When he went to an audition with a band called “Legend”, he took his guitar.
But they said to him that they need a singer and wouldn’t let him play.
And then he gets the vocalist gig for Black Sabbath, who were going through an identity crisis between 1984 and 1987.
And as soon as he righted the Sabbath ship, he was out and Dio was back in for the “Dehumanizer” album.
And while that was happening on the Sabbath front, Tony Martin kept writing until he had enough material for a solo album.
“Back Where I Belong” was released in 1992 on Polydor.
“It Ain’t Worth Fighting For” is the opening track from the album.
The musicians are seasoned professionals.
Nigel Glockler from Saxon is on drums. Neil Murray from Whitesnake is on bass. Richard Cottle is a session pro, and he plays the keys and also performs the saxophone solo. Carlo Fragnito is on guitars.
A bit if trivia, Fragnito and his brother Anthony formed a band called Blacklace, with vocalist Maryann Scandiffio.
Hailing from Canada, their music is best described as NWOBHM. They released “Unlaced” in 1984 and “Get It While It’s Hot” in 1985. Like a lot of bands who didn’t see success right away, they struggled and eventually broke up.
Carlo then became a session pro.
As soon as you press play, the riff that smacks you in the face is reminiscent to “Headless Cross”.
But the track feels like a heavy blues rock track instead of a metal track.
If it ain’t worth fightin’ for It ain’t worth having And I just gotta have your love
The Chorus is Arena Rock. Make sure you pay attention to the melodic guitars underneath the vocal melody.
Bad Company comes to mind here and the feel from “Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy.”
Vocally, Martin comes across as a combination of Lou Gramm and Paul Rodgers.
And that Sax solo works perfectly. It outlines the Chorus vocal melody with some improv.
Censorship, false strikes and political correctness makes up the post today.
FAT BOTTOMED GIRLS
The lyrics “fat bottomed” and “big fat fatty” and “Oh, won’t you take me home tonight” are deemed to be inappropriate for a Queen’s Greatest Hits package and songbook aimed at children.
What’s next.
A Motley Crue or AC/DC Children’s song book.
If people want to dumb down lyrics and make them politically correct they should let shows like “The Voice” do it.
DRAGONFORCE
It’s the Wild West when it comes to Content ID on YouTube. An unknown internet user claimed the song “Valley Of The Damned” from Dragonforce as their own and YouTube allowed em.
Because there are no human checks.
Since Dragonforce disagreed with the decision by Content ID, they filled in a form disputing the decision.
But this is where it gets stupid.
You would think that the dispute would go to someone (preferably a human) at YouTube.
However, the counter claim from Dragonforce is sent directly to the person who sent the false strike and who YouTube now believes owns the supposed copyright.
And it’s this person who has the final decision in the matter unless legal action is pursued.
If the person who sent the false strike denies Dragonforce’s claim, the Dragonforce channel receives a strike. If the channel receives three strikes, it is removed from the platform.
So Dragonforce went back and forth for a week over the false strike and finally some common sense prevailed.
CONTENT ID
Content ID was created by Google to appease the labels and various movie studios to take videos offline. It was then enhanced to give the labels and movie studios an option to monetize the uploads from other users.
The labels and studios keep complaining about Content ID but have done nothing to innovate an alternative.
Google now posts a transparency report on the Content ID system.
Rightsholders claimed more than 826 million videos on YouTube from July to December 2022. This is the highest figure since YouTube started reporting these figures and it led to $1.5B in revenue paid to the rights-holders.
All up, $9 billion in ‘claimed’ revenue was paid out to copyright holders since Content ID launched.
SCAMMERS
The downside is scammers. As this article from Torrentfreak states;
Two men set up a company to find and claim unmonetized music. Through a third-party partner with access to the Content ID system, the pair generated over $24 million in revenue from YouTube by falsely claiming ownership.
The abuse didn’t go unnoticed and the repercussions were severe.
