“Double Allergic” is their second album released in 1996.
It peaked at No. 4 on the ARIA Albums Chart and was certified triple platinum by ARIA for shipment of 210,000 units by 2007.
Like all second albums it contained material that had been written for the debut album.
You know the saying. Artists have their whole lifetime to write their first and second album and only a few months to write their third.
They worked with an expensive producer on their first album but worked with a less well known producer for this.
From 1992 until their break-up in 2010, the line-up consisted of vocalist Bernard Fanning on vocals, guitarists Darren Middleton and Ian Haug, bass guitarist John Collins and drummer Jon Coghill.
“Pick You Up” was the first single and is by far the best pop song on the album.
“D.A.F.” is the the second single, and it’s title is the chord progression.
“Living Type” was the third single written about the Manson Family cult, and came with an X-Files style music video.
But if you want to press play on a song, then press play on “Oipic” and let the Led Zep exotic Sounds take you away.
By the way, this isn’t the album that got me interested. It was the next one “Internationalist” and the song “Passenger”. But that’s for another post.
It took Deep Purple seven years to make it to the top and two years to break up. The air is thin at the mountain top.
Deep Purple had lost their lead singer Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover in 1973 and replaced them with David Coverdale and Glen Hughes. This MK3 version recorded two albums and then guitarist Richie Blackmore left at the start of 1975. This was weird as Deep Purple was seen as “his” band. And from looking at it, it’s like the owner of the house vacating their premises for the guests to take over running the house.
But Deep Purple would soldier on, replacing Blackmore with a young guitar hero from the U.S. known as Tommy Bolin. Rounding out the band is the rest of MK3, David Coverdale, Glenn Hughes, Jon Lord and Ian Paice.
And MK4 was created.
“Come Taste The Band” came out in 1975. It’s the usual production team of the band and Martin Birch.
The name Tommy Bolin came into my life because of Motley Crue. The Crue covered the song “Teaser” for a Compilation album and they also released it on a Raw Tracks CD made for the Japanese market, which I got my hands on. The song is so good and sleazy it sounded like a Crue original and I was curious to hear more from Bolin.
So as I was going back into the career of David Coverdale because of Whitesnake’s attention grabbing 87 LP, I was doing the same for Tommy Bolin.
So I got my hands on the “Teaser” and “Private Eyes” album first and imagine my surprise when I came across an album that had both Coverdale and Bolin on it.
Comin’ Home
Written by Tommy Bolin, David Coverdale and Ian Paice with vocals provided by Coverdale.
This song rocks out of the gate paying homage to the fast rock sounds of Deep Purple MK1, MK2 and MK3. But it was more Grand Funk, like “We’re An American Band”.
Lady Luck
Written by Jeffrey Cook who co-wrote songs with Bolin for the “Teaser” record with lyrical contributions from Coverdale.
Vocals are provided by Coverdale. In didn’t really do much for me.
Gettin’ Tighter
Written by Bolin and Hughes with vocals provided by Hughes.
This song is funky out of the gate, and sleazy once the whole band comes in.
Dealer
Written by Bolin and Coverdale with vocals provided by Coverdale and Bolin.
It’s very Hendrix “Purple Haze” like in the riff departments with a Beatles like Folk Rock interlude which Bolin sung.
I Need Love
Written by Bolin and Coverdale with vocals provided by Coverdale.
I like the groove on this, and the way the verse riffs are played out with the heavy synth from Lord.
Drifter
Side 2 begins with this song written by Bolin and Coverdale with vocals provided by Coverdale.
It’s got a great Intro which reminds of “You Really Got Me” or “American Woman” and check out the groove that comes in once the drums and bass kick in.
Coverdale’s bluesy voice is a highlight.
At 2.36 there is just a bass and keys section over a drum groove. It reminds me of things that Rush would do.
Then Bolin comes in, with volume swells and a solo begins. The drums and bass become busy as they build it up, and the vocals come back in. Its brilliant, it gives me goose bumps all the time, so press play just to hear that.
Love Child
“Heartbreaker” anyone. Press play and listen to the intro.
Written by Bolin and Coverdale with vocals provided by Coverdale.
The verse groove and riff are my favourites even though the whole “love child driving me wild” lyric didn’t set the world on fire.
