Category Archives: Classic Songs to Be Discovered

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

Soaked – Evergrey

A vocal line, three heavily distorted palm-muted chords and then the next vocal line.

An intro which gets your attention from the outset.

My chest is open
My heart’s on the ground
My bare feet soaked in my blood
As I leave you without a sound

When you enter the depths of a relationship (friends, family or lover) argument, there is no winner, just a lot of bad blood. And you might smile and pretend that everything will be okay when you make up, the truth is, nothing is the same.

There will always be the words said, and the hurt that came with them. Each make up is a reset and a recalibration.

No one to reach for
Even though I stretched too far

It’s an empty feeling, when you are in the depths of loneliness and your thoughts are getting the better of you.

No one sky to warm me up

There are days like this, when you don’t want to get out of bed and face the different situations the day has in store for you or to see the people you need to see.

As darkness clouds the blue

The darkness of the mind and the thoughts that live there, the thoughts that you are scared to confront or seek help for.

I’m leaving
I couldn’t live with the shame
No more denying
I’ve stopped the search for blame

Leaving and making the choice to leave, is the most difficult decision a person can make. And once it is made, nothing can stop it.

Even at the basic level of leaving a job, a home or a school. Once the decision is made, it’s made. There is nothing that can stop you.

Twenty-seven years of falling
Twenty-seven winters slave
Twenty-seven years of dreaming
And this is all the strength life gave
Twenty-seven summers weaker
And the autumn’s just the same
Twenty-seven years…

When I first heard the song, I associated the 27 years to the years given to a relationship. But then I read an interview and this is what Tom Englund had to say about it;

SOAKED is about a friend of mine who killed himself.
Tom Englund

And suddenly all of my interpretations and meanings took on a different light. And 27 is in that zone which the media reports so frequently when celebrities take their lives. It’s the zone of having lived long enough to decide if their life is worth it.

Because from young, people are conditioned to believe that life is an upward trajectory. And when it doesn’t pan out like that, with more lows and disappointments than highs, well….

And if you’d ask then I’d deny that
I didn’t have the strength to fight that drowning weakness
And I buried all signs to cover what I feel underneath
The hollow remains of me

You basically give up. You portray one side of yourself to people and another side, within the four walls of your room. Even if people asked “are you okay?”, you would smile and say “yes”.

And the outro solo from Henrik is impressive in its melodicism.

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Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Music, My Stories

The Pirate Vault #6

Electric Nights Mix Tape

Before playlists became an iTunes sensation, people who grew up before the internet called em “Mix Tapes”. One thing I enjoy is listening to different artists when I am cruising, and this is just one of those kind of mix tapes.

And I have no idea why I called it “Electric Nights”. It feels like a pretty lame title.

I also try to sequence my playlists/mix tapes like how I would like an album to be sequenced. My rough guide is;

  • TRACK 1 – The Killer Opening Track with Serious Riffage
  • TRACK 2 – The Fun Track
  • TRACK 3 – The Meant To Be “Big Hit” Track
  • TRACK 4 – The “Ballad Song” or “Experimental Song” or “We Dont Know What to Do With” Song
  • TRACK 5 – The Killer Side 1 Closer
  • TRACK 6 – The Killer Side 2 Opening Track
  • TRACK 7 – The Song That Will Not Be Played Live
  • TRACK 8 – The Cover Song or The We Are Running Out Of Ideas Song or The Melodic Rock Song We Are Not Sure Our Fans Will Like
  • TRACK 9 – The We Ran Out Of Time Song
  • TRACK 10 – The Killer Speed Metal Closer or The Killer Epic Power Ballad Closer
  • TRACK 11 – The Bonus Track

SIDE A

    Black Hearted Woman – Blue Murder

John Sykes brings the riffage to kick off the imaginary album with the killer opening track.

    Jet City Woman – Queensryche

Then Eddie Jackson brings the bass for track number 2 and we have lift off.

  • Fantasy – Project Driver

The supergroup project of Tony MacAlpine, Tommy Aldridge, Rob Rock, Rudi Sarzo bring the melodic rock for the track which was meant to be the big hit on the album.

