Category Archives: Unsung Heroes

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

1983 – Part X

Welcome to the final blog post of my devotion to the year known as 1983.

The Playlist

David Bowie – Let’s Dance

Even Bowie, a pop artist in general, was accused of selling out by critics with this album. But Bowie wasn’t stupid. He knew he needed to have songs that could become video hits. MTV was rising faster than expected and if the 70’s rockers wanted a chance to play in the 80’s, they needed video hits. The album is co-produced by Nile Rodgers and it features a young guitarist named Stevie Ray Vaughan.

“Modern Love” and “China Girl” are two such pop songs that also work well in a rock/melodic metal setting.

Pink Floyd – “One Of The Few” from The Final Cut

I didn’t like the album when it came out and I still don’t like it today.

However, “One Of The Few” has a cool guitar riff that still stands the test of time for me. Wikipedia tells me, it was a left over cut from “The Wall” sessions called “Teach”. The only problem with the song is the length. It’s only a 1 minute and 12 seconds long and to me it shows the level of laziness Pink Floyd got too after the mega success of “The Wall”.

Roger Waters covers the vocals, the acoustic guitar and the synthesizer on the track.

Savatage – Sirens

Early albums have a certain raw innocence. According to Wikipedia, the albums was recorded and mixed all in one day (it’s all they could afford), with most of the songs prepared no more than a week before the recording session.

The title track about female sirens waiting to feast on men lost at sea is a perfect example. It’s heavy however it shows enough of the progressive fusion style that would appear on later Savatage albums.

Bryan Adams – Cuts Like a Knife

He co-wrote one of the heaviest Kiss songs in “War Machine” with Jim Vallance. His work ethic of writing songs for other artists, and releasing new music yearly led to the mega smash “Reckless” in 1984. Those hit’s don’t happen out of the blue or by releasing product every 2 to 3 years. They happen due to creativity and being constantly in the marketplace. Quantity creates quality.

“Cuts Like A Knife”

Drivin’ home this evening
I coulda sworn we had it all worked out

But you didn’t have it all worked out. You have those arguments, then you make up and you feel like it’s all okay, but the other half knows it’s time to move on.

“What’s It Gonna Be” is cool musically, but the lyrics don’t work for me and they don’t do the music justice.

Asia – Alpha

“Alpha” sold a lot but it was still seen as a failure by the record label because it didn’t match the sales of the debut album a year before. For me, even though Steve Howe was in the band, he wasn’t really part of the song writing, so you don’t hear his progressive jazzy bluesy fusion vibe in the songs. Song writing overall is carried out by John Wetton and Geoff Downes and it’s pop rock all the way.

And for a bunch of guys who played in progressive bands in the 70’s, Asia was a perfect re-invention of their talents into a pop rock entity.

Don’t Cry

It’s like a REO Speedwagon song merged with the groove/chord progression from “Stand By Me”. I dig how it sounds musically and melodically, but man the lyrics just don’t connect.

The Heat Goes On

This song reminds me of an Aldo Nova or Billy Squier song. I dig the melodies and music, but not the lyrics.

True Colors

As soon as I heard the start of the song I thought of Marillion, but Asia came first. Then the song morphs into a pop rock tune.

For you the tables turned full circle now
And all those people you call friends
See who defends you when you’re down again
Don’t count on money-spinners then

The truth is no one defends you when you’re down. Everyone is serving their own interest.

Open Your Eyes

Lyrically the song is about a model living in a model material world and wilfully blind to what life and the world has to offer. In saying that, the song does have some cool lines.

Open your eyes
And see the world that stands before you now

So true. Open your eyes people and see what stands before you.

Do your own research. Read far and wide and listen to arguments for and arguments against your views.

Because one thing in life is certain.

Death.

And then you will ask yourself, what percentage of your life you devoted to experiencing what life has to offer instead of living in the tribe and the tribe mentality.

Uriah Heep – Head First

Uriah Heep is another 70’s act that had to re-establish itself in the 80’s MTV world. So it was no surprise the band delivered a very pop sounding 15th album. Yep, fifteenth album.

Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake are in the band, which Daisley left after the recording to rejoin Ozzy Osbourne. I guess money talks and the offer was just too good to refuse. The other Ozzy connection is keyboardist John Sinclair, who would start to appear on Ozzy albums from 1986’s “The Ultimate Sin” and onwards.

The problem with this album is the label. It went into liquidation a month after its release.

“The Other Side Of Midnight”

It’s written by the band as in Mick Box, Bob Daisley, Lee Kerslake, John Sinclair and Peter Goalby.

Musically and melodically the song is good, but the lyrics are a mess about a man who is sneaking and creeping in the shadows, watching some woman he’s going to take on the other side of midnight.

“Lonely Nights”

“Lonely Nights” is written by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance and it appeared on Bryan Adams album from 1982. Isn’t it interesting how massive Bryan Adams was in terms of song writing during this period. “War Machine” from Kiss. Yep that was Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance as well.

I hear every word you’re saying
They’re all lies

“Red Lights”

Like “The Other Side Of Midnight”, it’s written by the band and while it’s pretty cool musically (it’s basically a speed metal song), lyrically it’s a mess about red lights on the highway which morphs into the red light district and suddenly he’s on his knees, unable to keep away.

“Weekend Warriors”

It’s another song written by the band. Musically its good and even the lyrics are pretty cool about racing cars in the streets.

Axe – Nemesis

Remember “Rock ‘N’ Roll Party In The Streets”. It’s from Axe’s 1982 album “Offering”. A very catchy song from a band called “Axe”. And that my friend’s is the problem. The name “Axe” didn’t really market the band to its full potential. The band had a pop sense of melody that was pretty cool, however the band name painted a picture of a band void of melody and focused on mythic kings and queens.

“Young Hearts”

Young hands reaching
For the goal they can’t attain

Leaders and corporations want us to serve. They don’t want us to think and have our own ideas and viewpoints. But every human being on Earth is born to be curious. We seek information because we want to know. And the more we know, the more we question. But being curious and seeking useless information can also keep us distracted, scrolling through our social media feeds or watching stupid YouTube videos of people playing Minecraft or something similar.

“I Think You’ll Remember Tonight”

I ain’t special, baby, I’m just a man
Who don’t look quite as good as I used to
I been around, baby, I understand
You can see by my face all the wars that I been through

Experiences are what life’s about. They create our stories and fill up our diary pages.

“Masquerade”

It’s a simple moody number that could have come from a Pink Floyd album.

They told me what was right and wrong and they
Harped upon it much too long for my taste

The faceless “they” could be teachers, parents and other institutions that want to create slaves with a hive mind mentality.

They told me how it used to be
Expecting everyone to see through their eyes

At some point in time in the 80’s, school stopped being about learning the basics and expanding your mind, to becoming a factory producing like-minded individuals who see the world through the eyes of the institution. The media companies who we once looked for truth also became platforms to brain wash people to see the world in the eyes of their billionaire owner.

Axe was touring with Mötley Crüe in 1984 when their guitarist was killed in a vehicle accident. Another member was badly injured and the band broke up after the accident.

Michael Bolton – Michael Bolton

Bolton was a rocker first and a balladeer later. He was in a hard rock band called Blackjack with Bruce Kulick between 79/80, so it was no surprise to see Bruce Kulick on lead guitar when Bolton went solo. Even Bruce’s bro, Bob Kulick makes an appearance. Another favourite guitarist of mine, Al Pitrelli replaced Kulick for the tour which was cancelled after four shows.