At 1.50, they go into a progressive rock style groove and Lord solos over it.
This Time Around / Owed to ‘G’
Written by Hughes, Lord and Bolin with vocals provided by Hughes.
It’s very progressive sounding, like ELO and it moves into a great instrumental jam over a 12/8 groove with excellent lead guitar from Mr Bolin himself.
You Keep On Moving
Written by Coverdale and Hughes with vocals provided by Coverdale and Hughes.
This is the standout track. Its haunting and melancholic and it was written during the “Burn” sessions but not used.
Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Czechoslovakia and West Germany all got behind this version of the band. The Japanese still loved em and New Zealand loved em even more.
But.
The classical progressions and jams had been replaced with groove, soul and funk. It could be seen as an early Whitesnake album, as a few tracks have “Love” in the title, which is similar to every Whitesnake album.
Also in 1975, Tommy Bolin had two records competing against each other, which probably wasn’t the best scenario for Deep Purple however I have seen “Teaser” album pictures with a sticker on em that said “Guitarist Of Deep Purple”. Since most of the songs were written by Coverdale and Bolin, the project could have been billed as Coverdale/Bolin.
After the tour for this album finished in March, 1976, Deep Purple MK4 was no more. Glen Hughes was already having issues and was in and out of rehab. David Coverdale would form Whitesnake and get Jon Lord and Ian Paice into the project. And Tommy Bolin by December 1976, was dead from drug intoxication as morphine, cocaine, lidocaine and alcohol were all found in his system.
In Flames was founded in 1990 by Jesper Stromblad as a side project from his then-current death metal band, Ceremonial Oath as he wanted to write more melodic songs.
Three years later, he quit Ceremonial Oath due to the overused “musical differences” reason and began focusing on In Flames.
By 1995, Stromblad grew tired of using session musicians to record an album or to do live shows, and the first version of the band was assembled.
“The Jester Race” released in February 1996, is the second studio album. The album is considered a classic album of the melodic death metal genre, along with At the Gates “Slaughter of the Soul” and Dark Tranquillity’s “The Gallery”, exhibiting the dual guitar leads, growled vocals and acoustic sections typical of the genre.
The band for the album is Anders Friden on vocals, Jesper Stromblad on Lead Guitar, Acoustic Guitar and Keyboards, Glenn Ljungstrom on Lead Guitar, Johan Larsson on bass and Bjorn Gelotte on Drums and Additional guitars. Yep, a drummer who also plays guitar, and this is a common thing in Sweden to have musicians who can play multiple instruments in a component manner as they promote the Arts sector in schools.
It’s produced by Fredrik Nordstrom (who also plays additional keyboards) along with the band members.
Moonshield
The Medieval sounding acoustic guitars to start the song sets the tone of a journey to come. After about a minute the distorted guitars crash in.
Musically speaking, it is similar in melody and structure to bands such as Iron Maiden or Judas Priest. However, the death metal influence lies within the vocals.
The Jester’s Dance
It’s an instrumental.
Full of different moods like “The Call Of Ktulu” and a bass groove that could have come from the fingers of Eddie Jackson from Queensryche.
There is even a section that reminds me of “Wasting Love”.
So if you want to press play on a song without vocals, press play on this or on the other instrumental “Wayfaerer”.
Artifacts of the Black Rain
I like the twin harmony melodic riffs on this.
Graveland
It’s fast very “Ride The Lightning” like.
Lord Hypnos
How good is the intro on this?
It’s some of the best metal music written in the 90’s, reminding me of 80’s Judas Priest and Queensryche.
And the subject matter this time around are Greek Gods.
Listen to the musical section between 1.33 and 2.43.
Dead Eternity
It’s very Iron Maiden like when it starts off, before it moves into a power metal like riff with blast beats. Something which Parkway Drive uses a lot of.
Its spoken word intro is haunting; about death, and how once you die you never have to worry about dying again, as you are stuck in a purgatory known as dead eternity.
The Jester Race
The intro is like a “Top 10 Hard Rock riff with a bullet” like. And throughout the song, its littered with melodic riffs and harmonies.
December Flower
Fast, angry with a lot of tremolo riffing and blast beats.
