Tag Archives: NWOBHM

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

The Record Vault: Def Leppard – High ‘N’ Dry

I don’t have the vinyl anymore. It was in a box that went missing in one of my many house moves. I’ve been meaning to replace it, but I just haven’t gotten around to it. And then Def Leppard announced those marvellous box sets that would cover their career a few years ago, and I’ve seen a few of em reviewed on the blogs I follow, so I’m thinking, it’s time to part with some monies and get em.

Spotify also has em to listen and man, listen I did. For those who reckon that once you’ve heard an album, you don’t need to purchase it, well those people have never understood the collectors mentality.

Anyway, let’s get to the album, released in 1981.

The band is the same as the debut with Joe Elliot on vocals, Steve Clark and Pete Willis on lead and rhythm guitars, Rick Savage on bass and Rick Allen on drums.

The album cover by Hipgnosis is smart and done well, but my 80’s mind, made me ignore it for quite some time. It wasn’t as good as the debut cover, and nothing like the covers of the other albums I was purchasing.

Let It Go

It’s written by Pete Willis, Steve Clark and Joe Elliott.

Many would say its AC/DC influenced and I would agree, but then again a lot of British acts like Queen, Sweet, Mott The Hoople and T Rex who influenced Def Leppard had songs with riffs like this. But producer Mutt Lange did work with AC/DC and during this period, “Back In Black” and “Highway To Hell” were selling like crazy.

Most Def Lep fans would know that it was originally titled “When the Rain Falls” with different lyrics and performed live during the “On Through The Night” tour.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Mutt Lange had something to do with the song title change.

Another Hit And Run

Written by Rick Savage and Joe Elliot. It’s one of my favourite tracks from when I dropped the needle on this. I can never get enough of the Chorus riff and the Verse Riff.

High ‘N’ Dry

The song is written by Steve Clark, Rick Savage and Joe Elliot. If you want to hear the embryo of the “Photograph” riff, then press play on this and enjoy.

And it also became famous when it made a list called the “Filthy Fifteen”, which is a list of songs criticised by the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), for having explicit lyrics that describe alcohol use and intoxication.

Seriously the subject matter on this song is meek compared to some other song. But then again what would a bunch of politicians wives know about hard rock music.

Bringin’ On The Heartbreak

One of Def Lep’s best slower tempo songs. Written by Steve Clark, Pete Willis and Joe Elliot. If those harmony guitars in the Intro don’t grab your attention, then please check for a pulse.

And that Chorus. Wow. The multi layered vocals that would become synonymous with the “Pyromania”, “Hysteria” and “Adrenalize” albums are all here.

Steve Clark also owns this song in the lead department. He didn’t have the top hat of Slash to give him that certain unique look, but his pentatonic playing is exceptional.

In relation to the videos, the live recording with Pete Willis is my go to version, but the video with the boat on a lake featuring Phil Collen is the more well-known one. And the 1984 remix version with the synths is a misstep. There was nothing wrong with the original at all.

Switch 625

An instrumental and it was the song playing in the end credits of “Cobra Kai” Season 4 finale. Written by Steve Clark and all solos are handled by him as well.

Just press play, close your eyes and let the music take you to the places your mind conjures up.

You Got Me Runnin’

Side 2 kicks off with this, written by Pete Willis, Steve Clark and Joe Elliot. I’ve read some reviews that basically ignore Side 2, but man, some of my favourites are here.

I like the 70’s vibe this song gives and the hooks keep coming with the Chorus vocal melody. And press play for the “you got me running” section just before the Pete Willis pentatonic bluesy solo.

Lady Strange

Written by Pete Willis, Steve Clark, Rick Allen and Joe Elliot.

How good is this song?

If it had a different title, it would still be in the set lists today.

The intro harmonies get me hooked and the Chorus riff with the melodic lead gets me moving and tapping my foot.

The verse riff has some sped up chords that would be slowed down in a few years’ time for a song called “Pour Some Sugar On Me”.

But it’s that metal riff just before the Chorus that seals the deal. Press play to hear that and then to hear Clark wail.

And as they come out of the Chorus, there is this arpeggio riff which is excellent, Elliot starts singing and the music morphs into the verse riff and then we are back to the Chorus and that infectious vocal melody, of “lady strange I need you, lady strange I want you”.

On Through The Night

Written by Steve Clark, Rick Savage and Joe Elliot. The song has the same title as the debut album.

It’s another killer riff (which also becomes the verse riff) to start the song off. It’s very Blackmore like.

But press play to hear those Randy Rhoads style arpeggios in the Bridge just before the Chorus. For a band who wanted to rule the charts, they definitely kept their fingers on what was hot and what wasn’t.

Mirror Mirror (Look Into My Eyes)

Written by Steve Clark and Joe Elliot.

A very underappreciated cut.

Press play to hear how the verses are constructed. The drivers are the bass and drums.

