes on Bass and Vocals, Jon Lord on Keyboards and Ian Paice on Drums.

Production was still listed with the band as Producers and Mixers (but all they had to do was just say yes or no to the takes and mixes), with Martin Birch doing the bulk of the work capturing the sounds and actually mixing the album.

Burn

It owes some of its thought and structure to “Highway Star” as the DP guys wanted to have another high energy song to open the show and new album with.

It also has structured organ and guitar solos like “Highway Star”, around Bach like sequences which Lord and Blackmore worked out.

Coverdale mentioned in the “The Purple Album Track By Track”, that “Burn” was the first song that he started working on with Richie Blackmore, which he called sounded like “Symphonic Rock”. He also wrote four different lyrical versions for the song, with the Sci Fi version being selected by the guys in the band as the one to use.

David Coverdale loved the riff so much, that “Children Of The Night” from the 1987 self-titled album was the result. I would add that part of “You’re Gonna Break My Heart Again” also has some of the “Burn” feel.

And as good as all of the riffs and solos are, Ian Paice behind the kit, just brings the power and the pace. As soon as his drums come in, the foot is tapping and the head is moving.

It’s my favourite Deep Purple song which gets performed at Whitesnake or Glenn Hughes or Yngwie Malmsteen concerts instead of Deep Purple concerts because of the singers.

Might Just Take Your Life

The Jon Lord organ riff to start it off is from “Woman From Tokyo”.

Jon Lord was the primary writer for Deep Purple on the first couple of albums until Richie Blackmore had enough and started to become the primary songwriter from “In Rock”.

The melodies came from a relaxed jam session that Coverdale and Lord were having.

Overall it’s got that British blues rock feel.

But press play to hear Coverdale and Hughes harmonize in the Chorus.

Lay Down, Stay Down

It’s got that blues rock feel from the “Who Do We Think We Are” album and that sound and riff is something that Blackmore would come back to with his Rainbow project.

Ian Paice again showcases his drumming abilities.

Sail Away

Its got that “Superstition” and “Play That Funky Music” funk rock groove that Blackmore came up with.

Its sung by both Coverdale and Hughes however both could have done the song justice if only one of em just sang it.

This song and “Mistreated” sums up what Coverdale brought to the Purple sound on this album.

Press play to listen to the funky bass playing from Glen Hughes. Hughes was also a co-writer, but he wasn’t credited due to being tied to another recording contract at the time.

The 30th Anniversary release fixed that.

You Fool No One

Coverdale and Hughes doing dual harmonies.

Ian Paice also showing his love of John Bonham and coming up with a definitive drum groove which formed the basis of the track for Blackmore to build on.

The middle solo section is almost Jazz Rock fusion, progressive like.

Press play and just enjoy.

What’s Goin’ On Here

A fun blues song based around a Jimi Hendrix song called “Highway Chile”.

Mistreated

It’s listed as being written by Blackmore and Coverdale.

Coverdale (who calls himself a “Domestic Guitar Hero) wrote a riff on Blackmore’s White Strat, in the Crypts of a Castle they were rehearsing at and when Blackmore heard it, instead of playing the riff with the Coverdale chords, Blackmore played the single notes.

And “Mistreated” was born.

And that opening vocal “I’ve been mistreated” is iconic.

This version is my go to version but on the Purple album from Whitesnake, Reb Beach takes the solo spotlight and creates a fresh and emotive blues shred lead.

‘A’ 200

An instrumental.

Coronarias Redig

It’s a B-side and if no one had heard it in the 70s, it appeared on the “30th Anniversary Edition” as a bonus track.

It’s a blues Rock song but those Hammond Organ chords give it a soul gospel feel.

And press play to hear Blackmore’s leads.

In Australia, the M3 version of DP went to number 5 on the charts. In Austria, Denmark, Germany and Norway it went to number 1. In Canada, Holland, Finland, France, UK and US it was a Top 10 album.

In other words people liked it.

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Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

1996 – Part 4.1: Black Crowes – Three Snakes And One Charm

The problems began with a project tentatively titled “Tall”. This project was being produced by Chris Robinson, which his brother Rich objected to. And as brothers do, they got into a huge fight.

The reason for the fight was that Chris wanted to strip back the sound of the Black Crowes. More horns and percussion and less guitars. But his bro, Rich is the guitarist.

In the end, Rich won the argument and the result of this project are the re-recorded songs that Rich Robinson predominantly wrote, which made up the “Amorica” album. This pissed Chris off as his songs were ignored.

So it’s no surprise that during the “Amorica or Bust” Tour of 1995, the relationships within The Black Crowes soured even further, and the Robinson brothers basically hated each other.

But they made it through somehow.

And the band began planning their fourth album in 1995. “Three Snakes and One Charm” was eventually released in July 1996. Recorded in a house that they shared together, the album captures a relaxed band, ready to plug in and jam with friends.

The Black Crowes for this album are Chris Robinson on Vocals, Rich Robinson on Guitar, Marc Ford on Guitar, Johnny Colt on Bass, Steve Gorman on Drums and Eddie Harsch on Keyboards.

The Dirty Dozen horn group appears, along with banjo players, pedal steel players and various backing vocalists. Basically some of the stuff that Chris Robinson wanted to implement earlier was being brought in.

Under A Mountain

I like the exotic Zep vibe on this.

Good Friday

I disliked this song when I first heard it and when I covered The Black Crowes in The Record Vault post a while ago, I ignored it, but goddamn, time passes, moods change and suddenly the Country Soul Rock vibe of the song is hooking me in.

Nebekanezer

If the title doesn’t capture me, I’ve already formed a bias against the song. And while the song has a sludgy Blues groove with a little bit of a Beatles influence in the vocals, there isn’t enough meat to satisfy.

One Mirror Too Many

The Yardbirds, The Rolling Stones and the psychedelic 60’s and 70’s are re-incarnated into this song.

Blackberry

Soul Rock was big around this time in Australia because of the movie “The Commitments” which came out in 1991.

Girl From A Pawnshop

It was my favourite track when I first heard the album and it still is today.

The whole country ballad rock vibe just connected with me and the vocal delivery from Chris Robinson is excellent.

Only Halfway To Everywhere

With the horns, guest vocalists and Chris Robinson bordering between BB King and Steven Tyler vocally, this song feels like a group of musos getting together and having a jam session, with a lot of booze flowing.

Bring On, Bring On

Like other songs on this album, it’s the Led Zep acoustic influence which shines through on this track that hooks me in.

How Much For Your Wings?

The reddest of lights shine on you, young man, let God be with you..

And the acoustic guitars start and there is something about the vocals when Chris Robinson sings, “how much for your wings?” that captures me.

Let Me Share The Ride

A blues groove, but the horns give it that soul rhythm and blues feel.

Better When You’re Not Alone

More acoustic guitars and then the band kicks in. And I feel like I’m driving on the open road out of my town, hopeful and excited.

Evil Eye

It’s too psychedelic for me.

And they went on tour for this album, which took em towards the end of 1997. After this, the band got together and recorded another album with the working title of “Band”.

Which was also scrapped.

Guitarist Marc Ford was fired and bassist Johnny Colt subsequently left the group, dissolving the Crowes’ line-up of the previous three albums.

The unreleased tracks from the “Tall” and “Band” sessions surfaced among tape trading circles and were later officially released on the 2006 compilation “The Lost Crowes”.

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