In 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted the duo and last week the first defendant was sentenced to more than five years in prison.
It’s unregulated and there will always be criminals. It’s a perfect match.
Disaster. That’s how the American magazines described this album.
Released in 1985, the album never stood a chance.
It was fighting for our attention along with a lot of other things.
Like.
The trilogy of Mutt Lange albums were outselling everything else AC/DC put out during this period.
The Sunset Strip gave the charts and MTV a major shake up and sales followed.
The British had invaded the U.S again with Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, a solo Ozzy Osbourne and Def Leppard cementing themselves as arena acts.
The Germans also invaded via a hurricane called The Scorpions.
And finally an underground Speed Metal scene in San Francisco was slowly taking over the U.S.
But in Australia we remained true. Never wavering. And we made it triple platinum.
But let’s go back in time.
The success of “Back In Black” in 1980 showed the labels that their was an appetite for hard rock music. And the labels wanted more of the same.
So it’s no surprise that by 1985, most of the label rosters had a lot of “hard rockers” on the books. But these rockers wore everything that wasn’t denim and their hair kept hair dressers employed for decades.
Even acts from the 70’s started to participate in this new look so they could remain relevant. But AC/DC didn’t change. They stuck true to their denims and Angus still wore the schoolboy outfit.
And the critics found them irrelevant while they still sold out arenas.
Fly On The Wall
The music is infectious and the vocals indecipherable.
Sign me up.
Shake Your Foundations
It was the only song that got a pass back in the day.
How good is that intro and the Chorus is iconic?
Plus it got decent radio play in Australia.
First Blood
Musically, it’s typical of AC/DC.
Lyrically, Brian Johnson is indecipherable and hard to understand.
Danger
“Come Together” comes to mind when I hear this.
“Here come old flat top” is what my ears are expecting when the song begins.
It’s no surprise that the Young brothers are referencing Chuck Berry here as his fingerprints are all over the riffs the Young’s write.
Sink The Pink
The music clip comes to mind here.
Seeing the band playing in a pub/bar again and that pesky fly from the cover getting a hard on (via its nose going from limp to hard) when a women dressed in pink enters the pub.
But it’s the music that seals the deal and Brian Johnson sounds better in the video than the recording.
I like the musical reference to “For Those About To Rock” and The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again”. So I was hooked.
“Sink the pink, it’s all the fashion”
It has so meaning meanings.
The Urban Dictionary tells us, sink the pink means to “have sexual intercourse with a virgin, and to pop her cherry”.
But the Urban Dictionary didn’t exist in 1985 and my young impressionable brain saw it as a song about drugs.
And thanks to the Internet, I believe it is.
Welcanol was known during the eighties as the South African Heroin (Pink Heroin). It could be obtained via a Doctor prescription and it came as a pink tablet.
So before OxyContin there was Pink Heroin.
“Drink the drink it’s old fashioned”
I’ll take an old fashioned drink any day.
Playing With Girls
I love the music and the groove here.
But I hate the title and the fact that Johnson is mixed low and indecipherable.
Definitely a missed opportunity here.
Stand Up
I like this song. It’s defiant and it rocks.
If you just listen to the Chorus you would think it’s about standing up and facing the world, but when you read the lines in context with the verses, well, it has a different meaning.
Hell Or High Water
A 4/4 groove and we are off.
But it’s pointless as Johnson is buried in the mix and the song is ruined.
Back In Business
A deep cut. It reminds me of ZZ Top and I like it.
Send For The Man
Musically it rocks but the buried Johnson chainsaw like vocals ruin it.
It’s not a perfect album, then again most of the albums released in 1985 are far from perfect. In other words, the era of more filler than killer was well and truly in motion.
But I would say, it’s an underrated album from a band that enjoys doing their thing without over obsessing about it.