Check out the guitar leads between Verses and the guitar lead itself is “guitar hero” worthy.
Wayfaerer
An instrumental.
Very Judas Priest and Helloween like.
And then at the 1.50 mark, there is this Van Halen “Dance The Night Away” vibe with a bit of Joe Satriani “Crushing Day” and “Lords Of Karma” chucked in.
Dead God in Me
The closer.
It’s almost thrash metal like, with disturbing lyrics about a recollection of a molestation that took place.
The album took some criticisms from being too melodic in its riffs and harmonies from Melodeath purists, but that’s why I listened to it.
For me, that melodic element was the selling point.
“Stormbringer” came out about 9 months after “Burn”. In the space of a year, Deep Purple were busy writing and recording frequently.
What a novel idea.
Try and tell that to a lot of acts, who want to record an album every three to five years. And the usual argument of ‘no money from recordings’ doesn’t work, because even back in the 70’s, the acts were getting ripped off on the sales part. So they had to tour to make coin. Then again it was normal in the 70’s to release an album a year. It was expected.
The album cover also has a story, about a tornado in a U.S town during the 1920s which was photographed and added to the Copyright free archives, which allowed the image to be used.
And the same photograph was used for Miles Davis’ album “Bitches Brew” in 1970.
And Siouxsie and the Banshees’ album “Tinderbox” in 1986.
MK3 Deep Purple is Ritchie Blackmore on Guitars, David Coverdale on Vocals (except “Holy Man”), Glenn Hughes on Bass and Vocals (except “Soldier of Fortune”), Jon Lord on Organ and Keys and Ian Paice on Drums.
Its Produced by Deep Purple and Martin Birch again.
Stormbringer
Another thunderous opener written by Blackmore and Coverdale.
If there wasn’t a Heavy Metal movement before, well there was one now. By 1974, each major rock act like Led Zeppelin, Free, Bad Company and Black Sabbath had a heavy song or two on each album that young blue collared youths would take and run with to create even heavier tracks.
I like the exotic flavouring in the solo. It’s not fast, but goddamn, it sounds progressive.
Love Don’t Mean A Thing
Written by Blackmore, Coverdale, Glenn Hughes, Jon Lord and Ian Paice.
This is the whole funk blues soul jam that Glenn Hughes brings. In saying that, the riffs here work so well within the Deep Purple sound.
Holy Man
The Bad Company/Free brand of hard rock had caught on and suddenly Deep Purple was doing a cut that wouldn’t be out of place on the first two Bad Company albums or Free albums.
If the intro sounds familiar, it should, as it’s a common progression used throughtout the 70s, but it went missing a bit in the 80s and came back in the 90s.
I recall Motley Crue using it for “Misunderstood”.
And Blackmore was not the main writer anymore as this song was written by Coverdale, Hughes and Lord.
Hold On
The funk blues rock in the verses grooves and the Chorus is like Soul Rock Music. Blackmore again is missing from the song writing credits, with Coverdale, Hughes, Lord and Paice listed as the writers.
Coverdale and Hughes share vocal duties here and Blackmore brings out his rockabilly Chuck Berry licks which gives way to a Jon Lord solo.
Lady Double Dealer
It’s that fast blues rock that Deep Purple was known for and something that David Coverdale would do a fair bit with the early versions of Whitesnake.
There is a cool Blackmore solo as well.
You Can’t Do It Right
Play that funky blues music white boys.
High Ball Shooter
I like the Intro as it always reminds me of another song which I can’t thing off right now.
The Gypsy
The riffs on this are metal like, but the way Blackmore delivers em, it’s almost progressive like, with a fusion of blues, southern rock and metal like grooves.
Soldier Of Fortune
A great acoustic ballad to end the album, something which David Coverdale would recreate with “Sailing Ships”.
The long jam sessions from the past had disappeared. Replaced with a more structured song arrangement. It’s a bridge between this album and their next album.
Blackmore obviously didn’t like this new direction and left after the tour. And he wasn’t one to keep his thoughts to himself, so he publicly declared his dislike for the funky direction the band was taking and made it clear that was the reason why he left.