  • Had Enough – Tesla

And those Sacramento rockers bring the bar room brawls with our experimental song.

  • You’re All I Need – The Scream

John Corabi and his Scream buddies bring the ballad.

    Hold The Line – Toto

I used to cover this song in bands and to this day, I can’t turn it off whenever it comes on. Steve Lukather decorates the songs tastily with power chords and melodic leads.

  • Tell Me Why – The Scream

A blues rock track with Corabi showing his vocal chops.

  • I Can See It In Your Eyes – Project Driver

Another melodic rock gem from this supergroup.

  • Freedom Slaves – Tesla

The intro of the bass and the military style marching beat is enough.

  • Nobody Rides For Free – Ratt

The palm muted guitars with the bass and drums building. A perfect closer for the perfect imaginary album.

SIDE B

  • Bad Boys – Whitesnake

And another John Sykes cut to bring the riffage.

  • Look What The Cat Dragged In – Poison

Shoot me but I dig the main riff from CC DeVille in this song.

  • For A Million Years – Lynch Mob

One of my favourite cuts from “Wicked Sensation” with Lynch riffing and rolling, while Oni Logan delivers a stellar vocal performance.

  • This Time – Y&T

I always enjoyed the ballads.

  • The Morning After – Ratt

The riffage from the real Ratt and Roller, Robin Crosby cements this song.

  • Temptation – Y&T

Harmony guitars, a melodic rock chorus and Meniketti’s brilliant voice.

  • You’re Gonna Break My Heart Again – Whitesnake

At this point, the imaginary album needed to be picked up with some serious riffage, so off to John Sykes I went.

  • Dust In The Wind – Kansas

One of my favourite acoustic pieces.

  • Too Late To Say Goodbye – Richard Marx

Marx is a rocker to me, and when he rocks, he does a good job.

  • Run For Your Life – Twisted Sister

One of my favourites from “Under The Blade”.

  • Lightning Strikes Again – Dokken

And we close off the album with some serious riffage from George Lynch and Don Dokken screaming, Lightningggggggg, Lightning strikes again.

Iron Maiden – Piece Of Mind and Eric Clapton/Metallica/Maiden Mix

Yeah what a tape.

An awesome Maiden album (which I have already written about in my 1984 year posts, plus will revisit when I get to my Record Vault collection of Iron Maiden), along with some Clapton songs from various albums, plus some live Metallica and Maiden stuff which would have appeared on B sides of CD singles.

Magellan – Hour Of Restoration and Impending Ascension

When I look at the song titles, I cannot even remember a lick or a word or a vocal melody. But once upon a time, it felt important to copy this from my cousin.

Aerosmith – Get A Grip

My mate, Mofartin had it, and I copied it and it served its purpose at the time, until I purchased the CD which I have covered in my Aerosmith Record Vault post.

Bad News

One of the best albums from the worst ever Rock and Roll band that ever was. Spinal Tap has nothing on these guys…

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Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Music, My Stories

The Record Vault – Bon Jovi Cassettes

The Record Vault for Bon Jovi will need to be broken up over a few different posts as I have a lot of Jovi content. I didn’t even realize I’ve amassed so much.

So this one deals with the product I have less of.

Cassettes.  

This Aint A Love Song / Lonely At The Top

I was always on the lookout for singles with a B side which isn’t an album track. And the I reckon “This Aint A Love Song” is a crap song. And like the single track, “Lonely At The Top” is very similar. The next appearance of the song is on the “100,000,000 Fans Can’t Be Wrong” Boxset.

Lay Your Hands On Me (Edit) / Runaway (Live)

I got this one, because the single edit was different to the album version, basically no drum intro and a live version of “Runaway”.

How good is that synth intro in “Runaway”?

And Jovi is in top form here.

7800 Degrees Fahrenheit / Dokken – Under Lock And Key

The tape got mangled by the cassette deck, which is a risk we always took with cassette tapes. So instead of re-buying it again, I got a blank tape and dubbed it off a friend as well as “Under Lock And Key” from Dokken.

Win-win.