The U.S tour had controversy. It all took place underneath the censorship discussions concerning rock music. Religious groups tried to ban certain shows while city officials wanted to rate each show and give the shows a movie style rating, which would then exclude fans from going. Fire officials would also get in on the act and limit or stop any pyrotechnics.
But the band went on.
In the vinyl album sleeve of the “Fly On The Wall” re-release from 2020, Angus sums up the tour like this;
“This tour’s a little like a series of wrestling matches with the loonies. But what’s the fun of life without an occasional tussle”.
Six years had passed since “American Standard” (1995) hit the streets and chalked up a Platinum award.
Seven Mary Three was written about as an “overnight sensation” by the media. An overnight sensation which had built their success mile by mile since 1992.
They finally got their major label deal and switched to Atlantic from Mammoth after “American Standard”. Actually I think the labels were joined at one time and they split apart with the band agreeing to sign with Atlantic.
“RockCrown” came out in 1997 and it failed commercially. The emphasis on folk rock alienated their hard rock audience who didn’t want to go on this journey with them.
But “American Standard” was still selling and “Cumbersome” was still on radio, so Atlantic put them back in the studio. Let’s reap whatever sales we could get was Atlantic’s motto.
A year and a month later, “Orange Ave.” comes out and it also fails commercially. Atlantic dropped em and Mammoth took em back.
In 1999, one of their main songwriters, guitarist Jason Pollock left, citing writers block. Thomas Juliano took his place, joining vocalist Jason Ross, bassist Casey Daniel and drummer Gigi Khalsa.
And here we are in 2001, with “The Economy Of Sound”.
Sleepwalking
It’s written by Ross and Juliano. It reached #39 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks.
It’s a great post grunge/alternative rock track, reminding me as a cross between Neil Young, Pearl Jam, Rolling Stones, The Vines and Collective Soul.
Can’t stop this sleepwalking Can’t stop my mind
A sense of being helpless or unable to exert control over our actions and thoughts.
And my spies realize that my hope’s euthanized by the paranoid ape in my heart
A feeling of disillusionment due to internal struggles or fears.
Wait
Written by Ross.
It reached #7 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks and #21 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks.
It reminds me of the song “Signs” which Tesla made popular again in the early 90s. On its Wikipedia page, the song is criticized as being a “Goo Goo Dolls” knockoff or a Bon Jovi homage.
Regardless, this song is littered with some of my favorite lyrical lines.
Machines and luxuries don’t last
Machines and luxuries are temporary and can’t provide lasting fulfillment.
I took my sleep for granted in the past,
Taking our sleep for granted in the past, only to realize the consequences later.
And I woke up half-dead in the hourglass.
It portrays the feeling of time slipping away and the importance of valuing things that truly matter.
Wait, you’re almost there it’s gone
A sense of missed opportunity. We are always focused on the goal and in achieving something, but by the time we realize it, the opportunity has already passed.
It could be about realizing the value of something too late or the fleeting nature of moments.
I never found a gift you get for free, You pay for them dearly
Nothing is obtained without a cost.
Even though things might appear to be free initially, there is usually a significant price to pay in terms of effort, sacrifice, or consequences.
Faster
Written by Ross.
It’s standard pop alternative rock, more like what Good Charlotte would do.
Before tearing it down. I’m alone by my design.
A deliberate choice to be alone while making changes or taking actions.
Summer Is Over
Written by Ross and Juliano, it’s got this chromatic descending line, reminiscent of Stone Temple Pilots “Plush” and certain songs from Collective Soul.
And by some six degrees of separation that Seven Mary Three listened to the “Slang” album from Def Leppard, we’ll I hear that as well.
So this song is a definite like for me.
Honey
Written by Ross.
“Song No 2” from Blur comes to mind.
Still I Find You
Written by Ross.
And still I find you waiting for me on the other side.
A hidden deep cut, with its Led Zeppelin and Beatles feel. They should have lived in this world for a little bit longer and written more songs like this.
And it’s a favorite.
