Category Archives: Unsung Heroes

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

1984 – VI – The Reckless Knights Of Thunder Seven And The Purple Rain

Was the news we read and saw on TV ever legit, independent and free from corporate interests.

These days, it’s evident that 99% of news publishers are teamed up with a corporation who sets the agenda. And the public interests are not served at all. Which means, the public needs to read critically and make up their own mind on the situation.

But researchers are finding out that the majority will read the headline, maybe the opening paragraph and then move on to another story. It wasn’t like that before. I remember my older brothers buying three different newspapers, from three different organisations. And the same stories had vastly different headlines.

Sort of like when you purchased a music magazine back in the day. When it was all just metal, it was okay. Then the magazines diverged into metal and rock and suddenly, the metal mags had nothing good to say about “rock” bands which a few months before were “metal” bands. And then those metal bands became hair bands and the cycle repeats.

Anyway, here are some artists that rock as hard as the rock heads and metal heads but you wouldn’t see them written up in any of those magazines.

Here are the previous parts of the 1984 series if you’re interested;

Part 1 – Ep 1

Part 2 – Ep 2

Part 3 – Are We Evil Or Divine?

Part 4 – The Warning

Part 5 – Grace Under Pressure

And here is the Spotify playlist for Part 6.

TNT – Knights Of The New Thunder

TNT.

What can I say about this band?

From Finland, who had a record deal with Polygram. They had a guitar hero in Ronnie Le Tekro who is still virtually unknown outside of the TNT fan base and a vocalist in Tony Harnell (Hansen on the album) who had the chops.

They got me interested, they lost me, they got me interested again and lost me again. I still check them out to this day.

Let’s talk about the title track.

Has anyone heard it?

“Knights Of The New Thunder” has an intro keyboard riff that Jack White might have heard at some point and then decided to use that same keyboard riff for a song called “Seven Nation Army” by White Stripes.

And of course, “Seven Nation Army” becomes huge, makes a lot of money and Jack White, along with his publisher are now going after any artist who has anything similar. A recent Eurovision winner from Israel copped a lawsuit from Jack White’s publisher.

But, but, TNT was there many years before that. And I am sure if someone digs in deeper, they will find that riff in previous songs before that even going back to classical music.

Regardless both songs are great.

“Seven Seas” has a riff which I like and a chorus melody which is catchy.

“We are rulers of the ocean, kings of the seven seas”

“Tor With The Hammer” is dumb lyrically, but a great listen for the riffs.

“Break The Ice” and “U.S.A” is typical LA Sunset Strip fare and either song could have appeared on any RATT or Motley Crue album.

And TNT’s style on this album is something that Crimson Glory would use and follow a few years later. But TNT would keep evolving and changing from their metal influences into a more glam rock direction.

Honeymoon Suite – Honeymoon Suite

They did cross over into the mainstream for a while, but for me, it’s the album songs, that rock.

“Burning In Love” is the song that hooked me musically, especially the section from 2 minutes onwards. And the outro solo is perfect.

“Stay In The Light” has a cool palm muted arpeggio riff in the intro, which made me pick up the guitar to learn it. And the keyboard lead over it which is the chorus vocal line,  reminds me of the UK pop scene like Duran Duran and New Order.  

“Now That You Got Me” has a cool distorted riff which drives the song. And the chorus musically, is syncopated with the keys and the guitar and it’s addictive.

“Funny Business” is a feel good up-tempo rocker which feels like it could come from a Van Halen album.

Lyrically, there was no connection for me, but musically, the four songs above connected enough to make me want to learn how to play them.

Bryan Adams – Reckless

This album was my first exposure to Bryan Adams. And it’s a perfect introduction to any person wanting to learn how to write good hard rock songs with a pop rock influence. It had a mixture of a lot of styles, like a classic Led Zep/Queen album and man, didn’t the music buying public splash out on it.

The unsung heroes on this album is the song writing team of Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance. They had a connection, and hell, they even wrote, “War Machine” for Kiss.

Guitarist Keith Scott, decorates the songs with leads and licks and melodic motifs. Finally, the guitar playing abilities of Bryan Adams is never mentioned, but the dude has chops and he can play.

The power chords of “One Night Love Affair” in the intro got me interested. The arpeggios in the Chorus seal the deal and the vocal melody remains with me long after the song is finished. Basically I was hooked.

“She’s Only Happy When She’s Dancing” could have come from a John Cougar or Bruce Springsteen album. But it’s all Bryan.

“Run To You” is a song I used to cover in bands and it has that iconic guitar arpeggio intro which is as good as the “Stairway To Heaven” or “Smoke On The Water” or “Enter Sandman” riffs.

The ballad “Heaven” is huge and when you translate the vocal melody, the piano and the guitar to one guitar track, it’s worth investing time to learn.

“Somebody” is my favourite track, and I think it’s because it reminds me of “We Don’t Need Another Hero” from Tina Turner and the Mad Max movie “Beyond Thunderdome”.

And the knockout punches keep coming with “Summer of 69”. It wasn’t a hit when it came out as a single, because during the album run, people had already purchased the full album, and they knew the song, so there was no need to purchase the single.  

Sort of like “Wanted Dead Or Alive” from Jovi. It’s a classic track, a hit, but it never went to number 1 as a single, because by the time it came out as single, everyone who was into the band already had the album.

