Tag Archives: blues rock

A to Z of Making It, Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

Australian Method Series: Jet – Get Born

Released in 2005.

Riding the wave of “old is new” to a whole new audience who was too young to know the old or to have heard it.

Listening to this album got me to call up a 60’s Rock Anthems playlist on Spotify and it’s surprising how many songs released in the 80s moving forward have riffs from 60’s songs. There are the artists that we all know like Hendrix, Cream, The Who, Steppenwolf, The Doors and Zeppelin but artists like The Kinks, The Kingsmen, CCR, The Animals and even Marvin Gaye have been influential in developing the hard rock and heavy metal riffs.

Jet are from Melbourne.

Nic Cester is on vocals and guitar, Chris Cester is on drums and vocals, Cameron Muncey is on guitars and vocals and Mark Wilson is on bass, piano and harmonica.

Last Chance

“Can you give me one more try at that?”

And LOUD RAWK AND ROLL kicks in.

Are You Gonna Be My Girl

It’s sitting at 347.811 million streams on Spotify.

On the Jet YouTube account the video is at 122 million views.

Yeah, it sounds like other songs (Iggy Pop’s “Lust For Life” is mentioned a fair bit), but who cares. Imitation is a form of flattery. And all hit songs are derivative versions of songs which came before.

Rollover D.J.

It’s a Rolling Stones track in the verses and a 12 bar blues track in the Chorus.

Look What You’ve Done

58.066 million streams on Spotify.

A piano riff starts the song, with a Beatle-esque “Sexy Sadie” like vocal. Even the lyrics have a similarity.

The Beatles have “Sexy Sadie, what have you done! / You’ve made a fool of everyone”.

Jet has “Oh, look what you’ve done / You’ve made a fool of everyone”.

Progress is derivative. Take something that came before and tweak it.

Get What You Need

The drum groove gets me, but it’s the reminders of other songs that makes me a fan.

If you’ve heard “All Day And All Of The Night” from The Kinks, you’ll hear some similarities.

If you’ve heard “If It Feels Good, Do It” from Sloan you’ll hear similarities.

And if you played NHL 2004, you would have heard the song and become a fan.

Move On

It feels like a Free/Bad Company/Rolling Stones acoustic cut which Guns N Roses also used as an influence for “Patience”.

Radio Song

Say hello to “Hey Jude” or a slower version of “Baby Blue” from Badfinger.

Get Me Outta Here

I went down to the bank just to get me my pay / I’m gonna get me, outta here / I got me some cash, I’m headed back to LA / I’m gonna get me, outta here

Keeping with the theme of “old is new” again, even the lyrics were based on pre 2000 pay days.

Cold Hard Bitch

It’s at 52.995 million streams on Spotify.

They bring so many vibes to this track.

Listen to it and you’ll spot “Woman From Tokyo” by Deep Purple, “Best I Can” by Rush, “Shoot To Thrill“ by AC/DC, “Won’t Get Fooled Again” by The Who and a little bit of Stones mixed in.

Come Around Again

A country rock ballad with a Bad Company feel.

“I don’t know when I’m right that I only know when I’m wrong”

Sometimes our minds become our worst enemies.

Take It Or Leave It

The Kinks “unhinged”.

Lazy Gun

The “High Voltage” riff to a funky bass riff. Brilliant.

A Beatles influenced Chorus which also reminds me of “Purple Rain” from Prince and “Faithfully” from Journey. Brilliant.

Timothy

All death is tragic.

Sgt Major

The bonus track.

Check out the main riff. It reminds me of “Kings And Queens” from Aerosmith.

They had some serious momentum in promoting this album in Australia with national station Triple J having em in constant rotation that all the other stations followed pretty quickly.

In Australia, it’s 8x Platinum.

In Japan and New Zealand, it’s Gold.

In Argentina, Canada, UK and US, it’s Platinum.

In other words it was everywhere.

Crank it.

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A to Z of Making It, Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

Australian Method Series: Wolfmother – Wolfmother

The Wolfmother debut.
 
Sometime in 2000, founding members Andrew Stockdale on guitar and vocals, Chris Ross on bass/keyboards and Myles Heskett on drums got together to jam.

But it was in 2004, when Wolfmother was born.

And suddenly things started to happen. After playing a gig in April 2004 in Sydney, they got a record deal with Aussie independent label Modular Recordings with whom they released their (EP) “Wolfmother” in September.

While touring on the EP, Universal Music came in and signed em to an international recording deal.

The self-titled debut produced by Dave Sardy was originally released in Australia via their independent deal on 31 October 2005.

The album was later released internationally by Universal in early 2006.

Like other Aussie artists who got a later international release, the album had an additional track and a rearranged track listing. Spotify carries the international release listing and release date.