Breakdown
Written by Ross and Daniel.
Its aggressive like a Blur song and its got an excellent Bridge section which is very Beatles “Helter Skelter” like.
Man In Control?
Written by Ross, it’s got this groove and feel that The Wallflowers became famous for with “One Headlight”.
Zeroes and Ones
Written by Ross and keyboardist Kevin McKendree.
It’s got this “Heroes” vibe and I like it.
First Time Believers
Written by Ross, it feels like an attempt to be Collective Soul.
Steal A Car
Written by Ross.
Velvet Revolver comes to mind here and I like it.
Tug
Written by Ross.
It’s an acoustic heartland like cross that wouldn’t the out of place on a Jovi or Collective Soul album.
And the album was another commercial disappointment.
After the release, their label Mammoth would also be swallowed up by Hollywood Records/Disney and the band was again without a label.
But they continued.
A few more albums, a couple of EPs and a live album would come out and then in 2012, the band broke up.
There was no announcement or updates on their Facebook page.
It’s all about the money in music and the lawsuits which come about because of it.
THE GREAT 78 PROJECT
The “Great 78 Project” from the Internet Archive is digitizing 78-rpm records from the early 1900s until the 1950s.
78rpm records are some of the earliest musical recordings, and were produced from 1898 through the 1950s when they were replaced by 33 1/3rpm and 45rpm vinyl records.
The Archives asked people to donate their albums so that the cultural past survives for future generations to study and enjoy.
At the moment the collection is at 400,000 plus recordings. The majority of these 78s are forgotten and the 78rpm versions are not on streaming services.
Sounds great right. Preserve some cultural history from donated records and provide access to people to enjoy.
But the labels don’t get paid when this happens and suddenly don’t like it.
The labels’ have used colorful phrases to describe the “78 Project”, as an “illegal record store”.
From the 400K plus songs, the labels named close to 3K sound-recording copyrights that the Archive allegedly infringed.
And they want $412 million for it because as far as the labels are concerned the music is available on streaming services.
The Great78 project, is not a substitute for music streaming services like Spotify or Apple Music.
When you listen to it, you hear that the music was digitized from the 78rpm record.
You get the crackle and the hiss of the record. It is a totally different version from the clean remastered versions you hear on music streaming services.
It’s ridiculous that it’s even an issue.
SIRIUS XM
SoundExchange, is responsible for collecting and distributing digital music royalties.
Sirius XM is responsible for playing music and paying digital royalties.
SoundExchange claims that Sirius XM is performing some creative accounting by inflating the revenue from its webcasts so it pays less in music royalties to the tune of $150 million.
Isn’t it funny how the labels and publishers go straight to litigation when someone else like Sirius XM does the exact same thing that they did to artists for 80 plus years.
Twitter/X
Twitter/X users put up snippets of live concerts, music videos, interviews and basically themselves jamming to their favorite music or playing the vinyl or CD of their favorite music.
Posts like these.
Two minute snippets of live performances that someone recorded which isn’t the user.
Or something like this.
Footage from a concert that the user attended and shared on the platform.
The users on other social media sites do the same thing.
But the RIAA, the labels lobbyist and litigation arm don’t like it.
They have accused X Corp of breeding mass copyright infringement because the company fails to respond to takedown notices and lacks a proper termination policy.
For this crime, the labels want $250 million from X Corp.
Elon Musk wants the case dismissed and his legal team have asked the courts to consider it as the labels have no hard proof of any wrong doing.
$3 MILLION PER HOUR
It’s the combined amount of how much the labels made in the first six months of 2023.
And they made that money because they have schemed, paid or legislated their way into owning the rights of a lot of music.
The music created by artists in bedrooms, parents basements, hotels, tour buses and at soundchecks, the labels now own.
And they will own these rights for the life of the artist plus 70 years after their death. In some jurisdictions, it’s 90 years after their death.