The “Kids Wanna Rock” has this 12 bar blues style which works perfectly in a pop context and it was so true in the 80’s, everywhere artists went, the kids wanted to turn up, pay for their ticket and rock. A duet with Tina Turner called “It’s Only Love” rounds out a perfect album for me. The last two songs could have been left off and no one would have complained.

And looking back at this album today, I think the secret to liking it for me is the fact that each song made me want to pick up the guitar and learn it. So I invested time, learning the licks, the chords and in some cases, the vocal melodies.

Prince and The Revolution – Purple Rain

I’m not a Prince fan by any means, but man, on occasions he wrote songs which crossed over into multiple styles and eras.

“When Doves Cry” has a drum beat which establishes a cool groove and Prince’s vocal melody is perfect, outlining the chord structure with the words.

“Purple Rain” and “Faithfully” from Journey are pretty similar but hey, no one in the music business wrote a song without hearing a song before it.  

REO Speedwagon – Wheels Are Turnin’

How do you follow up the mega million “Keep On Lovin’ You”?

The thing is you don’t, but artists, pushed on by their labels, want the same public acceptance for their new tracks as their old tracks. So the artist is now writing to get another hit, instead of writing to please themselves and to get their message across.

“Can’t Fight This Feeling” was the song offered up as “Keep On Loving You” part 2. And it got what the label wanted, but it also further removed the rockers from REO’s audience, because songs like “Gotta Feel More” don’t even get a mention these days. It’s a rocker and there is this synth line which is addictive and the guitars do a great job decorating it. “Rock And Roll Star” is another cool song with an outro solo which I like.

Triumph – Thunder Seven

They could write songs and they could really play their instruments. Sometimes when you get musicians this good into a room, it becomes a mess of epic proportions and sometimes, you get some great music. Triumph sits on the great side, as they had a magical run up to the late 80’s.

Man that riff to kick off “Spellbound”.

How good is it?

And when the whole band kicks in, it’s perfect.

How good is “Rock Out, Roll On”?

The intro riff and feel reminds me of the “Kashmir” groove plus the vocal melody and performance is excellent.

“Cool Down” is Led Zep territory and “Follow Your Heart” takes it out of the ballpark with its “Dance The Night Away” riff merged with “Unchained”.

“Time Goes By” is sitting at track 5 and its one of those tracks that highlights the diversity of “Triumph”, morphing between metal like riffage to hard rock riffage to pop rock riffage.

And that’s where I stop my listening experience with this album. Those first five tracks are all killer, no filler.

The Cars – Heartbeat City

I didn’t hear this album until I heard the song “Drive” in 2007 from the first Transformers movie.

And man, I was surprised how much I enjoyed the album.

It’s different, but it still rocked enough for me to pick up the guitar and play along to it. You know how songs from artists like Depeche Mode, Duran Duran and New Order work well in a rock and metal context, well, The Cars fall into that same category.

“Hello Again” starts off with a layered vocal line that could have come from Def Leppard and combined with “Looking For Love” it’s a great opening one two combination.

“Magic” could have come from any rock band with it’s “I Love Rock N Roll” inspired riff in the verses and a pre chorus which sounds like it came from “Hysteria” before “Hysteria” was written.

And “Drive” is one of those tracks that crosses over. It’s got a simple drum groove and the iconic lyric of “whose gonna drive you home” that remains long after the song is done.

“Why Can’t I Have You” has all the new tech from the mid 80’s around midi’s and a multi-layered Chorus like Def Leppard in the Chorus.

Steve Perry – Street Talk

I got this album at the same time I got “Raised On Radio” from Journey, well into the 90’s. I was expecting both albums to be rock albums and it wasn’t to be.

In saying that, “Oh Sherrie” has keyboard parts which sound good on guitar and man, Steve Perry can carry a song on his voice alone.

To me, the best songs like “You Should Be Happy”, “Captured By The Moment” and “Strung Out” are hidden deep within the album. The verses on “You Should Be Happy” are excellent, as the riff rocks and Perry’s vocal melody is hooky. “Captured By The Moment” has an arena rock chorus while “Strung Out” could have come from a Bryan Adams album.

38 Special – Tour De Force

Another band I got into very late.

“If I’d Been The One” just feels good as soon as it blasts out from the speakers. “Back Where You Belong” continues that feel good theme. It’s pop hard rock at its best.

“Twentieth Century Fox” is more on the rock side, with its Status Quo meets AC/DC vibe meets ZZ Top “La Grange” vibe.

“Long Distance Affair” has a cool lead break, “One Of The Lonely Ones” is back to the melodic rock and “Undercover Lover” closes the album with pure hard rock gold.

Basically, it’s a cool melodic rock album to listen to.

Jefferson Starship – Nuclear Furniture

The big keyboard riffs in “Layin’ It On The Line” get me hooked.

“Sorry Me, Sorry You” rocks out of the gate, with a lead guitar that reminds me of “Wild Frontier” from Gary Moore and the vocal melody in the chorus is excellent.

“Shining In The Moonlight” has a cool riff to kick it off before it morphs into clean tone arpeggios for the verses.

Basically, this is another cool melodic rock album to listen to.

John Waite – No Brakes

I wasn’t expecting the Van Halen “Hot For Teacher” style drumming and fast picked guitar riff in “Saturday Night” to kick off a John Waite album. But it did and it kept me listening.