Rick Savage plays a pulsing bass riff with Rick Allen providing a thundering beat and then the guitars start to decorate with chords at low volume and then at a more aggressive volume. Joe Elliot showcases his vocals chops moving between metal god and rock god melodies.

The Chorus has a catchy vocal melody with multi layered vocals.

And those harmonies in the solo. Just so many good sections in the song that words can’t describe.

I also like how in the last 40 seconds, it starts off with the pulsing bass and drums for a few seconds before the Chorus riff thunders in to close out the song.

No No No

Written by Rick Savage, Pete Willis and Joe Elliot.

I feel like its “Ballroom Blitz” merged with “Tie Your Mother Down” and I like it.

Def Leppard will always be known for “Pyromania” and “Hysteria”. Those albums have moved over 40 million in sales combined and they make up Def Lep’s streaming Top 10 lists as well. But I’ve never judged albums on how many units sold. It’s based on songs and riffs, and the quality and influence of this album cannot be ignored.

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The Record Vault: Def Leppard – On Through The Night

“On Through The Night” will turn 42 this year.

It’s the debut album from Joe Elliot, Pete Willis, Steve Clark, Rick Savage and Rick Allen, otherwise known as Def Leppard.

I would love to say I purchased this when it came out, but it was after “Adrenalize” that I went back and got this.

Rock Brigade

It brings the standard hard rock blues vibes to the album but it’s got all the glitter from Sweet added to it.

Pete Willis takes the solo spotlight on this.

Look out for the rock brigade is the catch cry and look out we did.

Hello America

After the “hello America” chants, a “Strutter” style beat and feel kicks in.

I like the Beach Boys vibe, especially after the solo section which Steve Clark nails.

Sorrow Is A Woman

Press play to hear the “Stairway To Heaven” inspired lead break.

And how good is that harmony solo section from the 2.40 mark, which leads to the Outro.

It Could Be You

It shows their love of UFO, Mott The Hoople, Sweet and hard rock Queen.

Hell, the song wouldn’t be out of place on a Judas Priest album.

Satellite

Listen to that tasty palm muted arpeggio riff from Steve Clark in the verses after the first Chorus and how good is that “staring up at the sky” section) which shows the adventurous and melodic spirit of the band.

Press play to hear the solo. It’s Pentatonic heaven and the section straight after the lead.

When The Walls Came Tumbling Down

How good is the clean tone intro?

And then it morphs into those galloping style riffs which was a big part of the NWOBHM and something Iron Maiden would use a lot, “The Trooper” comes to mind immediately.

With a Chorus that reminds me of New Wave acts.

Press play to hear the riff after the Chorus at 2.34.

Wasted

What a headbanging riff to kick off the song.

For anyone who wanted to question the metal credentials of Def Leppard, I always pointed them to this song.

Rocks Off

It’s interchangeable with “It Could Be You” with very similar riffs being the main riffs. Then again the whole blues hard rock movement was based on the same riffs being re-used by each individual artist.

It Don’t Matter

It could have come from the fingertips of Michael Schenker as “Rock Bottom” comes to mind. And how good is that Chorus, just a simple, “It don’t matter” line repeated in a simple AC/DC style backing vocal.

Answer To The Master

How good are those harmony leads in the Chorus?

And the song has a little drum solo before it moves into a section that reminds me of U.F.O.

But press play to hear, the lead break courtesy of Clark, with an open string lick before it morphs into the pentatonic lines.

Overture

It’s 7 plus minutes long and it doesn’t feel laboured and boring. At the 2 minute mark it starts to go into a Thin Lizzy style of song, full of energy and harmonies.

But my favourite part is the stop start harmony section from the 4.20 mark and at 4.40, Joe Elliot starts singing a haunting melody, before a wah solo kicks in.

And from here to the end, it’s that good, that the only thing I could do is press repeat.

For all the multi-platinum and Diamond certifications that came afterwards, there is something simple and organic about the debut.

Check it out.

P.S.

Pete Willis will be forgotten in the future when Def Leppard is mentioned and written about, however his songwriting chops and guitar playing on this album is at a high level.

And let’s not forget Steve Clark. Together they formed a formidable guitar team.

Post Def Leppard, check out the excellent band Roadway in which Willis wrote most of the tracks. The album came out in 1991 and it’s a melodic rock gem, a continuation of the work he started with “Pyromania”.

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2021 – The 50/50 List I’m Still Investing Time In

Sometimes albums don’t capture me in their entirety but there is something there that keeps me going back.

Tremonti – Marching In Time

The debut album, “All I Was” from 2012 caught me by surprise because of its slant towards Classic Heavy Metal and Speed Metal.

“Dust” and “Cauterize” from 2016 and 2015 are my favorite albums, especially the song “Dust”, it’s a masterpiece.

