Category Archives: Music

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

1976 – Part 4.5: The Mahavishnu Orchestra – Inner Worlds

The Mahavishnu Orchestra were a jazz fusion band formed in New York City in 1971, led by English guitarist John McLaughlin.

The group underwent several line-up changes throughout its history across two stints from 1971 to 1976 and 1984 to 1987.

The first line-up which consisted of musicians Billy Cobham, Jan Hammer, Jerry Goodman, and Rick Laird, the band received its initial acclaim for its complex, intense music consisting of a blend of Indian classical music, jazz and psychedelic rock, and its dynamic live performances between 1971 and 1973.

After the original group dissolved, it reformed in 1974 with a new cast of musicians behind McLaughlin:

“Inner Worlds” came out in 1976. It’s the group’s sixth album release and it would be the last album by them for nearly ten years, when leader and guitarist John McLaughlin re-formed the group in 1984.

All in the Family

The song is written by John McLaughlin who also plays guitar and guitar synth. Stu Goldberg is on all things keys related.

Ralphe Armstrong is on bass and the star of the song is Narada Michael Walden on Drums, congas, bass marimba and shaker.

And the reason why Walden is the star is because the song opens with a drum solo before it moves into a fast jazz like beat. Its chaotic as all the instruments come in and somehow it all makes sense. Progressive rock is the best way to describe it.

There is this section between 3.25 and 3.45 in which McLaughlin and Goldberg play this fast unison lead line and I like it.

Miles Out

It’s written by John McLaughlin who plays all things guitar and a special instrument called the “360” systems frequency shifter. It’s actually not an instrument, but an effect. These days, it would be in a stomp box, but back then it was a pretty large unit.

You hear it in action in the Intro and throughout the song. Stu Goldberg is on the Mini-Moog and Steiner-Parker synthesizers, Ralphe Armstrong is on bass and Narada Michael Walden on drums.

I like the bass intro from Goldberg, it’s creepy like, and funky. McLaughlin plays a staccato like guitar riff, which is more funk and reggae like. When he activates the frequency shifter, it sounds chaotic but the drumming of Walden is super-fast, technical and on point. Somehow it makes sense.

In My Life

Written by John McLaughlin and Narada Michael Walden.

John McLaughlin is on 12-string acoustic guitar, Stu Goldberg is on backing vocals, Ralphe Armstrong is on bass and Narada Michael Walden is on the piano and drums, along with the lead vocals.

It’s a poor song and the lyrics are very childish, like seriously, they sing “thank you for the fish in the sea”. A skip for me.

Gita

Written by John McLaughlin and it’s another song with vocals that doesn’t connect with me.

Morning Calls

A short one minute piece, written by John McLaughlin who plays guitar synthesizer and Narada Michael Walden who plays organ.

It sounds Oriental and Celtic like but it’s another skip for me.

The Way of the Pilgrim

Written by Narada Michael Walden and it’s got some intricate instrument sections, but this far in, these kind of passages are starting to sound same same.

River of My Heart

Written by Kanchan Cynthia Anderson and Narada Michael Walden.

There is no guitar on this, with Ralphe Armstrong on double bass and Narada Michael Walden on Piano, Lead Vocals and Percussion.

But it’s a skip for me.

Planetary Citizen

Written by Ralphe Armstrong, this song could have been on a Stevie Wonder album. It’s got that blues, jazz funk fusion happening.

And are you ready to be a planetary citizen?

Lotus Feet

Written by John McLaughlin. I like this instrumental.

There is a guitar that plays arpeggios and a MiniMoog playing a lead break with percussion as the foundation.I

It sort of reminds me of “Albatross” from Fleetwood Mac, the Peter Green version of the band.

Inner Worlds

The title track. Part 1 is written by John McLaughlin and Part 2 by Stu Goldberg. But it’s a bit of mess and that Frequency shifter gadget is just noise to me, however it would have been cool to have that whooshing effect back in the day.

In the end, there are better Mahavishnu Orchestra albums, which we will get to as I work my way back through history.

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The Record Vault: The Black Crowes – Amorica

The band is unchanged. Chris Robinson is on vocals and harmonica, Rich Robinson and Marc Ford are on guitar, Johnny Colt is on bass guitar, Steve Gorman is on drums and Eddie Harsch is on keyboards.

Released in 1994, “Amorica” took a while to come to fruition. It wasn’t a hazy 8 day recording session like “The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion”.

You see, in 1993, the band worked on an album called “Tall”. But the recordings got scrapped because Chris and Rich Robinson didn’t see eye to eye during the sessions. Rich felt that Chris alienated him from the rest of the band. Chris reckons that Rich was upset because he was leading the sessions and was rejecting his riffs and ideas.

Well, Rich ended up winning the argument and the “Amorica” album is the result of moving forward with the ideas of Rich and not Chris.

And man, the cover caused a stir in even in the more progressive 90’s.

Who would have thought that a picture which was deemed offensive in 1976 when it appeared on a cover of Hustler was still seen as offensive almost 20 years later?

Well in Australia, we didn’t really see anything wrong with it so we got the cover as intended, while the U.S got two covers.