And then it went into the big radio rocker, “Missing You” which to be honest is a cool listen. But man, after that frantic opening song, “Missing You” as track two was just too much of a departure. John Kalodner should have been on the scene here to co-ordinate the track sequencing.

“Dark Side Of The Sun” is subdued as it smoulders along while “Euroshima” is another fast paced rocker.

The Cult – Dreamtime

How good is the start of “Spiritwalker” with the arpeggio guitar riff and the drum groove along with Ian Astbury’s native Indian like chant?

And ’83rd Dream” has this progressive feel to it which I like. “A Flower In The Desert” has “The Call of Ktulu” style riff, which is based around the “Kashmir” riff which moves up chromatically.

Fates Warning – Night on Brocken

This album came to me at a time when I was in the mindset to hear progressive metal and Fates Warning became a favourite instantly.

“Buried Alive” kicks it off and “Kiss Of Death” musically sounds like a Rush song, with the distortion cranked to 10 and the tempo’s increased a little bit more.

“S.E.K” is a short minute and a half song, that’s like a classical/flamenco style acoustic guitar arrangement.

The opening riff in “Misfit” reappeared again in “Be Quick Or Be Dead” by the might Maiden and a harmony lead that reminds me of Megadeth’s “She Wolf”.

“Shadowfax” and “Jump In The Fire” sound like they were written from the same source material, being Rush. But after the intro, it sounds like a Maiden song.

Well that’s Part 6 done. 1984 was a big year for releases, so there are a few more parts to come. Stay tuned.

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The Record Vault – Adelitas Way

The self-titled debut was released in 2009. I downloaded it illegally and it got me by the throat, smacked me down and made me a fan.

How good is “Invincible”?

It’s as good as any monster 80’s song, plus it was featured in the WWF or WWC and it just has over a million views on YouTube and on Spotify it has close to 25 million. I guess Spotify is the place fans go to listen these days. But to the labels, YouTube is still a problem.

“Scream” has a lead break that has me playing air guitar. “Dirty Little Thing” is about a woman who takes him to places that he’s never been and it would have been a number one hit if it was on a Motley Crue album.

“Last Stand” has clean tone arpeggios which got me interested, a vocal line and tone in the verses which remind me of Chris Daughtry and a Chorus vocal tone which reminds me of the Hinder vocalist. Basically, these little connections to other bands hooked me in, which is rare for a ballad.

“Hate Love” rocks from the gate and it has a lyric line which speaks truth, “every time that I hate you I love you.”

“So What If You Go” has a riff that makes me want to pick up the guitar and the vocal melody, laced with anger, remains long after the song is finished.

“Closer To You” is slower, but still hooky, while “Just A Little Bit” is one of the best Bon Jovi songs that Bon Jovi didn’t write. Just think of the song “One Wild Night”.

“All Falls Down” is “Simple Man” from Lynyrd Skynyrd re-written into a shorter concise pop rock song and “My Derailment” shows the train wreck a relationship can wreak on the heart and mind of a person. The closer, “Brother” is a cross between “Drops Of Jupiter” and “With A Little Help Of My Friends”.

And I listened to the album on YouTube.

The comments from people who listened to the tracks, couldn’t believe that they didn’t have over 100 million views per track.

With so much music out there, the audience is fragmented and for it to cross over into the pop mainstream, it needs promotion like the old days, but then again, the audience listening to music is different to what it was in the old days and scorched earth marketing polices don’t work.

Also Spotify has overtaken YouTube as the place to listen to music.

“High School Valedictorian” came out in 2011. And album number 2 didn’t disappoint. Like the debut, I got the album for free, but man, I was hooked, and I committed.

Do you feel “The Collapse”?

And I’ll take, I don’t ask
This breath will be your last
Do you feel the collapse?

I know one thing. When I felt wronged in the past, I wanted that person to face hell. But like anything, as you get older, that lizard brain response just seemed so dumb.

“Sick” has 4.8 million views on YouTube. It’s standard modern rock, with a chorus that screams, if you’re sick like me there’s no stopping now. Sort of like in Maths, two negatives make a positive, two sickos make a positive sicko or something else. Maybe the mathematical analogy wasn’t the best.

“Alive” has almost 2.5 million views on YouTube. The theme of “being alive when your with someone you love” might be clichéd, but you can still rock out to it, especially when it is done right.

And three songs in, I remember clearly why this band really connected with me. The first song reminded me of Shinedown, the second song reminded me of Breaking Benjamin and the third song reminded me of Lifehouse. It’s those little connections to past bands that hook me in and then they deliver with a song which hangs around long after its finished.

“Criticize” foot stomps its way through my mind, with the brilliant chorus lines of “I like the way you won’t apologize, I like the way you just demoralize, I like the way you always roll your eyes, Someone as perfect as you is hard to criticize”.

Man, I’ve been on both sides of that. I’ve thrown those words out and those words have been thrown back at me. And there is no winner or making up when it gets to that stage. It’s just a matter of time before the break happens.

“Good Enough” continues the themes present in “Criticize”.

There was a time
When my best was good enough

Damn right, once upon a time, everything was okay.

So how did it all go wrong?

Did responsibilities and pressures of life get in the way of friendships or relationships?

“Cage The Beast” has the theme of being unable to cage the beast inside. Listening to it today, it gets me thinking of The Beast character in the Glass movie.

Check out the breakdown section with the lead break.