“Fool’s Game”

The way this song starts off with the keys, I could swear it influenced the whole melodic rock movement.

The guitar solo on this song is also from Bolton himself. Yep, good old crooner Bolton can play a mean guitar. Lyrically, Bolton talks about how he told a lady he loves her and she didn’t tell him the same back.

“She Did the Same Thing”

Bob Kulick plays rhythm guitar on this, while Bruce Kulick takes the lead guitar spotlight. Musically and melodically the song is good. Lyrically it deals with a woman who burned a friend and Bolton is telling that friend, yep, she did that same thing to me. It’s Shakespearean all the way (as I insert a laughing out loud emoji).

“Can’t Hold On, Can’t Let Go”

As soon as the riff kicks in, it reminds me of Bad Company/Free for some reason.

Bob Kulick also plays rhythm guitar on this song while Bruce Kulick takes the lead guitar spotlight again and even Aldo Nova gets a credit, playing the synth. Lyrically this song deals with not being able to let someone go because of the history. But Bolton knows he should because the relationship is over.

U2 – War

It was well into the 90’s that I finally heard this album. I knew “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and “New Years Day” from the video clips and they are to me, the only good songs on the album which also worked great as hard rock tunes.

“Broken bottles under children’s feet, bodies strewn across the dead-end street”, from “Sunday, Bloody Sunday”
“Under a blood red sky, a crowd has gathered in black and white, arms entwined, the chosen few, the newspapers says, says it’s true”, from “New Year’s Day”

Divinyls – Desperate

The song “Boys In Town” was all over the TV and the radio. It’s vocalists Chrissy Amphlett’s take on a young woman having a good time with the neighbourhood boys, until she suddenly sees the life she’s created, which she wants to escape from.

“Boys In Town”

I was always driving home
All the boys in town
But they never telephoned
Get me out of here

Chrissy Amphlett (RIP) was a powerhouse front woman. She was as aggressive as the men and led the Divinyls with an abandonment of a punk rocker. Add to the mix her stormy relationship with her song writing partner and band mate Mark McEntee, which further fuelled the angst.

Eurythmics

“Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)”, “Here Comes The Rain Again” and “Who’s That Girl” are great pop songs that worked well in a rock/metal context when covered. Hell, Marilyn Manson gave “Sweet Dreams” a new lease of life with his gothic industrial re-interpretation.

Spandau Ballet – True

Being the long haired lout I was, I hated the way this band looked, but man they could write a good pop tune that worked well in a rock context. “Pleasure”, “Gold” and “True” are such songs. Great to re-interpret on guitar for a rock setting and it was interesting learning sax solos for lead guitar.

Elton John – Too Low For Zero

Elton John along with Bernie Taupin wrote pop songs that worked well as rock songs. “Kiss The Bride” and “I’m Still Standing” are two such songs I covered in various bands I was in.

Bonnie Tyler

Jim Steinman moved from Meatloaf to Bonnie Tyler. Big production, big songs and a lot of piano lines ripped off from classical music. But the best song on this album is “Have You Ever Seen The Rain” a cover of a Creedence Clearwater Revival song. For me, it was the first time I heard the song and it made me seek out the original.

Yes – 90125

This is album number 11 and the band is a very different beast from its Seventies incarnation. Actually Yes broke up in 1981 after the “Drama” tour. The band at the time was Chris Squire, Steve Howe, Alan White, Trevor Horn, and Geoffrey Downes.

Bassist Chris Squire and drummer Alan White formed Cinema with guitarist and singer Trevor Rabin. Actually producer Mutt Lange (who used Rabin as a session muso) introduced Rabin to Squire and White. Original Yes keyboardist Tony Kaye who had left Yes in 1971 joined soon after and was let go not long after. Trevor Horn tried as singer, but was unsuccessful and ended up as their producer. Original Yes singer Jon Anderson, returned to record the lead vocals, leading Cinema to change their name to Yes.

Meanwhile Steve Howe and Geoffrey Downes co-formed Asia. And both hands had massive success with their albums. I guess you can’t keep good musos down.

“Owner Of A Lonely Heart” is a massive song. Even though the song is listed as being written by the band, the basic idea and monster intro riff came from Rabin.

Be yourself
Give your free will a chance
You’ve got to want to succeed

There are differing viewpoints on who wrote what lyrics for this song and maybe these differing viewpoints is what makes the song so good.

“Changes” is another song from Rabin’s demo tape and it’s a progressive tour de force that moves between King Crimson style prog merged with the old Yes into something from “The Police” like “Message In A Bottle” and when the chorus comes in, it’s pop rock. As Wikipedia tells me, the song was written by Rabin during a “depressed time”, after a potential solo album deal with Geffen Records fell through as they wished for him to join a band and play more “like Foreigner”.

I’m moving through some changes
I’ll never be the same
Something you did touched me
There’s no one else to blame

Is the “YOU” the label or a person?

Regardless, we make changes or go through changes because something happened. And the something could come from an institution, a corporation, an entity or a person.

“Our Song” has one of those intros reminiscent of those summer teen flicks.

Our song
It gives us a reason
Our song
That good remedy
Music has magic
That stuff of syncopation

It’s a cool lyric. Musicians to me, write songs which reflect us back to ourselves. The way they feel about music is how music lovers feel about music. Music gives them a reason, it gives us a reason. They see it as a remedy and we also see it as a remedy. They believe music has magic and we also believe music has magic, otherwise how else would you describe the sounds.

“City of Love”

Wikipedia tells me that “City of Love” was inspired by Rabin’s visit to Harlem in New York City while on his way to a rehearsal with Foreigner. His taxi arrived at the wrong address and to a more dangerous part of the area.

Street corner wonder lust
Beckoning the good guy
Take this, get that
Have a good time

Yes I wonder what was on offer at the street corner.

Good timing has its good price
One trick and you’re stuck with the dice
How they jive and jingle
When you’re their sacrifice

It’s easy for a fun situation to turn bad. It’s easy for people to score, but will that score cost them their life. The war on drugs started in the 70’s. The Colombian cartels made it global and suddenly Governments all over the world wanted a piece of the billion dollar pie. And new agencies got formed to stop the drugs and they are failing. There are more drugs on the streets today than there ever was.

And there it is.

1983 has come to a close. I guess 1984 is next.

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RDFriday

This Is War – Audrey Horne

My favourite supergroup of extreme metallers (along with “The Night Flight Orchestra”) is back with a new album that brings back memories of the Seventies and Eighties. Once the harmony guitars that sound like “Fear Of The Dark” from Maiden kick in, I’m ready to throw my computer screen at the window.

It’s brilliant.

We will never be silenced or divided

This is war

My 2017 call to arms.

Beyond The Pale – Machine Head

The verse groove is heavy and it works.

And that lead break, where two lead breaks are happening is brilliant, it works and it doesn’t sound muddled. They actually complement each other.

Beyond the pale I found salvation, emancipation

Beyond the pale I found my heroes for freaks and zeroes

Walk On Water (Acoustic) – Thirty Seconds to Mars

I hated the original version. It sounded over produced and there was nothing to differentiate it from all the pop garbage that sounds the same. But this version works. It’s almost gospel churchy like.