And the album is a melodic rock gem to me. Songs like “The Price Of Love”, “Only Lonely” and “Always Run To You” bring the melody and tracks like “In And Out Of Love”, “Tokyo Road”, “King Of The Mountain” and “The Hardest Part Is The Night” bring the rock.

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

The Record Vault – Black Stone Cherry

I heard these guys at the jam place that I used with one of the bands I was in. The guy that owned the premises, is a blues rock drummer and a part time bikie. He had the debut album playing on his stereo in the admin area of the complex. He told me the name of the band and off to TPB I went later that night and downloaded the first two albums.

Black Stone Cherry

The debut, released in 2006.

The opening metal like riff in “Rain Wizard” got me interested and the Chris Cornell like vocals hooked me in. The “Stockholm Syndrome” like riff from Muse in “Backwoods Gold” also made me interested.

And the album keeps rolling with “Lonely Train”, a Mesa Boogie down tuned rattler, about to go off the rails.

“Shooting Star” is a great song but the best song is “Drive”, hidden deep into the album. And the closer “Rollin’ On” closes off the album nicely.

Folklore and Superstition

Released in 2008, this is the album that stands out to me.

“Please Come In” sounds like a Led Zep/Bad Company cut.

“Reverend Winkle” is a cross between “Come Together” and an arena rock Chorus, about a person who knows the only way home. “Things My Father Said” is a song I’ve already written about.

“The Bitter End” is an impressive speed rock song but “Long Sleeves” and “Peace Is Free” are my favourites while “Ghost Of Floyd Collins”, “Stranger” and “Bulldozer” close out a pretty damn fine second album.

Between The Devil and The Deep Blue Sea

Released in 2011, this album is produced by Howard Benson and outside writers are contributing. The label or the band must have felt like they needed a more commercial pop push, but to me, there was nothing wrong with “Folklore and Superstition”. All it needed was an updated part 2.  

The “White Trash Millionaire” aint “got much and they don’t care” as the song sleazily grooves from start to finish and the “Killing Floor” talks about how some people want other people to pay for their own shortcomings while it metallically smoulders along.

“Such A Shame” is a modern metal rock song. The lyrical theme is heavy, about child abuse, which would also turn off a lot of people from the song, as they don’t want to be confronted by heavy subject matter in music.

“Won’t Let Go” is a cool ballad, a love song about life keeping you running but you won’t let go of what you have. And the album changes tact with “Blame It On The Boom Boom”, a track which could have come from a Josey Scott “Saliva” album.

“Like I Roll” rocks along as it rolls along the open road with Rolling Stones on the radio and flying high until you die. “Stay” is one of those modern rock ballads which works for me about telling someone you love em, just to make em stay. And “Die With Me” closes the album nicely, with an arena chorus which makes me press repeat.

Magic Mountain

Released in 2014 and the heavy stoner groove and sound was exactly what I was looking for. If I had to rate the albums, this one and “Folklore and Superstition” would be battling it out in the Superbowl.

And when I think about it, the reason for really liking this album is the 70’s feel.

The 12/8 feel of “Holding On…To Letting Go” grabs me by the head and makes it bang and the Pantera/Dream Theater “Mirror” like breakdown cemented this song’s status as legendary.

“Peace Pipe” is one of the best Bad Company cuts that Bad Company didn’t write. “Bad Luck and Hard Love” and “Me And Mary Jane” all have that bluesy vibe, which I dig. “Runaway” about a rebel on the run and hooking up with a gypsy on the run, is perfect.

And they ask us to take a trip to the “Magic Mountain” after we drink from the fountain.

And Black Stone Cherry (named after a box of Black Stone Cigars with a cherry flavour) is a favourite, because at the core, they are a rock band, which bring in elements of so many different styles and genres into their mix.

Since, these albums, the band has released “Kentucky” in 2016 and “Family Tree” in 2018, along with two EP releases called “Black To Blues, Vol. 1” in 2017 and “Black To Blues, Vol. 2” in 2018. And it all falls in line with the current music model of releasing more frequently.