As an owner of a book of Frank Frazetta paintings, seeing “The Sea Witch” on the album cover grabbed my attention immediately.

Prior to the release, the band had some serious momentum in Australia. They had the EP out on the charts, they toured and nationwide radio station Triple J, had the band in constant rotation.

Dimension

The bass and drum groove reminds me of an amalgamation of Sweet and Cream in the verses before a Chorus kicks in that sounds like a Sabbath cut.

And a new game is created here in which the listener has to guess which band or song influenced the next song.

And I like games like these.

White Unicorn

You know that section half way through in “Stairway To Heaven” when Jimmy Page starts to play major sounding triads over a droning D note.

Well that’s how “The White Unicorn” starts off. And I like it. Take something that came before and create something new from it.

Woman

Its basically a Sabbath cut with that driving galloping groove from “Children Of The Grave”.

Then again “Roadhouse Blues” comes to mind as well.

The addition of the keyboards makes it sound like a demented Doors cut.

And like other Aussie bands, (Airbourne comes to mind) they capitalized on the video game phenomenon that was happening. “Woman” was licensed to appear in over 12 video games which came out between 2006 and 2008.

Where Eagles Have Been

The beginning reminds of “Goin To California” from Led Zep or “Mother Nature’s Son” from The Beatles or “Brain Damage” from Pink Floyd.

This is the beauty of music. Familiarity is in every song which is created.

Check out the sound effect which increases in intensity at 3.42 and then the guitar solo. This is the best part of the song.

At 4.24 to 4.46 reminds of me of “Dazed and Confused” from Led Zep.

Apple Tree

It has a punk style “My Generation” feel from The Who in the Intro and first verse.

Joker & the Thief

This song has crossed over onto a higher astral plane. It’s everywhere. If you sit down to watch a movie or a TV show, there is a chance you’ll hear it. If you buy a video game, there is a chance you’ll hear it.

When I hear “Detroit Rock City” by Kiss, it reminds me of this song.

“The Hangover” and “Shrek” movies have scenes in the movie, which has this song playing.

Colossal

It feels like a Sabbath cut that hadn’t seen the light of day.

How good is the riff that comes in at the 3.30 mark?

It reminds me of “Ace Of Spades” from Motörhead.

Mind’s Eye

My favorite track.

The arpeggios to start it off are hypnotic. Metallica used a similar progression for “The Day That Never Comes”.

When the verses come in, simplicity at its best. It’s just a single strummed chord and a haunting vocal melody.

I like the simple ascending chord progression just before the Chorus. And it comes back again after the Chorus.

How good is the organ riff?

And they jam on it till the end.

Pyramid

Another song that became a favorite amongst people that didn’t even like this kind of music because it appeared in the “FlatOut 2” car racing game.

Witchcraft

A flute solo. Jethro Tull anyone.

Tales

It’s not a favorite.

Love Train

Listen to “Moby Dick” from Led Zep. Imitation is a form of flattery.

Vagabond

A simple drum metronome style click and an acoustic guitar playing a sort of Country Blues Delta riff start off the song.

Swampy it is and the album is done.

I’ve read reviews that they are copyists and unoriginal. But music is judged on the fun and enjoyment you get out of it. And this album is a whole lotta fun.

Going back to the originality question, the bands that influenced em where also copyists. Led Zeppelin’s first album is a great cover album rebranded as a Zep album.

After all was said and done, the album was certified 5× Platinum in Australia, Gold in Canada, Gold in Germany, Gold in the U.K and Gold in the U.S.

By the time the band started to record album number 2, it was just Andrew Stockdale who remained. But the sound and the songs still remained.

You can read my review on “Cosmic Egg” here.

And spend your weekend cranking Wolfmother.

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1976 – Part 2.7: Black Sabbath – Technical Ecstasy

The sound was a bit different but it still did well.

The Grunge movement brought Black Sabbath back into the mainstream. Alice In Chains spoke of their love of Sabbath, so did Soundgarden and even Nirvana.

Kyuss/Queens Of The Stone Age also spoke of their Sabbath love.

So it was no surprise that Sabbath started selling records in the 90s.

Eventually in 1997, “Technical Ecstasy” received a Gold certification in the U.S.

It’s the seventh studio album.

Released in 1976 and produced by Tony Iommi. But he struggled with it to the point of anger against his band members who spent most of the time on the beach and on booze and drugs.

Ozzy mentioned in his book “I Am Ozzy” that recording the album in Miami was very expensive and he was confused as to why they had to sound like current popular bands. Maybe that was due to their label head Don Arden throwing his interest behind ELO during this time.

The writing was on the wall, as punk had broken through in the U.K and the Sabbath brand of doom was on its way out.