Do you believe that you could walk on water?

At the end of it I believed I could walk on water.

Miracle – Story of the Year

This band is a favourite of mine. They can be rock, metal and pop all on one album. Their label stuffed em up, by labelling them that whole emo rock/hard-core tag.

I need this more than you know

I need a miracle

Tell me I’m not alone

Please don’t let me go

You are in the situation where change is needed. Your old self needs to be washed off and a new being needs to rise. But you need to make hard choices.

Are you ready for what will come after?

Are you read to let go of what you know?

American Soul – U2

I actually like this song. I would have loved if the keyboard riff was played by the distorted guitar, because it would have given the song the rock and roll edge that’s mentioned in the lyrics.

You are rock and roll

You and I are rock and roll

You are rock and roll

I came here looking for American soul

Cherry Blossoms – Joe Satriani

The Alien that likes to surf just keeps on creating new music.

What a brilliant concept that is?

This one is more like a ballad and I like the way Satriani composes his leads. You can put words to them.

Alone (ReRecorded) – Toto

I am a fan of “Hold the Line”.

Meadow – Stone Temple Pilots

Who’s singing these days?

Imaginary – Evanescence

I prefer the original. Amy Lee is a great vocalist and has a unique voice. She should release new music instead of re-hashing past glories. Let other artists cover and re-imagine your songs.

All or Nothing (Acoustic) – Art of Dying

2011’s “Vices and Virtues” hooked me in. Then they lost me with “Rise Up” and “Nevermore”. The songs were there, but the production ruined it. In saying that, I dig this acoustic version. Maybe the next album will win me back.

Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming – Edit – Deep Purple

It looks like Deep Purple have a compilation album called “A Fire In The Sky – Selected Career Spanning Songs” out, hence the reason why this one appeared on my Release Day Friday playlist. This one is from “Purpendicular” released in 1996. Steve Morse kills it on this song, especially in the verses.

Surrender Your Heart – The Radio Sun

Melodic rock from Melbourne, Australia. I still think they have a hard bluesy rock album in them, like Whitesnake’s 87 self-titled album.

Feel the Heat – Pretty Boy Floyd

I didn’t really get into the band back in the late 80’s and this song does nothing to make me commit.

Wake Me Up – Operation: Mindcrime

A mess. It’s the only way I can describe this.

Upper Falls – The Used

I don’t mind this one.

Since You’ve Been Gone (Live 84) – Alcatrazz

I don’t think its Malmsteen playing so it must be Steve Vai. Anyway, it’s a pedestrian version with fake crowd noise and what not.

Gift (Live) – Hellyeah

We are all outcasts here because we fail to conform to normal society.

It’s how the song is introduced. Musically, “Gift” feels like “Children Of The Grave” to me.

Down In A Hole – In Flames

When you hear Alice’s version there is a pain and angst with each lyric when Layne and Jerry sing it. It’s like something ominous and threatening is about to happen. I don’t get that feeling with this version.

Brave – Skillet

I like this band when they rock. When they sing these kinds of pop songs, while there is an audience for these types of songs, it’s not for me.

The Boy Who Fooled The World – G String – Gun

This is so far removed from the version of Gun that I am a fan of.

It’s No Good – The Poodles

The song is pretty good, but seriously, who calls a hard rock band “The Poodles”.

Everlasting – Houston

Wow, this sounds like it came from 1985.

Riding On Fire (2017 Version) – Iron Saviour

You need to be in the mood for power metal. But at the moment, I’ve got my swords and shields and horses and castle all packed away.

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Convergence of Forces in 1986/87

After touring with AC/DC and Aerosmith for a year, I felt a little more aggressive. Some nights I would come up with something pretty, but after seeing Angus bash it out, I would say “Fuck pretty”.
Vito Bratta GW September 1989

This quote has remained with me for ages.

Vito Bratta is a guitarist who understands music and loves his instrument. His soloing is liquid joy and his rhythm work is complex.

So how does a musician who uses complex chord inversions and arpeggios to color a song compete for people’s attention against the blues based rock of AC/DC and Aerosmith, especially when those two bands had a head start of 15 plus years building up an audience.

Furthermore while Aerosmith sang about a dude who looks like a lady and a rag doll cutie, White Lion via Mike Tramp sang about the sinking of a Greenpeace ship. While AC/DC sang about woman as fast machines, White Lion sang about broken homes and violence in the home.

I remember a magazine reporter writing about how Mike Tramp introduced “Little Fighter” to metal kids when White Lion was opening for Ozzy. It went something like this;

Tramp: “You like to go to the fuckin’ Jersey Shore?” 
Crowd: “Yeah!” 
Tramp: “Don’t you get pissed off when you can’t swim because of the pollution?
Crowd: “Yeah!” (half-hearted)
Tramp: “Well, here’s a song about a group that’s doing something about it.”

White Lion toured with blues based hard rock bands for 12 months during the “Pride” period and there is no doubt that the rock vibe and party connection with the audience would have influenced Vito with the writing process of “Big Game”. But he didn’t want to just follow blindly what others have done before him so he tried to create something new, something interesting. But the majority of the pop music consumers don’t want interesting. They want carbon copies of what came before, something they can sing too, and something that is very uninteresting.

So “Big Game” was rushed. All because the label wanted to capitalize in the new-found interest in the band. But the label must have forgotten that MTV still controlled the public interest metric. If MTV played your band on the channel, you would sell a million plus. If they didn’t, you wouldn’t sell as much as you expected regardless of the quality of the music.

So with great power, comes great responsibility and MTV became a powerful and corruptible gatekeeper and for all its evil ways, it was still the best marketing tool to turn acts into global superstars.

But MTV didn’t play the video clips from “Big Game” as much as it played the clips from “Pride”.

And it’s funny when you look back to the 1986/87 period, the artists who had their biggest hits and sales during that period, never replicated those numbers again.

Bon Jovi never topped “Slippery When Wet”. Europe never topped “The Final Countdown”. White Lion never topped “Pride”. Whitesnake never topped their “self-titled” debut. Guns N Roses never topped “Appetite For Destruction”. INXS never topped “Kick”. Joe Satriani never topped “Surfing With The Alien”. Def Leppard never topped “Hysteria”. U2 never topped “The Joshua Tree”. Stryper never topped “To Hell With The Devil”.

There was something of a convergence during these years. MTV was well established by 1986 and massive, CD’s had taken hold by 1987, artists that had been around for a while had enough experiences on the board to write their masterpiece and fans of the 60’s/70’s rock movement had teenage families, so suburbia had cash to spend on entertainment due to low employment.

But with all things great, disaster was just around the corner. Black Monday happened on Monday, October 19, 1987, when stock markets around the world crashed. The single day drop was enough to scare people from spending and make people lose their jobs. Maybe it put a dent into the recording business for a few years, because from 1989 to 1999, the labels turned over billions.

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Difference Between A Million and 7 Million

It’s great to see David Coverdale celebrate the 20 and 30 year anniversary of the 1987 self-titled Whitesnake album.

Dokken and the work Lynch did with the band is another favourite of mine during this period and Lynch’s guitar work is a huge influence on my guitar playing and style. But “Back for the Attack” released on November 2, 1987 gets no anniversary treatment. It gets no attention and is rarely part of the conversation.