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

The Record Vault – Bad English

Supergroups either work or they don’t and this one definitely worked when it came to chart and sales success. Formed in 1987, the band featured Journey guitarist Neal Schon and keyboardist Jonathan Cain who was also re-united with singer John Waite and bassist Ricky Phillips, his former bandmates in The Babys, along with drummer Deen Castronovo.

The first album, released in 1989, had two big hits, which pushed it to platinum. But I hated “When I See You Smile” and “Price Of Love”.

Very different songs hooked me. It started off with “Forget Me Not”. The Van Hagar sounding (but based on a Van Roth riff like “Dance The Night Away”) and “Heaven Is A 4 Letter Word” rocked harder than the hits and the likes continued with songs like “Best Of What I Got”, “Possession” and “Tough Times Don’t Last”.

While “Ghost In Your Heart” doesn’t grab me lyrically, the solo from Schon does. “Ready When You Are” rocks out of the gate, with its “All Right Now”/”Nothin But A Good Time” vibe.

“The Restless Ones” sounds like a cross between a Rocky movie soundtrack and the piano lines that Jonathan Cain wrote for Jimmy Barnes, about a wild heart calling out in the night. And Schon has some decent lead breaks in this one as well.

“Rockin’ Horse” is a blues pop rock ditty, which has Schon sleazily riffing away and when it comes time to solo, Schon again takes centre stage during the middle of the song and for the outro. And Waite is wailing, delivering a vocal line that’s worthy.

The band’s second album, “Backlash” was released in 1991 and it did nothing. The band had already broken up before the album even entered the mixing stage.

But the album does have some good stuff happening. Even though I don’t have it, the opening track “So This Is Eden” has one of Schon’s best riffs. “Straight To Your Heart” also has some cool riffage from Schon. “Dancing Off The Edge Of The World” is another rocker, which deserves more attention for its music, but the lyrics are overused and clichéd. And “Pray For Rain” is one of the best songs that Bad English wrote.

But there was no escaping the fact that every chorus on the follow up album was designed to be catchy. And it always happens that when two ballads bring success, the follow up album moves a bit further into soft rock territory. Songs like “Time Stood Still”, “The Time Alone With You”, “Savage Blue” and “Make Love Lost” proved that.

And since then, Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain reformed Journey with Steve Perry first and then with multiple vocalists after that. Cain then found God and suddenly Journey’s songs became too explicit for him to perform. John Waite has remained as a solo artist, who is also fighting his labels to take back control of his songs. Castronovo joined Ozzy, was fired from Ozzy, joined Journey and then showed the world his great vocal chops with Revolution Saints, while also getting into trouble with the law. Ricky Phillips joined Whitesnake for a brief period and I’m not sure what happened next.

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

1978 – IV – Kiss-A-Ganza

The last post for 1978 will kick off with a Kiss-a- ganza. Not one, not two, but 5 Kiss albums, plus lunch boxes, and what not.

Here is the Spotify playlist.

And the previous posts can be found at 1, 2 or 3.

Paul Stanley
Gene Simmons
Peter Criss
Ace Frehley

You take the best songs from each of these solo albums and it’s a pretty solid Kiss album. My list as follows and I’m sure others will have a different opinion.

Side A

  1. Rip It Out – Ace Frehley
  1. You Matter To Me – Peter Criss
  1. Tonight, You Belong To Me – Paul Stanley
  1. Ozone – Ace Frehley
  1. It’s Alright – Paul Stanley
  1. Love In Chains – Paul Stanley

Side B

  1. New York Groove – Ace Frehley
  1. Snow Blind – Ace Frehley
  1. Wouldn’t You Like To Know Me – Paul Stanley
  1. Take Me Away (Together As One) – Paul Stanley
  1. Mr Make Believe – Gene Simmons
  1. Goodbye – Paul Stanley

It’s top heavy with Space Ace and Star Paul because they had their creative juices flowing at this point in time, while Demon Gene and Cat Peter just didn’t have it.

And Ace struck big with his album because its basically a balls to the wall punk album before punk became such a big thing. “Rip It Out” has a punk vibe, with a drum solo and a rock guitar solo chucked in for good measure. 