Final Note
The artists who create culture and value are never in the conversation. Even if the labels (and the RIAA) get all the monies paid to them, they will not share any of it with the artists.
And it is the artists who gave them this power to litigate, by signing away their rights in shitty contracts so they could have a recording career. And maybe a chance to make it big.
All at once in 2004, Dream Theater dropped three bootlegs under the sub headings of DEMO, COVER and LIVE.
The DEMO release was reviewed here, and it covered the “When Dream And Day Unite” period between 1987 and 1989.
The COVER release is their play through from start to finish of the “Master Of Puppets” album and will be reviewed next.
This review is on the LIVE release and as I’m writing this review it has not been re-released as part of the Inside Out re-releases/new releases.
So all we have at the moment is the Ytse Jam Records release.
The full 2 hours and 20 minutes, recorded live on the run of shows used to promote the “A Change Of Seasons” EP.
This is from October 28th, 1995 at NHL Hall, Tokyo, Japan.
The band is John Petrucci on guitars, Mike Portnoy on drums, John Myung on bass, James LaBrie on vocals and Derek Sherinian on keys.
Intro
There is a tape intro that goes for about 1 minute. It’s got a clock ticking and the sad piano lines from “Space Dye Vest” are played.
Then there is a voice over, some backwards sound effects and the octave notes from “Under A Glass Moon” kick in.
Under A Glass Moon
I like the surrealist title.
The verse riff on this song with the keys playing Chords over it. Perfection.
Stick around for the solo as it’s one of Petrucci’s best.
The Mirror
It’s a heavy song with Petrucci deploying the 7-string. Its intricate arrangements and dynamic shifts are interesting.
Lie
It goes together with “The Mirror” as some musical sections appear in both songs. This was a single from the “Awake” album, however it didn’t have the same success as “Pull Me Under” from the album previously.
The mix of heavy riffs and melodic moments, highlights their versatility.
Petrucci as usual delivers a few killer solo sections.
Lifting Shadows Off A Dream
It starts off like a slow jazz blues fusion jam before it goes into the well recognized bass intro.
It feels like a cross between U2, ballad like Marillion and 80s synth Rush.
Instrumental Medley
You get to hear “The Rover” from Led Zeppelin, “Killers” from Iron Maiden, “Damage Inc.” from Metallica, “In The Flesh” from Pink Floyd and “Heart Of The Sunrise” from Yes.
Press play to hear the way they fuse all these different songs into one cohesive track.
Innocence Faded
It’s in a major key. While it rocks it does have pop sensibilities.
But it’s the outro that you should listen to.
Because if you worship at the altar of guitar gods then the outro is for you. Even James LaBrie screams “John Petrucci” when it starts.
If you can’t find this track, then any other official live version or even the studio cut will suffice.
A Change Of Seasons
You get the full 23 minutes.
The way this piece is written is that each part can be played separately in the set list amongst other songs or it can be played as one song, like it is here.
And like all multi-part epics, it serves as the grand centerpiece of the show, displaying their songwriting prowess and technical skills in a live setting.
Lost Without You
“Lost Without You” was officially released in 2005 on John Petrucci’s solo album “Suspended Animation”.
But here it is, live in 1995.
Its an intimate and introspective moment within the setlist, very blues/jazz fusion like and I’m all in.
Petrucci nails it and the emotion drips from the strings.
Surrounded
The “Images And Words” album is all killer.
And this song is largely out of the conversation, however the band does a stellar job playing tracks from the back catalogue in the live setting.
After the piano intro and verses, the song picks up. Listen to how Petrucci decorates.
Derek Sherinian Keyboard Solo
I’m not a huge fan of solos in concert like this, but this one actually rocked and kept me interested.
It was a mixture of ragtime, blues, classical and cinematic/video game like music.
Erotomania
Mike Portnoy takes over the middle of the song with a drum solo.
But at least they go back into the song and to one of my favorite instrumental sections.
