Well it’s been two weeks since the last DoHh post.
Here we go.
4 Years Ago (2017 going into 2018)
2018 STARTED WITH SOME RANDOM LISTENING
Yngwie Malmsteen’s “Trilogy” album is full of great riffs and leads.
When the U.S record labels went anti shred in the 90’s, the Japanese and South American markets kept his career going.
There is no denying his 80’s output and it’s a shame that a rumoured collaboration with Ronnie James Dio never happened.
Then I moved to “Trash” from Alice Cooper. It’s commercial sounding, but it’s still Alice Cooper singing.
How can it not be good?
The real gems are “Spark In The Dark”, “This Maniac Is In Love With You”, “I’m Your Gun”, “Why Trust You” and “Trash”.
Afterwards, “Operation Mindcrime” from Queensryche got a listen.
It’s loaded with excellent guitar playing and the album gave me a tonne of great riff ideas to use as influences in my own song writing.
“Flesh and Blood” from Poison was next.
“Valley Of Lost Souls” is one hell of a good song and the best on the album.
“Let It Play” could have been on a John Cougar Mellencamp or Bryan Adams album while “Life Goes On” is a good power ballad and CC plays a tasty intro lead. “Come Hell or High Water” is another underrated tune in the vein of the Classic Rock of the 70’s that doesn’t get its dues.
“Ride The Wind” is another sleeper, while “Something To Believe In” copies the “Every Rose Has It’s Thorn” country bluesy vibe, however this time, the piano is the main driver instead of the acoustic guitar.
“Blow My Fuse” from Kix was up next. Now this album is a perfect example of the “progress is derivative model”.
It starts off with “Red Lite, Green Lite, TNT” which sounds very familiar like something from “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”. “Get It While It’s Hot” is heavily influenced by “You Shook Me All Night Long” from AC/DC. Actually it’s very heavily, heavily influenced by that song.
“No Ring Around Rosie” is a beefed up “La Grange” from ZZ Top in the verses. “Don’t Close Your Eyes” is taking its cues from “Home Sweet Home” and “Dream On”. “She Dropped Me The Bomb” is again heavily influenced by AC/DC with a touch of The Who. “Cold Blood” is a very similar to “Long Way To The Top” from AC/DC in the verses.
“Piece Of The Pie” is very heavily influenced by Aerosmith. “Boomerang” is influenced by Led Zeppelin. “Blow My Fuse” is such a good track where the influences are not as obvious as the other tracks. “Dirty Boys” is influenced by “Let There Be Rock” by AC/DC.
Finally, Winger is up.
The groovy “Can’t Get Enough” kicks off the album.
When “Miles Away” came on, I wasn’t sure if it was Bad English or Def Leppard. It’s one of those slow tempo melodic rock songs. “Easy Come Easy Go” has a cool groove and I dig the horn section in the verses.
The next two songs are two of my favourite songs. “Rainbow In The Rose” and “In The Day We’ll Never See”.
RANDY RHOADS AND THE BLIZZARDS
The project could have been called that.
It all started when Ozzy auditioned Randy in LA. Afterwards they jammed for a few days with Dana Strum and Frankie Banali.
Then Ozzy went back to England and he met with Bob Daisley. Ozzy and Daisley jammed with another guitarist and drummer however Daisley mentioned that they needed better players.
Ozzy mentioned Randy Rhoads, however the label wanted a well-known British guitarist, but no one was interested to join because of Ozzy’s reputation. Gary Moore was Ozzy’s first choice and he rejected the offer to audition. Eventually the label relented and Randy was flown over to London. Rhoads and Daisley started writing music and it worked well. Lee Kerslake came towards the end of the writing process.
Here are some summaries of what I wrote about the songs.
Crazy Train
You can call this song Ozzy’s biggest hit but it never registered on the charts back in the day. But on Spotify and YouTube it’s huge. The new paradigm shows us what is being listened too.
Bob Daisley provided the title while Randy Rhoads had the riff and the chord structure. For the lyrics, Bob Daisley used Ozzy’s vocal melodies and referenced what was happening in 1979/80. The Berlin Wall was still up and the Cold War between the USSR and USA was still going on.
Goodbye To Romance
It was Ozzy’s title and it came from an Everly Brothers song called “Bye Bye Love.”