But back in 1987 it was everywhere. The momentum started with “Dream Warriors” which was released in February 1987 to promote “A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors”. Back in those days, fans from different regions had to deal with windowed releases. The U.S got it first, then a few months later Europe got it and a few months after that Asia/Australia got it. Basically, for nine months, Elektra Records flogged “Dream Warriors” to death over a staggered windowed release.

So when the album dropped, people purchased. I was one of those people who devoured all the credits on albums. I don’t know why, I just found it interesting to see who wrote the songs, who produced the album, who mixed it and the places used for recording it. And I always asked myself why a band would use so many different recording studios to record an album. It doesn’t make sense to set up, pack up and reset up at another studio. And I saw a lot of different studios on the “Back For The Attack” credits and I had to google it to be sure.

The band recorded in 5 different studios around LA. The record labels are not stupid. They get the studios at a discounted rate and then charge the band the general rate + 20% for using them, which the labels will then recoup from the sales of the album. Even though the album sold in excess of a million copies in the U.S, I bet ya, the band was still in debt to the label.

So what does 1 million sales in 1987 mean in 2017.

Well if i use Spotify stats, 1 million sales in 1987 leads to 1.7 million streams of “Dream Warriors”. “Alone Again” has the most streams on Dokken’s Spotify account at 6 million plus streams. Being on a Spotify playlist of 80’s Power Ballads does help. What the stats do show is how a million sales in 1987 doesn’t equal a million fans. The same way a million illegal downloads don’t equal a million lost sales. As I’ve said many times on this blog;

  • A person could have purchased the album, heard it once and traded it
  • Another person could have purchased the album, heard it 10 times and then just added it to the collection or traded it.
  • Another person could have purchased the album, listened to it and still listens to it today.

Even in YouTube, “Alone Again” has 1.5 million plus views. “Dream Warriors” (official music video on RHINO’s account) has 985,000 plus views and on the 80sRockClassics account it has 2.72 million plus views. Compared to how big Dokken was in the 80’s, these numbers are anaemic, because “Is This Love” from Whitesnake has 37 plus million streams while the “Here I Go Again” version from “Saints and Sinners” has 40 plus million streams and when you add the 60 million streams from the 1987 radio edit version and 1987 remastered version, “Here I Go Again” is topping 100 million streams.

Why the large disconnect?

Coverdale sang about not knowing where he is going, but he knew where he had been. And he’s made up his mind that he needs to keep going over and over again, so he can keep those promises he made to himself in the past.

And people from all walks of life and different musical genres could relate and connect with the words of Coverdale.

Don Dokken on the other hand sang about how there’s no justice in falling in love because it gives someone blindness when they are the one because a group called “they” are holding the gun. Seriously, they are the dumbest lyrics I have seen/heard, which is a shame because “Heaven Sent” has excellent music and melodies.  Meanwhile in “Kiss Of Death” Don’s telling us about a brief encounter in the woods with a female vampire and in “Dream Warriors” Don’s weary eyes couldn’t face the unknown and he doesn’t want to dream no more. I’ve heard soundtrack songs that don’t follow the movie storyline which work and I’ve heard soundtrack songs that follow the movie storyline which also work and some which don’t work. Musically, Dokken the band was top-notch, but lyrically, not so good. Seriously, “Unchain The Night”. How can you do that?

And the choice of words, my friends, is the major difference between 7 million in sales and 1 million in sales. The major difference between 100 million streams and a million streams. The major difference between albums getting the anniversary treatment or not.

There’s a reason why “Livin’ On A Prayer” is more popular than “You Give Love A Bad Name” and “Wanted Dead Or Alive” and the rest of Jovi’s songs. There’s a reason why “Kickstart My Heart” is more popular than all the other Crue songs. For Metallica, “Enter Sandman” is the most streamed with 185 million streams due to it being on Spotify’s own playlists of metal essentials and also by being very high up on the playlist. However, “Nothing Else Matters” is the song with the words that connect and it has 163 million streams.

In the end lyrics matter and that’s why people who don’t play in bands and write songs for others have a career in music. Because they can write good lyrics. It’s why Sharon Osbourne hired Bob Daisley over and over again to write lyrics for Ozzy. You can beat a good lyricist.

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Whitesnake 30th Anniversary 

I’ve been listening to the 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of the 1987 self-titled album from Whitesnake since it hit Spotify on Friday.

The whole deluxe version is available for streaming, so kudos to David Coverdale for not punishing Whitesnake fans who prefer to stream. From time to time, bands release deluxe editions however they only put part of the release on a streaming service, withholding the rest for the physical edition with the hope people would go out and buy it.

So the original album kicks off the 30th anniversary edition. It’s still a solid album from start and finish. Coverdale might have racked up a $3 million plus debt recording it, but I am sure Geffen Records recouped their investment and Coverdale got to make some coin himself.

Then again, Sykes was hired in 84 with a million dollar sign-on fee. I would presume that also came from Geffen, which would then turn out to be another amount Coverdale had to pay back. Because, you know, labels recoup everything before they start to pay anything out.

The original LP version I have is the North American edition, which has a different track list.

1. Crying in the Rain ’87
2. Bad Boys
3. Still of the Night
4. Here I Go Again ’87
5. Give Me All Your Love
6. Is This Love
7. Children of the Night
8. Straight for the Heart
9. Don’t Turn Away

And to be honest, I prefer the above better. I guess John Kalodner would have had a say on how the album was sequenced. I also purchased the European version because it had the two extra tracks not on the North American version. And then I purchased some of the 7 inch singles like “Give Me All Your Love” and “Is This Love” and 12 inch singles for “Still Of The Night” and “Here I Go Again” because they had tracks from earlier albums on em. Then I purchased the CD of the album. What else was I going to do with my money?

There is no denying the knock out punches in the above track list. But I also like how they have “Straight For The Heart” in the middle on the 30th Anniversary edition. That’s where it belongs.

The album track order on the 30th Anniversary Edition goes like this.

1. Still Of The Night
2. Give Me All Your Love
3. Bad Boys
4. Is This Love
5. Here I Go Again ‘87
6. Straight For The Heart
7. Looking For Love
8. Children Of The Night
9. You’re Gonna Break My Heart Again
10. Crying In The Rain
11. Don’t Turn Away

The live tracks from a gig in Tokyo that followed the album were disappointing. Live shows are about selling an experience. If you record a live gig, it’s riddled with errors. Most live albums from the past that I enjoy like, “Live After Death” and “Tribute”, well they had some things redone in the studio to make em sound better. In saying that, I like how Coverdale gets the crowd involved in a sing-a-long. Apart from seeing the artist in the flesh, the “sing-a-longs” and the “extended jams” are the experiences the live show sells.

But the Evolution demos are gold. Pure Gold.

The way Coverdale has edited them together to demonstrate the evolution of each song is excellent. It just shows how a good chorus or a vocal melody evolves into a song. In some of the demo’s Coverdale is lost for words, but he’s hearing the melody and he repeats the same lines so he has something on tape to go back to later on.

Sykes on those jam versions; solo’s and riffs like hell. He’s unrefined and spontaneous and just trying stuff out, seeing what sticks and connects. The beauty of demos are the mistakes. There are no maps but the artist sort of knows where they are going. So they try and try and try until they get there. Coverdale is pure evidence of trying out vocal melodies and vocal phrasings.