Voices
This is another song that seems like it’s out of the conversation when it comes to Dream Theater songs.
But it’s a classic
The Chorus is arena rock.
And that solo is what guitar heroes are made of.
The Silent Man
It’s a great acoustic song.
And they bring the 70s Classic Rock vibes (which is known as Country Rock these days) to it live.
Pull Me Under
Closing the main set with their most recognizable hit, leaves the audience energized.
The 1st Encore begins with a cover.
Perfect Strangers (Deep Purple cover):
The Deep Purple cover sounds like it came from the minds of Dream Theater.
You can hear the fun in the music and they definitely jam it out.
The 2nd Encore begins with the last two tracks of the “Images And Words” album. And for a 1995 set list it’s perfect.
Wait For Sleep (Acoustic version)
An acoustic version of “Wait For Sleep” is excellent.
Learning To Live
The grand finale. The whole song is a masterpiece.
And then that outro section. Wow.
In summary, its raw as a bootleg should be.
The setlist is diverse and it showcases their instrumental virtuosity and ability to navigate complex musical compositions.
There are mistakes and pitch issues but hey, if I wanted the studio recordings I would play them.
The inclusion of covers and acoustic moments also adds depth to the overall concert experience.
They got some traction with the single “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me” from the “Dawn Patrol” album in 1982. The future looked bright.
Then their record label “Boardwalk” went under.
But they had a believer in former Boardwalk vice-president Bruce Bird, who organised a deal with Irving Azoff to sign the group to MCA. Night Ranger would be the first signing to Bird’s new imprint under MCA, Camel Records Inc.
“Midnight Madness” came out in 1983. Check out the ages of the guys in the band.
Jack Blades is 29, Brad Gillis is 26, Jeff Watson is 27, Kelly Keagy is 31 and Alan Fitzgerald is 34. These are seasoned pros, who have paid their dues in other bands since the start of the Seventies.
And in 1983, fame came to them in the form of music television.
MTV would turn regional club acts into arena acts instantly on the back of a song, and “Sister Christian” along with “(You Can Still) Rock In America” became the songs that launched Night Ranger across North America.
While the album has alot of good songs my favorite is the first song on Side 2.
“Touch of Madness” is written by Jack Blades.
The eerie music box gets your attention immediately.
Then a heavily palm muted arpeggio single note riff kicks in before, all hell breaks loose with the blues slide rock riff from the 19 second mark.
The playing is excellent.
At the 42 second mark, the verse groove comes in. It’s groove Rock and Kelly Keagy thunders on the kit.
Blades delivers a stellar vocal,
The lyrics suggest a feeling of being drawn to someone who has a captivating and mysterious quality.
She say “I get high when I want to Don’t ya think you need it too” I need a touch, I need a touch of madness
All of the religious leaders in the 80’s got it right, that the youth of the world had been seduced by the devil’s music. We liked to get high when we wanted to and Mister Juana was a favourite.
The “touch of madness” is the irresistible allure of someone’s unpredictable and exciting nature.
I need a touch, a touch of madness
The lead break is Randy Rhoads-esque. Building on a simple motif and embellishing it with fast scalar runs.
I like how you get another verse, pre and chorus after the solo section. It’s the reason why it clocks in at 5 plus minutes.
All the music here has been released before circa 2003 when the band remastered their albums on their own Motley Records label.
But let me highlight how many issues of the album they have done recently.
In 2022, they released a Limited Edition, Reissue, Black/Clear Split Vinyl edition.The music on this edition was just the normal album.
In 2018, they released a Limited Edition, Reissue, Remastered, Clear With Red Swirl Vinyl Edition. The music on this edition was just the normal album.
In 2016, they released a Limited Edition, Reissue, Remastered, Red With Black Swirl, 180g Vinyl edition. The music on this edition was just the normal album.
In 2011, they released a Limited Edition, Reissue, Remastered, Mini Vinyl Replica edition. The music on this edition was just the normal album.