But Scandinavian Melodic Rock and Metal was being born with the MK3 albums as they did big business in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. Austria and Germany also liked this era, along with the UK, France and the U.S.
“Undisputed Attitude” is the seventh studio album by American thrash metal band Slayer, released on May 28, 1996.
The album consists almost entirely of covers of punk rock and hardcore punk songs. It also includes two tracks written by guitarist Jeff Hanneman in 1984 and 1985 for a side project called Pap Smear and its closing track, “Gemini”, is the only original track.
The album was largely the brainchild of guitarist Kerry King, who stated that the songs chosen were from highly influential bands who “made Slayer what it is”.
The album was initially to feature material from classic heavy metal artists such as Judas Priest, UFO and Deep Purple. However, after several rehearsals “things didn’t pan out” according to King, so the band instead elected to cover punk songs. Then again, maybe Tom Araya’s rough bark just didn’t suit the Judas Priest, UFO and Deep Purple style of songs.
The band for this album is Tom Araya on Bass and Vocals, Kerry King on Guitars, Jeff Hanneman (RIP) on Guitars and Paul Bostaph on Drums. The way Araya sounds vocally on this is how James Hetfield would sound on “St Anger” in six to seven years’ time.
The album is produced by Dave Sardy with Rick Rubin listed as an Executive Producer, whatever an Exec Producer means.
“Disintegration/Free Money”
The original artist is Verbal Abuse and its 1.41 of fast and aggressive metal punk.
“Verbal Abuse/Leeches”
And its followed up by another Verbal Abuse cover, which clocks in at 1.58. While its fast and aggressive punk, there is a small breakdown section which slows things down a little.
“Abolish Government/Superficial Love”
A T.S.O.L. cover and it’s a full 1:48 in length.
Three songs in and it’s like listening to one song.
“Can’t Stand You”
Written by Jeff Hanneman and listed as a Pap Smear cover which clocks in at 1:27. And Tom Araya doesn’t take a breath as he spits out the verses.
“DDAMM (Drunk Drivers Against Mad Mothers)”
Another track written by Jeff Hanneman and listed as a Pap Smear cover which clocks in at the super long length of 1:01.
“Guilty of Being White”
A cover from Minor Threat and it clocks in at another super long time of 1:07.
When the album was released in 1996, there was no controversy over the song or any possible message of white supremacy.
But the internet and social networks are different beasts and people take a moral high ground.
The other controversy was changing the lyrics in the songs ending from “guilty of being white” to “guilty of being right”.
This little changed didn’t go down well with Minor Threat front man Ian MacKaye, who found this change “offensive”.
“I Hate You”
Verbal Abuse makes another appearance on this album with a song that goes into the 2 minute range. This one is more punk like, with a rock tempo and Sex Pistols “Anarchy” style attitude.
“Filler/I Don’t Want to Hear It”
And Minor Threat makes another appearance with a super-fast punk hardcore song.
“Spiritual Law”
A cover from D.I. and its pushing at being the longest song on the album at 3 minutes long. Press play to hear the intro which is very Metal like, otherwise the rest is stock standard fast beats, vocals that cover the microphone in spit and fast alternate picked punk metal riffs.
But at 1.20 a Sabbath like doom groove comes in, before it picks back up into the fast punk metal at the 2.10 mark.
“Mr. Freeze”
A cover from Dr Know. Its 2.24 in length and at times when the song goes into its rock riffs I feel like I am listening to Beatsie Boys, “Fight For Your Rights”.
“Violent Pacification”
A cover from D.R.I. at 2:38 in length.
All I can say about this song is chaos until the 46 second mark, when the drums start a rock style groove and the tempo of the song goes down a notch for the band to rock out. And Tom Araya is barking out “Violent Pacification” over and over and over again.
“Richard Hung Himself”
A cover from D.I. and this song takes the title for the longest song of the cover songs at 3:22.
And for a song with a grisly title it’s actually a catchy rock song.
“I’m Gonna Be Your God” (“I Wanna Be Your Dog”)
A song from The Stooges, clocking in over the 3 minute mark and it received a makeover and some slightly modified lyrics and a faster tempo.
It’s by far my favorite cover and it leads in perfectly to the original track.
“Gemini”
Written by Kerry King and Tom Araya, and it is the longest song on the album at 4.53.