Gone

It sounds like they had a few drinks, wrote some riffs and then jammed em. It’s complicated blues, as there is so much going on but it didn’t set my world on fire.

A Conspiracy

They tried to recreate the groove and infectious melody of “Remedy” with this. While they didn’t get close, they still got a very rocking song out of it.

High Head Blues

A sleazy soul blues rock riff starts it off. It’s almost funky and I like it. One of the best songs on the album.

Cursed Diamond

A piano like slow rhythm and blues tune, very Rolling Stones like and the solo section gets all aggressive and swampy.

Nonfiction

An acoustic track with a vocal that sounds like 70’s Rod Stewart. But it’s a skip for me.

She Gave Good Sunflower

Chris is asking a babe to do him and the track could be interchanged with any song from the previous albums.

Press play to hear some nice wah wah soloing from Marc Ford over a thundering Johnny Colt bass riff. And stick around to hear the outro soloing as well.

P. 25 London

A throwaway track.

Ballad in Urgency

Another ballad, with some unique blues/jazz like chords, nicely phrased guitar fills and Johnny Colt’s bass thundering in the background.

The song then fades into a piano section along with Mr Colt’s bass.

Wiser Time

Steve Gorman brings it here, showcasing that even though the Robinson brothers write the songs, the performances of the band members are just as important. This one is also a favourite.

Rich Robinson plays some tasty slide and he also duets on lead vocals.

And each section has so much variation. The verses are based on a three chord “Sweet Home Alabama” like chord progression. The Chorus is classic blues rock.

But.

It’s the later sections which takes the track and makes it a signature song.

It’s not for the crossover fans who just liked “Remedy” and nothing else.

This is for the hard core fans. It starts off with a swampy Delta bluesy acoustic slide solo, which is followed by an electric piano solo, very Doors like.

This then gives way to an electric guitar solo, very B.B. King like with a bit more grit and it all crashes in to a Lynyrd Skynyrd soaring lead, full of harmonized guitars.

After five minutes and thirty seconds, the only thing you can do is press repeat.

Downtown Money Waster

Old time blues with a ragtime piano and acoustic slide guitar.

Descending

Another favourite and another five plus minute ballad-esque song, which starts off with a piano riff. And when the band kicks in, it gets the head moving and the foot tapping. If it doesn’t, feel for a pulse.

Chris Robinson is on fire vocally and Mr Colt’s bass is thumping throughout, synced up to the bass drum of Gorman’s.

The track closes with a ramped up piano solo over another thundering bass riff from Mr Colt.

The album did good business in Australia again, charting at 11 which they also replicated in the U.S and a Gold Certification.

But it took the record buying public by surprise because it didn’t really have that “accessible” song that people could latch on to. The debut album had “Hard To Handle” and the follow up had “Remedy”. But this one had some deep cuts and some fan favourites.

Crank it.

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The Record Vault: The Black Crowes – The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion

Eight hazy days is all it took for the band to record album number 2, released on May 12, 1992. Having done the pre-work, the band was ready to capture their live sound onto tape.

The band of Chris Robinson on vocals, Rich Robinson and Marc Ford on guitar, Johnny Colt on bass, Steve Gorman on drums and Eddie Harsch on keyboards are on fire. And the jam live spirit drips from the speakers.

Wikipedia tells me that it was the first time an album featured four album rock number-one hits. The previous record was set by the great Tom Petty in 1989, with three number-one rock hits. The album itself reached the top spot of the Billboard 200 album chart, propelled by the success of these singles.

The album’s name comes from an influential 1835 hymn and tune book compiled by William Walker. While I never knew that at the time, I did think the title was unique.

Sting Me

We needed rock and roll to reset from the glamorized rock and metal that did the rounds in MTV.

That’s what “Sting Me” is about. It shows the bands intention and confirms that the first album, “Shake Your Moneymaker” was not a fluke.

“If you feel like a riot, don’t you deny it” are the opening lines and man, with all that was happening in LA, it could have been the protest song of the rioters, when the shitty verdict was handed down to the four white policemen in their beating of African-American Rodney King.

And the Chorus is so Rolling Stones like, I love it.

Remedy

This song deserved to be a smash hit everywhere. It was the perfect amalgamation of blues rock and pop rock.

And I love the lead break on this from Marc Ford. It reminds me of the leads that Slash does with GNR and it’s something which Slash doesn’t get enough credit for, being a great blues rock player in the vein of Jeff Beck. And Marc Ford is up there as well, so underrated.

And how good arethe female backing vocals.

But the song is forgotten on streaming services, compared to the debut album songs like “Hard To Handle” at 132 million streams on Spotify and “She Talks To Angels” at 78.6 million streams, “Remedy” pales at 27.3 million streams.

I guess all the fans already have the album, and we’ve overdosed on it, so the last thing we want to do is to play it again on a streaming service.

Kind of like playing “Wanted Dead Or Alive”, “Enter Sandman” or “The Final Countdown” or “Kick Start My Heart”. Then again, people are playing those songs in the millions each week.