But once they establish the hook or the chorus or the verse riff or just a groove, they start to map it out. That’s the beauty and rawness of music.

For example, in “Still Of The Night”. In the first minute, Coverdale is drumming on his legs, singling and adlibbing while Sykes is playing a riff over the normal F#5 chord. Then the phone rings and the next bit you hear from the minute mark to 1.45, I believe is from another song writing session. Then it evolves into a band rehearsal. And it just keeps on evolving from there. It’s edited to show an evolution. And of course, Sykes is shredding like a maniac in the band rehearsal. So originally, I believe the expectation was to have an up-tempo lead break which then morphs into the solo riff. At the 4.48 minute mark it evolves into another band rehearsal session, which this time showcases the embryo of what would become the moody interlude and how the outro came to be.

“Give Me All Your Love” was interesting to hear. It’s basically an embryo of what the song would become. At 1.38, I believe it evolved into a different take. This time we hear the Chorus we know and the tempo is a bit quicker. Then from 3.17 it evolves into a band rehearsal and the tempo again is just a bit quicker. This time we get a Chorus and some lead improvisations from Sykes. At 4.12 it evolves into another band rehearsal. With each evolution, the song is getting closer to the version we all know and love. This time we get the Chorus again before the lead break and Sykes again is improvising. At 5.20 it evolves into another band rehearsal.

“Bad Boys” original demo is to a drum machine. Yep that massive pedal point riff is played a lot slower to a drum machine. But Coverdale and Sykes had the Chorus melody from the outset albeit with som different words. From 1.39 the song morphs into a different song writing session (with the drum machine going again). This time we get the Chorus again, very similar to what we know and the riff is getting closer to being the metal pedal point monster we know. Then at 2.49 we get a band rehearsal version. This kicks in at the lead break section which is very different to the one committed to tape. Then at 3.25 it evolves into a different band rehearsal and the riff is there as we know it. The tempo is also quicker. Maybe a bit too quick.

“Is This Love” version starts off with the words;

“This is the Chorus to take over the world”

Coverdale and Sykes had the hook. They repeated it over and over again and over again because it was that good. And then they built the song around it. I am pretty sure from 1.37 when the verse riff is played it’s from a different song writing session. Then from 2.01 the song is performed with a drum machine. Again, the chorus is repeated over and over again.
I can go on and on and on about these “Evolution” versions. It’s best to invest time and check em out yourself. 

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Release Day Friday

What a release day October 20 2017 is turning out be. Apart from the normal 2 hour release radar playlist, these albums also dropped in their entirety.

Trivium – The Sin and the Sentence

This was the first cab of the rank on Spotify and on the few listens I gave it before I moved on to Europe, the 7min “The Revanchist” is my clear favourite, especially the section from 4.38, that reminds of the Maiden “Somewhere” and “Seventh Son” albums. “Betrayer” also has a very Maiden sounding Chorus and a sing along guitar harmony. “Other Worlds” has the same commercial feel from “Until the World Goes Cold”.

The one thing that stood out for me on tracks like “Beyond Oblivion” and “The Sin and The Sentence” is the T-1000 drummer. The amount of drummers Trivium have gone through is going onto Spinal Tap proportions but with Alex Bent pounding the skins, maybe they’ve found their guy.

But in the end, there is a lot of Maiden like passages and feel throughout the songs and I dig. \::/

Europe – Walk the Earth

Europe is always at its creative best when they are left to their own devices to write what they want. That’s what got them signed in the first place and that’s what gave them their first number one album. But like everything that becomes popular, record label honcho’s believe they know better and start to hijack the creative process which culminated in a 12 month song writing process for the “Prisoners in Paradise” album which more or less ended the band.

But they returned in the early 2000’s, on their own terms and in charge of their own career and copyrights.

And 15 years later, they are still continuing on, releasing new music along the way. “Walk The Earth” continues to show their 70’s roots. All the songs sound epic and exotic. If you are looking for another anthem like “Rock the Night”, “Superstitious” or “The Final Countdown”, you will not find it on this album. If you want to hear a band jamming on all cylinders and having fun, then you will enjoy this album.

Sons of Apollo – Psychotic SymphonyThis is pretty good and no matter how proggy it gets, Jeff Scott Soto’s voice brings it back to reality with his Dio/hard rock style phrasing. In the end each song has this epic 70’s vibe.

“Coming Home” was already well known to me as I played it to death. “God of the Sun” is classic prog and a great album opener. “Alive” is one of those slower tempo songs that connects lyrically and when it ends I feel the need to press repeat. And then you have “Labyrinth”.

What can I say?

You need to listen to it and enjoy the combination of Portnoy, Sheehan, Bumblefoot, Sherinian and Soto. It works well and it rocks hard. \::/

Revolution Saints – Light In The Dark

It’s a fucking good album. A real good melodic rock album. The song “Freedom” is just one of those tracks you will press repeat over and over again. 

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Tribute

It’s my bible.

I played the cassette tape to death trying to learn every riff and lick. And when I couldn’t pick it all up, I shelled out $50 on Wolf Marshal’s transcription of the “Tribute” album and I spent a lot of hours woodshedding to it. Even though Ozzy re-cut his vocals for the release there is no denying Randy Rhoads and his love for his instrument. The way he re-imagines his multi-layered guitar riffs from the studio versions and turns it all into one definitive guitar cut is brilliant. For any guitarist, new or old, this is it. It gets no better than this.

I Don’t Know

The “A” pedal point riff in the intro is an example of effective simplicity that Randy flourishes with harmonic pinches, artificial harmonics, legato licks and whammy bar dives.

Crazy Train

The demonic scary F#m intro merges into an A major trippy/happy major key verse before it morphs back into the minor key for the pre-chorus and chorus. How can you not like it?

And then you have that logically laid out, super melodic and shred happy solo section. What more can be said?

Listen and enjoy and play air guitar.

Believer

The bass line is hypnotic and sets the tone for RR to colour and decorate.

Mr Crowley

This is the first song I got stuck into. It has two shred leads and the way Randy combined those guitar lines into one definitive track for the “was he polemically” section is brilliant. 

Then the outro lead is just one of those songs within a song lead breaks.

Flying High Again

The AC/DC style groove allows Randy to flourish the spaces with trills and little licks. Again the solo section is one of those lead breaks that just blows you away.

Revelation (Mother Earth)

The finger picked part at the start is breathtaking, the interlude is subdued and relaxing but that outro is breathless. And the live tempo is much better than the studio tempo. 

Steal Away The Night

I love the intro riff and how the outro of Revelation (Mother Earth) transitions into this song. Unfortunately I can’t say the same thing for drum solos or guitar solos just on their own. I would rather hear those things along with music. John Petrucci on the live Budokan album nails it with his extended guitar solo as part of “Hollow Years” song.

Suicide Solution

The riff and the groove just nails it for me, plus the lyrics from Daisley about Ozzy’s addictions are brilliant. Again, would have loved to hear Randy solo while the band played the main riff of “Suicide” instead of being on his own.

Iron Man

Would you believe that the first time I heard these Sabbath song’s is via Ozzy?

Children Of The Grave

After “Mr Crowley” this was the next song I needed to devour. I loved the way Randy plays the riff in C#m on the 5th string. That’s how I learned this song. It wasn’t until many years later I heard the Sabbath version and Iommi is down tuned to C#. I must say, I love the tempo of this live version. 