For some reason, the R&B/Rod Stewart feel of “You Matter To Me” just works straight after “Rip It Out”.

And “Tonight, You Belong To Me” comes in at number 3, a masterpiece in melodic rockisms. If you ask me, it’s a three punch knockout.

At track 4 is a dirty and sleazy Ace track, with “Ozone” a groovy masterpiece in hard rock song writing which put some of the Led Zep work to shame at this point in time.  Even the lead break was very different to the standard blues licks Ace is renowned for.

Track 5 is “It’s Alright” from the Star Child, a nice little rocker, which flows straight after “Ozone” and the first side of my imaginary album, closes with another Star Child cut, in “Love In Chains”, a very mature song musically, especially when you listen to the guitar work and the lead breaks. 

Side B of the best album that never was, kicks off with “New York Groove”, a perfect sing along and clap along. And the Led Zep influenced “Snow Blind” had to be up next, because there’s no use being back in NY if you are not snow blind and lost in space. And how cool is that “Love Gun” style lick he brings in to the lead break.

Paul Stanley’s feel good and very commercial sounding, “Wouldn’t You Like To Know Me” is perfect at track 3 on Side B and Paul continues his momentum with “Take Me Away (Together As One)” which reminds me of a cross between “House Of The Rising Sun” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”.

Demon Gene is Kirk Hammett on this album. His riffs were just not good enough. But “Mr Make Believe” ended up good enough to be included with its take on “Mr Blue Sky” and The Beatles catalogue. And the album that never was, closes with “Goodbye” from Paul Stanley. And how good is the last minute of “Goodbye”.

And of course, with all things Kiss, a best off collection came out called “Double Platinum”. If you didn’t have any of their records, you could have purchased this one, and still have a decent collection of songs. Provided you still had any funds left, after purchasing all four of the solo albums.

Cheap Trick – Heaven Tonight

“Surrender” is one of my favourite tracks because of that god damn addictive Chorus. 

“High Roller” hooks me in with its AC/DC vibe.

“Heaven Tonight” has a pretty addictive intro. It reminds me of “Kings And Queens” from Aerosmith.

Bob Seger – Stranger In Town

One of the best voices ever.

“Hollywood Nights” kicks it off and if you have never been to Hollywood, then you would have felt like you had after listening to this song and a story of a romantic Hollywood meeting, which led to marriage and then a violent broken marriage and how nothing that came after captured that Hollywood Night.

“Still The Same” is another one of those acoustic rolling rockers while “Old Time Rock and Roll’ is basically saying that today’s music ain’t got the same soul as the music that came before and you need that old time rock and roll to reminisce about those days of old.

And the song got multiple reboots in the 80’s via movies and TV shows like “Risky Business” and “Alf”.

“Feel Like A Number” has a riff which sounds like something else (like Filter’s “Take A Picture”) and lyrics which sum up life.

I take my card and I stand in line

Who hates waiting in line to take money out of their bank account. Like sheep, we need to wait to take what is ours.

To make a buck I work overtime

We have been conditioned from birth to believe that hard work will get you through life. We even take up jobs with higher salaries, which means we work more unpaid hours than ever before.

Dear sir letters keep comin’ in the mail

When you are behind in any debt, the letters never stop, until you are out on the streets or back at home, if that place still exists.

To IRS I’m another file

The tax man loves the poor and the middle class, as that’s the only way they can get money, because the rich corporations don’t pay any.

The Rolling Stones – Some Girls

It’s the singles which captured my interest like “Beasts Of Burden” and “Miss You”.

Dragon – O Zambesi

Dragon is one of those acts which captured a sound and style perfect for Australians. And while people might associate the band as Australian, they are in fact from New Zealand.

It was during this album cycle tour, that Dragon attempted to break through into the American market, which ended disastrous at a show in Dallas, Texas. Marc Hunter caused a riot, when he said that all Texans are faggots, which resulted in the band getting pelted with beer bottles, chairs, tables and other members of the audience holding guns out, yelling “I’m gonna kill ya”.

And Motley Crue have nothing on these bad boys. Check out the mayhem.

