I guess I’m back in the “New York Groove” today.
So what’s an original riff these days?
One Direction – “Midnight Memories” borrows from Def Leppard – “Pour Some Sugar On Me”.
And it borrows from Joan Jett – “I Love Rock N Roll” and it borrows from Ace Frehly – “New York Groove”.
Take a little bit from here and a little bit from there to create something a little bit different.
All good songs and part of my Sunday listening.
Although Pat Benatar was promoted as a solo artist, Benatar had a consistent set of band members, for her career. Guitarist Neil Giraldo (who would become her husband) and drummer Myron Grombacher did time with Rick Derringer’s touring band. Other band members put in decent stints as well throughout the years in original bassist Roger Capps and original rhythm guitarist Scott St Clair Sheets who were involved in writing some of the big songs.
And they all did their time in previous outfits before Benatar, honing their chops and song writing abilities.
In The Heat Of The Night
The debut album released in 1979 and you see, on this album, what A&R reps used to do once upon a time.
Which is to find songs for an artist to record. If that meant taking songs recorded previously and re-doing em, so be it. The only original songs on this album are “My Clone Sleeps Alone”, “So Sincere” and “We Live For Love”.
“Heartbreaker” has a wicked riff and a lead break. Plus one of the best voices in rock music. And it’s a cover. The song appeared originally on the 1978 album “Queen Of Fools” by Jenny Darren, who appeared in the 12th season of Britain’s Got Talent, at the age of 68, singing “Highway To Hell”. Her record label was also a publishing company and they knew they had a song to shop around, and shop it they did.
While John Cougar Mellencamp delivered a 5 minute song, Pat Benatar delivered a concise pop rock song with “I Need A Lover”, which made Mellencamp a lot of money.
Fun fact is that “I Need A Lover” was a hit in Australia first, when it came out in 1978 on John Cougar’s debut album. It was then re-included on his 1979 album with the U.S market in mind. This time the U.S fans took to it and Pat Benatar helped it along with her version.
“In The Heat Of The Night” has this bass and drum groove with palm muted pentatonic lines which got me interested. And Benatar is oozing with sexuality in the vocal delivery. This is a Smokie cover, and they also covered “If You Think You Know How To Love Me” which was a hit for Smokie in the UK, but it did nothing in the U.S, so the label assumed that if it was done by a female vocalist, it would probably cross over in the U.S. But even Benatar’s version of “If You Think You Know How To Love Me”, which was the first single of this album, proved to be unsuccessful in the U.S.
And while the album is produced by Peter Coleman, the Mike Chapman tracks are produced by Mike himself, as he didn’t want anyone else messing with his tracks and the sound of this tracks, hence the title of Dictator Mike.
And both of these Smokie songs are written by Mick Chapman and Nicky Chinn, who had a run of hit singles between the years of 1970 and 1978. And another song that these two dudes wrote for Sweet also appears on the album called “No You Don’t”.
“We Live For Love” has this Blondie New Wave vibe which Neil Giraldo wrote.
“Don’t Let It Show” reminds me of The Beatles and Benatar delivers a soulful lead, while Neil Giraldo delivers a simple and emotive lead break. The song is written by The Alan Parsons Project songwriters in Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson.
Finally Rated X was a song on a Nick Glider solo album released on Chrysalis. Glider was a glam rocker in a Canadian band called Sweeney Todd. And another fun fact, when Nick Glider left Sweeney Todd to pursue a solo career, he was replaced by an unknown 16 year old called Bryan Adams. And yes, it’s that Bryan Adams.
And with all of this work going on to find songs and what not, it proved successful. The album sold well.
Crimes Of Passion
Released a year later in 1980 and produced by the great Keith Olsen. It also makes the appearance of Myron Grombacher on drums, who would become a mainstay and song writing partner in the Pat Benatar band. Bassist Roger Capps and rhythm guitarist Scott St. Clair Sheets are also there.
“Treat Me Right” is written by a Doug Lubahn (who played bass in The Doors, worked with Billy Squier and Ted Nugent). This song appeared on a “Riff Raff” album, which Lubahn was the bassist and vocalist and it kicks off Benatar’s album, with an arena rock Chorus.
“You Better Run” is a cover of “The Young Rascals”, a song they released in 1966. Benatar and Giraldo gave it a new life in 1980. “Never Wanna Leave You” is a Giraldo and Benatar cut with a reggae feel and a new wave type of vocal. But its sandwiched between four great tracks.
“Hit Me With Your Best Shot” is written by Eddie Schwartz, a Canadian solo artist and song writer who had some hits with Benatar, Paul Carrick and The Doobie Brothers in the 80’s plus he wrote tracks that ended up on Honeymoon Suite, Helix, Meat Loaf and Joe Cocker albums. The riff reminds me of “Since You’ve Been Gone”.