“A Dying Machine” from 2019 brought a concept story to the mix and now we have “Marching In Time”. In between Mark Tremonti also did Alter Bridge, so no one can question his work ethic.

I listened to this a lot the week it came out and while each song has a section or a riff which floors me, I only press “like” on four songs, “A World Away”, “Now And Forever”, “Under The Sun” and “Marching In Time”.

It doesn’t mean the other songs are crap.

Far from it. I just need to find the connection.

KK’s Priest – Sermons Of The Sinner

I heard it once and I was impressed.

KK Downing is still a beast on the guitar and we all know that Tim Ripper Owens has an awesome set of pipes on him and is technically better than a lot of the vocalists doing the rounds including his idols.

Before all the JP fans tear me apart, this isn’t meant to be a slight on Halford at all, it’s just progression that people surpass their idols in technicality. Halford is still the “Metal God”.

I remember a Bruce Dickinson interview in which he said, he was floored when he heard Ian Gillian signing “Child In Time” and he started practicing like crazy in his bedroom to mimic what Gillian did on the recording, without knowing that Gillian’s vocals were dubbed in and recut a lot of times and heavily delayed. But Bruce was doing it all naturally. Progression.

For a bit of backstory, K. K. Downing got the idea of forming KK’s Priest after doing a one-off show billed as MegaPriest in 2019 with David Ellefson (my, my, how far has he fallen since his sex scandal) on Bass. As a band, KK’s Priest is somewhere between a solo project of Downing and a reunion with his former Judas Priest bandmates Tim “Ripper” Owens and Les Binks. However, Binks left the band just before the making of “Sermons of the Sinner” because of health issues.

So joining K.K Downing and Tim “Ripper” Owens is A.J. Mills on Guitars, Tony Newton on Bass and Sean Elg on Drums.

And I was a fan without even hearing a track.

My favourite track from JP is “The Sentinel” and when I saw that the last track is called “Return Of The Sentinel” I was sold. Even though the songs sound nothing alike, the nod to a classic sealed the deal.

Blacktop Mojo – Blacktop Mojo

They won a competition to open up for Bon Jovi who at the time were picking local acts from each city to open for them. Thats how they came to my attention.

And they do a mean cover of “Dream On” from Aerosmith and a drunken YouTube cover of “In The Air Tonight” from Phil Collins.

From Texas, so they have this blues southern rock vibe happening but there’s also a Soundgarden and Alice In Chains vibe as well.

Actually Black Stone Cherry comes to mind here as well.

This is album number 4 and it’s slowly growing on me.

Check it out.

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The Record Vault: Deep Purple – Burn

When a band loses members, no one really knows what would come next. Will the band break up or will they continue with new members?

When bands lose their lead singers, the uncertainty is even higher.

But when Deep Purple lost Ian Gillan and Roger Glover, Richie Blackmore stepped up even more to push the band forward. As far as Blackmore was concerned, he was the driving force behind the band and this grit and determination would lead him to find not one but two vocalists who would assist him in moving forward with the massive riffs he was coming up with.

“Burn” is the eighth studio album, released in February 1974, and the first to feature an unknown David Coverdale on vocals and Glenn Hughes, from Trapeze, on bass and vocals.

The album was recorded in Montreux, Switzerland, in November 1973, with the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio.

Deep Purple MK3 is Ritchie Blackmore on Guitars, David Coverdale on Vocals, Glenn Hughes on Bass and Vocals, Jon Lord on Keyboards and Ian Paice on Drums.

Production was still listed with the band as Producers and Mixers (but all they had to do was just say yes or no to the takes and mixes), with Martin Birch doing the bulk of the work capturing the sounds and actually mixing the album.

Burn

It owes some of its thought and structure to “Highway Star” as the DP guys wanted to have another high energy song to open the show and new album with.

It also has structured organ and guitar solos like “Highway Star”, around Bach like sequences which Lord and Blackmore worked out.

Coverdale mentioned in the “The Purple Album Track By Track”, that “Burn” was the first song that he started working on with Richie Blackmore, which he called sounded like “Symphonic Rock”. He also wrote four different lyrical versions for the song, with the Sci Fi version being selected by the guys in the band as the one to use.

David Coverdale loved the riff so much, that “Children Of The Night” from the 1987 self-titled album was the result. I would add that part of “You’re Gonna Break My Heart Again” also has some of the “Burn” feel.

And as good as all of the riffs and solos are, Ian Paice behind the kit, just brings the power and the pace. As soon as his drums come in, the foot is tapping and the head is moving.

It’s my favourite Deep Purple song which gets performed at Whitesnake or Glenn Hughes or Yngwie Malmsteen concerts instead of Deep Purple concerts because of the singers.

Might Just Take Your Life

The Jon Lord organ riff to start it off is from “Woman From Tokyo”.

Jon Lord was the primary writer for Deep Purple on the first couple of albums until Richie Blackmore had enough and started to become the primary songwriter from “In Rock”.

