“Sweet Elyse” was released on the solo album, “Back Where I Belong” in 1992 on Polydor. Tony Martin decided to do a solo album when his Black Sabbath project was doing its “Dehumanizer/Dio” project.
Production was done by Nick Tauber, who is best know for his work with Thin Lizzy and Marillion.
The album is not on Spotify, which irks me. But YouTube has a lot of uploads from fans, who call Tony Martin the best Sabbath vocalist ever.
And “Back Where I Belong” is not available anywhere to buy these days, unless someone’s selling a second hand copy.
The reason why it’s not available are varied. When Martin rejoined Black Sabbath, Polydor deleted the album from their catalogue and took it off the shelves.
And somehow his manager at the time owns the entire rights to this album, which gets me thinking “how the hell did the manager pull that off” and “how is Copyright protecting the artist at this moment to give the artist an incentive to create”.
But I have seen interviews and posts where Martin mentions how he wants this album re-released and the label Battlegod Productions, which is the label for his solo album “Thorns”, is in negotiations for it.
The track burns from the start and it reminds me of songs like “Highway Star”, “Burn” and “Speed King” from Deep Purple.
And I like the familiarity.
The session line up for the song is also impressive.
Nigel Glockler from Saxon pounds those drums and Neil Murray from Whitesnake is the master of the groove.
Tony Martin also shows off his guitar prowess as he, Paul Wright and Carlo Fragnito play the rhythm guitars with Richard Cottle on the keys.
There are also demos floating around the internet of this album which has Tony Martin playing all the guitars.
For the solo, Adrian Dawson brings out his Blackmore influences. And it’s excellent.
Ahh copyright. It’s the gift that keeps on giving. Well it does really. It gives the writer an incentive to create for their whole life plus 90 years after death. Don’t know how it’s even possible after death, but hey, who am I to judge the intellectuals who wrote and debated this change.
It also gives rise to lawsuits and perpetual payments to corporations for valuable copyrights. It’s also a form of censorship and anti-innovation (remember Napster).
Remember when Ed Townsend’s estate wanted Ed Sheeran to pay them millions for writing a song with a similar feel to Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On”. The trial went to jury and they lost. They appealed and then they withdrew their appeal.
This is what happens when people who create nothing of culture believe they are entitled to that culture.
And for the record, “Let’s Get It On” is not so original itself. It’s also influenced by what came before it. Cause that’s how creativity works.
Reggaeton is a style of popular and electronic music that originated in Panama during the late 1980s and it was later popularized in Puerto Rico. It’s basically massive in Latin America and from the 2010’s it’s creeped into the mainstream of English speaking countries.
In 1990, a song came out called “Fish Market” from producers Steely & Clevie. In that song there was a drum rhythm.
The lawsuit claims at least 80% of the genres songs have used that drum beat.
Sort of like the 4/4 drum beat and it’s variations.
They are common elements and building blocks to creating. The fact that 80% of the Reggaeton industry use this beat shows how common it is.
AI
What’s people’s view on AI?
We’ve had AI in our lives for a long time, yet many have failed to recognize it. At a basic level which everyone would recognize, remember “Spell Check” in Word docs or Google Search.
For the recent waves of AI to work, they need training. And this training involves material which is under copyright.
So.
If I develop an AI tool and train it with the music and books and movies I’ve purchased, am I breaching Copyright?
If I then release the AI tool for others to be allowed to create, is the tool breaching Copyright?
All the AI knows is how to write and review based on inputs.
Basically it’s a tool, that people can use however they want. It’s innovative at the moment. And the copyright industry doesn’t like innovation if it’s not paying them. So it tries to censor or kill the innovation.
Until the come to an agreement and they accept it.
REVENUES
$8.4 billion in six months was brought into the labels accounts with streaming payments making up 84 percent of that pie.
So if you are an artist or songwriter and you’re not getting a cut, your deal is super shitty. Change it.
Because if there was no value in streaming, all of the Investment House and Hedge Funds wouldn’t be buying up the rights to valuable catalogs.
It’s cool how copyright makes money for valuable Intellectual Property. And you can’t get a bigger and more valuable IP than “The Beatles”.
The thing is, not one of the members from The Beatles held or even hold their rights. At one stage, Michael Jackson was the sole holder of the rights.
And with all the transfers and sell offs, The Beatles catalog settled at Round Hill Music Royalty Fund. But like all companies on the stock exchange, the share price just didn’t reflect the true value of the Company.