“Hell Is For Children” is a great title to get people thinking. Giraldo, Benatar and bassist Roger Capps went with the heavy theme of child abuse on this song. And it feels weird to write that it is a great song because of the theme. But it is. It’s been covered by a lot of metal and rock acts.
Billy Steinberg is on hand to write “I’m Gonna Follow You”. Steinberg is a few years away from teaming up with Tom Kelly and writing “Like A Virgin”, “True Colors”, “Alone” and “I’ll Stand By You”.
Then there is a Kate Bush cover of “Wuthering Heights”. I didn’t like the original so this one didn’t do anything for me.
“Prisoner Of Love” is written by bassist Scott St. Clair Sheets. It’s got this John Cougar Mellencamp Americana theme .
“Out-A-Touch” is a Giraldo, Benatar and Myron Grombacher cut. The first of many to come.
And like the debut, all the hard work to find songs to cover has paid off, as this album sold better than the debut. 4 million plus U.S sales and one of Benatar’s most streamed songs. Keith Olsen has the Midas touch.
Precious Time
For all of these out of touch and clueless musicians who whinge about releasing music too frequently, here is Pat Benatar releasing an album each year. This one came out in 1981, produced by Keith Olsen and Neil Giraldo.
“Promises in the Dark” is written by Neil Giraldo and Pat Benatar. It kicks off the album and when it starts to rock, how good is Giraldo on the guitar. That dude has gotten a lot of riff based songs onto the mainstream charts.
“Fire and Ice” is written by Tom Kelly (yes, the Tom Kelly that would go on and write with Bill Steinberg who also wrote a song for Benatar on the previous album and on this album called “Precious Time”), Scott St. Clair Sheets and Benatar. It’s like all of these song writers connected over a Pat Benatar album.
The drums kick it off, then the guitars and bass come in. And then then sultry vocal line from Benatar kicks in. And you’re thinking the song can’t get any better, but it does in the Chorus.
“Just Like Me” is a cover of a 60’s song by Paul Revere And The Raiders. Wikipedia tells me that the tune was written by Rick Dey and Rich Brown of the Longview-based band, The Wilde Knights. The Raiders manager Roger Hart then paid them $5,000 for the use of the song and this fee would give Roger Hart a song writing credit. But he didn’t write anything.
“Precious Time” is a Billy Steinberg composition.
The reggae influenced “It’s a Tuff Life” is written by Giraldo. And in the Chorus it moves into a New Wave Rock Chorus.
“Take It Anyway You Want It” is another cut written by Giraldo with the help of a Martin Briley who also wrote songs for Night Ranger, Michael Monroe, Michael Bolton and Jeff Healey, just to name a few. “Evil Genius” is a Giraldo, Benatar cut.
“Hard to Believe” is written by Giraldo and Myron Grombacher. And those major key chord voicings hook me in as it reminds me of songs like “I Need A Lover”.
“Helter Skelter” is written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. I’m a fan of the song, so I enjoy the various cover versions. Motley Crue did a killer version and so did U2. And those blues boogie riffs from Lennon and Harrison, Giraldo and Sheets cover em brilliantly.
Get Nervous
Released in 1982. This one is produced by Neil Giraldo and the producer from their first album, Peter Coleman.
Rhythm guitarist Scott St. Clair Sheets left and was replaced by keyboardist Charlie Giordano who ended up playing in “The E Street Band” after the death of original organist Danny Federici in 2008. St Clair left to focus on his own musical projects. One of the projects, a glam metal band called John Scott, finally got a deal in the early 90’s and then lost it when Grunge took over.
Sheets also formed a band in 1990’s called St Clair, and their self-titled debut album had Rudy Sarzo on bass and Jimmy Crespo on guitar with Ron Corbett on vocals.
“Shadows Of The Night” sounds like it influenced a young Jon Bon Jovi or Desmond Child, because god damn, it sounds like “Edge Of A Broken Heart” was born from it. The track is written by a person called D.L. Byron who also brought a case of Copyright Infringement against Rascal Flatts and their song “No Reins” for sounding very similar to “Shadows Of The Night”
Now we start the Giraldo and Billy Steinberg cuts to close of side one.
“Anxiety (Get Nervous)” has this staccato palm muted riff from Giraldo that Jake E Lee would use in songs like “Waiting For Darkness”. “Fight It Out” moves between piano ballad and power rock with Benatar’s voice carrying it. “The Victim” is a rock tour-de-force.
“Little Too Late” is written by Alex Call, who performed it in a band called Clover between the years of 1970 and 1979, which also had members like Huey Lewis and Jeff Porcaro in the band and they did work with a certain Mutt Lange in the 70’s.
Everyone is paying their dues.
“I’ll Do It” is a Giraldo and Benatar cut with a hooky and jangly guitar riff and melody. “I Want Out” has this “Flash” Queen vibe and it’s another cut written by Giraldo and Steinberg.