They are also in the midst of releasing a box set of this album, with all the extras that come with box sets.

Back Street Kids

The Intro/main verse riff has a similar feel to “Immigrant Song” and their own “Children Of The Grave” and I like it.

At 1.50 it goes into an excellent major key riff which reminds me of Styx/Free/ELO and acts like that.

The solo from Iommi utilizes the Major Pentatonic. It’s weird to hear happy leads.

You Won’t Change Me

The most doomiest riff starts the song off and their most melodic progression becomes the verse.

Check out the melancholic swirling organ riff from 4.11 and Iommi decorates nicely.

It’s Alright

It’s a Beatles cut and it came out of left field but then again this album is all about expanding the sound.

Bill Ward wrote it and sings it.

Gypsy

Such an overused title in the 70s and 80s. I don’t recall the word being used much in the 90s and beyond.

Bill Ward opens up the song with a drum groove that reminds me of “Sympathy Of The Devil” from The Rolling Stones.

Iommi busts in with chords which further reinforces the Stones influence.

The Pre-Chrous riff is excellent and Ozzy brings out a vocal line that he used in “SATO”.

Then there is a section which I call the ELO section, with piano and distorted guitars.

The last minute is essential listening as Iommi wails away with his pentatonic leads. A perfect closer for Side 1.

All Moving Parts (Stand Still)

The Side 2 opener and what a great blues rock riff to kick it off. And Butler on the bass is massive.

At 1.40 it changes into something different and this is why I like Sabbath. The songwriting can be progressive with the arrangement and at other times the arrangements can be more mainstream like. You get the best of both worlds.

The vocal melody from Ozzy in the verses was used again within his solo career.

Rock ‘n’ Roll Doctor

The Intro reminds of Uli John Roth and his Scorpions work.

But after that a “No Bones Movie” cut blasts out of the speaker.

She’s Gone

I don’t know how much Randy Rhoads listened to this album, but goddamn the acoustic arpeggios on this song sound eerily familiar like the songs “You Can’t Kill Rock N Roll”, “Diary Of A Madman” and “Revelation Mother Earth”.

Dirty Women

This is classic Sabbath. So many good riffs and Iommi’s solo is excellent.

The riff at 2.30. Check it out.

Straight after that it goes into this “2112” style riff and progression.

Overall, the album is really under appreciated. Most of the 70s music had variety on the albums because artists weren’t afraid to experiment. This one is no different.

A few stray observations if I may.

Ozzy mentioned in his book that he doesn’t like the album but this is the sound that made his solo career. Plus having Randy Rhoads, Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake helped with the songs and Sharon Osbourne ran the party with an iron fist.

Bill Ward can carry a tune vocally which was a surprise. It was almost Queen like.

The synth work complements the songs. So I don’t know why so many reviews focused on the synths.

And what’s the go with two robots making out on the cover.

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Australian Method Series: Orianthi – O

Orianthi’s breakthrough was “Believe”, her second album, which came out in 2009 and the hit single “According To You” which she didn’t write as the album had a star studded line up of songwriters and producers either writing songs for Orianthi or working with Orianthi to write songs.

“O” was released in 2020, after her collaboration with Richie Sambora known as RSO finished up or put on hold.

It’s on Frontiers, produced by Marti Fredericksen and it’s great to see Orianthi back out on her own.

And from reading interviews it looks likes the drumming is created/programmed by Evan Frederiksen.

“Contagious”

It’s got a riff that reminds me of Sixx A.M and DJ Ashba like “Lies Of The Beautiful People”.

The song is written by Orianthi and Marti Fredericksen, who has worked with a lot of artists and since I was listening to Motley Crue a few weeks ago, he co write all the tracks on the “Saints Of Los Angeles” album.

And “Contagious” has that sound. It gets me rocking, as it amalgamates blues rock with a bit of Muse chucked in and a modern rock mix.

Lyrically it’s about hatred, and how easily we could all be infected with it.

“They shall not break us ‘cause hate is contagious”

Check out the guitar lead. It’s short but good.

“Sinners Hymn”

It’s is a nice amalgamation of the devils blues music with modern rock to create a sinners anthem.

Check out the section after the solo. It gets all quite with a riff that reminds me of “The Bleeding” and “Prayers Of The Damned” as it builds up again.

“Rescue Me”

This track could appear on a Rag’N’Bone album. It’s got that “Human” feel.

Orianthi is all soul in her vocal melodies on this and delivers an emotive lead break.

“Blow”

It’s a sleazy, sexy and sultry groove that percolates until it explodes in the Chorus.

“Sorry”

It’s a contemporary pop song with a funky hip hop beat. There are synths and a killer vocal delivery from Orianthi.