In this case, shares in the company were trading around $0.70. And share prices this low don’t make share holders and board members happy.
So in comes Alchemy Copyrights with a $496 million buyout offer which means shareholders in Round Hill Music will get $1.15 in cash per share. Suddenly, you have happy shareholders and board members, who get a nice payday for holding shares in culture.
They created nothing culturally and yet still benefit. But I keep hearing how stronger copyright is needed to protect the creators.
Mmmm.
SHARE PRICE 2
Hipgnosis Songs Fund is also selling some of its catalogues for $465 million. This is to pay down debt and increase its share price
And as expected, the share price increased,
Again, you have an organization that created nothing culturally and yet it still benefits. And I keep hearing how stronger copyright is needed to protect the creators.
COPYRIGHT FAMILY DISPUTE
Motown songwriter and producer Ron Miller died in 2007. If Copyright expired on the death of the creator like it once did, then this would be a non issue.
But, Copyright doesn’t expire at this point. It’s still valid for another 70 to 90 years, depending on the country.
Fast forward to 2022, Sony Music Publishing signs a deal with Lisa Miller, for rights to 130 of her fathers songs.
But Ron’s other children Julie Moss and Mark Miller from Ron’s first wife didn’t like this and are now going to court.
They allege that Lisa Miller tricked her mother, Aurora Miller (Ron’s second wife) to sign away her claim to the songs.
The claim further states;
“As Aurora’s health continued to decline, Lisa began forging Aurora’s signature on notices of copyright termination.”
And I keep hearing how stronger copyright is needed to protect the creators. In this case a dead creator.
SHOWCASE
Spotify’s new marketing tool.
Artists can buy dedicated space on listeners home pages to promote new releases, deep cuts, etc.
Each click from a fan on the showcase button will cost the artist 40 cents per click until their campaign budget is maxed.
Spotify believes that people who see these ads are six times more likely to stream the release.
It shits me how artists always have to cough up cash.
Back in the label days, if the label marketed you, they billed you to recoup their costs.
If an independent act marketed themselves, they paid for a marketing campaign themselves.
Higher streams lead to higher payouts from Spotify. The newspaper said that in Sweden, amassing a million streams pays about 40,000 to 60,000 kronor (£2,800 to £4,300).
WHITE NOISE
Have you ever come across a Podcast that’s just white noise.
It’s definitely annoying and I don’t care what people say about it, it’s basically streaming spam.
The rule was if the podcast got over a 100 listens (it can be from the same user) they would qualify for ad supported payments.
In 2018, 20,000 songs would get uploaded to Spotify. In 2023, it’s at 120,000. A large majority of those uploads are via bots and they are basically the same as email spam
AI COVERS
AI-generated “covers” of popular songs using artists’ voices are still being released on Spotify.
Universal’s trying to partner with Google on a tool that lets fans create these songs without infringing copyright.
Universal has also partnered with Deezer to ensure that music created by breathing people gets a higher preference on the service than AI created music.
It’s a start, however AI is really making streaming economics even trickier.
When John Kalodner met with him in 1987, Kalodner had two propositions; one was to replace all the Dutch members of the Vandenberg band with American musicians and the other was for Vandenberg to join Whitesnake.
Morally Adrian Vandenberg couldn’t do that to his Vandenberg members and he also couldn’t pass up on a position to work with a vocalist like David Coverdale.
So he chose Whitesnake.
But when he tried to resurrect Vandenberg circa 2014/15, those Dutch 80s members didn’t have the same moral conviction as Adrian did and they took him to court so he couldn’t use his own surname anymore.
Six lawsuits later and a lot of money spent, Vandenberg was allowed to use his surname again.
But while all of the lawsuits were happening, Vandenberg’s Moonkings was created and they released three albums.
Then Vandenberg returned, dropping the excellent 2020 album with former Rainbow vocalist Ronnie Romero on vocals, Rudy Sarzo on bass, and Brian Tichy on drums.
And here we are in 2023, with another excellent album called “Sin”. This time around Adrian is joined by vocalist Mats Levén, drummer Koen Herfst and bassist Randy Van Der Elsen and the album is produced by Bob Marlette.
How cool is the cover art?
Once again, created by Adrian, he wanted to show an actual destination for the flying sharks who made their appearance on the “Heading For A Storm” album.
Instead of flying over a road in the desert, they are now flying into New York, the city of sin.