The melodies came from a relaxed jam session that Coverdale and Lord were having.

Overall it’s got that British blues rock feel.

But press play to hear Coverdale and Hughes harmonize in the Chorus.

Lay Down, Stay Down

It’s got that blues rock feel from the “Who Do We Think We Are” album and that sound and riff is something that Blackmore would come back to with his Rainbow project.

Ian Paice again showcases his drumming abilities.

Sail Away

Its got that “Superstition” and “Play That Funky Music” funk rock groove that Blackmore came up with.

Its sung by both Coverdale and Hughes however both could have done the song justice if only one of em just sang it.

This song and “Mistreated” sums up what Coverdale brought to the Purple sound on this album.

Press play to listen to the funky bass playing from Glen Hughes. Hughes was also a co-writer, but he wasn’t credited due to being tied to another recording contract at the time.

The 30th Anniversary release fixed that.

You Fool No One

Coverdale and Hughes doing dual harmonies.

Ian Paice also showing his love of John Bonham and coming up with a definitive drum groove which formed the basis of the track for Blackmore to build on.

The middle solo section is almost Jazz Rock fusion, progressive like.

Press play and just enjoy.

What’s Goin’ On Here

A fun blues song based around a Jimi Hendrix song called “Highway Chile”.

Mistreated

It’s listed as being written by Blackmore and Coverdale.

Coverdale (who calls himself a “Domestic Guitar Hero) wrote a riff on Blackmore’s White Strat, in the Crypts of a Castle they were rehearsing at and when Blackmore heard it, instead of playing the riff with the Coverdale chords, Blackmore played the single notes.

And “Mistreated” was born.

And that opening vocal “I’ve been mistreated” is iconic.

This version is my go to version but on the Purple album from Whitesnake, Reb Beach takes the solo spotlight and creates a fresh and emotive blues shred lead.

‘A’ 200

An instrumental.

Coronarias Redig

It’s a B-side and if no one had heard it in the 70s, it appeared on the “30th Anniversary Edition” as a bonus track.

It’s a blues Rock song but those Hammond Organ chords give it a soul gospel feel.

And press play to hear Blackmore’s leads.

In Australia, the M3 version of DP went to number 5 on the charts. In Austria, Denmark, Germany and Norway it went to number 1. In Canada, Holland, Finland, France, UK and US it was a Top 10 album.

In other words people liked it.

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1976 – Part 3.3: Deep Purple – Made In Europe

“Made In Europe” came out in 1976 and it features the line-up of Richie Blackmore, David Coverdale, Jon Lord, Ian Paice and Glenn Hughes.

The shows were recorded in 1975 before Blackmore left, however the album was released in 1976 long after Blackmore left and the version of Deep Purple after that had also broken up.

I am very picky when it comes to live albums. I think the problem is that I grew up with two many live albums that weren’t actually live or had some parts live and other parts recut in a studio.

So when I heard an official live album the first time with no studio overdubs I though I was listening to a bootleg. It was bad and I felt like I got ripped. Some of the bootlegs I had sounded better. It took me a while to understand that a revising could never capture the power of a live performance properly and within time I started to enjoy the live albums with no studio overdubs.

Burn

The opening riff is more iconic to me than “Smoke On The Water”. The drumming from Ian Paice is thundering.

But press play to hear the bass playing of Hughes during the solos. It’s monstrous and he carries the rhythm section on his shoulders.

Mistreated

Because of its bluesy nature, it’s a great song to extend when you play it live. And the main riff is written by none other than David Coverdale himself.

But my go to version of this song is the cut that Whitesnake did. Reb Beach goes to town during the solo section.

Lady Double Dealer

It’s a 12 bar blues, bit its fast, like NWOBHM fast.

Check out the bass playing from Hughes on this.

You Fool No One

It has about 2 minutes of doodling, something which was common back then but not these days. These days, its song after song after song, with zero jamming.

After the doodling, there is a riff which is played, fast and almost thrash metal like. It’s something that Blackmore would do with Rainbow.

But the problem I have with this song is that they’ve take an almost 5 minute song and turned it into a 16 plus minutes song.

Maybe just a bit too indulgent.

However the artists ruled back then and no one would have dared to tell Blackmore to solo less.

Stormbringer

Another killer Blackmore riff. The tempo of the live version is a bit faster than the studio version and its perfect for the song.

You can hear the embryo of the NWOBHM right here.

The falsetto highs of Hughes are excellent and his bass playing dominates again.

This version of Deep Purple only lasted for two studio albums, but they are two albums I hold in high regard and rate as favorites.

And you can’t pass up a live album with Coverdale on vocals.

“Here’s a song for ya”.

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1986 – Part 3.7: Fastway – Trick Or Treat

“Trick or Treat” is album number 4 but for me it will always be known as the soundtrack for the “Trick or Treat” movie and my first exposure to Fastway.