And I love the little connections and stories to different artists that Benatar and Co, introduced via the songs they selected to include on the album.
I don’t have the “Live From Earth” album (which was released in 1983) but it needs to be mentioned here, because it includes a studio track called “Love Is A Battlefield” which has 62 million plus streams on Spotify.
Tropico
Released in 1984.
Another change in the band department, with original bassist Roger Capps leaving and Donnie Nossov (who played with Jon Waite) replacing him. And it’s the album which sees Neil Giraldo take the reins of song writing, co-writing 8 out of the 10 tracks.
It wasn’t as loud as the previous efforts, more Madonna”ish and Cyndi Lauper ”ish. It was full of midi samples. And probably the album I don’t go back to even though it had “We Belong”.
Seven The Hard Way
A 1985 release and in seven years, Pat Benatar released an album each year. All in the aim to get her name and music out there. Artists seem to forget this cycle nowadays.
Once upon a time, artists had an album released, year after year. The labels cannibalised their sales of older product with new product. As a by-product, the artists built up careers.
Ronnie James Dio always comes to mind. From the first Rainbow album, to Black Sabbath and to the Dio “Sacred Heart” album, Dio had released album after album, each year. And people wonder why he was playing in arenas. You need to strike while you are hot, because it disappears quickly. More so today than ever before.
According to Benatar, “Seven the Hard Way” cost the most to make and sold the least. It’s also the last Pat Benatar album to feature bassist Donnie Nossov, who along with drummer Myron Grombacher went on to play with Lita Ford on her breakthrough album, Lita (1988) and on the supporting tour. However, Grombacher would return to Benatar’s band for the follow-up album.
And it’s not an album I go back to.
Wide Away In Dreamland
Three years between albums, this one was released in 1988.
One song.
“All Fired Up”.
It was huge in Australia.
Massive.
The music sounded like it came from the Aussie Pubs and it resonated quickly with Australian audiences. And I was curious as to how this Aussie Pub sound made its way to Pat Benatar. Looking at the credits, the song is written by Kerryn Tolhurst. Back then, that meant nothing to me, because I didn’t have an easy way to research things. But fast forward many years, later, and I find out that Kerryn Tolhurst is Australian, who was in an Australian country rock band called “The Dingoes”. When that band broke up, he formed a few others, and “Rattling Sabres” is the band that recorded and released “All Fired Up” in 1987.
And it did nothing in Australia.
Zero.
A year later, with Benatar and Giraldo taking the reins on it, the song got a new lease of life.
Choice Cuts DVD
A DVD which more or less covers the huge music video career of Benatar.
My dad always said to me that “you learn outside the classroom”. The classroom to him (after Primary School), was a way to create robots for the degree factories. There was no learning happening there, just do as your told type of obedience.
“You would have to write an essay on a topic that’s been picked for you, a summary on a book that’s been picked for you and a book which you also had to read. You are taught a history that some faceless person decided you needed to know.” That’s what my Dad said.
“Where are the life skills about taxes, the share market and the property market?” my Dad would say. “And teachers are meant to plant the seed for expanding your mind. Not enclosing it.”
As my dad put it, he had to learn/figure out what to do. And when it came to money it was an expensive mistake, because he was financially illiterate. There was no one around to teach him or show him. Only people to get rich from selling debt.
And he would tell me, how many people learned to change a tyre for the first time was when they got a flat?
Its all trial and error.
Like when you pick up that hammer and chisel and decide to do some chiselling. When you start doing this, you realise that you are pretty crap at it, because you end up missing the chisel and hitting your hand with the hammer. It hurts like a MF, but you learn from it and suddenly, you are an expert at using a chisel with a hammer.
And the best form of learning is music. You know instantly if you are doing the right thing or not, by the sounds. If you hit a bum note, the feedback is instant, telling you, “hey, hang on for a second there, you hit a F# instead of an F”.
By learning it opens the doors to forming an identity.
Heavy Metal and Hard Rock music opened up my eyes to a lot of things and the songs opened up doors for my learning. The imagery of the album covers and the lyrics of bands, it more or less set the tone for the kind of movies I would also gravitate to.
And the community I grew up in, also assisted in my identity. Creating a metal and rock lifestyle. And then we grew up and got out of the town and now that community is so fragmented.
But it’s still a community.
It’s possible that your job is to make music. Or your job is something you do to get by in life and your real passion is music.
If that’s what you do, what would it mean to you to write more music and release it frequently?
Where would that put you in a year?
Is that more of a hassle or less of a hassle?
Is the drama worth it or not worth it?
Every person in the workforce asks themselves, how can we do our work better.
If you write music for a living, what would happen if you had the same mindset. How can you write better songs?
And the definition of better is yours to define.