Thorn in My Pride

The acoustic guitar playing is so Led Zep like and the lyrics of “my angels and my devils being the thorn in my pride” are favorites of mine. And Marc Ford brings it again in the lead department, with a very accomplished SRV like shred.

Bad Luck Blue Eyes Goodbye

I like these kind of slow blues songs, like “Little Wing”, “Since I’ve Been Lovin You” and “Black Magic Woman”.

Actually Poison with Richie Kotzen wrote a killer track like this called “Until You Suffer (Fire and Ice) from the “Native Tongue” album, but no one purchased that album. So did Richie Sambora, with “Stranger In This Town”.

Sometimes Salvation

It’s a slow maybe mid temp blues rock song, about lessening your troubles, by hanging with less vultures, and wishing you had a nickel for every time you were tricked by some miracle.

Hotel Illness

It’s got this Beatles and Rolling Stones blues rock vibe and I like it.

Black Moon Creeping

I like the groove on this.

No Speak No Slave

The opening riff reminds me of “When The Levee Breaks”. It could easily be interchanged with a Corrosion of Conformity song.

My Morning Song

This should have been another hit off the album, but “Remedy” was so big that nothing else could measure up.

Time Will Tell

A Bob Marley cover, with acoustic guitars and gospel like backing vocals, as the band takes the reggae feel to the muddy waters of the Mississippi Delta and turns it into an acoustic blues rock track.

We loved the album in Australia. It charted as high as Number 6 on our ARIA charts and it earned a Gold Certification.

In the U.S market, it went to Number 1 on the Billboard charts and earned a 2x Platinum certification.

For a long time I called it “The Great Southern Harmony Musical Corruption”. So put it on and let it corrupt you.

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The Week In Destroyer Of Harmony History – March 7 to March 13

4 Years Ago (2018)

FORTNITE

While everyone was complaining about freemium and the monies streaming services pay to the rights holders of music, Fortnite “Battle Royale” came out for free and conquered all. It’s already at everyone’s price point. It can’t get any lower so it costs nothing to try it.

But Fortnite was originally a game for purchase. Within six months of its release in 2017, it had over a million users. But then in September 2017, Epic (the game developer behind it) did something different. They released a free-to-play “Battle Royale” mode. Within 2 weeks of its release, it had over 10 million players.

For Epic, the “Battle Royale” mode is a major hit. It’s like Bruce Springsteen, “Born In The USA” style of a hit. And it’s still going strong because the best marketing tool is word of mouth.

Fortnite spread because the people who played it, enjoyed it and then they asked their friends to create an account and play with them online.

And their friends said “why not”, it’s free, let’s give it a try. The game kept growing in popularity because Epic constantly upgraded it on a regular basis.

In other words, the fans of the game are not waiting 2 years for a new upgrade. Like how fans of artists wait years for new products.

I come from the era of the album, but all I want is frequent content. It’s the reason why the bootleg industry was huge in the 80’s and 90’s. Hell, my record collection has hundreds of bootlegs, from live recordings, to demo recordings, to sound check jams and what not. It was the need to fill the gap between albums.

And like all hit’s there is a writ.

8 Years Ago (2014)

MICK MARS and GENERATION SWINE

Mick Mars said that he almost left Motley Crue during the “Generation Swine” sessions and that still to this day, he hates the album.

It was meant to be called “Personality #9” with John Corabi on vocals. But the label was still reeling from the $3 million loss on their accounts from the 1994 self-titled album so they demanded that Vince Neil come back in.

The Crue started working on the follow-up in 1995. Nikki Sixx wanted to road test the songs before they recorded them, in small venues and using different band names, like the Four Skins. It was a back to the seventies approach, when bands used to debut new songs on the road before committing them to tape in a studio. That is why so many songs from the seventies worked well in a live setting. Deep Purple played “Highway Star” for at least 12 months before recording it. Same as Ted Nugent and “Stranglehold”. The list goes on, however today’s rock star doesn’t need to pay their dues on the live circuit.

But they road tested nothing.

The biggest Achilles heel to “Generation Swine” is the lack of the hit song. Like “Kick Start My Heart”.

It wasn’t a hit on the Billboard Charts, however in rock circles it was a song that all the rock heads and the metal heads could latch onto. Even the self-titled album, didn’t have that kind of song that people could latch on to.

MUSIC BUSINESS RULES FOUND IN SONGS

Here is a summary, however each rule is expanded in the blogpost.

On Motley Crue’s 2008 song ‘Welcome To The Machine’ they provided a few general rules about the recording business and the machine that is the music business.

Rule Number 1: “Sign on the x to sell your soul”.

Rule Number 2: “It’s so automatic, Hocking broken plastic, Royalties you’ll never know”.

Rule Number 3: “Give your ass like a whore, Once you take a hit, You need more more more”.

Rule Number 4: “Welcome to the machine, Once it sucks you in you’ll never leave, Grind you up spit you out, After all you’re just a piece of meat”.

Rule Number 5: “Sell out to the rats, Make em rich make em fat”.

On Motley Crue’s 1999 song ‘Fake’ they seem to provide a few more general rules about the recording business.