Again in 2011, they also released a Reissue, 180g, Gatefold edition. And again, the music on this edition was just the normal album.
Between 2003 and 2023, they also released various CD versions of the album with wording like, HDCD, Club Edition, Limited Edition, Enhanced, Reissue, Remastered and SHM-CD (for Japanese Releases). Apart from the 2003 edition, it’s been the same album re-released.
But, it’s selling for $370AUD. It looks like a nice collectors piece and if you don’t have this album, you’ll be thinking “why not”, but at that price I would have expected something to be included that hasn’t been released as yet.
Take a cue from Mr Coverdale, who puts the effort in with his evolution compositions, different jams/rehearsals of the songs and live recordings.
STEVE JOBS
At 12 years old Jobs called Bill Hewlett (the co-founder of Hewlett-Packard) to ask for spare computer parts.
Jobs got the parts and a summer job working the assembly line at Hewlett-Packard.
Steve Jobs, believes asking is the single thing that “separates the people that do things from the people that just dream about them.”
METALLICA
Brian Slagel is putting together the Metal Massacre compilation album.
Slagel met Lars Ulrich a year ago at a Michael Schenker concert. Lars calls him up and asks him, “if he puts together a band can he be on the record?”
BON JOVI
It’s 1982 and Jon Bon Jovi has just finished writing and recording “Runaway”.
He shopped it around and couldn’t get a record deal. He couldn’t get a band together to play live because original bands didn’t make enough money.
Luck would have it that a brand-new radio station would open in New York. It was so new it didn’t have a receptionist so nobody was there to stop Jon from walking straight to the DJ and asking him to play “Runaway”.
The song quickly gained traction and Hobart entered Bon Jovi into a contest the radio station was running for the best unsigned band.
Jon won, he got his Mercury deal and by the summer of 1983, the song had become a huge hit.
It’s amazing what could happen from asking.
SONG ON REPEAT
“Crime Of The Century” by Revolution Saints.
That Chorus hook is undeniable. It’s from the new album “Eagle Flight” which has Joel Hoekstra and Jeff Pilson joining Deen Castronovo.
Check it out.
BONUS SONG I’M LISTENING TO
“Burn For Me” by The Night Flight Orchestra. It’s the Bowie “Modern Love” feel which hooks me in and then that feel gets put in the TNFO blender and what comes out is an infectious AOR Rock song.
I remember the kids asking me around 2019, if The Night Flight Orchestra (TNFO) would ever tour Australia as they are massive fans but they couldn’t come as it was an over 18s gig.
I said to them that Bjorn Strid as part of Soilwork tours here, so it’s a possibility but it all depends on a promoter who wants to bring them out and it also depends on fans. Streams and sales are key here.
Fast forward 4 years later, TNFO arrived on our shores. Hardline Media was the promoter who got em out here. I’ve purchased stuff from the site before and Doug does a great job/deed for Metal and Rock music in Australia.
Their first gig was at Brisbane, on Thursday 3rd August at a venue called “The Zoo”.
And on Friday, 4th August, they had their show in Sydney at a venue called “Crowbar”.
Their final show was on Saturday, 5th August in Melbourne at a venue called “Max Watts”.
It’s like waking into a time warp and coming out 40 years ago when you enter “The Crowbar”. The pub was formerly known as “The Bald Face Stag” (it was a venue I played with one of my former bands) and in 2018, it relaunched as “The Crowbar”. The furnishings are still very 80s retro, it’s painted black and I like it. Plus their is a decent selection of boutique beers on tap and in cans. Their is also a decent sized live room inside the pub, which they utilize for live music.
I purchased two VIP Meet and Greet packages.
This included:
early access to the show and merch stand,
a photo on my phone/device with the band
an Australian tour poster to get signed by the band
exclusive VIP lanyard/laminate
plus I was able to bring along 3 personal items to get signed.