And that outro improv lead is brilliant especially when Randy starts to reference Ace ala “Love Gun”.

Paranoid

Again, Randy goes to town on the lead and he fills the spaces of the main riff with trills and licks. Brilliant improv.

Goodbye To Romance

The piece d’resistance in guitar playing. The jazz like chords in the verses, the arpeggio chorus riff and that guitar solo.

No Bone Movies

For a last minute addition to the album, the song rocks hard in a live setting. It’s sleazy and perfect for the era.

The album ends with some outtakes of Randy playing his acoustic instrumental “Dee”.

These day’s guitarists can do unbelievable and very advanced things on the guitar but none of them have the magic and song sense of Randy Rhoads.

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Rock and Metal School

My kids have been watching “School Of Rock” and “The Pick Of Destiny” on and off over the last few months, so here is my \::/ salute to Jack Black for spreading his love of rock and heavy metal to the masses.

The movies capture what rock and roll is all about;

  • going against the grain, 
  • breaking rules set by the institutions/parents and having fun along the way. 

And it’s a far cry from the rest of the world. We have people betraying each other for cash. We have companies treating their employees as costs to be minimised instead of assets. We have people causing chaos in the name of religion. We have musicians complaining about Spotify without realizing that if they have a song that captures people’s attention, Spotify will pay you forever.

The thing that keeps rock and metal alive is our ethos. We are the outsiders. We share our stories and we care, so when society takes up arms against us, we come together. And what keeps us together is the music. The sounds of the distorted guitars, the chaotic drums, the galloping grooves and the soaring melodies which filled up our bedrooms. You couldn’t help but smile. Rock and metal music made life worth living.

Remember when Led Zeppelin was seen as a heavy metal band while Black Sabbath was at the extreme end of metal. Today, bands which are considered extreme metal make Sabbath sound like a kids TV show.

But the world changed, so we changed. It stopped being about “us versus them” and it became about who has more. Suddenly our community standards of togetherness started to be violated and we allowed it to happen and failed to change the standards to adapt to an evolving world. But as Def Leppard sang, “Rock of ages, rock of ages, still rolling, keep a rolling, we got the power, got the glory, just say you need it and if you need it, say yeah.”

So much truth in those words and it looks like people today need rock and metal music more than ever. And we have the sounds from the last 40 plus years to study like the Holy Book at our fingertips. And on those days, when the future is uncertain, metal and rock music is the sound we turn to. Rock and metal can save lives; people just need to let it.

It’s a long way to the top if we want to rock and roll. And we all need to begin somewhere and we need someone to believe in us or we’re not going to make it. Because as much as we want to be social creatures, we don’t believe we belong, afraid of saying something that might make us sound dumb or not saying anything at all.

And the truth is rock and metal ran culture. The artists pulled the strings and the public loved it. 

Let’s make sure it will never be forgotten. 

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1983 – IX 

The playlist.

There was a brief moment in the 80’s where we all had a similar vision of our world which involved standing up against the institutions and fighting for our rights. Maybe it was all fake (but man it felt real) and maybe we all stood together because there was nothing else. But between 1983 and 1985, metal and rock fans stood together as one.
 
But then bands started to run into trouble. Those platinum highs between 1983 and 1985, started to disappear. The vision wasn’t shared anymore. It wasn’t rock and metal anymore standing as one. There was rock, hard rock, glam rock, heavy rock, thrash rock, technical rock and the same deal happened with metal. The record label PR machine just kept the different genre’s coming. Different magazines came out that focused on genres. Don’t expect to see a Whitesnake interview in a thrash metal magazine.
 
Suddenly it wasn’t cool to like death metal and glam metal bands. Elitists popped up in each new record label created genre that basically bullied others if they had eclectic musical tastes. But I seriously believe the reason why metal and rock grew to become a commercial force is because we all made connections with each other. The tribe is what made the records great. We talked about them, we traded them, we dubbed them for our friends. And when connections happen, the movement keeps on growing. Until we became divided. 
 

Hanoi Rocks – Back To Mystery City
I can’t say I am a fan of the solo work of Michael Monroe, however this album has that 60’s rockabilly vibe that Volbeat is renowned for today. I remember watching a documentary about how 60’s music from the US and UK made its way into other European countries in the 70’s, so it was no surprise in the 80’s to get rock bands from Finland, Norway and Denmark that had influences from the 60’s.
 
It’s unfortunate that most people know of Hanoi Rocks because of drummer Nicholas “Razzle” Dingley’s death in a car accident while being drunkenly driven by Mötley Crüe’s Vince Neil. All death is tragic. If Razzle’s injection in 1982 never happened, the band probably would have broken up. And his death in 1985 ended the band.
 

“Malibu Beach Nightmare” has got that “Surfing In the USA” drum feel and if it was released in the 60’s it wouldn’t be out of place. Hell, it’s not even out of place in the 80’s. You can picture yourself on any beach enjoying this song.
 

I wanna stay in the sun
I gotta have my fun
 
Who didn’t want to stay in the sun once upon a time? Then people started dying from skin cancer and suddenly long exposure to the sun became a bad thing. Still, when summer rolls around, all we want to do is stay in the sun.
 

“Until I Get You” is an interesting song. It’s a mixture between glam, rock and new wave and the feel of the song is intoxicating.
 

I’ve seen you many times before
For each time you mean more
 
You have seen the person on various occasions and various places and with each viewing, the heart grows fonder. But the feelings are not reciprocated.
 

Until I get you…
I’ll be dreaming of you every night
And all of my time
 
But the other half is not interested right now, so all we have is our dreams.
 

“Beating Gets Faster” is also another interesting song with it’s mixture of so many eras. A love-song written by Monroe and McCoy.
 

I never dream of being a millionaire
Money can’t buy a love affair
 
We think by being loaded we’ll be happy. A look at the ones who are loaded and all you hear and see are the various break ups and what not. And after this album, Hanoi Rocks secured a major label deal with CBS which eventually led them to that fateful night in 1985. I guess money can’t buy everything.
 

Talking Heads – Speaking in Tongues
David Byrne is in the news because of his views/lawsuits over the lack of royalty payments from streaming services instead of anything creative. Which is a shame, because copyright has allowed artists to rest on their past successes when it was never intended to do so.
 
“Burning Down the House” is the song that sold this album. It was everywhere. One of my hard rock bands in the 90’s even covered the song in a rock context.
 
And it’s for this song that David Byrne has gone to war against streaming services. But his war should be against the label that holds his copyright and the publishing company. Not against the streaming service. If anything, the streaming service is providing a basic service that the record labels should be responsible for providing. And remember, copyright’s original intention was to give the creator a monopoly on his works for a limited time (so they can monetise their work and if popular make some money) so they have an incentive to create more works. Under the original Copyright terms, this song would be out of Copyright in 2011.
 
But Copyright is a corporation controlled business. They would give popular artists a few million for the rights to administer their catalogue of songs which would please the artist in the short term and reap massive dividends for the corporations in the long term. And then when the artist passes away, the corporations would give a few million to the heirs which would please the heirs in the short term and reap massive dividends for the corporations in the long term. But Copyright was meant to protect the artists while they alive and creating. Not when they are alive and not creating or dead and not creating.
 