Rule Number 6 (supporting Rule Number 1 and 2): “Sold my soul while you sold records, I have been your slave forever.”

Rule Number 7 (supporting Rule Number 5): “What are you fat cats doing anyway?, Take our money and flush it down the drain.”

Ugly Kid Joe asked “Mr Recordman” if he knew who they were or if he gave a damn about them or if he was purely there for the dough. Based on their career trajectory, the answer was obvious. Mr Recordman didn’t give a damn about them once they stopped being “commercially viable”

Rule Number 8 – Mr Recordman doesn’t know who you are. Look at the band “Winger”. When Reb Beach called the label after the Beavis and Butthead episode hit TV screens, the label claimed they never knew a band called Winger.

Rule Number 9 comes from Disturbed and their song “Sons Of Plunder”.

Rule Number 9: “You say you’ve found yourself a new sound, one hundred more all have the same sound”

The song Chainsaw Charlie from WASP is littered with music business rules. The first three lines, “Will you gamble your life?, Sign right here on the dotted line, It’s the one you’ve waited for all of your life” fall into Rule Number 1. Then the lyrics of “And tomorrow when I’m gone, Will they whore my image on?” brings us to Rule Number 10.

Rule Number 10: The record label will forever whore your image on after they have dropped you or after you have departed this Earth. There is a lot of money to be made in death.

Rule Number 11: “We’ll sell your flesh by the pound you’ll go, A whore of wrath just like me, We’ll sell ya wholesale, we’ll sell your soul, Strap on your six string and feed our machine.”

Rule Number 12: “Welcome to the morgue boy, Where the music comes to die” is about songs written by a committee. It’s soulless, however it sells.

Rule Number 13: “Ah, trust me boy, I won’t steer you wrong, If you trust me son, You won’t last very long”

Rule Number 14: “The new morgue’s our factory, to grease our lies, Our machine is hungry, it needs your life” is the definition of the recording business.

Rule Number 15: “I’m the tin man, I’ve never had a heart, I’m the tin man, But I’ll make you a star” is the Record Label CEO. All promises and that tin heart doesn’t care if those promises are broken.

Savatage is another band that covers the music business in a bit of detail. Rules 16 to 18 are from the song “Jesus Saves”.

Rule Number 16: “You know Jesus he started changing, Things got really strange, He saw his tee shirts everywhere, He started missing shows, The band came down to blows, But Jesus he just didn’t care.”

Yep, it’s a tough gig keeping a band together, especially when a band member becomes the idol that the fans latch onto.

Rule Number 17: “Things got out of hand, And so he quit the band, Still the critics they would rave”

Rule Number 18: “hear Him cut through the night, On those late night radio waves”

Eventually, we get old and we become “classic rock”. There is no way around out. Embrace it and play to your core audiences.

The final two rules are from the song “When The Crowds Are Gone” from Savatage.

Rule Number 19: “I don’t know where the years have gone, Memories can only last so long, Like faded photographs, forgotten songs”

Rule Number 20: “The story’s over, When the crowds are gone.”

Pretty self-explanatory.

ADRENALINE MOB

Adrenaline Mob are seasoned professionals collaborating on a hard rock project. For some reason they remind me of Night Ranger.

The debut album “Omerta” was number 4 on my list for releases in 2012. I hold the vocal talents of Russell Allen and the guitar talents of Mike Orlando in high regard. Add to those talents the powerhouse drumming from Mike Portnoy on the first album (and the two EPs) and of course the mighty AJ Pero appears on the second album. As a Twisted Sister fan, this is a great thing to see happen. And finally John Moyer from Disturbed is providing the bottom end.

Listening to “Men Of Honour”, it comes across as a band having fun. Check it out and while you’re at it, listen to Mike Orlando.

I don’t know what to call Orlando’s guitar style. One term I have for it is “Technical Chaos”. He has the chops, but he plays with an improvised abandonment that sounds so precise and I like that.

PONO MUSIC

If you remember back to 1998, the recording business became famous for saying that no one will be interested in downloading a crappy mp3. Guess they didn’t know how many billions those no ones came too.

Pono came out at a time when fans of music had decided that YouTube and Spotify are better alternatives.

And that is what Pono Music fails to understand. The fans of music are in control. If they want to pay, they will. If they want to go to a show, they will. If they want to download for free, they will.

But Neil Young’s PR said that mp3s are crap.

So in 2017 it was discontinued.

And that’s another wrap.

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Australian Method Series: Airbourne – Breakin’ Outta Hell

Released in 2016.

By now people knew what to expect with an Airbourne album. Fast blues rock, sleazy blues rock and hard rock, inspired by AC/DC, Rolling Stones and ZZ Top.

And no power ballads.

Bob Marlette is producing.

Breakin’ Outta Hell

It’s fast and maniacal like they are really breaking out of somewhere. It’s tempo reminds me of songs like “Let There Be Rock” and “Whole Lotta Rosie”.

Rivalry

If you enjoyed the debut Audioslave album, you will like this, as it has a riff similar to “Cochise” in the Intro.