Thunder And Lightning
This is a person writing songs for the love of it. No pressure to write hits and no pressure to conform.
For those who grew up in an era of driving with the window down and cranking the music from the stereo, well this song is perfect for it.
Vocally, Mats Leven is channeling David Coverdale. Musically the song channels the spirit of Eddie Van Halen and the Euro blues rock of Michael and Rudolf Schenker.
Stick around for the guitar solo.
House On Fire
Heavy palm muted arpeggios start it all off with Leven singing in a low bass/baritone. Then it goes into a sleaze like riff.
This is a straight ahead rock and no one is doing it better in 2023 than Adrian Vandenberg.
Sin
This sounds so good. Vandenberg rewrote “Judgement Day” and I like it?
Then again “Judgement Day” is heavily based on “Kashmir”. And I still like it.
Alot of legacy artists keep saying “what is the point in writing new music as no one cares about it”. Tell that to Vandenberg.
Light It Up
Love the swagger on this.
Walking On Water
Ooh, that guitar intro and the vocal. Very 70s Free like.
And stick around for another masterful guitar solo.
Burning Skies
The album keeps going, sounding different from cut to cut. Like “Back In Black”. This one feels like a classic Scorpions cut.
Hit The Ground Running
It’s all about the vocal.
This one has Leven channeling Coverdale and the groove sits nicely on your lap.
Baby You’ve Changed
It’s intimate.
A ballad that rolls along like “Is This Love” and “The Deeper The Love”. But it’s not a copycat.
Out Of The Shadows
The arpeggio riff in the Intro reminds me of Coverdale/Page and their song, “Whisper A Prayer For The Dying” but the song is nothing like that.
It’s got this classic 70s Rainbow Dio era vibe and I like it.
It’s just 9 songs clocking in at 41 minutes. Like old school albums, pre CD.
Mats Leven is one hell of a vocalist. A journeyman like so many other vocalists from the late eighties and early nineties.
He came to my attention with the band Swedish Erotica in 1989.
He has then performed (just to name a few) with Treat, Yngwie Malmsteen, Candlemass, At Vance, Firewind, Trans Siberian Orchestra and Therion.
By doing so and picking up whatever work he could get, he found a way to survive the wastelands of the 90s and early 2000’s which were not very kind to hard rock vocalists. Jeff Scott Soto and Johnny Gioeli are two others that come to mind.
Finally, Adrian Vandenberg is 69. He still rocks as hard as he did when he was 29. He hasn’t mellowed out at all. He’s actually gotten heavier and he is free to write the music that he wants to write.
If you want to read my review of Vandenberg’s recorded output up to a certain point in time (it was up to 2014 and the first Vandenberg Moonkings album), you can read it here.
Which is tough to say as I’m a fan of Christopher Nolan.
I’m surprised that Nolan thought it should be made into a movie, then again, creative people are inspired by things that others don’t see as inspiring. In this case it was a the 2005 biography “American Prometheus” by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwinx
The story focuses on Oppenheimer’s studies, his direction of the Manhattan Project during World War II, and his eventual fall from grace due to his 1954 security hearing.
Since the last hour was like a “Law and Order” episode, maybe a limited TV series would have been better. But a TV series doesn’t have the gross takings that a cinematic release has.
It’s approaching the $800 million mark from a $100 million budget. It will be seen as a success, but its not re-watchable.
I also finally got around to watching “Avatar: The Way Of Water” on Disney+.
I didn’t think a sequel was necessary however James Cameron has a habit of surprising people and he sure did it with this movie. It’s long run time didn’t feel that long and the story flowed.
By the end of it, I made a commitment to watch the third one in the Cinemas. And it hooked my kids as well.
“Painkiller” on Netflix is a must watch. OxyContin destroyed many families and the series does a good job of telling the story.
SHOWS MADE AND THEN CANCELLED OR REMOVED TO SAVE ON TAX
In May, Disney+ said it would cut US$1.5bn of content from its streaming platform, so the company’s value is reduced which means they pay a lot less tax.
This involves axing current programs which are or were popular like “Willow” and not releasing other big budget series’s like “Nautilus”.
Paramount+ also did the same removing “The Pink Ladies” and Jordan Peele’s “Twilight Zone”. Warner Bros also removed “Westworld” along with others.
Time will tell how subscribers will respond to the streamers removing shows when they need to save a bit of cash.
CEASE AND DESIST
There is a high chance that a fan of the artist will have a different political view to that of the artist.