Not the record labels, the manager or the public. It’s your definition. Define it and get cranking.
Winning streaks don’t last forever. It doesn’t happen in sport and it doesn’t happen in music either. Artists might have a commercial come back in between.
Aerosmith did it.
They had success in the 70’s, then barely survived their addictions by the end of that decade. In the early 80’s no one cared about em and when MTV started to rule culture, Aerosmith was absent until the Run DMC collaboration and then “Permanent Vacation” gave them another winning title. And this kept rolling with “Pump”, “Get A Grip” and “Nine Lives”. Another decade on top between 1987 and 1997 and then it started to dissipate again.
The draw they had in the live arena didn’t translate to high sales of their newer material. And like evert artist who had public acceptance of their music in the record label gatekeeper model, they didn’t know where they fitted in, post Napster. So they withheld their new music for a long time, until they released it (the “Music From Another Dimension” album in 2012) and no one cared about it, to talk or write about it.
But they did enough in their revivals to have a 50 year career in the music business.
Twisted Sister battled hard to get a record deal and make it. They finally got to the top with “Stay Hungry” and their cultural MTV anthems, only to disappear three years later in 1987, to resurface again almost 15 years later in 2002.
So the line from one spot to a better spot is rarely straight. It has its ups and downs and arcs. Even the hard work and the slog doesn’t last forever. Because every day you will be faced with opportunities, which are more or less problems that need to be solved. And you will have a choice, do nothing or to work through the problem.
Imagine if bands like Ratt, Dokken, White Lion and Skid Row worked through their problems instead of breaking up.
What would they be like today?
Because moving on and working towards something better is a habit and if you don’t have that habit, you might miss the chance that appears.
Quiet Riot – Quiet Riot
It’s not on Spotify and never will be. Who knows who even owns the rights to these songs?
The main songwriters in Randy Rhoads and Kevin DuBrow are gone. If anything, these songs should be in the public domain. But Copyright is a lot different these days, so someone/most probably a corporation is holding the rights to these songs locked up until 2080 and that someone has done nothing to enhance culture except to profit from it.
DuBrow resurrected some of these recordings in the 90’s for an album called “The Randy Rhoads Years”. Which is also not on Spotify. And it probably never will be.
And on those recordings he took the original tracking of Rhoads guitar sound, (there was a DI take with no effects on the master tapes) and DuBrow put the DI guitar take through different pedals to update the sound. Then he re-did his vocal tracks and the drums and the bass. Purists call it sacrilege and I call it “keeping the songs alive”.
The band for the debut album, (which was released in Japan only) was DuBrow on vocals, Rhoads on guitar, Kelli Garni on bass and Drew Forsyth on drums.
Randy Rhoads still riffs away like the guitar hero he is. More in a glam pop/rock kind of way.
“It’s Not So Funny” has an aggressive minor key verse riff, with a major key Chorus. A style that RR would use in “Crazy Train”. This song also made it to the “The Randy Rhoads Years” CD many years later.
“Mama’s Little Angels” has a sleazy bluesy riff that David Coverdale would have loved to sing over. And Kevin DuBrow did just that when he re-wrote the lyrics for the song (with a little help from Bobby Rondinelli), re-sung it and called it “Last Call For Rock and Roll” on “The Randy Rhoads Years” album. And suddenly, a better version of the song was kept alive.
In “Ravers” there is a riff that RR took for “Over The Mountain”, just before he plays the “Black Sabbath” lick in the song.
“Back To The Coast” is familiar, a song solely written by Randy Rhoads and his brother Kelle Rhoads.
And I like QR because Kevin DuBrow was unique, very different to the other metal/rock singers in looks and style, but I always struggled to connect with any of DuBrow’s lyrics, except for a few tracks like “Bang Your Head”, “Run For Cover”, “The Wild And The Young” and “Don’t Want To Let You Go” which was written by Carlos Cavazo.
“Look In Any Window” is written by Randy Rhoads and it’s very Alice Cooper-“ish” which isn’t surprising as Randy Rhoads has talked about the influence of the two Alice Cooper guitarists on his playing and song writing. This one also appears on “The Randy Rhoads Years” album.
As I was listening back to the QR1 album on YouTube, I was reading the comments and people like to compare between EVH and RR.
If you compare QR1 to VH1, well there isn’t a comparison. VH1 is far superior. Even RR didn’t like QR1 and he made his Mum promise to never get it released in the U.S if something happened to him.
Sammy Hagar – Sammy Hagar
Sammy’s voice is one of the best. This album is interesting because of its variety. If you are looking for hits then this album is not for you. But if you are looking to hear an artist stretch their wings and try different things out, then you will like this album.
“Red” has this bass groove which reminds me of ELO. “Catch The Wind” is a ballad, which reminded me of R&B soul artists. And then I remembered it was a cover from “Donovan” who had a hit in 1965 with it and was known for his folk rock songs.