And the prices at $160 each were reasonable.
I was thinking of what merch to take for signing. And I settled on the vinyl album, “Sometimes The World Ain’t Enough”. It’s a gatefold album, with a massive picture of the band on the inside, so it would be cool to get them to sign it. Plus I had two copies of the albums as I forgot I purchased it and then purchased it again.
The meet and greet was very relaxed. They signed our items including the tour poster and then we got the photo.
The band is Sharlee D’Angelo on bass, Sebastian Forslund on guitar, percussion and congas, Anna Brygard on backup vocals, John Lonnmyr on the keys, Bjorn Strid on vocals, Asa Lundman on backup vocals, Jonas Kallsback on drums and Rasmus Ehrnborn on guitar. In the middle, ruining the photo is yours truly.
Midnight Flyer
It was the first song recorded for the “Amber Galactic” album and the first single released to promote the album.
It’s a great opener.
Then again so is “Siberian Queen”, “Sail On”, “This Time” (which sounds like the twin of “Midnight Flyer”), “Servants Of The Air” and “Violent Indigo”.
I remember reading an early interview from the band that Deep Purple’s “Made In Japan” and “Made In Europe” are favourites.
And I can hear it in “Midnight Flyer”, how it builds from the keyboard intro, similar to how “You Fool No One” builds on the “Europe” live album or “Speed King” on the “Japan” live album.
I’m not leaving I’m just going somewhere else Far from the sighs and whispers And the weakness of myself Now is not the time To think of all I’ve lost There are skylines left to conquer There are oceans left to cross
The work ethic of the TNFO members is high. Multiple bands means more touring, more time in recording studios, more time song writing and lots of champagne. Meanwhile they are all trying to keep relationships going.
I’m a midnight flyer rushing through the storm I got lost without your loving and I can’t find my way home
Such a great lyric for the Chorus hook.
They went straight into “Sometimes The World Ain’t Enough” and we were moving and singing.
That keyboard Intro is from what David Coverdale calls “Hook City”, a mythical place of arena-like choruses and riffs.
And I love the drum beat which I call the “Deuce” beat. I know other 70s acts did this kind of beat, but I’m a Kiss fan so I’ll associate it with Kiss.
Every song TNFO played got us moving. My order of the songs is wrong compared to the live show, but here they are.
“Divinyls” rocked. It grabs your attention as soon as the guitar intro starts and it builds nicely with the drums. Rasmus Ehrnborn filled in for TNFO when Dave Andersson couldn’t tour. Now he is the guitarist in the band.
“Gemini”, “Paralyzed”, “White Jeans”, “Burn For Me”, “The Sensation”, “If Tonight Is Our Only Chance” and “Satellite” all followed with lots of grooving, people dancing and some head banging.
“Something Mysterious” (which reminds me of “Burning Heart” from Survivor) was dedicated to guitarist Dave Andersson, who passed away in 2022. For those who are not aware, Andersson was a co-founding member of TNFO along with vocalist Bjorn Strid. A lot of the TNFO songs have his riffs and lyrics. He also wrote this.
They closed the set with the 9 minute long “The Last Of The Independent Romantics”. As Bjorn said in the Intro, let’s go on a journey. And we did.
The band went off stage and we went into a football chant.
It was encore time.
“Josephine”, “Stiletto” and “West Ruth Avenue” closed the night.
“West Ruth Avenue” deserves special mention as Bjorn got a decent Conga Train happening which resembled a circle pit. Instead of people running, people were dancing.
It was also this song from the debut album which made me a fan. And the tempo was slightly increased. Which I like.
I am biased but this gig is a 10. They never let up on the energy and the setlist was perfect.
Moving forward, current single “The Sensation” is doing the rounds. A new album is expected in April/May 2024 and I’m looking forward to adding it to the collection.
Hopefully another Australian tour as well. They put down some roots here so let’s see what grows.
destroyerofharmony 