Otherwise the Verses and Chorus are straight from the playbook of AC/DC and Slade.

In the PR for the song, Joel O’Keefe said:

“As with other songs we’ve done, there’s an aspect here of rock‘n’roll taking a stand against those corporate forces that seek to restrict our freedoms, that try to shut down the little live venues, leaving bands with nowhere to really hone their craft.”

Challenge accepted.

Get Back Up

This can be interchanged with any AC/DC song of the Brian Johnson era and not be out of place. In some stages, the throaty vocals remind me of Tom Keifer.

It’s Never Too Loud For Me

With its “RNR Ain’t Noise Pollution” influences merged with “Sin City”, you know exactly what you get with this.

Thin The Blood

It’s super fast.

An image of Tommy Lee in the Crue movie comes to mind as they recount his daily routine on the “Dr Feelgood” tour, like waking up chained to a bed, trying to work out what happened the night before, callin his wife, taking a lot of drugs and alcohol and the cycle repeats.

I’m Going To Hell For This

“Hail Ceaser” comes to mind and I like it.

Down On You

That whole Chuck Berry influence which AC/DC used to great success on “Long Way To The Top” and “High Voltage” is back here.

And the guys really broke out the big guns in the lyric department, about a boy playing with his toy and kissing a woman between her knees.

Never Been Rocked Like This

It’s not groundbreaking but the passion for loud blues based rock and roll is evident here.

When I Drink I Go Crazy

It’s fast and the title sums it up.

It also has one of the funniest lyrics ever, “I’m standing in the middle of the road, directing traffic like a ninja”.

Only Joel O’Keefe can get away with using Ninja in a rock song. Maybe the Steel Panther guys could as well and lyrically this is who the album is competing with. Steel Panther.

Do Me Like You Do Yourself

The Intro gets the foot tapping.

And the lyrics just keep getting Shakespearean.

Like “you’re hands are moving with a mind of their own, having the best sex and you’re all alone.”

Pure poetry.

It’s All For Rock ‘N’ Roll

A perfect closer with a tribute to Lemmy.

Listen to it, raise a glass and enjoy.

Appreciate Airbourne for what they are, a hard working rock and roll band who write music that needs to be listened to loud while beer is being consumed.

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The Record Vault: Def Leppard – X

With “Slang” and “Euphoria”, Def Leppard re-invented themselves and the Two Thousands was there for the taking. The answer to their world domination is “X”, released in 2002.

And yes, it’s studio album number 8, but when you add “Retro Active” and “Vault” it is number 10 or X.

So “X”.

It stands for many things, like the Roman number for Ten or an MPAA rating for extreme explicitness, but it also stands for a maniacal mid-life crisis Def Leppard album.

Now

Written by Def Leppard with the help of songsmith, Marti Frederiksen.

The music of Def Leppard has evolved, incorporating the “Slang” influences with the traditional Def Leppard sound. This song captures some of it along with the whole Alanis Morrisette/Matchbox 20 pop rock vibe.

Unbelievable

It feels like a Backstreet Boys track. And I wasn’t surprised when I saw the writers. Per Aldeheim, Andreas Carlsson and Max Martin, who together had written a lot of hits for artists like Backstreet Boys, Nsync and Britney Spears.

But it was a skip for me.

And very disappointing as well, especially when Carlsson can rock hard. When he worked with Europe many years later, we got “Last Look At Eden”. When he worked with Paul Stanley, we got “Live To Win”. When he worked with Bon Jovi we got “Everyday”, “Misunderstood” and “Hook Me Up”. And Max Martin was a rocker to being with. When Martin worked with Jovi, we got “It’s My Life”. And guitarist Per Aldeheim can also rock hard, however none of the writers rocked hard at all on this.

“Unbelievable”, I say.

You’re So Beautiful

Another song written by Def Leppard with Marti Frederiksen.

The pop rock is back with this, which has the feel of “Animal” with new melodic elements.

Everyday

A cut written by Def Leppard with Marti Frederiksen, its lightweight “Photograph” even down to the syllables for the Chorus.

Long, Long Way to Go

Written by Wayne Hector and Steve Robson who I had to Google to see what their history is.

Wayne Hector is renowned for working with artists like Westlife, Nicki Minaj, The Wanted and The Pussycat Dolls. Steve Robson back in 2002 had worked with Westlife, Atomic Kitten, Honeyz and Faith Hill. All pop song writers.

And Def Leppard took a pop ballad and gave it the Def Leppard treatment, however it still sounds like a Backstreet Boys song. But it’s the most catchiest song on the album.

Four Letter Word

Written by Def Leppard, this is best track on the album. The bluesy AC/DC or ZZ Top style riff definitely gets me interested. It could have easily fit on the Adrenalize album.

At times you would be able to hear some “Back In Black” and “Armageddon It”.

Torn to Shreds

Written by Def Leppard and Joe Elliot in the lower registers singing a ballad is pretty cool to listen to. The way it starts off, it reminds me of the “Slang” album.

Love Don’t Lie

Written by Def Leppard. It sounds like “The Real Thing” from Russell Morris.