The lyrics were written by Bob Daisley and the subject matter was Ozzy’s “divorce” from Black Sabbath.
On the “Don’t Blame Me” video, Ozzy mentions he was humming the vocal melody, and Randy heard it and developed the chords around the melody. Ozzy’s revisionist take makes it sound that Bob Daisley was not involved at all in the song writing process, which is obviously not true at all.
CRITICAL MASS
There are always different kinds of audiences.
You have the early adopters, the first to hear about an artist. These early adopters are looking and wanting a different experience than the people who identify as the critical mass market.
Early adopters want something fresh, exciting, new and interesting.
The critical mass market don’t. They want something that is familiar.
Metallica when they started had an audience that adopted them early. Some of those fans stood by them all the way, even when they broke through to the critical mass market in the 90’s and some of those early day fans just moved on to something new and different.
And who should the artist please, the early adopters of their music or the mass market?
Profits are fine as they allow the artist to invest back into their art. But if profit becomes the main aim, well, nothing and no one benefits if profits are the only thing the artist seeks.
And yes, there are routes to popularity which are random or accidental or luck or being in the right place at the right time.
BOB ROCK AND METALLICA
Bob Rock knew exactly what every song needed.
The demo of “Sad But True” (I had a drummer in a band who thought it was called “Sad Patrol”) was heaps quicker. Bob heard a “Kashmir” feel and asked James to slow it down and make it crunchy.
Rock kept telling James to re-write lyrics to songs. He told him to use fewer words in the choruses and to use stronger words. He questioned James on what the song was about. He asked him how the verse lyrics referenced the song message. James didn’t like this line of questioning. If James couldn’t explain it back to Rock, it meant he hadn’t nailed the lyric.
Rock told Lars to take drum lessons and he told James to take singing lessons. He told Kirk to rewrite solos.
And as a side note, in “Get Him To The Greek”, Lars gets told by Russel Brand to “Go sue Napster and your fans”, and unfortunately that is the stigma that will forever stick with Metallica. They got so out of touch with reality that they sued their own fans for sharing their music.
Nicko McBrain sums up piracy in “Flight 666”when he said “We sold out in Costa Rica but haven’t sold an album in this country…”
8 Years Ago (2013 going into 2014)
GRAMMY’S
From when Jethro Tull won the first metal award at the Grammy’s, the whole awards has been a joke for metal and hard rock music.
Having Metallica then win the “Best Metal Performance” in 1990 for “One” and then in 1991 for “Stone Cold Crazy” just added to the Grammy metal jokes.
“One’s” fate was tied with the “…And Justice For All” album and that was meant for the 1989 Grammy ceremony.
And seriously, for the 1991 awards, a cover song was the best that was on offer in the metal world for releases released from October 1989 to September 1990. I don’t think so.
Even in 1999, Metallica won again for “Better Than You”.
For which song, I hear you say.
“Better Than You.”
Does anyone know from which album it was on or how the riff goes or the vocal melody?
I bet that most people will answer NO.
HEADED FOR A HEARTBREAK
Billy Squire made one ridiculous video with a pink top. And just like that an amazing voice, with a catalog of songs was gone.
Winger had Kip Winger. A Playgirl pictorial was too outlandish and as glam music was committing suicide by cloning itself over and over again, Beavis and Butthead came along and trashed the band.
Metallica even threw darts at Kip Winger while they recorded the “Black” album.
But.
“Headed For A Heartbreak” is a hell of a good song.
Winger’s debut didn’t come from out of nowhere. Kip Winger did his time as a songwriter and studio session musician working very closely with Beau Hill who would of course go on to produce the first two Winger albums that went platinum.
Guitarist Reb Beach is a graduate from the esteemed Berklee College of Music. He also did his time in backing bands and studio work, until he met up with Kip Winger and started writing demos.
Drummer Rod Morgenstein was the most experienced. Active since joining jazz fusion legends “The Dixie Dregs” in 1974, he was a very accomplished drummer to bring into the fold.
Keyboard player and back up guitarist Paul Taylor was the x factor. He was the touring keyboardist for Aldo Nova during his “Fantasy” success. He did his time with Alice Cooper’s backing band at the same time with Kip Winger and played on the “Constrictor” and “Raise Your Fist and Yell” albums.
Go on Spotify and check them out. Go on YouTube and check them out. Focus on the music and not on the pretty boy images put out there in the video clips.