As soon as the band relocated to Sydney in 1975, their drummer died of a heroin overdose. Two members were involved in a serious car crash in 1977, where keyboardist Paul Hewson (their main songwriter in the 70’s) had his neck in a brace as well as having a broken arm and guitarist Robert Taylor needed plastic surgery. Paul Hewson eventually died of a drug overdose in 1985 and vocalist Marc Hunter died of smoking-related throat cancer in 1998.

“Still In Love With You” and “Are You Old Enough” still get constant radio play in Australia.

Grease (Soundtrack)

How can you not escape this movie?

It was everywhere for over a decade.

Frankie Valli kicks it off with the song “Grease”, the Travolta and Newton-John duet, “You’re The One That I Want” rocks out of the gates. “Rock N’ Roll Is Here To Stay” from the Sha Na Na’s tells us that rock and roll will never die.

Graham Bonnet – No Bad Habits

“I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” has a riff which had George Michael very interested and eventually he used it for “Faith”. Of course, that riff is not in the original Bob Dylan version but made up by the guys in the band for their reinterpretation.

And that’s my wrap of 1978. 1977 here I come.

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The Pirate Vault #5

The Pirate Vault box keeps on producing some great memories.

Richie Kotzen – Fever Dream and Cacophony – Metal Symphony

I was in a shred mindset between 1989 and 1992 and I was buying CD’s and albums from Shrapnel artists. And I got these albums dubbed a few years after they came out and i picked em up on CD and LP not soon after.

I heard about Cacophony from interviews I read about Jason Becker and Marty Friedman, who of course at the time had gigs with David Lee Roth and Megadeth. And the music world only got to see a brief appearance of an unbelievable musician in Jason Becker, who still writes music via his eye movements and a system his dad has set up for him due to Lou Gehrig’s disease otherwise known as ALS.  

And of course, Richie Kotzen had the Poison guitar slot, in which he co-write a brilliant blues, rock and soul album called “Native Tongue” (which could have been his solo album) and the busy man he was, he also took Ricki Rockett’s fiancé mid tour. “Layla” from Eric Clapton comes to mind right now.

Dinosaur Jr – Without A Sound and Hand It Over

I was in a hard rock band with a drummer who was into grungy sounding bands, so while I exposed him to Dream Theater, he told me to sink my teeth into Dinosaur Jr.

I was hooked from the opening arpeggios and single note lines in “Feel The Pain” from the “Without A Sound” album released in 1994. And the heaviness of opening track “I Don’t Think” from the “Hand It Over” album released in 1997.

Fuel – Sunburn and Santana – 3

Fuel had significant chart success in Australia with “Shimmer”, however I didn’t commit financially until the second album came out. Another band member did commit, so it was a no brainer to copy this album from them, while another band member really enjoyed the jam aspects of Santana – 3, so in order to understand what they meant at band practice, I had to dub this album.

And it’s funny how in the early 2000’s, I was experiencing a new release and a release more than 30 years old. The beauty of music is that everyone forms a connection at different times.

And the songs “Taboo” and “Toussaint L’Overture” have some of the best and emotive guitar solo work Carlos has recorded on tape. They still make the hairs on the back of my neck rise.

AC/DC – Bon Scott compilation

My mate, Mick is a mad ACCA fan. When he lived in NY for about 12 years, he saw them on every tour, every night. When they come to Australia, he sees the Sydney shows.

One day in a suburban street in Australia, at a time far away sometime in the 80s, I asked him if he was keen to make our own Best Off compilation of Bon Scott material while we polished off a box of beer.

So off to work we went, debating which song should make it and which song shouldn’t. And a few hours later the holy grail of Bon Scott material that we classified as essential was ready to be blasted in the car stereo.

And I still hold that view to this day.

We were meant to meet and eventually do a Brian Johnson compilation, but life got in the way and we never did.

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

The Record Vault – Bobaflex

I remember reading in Guitar World about “Bobaflex” and the article said they’re a hard rock band, so when I purchased the album, released in 2005, I had no idea what to expect.

The first thing I didn’t expect was for the great art and attention to detail to make the booklet a worthy addition, instead of the usual band photo, thank you credits and lyrics.