Gravity

Written by Def Leppard and Pete Woodroffe, this is by far the worst track on the album. While I give the band 5/5 for having the balls to experiment, the dance beat programmed bass and drums don’t do it for me and the vocal delivery did nothing to captivate the NWOBHM child within and I don’t think the teenybopper crowd took to it either.

Maybe if One Direction covered this many years later it would have been a hit.

Cry

Written by Def Leppard.

Stone Temple Pilots comes to mind here.

And I like it when hard rock artists take something which is contemporary and add their own hard rock touch.

Girl Like You

Written by Def Leppard.

It’s a skip from me when you middle aged men singing lyrics like “I’m on fire, and you’re the flame”.

Let Me Be the One

Written by Def Leppard. Next.

Scar

Written by Def Leppard and Pete Woodroffe

The best track on the album. It has this “Paper Sun” vibe in the Intro, a “Desert Song” vibe in the Chorus and an “Animal” style Chorus.

While it’s not an excellent Def Leppard record it’s also not that bad, and it kept the band on the road which was the key back then.

But for me, I haven’t purchased any Def Leppard product post this album.

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Nikki Sixx and Martin Popoff

Back in November, 2021, a Crue fan posted their excitement to Nikki Sixx, when a book on Motley Crue called “Kick Start My Heart” by Martin Popoff arrived at their home.

Well, Nikki Sixx responded in a way that took a lot of people by surprise, when he said that Popoff was just “another person making money” off Motley Crue’s legacy, And if you have read books from Martin Popoff, most of us were like ‘WTF’.

It’s pretty obvious that emotional stability is something that the Crue guys struggle with.

And when other people mentioned the good work that Popoff has done for the hard rock and heavy metal industry with his books and reviews, Nikki Sixx replied by calling him a scumbag, a criminal, a leach.

I suppose every artist wants to control their own narrative (and then they hand over the narrative when they seek out interviews with publications to someone else).

But they cannot stop people from publishing works on them.

Is Nikki serious?

People are writing books on dead rock stars and making money in the process. People are writing unauthorized biographies on current rockstars and making money from it. I have seven books on Led Zeppelin from different writers. All of them unauthorized but written brilliantly.

If you want to be in the public eye, these kind of books are part of the territory. And writers like Popoff fill a void because the artists fail to satisfy it. There is demand and no supply.

From my understanding of this book, Popoff even makes mentions of the references he uses to produce this work. It’s just his take on various authorized books.

And while I don’t agree with Nikki Sixx on this, it doesn’t mean I’ll stop listening to his music, but he should step down from his ivory tower once in a while and actually see the body of work that Martin Popoff has produced.

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Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

1976 – Part 4.4: Grand Funk Railroad – Born To Die

The name “Grand Funk” and “Grand Funk Railroad” started to appear in interviews with guitarists via the Guitar mags circa 1988 to 1992, as bands started to incorporate more blues rock into their music. Then I purchased an encyclopaedia called “The Rolling Stones Encyclopaedia of Rock and Roll” and they are listed.

But I had never heard their music and it was only a few years ago that I started to listen via Spotify.

“Born to Die” is the 10th studio album, released in January 1976.

Released on Capitol Records and produced by Jimmy Ienner.

Ienner was briefly considered for the role of producer on the “Destroyer” album because he was the producer of one of Paul Stanley’s favourite bands, the Raspberries who had broken big on the backs of an Ienner produced album. While Ienner lost out to Bob Ezrin for the “Destroyer” gig, he did a job with Kiss, as Executive Producer on “Double Platinum”.

The band for the album was Mark Farner on Guitar/Vocals, Craig Frost on Keyboards, Mel Schacher on Bass, Don Brewer on Drums/Vocals, Jimmy Hall on Saxophone/Harmonica and Donna Hall on Background Vocals.

Born To Die

What a track with the feel of the song “Bad Company”, written by Mark Farner in memory of his cousin who died in a motorcycle accident.

The Hammond Organ has this tremolo style effect which makes it sound menacing. The bass playing grooves and the vocals are multi-layered in the Chorus.

Lived his life of freedom, exactly the way that he wanted to.
But there’s always that one thing, we never do count on.
You was born for it to happen to you …

Dues

Written by Don Brewer and Mark Farner. As soon as the syncopated bass and bass drum start off the song, I was interested.

I tried religion and some holy roller steals my tenth

Press play to hear the music played under the melody of “can we ever stop paying dues?”

And then the lead break kicks in and I’m playing air guitar to it. And they keep soloing until it fades out.

Sally

It’s the sugar gum commercial pop song for the album written by Mark Farner for his then love interest, the actress/singer Sally Kellerman.

But it’s a skip for me.

I Fell For Your Love

Written by Don Brewer and Craig Frost and there is too much soul and not enough rock.

Talk To The People

Written by Mark Farner and Craig Frost.

I’m not a fan of the music or the melodies.

But there is a great solo to end.

Take Me

Written by Don Brewer and Craig Frost.

Take me and make me feel your music..

And there is some great soloing .

Genevieve

I expected this to be a ballad, but I got an instrumental of fusion of jazz, funk and rock. And I like it.