And the artists are okay with this when they are taking the money from these fans because at that point in time they don’t know the political view of the fan.
Suddenly, a politician plays the music of an artist at a rally, there are fans of the artist in that rally and the artist then sends a cease and desist letter to the politician to stop.
How much say or veto rights can an artist really have in how their music is used?
NOTHING ELSE MATTERS
James Hetfield wasn’t sure he wanted to go there and explore themes of vulnerability. Bob Rock insisted that he explore this path of being vulnerable and urged Hetfield to take vocal lessons.
Well that song just surpassed a billion streams on Spotify.
When he went to an audition with a band called “Legend”, he took his guitar.
But they said to him that they need a singer and wouldn’t let him play.
And then he gets the vocalist gig for Black Sabbath, who were going through an identity crisis between 1984 and 1987.
And as soon as he righted the Sabbath ship, he was out and Dio was back in for the “Dehumanizer” album.
And while that was happening on the Sabbath front, Tony Martin kept writing until he had enough material for a solo album.
“Back Where I Belong” was released in 1992 on Polydor.
“It Ain’t Worth Fighting For” is the opening track from the album.
The musicians are seasoned professionals.
Nigel Glockler from Saxon is on drums. Neil Murray from Whitesnake is on bass. Richard Cottle is a session pro, and he plays the keys and also performs the saxophone solo. Carlo Fragnito is on guitars.
A bit if trivia, Fragnito and his brother Anthony formed a band called Blacklace, with vocalist Maryann Scandiffio.
Hailing from Canada, their music is best described as NWOBHM. They released “Unlaced” in 1984 and “Get It While It’s Hot” in 1985. Like a lot of bands who didn’t see success right away, they struggled and eventually broke up.
Carlo then became a session pro.
As soon as you press play, the riff that smacks you in the face is reminiscent to “Headless Cross”.
But the track feels like a heavy blues rock track instead of a metal track.
If it ain’t worth fightin’ for It ain’t worth having And I just gotta have your love
The Chorus is Arena Rock. Make sure you pay attention to the melodic guitars underneath the vocal melody.
Bad Company comes to mind here and the feel from “Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy.”
Vocally, Martin comes across as a combination of Lou Gramm and Paul Rodgers.
And that Sax solo works perfectly. It outlines the Chorus vocal melody with some improv.
Censorship, false strikes and political correctness makes up the post today.
FAT BOTTOMED GIRLS
The lyrics “fat bottomed” and “big fat fatty” and “Oh, won’t you take me home tonight” are deemed to be inappropriate for a Queen’s Greatest Hits package and songbook aimed at children.
What’s next.
A Motley Crue or AC/DC Children’s song book.
If people want to dumb down lyrics and make them politically correct they should let shows like “The Voice” do it.
DRAGONFORCE
It’s the Wild West when it comes to Content ID on YouTube. An unknown internet user claimed the song “Valley Of The Damned” from Dragonforce as their own and YouTube allowed em.
Because there are no human checks.
Since Dragonforce disagreed with the decision by Content ID, they filled in a form disputing the decision.
But this is where it gets stupid.
You would think that the dispute would go to someone (preferably a human) at YouTube.
However, the counter claim from Dragonforce is sent directly to the person who sent the false strike and who YouTube now believes owns the supposed copyright.
And it’s this person who has the final decision in the matter unless legal action is pursued.
If the person who sent the false strike denies Dragonforce’s claim, the Dragonforce channel receives a strike. If the channel receives three strikes, it is removed from the platform.
So Dragonforce went back and forth for a week over the false strike and finally some common sense prevailed.
CONTENT ID
Content ID was created by Google to appease the labels and various movie studios to take videos offline. It was then enhanced to give the labels and movie studios an option to monetize the uploads from other users.
The labels and studios keep complaining about Content ID but have done nothing to innovate an alternative.
Google now posts a transparency report on the Content ID system.
Rightsholders claimed more than 826 million videos on YouTube from July to December 2022. This is the highest figure since YouTube started reporting these figures and it led to $1.5B in revenue paid to the rights-holders.
All up, $9 billion in ‘claimed’ revenue was paid out to copyright holders since Content ID launched.
SCAMMERS
The downside is scammers. As this article from Torrentfreak states;
Two men set up a company to find and claim unmonetized music. Through a third-party partner with access to the Content ID system, the pair generated over $24 million in revenue from YouTube by falsely claiming ownership.