Streets – 1st
Streets was the creative musical outlet for Steve Walsh in between his departure from Kansas and subsequent return. It’s a band made up of Walsh on vocals and keys, guitarist Mike Slamer, bassist Billy Greer, and drummer Tim Gehrt. The debut LP was released 1983 on Atlantic Records. The deal was negotiatied with one manager and subsequently destroyed by another manager. Neil Kernon was on hand to produce, however he bailed on them and guitarist Mike Slamer finished it off.
 

Atlantic just threw our Streets albums against the wall, and if they stuck, fine. But they weren’t willing to go out on a limb and do any kind of promotion for it, so they didn’t stick. We’re talking “hair god” days, back in 1984. Well, we weren’t “hair gods,” we were guys who were really good. That band was and is real good. Atlantic won’t even release them on CD. Neither Streets album is out on CD and don’t ask me why. Somebody really upset them greatly.
Steve Walsh (Walsh actually got a lawyer to get the albums back from Atlantic and Rock Candy re-released the Streets albums recently) 
 

We got our deal with one manager and Doug Morris came to see us and we did a showcase, and he signed us. Steve decided that he didn’t like this manager and we got Derek Sutton, who used to be Styx’s manager. As it turns out, from what I understand, Derek (Sutton) got into it with Doug and the rest is history. We got pretty much canned. We did the album (Crimes In Mind) and there was no push behind it. There are so many people who wonder why that band didn’t do better. I thought we had a good album.
Billy Greer 
 

Streets manager had pissed off the president of Atlantic Records, Doug Morris, and he said ‘screw this band’. If he didn’t like the manager, then he was known to do that. We kind of got dropped through the cracks.
Billy Greer 
 
You might have come from a big name band, but that didn’t mean you had any power. The record label bosses, if wronged, could destroy a career at will. Ask Dee Snider and how Elektra destroyed his Desperado project. Even though the internet distribution chain was meant to level the playing field, the record labels still have control over who makes it or who doesn’t.
 

“Cold Hearted Woman” is written by an outside writer called Marty Conn. The origins of the song go back to 1978, when Marty Conn, fresh off a tour with the Whitford-St.Holmes band took a few musician friends into the studio to record a few tunes he had written. “Cold Hearted Woman” was one of those tunes and the bass player on the original recording is Billy Greer.
 

You said you wanted a lover
Now I know there have been quite a few
 
When it all goes to hell in a relationship, the past is used as the final insult. And guys really can’t handle that the person they love was with someone else.
 

“So Far Away” is written by Steve Walsh.
 

We came so close to love
Before you walked away
Now broken promises
Are all I’ve got today
Chalk it up to a lesson learned
Maybe next time love will stay
So close, so far away
 
We all want to be loved but man sometimes its so taxing on our heart and mind, we want love to be close but so far away.
 

“Fire” is written by Gehrt, Slamer and Walsh. This song is a pretty cool progressive number. The keyboard intro is good enough to hook me in and when the whole band comes in, the foot is tapping and the head is nodding. It’s almost like Rainbow meets Kansas.
 

The worlds on fire
 
Let’s look at our world in a nutshell. The rich control the government and the laws while religion is still causing wars and people still kill in the name of god. Then you have racial tensions between different colours even though we all bleed the same colour. In each democratic country we are seeing more examples of corrupted capitalism. And when it comes time to vote in new leadership, we vote the better option of two bad options.
 
And with all of the invasion of privacy of our governments, they still can’t stop a terror attack or a mass shooting. If an Islamic person carried out the shooting in Vegas, the U.S would be on high alert and travel warnings would be in place. Instead, it’s one of their own and it’s business as usual.
 
How cool is that progressive interlude/solo section from the 2 minute mark?
 

This place is where no man should be
 
Sometimes the social jungle around us is so toxic, we need to get out.
 

Eric Martin Band – Sucker for a Pretty Face
I had Paul Gilbert on my radar because of Racer X and the Shrapnel label, and of course Billy Sheehan was on my radar because of his work with Talas and then his high profile bass playing gig with David Lee Roth on “Eat Em And Smile”. So when I heard a new band was getting put together with these two guys, I was interested to know who the singer was and to be honest, back then, Eric Martin was an unknown. But 6 years before Mr Big became platinum darlings, Eric Martin was just another artist trying to make it in a world of similar artists.
 
This album is a great piece of AOR Melodic rock. Actually, the first time I heard this album was well into the 2010 + decade. Yep, that’s almost 30 years from when it was released.
 

Sucker For A Pretty Face
It’s a cool melodic rock song that just works for me. The lyrics are old and overused, but who cares.
 

She’s as fast as a train in the station
Like a dangerous drug from a pharmacy
 
Cool lyrics.
 

Well, I’m a sucker for a pretty face
I can’t judge a book by its cover
Sucker for a pretty face
The same old story
 
Who isn’t a sucker for a pretty face?
 

I know my time will come when she leaves me
For another sucker for a pretty face
 
Yep, it’s only a matter of time before they move on.
 

Private Life
I dig the piano riffs and the vocal melodies on this song. It works perfectly.
 

Almost everything I do
Seems to get back to you
Almost everything I say
Has its day in court
 
These days, everything is out on social media. There is no escaping the copy society the internet has created. So if you want to be famous, expect your private life to become a public life. And don’t take photos of yourself in different stages of undress.
 

Ten Feel Tall
Again the intro just hooks me in. I swear “Revolution Saints” must have used this album as a template for their debut.
 

Oh, you don’t remember me
I’m the man without a name
It’s always the same, I get lost in the shuffle
 
It’s never easy trying to get the attention of someone.
 

She’s got a nerve
You’ve gotta stand up, down
Look like you’re ten feet tall
Show a little pride, you overcome some
Sadness inside before you fall
Gotta look ten feet tall
 
The Chorus is hooks galore.
 

Just Another Pretty Boy
I heard “Just Another Pretty Boy” in the excellent “Thunder Alley” movie. For a movie on wanting to be a rock star, I think it puts the actual “Rock Star” movie to shame.
 
The intro again just hooks me in.
 

Many times I know love is blind
You’ve gotta take it slow I know he’s the kind
 
The pre-chorus works with the melody and the riff doing a great build up to the chorus.
 

Just another pretty boy, just another pretty boy
He’ll use ya like a toy, just another pretty boy
 
Yeah the lyrics are dumb, but you can’t help but sing along.
 

Shooting Star – Burning (1983)
How wasn’t this album a big hit?
 
Maybe because they were on Virgin Records, a label known for new wave and low on funds, so when a rock album landed in their laps they had no idea how to promote.
 

Our first managers were stealing us blind, so we fired them. They were record promotion guys and I think they blackballed us to a lot of radio stations. Another thing that happened was that we signed to Virgin and they had absolutely no money at the time. We did not know that when we signed with them.Later, we signed with Geffen and we put out Silent Scream and Geffen got in a fight with all the radio promo guys and they fired them the week our album came out. We had 200 ads on radio, out of 300 reporting stations the first week. “Summer Sun” was being added everywhere and it looked like the album would be a smash. After the fight with the promo guys it dropped to 40 stations. What do you do?
Van McLain – Shooting Star 
 
Imagine yourself dreaming of making it. The roads you take are all part of the journey to make it. Sometimes for days, months or even years, you have no clue where you are going. But then you get some breaks, a bit of luck and you get a record deal. You spend months in the studio, then the record comes out and the label that signed you, doesn’t care about your music as much as you do.
 