“Cruisin’ And Boozin’” moves between acoustic and distortion, the verses sounding progressive, while the Chorus could have come from an AC/DC album.
“Free Money” has a haunting piano riff to kick it off. It’s a cover of Patti Smith song. Musically and melodically, the song moves at the correct pace, slowly percolating until its ready to explode. And that happens from about the 2.09 minute mark. And although it’s like a rock song with a 4/4 time signature, its song structure is progressive in nature.
When I saw the title “Rock ‘N’ Roll Weekend” I sort of had a sound and groove in my head as to how it would sound. And it didn’t disappoint, with its nod to Bad Company.
“Fillmore Shuffle” comes across like a Southern Rock track, moving between its acoustic riff and harmony leads. But underpinning it all is Hagar’s voice. And it’s another cover song which Hagar has taken and given them a new Hard Rock life.
There is a horn section on “The Pits” and some of Sammy’s best social lyrics about not having enough money to survive.
“Love Has Found Me” is the heaviest track on the album (whereas I expected a ballad), and the closer “Little Star- Eclipse” brings back the progressive nature of the album which was introduced with the Patti Smith cover, especially when it moves into the “Eclipse” part of the song and that riff to kick it off.
David Coverdale – White Snake
It’s not on Spotify for his first ever solo release and a return to his blues/soul rock for the album which would become the birth of Whitesnake.
After Purple splintered, Coverdale started writing and when he got stuck with ideas, Micky Moody would come in and help him. Some of these songs and some of the songs from “Northwind” would eventually end up on Whitesnake releases.
“Blindman” is one of my favourite cuts ever. I like everything about it. It appeared a few years later on the “Ready N Willing” album.
The acoustic guitars, the vocal line, the backing singers, the lead breaks and the distortion riffs when it call kicks in and overall, the lyrics.
“White Snake” is a twelve bar blues sleaze romp. And it was two words before it became one word, about DC having a White Snake and does she want to shake it.
“Time On My Side” reminds me of a Bad Company cut and at that age, DC had time on his side, but these days, pushing almost 70, time is not with him. And it’s that sense of mortality which resonates even more. When I was young, I felt indestructible and the whole world was there for the taking. Now, I don’t feel so indestructible, and the amount of broken bones I’ve endured and had to heal from because of sports or drunken stupidity, keep reminding me that time isn’t on my side.
“Peace Lovin’ Man” captured me instantly because of its title and the soul rock vocal line from DC, hooked me in.
And it’s that soul voice from DC that makes these songs stand out.
Ted Nugent – Cat Scratch Fever
The U.S Patriot that dodged the draft. I saw that comment on a Dee Snider tweet. Actually anything I read on Mr Ted these days, is because of his controversial comments, but at least he stands for something. It doesn’t matter if you agree or disagree. Like John Mellencamp said, you need to stand for something, otherwise you would fall for everything.
I always thought Ted Nugent was the singer as well. You wouldn’t think that another person sang the songs, with Crazy Ted all other the covers.
I like the riff that kicks off “Cat Scratch Fever”. It rocks, it grooves and its heavy. “Wang Dang Sweet Poontang” has this riff that is played after each line is sang. And I like it.
“Death By Misadventure” has a boogie woogie verse riff, and so does “Live It Up”. Santana was also writing songs like these around this same period.
Lynyrd Skynyrd – Street Survivors
Credit Zakk Wylde. His love for this music translated into well-spoken interviews and he got me interested to check out these kind of influences.
The last album before the plane crash which happened a few days after the album was released. And of course, this tragedy translated to a lot of sales, which kept the record label happy. But the world lost a lot of talents in Ronnie Van Zant, and a guitar hero the world will never know in Steve Gaines along with his sister Cassie Gaines who did backing vocals.
It was Cassie who recommended her younger brother Steve to replace Ed King when he departed and it was Cassie who initially refused to board the plane because of a small fire on one of the engines on a previous flight. But she was persuaded to board by Van Zant. And she survived the plane crash only to bleed to death. 18 months later, the mother of Cassie and Steve Gaines, got killed in a car crash near the cemetery where Cassie and Steve are buried. So much tragedy.
“That Smell” written by Allen Collins and vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, about the smell of a person’s surroundings doing drugs and alcohol captured me instantly. The guitar player from the riffs to the lead breaks had me picking up the guitar to learn em. And at 6.30 plus minutes, it’s perfect.
“One More Time” just plods along and as soon as the harmony leads kicked in for the outro, it ends.
“I Know A Little” sounds like the songs that SRV would take to the top and there is this lick before the verse kicks in, that sounds like “Unskinny Bop”, which means a young CC DeVille would have been listening. And this track is solely written by Steve Gaines. It’s his guitar hero spotlight.