And I like the mix between merging hip hop beats with a melodic rock vocal melodies and in the Chorus it’s pop rock.

The solo is very Santana inspired and I like it.

“Crawling Out Of The Dark”

It’s on acoustic cut, quite, subdued and melancholic. It wouldn’t be out of place on a country rock record.

Lyrically it’s about a relationship break down and how she’s crawling out of the dark. And when she got out, she didn’t know she had fallen that far.

And check out the blues influenced solo.

“Impulsive”

It’s got this Rolling Stones/Free inspired riff that I like.
 
The lead break is very SRV influenced.

“Streams Of Consciousness”

It starts off with a music box.

It’s a co-write with Nikki Sixx and Marti Frederiksen. Modern rock at its best with some good rock riffs.

Nikki Sixx delivered lyrics about the glamorous but filthy side of Los Angeles.

The solo starts off with a Nu-Metal riff before she breaks out the wah-wah and it sounds very Slash like.

“Company”

It has blues guitar but the background foundation is very synth dance driven.

And a chorus that would not be out of place on an album from “The Cure”.

The best way to sum it up is an amalgamation of different music genres. And because the melodies sound melodic and soulful, it all works together.

“Moonwalker”

It’s got this Latin vibe with a bit of an Enya feel. And the song and overall album gets me thinking about Queen, who also incorporated so many different styles into their albums.

In other words there is a lot of variation here and a little bit for everyone.

Press play and enjoy.

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Times Of Grace – Songs Of Loss And Seperation

10 years is a long time between albums.

“The Hymn Of A Broken Man” came out in 2011 and in 2021, we get “Songs Of Loss And Seperation”.

The band for the album is Adam Dutkiewicz on vocals, guitar and bass, Jesse Leach on vocals and Dan Gluszak on drums.

The Burden Of Belief

It’s got a blues country groove, more like southern country rock.

Fall down to your knees / Wash me clean of all my grief

Mend You

Taking its cues from alternative metal.

I lost a lot of sleep with my restless mind

There is no rest, when you’re left alone with your thoughts especially when your relationship is breaking down or if a loved one is doing it tough with addictions or mental illness.

The riffs in the last 50 seconds. It’s wall breaking time.

Rescue

Its classic Killswitch Engage.

After the screaming verses, the anthemic Chorus smacks you in the face.

Dutkiewicz is a great riff meister, who showcases his talents with each album release.

The last 50 seconds, with the swelling sounds and backwards effects, is haunting and soothing at the same time. A paradox but it works.

Far From Heavenless

A simple arpeggio guitar riff starts the song off, with Leach singing about feeling far from heaven. And there is an ascending guitar line underneath it all, which makes it feel like we are rising.

The power in the next section, when Leach is singing “I’m not heavenless”. And the power house drumming from Gluszak hammers the message home.

Then the dynamic shifts again to subtle and serene arpeggios.

At 3.30 there is just a clean tone guitar riff that reminds me of “Living On The Edge” riff from Aerosmith.

Then listen to how the distorted guitars, bass and drums build it up, over the spoken sermon from Leach.

It’s gloom and doom, but inspirational as well.

Bleed Me

Atmospheric cut about looking for the medicine to bleed you and satisfy the demons.

Medusa

How good is the riff to kick off Medusa?

It’s so Iommi and Zakk Wylde like.

And this nod to classic metal gives way to syncopated verses, more in the vein of Meshuggah and TesseracT.

Currents

The intro riff is familiar. The vocal melody very Maynard like in the verses, as the rage explodes in the Chorus.

Lost in a Dream / Dark waves crash over me

This tension between dark and light, carries the song.

To Carry The Weight

The intro arpeggios and vocal melody could have come from Aaron Lewis and Staind. Maybe even Brent Smith and Shinedown. And I like it.

The song percolates in that sombre mood until it explodes and Jesse Leach delivers a worthy vocal performance.

The riff from 2.25. So melodic, yet heavy.

Cold

It starts off like a country tune. A simple acoustic guitar riff and vocal melody. It’s campfire material.

And from the 3 minute mark, it explodes. The melodies are hypnotic and the music inspirational.

Have I mentioned that Dutkiewicz is a great riff meister?

Forever

The closer. 6.30 minutes long.

All different musical roads lead to here. A combination of country, blues, metal and rock.

For those looking about positive messages, this isn’t the album for you. It’s melancholy lyrics and metal like riffage is music to make you crash your car. You can feel the sadness, a pain at the world, society and the various demons within the mind.

The album title is indicative of the theme. And having gone through loss recently this album is becoming my companion, riding shotgun with me.

So I press repeat.

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Joel Hoekstra 13 – Running Games

I was interested to hear this but I didn’t think I would have liked it as much as I did.