The abuse didn’t go unnoticed and the repercussions were severe.
In 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted the duo and last week the first defendant was sentenced to more than five years in prison.
It’s unregulated and there will always be criminals. It’s a perfect match.
Disaster. That’s how the American magazines described this album.
Released in 1985, the album never stood a chance.
It was fighting for our attention along with a lot of other things.
Like.
The trilogy of Mutt Lange albums were outselling everything else AC/DC put out during this period.
The Sunset Strip gave the charts and MTV a major shake up and sales followed.
The British had invaded the U.S again with Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, a solo Ozzy Osbourne and Def Leppard cementing themselves as arena acts.
The Germans also invaded via a hurricane called The Scorpions.
And finally an underground Speed Metal scene in San Francisco was slowly taking over the U.S.
But in Australia we remained true. Never wavering. And we made it triple platinum.
But let’s go back in time.
The success of “Back In Black” in 1980 showed the labels that their was an appetite for hard rock music. And the labels wanted more of the same.
So it’s no surprise that by 1985, most of the label rosters had a lot of “hard rockers” on the books. But these rockers wore everything that wasn’t denim and their hair kept hair dressers employed for decades.
Even acts from the 70’s started to participate in this new look so they could remain relevant. But AC/DC didn’t change. They stuck true to their denims and Angus still wore the schoolboy outfit.
And the critics found them irrelevant while they still sold out arenas.
Fly On The Wall
The music is infectious and the vocals indecipherable.
Sign me up.
Shake Your Foundations
It was the only song that got a pass back in the day.
How good is that intro and the Chorus is iconic?
Plus it got decent radio play in Australia.
First Blood
Musically, it’s typical of AC/DC.
Lyrically, Brian Johnson is indecipherable and hard to understand.
Danger
“Come Together” comes to mind when I hear this.
“Here come old flat top” is what my ears are expecting when the song begins.
It’s no surprise that the Young brothers are referencing Chuck Berry here as his fingerprints are all over the riffs the Young’s write.
Sink The Pink
The music clip comes to mind here.
Seeing the band playing in a pub/bar again and that pesky fly from the cover getting a hard on (via its nose going from limp to hard) when a women dressed in pink enters the pub.
But it’s the music that seals the deal and Brian Johnson sounds better in the video than the recording.
I like the musical reference to “For Those About To Rock” and The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again”. So I was hooked.
“Sink the pink, it’s all the fashion”
It has so meaning meanings.
The Urban Dictionary tells us, sink the pink means to “have sexual intercourse with a virgin, and to pop her cherry”.
But the Urban Dictionary didn’t exist in 1985 and my young impressionable brain saw it as a song about drugs.
And thanks to the Internet, I believe it is.
Welcanol was known during the eighties as the South African Heroin (Pink Heroin). It could be obtained via a Doctor prescription and it came as a pink tablet.
So before OxyContin there was Pink Heroin.
“Drink the drink it’s old fashioned”
I’ll take an old fashioned drink any day.
Playing With Girls
I love the music and the groove here.
But I hate the title and the fact that Johnson is mixed low and indecipherable.
Definitely a missed opportunity here.
Stand Up
I like this song. It’s defiant and it rocks.
If you just listen to the Chorus you would think it’s about standing up and facing the world, but when you read the lines in context with the verses, well, it has a different meaning.
Hell Or High Water
A 4/4 groove and we are off.
But it’s pointless as Johnson is buried in the mix and the song is ruined.
Back In Business
A deep cut. It reminds me of ZZ Top and I like it.
Send For The Man
Musically it rocks but the buried Johnson chainsaw like vocals ruin it.
It’s not a perfect album, then again most of the albums released in 1985 are far from perfect. In other words, the era of more filler than killer was well and truly in motion.
But I would say, it’s an underrated album from a band that enjoys doing their thing without over obsessing about it.
The U.S tour had controversy. It all took place underneath the censorship discussions concerning rock music. Religious groups tried to ban certain shows while city officials wanted to rate each show and give the shows a movie style rating, which would then exclude fans from going. Fire officials would also get in on the act and limit or stop any pyrotechnics.
But the band went on.
In the vinyl album sleeve of the “Fly On The Wall” re-release from 2020, Angus sums up the tour like this;
“This tour’s a little like a series of wrestling matches with the loonies. But what’s the fun of life without an occasional tussle”.
Six years had passed since “American Standard” (1995) hit the streets and chalked up a Platinum award.