Plus it’s one of their top 5 songs on Spotify with over 7 million streams.

“I Can Tell” deals with unreciprocated love. They are still together, but one partner has already left the relationship emotionally and mentally, just not physically.

“Somebody Wishes They Were You” has a lyric line that you can tattoo on your skin.

Life ain’t that bad, look what you have
When the highs aren’t so high, just do what you can

Be grateful each day that you have survived as humans by natures design are meant to survive and produce. And as much as we wish every day to be perfect, and every high to last forever, they don’t.

And then Adelitas Way disappeared. “Stuck” came out on 2014, but I didn’t know about it and I don’t remember hearing it.

“Getaway” came out in 2016 and I was heavily into streaming services. And it was lost in the noise, although I did hear the title track which I enjoyed.

Since then they have dropped “Notorious” in 2017 and a new single called “What It Takes” has hit streaming services recently, so I’m expecting a new album to drop.

And the one song which really stands out during this period is “Ready For War (Pray For Peace)”. If you haven’t heard it, you should.

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The Record Vault – Adrenaline Mob

Omertà

2012 gave us “Omerta” and I was very intrigued to hear the metal project that involved Portnoy.

It is a balls to the wall metal classic in the style of Accept, Scorpions, Dio merged with the new metal stylings of Disturbed and Godsmack. “Undaunted”, “All On The Line”, “Angel Sky”, “Indifferent” and “Hit The Wall” are worthy additions to any metal bands setlist.

The cover of Duran Duran’s “Come Undone” is also a fitting metal tribute to a pop tune.

The album was number 4 on my list for releases in 2012, that’s how high I rated it.

I hold the vocal talents of Russell Allen and the guitar talents of Mike Orlando in high regard. And Mike Portnoy commands the drum kit.

2013 gave us “Coverta” and 2014 gave us “Men Of Honour”.

“Men Of Honour” is a really good solid hard rock / heavy metal album in the same vein as all of the great hard rock albums of this genre from the Eighties.

And that is what Adrenaline Mob essentially is. Seasoned professionals collaborating on a hard rock project. For some reason they remind me of Night Ranger and how all those band members had past successes with previous bands.

Listening to “Men Of Honour”, it comes across as a band having fun and man it rocks hard and it is saturated with groove.

“The Mob Is Back” has that Eddie Van Halen “Eruption” thing for the first minute before it moves into the actual song. Remember the era when bands used to write songs purely for the rock n roll show instead of the charts. Well, this is one such song. It is a live song. A song to let our hair down to and rock away.

“Turn out the lights, we are all here tonight, We came to throw down, the Mob’s back in town.”

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 more with improvised abandonment then precision and I like that.

I always saw Adrenaline Mob as a band that will make their money from touring and merchandise because their songs sound like they are specifically written for the live show.

2015 gave us “Dearly Departed”.

In between, Mike Portnoy left and AJ Pero came in. They went on tour and AJ Pero died. Bassist, John Moyer also left and other bassists came in.

Finally, Adrenaline Mob would release one more album, “We The People” in 2017. I don’t own it but I stream it.

As expected, they went on tour and an accident on the road, claimed the life of bassist David Z and their tour manager. The other guys also suffered injuries. Mike Orlando has said in recent interviews, that there are too many scars to go back to the Mob but anything is possible.

So we wait.

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The Record Vault – Audrey Horne

Their 2010 self–titled album and the song “Sail Away” hooked me in. So I went from downloading the band illegally, to being a buyer in 2013, when they released “Youngblood”.

And I liked it.

And I’ve liked the albums that have come after in “Pure Heavy”, released in 2014 and “Blackout” released in 2018 especially the songs, “This Is War” and “Audrevolution”.

And the lyrics in the “This Is War” chorus are perfect, “I’m fuel to the fire, Flame rising higher, This is war, We’ll never be silent or divided, This is war.”

And of course, “Audrevolution” has the lines, “Welcome to the Audrevolution, 666 our own constitution.”

I digress.

Back to “Youngblood”.

Every time I see the title “Youngblood”, two things come to mind. The Rob Lowe ice hockey movie and the song from Whitesnake from the “Saints and Sinners” album.

But “Redemption Blues” kicks the album off.

The harmony intro hooks me in right away and I love the 12/8 feel in the verses which reminds me of “Phantom Of The Opera” from Iron Maiden. And that riff after the solo, it’s metal all the way to the steel making factory.

And the way they sing “And I’m going nowhere” is perfect.

These bones of mine are dressed to kill

I’ve seen people in the throes of addiction and man, I couldn’t believe how wraith like they looked. You see when you are on a high, you don’t even think about eating or sleeping, unless you pass out.

I made myself what I am now and I lost myself

And there is no one to blame except yourself. The decisions you made in your past have all led to this destination. I read some research that said trauma is generational and it takes up to six generations for the trauma that their ancestors witnessed to pass. Maybe there is a scientific explanation as to why some people have a more addictive attitude than others.

“Straight Into Your Grave” is up next with its “Highway Star” merged with “Speed King” merged with “Neon Knights” kind of vibe.

Tellin’ lies as I look in their faces
I’ve got it all but I could always use some more

The people in your inner circle trust you. They will give you the benefit of the doubt and they will be there for you. You should think twice before you lie to them. It doesn’t work well and what you would end up doing is ruining a precious relationship. These people will tell you the truth and will challenge you to become a better version of yourself.