It’s excellent.

I am a Russell Allen fan. I knew of Allen long before I heard of Joel Hoekstra. Allen has a voice which can suit power symphonic bands, metal bands, melodic rock bands, hard rock bands, nu-metal bands and blues rock bands.

And I’m also a Jeff Watson fan, so I wasn’t too thrilled with any Night Ranger version without Watson. Then again Watson hasn’t done much being away from the band and I still want to hear new Night Ranger music.

So I still listened and Hoekstra impressed but I felt he was restrained within that band as Blades and Keagy are the alphas.

And with Whitesnake, Coverdale has two great guitarists to write tunes with but they need to comply with what Coverdale desires.

Which means that Hoekstra 13 is the true Joel Hoekstra.

“Running Games” is album number 2 for his Frontiers label.

The musicians for the album are Russell Allen on vocals, Tony Franklin on bass, Vinny Appice on drums and Derek Sherinian on keyboards with Jeff Scott Soto doing backing vocals. Yep, you read that right, the great JSS is doing backing vocals.

It feels like the 70s ethos, when you see so many guys from different bands jamming together and releasing music.

I was reading some of the interviews Hoekstra did when the album come out and fuck there are some shit interviewers out there, who just do the simple Wikipedia style of interview without even listening to the album.

But the one at “The Rock Pit” is what an interview is about. The interviewer actually listened to the album, liked it and wanted to know more about it. And you get exactly that.

“Finish Line”

“We Rock” from Dio is merged with “I’ll See The Light Tonight” from Malmsteen for the Intro riff and I’m all in.

And that Chorus. Wow. What a hook!

Make sure to check out the lead break as Hoekstra is doing his eight finger tapping.

“I’m Gonna Lose It”

I like the Intro lead. It reminds me of Thin Lizzy.

And just before the Chorus, there is a little snippet of a riff that gets me thinking of “A Touch Of Madness” from Night Ranger.

The lead break again. Wow.

Over at Glide Magazine, Hoekstra said He came up with the song out at Hook City at the Whitesnake studio.

“Hard To Say Goodbye”

The Chorus feels like a Joe Lynn Turner Rainbow Chorus.

“How Do You”

It’s slower and groovy, more in the vein of Adrenaline Mob in the verses with a Euro classical inspired Chorus.

“Heart Attack”

It is a bluesy groovy cut.

“Fantasy”

It feels like ZZ Top added some Metal to their sound in the Intro, and the verses are massive, Kashmir like.

Their is a keyboard solo and then Hoekstra breaks loose.

“Lonely Days”

What a melodic rock Chorus. I’m a sucker for these.

“Reach For the Sky”

Cliched and overused song title.

In an interview over at The Rock Pit, Hoekstra mentions how he wrote the riff on the Whitesnake Tour Bus. Inspiration strikes all the time.

“Cried Enough For You”

It feels like a Y&T cut from the “Black Tiger” album in the acoustic sections before it moves to an Iron Maiden like old school groove.

“Take What’s Mine”

The fast guitar lead and machine gun riff to start off the song gets me to pay attention, but it’s the verse riff that makes me pick up the guitar and bang my head to.

And there’s another anthemic Chorus.

“Running Games”

It feels like a Toto cut.

“Lay Down Your Love”

It feels like ZZ Top has come to town.

Overall Hoekstra’s songwriting is top level and the performances from the guys are excellent.

Check it out.

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Australian Method Series: AC/DC – Highway to Hell

Who would have thought that six months after the album release date, Bon Scott would be dead. There is no denying what a massive force he was in the band and since his departure, AC/DC got stuck in recreating the formula that Bon’s intensity brought to the band.

While Bon wrote about sex, parties and relationships, he was also very conscious of what was happening in society and how society was structured and the power struggle between the haves and have nots. AC/DC post Bon, eventually just wrote songs which had knees rhyming with please.

Eddie Kramer was brought in by the label to produce. Malcolm was less than pleased because it meant older brother George, was no longer involved. But the the pressure was on and the band was not delivering what the label wanted.

Malcolm and the bands new manager Peter Mensch then fired Kramer and hired Robert ‘Mutt’ Lange, who wielded his iron fist straight away and made the band work hard for three months. He even made Bon take vocal lessons.

And it was the start of the holy trinity of albums.

I never purchased this album until the early 2000’s. I just went over to a friends place with a bunch of blank cassettes and I taped every album he had, while we drank beers.

“Highway To Hell”

“Highway To Hell” is a rite of passage. It might have been about touring, however timeless songs have lyrics that can be interpreted in many different ways. The riff to kick it off is iconic. Credit Malcolm.