So what is “Apologize For Nothing” about?

Aggressive, syncopated guitars, with aggressive and melodic vocals. And yes, its roots lay in hard rock and heavy metal with a modern sound. Think of Guns N Roses merged with Faith No More merged with Rob Zombie merged with System of A Down merged with Sevendust merged with Galactic Cowboys. Yep I think that sums it up.

“Six Feet Underground” and “Better Than Me” is the sound of what Five Finger Death Punch would take to arena success a few years later. “Guardian” is my favourite and the song “Medicine” has a vocal melody which “The Greatest Showman” decided to use, while “Rescue You” (my 2nd favourite) sounds like one of the best songs System Of A Down didn’t write in 2005.

And on some songs, the way they are delivered vocally reminds me of Galactic Cowboys, a Geffen act from the early 90’s who was marketed heavily but didn’t receive the commercial success the dollars invested in them demanded.

And it’s all over the place with styles, which is a good thing. It got me interested because of its progressive attitude to song writing and the beautiful booklet.  

And some of the music which came after is more accessible, but still worthy, like “Bury Me With My Guns” which is pure hard rock from their 2011 album “Hell In My Heart” or “I Am A Nightmare” and “Long Time Coming” from their 2017 album “Eloquent Demons”. The album “Anything That Moves” released in 2015 is a worthy listen as well.

“Never Coming Back” from 2013’s “Charlatans Web” has some serious riffage and “Pretty Little Things” is layered with vocals and a riff which brings back memories of the 80’s.

In other words, invest some time into Bobaflex.

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The Science Of Things

There is a saying that by the time an artist reaches album number 3 or 4, they are at the peak of their powers. It’s not because of some mystical power or magical power or magical powder; it’s basically a combination of having enough life experiences to create better art.

And if you look at the history of music, there is a consistent trend about the 3rd or 4th album being the album which makes it happen.  Some artists deliver again a few albums after and some artists deliver again as solo artists or via a new band they formed.

If you study history, you will know that beyond every fall of an empire, there is a rise and beyond every rise, there is a fall. And the cycle just keeps repeating. An artist’s career is no different.

But the third Bush album “The Science Of Things”, released in 1999, doesn’t get the attention it deserves. The glory or the rise, went to “Sixteen Stone” and “Razorblade Suitcase”. But the third album is also worthy, however it falls into the side of “the fall”. It doesn’t have hits, it has songs. And albums were designed to be a statement of songs, not cherry picked songs, released as singles.

The whole recording industry blamed Steve Jobs for allowing people to cherry pick songs and just buy them. Well, the label bosses had been doing it for decades in order to make people believe they needed an album. Which is why for me, it was always special to buy an album, when I had no idea what was on the album. But I wouldn’t invest that time today.

“Warm Machine” and “The Chemicals Between Us” satisfies the fans of the debut album. “Spacetravel” is a bit more progressive, an artist writing to fulfil their creative urge, rather than writing for a song to be a hit. Even “40 Miles From The Sun”, it’s the a song The Doors didn’t write.

“Prizefighter” is a favourite, with the jangling guitar strumming over a fuzzed out guitar, and nicely decorated with another shimmering guitar playing natural harmonics. “Disease Of The Dancing Cats” is a terrible title, but that’s what also makes it unique, plus its “Zero” like riff from Smashing Pumpkins. “Letting The Cable Sleeps” also has this melancholy like vibe, it starts off with two major chords and ends with a minor chord, giving the song a yin and yang of happy and sad.

Gavin Rossdale sings in his normal baritone voice. There is no need to copy or mimic another singer whereas on the first two albums, people compared his voice on some songs to Kurt Cobain. And you definitely won’t hear Rob Halford wails on a Bush record, then again Halford went more industrial and guttural during this period with “Fight”.

And an album doesn’t need to be number one on the charts to be a good album, nor does it need to have diamond like sales. But it always happens, when everything is judged against the commercial appeal of an album.