“Youngblood” at number three, keeps the knock out punches going and if the riff doesn’t grab you, then the vocal melody in the verses will and if that doesn’t do it, the chorus vocal melody will. And if none of those grab you, then this band isn’t for you.

Lyrically, “Youngblood” comes across as misfit, a rebel and an outcast, who even showed the devil how to steal.

And that lead break, especially the harmonies works so well.

“He learned to read between the lines and he carved the things he’s seen Into his skin” is a brilliant lyric line. The carving bit can be tattoos or self-harm or just picking at the skin.

“There Goes a Lady” starts off with a riff that reminds me of “Perfect Strangers” from Deep Purple and a simple connection like that hooks me in.

“Cards with the Devil” just rumbles in with a riff that is reminiscent of a David Lee Roth era Van Halen song and I love these little connections to the past.

The gravedigger got his eye on me
He carved my name with his bony hand
The footsteps in the hall
Are makin’ me feel uncomfortable
And I am runnin’ out of sand

“Pretty Little Sunshine” at track 7 has one of the most classic of drum beats to kick it off, and you get to hear how they are driven out of their minds by the pretty little sunshine. The lead break in the song reminds me of “Love Gun”.

“The Open Sea” is one of my favourite tracks. The exotic sounding riff in the verses is heavy as lead (and also reminiscent of “Stockholm Syndrome” from Muse) and the chorus is arena rock all the way.

“This Ends Here” is another classic track buried deep towards the end of the album and if you don’t have the patience to listen to a whole album you would have missed out on hearing it.

Musically, Audrey Horne is a cross between Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy, Rainbow, Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Kiss, AC/DC, Bad Company, Van Halen, Ozzy (solo era), Judas Priest, Whitesnake and Toto and any other influence the guys in the band have been exposed to. So many different styles from so many different bands and eras, its pure eargasm.

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Things My Father Said

“It was all about rebellion”, my Dad once said to me. “Moving away from what’s expected”.

The things my father said
Would make me a better man,
Hard work and the love of friends
A woman that understands.

My dad was born in 1944 while Europe was still in War. It’s funny how people still continued to find ways to live with love and hope while madmen proceeded to kill millions and spread fear.

And once the war was done, the children of the war/post war became the twenty year olds in the 1960s, looking for a different kind of freedom and trying to find their place in life. They didn’t have the fear to live their lives to what others might think they should.

My Dad crossed oceans on a ship to come to Australia, even after his Dad threatened to kill the whole family if he left. He didn’t have to leave, he was comfortable but “then again no one ever accomplished anything from their comfort zone”.

When he arrived in Australia, he was close to death from sea sickness and when they made land in Melbourne, he was pale and waif like.

We lived in the best neighbourhood, surrounded by beaches and steel factories. We didn’t knock down or rebuild, we maintained what we had. The corrugated iron roof was rusted and leaking, so Dad changed that with terracotta tiles. Inside, the walls looked a bit tattered so dad went to work replacing those walls as well. Little did we know that the fibro on the walls contained asbestos. We broke it, stamped on it, played with it and what not. Not ideal knowing what we know now, however that’s how it was.

But when it came to food and entertainment, there was no limit. My dad was a muso and made decent money from it. For a few years in the 80’s he was making more money playing than working overtime in the steel factories. He would come home, I would count his cash and then he’d give me a $20 note for my efforts of counting. I went straight to Rings Music World or I kept it safe until the weekend markets, so I could buy vinyl.

And my dad is funny. He always looked for humour in life, plus he liked to get on the drink. But when it was time to get serious, he was. Fearfully serious. I feared him because as a kid growing up, I hardly saw him. He was too busy working and bringing money home to keep the roof over our heads. It wasn’t until I got older that I built a relationship with him.

When I got my license, Dad said I could drive his van, as long as I woke up early to take him to work and that I was home between 3pm to 3.30pm, to take his call and he would tell me if he was either finishing at 4pm and to pick him up, or he was working overtime and that he would call again at another time he selected for pick up. I know it sounds complicated but it worked.

For me, waking up at 6am to take him to work was no different to waking up at 7am. The “being at home” in the afternoon to wait for the phone call was hard (especially during summer) and this was in the era of pre-mobiles, so you HAD to be home to take the phone call.

One time I wasn’t home, so Mum took the call and Dad said to pick him up at 4pm. But she couldn’t pass on the message to me, because this was the pre-mobiles era and she didn’t know where I was. So Dad waited and when I was a no show he walked home. I got home at 5.30pm and Dad was there. My heart sank. He looked angry, disappointed and afraid.

“Are you okay, I was worried”, he said.

I replied back I was fine and started to stutter a response. He said there was no need to talk, he’s just happy that I’m safe.

He didn’t care for my reasons and to be honest I don’t really remember why I wasn’t home. It wasn’t for any earth shattering life altering experience.

And the stroke in February, 2006 should have killed him and if it didn’t kill home it should have paralyzed him according to the Doctors. But it just took his speech. He still rises each morning, drives, wipes his own arse and smiles when he sees his family.

And for some reason today “Things My Father Said” from Black Stone Cherry and “Father, Mother, Son” from The Scream played. And it got me thinking about Dad.