Livin’ easy, Livin’ free

Those words are exactly how we want to live life. Easy living. Free living. But it isn’t so. Nothing is free in life and nothing is easy. The people born between 1948 and 1962 inherited a rich country and bankrupted it. They first got into government by the early 80’s and by the mid 90’s they were all in positions to make decisions.

They passed laws and regulations to benefit their bank accounts and the bank accounts of their sponsors. If they did something wrong, the taxpayer would bail them out.

And in these pandemic times, living easy and living free is impossible. Free democratic countries are passing laws to enforce lockdowns that dictatorships don’t even have.

I’m on the highway to hell
On the highway to hell

The Satanic panic begins. If this was played backwards, the subliminal message would say, “lleh ot yawhgih eht no”.

It’s so dangerous.

No stop signs
Speed limit
Nobody’s gonna slow me down

Nobody does this anymore. I tell my kids they go to school to learn, not to get a job. But people I speak to always tell me that schools are there for people to get a job. You see, money is more important than developing yourself and experiencing life. You should be free to spread your wings.

Payin’ my dues
Playin’ in a rockin’ band
Hey, mamma
Look at me
I’m on the way to the promised land

It’s why music was great. People paid their dues. It didn’t mean they would make it, or be global superstars. Hell, it didn’t mean they would make a living wage. But they could have. Bon’s lyrics are a lifestyle and six months later, Bon Scott, would be on his way to the promised land.

“Girls Got Rhythm”

If the intro riff doesn’t get you moving, check for a pulse.

I been around the world
I’ve seen a million girls
Ain’t one of them got
What my lady she got

Only Bon could get away with confessing his cheating ways to his real love back in Oz via a song and still be in a relationship.

Love me till I’m legless
Achin’ and sore

Is this even possible anymore?

Everyone is too busy parading on social media, joining movements of empowerment. There is no time for loving until the morning light, unless your on a Netflix TV series.

“Walk All Over You”

After the slow dirge Intro, a riff kicks in that The Romantics would use for “What I Like About You”.

“Touch Too Much”

How good is the Intro?

Seems like a touch, a touch too much
Too much for my body
Too much for my brain

Only Bon can put his bedroom ways into a song like this. In this case, the woman is just too much for him. He can’t handle her.

“Beating Around The Bush“

It’s the usual fast blues from “Let There Be Rock” which was inspired by the Peter Green Fleetwood Mac version. Check out the song “Oh Well”.

“Shot Down In Flames”

A few chords over a standard drum and bass canvas. It’s the AC/DC way.

“Get It Hot”

It’s like “Rock N Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution” merged with Chuck Berry.

“If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)”

The Intro gets me playing air guitar. And the drum build, so simple and so sublime.

It’s animal
Livin’ in the human zoo
Animal
The shit that they toss to you
Feelin’ like a Christian
Locked in a cage
Thrown to the lions
On the second page

Quick, call in the political correct activists.

Life is like living in a cage that you pay for, your whole life and you never really own it.

The crap they toss at us, is the wage we get for building someone else’s dream and we have three options, leave and try to build our dreams, stay and work on the side to build our dreams or just stay and be a slave. Because the system is designed to benefit the companies. If you don’t have a weekly wage, you cannot get a loan.

“Love Hungry Man”

It’s funky for an AC/DC song which Angus Young called as the worst AC/DC song ever.

“Night Prowler”

While this song would become popular for all the wrong reasons, in its essence it’s a slow blues dirge and a favorite.

5x platinum in Australia, 7x platinum in the U.S and various other certifications around the world is proof of its longevity.

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A to Z of Making It, Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, Unsung Heroes

1976 – Part 1.6: Bob Seger – Night Moves

I always have time for a little bit of Bob Seger. “Old Time Rock N Roll” was the song that got his name into my consciousness. “Turn The Page” was another, but I heard the Metallica version first. Actually, that whole “Garage Inc.” album from Metallica, got me excited to check out bands that I wasn’t sure I should check out.

So “Night Moves” is album number 9. For a person who lived on the road, the cover is perfect, with his image and the spotlight in the background.

At the age of 30, Seger did good live business in middle America, but couldn’t break through nationally.

Then he dropped the “Night Moves” album, a road trip of nostalgia and a soundtrack for many growing up in the 70’s. I didn’t hear this album until the 90’s. Such a long time after its release but if I heard this in the 80’s I wouldn’t have liked it, as I was head over heels in love with hard rock and heavy metal.

“Rock and Roll Never Forgets”

It’s a 12 bar blues romp.

The catchcry of “come back baby, rock and roll never forgets” is truth. As fans of the music and its lifestyle, we can dabble our tastes in other styles but we always come back to our rock and roll roots like we never left.