The song begins as a sludge/doom number reminding me of “Season In The Abyss”, before becoming a more typical Slayer song.
But being added to the end, doesn’t do this song proper justice. It’s one of their best tracks written in the 90’s.
And Tom Araya is evil reincarnated with his melodic but sinister vocal melody.
In the end, this is a 33-minute-long release and Slayer wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s not a classic album but the song “Gemini” makes up for it.
“Black Dog Barking” is album number three, released in May 2013 via Roadrunner Records.
By now, everyone knew that Airbourne sounds like AC/DC.
But on this album, they amped up the AC/DC sounds with a bit of 80s rock like Cinderella and the first two albums from Def Leppard along with some Euro Metal like Scorpions.
And those backing vocals.
The Personnel for the album is Joel O’Keeffe on Vocals and Lead Guitar, David Roads on Rhythm Guitar, Justin Street on ass and Ryan O’Keeffe on Drums.
Producer Brian Howes has worked on the slick productions with Nickelback and Puddle Of Mudd, but on this album he captures the energy of the band performing live.
Ready to Rock
The blast out of the gate with it. It’s loud, aggressive and it feels like a circle pit punch up in a pub.
Animalize
I think of Kiss and Paul Stanley singing this tune.
No One Fits Me (Better Than You)
A take on “Let Me Put My Love Into You”.
Back in the Game
This one is the best song, bringing that Acca Rock and Euro/80s Rock vibe. There are Whitesnake, Cinderella, AC/DC and Scorpions influences.
Firepower
This one reminds me of “Let It Go” from Def Leppard in the verses and I like it.
Live It Up
The whole Intro is Acca Dacca with that open string acting as a pedal point while a melodic riff is played on the other notes. Think of the Intro to “For Those About To Rock”.
Woman Like That
This could be on a Bon Jovi album or a Cinderella album and not be out of place.
Hungry
Another favorite, which borders on speed rock.
More WASP like and it has a cool Spanish like guitar lead,
Cradle to the Grave
Crank it and enjoy. While the verses are stock standard hard rock, the Chorus has some of that Euro arpeggios.
Black Dog Barking
It closes with the barking and aggressive title track.
Airbourne does what they’re good at, the same way that AC/DC does what they’re good at.
Its better produced and the songwriting is concise, as the album is done in under 38 minutes.
This is rock’n’roll, the way it should be. Loud, aggressive, dumb and no ballads.
And Joel O’Keeffe gets a lot of credit for his vocal chops, i also believe that his Lead Guitar playing should also get some notice.
When a band loses members, no one really knows what would come next. Will the band break up or will they continue with new members?
When bands lose their lead singers, the uncertainty is even higher.
But when Deep Purple lost Ian Gillan and Roger Glover, Richie Blackmore stepped up even more to push the band forward. As far as Blackmore was concerned, he was the driving force behind the band and this grit and determination would lead him to find not one but two vocalists who would assist him in moving forward with the massive riffs he was coming up with.
“Burn” is the eighth studio album, released in February 1974, and the first to feature an unknown David Coverdale on vocals and Glenn Hughes, from Trapeze, on bass and vocals.
The album was recorded in Montreux, Switzerland, in November 1973, with the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio.
Deep Purple MK3 is Ritchie Blackmore on Guitars, David Coverdale on Vocals, Glenn Hughes on Bass and Vocals, Jon Lord on Keyboards and Ian Paice on Drums.
Production was still listed with the band as Producers and Mixers (but all they had to do was just say yes or no to the takes and mixes), with Martin Birch doing the bulk of the work capturing the sounds and actually mixing the album.
Burn
It owes some of its thought and structure to “Highway Star” as the DP guys wanted to have another high energy song to open the show and new album with.
It also has structured organ and guitar solos like “Highway Star”, around Bach like sequences which Lord and Blackmore worked out.
Coverdale mentioned in the “The Purple Album Track By Track”, that “Burn” was the first song that he started working on with Richie Blackmore, which he called sounded like “Symphonic Rock”. He also wrote four different lyrical versions for the song, with the Sci Fi version being selected by the guys in the band as the one to use.