Well that’s a wrap for the third part of 1977, so off to 2000 we go again for part four.
Dee Snider once said “nothing lasts forever”. You are on top today and forgotten the next. The news cycle is so fast that no one even remembers what happened last week.
And I’m constantly in a state of learning. I like to read and learn new things. I like to acquire new skills. More so now than ever before.
I’ve always told everyone that Maiden made me want to learn, because of their songs. And I always got blank stares when I said that.
So I started to explain.
I read the Bible because of “Revelations” and “Number Of the Beast”.
I researched “Alexander The Great” because of the song. I read the poem of the Ancient Mariner because of them and the story of the “Phantom Of The Opera” and the mythology of the “Flight Of Icarus”.
I got an A when we studied Ancient Egypt because “Powerslave” made me interested in that era. I read up on the Battle Of Britain because of “Aces High”. I got to understand the Doomsday Clock and what it actually meant to forecast “Two Minutes To Midnight”.
“Mother Russia” got me reading up on the Tsars. “The Trooper” got me reading up on the “Crimean War” and “Where Eagles Dare” got me interested in World War II again, hence the reason why I kept getting A’s in history. Plus let’s not forget Churchill’s speech which is used to great effect in “Live After Death”. As I type this I’m hearing “we will never surrender” as the band launches into “Aces High”.
“Genghis Khan” was an unknown name back then so I had to check it out and I had to look up the meaning for “Purgatory”.
And the covers. I stared at em for long periods of time and tried to draw em myself. Another source of learning a new skill. Same deal with the logo.
That band was huge in getting me curious.
And I see that same sense of learning happening with my children today. From the TV shows and movies they’ve watched, they have built their own LEGO creations, wrote their own stories and filmed their own stop motion movies.
Be influenced and never stop learning.
We go from silence to sirens
Without a space between
We are a violent virus
Without a remedy
You can’t catch your breath these days. The news cycle is getting shorter and shorter. What’s hot today is forgotten tomorrow.
Is anyone talking about Naya, or Maxwell/Epstein?
Jovi dropped a new song and no one cared.
That new album that the artist spent months writing and just released is over within a week. Or maybe not. Maybe the usual information sources don’t know how to report what is hot.
“Lyrically, it’s about the polarization of society and the human impact on the earth itself. We were thinking about how humans can be a virus to the Earth. Everything is so political. Everyone is angry at each other. We’re better when we come together.”
Guitarist Brian Vodinh
Is there a way to stop the bleeding?
Maybe we need an invasion from an alien species to get us to work together to survive like in “War Of The World’s.”
Anyone seen that new series?
A British/French production based on the “War Of The Worlds” story. But done differently. Very differently.
All that we’ve managed to make
Is just a comfortable cage
Oh god
I gotta get out
Get out
Get out of this place
Remember songs like “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place”. Everyone wanted to leave their city limits behind and move somewhere bigger and brighter.
Now we don’t want to move out of home. Kids are staying with their parents for longer and are okay to drive their parents cars. As a parent myself I ha be no issue with this. Humans thrive in tribes.
“While in the studio last fall, we were looking at the state of the world as we wrote ‘The Shift’,”. As a society, we’re so distracted that we’re not united. You can pick a side, but we’re sitting in the same realm.”
Singer Jesse Hasek
People don’t have time to care. They are pushing boulders up hills just to stay alive and to keep their standard of living. They have no time to care about anything else.
“It bothers me when people don’t try to push themselves to enjoy what life has to offer. Life is beautiful, if you really go for it and try. It can show you beauty“
Singer Jesse Hasek
It’s the whole growth mindset, 10,000 hours industry. To grow and fulfill your potential, you need to keep learning, pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, stretching yourself and failing and learning and repeating.
Here we are for Part 3 of 1985.
WASP – The Last Command
I always thought WASP was huge in the U.S, because they always appeared in magazines.
But they weren’t.
This album and the self-titled debut, got a Gold certification from the RIAA in June 1998, 14 and 13 years after their release. Maybe their claim to fame was due to the controversy of their song titles, lyrics and the overall decadence.
Regardless, WASP has a special place in my music life.
Those opening arpeggios for “Wild Child” hooked me in. And when Blackie tells us he rides the winds that bring the rains, I was interested and the Chorus about being a wild child, so turn the flames higher and be touched and loved.
Well, how can you not like it, even if it doesn’t make sense.
And the Vodka/Budweiser Swilling Chris Holmes breaks out a mean little lick from about 3.50 minutes which brings back memories of the “2 Minutes To Midnight” solo from Maiden, that slow little breakdown section before it picks up again into the intro riff.
How can you not like “Ballcrusher” about a vicious voodoo women who drank all of Blackie’s JD and stole his car?