“Oh the bands still playing it loud and lean / Listen to the guitar player making it scream”

“Night Moves”

When I was doing some reading on Bob Seger, a lot of reviews when the album came out, kept mentioning how his songs sound like other songs that came before. And I’m thinking, perfect, that’s just the way I like it.

“I used her, she used me / But neither one cared / We were gettin’ our share / Workin’ on our night moves”

The strummed acoustic guitar kicks it off, but it’s Seger’s phrasing and vocal delivery, almost “American Pie” like.

The narrative of the secret getaways of teenage lovers takes its cues from Van Morrison and his “Brown Eyed Girl” and the movie “American Graffiti”. Bruce Springsteen’s “Jungleland” from “Born To Run” can also be heard, a coincidence or a fact that both artists have the same influences.

“The Fire Down Below”

It feels like a song from The Eagles “Hotel California” album which came a few years after. Reading comments on the YouTube video of the song, led me to a 60’s R&B singer called Johnny Taylor, and his songs “Who’s Makin’ Love” and “Take Care of Your Homework”. And one comment even mentioned that the Silver Bullet Band is tight in the “Brown Sugar” style of the Rolling Stones.

All I can say is, take what has come before and make it better.

“Sunburst”

“Sunburst” has inspirations from the Beatles “Dear Prudence” and Rod Stewart’s “Handbags And Gladrags”.

Stick around for the change at the 2.10 minute mark when it gets a bit metal like.

“Gaze on the sunburst / His weapon at his side / He flashes it with pride / Before his legions”

What’s this. Lyrics about the wood finish on a guitar. Before the term “Guitar Hero” even existed.

“Sunspot Baby”

Another 12 bar blues romp, that he would really nail with “Old Time Rock’N’Roll”.

“She packed up her bags and she took off down the road / Left me here stranded with the bills she owed / She gave me a false address / Took off with my American Express”

Story telling at its best about a lover who did a number on him as she charged up a fortune on his credit card.

“Mainstreet”

It could be about any town in any part of the world, as we all have the same main streets and a story or two of someone who tried to make it out.

The guitar melodies and leads on this one are excellent.

“And sometimes even now, when I’m feeling lonely and beat / I drift back in time and I find my feet / Down on Mainstreet”

That’s right, you can never escape your hometown. You know every corner, every crack on the road, every curb and every smell. It’s in your DNA.

“Come to Poppa”

It smoulders along with its “Cocaine” groove.

“If you need a pacifier / Call me anytime”

This is more crude than any lyric that the PMRC found offensive in a decades time for their “Filthy 15” list.

“Suck on that”, I say.

“Ship of Fools”

The Eagles influence is present again with “Lyin’ Eyes” and “Take It Easy” combining to become “Ship Of Fools”.

“Mary Lou”

It’s a cover and it sounds like Seals and Crofts “Your Mama Don’t Dance” or “Jailhouse Rock” or “Smokin In The Boys Room”.

You know the riff I’m talking about.

In the U.S, six million copies were shipped, for a 6× Platinum certification. And “Night Moves” is the anchor to Seger’s most successful period which includes “Stranger In Town” in 1978 and “Against the Wind” in 1980.

How many artists can say that their ninth album broke em him to the masses?

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

1976 – Part 1.4: Judas Priest – Sad Wings Of Destiny

It’s not on Spotify as their original label Gull owns the rights and the split between artist and label was hostile.

Judas Priest recorded this album on a very small budget, whilst working part-time jobs and living off of one meal a day. As they say, hard times and adversity breeds genius.

This album is the transition point between blues rock and a new style about to be born, which is basically the metal that I got to know.

“Victim Of Changes”

It kicks off the album, a combination of two separate songs. “Whiskey Woman” from the band co-founder and original singer, Al Atkins (who also gave the band its name) and “Red Light Lady” from the person who replaced him, Rob Halford.

The riff reminds me of “Stormbringer” from Deep Purple and both songs came out at a similar time. There is a little lick towards the end of the riff that Metallica swiped for “Seek And Destroy” which they use to “get out” of the intro riff pattern and into the verse riff. Wikipedia quotes a source that the riff was inspired by “Black Dog” from Led Zeppelin.

Regardless of the source inspiration, it’s a beautiful example of how you take little bits and pieces of what came before and make it your own.

“The Ripper”

A lot of bands at this time were doing similar riffs, borrowing from each other and allowing themselves to be influenced. The main riff here is reminiscent of “Stranglehold” from Ted Nugent, however both songs came out at the same time. It could be pure coincidence, but it also means that the artists in question had the same influences.

The Chorus riff feels like a Pink Panther soundtrack and the solo section is the way Muse do their solo sections.

“Dreamer Deceiver”

If you want to know the inspiration behind “The Warning” album from Queensryche, just listen to this.