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The Record Vault – Alter Bridge

 December 29, 2002 and Creed take to the stage in Chicago. Scott Stapp performs, rolling around on the stage floor, passing out and going missing for long periods between songs. In the aftermath of the show, a class-action lawsuit is filed against the band by fans, due to Stapp’s behaviour.

I watched their Sydney show months earlier and I thought Scott Stapp was acting weird, so it was no surprise to me that by the end of the year, the band was imploding.

I am a Creed fan because of Mark Tremonti. Every time he was interviewed in the Guitar magazines I used to buy, he came across as very knowledgeable about his instrument and his influences which involved Randy Rhoads, Slayer, Metallica and shredders from the 80’s.

When I heard that he started a new project with a release ready for 2004, I was interested, and although the songs on the debut sound like Creed songs, the biggest difference is that “more guitar solos” started creeping in and vocally, Myles Kennedy has a bigger range, however I am also a fan of Scott Stapp’s baritone, Eddie Vedder style voice.

The single “Open Your Eyes” comes out first, and I am a first week buyer of it. Plus I always enjoyed buying singles that had non-album tracks, in this case, the song “Save Me” which appeared on the “Elektra” movie soundtrack.

Then the album “One Day Remains” comes out and I am a first week buyer again. And like the single, it’s advertised as “the guys from Creed with Myles Kennedy on vocals”, but hey, if this link to the past was needed to get them an audience, then so be it. Because the next album, “Blackbird” was just advertised as Alter Bridge.

“Blackbird” the song also has one of the best interludes I’ve ever heard, with two guitar solos, one from Myles Kennedy and another shred like solo from Mark Tremonti. And the way it all builds back up into the song, is excellent.

And “III” is dark, different. “Slip To The Void” kicks it all off with a sad synth riff. “Isolation” brings the speed metal, which they more or less touched on with each previous album.

The “Fortress” album is unpredictable and even Tremonti’s use of the wah, became non-existent, his use of descending legato licks got less and chicken picking came in.

“Cry Of Achilles”, “Addicted To Pain” and “Bleed It Dry” is a triple combo knockout punch and the piece d’resistance is the title track “Fortress”, especially that “Revelation (Mother Earth” influenced section.

And all of their albums are on Spotify to stream and by doing this post I realized I need to add “The Last Hero” and their new one to my collection.

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

The Record Vault – The Almighty

The Hot Metal magazine in Australia did a stellar review of the album which got me interested and the cover art was enough to get me to pick it up and stare it for a while, while the track titles sealed the deal.

Ricky Warwick is now the front man of Black Star Riders, but once upon a time he was the front man for a very underrated band called “The Almighty” who are from Scotland. “Soul Destruction” is the second studio album released by Polydor Records. 

“Crucify” kicks the album off with a double kick drum intro which brings back memories of “Overkill” from Motorhead.  Ricky Warwick vocally brings his Brian Johnson style instead of his Phil Lynott voice.

“Free ‘N’ Easy” is one of their best tracks. It should have been the catch cry of the Napster generation with the lyric line, “Everything is so free and easy, everything is so free and wild”.

“Joy Bang One Time” has a riff that reminds of “Psycho Love” from Skid Row, merged with “Welcome To The Jungle” and “My Michelle” from “Appetite For Destruction” and the song is telling you to lose your mind for that joy bang one time. 

“Love Religion” has this swampy delta blues riff to kick it off, which i dig.

“Friends won’t answer your phone call” kicks off the “Bandaged Knees” chorus and at 6 minutes long, it’s not a radio friendly tune, but it got more heart and soul and rock and roll attitude than anything that was doing the charts.

“Little Lost Sometimes” is like “Hey Jude” merged with “Let It Be” merged with “Every Rose Has Its Thorn”. And at track 8, this seven minute song is buried deep in the album. Press play and allow yourself to get a little lost sometimes.

“Devil’s Toy” is a classic Warwick cut, with “Love, only love, love is the devils toy” being the catch cry.

The song “Soul Destruction” never made it to the album, but there is a demo on YouTube which is raw, full of attitude and the rock and roll spirit. Crank it.

 

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

The Record Vault – Anew Revolution

“Rise”came out in 2008.

I downloaded it via a cyber locker like Rapidshare or MegaUpload.

The way cyber lockers worked was;

  • a normal blog site would put up links to the music.
  • The links would refer you to the cyber locker website.
  • You would wait 90 seconds or less for the ads to play and the download link would be made available to you.
  • Eventually the U.S government via the sponsorships of the RIAA and MPAA went after these cloud storage cyber locker sites.

Remember Kim Dotcom from MegaUpload. His house was raided like he was a terrorist in the morning and all because he provided a service to people to store files in the cloud.

A lot of people used these sites to store their photos or work documents and they lost it all when the US Government went after these sites and took possession of their servers.

Anyway, going back to “Rise”. I liked it, so I purchased it. And the below is from a review a did a while back.

Done

You wanna try me you might be the one who goes down
I’ve had it up to here with your rule
You’re such a two face it’s too late to take back those words

We have all dealt with people like this. One thing life has taught me is nothing is forever, and that means relationships.

Nme

I can’t believe I finally see the enemy in you

Yes, that best friend, might scheme and lie. Yes, that great love, might scheme and lie.

Eventually all the lies come down like a house of cards and those people you trusted suddenly become untrustworthy. And it’s hard to take when it first happens. There is anger, a feeling of being wronged and disbelief that it’s happened for so long.

But, humans are resilient and we rise again, better and stronger than before.