DONT KNOW WHAT YOU GOT UNTIL ITS GONE
Andy Johns (RIP) was on deck again to deliver another big sounding album.
Drummer, Fred Coury didn’t even play on the album as Johns just kept on finding timing issues.
The end result is an album which is seen as a blues rock classic that can rival all the best output from seventies bands like Bad Company.
Hearing them again today, it sure brought back a lot of memories. Guess you don’t know what you got until it’s gone.
SEMI – OBSCURE BON JOVI SONGS PART 1
Everyone knows the singles and even some of those songs have now slipped into obscurity but if you dig deep enough you’ll hear some cult classics.
Tracks like;
THE HARDEST PART IS THE NIGHT
From the “7800 Degrees Fahrenheit” album released in 1985.
“Stay alive, the hardest part is the night”
SHOT THROUGH THE HEART
From the debut album released in 1984. “Runaway” took most of the glory as it became a radio staple however “Shot Through The Heart” was the reason I got into Bon Jovi.
It was good to see the song get some concert time during “The Circle” tour.
HOMEBOUND TRAIN
It’s written by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora and it’s got this heavy blues rock swagger that just connects.
The magic is at the three minute mark when it goes into this Elvis Presley meets James Brown meets Rolling Stones vibe.
The guitar drops out and it is the bass and drums that keep the groove going and Jon does a few voice impersonations, while Sambora keeps it funky and they build up the song again while Jon keeps singing “Here I Come”. The interlude is filled with church organ and harmonica lead breaks.
On “The Circle” tour, “Homebound Train” came back into the mix with Richie Sambora on vocals.
STARTING ALL OVER AGAIN
It’s got this “Rock N Roll Aint Noise Pollution” style intro written by the Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Desmond Child song writing team.
THE RADIO SAVED MY LIFE TONIGHT
Another tune written for the “Keep The Faith” album that never made it.
To buy all the music that I liked was expensive, so I always purchased blank cassettes and kept my finger ready on the record button to record the latest song from the radio.
SEMI – OBSCURE BON JOVI SONGS PART 2
RIVER OF LOVE
It never made the “New Jersey” album and it is a tragedy that it didn’t get fleshed out and recorded properly. It’s got a basic foot tapping riff that sticks with you from the outset. For those keen fans, you will hear the riff groove re-used in “Save A Prayer”.
“Pretend we’re in some movie instead of faded jeans”
Listen to the “Raise Your Hands” reference in the interlude. You could write a whole song based on that riff. Wait, they already did.
Progress is derivative.
JUDGEMENT DAY and GROWING UP THE HARD WAY
Both songs begin with that whole “Na Na NaNaNa” in the same vein as “Born To Be My Baby”, “Rosie” and “Hide Your Heart” from Kiss. Both songs also share the same riff. Both songs are written by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora.
As with “River Of Love” these songs were recorded for the “New Jersey” album and they failed to make the cut. When a band is at their peak, they are able to churn out some great songs. The motivation is there to keep the machine rolling to see if the first round of success can be repeated.
In relation to the three demos mentioned above, I really thought that they would have seen the light of day “officially” when Bon Jovi released “100,000,000 Fans Cant Be Wrong” Box Set.
IF I WAS YOUR MOTHER
Man, this song is heavy and it has got some serious groove.
What a great vocal melody.
I saw them play it live on the “Keep The Faith Tour” and it rocked hard. The subject matter is weak and it hampers the song from being a powerhouse.
LETS MAKE IT BABY
It didn’t make the “New Jersey” album, however the bass line was used again in “Diamond Ring” (which was also originally written for the “New Jersey” album however it was officially released on the “These Days” album.
WEDDING DAY
“Wedding Day” was written for the “These Days” album, however it didn’t make the final cut.
The song is like a sleeper demo hit on YouTube.
Some of the lyrics made it into another Jon Bon Jovi song called “Janie Don’t Take Your Love To Town”.
SEMI – OBSCURE BON JOVI SONGS PART 3
DAMNED
It has a soul like funky blues groove very similar to what Lenny Kravitz was putting out.
“These Days” from 1995 is a very misunderstood album, released in a very confusing time.
Hard/Glam rock as we knew it was dead, Grunge was fading and alternative rock was rising, along with a form of industrial rock/metal.