David Coverdale loved the riff so much, that “Children Of The Night” from the 1987 self-titled album was the result. I would add that part of “You’re Gonna Break My Heart Again” also has some of the “Burn” feel.
And as good as all of the riffs and solos are, Ian Paice behind the kit, just brings the power and the pace. As soon as his drums come in, the foot is tapping and the head is moving.
It’s my favourite Deep Purple song which gets performed at Whitesnake or Glenn Hughes or Yngwie Malmsteen concerts instead of Deep Purple concerts because of the singers.
Might Just Take Your Life
The Jon Lord organ riff to start it off is from “Woman From Tokyo”.
Jon Lord was the primary writer for Deep Purple on the first couple of albums until Richie Blackmore had enough and started to become the primary songwriter from “In Rock”.
The melodies came from a relaxed jam session that Coverdale and Lord were having.
Overall it’s got that British blues rock feel.
But press play to hear Coverdale and Hughes harmonize in the Chorus.
Lay Down, Stay Down
It’s got that blues rock feel from the “Who Do We Think We Are” album and that sound and riff is something that Blackmore would come back to with his Rainbow project.
Ian Paice again showcases his drumming abilities.
Sail Away
Its got that “Superstition” and “Play That Funky Music” funk rock groove that Blackmore came up with.
Its sung by both Coverdale and Hughes however both could have done the song justice if only one of em just sang it.
This song and “Mistreated” sums up what Coverdale brought to the Purple sound on this album.
Press play to listen to the funky bass playing from Glen Hughes. Hughes was also a co-writer, but he wasn’t credited due to being tied to another recording contract at the time.
The 30th Anniversary release fixed that.
You Fool No One
Coverdale and Hughes doing dual harmonies.
Ian Paice also showing his love of John Bonham and coming up with a definitive drum groove which formed the basis of the track for Blackmore to build on.
The middle solo section is almost Jazz Rock fusion, progressive like.
Press play and just enjoy.
What’s Goin’ On Here
A fun blues song based around a Jimi Hendrix song called “Highway Chile”.
Mistreated
It’s listed as being written by Blackmore and Coverdale.
Coverdale (who calls himself a “Domestic Guitar Hero) wrote a riff on Blackmore’s White Strat, in the Crypts of a Castle they were rehearsing at and when Blackmore heard it, instead of playing the riff with the Coverdale chords, Blackmore played the single notes.
And “Mistreated” was born.
And that opening vocal “I’ve been mistreated” is iconic.
This version is my go to version but on the Purple album from Whitesnake, Reb Beach takes the solo spotlight and creates a fresh and emotive blues shred lead.
‘A’ 200
An instrumental.
Coronarias Redig
It’s a B-side and if no one had heard it in the 70s, it appeared on the “30th Anniversary Edition” as a bonus track.
It’s a blues Rock song but those Hammond Organ chords give it a soul gospel feel.
And press play to hear Blackmore’s leads.
In Australia, the M3 version of DP went to number 5 on the charts. In Austria, Denmark, Germany and Norway it went to number 1. In Canada, Holland, Finland, France, UK and US it was a Top 10 album.
The problems began with a project tentatively titled “Tall”. This project was being produced by Chris Robinson, which his brother Rich objected to. And as brothers do, they got into a huge fight.
The reason for the fight was that Chris wanted to strip back the sound of the Black Crowes. More horns and percussion and less guitars. But his bro, Rich is the guitarist.
In the end, Rich won the argument and the result of this project are the re-recorded songs that Rich Robinson predominantly wrote, which made up the “Amorica” album. This pissed Chris off as his songs were ignored.
So it’s no surprise that during the “Amorica or Bust” Tour of 1995, the relationships within The Black Crowes soured even further, and the Robinson brothers basically hated each other.
But they made it through somehow.
And the band began planning their fourth album in 1995. “Three Snakes and One Charm” was eventually released in July 1996. Recorded in a house that they shared together, the album captures a relaxed band, ready to plug in and jam with friends.
The Black Crowes for this album are Chris Robinson on Vocals, Rich Robinson on Guitar, Marc Ford on Guitar, Johnny Colt on Bass, Steve Gorman on Drums and Eddie Harsch on Keyboards.