Love Is Dyin’

Written by Don Brewer.

It’s got this “All Along The Watchtower” vibe, the Hendrix version vibe, not Dylan.

Politician

Written by Mark Farner.

Mr. Politician please don’t deceive us.
Mr. Politician you’re there to relieve us.
Just how can we tell, mister,
When to believe in you.

I guess some things never change.

Press Play to hear the solo break and the bass playing under it.

Good Things

It’s a slow Blues Rocker that starts off like a Bad Company cut, but once the intro lead melody kicks in, it feels like a Jeff Beck cut.

Written by Mark Farner there is plenty of guitar soloing happening.

The album just broke the Top 50 on the Billboard charts and was seen as a disappointment.

It’s not held in high regard by the hard core fans.

It was the last Capitol Records album they did so maybe the title was prophetic in a way.

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

The Record Vault: Arc Angels

In August 1990, Blues Rock Guitar Hero, Stevie Ray Vaughan was killed in a helicopter crash. His Double Trouble rhythm section of Tommy Shannon (bass) and Chris Layton (drums) were devastated and with SRV’s death, out of a gig.

They dealt with the pain by jamming. They called in guitar prodigy Charlie Sexton and another guitarist in Doyle Bramhall ll. Bramhall’s father, Doyle Bramhall, Sr. is also steeped in the blues, playing drums for Lightnin’ Hopkins and Freddie King. And Bramhall, Sr. also collaborated on songs with Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimmie Vaughan, who he knew since childhood.

The jam sessions took place at the Austin Rehearsal Complex. This is how the “Arc” in the band name is derived.

I heard “Living In A Dream” on Letterman and I thought it was Badlands via the sound, but the look definitely wasn’t Jake E Lee and Ray Gillen (RIP). But I couldn’t get their album, even though it was on Geffen Records. I suppose the year of 1992 didn’t help either.

“Arc Angels” is the self-titled debut album released in 1992.

Production is handled by Little Steven & The Disciples Of Soul.

Living In A Dream

What an opening cut, with a feel of “When The Levee Breaks” and just think of “Stormbringer” played in a blues based way.

It’s written by Doyle Bramhall II and Charlie Sexton. They both share vocal duties and they put their guitar skills on display, riff wise and lead wise.

‘Cause there’s nothing wrong here
I’m just living, living in a dream

And sometimes we don’t want to escape that dream.

Paradise Café

Written by Charlie Sexton and Tonio K, this song reminds me of the Roadhouse movie. You can imagine the band playing the song behind a Perspex cage to protect them from glass bottles.

Well now everything is rosy
And the money’s so well spent
This kind of education
Is worth every cent
When your momma pays the tuition
And your daddy pays the rent
You could learn a lot in college
Although you never went

Sometimes the silver spoon is not enough to satisfy.

Sent by Angels

Written by Doyle Bramhall II.

I like the Bad Company vibe on this. Black Crowes also comes to mind.

Sweet Nadine

Written by Charlie Sexton and Tonio K.

The acoustic guitar riff reminds me of “Little Suzi” from Tesla. Even the titles are similar. The drum beat is more surf rock and Iggy Pop like than Blues Rock.

Sweet Nadine
That ain’t her real name
But you know what I mean

I suppose every artist has a “Sweet Nadine” somewhere.

Good Time

Written Doyle Bramhall II and Sammy Piazza, it’s got this Stevie Wonder “Superstition” funk rock happening, with a bit of “Play That Funky Music White Boy”.

I was hangin’ out with some friends of mine
Down in Hollywood just a-wastin’ time
I knew right then nobody could get me down
‘Cause I’m takin’ myself out on the town
We’re gonna have a good time

See What Tomorrow Brings

Written by Doyle Bramhall II and as soon as the opening arpeggio chords started I was interested.

At 6 minutes long, it’s hard to explain the song, a mixture of “Little Wing”, “Free Bird” and “With A Little Help From My Friends”, the Joe Cocker version. And when slow blues ballads are done right, they leave their presence with you. This song does just that.

Wait just long enough
See what tomorrow brings

What a great line. Patience is hard to attain, because its original meaning is “to suffer”. So to ask someone to “wait” is to ask them to be “patient”.

Always Believed in You

Written by Charlie Sexton and Tonio K. the cut could be interchanged with songs on a John Mellencamp, Bruce Springsteen, Bryan Adams or Don Henley album.

I was born back in the sixties
I was born and raised to win
We had beaten, beaten back the darkness
But somehow the darkness slipped back in

Truth right there. People thought that we had broken through the injustice and prejudice however people just doubled down into their echo chambers, percolating until they exploded again.

The Famous Jane

Written by Charlie Sexton and Tonio K.

It’s a mid-tempo rocker about heroin.

She was probably born in Hollywood in the era of the King
She hitchhiked Highway 61 and got elected Queen
She ended up on Bleeker Street down in the underground
And then somebody there called her sweet, and the story got around

The lyrics more or less sum up its possible introduction into Hollywood.