LOVE IS WAR
Of course it sounds like “You Give Love A Bad Name” because Jon tried really hard to recreate the same vibe and the same kind of hit.
Is that a bad thing?
I’D DIE FOR YOU
“Slippery When Wet” was a monster of an album. And it was easy for other songs to get missed.
It’s got that Judas Priest “Breaking The Law” guitar line.
Did anyone pick up on that?
On YouTube, “I’d Die For You” is a cult hit. The fan’s have taken the song and made their own film clips, lyric videos and so on.
MY GUITAR LIES BLEEDING IN MY ARMS
The title is a take on the George Harrison classic, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”.
ONLY LONELY
The bottom line is this; it is a fan favourite.
THE PRICE OF LOVE
“We live, we learn, we lieFor the price of love”
Aint that the truth.
WITHOUT LOVE
Written by the Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Desmond Child song writing team for the Slippery When Wet album.
BURNING FOR LOVE
Sambora goes to town during the lead breaks, showcasing his abilities as a melodic shredder. He never went too over the top, always focusing on enhancing the song, instead of enhancing his ego.
RIVER RUNS DRY
It is a Jon Bon Jovi and Desmond Child composition that begins as a derivative version of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway To Heaven”.
Remember, progress is derivative.
SAVE A PRAYER
No one knows this song even exist, but they should.
THE BALLAD OF BOB DAISLEY
The music business is tough.
However, what happens when an artist in a position of power and mainstream success, does their best to undermine the work of previous people in their career.
This is what the Osbourne’s are doing to Bob Daisley.
They are trying to re-write history to show that Ozzy Osbourne himself was the main reason why his solo career progressed.
They are omitting important facts that when Randy Rhoads and Bob Daisley signed on, it was always spoken of as a band. They are omitting important facts that the band was actually called Blizzard Of Ozz. They are omitting important facts of Ozzy punching Randy, because Randy didn’t want to do a live covers album of Black Sabbath songs.
Most importantly, they are omitting the main fact, that Bob Daisley served as the lyricist for for six albums.
The sad thing is that if anyone reads the credits to the “Bark At The Moon” album, you will see it listed as “All music and lyrics by Ozzy Osbourne.”
Like, yeah right, Ozzy really churned out all of those riffs.
It is sad at to what level the Osbourne’s stooped at that stage. One more thing, read the book from Ozzy and tell me how many times he mentions Jake E. Lee in the book.
But that is a story for another day.
VITO BRATTA
I did a Top 10 of Bratta killer riffs or moments.
All The Fallen Men
Wait
Love Dont Come Easy
Fight To Survive
Hungry
When The Children Cry
Cry For Freedom
Lady Of The Valley
Little Fighter
Warsong
In the end I had a hard time picking 10 songs for this post as each song that Vito has played on all have unbelievable sections.
BATM SONGWRITING CONTROVERSY
Coming into the “Bark At The Moon” sessions, the Blizzard of Ozz band was finished.
Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake were fired before “Diary of A Madman” came out and the other driving force, Randy Rhoads died tragically when the plane he was on crashed into a mansion and burst into flames on March 19th, 1982.
Ozzy Osbourne as usual was at his drunken best but he still delivered the “Speak/Talk Of The Devil” album, and by doing so he was free from his Jet Records contract, ready to sign a major label deal with CBS.
Jake E Lee joined during the “Speak of the Devil” tour. Once that tour ended, the song writing process began for the next album.
Most of the writing was done by Lee and Bob Daisley.
“Bark At the Moon” was a title that Ozzy came up with. Jake E. Lee came up with the riffs and Bob Daisley wrote the lyrics.
While Bob Daisley got a buy out for “Bark At The Moon”, it looks like Jake E.Lee got screwed over. There are no royalty checks for the songwriting and no publishing monies either.
COPYRIGHT INC
I just finished watching the Rush documentary, “Beyond The Lighted Stage” and in the documentary, Neal Peart is talking about their “Vapor Trail” tour of South America and how they didn’t know what to expect because they never had big sales there and in the end they played to their biggest ever concert attendance at Sao Paulo.
The Brazil tour took place in November 2002. File sharing started in June 1999. Maybe copyright breaches by fans is not a bad thing.
And that’s another wrap for these last two weeks.
destroyerofharmony 