So what do you do?
 
Do you give up or continue?
 
So many people who contribute nothing to culture make money from the artist who actually creates art that culture consumes. And it’s an unfortunate world that these faceless people can either destroy or make an artists’ career.
 

Straight Ahead
This song is just like life, with more questions than answers, but you’ve got no other option than to keep on moving on.
 

Moving straight ahead
Straight into the fire
 
It’s the only way to live. Moving forward never stalling as intent opens the door to forward motion.
 

Don’t tell me to slow down
I got no time to wait
Don’t tell me to hold back
Gotta keep running
 
Isn’t it a life lesson for us all?
 
We are a short time alive and a long time dead. We need to keep moving as time waits for no one.
 

Go For It
The music is brilliant in this song. It’s like a cross between Queen’s “Tie Your Mother Down” and Led Zeppelin. Then there is a section that is progressive and very reminiscent of Kansas.
 

Let me tell you go for it
 
Life… It’s about experiences. Live long enough and you’ll realize you get stronger with the lessons you learn. And you rue the days when you failed to go for it. When fear stopped you from reaching higher.
 

Burning
“Burning” could have appeared on a Journey album before “Don’t Stop Believin’” pushed Journey through a different door and into a different musical direction. However once upon a time a version of Journey existed which wasn’t scared to jam and take you on a musical journey. “Shooting Star” capture that vibe here.
 

The fire is burning in everyone
 
To change is to take a journey. And that journey is not pain free or stress free. You can’t change without the stress. They go hand in hand. And the fire to change and be somebody is in all of us. But a lot of us, take a stress free journey and waste away.
 

Winner
“Winner” has this Euro-vibe “Deep Purple” meets “Kansas” vibe happening which I dig.
 

Tough
You gotta be tough
Or be broken in two
 
We all have to pick ourselves up off the floor at some point when we don’t win and this song is a great soundtrack.
 

Feel it in our hearts
We’re the winners
 
A lot of other important things matter more than the results, like relationships, families, laughter and memories. You have those, you’re a winner.
 

Train Rolls On

I don’t need a reason to feel like I do
I live like I want to, I can’t wait for you
 
We don’t always have all the answers, but we make the best of life.
 

My life is like a freight train
Running down the track as the train rolls on
 

Everybody needs a friend
And the touch of a lovers hand
 
You’ve either been in relationships or you’re afraid of them. So many hold back, stay away as they don’t want to share as they are scared of change. And people do change you. When there is a connection it’s exhilarating and when there’s a disconnection, it takes years to recover. And some never ever do.
 

Dreams

Hold on to your dreams
 
Sometimes it’s all we’ve got especially in a world spiralling out of control.
 
The lead break in the outro is too short. It needs to go longer and fade naturally.
                       

Meatloaf – Midnight At The Lost and Found
“Bat Out Of Hell” was such a monster album both commercially and critically, anything that came afterwards just couldn’t compete. Meatloaf was the most imperfect front man you could get. But he put so much energy into his performance, it was genuine. 
 

Midnight At The Lost And Found
It’s written by Marvin Lee Aday, Steve Buslowe, Paul Christie and Danny Peyronel. Meatloaf was a performer. Other people wrote his songs. Jim Steinman is the man behind the big ones, however the song writing committee on this album is not bad either.
 
Put your hand up if you knew that Marvin Lee Aday is Meatloaf. Bassist, Steve Buslowe worked with Paul Stanley, Jim Steinman, Bonnie Tyler, Aldo Nova and many other artists. Paul Christie is an Australian bassist/songwriter, who worked with a lot of Aussie acts like AC/DC and Mondo Rock, while Danny Peyronel is a Juilliard School trained keyboardist and associated with a string of high profile acts like UFO and Pink Floyd.
 

Hey Ricky, now mine is empty
How about one for you
We could set it out together
Seems tomorrow’s overdue
 
The scene is set. We are all drinking at the bar.
 

Midnight at the lost and found
Lost souls in the hunting ground
A remedy for all your ills
At the lost and found
 
Mmm, is the remedy, alcohol?
 

Wolf At Your Door
It’s basically a re-write of “Hurt So Good” John Cougar Mellencamp. This song is written by Marvin Lee Aday and Steve Buslowe.
 

Workin’ your life to the bone
There’s a wolf at your door
He wants your money, wants your soul
A wolf at your door
You give it all, he wants more
There’s a wolf at your door
 
There is so much truth in the above. The wolf comes in many different disguises, the bank man, the tax man, the gas man, the electricity man, the ISP man, the grim reaper man, the lawman, the government man and so forth. So many wolves are waiting to take away your life’s work.
 

Aldo Nova – Subject
“Fantasy” was such a massive song, anything else that came after would be compared to it.
 

Cry Baby Cry
It’s very similar musically to “Fantasy”.
 
It’s a perfect example of melodic rock, especially the harmony guitars that kick it off and lead in to the shredalicious solo break.
 

Always Be Mine
This is a keyboard heavy Journey style AOR rocker.
 

Let’s talk it over now
We both have a lot to say
Let’s get it over now
We can’t let it go this way
 
Sometimes talking it over, leads to more talking about the words said in the talking it over part.
 

It’s just a game we play
We look at love through eyes so blind
So don’t give your love away
Cause in my heart you’ll always be mine
Baby, you’ll always be mine
 
As Yoda said, “No, another there is”. Relationships are the same.
 

All Night Long
The chorus guitar riff is very similar to a certain song by Journey called “Don’t Stop Believin’”. I dig it and it rocks.

That’s it for Part 9 and I will close off 1983 with Part 10 soon.

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Music, Unsung Heroes

Demo’s

I reckon Napster became popular because of all the unreleased material on the site like live bootlegs, alternate takes and demo’s. 

In the race to offer legal streaming/digital options, we’ve lost access to these kinds of takes forever. Then again YouTube does have a lot of this stuff and if people prefer to go to YouTube and search that way they can.

And the reason why these demo’s, unreleased songs, B-sides, live takes and what not became so sought after is because bands/artists held songs back. In some cases these are the personal tracks were the artist is laying it all out for people to hear. That’s why the music became so big back then. When we got access to these hidden closet tracks, we felt close to our heroes. But somehow we’ve lost that magic. 

Today, everyone releases everything they record. Go on social media and 90% of artist accounts are controlled by their publicity agents, so it’s all about the money, the success, the marketing and no personal opinions are offered. But the ones that control their own social media accounts, I believe, they are leading better creative lives and are having more success doing so. 

Their engagement with their fans, smack downing trolls and their opinions is the same as those unreleased tracks and demoes. I follow a few on Twitter like Dave Mustaine, Zoltan Bathory, Mike Portnoy, Nikki Sixx, Dee Snider, Phil Soussan, David Coverdale, Jason Bieler and Lzzy Hale. All of them control their own accounts and they engage with their fans. Most importantly they offer their opinions. You might disagree or agree with them, but in the end you value them more because they are laying it all out there. Like those outtakes and demos that never made the album once upon a time.

And we all need that other perspective and other viewpoint. We live in a world that has so many niches and everyone believes they are a superstar. But people only care about you when they see you as human, when they see you offering your opinion. That’s what sells your brand, your music, your live show, your comic and what not.

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