For U2, everything is judged against “Achtung Baby”, for Pearl Jam its “Ten”, for Metallica it’s the self-titled Black album, for AC/DC its “Back In Black”, for Bon Jovi its “Slippery When Wet”, for Europe its “The Final Countdown” however, I believe Europe has surpassed “The Final Countdown” on many occasions musically, but not commercially. For Van Halen, its 1984, but their Sammy Hagar albums sold less, but gave them an even larger audience because of the mainstream sound of the songs.

For Aerosmith, well they had a few mega sellers, like “Pump” and “Get A Grip” in the 80’s as sales of recorded music in the 70’s is really hard to see as accurate, as it’s based on shipping rates and other creative payola ideas.

But there are bands who more or less remain consistent in relation to their output and sales but still play to packed houses, like Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and Ozzy solo era, Deep Purple, Motley Crue, Rush and Judas Priest. Well Judas Priest did have a big album with “Screaming For Vengeance” and everything else that came before and after supported their legacy.

The problem is when an artist has commercial acceptance of their music, they chase it a little bit more and want it again and again. But it rarely works that way, and some artists, bite the bullet and sell their creative juices to outside writers.

Bush, up until this point, kept everything in house and you can hear that they didn’t really chase the Billboard Hot 100 chart parade with this album. Maybe to their detriment financially, but respect is earned when you play the game your own way.

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

The Record Vault – Blessed By A Broken Heart

I came across a film clip for the song “Forever”. It got me interested enough, so I found the album online, downloaded it via a cyber-locker, enjoyed it enough, that I purchased it from Amazon’s US store.

I wonder if the Amazon US store purchase counts for a sale in the US or because its posted to Australia, it counts for a sale in the Australian market.

Formed in the early 2000’s, Blessed By A Broken Heart (BBaBH) battled hard, became MySpace superstars, lost all of their original members who gave them the MySpace status and with new members in tow, got a deal with Century Media Records in 2007 with a cross between 80’s hard rock/screamo metal and released “Pedal To The Metal”.

This then led to a bigger deal on Tooth and Nail records and the “Feel The Power” album eventually came out (after many delays) in January, 2012 with a sound further evolved to the 80’s hard rock movement.

Vocalist Tony Gambino departed not long after in July 2012 and by September, 2013 the band was finished with repeated record company legal struggles and lack of support from booking agencies given as reasons.

And for some stupid reason, “Feel The Power” is not available on Spotify Australia, so put that down to a lack of record label support as well and for some other stupid reason, the “Blessed By A Broken Heart” YouTube account has a lot of the videos unavailable in Australia. Dumb and dumber.

So the album.

Its melodic rock all the way. The musicianship is top notch, however their Mad Max look was already taken by the Black Veil Brides.

“Forever” has some Dragonforce like “I’m getting finger cramps” sweeps in the lead break, a melodic rock Chorus that soars like a Journey song and music that reminds me of the “Soldiers Under Command” era of Stryper.

“Rockin All Night” could have come from the “Midnight Madness” album from Night Ranger.

“Shut Up And Rock” has this Whitesnake “Slip Of The Tongue” vibe in the intro but overall it has this NWOBHM feel and lead breaks that make Jeff Watson’s eight finger tapping look amateurish. That one screaming verse, never should have been there. If they kept it melodic, the song is a 10 out 10 for me because that Chorus soars, the music soars and the mastery and performance of each note is perfect.

“I’ve Got You” is a ballad with some great lead guitar work which reminds of Vito Bratta’s work with White Lion and an outro solo which burns like a John Petrucci solo.  

“Deathwish” has this Jake E Lee Ozzy style “Bark At The Moon” era like riff which gets me interested and the Chorus, seals the deal with the lyric, “Mama sold her soul to the devil, traded a kiss for a birthday deathwish, mama sold her soul to the devil, traded her pain for the love of cocaine.” And another lead break which is worthy of guitar hero status.

If you like the above songs, then you will like “Scream Like You Mean It” which reminds me of Journey and “Holdin’ Back For Nothin’” with its Dragonforce like power metal.

Lead guitarist Shred Sean Maier effortlessly shreds as his name states and underpinning it all is the orchestrated backing vocals that remind of Mutt Lange and his work with Def Leppard.

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