It was released in November 1986, a month after the movie and it would be the final album to feature Dave King on vocals. While the previous album “Waiting On The Roar” did not have a guitar riff written by Fast Eddie Clarke, this album is credited as all songs written by Fastway and there are riffs to be heard.

Fastway is Dave King on lead vocals, “Fast” Eddie Clarke on rhythm guitar/lead guitar, Shane Carroll on second guitar, Paul Reid on bass guitar and Alan Connor on drums.

These guys appear on tracks 1 to 7. The song “Heft”(track 8) is from the debut album and bass is played by Mick Feat and drums by Jerry Shirley. “If You Could See” (track 9) is from the “All Fired Up” album, with bass being played by Charlie McCraken and drums by Jerry Shirley.

The flick had WC wry controversial story in it that was related to blues, rock and metal and it fed on the Satanic Panic sweep wing across the Bible Belt of the U.S.

Spoilers alert.

There is a rock star by the name of Sammi Curr, who sold his soul to the devil to rock and roll ala Robert Johnson.

Curr dies in a hotel fire, but is resurrected by a fan of his playing the last vinyl recording of Curr’s music backwards. The vinyl record was given to him by a DJ called Nuke, played by Gene Simmons.

The fan has been bullied at school and suddenly he is no longer bullied as the reincarnated Curr has some “Final Destination” punishment in mind for the bullies. But like all things, when it comes to your heroes and power, power corrupts and by the end of the movie, the Curr has turned against his fans and it allowed the script writers to come up with these kind of sentences.

Hysterical Survivor: [crying] Oh, God, it was–it was awful! I mean, this guy was shooting stuff out of his guitar and it was–and people were running and I don’t–and my very best friend she was…

Cop #1: All right, all right. What did the suspect look like?

Hysterical Survivor: I told you. It was Sammi.

Cop #1: Who is Sammi?

Cop #2: Sammi Curr? The rock singer?

Hysterical Survivor: [still crying] Yes. Yes.

Cop #2: Sammi Curr died last week.

Cop #1: [both cops turn away from the still-sobbing girl] Looks like we better check out the party punch.

And of course the punching bag for all of the evangelists at the time, Ozzy Osbourne makes a guest appearance as Reverend Aaron Gilstom. This would have infuriated all of those people taking him to court, for supposably having backward messages of “shoot” in “Suicide Solution” and the script was written for Ozzy to smacks down those evangelists.

Reverend Aaron Gilstom: (in response to Heavy Metal music)

Demonic beasts.

Whatever happened to the good old simple love song?

“I love you.”

There good words to use. Nowadays they have to write some sickness. It’s just absolutely sick and bizarre, and I’m going to do my upmost best to try and stop it now.

Go get em Reverend. And now to the album.

“Trick or Treat”

Three chords and tom hits like a metronome. I was immediately invested. It’s a perfect amalgamation of NWOBHM and Hard Rock.

I really like the section, in the verse, as it moves between Em and D for a few bars, and then moves to a C chord and a D chord which acts as a Pre Chorus.

Those intro chords come back in, just before “Fast” Eddie breaks out some licks.

“After Midnight”

It’s like Angus and Malcolm Young joined the band and wrote a derivative version of “You Shook Me All Night Long”.

And I like it.

“Don’t Stop the Fight”

This was my favourite cut when it came out.

The palm muted intro and build up always got me pumped. It still does today.

It reminds me of “Wild Child” from WASP, which is bizarre as Blackie Lawless did get offered the part to play Sammi Curr, but rejected it when he was told he couldn’t write the soundtrack music as Fastway was already contracted to do so.

“Stand Up”

Another head banging intro with a killer vocal melody.

How can you not like it?

Press play to hear the bass groove and lead break. The sound of the toms before it comes out of the solo, always makes me laugh. Corny, but a product of the times and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Lyrically, it’s an anthem, with the message to stand up and be counted.

“Tear Down the Walls”

After sound effects, it goes into a brief song, with the gang chants to “tear down the walls”. It fitted the movie scene nicely.

“Get Tough”

It kicks off side 2.

After some heavily flanged and distorted guitars, that sounded spooky, for lack of a better word, the song kicks in and the message is all about standing up for yourself, because you’ve had enough of the crap that’s been thrown at you.

“Hold on to the Night”

A “Radar Love” like drum groove starts it off and it continues throughout the whole song, while the riffs and melodies change.

“Heft”

Originally released on the album “Fastway”.

I like the heaviness of the intro/verse riff.

From a modern sound, its something that Tool would do, however it also reminds me of tracks like “Mississippi Queen” and “Evie” and it fits the theme of the album perfectly.

“If You Could See”

Originally released on the album “All Fired Up” and how catchy is that acoustic guitar in the Intro?