Generation

We are the voice of our lives,
But no one’s listening.

Eventually people will listen. It just takes time, effort and commitment. We give up too easily.

And how long, how long,
Can I fake this?

How long can we really fake our lives?

We have so many tools at our disposal to connect with people and we remain even more isolated.

Rise

Hey you
Stand the fuck up and rise
I’m not afraid

It’s pretty simple. Stand up, don’t be afraid. Easier said than done, because of what could come after. Life is always a struggle. People in power versus the ones who work for them. Some abuse the power they have and others are more utopian.

I can’t fake the way I feel inside
Every one of those eyes judging me
It’s funny how things change
I redefine how messed up this life can really be

There was a time when every action and every word that came from me was so thought out because I didn’t want to be judged or questioned for my actions/words. As I got older, I ceased to care about those kind of social arrangements. Life is too short for me to care and there are too many other things I care more about now.

Let Go

There’s history there and no one wants to let go, even though it’s over. The thought of starting over again is too frightening. So you hold on to each other, playing games, blaming each other even more and eventually you both stop trying to save what can’t be saved anymore. So you let go.

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

Damn Yankees and Tangier

Oh, you young Spotify AI, recommending albums I have heard a hundred times before you were even born, but since, I haven’t listened to em on your service you need to recommend them.

So based on my Sammy Hagar listening a few weeks ago, the AI is telling me I need to check out “Contagious” from Y&T.

However I cannot stream the album in Australia, which is bizarre and why would the AI recommend an album which is unavailable to be played here. And really, would you say that Y&T is similar to Sammy Hagar?

I wouldn’t, but hey, the AI is slowly learning from me, until the time comes when its fully formed killer robotic version takes over the world in “Judgement Day”.

Since there was no “Contagious” to listen to, next up on the AI list of artists similar to Sammy is Damn Yankees. Um, again not similar, however it’s pretty easy to tell that the coders of the AI probably watched “School Of Rock” and that was enough for them to know the family tree of rock music.

When is Spotify going to realise that they need people who know the genre and blog about it, to tell them how it is done and how to make connections?

Anyway, Damn Yankees released one hell of good rock album in 1990. The brainchild of John Kalodner, it worked musically for two rocking albums. You take a piece of Styx, a piece of Night Ranger and a whole lot of Ted Nugent and you get the big bang, because no one really knew how it would end up. Well two plus million in sales is how it ended up.

“Coming Of Age” rocks straight out of the gate, and the Nuge delivers a stellar pentatonic lead break. The lyrics of a little sister, hitting the stage and coming of age didn’t do it for me, but hey rock and roll was never about making sense.

“Bad Reputation” in the first 30 seconds starts off with a power chord groove which gets me hooked, then the single note riff gets the foot tapping, before it goes into a clean tone bass groove for the verse, which reminds of Def Leppard. It’s a keeper.

“High Enough” has a cool minor key verse and a vocal melody which is memorable.

The song “Damn Yankees” could have appeared on a Guns N Roses album.

“Come Again” is one of those songs that stands out, moving between power ballad and rocker, with great vocals and a melody which sticks around long after the song has finished. And that lead break from the Nuge, is one of his best, by far. It’s a pretty big reason why I press repeat on the song. Plus you get a bonus outro lead break as well.

“Rock City” is “Turbo Lover” re-incarnated and I dig it. It’s also a blast to play on the guitar. And those G string tearing bends and whammy dives from the Nuge are huge. After the solo break, he plays a staccato lick that reminds me of John Sykes (Children Of The Night) and Jake E Lee (Waiting For Darkness).

And “Piledriver” could have ended up on a Van Halen album with Sammy singing. Maybe that is the connection. I doubt it.

Next up, the AI is telling me artists similar to Hurricane. And the two that caught my attention are Tangier and their album “Four Winds” and “Up From The Ashes” from Dokken.

Now Tangier was more Lynyrd Skynyrd merged with Bad Company than hair rock or hair metal, but hey, the record label and magazines decided, the band was a hair band and it got promoted as such. Hence the connection to “Hurricane”. And when I got this album on LP, I spun it regularly.

“On The Line” is Tangier’s best song. There is a familiarity to it, the melody is strong and the music rocks and wails when it needs to. The lyrics paint a picture of meeting your end walking the streets at night, and it was never going to break the charts, but, hey, music was never meant to chart.

“Four Winds” is worthy of a title track and the opening lyric of feeling a cold wind blowing and how it tells a tale of a thousand years still connects. If only nature could talk, what stories it would have to spin.

“Fever For Gold” could have come from a Bad Company album and “Southbound Train” continues that Lynyrd Skynyrd merged with Bad Company vibe and I was always wondering the destination of the southbound train. Since South is down, I guess the promised land for Tangier is hell. Nice touch, I must say.

And “Sweet Surrender” feels like it came from a 1972 album, or maybe it’s the similarity to “Tie Your Mother Down” in the riff which gets me, or the harmony leads after the Chorus that sound like they came from a Sweet record.

“Bad Girl” has this repeating lick which grabs you by the throat and drowns you in the swamp it was created in.

Finally, the highly anticipated, expensive and delayed solo album from Don Dokken comes up on my home page as an album I need to play, however it is not available to be played in Australia. The algorithm again doesn’t even know that. Anyway a big missed opportunity by Geffen and Don Dokken to earn some extra cents. Then again since the masters of this recording got burned, who knows what copy of the album is available.