“Fistful of Diamonds” is Blackie’s social song about the corruption of Wall Street and how the bankers/investors are tied in with the Governments. Because power rules the game. And the power is with the banks. It’s why the Government bailed out the banks when the GFC happened. And the banks gave themselves bonuses and had luxury parties while people lost their homes.
I like the intro to “Widowmaker”. The clean tone section sounds so doomy that when the distortion kicks in, it’s as bleak and dirgey like a Paradise Lost song.
“Blind In Texas” is not my favourite WASP tune, but I do like its high tempo ZZ Top”isms”.
“Cries In The Night” makes me want to pick up the guitar and play it as it moves between acoustic and distortion.
Spencer Proffer was the “producer of the moment” for a few years because of “Metal Health” by Quiet Riot and he was on hand to produce this album, going for crispness in sound.
John Cougar Mellencamp – Scarecrow
How good is the “Rain On The Scarecrow” start?
“Small Town” resonated and was overplayed on radio.
“Lonely Ol’ Night” is excellent and so is the reggae appropriated “The Face Of The Nation”.
“Between A Laugh And A Tear” sounds like a cross between Bryan Adams and Bruce Springsteen done Mellencamp style.
“You’ve To Stand For Something” is the best song on the album for me. Lyrically, its excellent, dropping cultural references in each verse. And how much truth is in the Chorus.
“You’ve got to stand for something or you will fall for anything”.
And the album closes with “R.O.C.K In The U.S.A”, a track which transports your mind to the 60’s even though you didn’t live it.
Dio – Sacred Heart
The trilogy ends with the Mark 1 Dio band.
“The first two were definitely a lot more fun than the third. ‘Sacred Heart’ was a very very difficult record to make for many reasons. I also think that musically it’s a little overly complex for the band. I think we started to kind of wander off course a bit.
I know that Jimmy and Vinny feel the same about that. It was a more difficult record to write and it was a more difficult record to record.
Ronnie was going through some very dark personal issues at the time; he was separating from his wife Wendy who was also the manager of the band. But Ronnie was in a very very dark place and he wasn’t easy to be around at that time. Ronnie was also producing the record…that made it exceptionally difficult for everyone involved. So that was a dark time.
Maybe that kind of clouds my being able to reflect objectively on that record, I don’t have great feelings for that record. But ‘Holy Diver’ and ‘Last in Line’ are two great records. They were very easy to write, they were very easy to record.”
Vivian Campbell
Vivian Campbell would be fired mid-tour, replaced by Craig Goldy. This led to Campbell and Dio going after each other in the press. Campbell would then disappoint a lot of his fans (the same way Gary Moore did ) when he said that he hated all the three albums he did with Dio (the same way Gary Moore said he hated all of his rock records) but in the last few years, Campbell has made amends with his past and acknowledged his heritage.
“King Of Rock N Roll”, “Hungry For Heaven” and “Sacred Heart” are classic Dio songs.
“Rock N Roll Children” rivals “Rainbow In The Dark”. “Like The Beat Of My Heart” has a solo section that makes me play air guitar. “Just Another Day” has a classic up-tempo riff with a classic Dio vocal melody.
And to finish off, how good is the intro to “Hide In The Rainbow”. Another Kashmir like groove to close off an album with a shred-a-licious solo.
And the album is more mature and the arrangements a bit more complex, but it’s still a worthy album.
Vandenberg – Alibi
The last album before Adrian put the band on hold, joined Whitesnake for a decade, disappeared from the scene for about a decade and a half, then tried to resurrect Vandenberg and was told he couldn’t by his ex-bandmates, so Vandenberg became Vandenberg’s Moonkings and in 2020, its Vandenberg again.
“All The Way” kicks it off, with its arena rock riffs and chorus. The way Vandenberg decorates the verses, is Hendrix guitar hero stuff, moving between power chords, arpeggios, single note melodic lines.
Did the Def Leppard guys listen to “Once In A Lifetime” and then went away to write “Hysteria”? Then again these kind of progressions started to become common.
“Voodoo” has an intro and verse riff which reminds me of Michael Schenker. “Dressed To Kill” has a speed metal riff in the vein of Deep Purple’s “Speed King” and “Highway Star”.
“Fighting Against The World” is that classic Euro Rock I like which reminds me of the Uli Jon Roth “Scorpions” era. And Adrian, brings out the guitar hero in him for the lead break.
“How Long” is one of those ballads that moves between rock and classical in the arpeggios and chord voicings.
“Alibi” sounds like it came from the 70’s. Actually “Because Of You” from Storm Force has this same feel in the verses.
The very “Into The Arena” sounding “Kamikaze” closes off the album.
Marillion – Misplaced Childhood
They came into my headspace when Michael Portnoy from Dream Theater kept talking about em in a lot of interviews that he did in the early 90’s. And when I checked em out, Steve Rothery entered my life as an influence.
And this album is a monster.