The album did okay business in Australian and the movie was popular as well. It was hard to get a rental copy of it from the local video shops. As soon as I rented it, I had my neighbours video over and the dubbing began.

For me, there is no filler on this. It’s all killer. Classic NWOBHM with hard rock polish added to it.

Crank it, play it backwards whatever.

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Thrash Metal Continued

Who wrote the first speed metal song?

Accept’s Wolf Hoffman believes it was Accept with the song “Fast As A Shark”. It came out in 1982, on their “Restless and Wild” album.

But wait a second didn’t Judas Priest release “Exciter” in 1978 on “Stained Class”. Also would the double bass drumming at the start of that song be considered an early precursor to the double bass drumming styles made famous by thrash music. However, in the Metal Evolution Thrash documentary, Lars Ulrich and Dave Lombardo comment that Motorhead’s “Overkill” was the first song that they heard that had that double bass drumming style that they liked. However the “Overkill” album came out in 1979. Maybe “Overkill” was the first song they heard, but it wasn’t the first song to feature double bass drumming.

Maybe the first speed metal song was Judas Priest’s “Let Us Prey” from the “Sin After Sin” album released in 1977. What about “Symptom Of The Universe” from Black Sabbath released in 1975 on the “Sabotage” album. It’s all down-picking and fast for that era. Maybe it came from a band that is not really a metal band. What about Queen’s “Stone Cold Crazy” that came out in 1974 on the “Sheer Heart Attack” album. Metallica did a pretty good job covering that song for the “Black” album b-sides. It sounds heavy, frantic and fast.

You see when people talk about a speed metal song the definition of what is a speed metal song is different between them. For me an uptempo and frantic song is a speed metal song. To others it could be my definition with the addition of operatic vocals. To others it would the previous definitions with the addition of technical playing.

Just say if you take out the metal and insert the rock. Would your answer be any different if the question was who wrote the first speed rock song?

I think Deep Purple and even Led Zeppelin would come into the mix right now. Hell, I would even go as far as to add Yes and Al Di Meola to that list.

The reason why I am stating the above is that I have an issue with the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal romanticism and how the story is told that it single-handedly influenced the musicians who would kick off the thrash movement. It’s a determinism viewpoint. Not for a second do I believe that the NWOBHM movement was the sole influence.

The Metal Evolution doco on thrash has some revisionist history based on which bands/people are on top of the heap at this point in time. In other words, popular. This is what Sam Dunn said in the doco about it;

“When people think of thrash they generally think of the Bay area but that’s not where it started. I’ve come to L.A. to meet with Brian Slagel head of Metal Blade Records to find out how he and Metallica’s Lars Ulrich helped kick-start thrash metal in this city.” 

You see metal was a cultural movement. It was the answer or outlet for lack of a better word to a lot of conservative governments and the rising gap between the middle class and the poor. Brain Slagel and Lars Ulrich were people in the movement like many others.

If you want to get into what kick started Metallica and thrash in the city then look no further than Ron Mc Govney (Metallica’s original bassist). We all know that the Metal Massacre compilation organised by Slagel was pivotal (as it was for Slayer on Metal  Massacre III) however what kick started Metallica was all the investment that came from McGovney.

Without Ron McGovney; Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield and Dave Mustaine would not have had a rehearsal space, nor a vehicle to transport the band to San Francisco nor the funds to make the trip.

If Ron McGovney was not in the band, Metallica would never have secured that opening spot for the Saxon L.A shows. That spot was secured because Ron McGovney had glam contacts due to his photography work with Motley Crue and Ratt. It was those glam contacts that gave him the Whiskey contact.

So while Hetflied and Mustaine wrote the songs and Lars was the business brains, all of that would have counted for nothing if no one was investing in them. While Metallica was based in L.A that investment came from Ron McGovney.

Once Ron McGovney was out, the next investment came from Jon Zazula who heard the “No Life Til Leather” demo. Jon Z and his wife Marsha would mortgage their house to form a record label and get that first Metallica album out the door. But how did that infamous demo ever get recorded by Metallica.

A punk label called High Velocity put up the money for Metallica to record an E.P.

Metallica went into an 8 track studio and recorded “Hit The Lights”, “Mechanix”, “Phantom Lord”, “Jump In The Fire”, “Motorbreath”, “Seek And Destroy” and “Metal Militia”. After hearing the tapes, the label realised that Metallica was not a punk band and they declined. Metallica took the tapes and the “No Life Til Leather” demo was born. It was Ron McGovney then that coughed up the $600 for the BAM ad to promote the demo.

Tape trading also played an important part in kick starting the thrash movement. Remember that whole “Home Taping Is Killing Music” campaign from the early Eighties. Does the below quote sound all to familiar today;

“With the rise in cassette recorder popularity, the BPI feared that the ability of private citizens to record music from the radio onto cassettes would cause a decline in record sales.”