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

Twisted Sister and Slaughter

“Love Is For Suckers” was released in 1987. It was meant to be Dee Snider’s first solo album. Instead it was the final Twisted Sister album.

Twisted Sister had released three career defining albums in “Under The Blade”, “You Can’t Stop Rock N Roll” and “Stay Hungry”. Then came “Come Out And Play” and it didn’t do as well as “Stay Hungry” however that didn’t mean it was a shit album.

But hey, when something doesn’t meet the sales expectations, someone needs to be blamed. The tour also had a lot of cancellations and half empty arenas.

One of my favourite songs is “Wake Up (The Sleeping Giant)”. A simple riff in the key of Am kicks off the song before it morphs into an A5 Power Chord groove like Acca Dacca.

Who the hell are they to say
What we can do and how we can play

Anyone who has the money or the power or the authority, will always be looking to control others. It happens at home, in school, in the workplace and in society. Even in your friends circle you will have someone who is like a pseudo leader.

We got the numbers, yeah,
We got the might
We got the strength and
We got the right
We got the reason, yeah,
We got the night
So wake up the sleeping giant

I always saw the WE in the song, as the metal heads.

But by 1987, we had woken up and we needed something else lyrically. We had been hearing this same message for the last 6 years. Metallica nailed it a year later when they released an album about the corruption in the justice system. Black Sabbath Ozzy era came back into the public conversation because we liked to “smoke the sky” and there’s no better song for it then “Sweat Leaf”. Motley Corabi Crue wrote a killer track as well in 1994 called “Smoke The Sky”.

It’s our rights they’re abusing,
It’s our right to fight back
So rally the troops and
Let’s start the attack

It’s the war cry against the censorship that was taking place against heavy metal music. But the troops weren’t sure if they wanted to commit. A troop who was a rebel in 1983 and wasn’t gonna take it, had now graduated and is in college and are on their way to becoming part of the degree factory and another stat in the workforce.

“Tonight”, “Me And The Boys” with its “Summer Of 69” style riff and “Love Is For Suckers” are all strong songs.

“Hot Love” and “Yeah Right” are also cool and they round out the quality of the album for me.

The album had “Slippery When Wet” from Bon Jovi, “Girls Girls Girls” from Motley Crue, and “Whitesnake 1987” to compete against. All of those albums were in the Billboard Top 10. “Look What the Cat Dragged In” from Poison was just outside at number 13. “5150” was doing great business and “The Final Countdown” was also setting charts alight. To top it off, two 87 releases were slowly percolating lower down the charts getting ready to break through. Those albums being “Appetite For Destruction” and “Hysteria”.

Basically, a lot of competition for people’s ears and minds.

Going into 1995, Slaughter went from platinum darlings in 1992, to a band without a label. Their label Chrysalis Records was taken over by EMI and EMI didn’t have room for Slaughter.

How things change in three years?

The band also had issues within. Guitarist Tim Kelly was arrested on drug trafficking charges and had a legal mess up until 1997. A year later he would tragically die in a traffic accident. Main co-songwriter and bassist Dana Strum also injured his hand in a motorcycle accident so that delayed the writing and recording.

Lucky for the band a new label called CMC International was formed in 1991 and all they wanted to sign was hard rock and heavy metal artists.

So in 1995, Slaughter finally released “Fear No Evil” and no one even knew or cared. This is what its like when the record label doesn’t know how to compete in the current market place. Just because Grunge and Industrial Metal became mainstream it didn’t mean that hard rock and classic heavy metal had no audience. But the labels had no idea who and where the audience was. Most record shops would promote what was popular and only the ones who specialize in genres would have the rock and metal and even those stores would promote what was popular.

“Live Like There’s No Tomorrow” kicks off with an “Immigrant Song” vibe and wail, and you need to check out the solo section. And if you’re looking for a ballad like Slaughter, the opening track delivers a blistering speed metal song which I class as one of Slaughter’s best.

“Keep lookin’ forward don’t ever look back”, is one of the lines which stood out. And I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Mark Slaughter was thinking of Tim Kelly when he wrote the lines, “you’re livin’ everyday of your life like there’s no tomorrow”.

“Hard Times” is another song which is ignored but it shouldn’t be. Just press play to hear the intro riff which reminds me of “The Headless Cross” from Black Sabbath.

It also has cool lyrics like “so now you learn from the concrete and pavement, it’s hard to see through city lies” and those lines connected. Because failing leads to growth and the city lies shows how people are always scheming to get ahead to the detriment of others.

“Prelude / Outta My Head” is a great combination of an acoustical piece leading into a rocking track. These two songs wouldn’t light up the charts but they would become fan favorites. The riff is good and the lead break is excellent but the lyrics didn’t match the excellence.

“Unknown Destination” has a lead section which I dig and the lyrics about travellers from the East who don’t know where they’ll be tomorrow captures the gypsy life and maybe we all should be doing a bit of that. Instead we get up and get to our first destination, the office and then get to our next destination, home. In between, there will be other destinations like school drop off or pick up and getting some groceries from food outlets.

Anyway the messages I get from the two albums is don’t let people in power abuse your rights and don’t be afraid to fail, because if you want to live your life like no tomorrow you need to feel the concrete and pavement.

And both artists felt the concrete and pavement a few times in their careers.

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