The Dirty Dozen horn group appears, along with banjo players, pedal steel players and various backing vocalists. Basically some of the stuff that Chris Robinson wanted to implement earlier was being brought in.
Under A Mountain
I like the exotic Zep vibe on this.
Good Friday
I disliked this song when I first heard it and when I covered The Black Crowes in The Record Vault post a while ago, I ignored it, but goddamn, time passes, moods change and suddenly the Country Soul Rock vibe of the song is hooking me in.
Nebekanezer
If the title doesn’t capture me, I’ve already formed a bias against the song. And while the song has a sludgy Blues groove with a little bit of a Beatles influence in the vocals, there isn’t enough meat to satisfy.
One Mirror Too Many
The Yardbirds, The Rolling Stones and the psychedelic 60’s and 70’s are re-incarnated into this song.
Blackberry
Soul Rock was big around this time in Australia because of the movie “The Commitments” which came out in 1991.
Girl From A Pawnshop
It was my favourite track when I first heard the album and it still is today.
The whole country ballad rock vibe just connected with me and the vocal delivery from Chris Robinson is excellent.
Only Halfway To Everywhere
With the horns, guest vocalists and Chris Robinson bordering between BB King and Steven Tyler vocally, this song feels like a group of musos getting together and having a jam session, with a lot of booze flowing.
Bring On, Bring On
Like other songs on this album, it’s the Led Zep acoustic influence which shines through on this track that hooks me in.
How Much For Your Wings?
The reddest of lights shine on you, young man, let God be with you..
And the acoustic guitars start and there is something about the vocals when Chris Robinson sings, “how much for your wings?” that captures me.
Let Me Share The Ride
A blues groove, but the horns give it that soul rhythm and blues feel.
Better When You’re Not Alone
More acoustic guitars and then the band kicks in. And I feel like I’m driving on the open road out of my town, hopeful and excited.
Evil Eye
It’s too psychedelic for me.
And they went on tour for this album, which took em towards the end of 1997. After this, the band got together and recorded another album with the working title of “Band”.
Which was also scrapped.
Guitarist Marc Ford was fired and bassist Johnny Colt subsequently left the group, dissolving the Crowes’ line-up of the previous three albums.
The unreleased tracks from the “Tall” and “Band” sessions surfaced among tape trading circles and were later officially released on the 2006 compilation “The Lost Crowes”.
The late 90’s and early 2000’s was a time of pushing the limits of heavy metal music. From when I first came across metal albums in the 80’s, the genre had evolved so much that the bands classed as metal back then became totally unrecognisable to the new breed of bands doing the rounds.
Bands like Tool, Dream Theater, NIN, Ministry, Faith No More, Limp Bizkit, Fear Factory, Korn, Creed, Disturbed, Slipknot, Mudvayne, Machine Head and Pantera pushed the genre forward during this period. Each act bringing into their sound something that wasn’t there before. Suddenly Metallica sounded like a pop band compared to these bands.
And then I came across Ill Nino. A fusion of Latin Flamenco rhythms and percussion with metal riffs and singing which moved between aggressive screaming and melodic singing.
On September 18, 2001, Ill Niño released their debut album, “Revolution Revolución”.
The album was a commercial success for Roadrunner Records, moving over 350,000 albums worldwide in the first two years after release.
The Personnel for the album is Cristian Machado on Vocals and Samples, Jardel Martins Paisante and Marc Rizzo on Guitar, Lazaro Pina on Bass, Dave Chavarri on Drums and Samples and Roger Vasquez on Percussion.
And seeing a person called DJ Skratch on Turntables as an additional musician will either scare people off or make them curious.
God Save Us
It’s like Groove Nu-Metal. Vocally its aggressive in the verses, with a melodic Chorus.
Check out the flamenco like interlude at 2.30.
If You Still Hate Me
It’s like Industrial Nu-Metal at the start.
But at the 2 minute mark a flamenco metal section appears and then a head banging circle pit riff afterwards. The movement between styles is why this album got my attention.
Unreal
Distorted guitars and Latin percussion working to create something unique.
Nothing’s Clear
Screaming verses and a melodic Chorus. The duality of modern American metal at the start of the new century.
And chuck in a Bridge delivered in Spanish.