Spanish Moon

Written by Doyle Bramhall II, Charlie Sexton and Chris Layton. This is a great song with a similar riff and groove to “Living In A Dream”.

Everybody’s looking for a little bit of love
Not a lot of love being given

No one wants to be alone, but people associate companionship with love. But if love doesn’t happen, having a circle of friends to talk with, laugh with and go out with, is every bit good enough.

Carry Me On

Written by Doyle Bramhall II who brings out the Southern Classic Rock.

Shape I’m In

They bring out the Chuck Berry “Johnny Be Goode” feel on this cut, written by Doyle Bramhall II, Charlie Sexton and Marc Benno.

I tried so hard to get back in the race
I’d just be satisfied if I could place
There’s so much competition but the best don’t always win
I’m doing pretty good for the shape I’m in

Be you and don’t let the rat race dictate to you who you should be.

Too Many Ways to Fall

Written by Chris Layton, Tommy Shannon, Charlie Sexton and Tonio K.

This is another of those percolating blues rock tunes.

‘Cause there’s just one way that we can stand
Too many ways to fall

Truth right there.

The outro reminds me of what Pearl Jam would do.

The band didn’t last long. Geffen jumped into bed with Seattle, Bramhall’s heroin addiction was out of control and by 1993, the band broke up.

But we have this album.

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

The Record Vault: Def Leppard – Euphoria

I was interested to hear what Def Leppard would do next after “Slang”.

And the answer was “Euphoria”. Released in 1999, the title alone was an indication to me that they were back to the “Pyromania” and “Hysteria” vibe.

The album is produced by Pete Woodroofe.

Demolition Man

Written by Phil Collen, Vivian Campbell and Joe Elliot, it’s an energetic rocker to kick off the album, reminding me of their supercharged cover of “Action” from Sweet in the early 90’s.

Promises

Written by Phil Collen and Mutt Lange, this is a great track in the vein of songs like “Photograph” and “Animal”.

And press play to hear the guitar solo.

Back In Your Face

Written by Joe Elliot and Phil Collen, it has a 70’s style vibe, processed drums, a bass guitar riff that has the vibe of “Under Pressure” from Queen and a rap like vocal line reminiscent to “Pour Some Sugar On Me”.

With the title, it definitely announces the bands intention.

The band was back in my face like jumping jack flash and the Union Jack.

Goodbye

Written by Rick Savage, the song is interchangeable with “Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad?” and “When Love And Hate Collide”.

All Night

A funky Prince like tune done the Def Leppard way and written by Phil Collen and Mutt Lange.

It wouldn’t take up a place in a set list, but it’s cool to hear the band experiment and have fun with tunes like this.

Paper Sun

Written by Phil Collen, Rick Savage, Joe Elliot, Vivian Campbell and Pete Woodroffe.

My favourite song on the album and one of the best songs to appear on a Def Lep album in the 90’s.

The intro riff, with it’s Middle Eastern feel already hooks me in, bringing back memories of songs like “Desert Song” and “Fractured Love”. The song could have easily appeared on the first two albums as well.

This is the Def Leppard I like.

It’s Only Love

Yeah, it’s a slow rocker written by Joe Elliot, Mutt Lange, Rick Savage and Vivian Campbell, which didn’t captivate me.

So it’s a skip.

21st Century Sha La La La Girl

Written by Phil Collen, Joe Elliot and Rick Savage.

This is Def Leppard with a vocal line which borders on rap-rock.

What can go wrong?

Nothing when it comes to Def Leppard.

They do these things cool but sometimes they overuse this method.

To Be Alive

This is a great ballad written by Vivian Campbell and a P.J Smith.

The song was first recorded by Vivian Campbell’s side band “Clock”, which was active between 1996 and 1998 and released one album in 1998.

Disintegrate

An instrumental written by Phil Collen, which feels like it’s part 2 of “Switch 462”. And I like it.

Guilty

Written by Phil Collen, Rick Savage, Joe Elliot, Vivian Campbell and Pete Woodroffe.

It starts off like “Hysteria” and that familiarity immediately gets me interested.

Day After Day

Written by Phil Collen, Joe Elliot and Vivian Campbell. It’s “Deliver Me” from “Slang”, updated to rock hard.

A favourite just behind “Paper Sun”.

Kings Of Oblivion

Written by Phil Collen, Joe Elliot and Rick Savage. They bring their love of 70’s Rock and Metal into this. It could easily appear on the first three albums.

We laugh at the wardrobe choices of the 80s but goddamn the 90s didn’t really endear itself to people either.

The CD that I have is known as the “Australia Bonus Tracks Edition”. So I have two bonus tracks in “Worlds Collide” and another fun energetic cover in “Under My Wheels” from Alice Cooper.

Worlds Collide

It made an appearance on the “Slang” reissue from 2014 so it was written for that album.

It’s heavy and I like it. Press play to hear the main riff. It’s head banging Metal the way I like it.

Sales of the album didn’t match the earlier stuff, but that doesn’t mean it’s a dud. Check it out.

P.S

While it was refreshing to hear “Slang” and it grew on me to be a good album, I was more than happy to have Def Leppard return to their sound.

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