It’s one of those moody slow tempo songs I really like from acts in the Seventies. From a Judas Priest viewpoint, this song is an underrated cut. I would even call it a masterpiece.

Halford covers so much ground with his voice, singing across four octaves at different times of the song.

And the guitar solo from Glenn Tipton. One of the best guitar solos of all time. So overlooked. It’s on par with “Comfortably Numb” by Pink Floyd for pure emotion.

As the solo went on, Halford came in with his super falsetto ohhhs and ahhhs.

“Deceiver”

It has the triplet galloping style of riffing that Sabbath used in “Children Of The Grave” which came out in 1971. And Halford is going to town with his falsetto voice, clearly showing a certain Scandinavian singer called King Diamond, how to develop his style.

“Prelude”

It’s soundtrack music. A friend of mine said, its influenced by “The March Of The Black Queen” from the Queen “II” album. Listen to em both and you decide.

“Tyrant”

I reckon a young EVH was clearly influenced by the riffs in this song. Listen to the intro riff and you will hear it sounds like a certain Van Halen song.

“Genocide”

There is a lot of Deep Purple in this track. “Smoke On The Water” and “Woman from Tokyo” come to mind, from a groove and feel point of view.

“Epitaph”

It’s a progressive song, with layered vocals while musically, it’s just a piano riff. Black Sabbath’s “Changes” and Queen and ELP comes to mind.

“Island of Domination”

And they close off the album with a track that reminds me of “IV” from Sabbath.

The main riff sounds an awful lot like Nazareth’s “Railroad Boy” released a year earlier.

And you all know my view on this, all music is a derivative of some other music. If you listen closely, the section from 2.20 reminds me of “Wake Up Dead” from Megadeth.

For just their second album, there is a lot of ground covered.

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1976 – Part 1.2: UFO – No Heavy Petting

My UFO experiences started in the 90’s. The band UFO, just in case anyone was wondering.

“Lights Out” (released in 1977) is the gold standard along with the live album “Strangers In The Night” (released in 1979).

But.

“No Heavy Petting” deserves more love.

The band for the album is Phil Mogg on vocals, Michael Schenker on guitar, Danny Peyronel on keyboards, Pete Way on bass and Andy Parker on drums.

Any idea about the monkey on the cover.

“Natural Thing”

The intro riff is great to play and one of the best committed to tape.

And I was pointed towards “Rock N Roll Queen” from Mott The Hoople as an influence. The guitar player on that is Mick Ralphs before Bad Company.

“I’m A Loser”

Written by Schenker and Mogg. The acoustic intro riff has influenced a lot of the 80’s bands.

How good is the piano melody in the section when “hard times, out on the streets” is sung?

And the lead break from Michael Schenker is guitar hero worthy and I’m pretty sure forgotten by all.

“Can You Roll Her”

The song is written by Peyronet, Mogg and Parker.

A stupid title which doesn’t do the fast paced and frantic music any justice. The guitar riffs in the intro/verses and little guitar melodies in the Chorus are excellent.

Schenker goes to town when it comes to the lead spotlight, combining his brilliant pentatonic playing with fast picked Aeolian Minor runs. The way it is constructed would influence countless of other guitarist to “work out” their leads.

“Belladonna”

Written by Schenker and Mogg.

When I hear this song, I think of “Soldier Of Fortune”. It more or less follows the same pattern. But I also think of “Try Me” which would come on the album after. And Scorpions would write songs like this in a few years’ time.

The Schenker solo is memorable, but on “Try Me” it’s outta this world.

Make sure you check out the classical like guitar melody that Schenker starts playing after the solo.

“Reasons Love”

What a great funky, sleazy and bluesy guitar riff to kick off the song.

“Highway Lady”

It’s your standard blues rock fare with Schenker wailing away in the solo.

“On With The Action”

Written by Schenker and Mogg.

The riff to kick this song off is like doom metal, if downtuned. Its heavy.

The groove in the song makes it a favorite of mine but the song is forgotten by the masses when it comes to discussions about UFO.

And if you are a fan of excellent guitar playing, make sure you check out the solo here as well. All of the 80’s guitar heroes copied it.

“A Fool In Love”

It’s written by Frankie Miller and Andy Fraser and it’s a “Honky Tonk Woman” meets “All Right Now” blues romp.

“Martian Landscape”

Written by Peyronel, Mogg and Parker. It’s one of those songs that the 70’s bands put on albums that was a bit progressive and experimental. And sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t. This song worked for UFO and it’s the precursor to “Love To Love”. And a riff in “Love To Love” gave birth to “Desert Song”

In other words, “No Heavy Petting” is an underrated hard rock record, a link between the derivative 12 bar blues and hard rock as I know it.

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