You see the recording industry always went nuclear on any new technology. Then after years of lobbying and whinging they would realise that could make money from that technology and then they would remain silent.

To prove my point does anyone hear the major labels whinging about Spotify or streaming services?

In the end, the Thrash Metal movement was more than just the NWOBHM bands and the influence those bands had on U.S musicians. For any movement to flourish, society in general had to be in a state to accept it. There are reasons why metal took off in certain cities first and not others.

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

Glenn Hughes

Mention the name Glenn Hughes to a lot of people and you will get a different answer each time as to who he is. Some don’t know of him, some mistake him with a sporting identity, some get it right and some just get it so wrong. However, if you are a fan of music, there is a pretty good chance that you would have come across the works of Glenn Hughes.

Especially the melodic AOR rock style of Glenn Hughes.

This primer course is based on showing a few of the big songs Glenn Hughes was involved in and then it moves over to that fertile Nineties post addiction period that was more or less ignored due to the musical landscape. However by no means is the list complete.

“Burn”

Released in 1974.

I found out about the “Burn” album by back tracking the origins of David Coverdale after the Whitesnake album from 1987 exploded. Yep, in 1987, I had no idea that David Coverdale was in Deep Purple. Actually the only Deep Purple song I knew at that stage was “Smoke On The Water” and that is because Triple M, the local rock radio station played it to death. For kids that grew up with Google, guess what it didn’t exist back then.

So it was harder to find out information about our favourite artists. Not impossible, just harder.

This meant purchasing expensive U.S magazines and reading the interviews and the reviews. Or if I didn’t have the money it meant grabbing the magazine at the newsagency and reading it there, much to the disgust of the newsagency owner.

He was a Portuguese fellow and he saw me that many times in his shop that he eventually started mentioning to me when the latest, “Hit Parader” or “Circus” or “Faces” or “Metal Mania” or “RIP” or “Metal Edge” was in.

Then he told me a little important secret about the newsagency business. That whatever doesn’t sell for the month, he returns back to the publishers. So he said that he will give me the magazines that I like then albeit with the front cover desecrated.

“Burn” was also my first introduction to Glenn Hughes. It was an immediate hit for me.

The song is credited to Ritchie Blackmore, David Coverdale, Glenn Hughes, Jon Lord and Ian Paice and you can hear the jam ethos throughout it. The performances are all top notch and the song showcases all of the members’ abilities.

There is also a version of Glenn Hughes singing it from start to finish that appeared on his solo album, “From Now On…” as a bonus track.

“When Love Finds a Fool”

It is a co-write between Glenn Hughes and Don Dokken and it was on the Don Dokken “Up From The Ashes” solo album that was released in 1990 on the Geffen label. There was a lot of money spent on that album by the Geffen company, however the interest in Don Dokken’s career was already dwindling down to just the hard core fans only.

On the Don Dokken recorded version, Hughes provides backing vocals only. It was the first song I clicked play on when I got home due to the Glenn Hughes writing credit.

And I loved it. To paraphrase like Yoda “A ballad it was” however it was delivered with a passion that was undeniable.

“The Only One”

It’s written by Glenn Hughes and Swedish guitarist Eric Bojfeldt and produced by Bruce Gowdy.

The song appeared on Hughes’s solo album titled “From Now On…” released in 1994. The album is a favourite of mine and the album has a well-rounded, polished and melodic AOR sound. And what a backing band.

Hughes was supported by a band of Swedish musicians including Europe members John Levén, Mic Michaeli and Ian Haugland as well as guitarists Thomas Larsson and Eric Bojfeldt.

Let the Viking invasion begin. Max Martin might get all the press for his pop songs, however the Swedes always had great musicians and songwriters.

“Crying For Love”

A brilliant ballad that appeared on the 1996 album “No Strings Attached” by the band Liesegang. Actually Liesegang is guitarist Bill Liesegang and his roots go back to the early Eighties NWOBHM movement and the band Xero. Actually his roots go back even further, to 1969, when he was asked to join David Bowie’s band.

Liesegang is renowned for being a guitarist that was doing all the guitar theatrics in the late Seventies that Steve Vai and Joe Satriani became famous for years later.

“Still The Night”

It’s history goes back to 1982. Originally planned for the second Hughes/Thrall album, the song ended up appearing on several other releases. It was recorded by the super group “Phenomena” project in 1984.

The version that I like is the John Norum version that appeared on Norum’s solo album, “Face The Truth” in 1992.

The song is written by Glenn Hughes, Pat Thrall and Paul Delph (RIP). Paul Delph was another talent who worked with an eclectic bunch of musicians before his death from HIV/AIDS complications.

“The Look In Your Eye”

It appeared on the “Hughes/Thrall” album released in 1982. The vocal is the starring element. How good is the pre chorus and then the falsetto melodies in the chorus.