Seven Mary Three was written about as an “overnight sensation” by the media. An overnight sensation which had built their success mile by mile since 1992.
They finally got their major label deal and switched to Atlantic from Mammoth after “American Standard”. Actually I think the labels were joined at one time and they split apart with the band agreeing to sign with Atlantic.
“RockCrown” came out in 1997 and it failed commercially. The emphasis on folk rock alienated their hard rock audience who didn’t want to go on this journey with them.
But “American Standard” was still selling and “Cumbersome” was still on radio, so Atlantic put them back in the studio. Let’s reap whatever sales we could get was Atlantic’s motto.
A year and a month later, “Orange Ave.” comes out and it also fails commercially. Atlantic dropped em and Mammoth took em back.
In 1999, one of their main songwriters, guitarist Jason Pollock left, citing writers block. Thomas Juliano took his place, joining vocalist Jason Ross, bassist Casey Daniel and drummer Gigi Khalsa.
And here we are in 2001, with “The Economy Of Sound”.
Sleepwalking
It’s written by Ross and Juliano. It reached #39 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks.
It’s a great post grunge/alternative rock track, reminding me as a cross between Neil Young, Pearl Jam, Rolling Stones, The Vines and Collective Soul.
Can’t stop this sleepwalking Can’t stop my mind
A sense of being helpless or unable to exert control over our actions and thoughts.
And my spies realize that my hope’s euthanized by the paranoid ape in my heart
A feeling of disillusionment due to internal struggles or fears.
Wait
Written by Ross.
It reached #7 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks and #21 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks.
It reminds me of the song “Signs” which Tesla made popular again in the early 90s. On its Wikipedia page, the song is criticized as being a “Goo Goo Dolls” knockoff or a Bon Jovi homage.
Regardless, this song is littered with some of my favorite lyrical lines.
Machines and luxuries don’t last
Machines and luxuries are temporary and can’t provide lasting fulfillment.
I took my sleep for granted in the past,
Taking our sleep for granted in the past, only to realize the consequences later.
And I woke up half-dead in the hourglass.
It portrays the feeling of time slipping away and the importance of valuing things that truly matter.
Wait, you’re almost there it’s gone
A sense of missed opportunity. We are always focused on the goal and in achieving something, but by the time we realize it, the opportunity has already passed.
It could be about realizing the value of something too late or the fleeting nature of moments.
I never found a gift you get for free, You pay for them dearly
Nothing is obtained without a cost.
Even though things might appear to be free initially, there is usually a significant price to pay in terms of effort, sacrifice, or consequences.
Faster
Written by Ross.
It’s standard pop alternative rock, more like what Good Charlotte would do.
Before tearing it down. I’m alone by my design.
A deliberate choice to be alone while making changes or taking actions.
Summer Is Over
Written by Ross and Juliano, it’s got this chromatic descending line, reminiscent of Stone Temple Pilots “Plush” and certain songs from Collective Soul.
And by some six degrees of separation that Seven Mary Three listened to the “Slang” album from Def Leppard, we’ll I hear that as well.
So this song is a definite like for me.
Honey
Written by Ross.
“Song No 2” from Blur comes to mind.
Still I Find You
Written by Ross.
And still I find you waiting for me on the other side.
A hidden deep cut, with its Led Zeppelin and Beatles feel. They should have lived in this world for a little bit longer and written more songs like this.
And it’s a favorite.
Breakdown
Written by Ross and Daniel.
Its aggressive like a Blur song and its got an excellent Bridge section which is very Beatles “Helter Skelter” like.
Man In Control?
Written by Ross, it’s got this groove and feel that The Wallflowers became famous for with “One Headlight”.
Zeroes and Ones
Written by Ross and keyboardist Kevin McKendree.
It’s got this “Heroes” vibe and I like it.
First Time Believers
Written by Ross, it feels like an attempt to be Collective Soul.
Steal A Car
Written by Ross.
Velvet Revolver comes to mind here and I like it.
Tug
Written by Ross.
It’s an acoustic heartland like cross that wouldn’t the out of place on a Jovi or Collective Soul album.
And the album was another commercial disappointment.
After the release, their label Mammoth would also be swallowed up by Hollywood Records/Disney and the band was again without a label.
But they continued.
A few more albums, a couple of EPs and a live album would come out and then in 2012, the band broke up.
There was no announcement or updates on their Facebook page.
destroyerofharmony 