The synth riff to kick of “Pseudo Silk Kimono” is haunting. And Fish is unique with his vocals and his lyrical phrasing/messages, something that Geoff Tate would take and run with as well.
“Pseudo Silk Kimono” moves into the beautiful strummed guitar for “Kayleigh”, before the arpeggios start and Fish starts singing “Do you remember?”.
And the lead break in “Kayleigh” is so melodic, melancholic and hopeful at the same time.
“Kayleigh” segues into “Lavender” with its major key piano riff.
“Bitter Suite” has this section from 3.45 which always gets me to pay attention when it comes along. “Heart Of Lothian” and “Waterhole” contrast each other between slow and fast tempo’s. “Lords Of The Backstage” sounds like a certain Rush song. And when the 9 plus minute “Blind Curve” begins, I am intoxicated by the various moods of the song and the album overall.
The U2 influenced “Childhoods End” just keeps adding to the variety of the album. And it’s a big reason why I like Marillion. The variety. You get a mix of so many different styles.
Helloween – Walls Of Jericho
The Helloween guys kept on saying that they were like Judas Priest, Scorpions and Iron Maiden, only faster.
And they sure were.
Helloween came into my life because of the song “I Want Out” a few years later and that got me interested to check em out. This album came in various editions. The track listing on this one is from the 1987 edition. Hell, due to a manufacturing error, one of the sides on several cassette copies had the music of Celtic Frost’s “To Mega Therion” on it. And it confused a lot of people.
This is the only album to feature guitarist Kai Hansen on lead vocals as well.
“Warrior” starts off with the same machine gun noises and bomb explosions that Metallica also uses for “One” when they play it live.
The lead breaks in each of the songs are songs within songs compositions, moving between classical influences like Uli Jon Roth Scorpions era and Pentatonic/Modal influences like Michael Schenker UFO era, merged between Iron Maiden’s NWOBHM sounds. Just faster.
“Victim Of Fate” sounds like it came from an Iron Maiden jam session with riffs that remind me of “Phantom Of The Opera”. Just faster.
And after 2 minutes of 150km speeds, the song slows down like a traffic jam. This part of the song is my favourite, as it starts to build up again.
And the lead break that follows gets me playing air guitar. Then it picks up again to a harmonized lead break.
Like “Phantom Of The Opera”. Just faster.
And there is another open string harmony lead break to close the song off. But it didn’t, because with 40 seconds to go, a new lead break was created.
And by the end of the 6 minutes, a classic Helloween song is born and Power Metal with it.
“Cry For Freedom” has this haunting acoustic guitar riff to start it off. “Walls Of Jericho/Ride The Sky” starts off with a trumpet version of “London Bridge Is Falling Down” before a blistering speed metal riff kicks in (which is the start of “Ride The Sky”) to rival anything thrash related that Metallica was doing at that point in time.
“Reptile” sounds like an unfinished demo from “Piece Of Mind”. Only faster.
“Guardians” is patient zero of the Power Metal pandemic. It has it all, the fast riffs, the soaring vocals, the progressive time changes in the solo section and the major key “battle cry” Chorus.
“Phantoms Of Death” sounds like the “The One Riff To Rule Em All” which is known as the “Two Minutes To Midnight” riff but it goes back to the 70’s because it was that common. And a harmony lead break which reminds me of “Rime Of The Ancient Mariner”. Only faster.
“Gorgar” has this head banging riff that reminds me of Accept. This is the song, which is the slowest on the album. And Wikipedia tells me that “In The Hall Of The Mountain King” is referenced here. Similar to how Accept referenced Beethoven in “Metal Heart”.
And you know the wrestler Chris Jericho who is also the singer in a band called Fozzy, well he took his name and wrestling manoeuvre from the title of this album.
And into the time machine we go for 1977 – Part 3.
I purchased it for the Megadeth track, “Go To Hell”. I’m not sure if Mustaine was having a piss take towards Metallica with the “Now I lay me down to sleep” section of the song because I think that first minute was all about that as the actual song “Go To Hell” begins from about 1.10 minutes.
If I only knew then, that I would have “Go To Hell” on other Megadeth Compilations, I would have used my money differently on this, because I already had the Kiss track, “God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll to You II”, “Dream Of A New Day” by Richie Kotzen and “The Perfect Crime” by Faith No More.
I don’t remember how “Shout it Out” by Slaughter and “Battle Stations” from Winger sounded. Same deal for “Tommy The Cat” by Primus (who I remember played themselves in the movie) and “Juniors Gone Wild” by King’s X, which I tried to call up on Spotify to listen to, but hey, it’s not there, the same deal with “Battle Stations” from Winger.
I was surprised by “Drinking Again” from Neverland and “Showdown” from Love on Ice brings blanks.
So yeah, not the best soundtrack.
destroyerofharmony 