What Comes Around
The most catchiest song on the album. A Nu-Metal riff kicks it off, and then an atmospheric Korn like guitar riff in the verses, while the melodic singing carries the vocal melody.
Liar
The flamenco and percussion in the intro gives way to a Disturbed meets Limp Bizkit riff.
Rumba
The Latin percussion and distorted guitars is a delightful mash up. Vocally, the screaming loses me and the melodic singing re-captures my interest.
Predisposed
I like the Intro riff on this. Its head banging groove metal.
I Am Loco
Who isn’t loco these days?
No Murder
Press play to hear one guitar play a riff on the higher registers while another plays chords.
Rip Out Your Eyes
So much violence.
Revolution/Revolución
The intro riff is head banging heavy.
With You
It’s a flamenco acoustic rock cut. Santana is not the only musician that plays this style, but he is one of the biggest crossover artists, and because of that, this song reminds me of Santana.
The next album “Confession” is a lot more melodic and my favourite but if you want to start with something, then start with this.
“Hi Fi Way” is the second album by Australian rock band You Am I, released in 1995.
Wikipedia tells me that “Hi Fi Way” reached #1 on the local albums chart and is one of the most influential and critically acclaimed Australian albums of the 1990s.
I remember this album being released and I also remember not being too enthralled by the singles at the time.
Coming off a decade plus diet of 80s hard rock, I was a bit destroyed when the labels started abandoning the genre in favour of grunge acts. So I went into a deep dive into the 70s. And that deep 70s dive became the reason why I ignored You Am I.
Main songwriter Tim Rogers later said that he was really high and drunk the whole time. And he wanted the album to sound huge but with the way that he sings and plays guitar it ended up sounding scrappier than he intended.
They had had seven days to make it, while living in New York.
The band is Tim Rogers on Vocals, Guitar, Mellotron, Hammond organ, Andy Kent on Bass and Rusty Hopkinson on Drums.
Lee Ranaldo from Sonic Youth is Producing. Stylistically it’s like punk and grunge.
Ain’t Gone And Open
It’s like a garage jam.
Minor Byrd
It’s a skip for me.
She Digs Her
Remember the lyrical theme from “Same Ol Situation” from the Crue.
A guy falls for a girl who is into girls and the guy is still thinking that’s okay, maybe he’ll get a threesome out of this.
Well, if you listen to the song; that also didn’t happen.
Cathy’s Clown
It’s almost like The Easybeats meets Radiohead meets The Who.
Jewels and Bullets
It’s a punk pop song and I like it.
There’s a drink you can drown in Choose a blanket to die in
When you’re out on the streets only a few things matter.
Purple Sneakers
Folk Rock.
Found out what shame can mean In purple sneakers and grey jeans
Yep to some people this look wouldn’t cut it and they’ll do their best to let the person know.
Pizza Guy
Grunge like.
Grab a six pack for the way home
Who doesn’t?
It’s a rite of passage. Well it used to be.
The Applecross Wing Commander
It’s got this Blue Oyster Cult and Free 70s vibe.
And although I have no idea what the song is about, the groove and attitude of the song grabs me.
Stray
I like the Soul Bluesy Intro on this.
The Vines would build a career playing songs like this.
Handwasher
It’s got this Hunters And Collectors vibe.
Wash my hands in shame 4000 times a day And when I make it on home There’s a smell that always stays
Sometimes the stain never comes out. When I used to be a fitter and machinist the grease was in the skin.
Punkarella
It’s high energy.
Coffee teeth and a cigarette heart for sale
Great lyrics.
Ken (The Mother Nature’s Son)
You’ve lived on beans and rice And fell for Jesus Christ
Everyone is looking for some place to belong.
Gray
It’s a skip.
How Much Is Enough
It’s melancholic. My favorite song.
In the morning When you’ve wiped his taste away The last of the red and all the records you played How much is enough?
Sometimes it’s enough for a few hours and then the night repeats.
There’s a review at Sputnik Music which summarizes the album as “The backyard gig, captured on CD”.
And I agree.
The album is mentioned by members of Jet and Wolfmother as an influence. And for a little while it looked like You Am I was going to break into the US, but that that never came.
destroyerofharmony 