“I don’t need anybody else
To try to run my life
I don’t need the way they try
To tell me what they think is right
We don’t need anybody else
To take what’s yours and mine
We don’t need anybody else
It’s just a waste of time”

I didn’t hear this album until a decade later. Because I didn’t get into the whole Grunge and Alternative scene. What I did do is get into purchasing records from second-hand Record Shops and the Hughes/Thrall album was one such gem. It is definitely a hidden gem of melodic hard rock.

Pat Thrall is a very underrated guitarist. A craftsmen who understands what the song needs and plays to suit.

“Surrender”

It appeared on the “Phenomena II – Dream Runner” album from 1987. Music and Lyrics came from Mel Galley. Actually Phenomena is a super group formed by record producer Tom Galley, Metal Hammer magazine founder Wilfried Rimensberger] and Tom’s brother, ex-Whitesnake guitarist Mel Galley who played with Glenn Hughes in Trapeze and on Hughes’s Seventies solo album.

What a super group line up for the recording of Surrender.

Vocals – Glenn Hughes
Guitars – Mel Galley
Keyboards – Leif Johansen
Bass – Neil Murray
Drums – Michael Sturgis

It is one of my favourite cuts.

“Face The Truth”

It’s from John Norum’s solo album of the same name released in 1992 and the he song is written by Glenn Hughes and John Norum. For those that don’t know, John Norum was the original guitarist in the band “Europe” and played on their first three albums including the mega one, “The Final Countdown”. He is also in the film clip? Then he was replaced by Kee Marcello for the tour, and the two follow-up albums that came in “Out Of This World” and “Prisoners In Paradise”. He is back as the guitarist of Europe when they reformed back in 2004.

How good is that guitar riff?

It just rocks and rolls the song to glory. If you have listened to early Europe, you will hear that “Euro-Metal Sound” that John Norum is famous for.

The song is a melodic rock gem and it is post the excellent work that Norum did with Don Dokken on the “Up From The Ashes” solo project.

“You Keep On Movin”

It goes back to 1975 and the “Come Taste The Band” era of Deep Purple with another guitarist that departed way too young. Tommy Bolin. Now that was another talent that is no more. Tommy Bolin and Paul Kossoff are my two heroes. Guitarists that just wanted to jam and play.

The song is actually written by David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes. The version that I was listening to is from the 1994 solo album “From Now On….”.

This is what we’ve lost in the transition from capturing spontaneous creations to capturing well thought out and analysed rewritten over and over again creations. That effortless feel in a song as it builds to a crescendo.

“So Much Love To Give”

Very Hendrix like and that is not surprising at all when you see that Hendrix devotee Craig Erickson is the guitarist and the songwriter.

It’s up there in the blues rock vibe of “Mistreated” from the Coverdale/Hughes era of Deep Purple.

It’s a Glenn Hughes and Craig Erickson composition.

Actually Craig Erickson is a very underrated guitarist in the blues rock genre.

The song was released on Hughes’s first solo album titled “L.A. Blues Authority II: Glenn Hughes – Blues” after he kicked his drug habits in 1991 and it is another all-star line up of musician friends that assist in the album’s creation. As Glenn once stated it was his first album since finding his higher power. And of course it was Mike Varney who got the project rolling. For those that don’t know, Shrapnel Records was founded in 1980 by Mike Varney.

And Shrapnel was different from all of the other labels because it focused on bands featuring guitarists of extraordinary ability and it was the main label leading the neo-classical shred movement.

If it wasn’t for Shrapnel Records artists like Yngwie Malmsteen, Marty Friedman, Jason Becker, Paul Gilbert, Tony MacAlpine and Vinnie Moore would have either not been identified or taken longer to identify.

“King Of The Western World”

It is the opening track on the 1996 Liesegang album “No Strings Attached” that also has the excellent “Crying For Love” that I mentioned above.

It’s the GUITAR!

The Steve Stevens inspired “Atomic Playboys” riff that kicks it off. Talk about a riff!

Then it goes into a Journey style verse. For those that don’t know Bill Liesegang, make sure you check him out. Another underrated musician and songwriter.

“Not Necessary Evil” and “Cry Of The Brave”

Both of these songs appear on “Sacred Groove” the first solo album from George Lynch released in 1993. As a fan of George Lynch, I really enjoyed these little gems.

Glenn Hughes came into the Lynch stratosphere back when Glenn Hughes was hired to sing on the demos that would become the self-titled Lynch Mob album, released in 1992. The album features the vocals of Robert Mason who legend has it, had Glenn Hughes teaching him how to sing the songs.

There are just so many connections and relationships in the career of Glenn Hughes. And really, that is what having a music career is all about.

Building connections and fostering relationships.

Just look at the body of work that I have mentioned so far and all the different musicians that have been involved with it. How many musicians in the last 10 years have achieved anything close to those relationships?

It’s all about the band they are in and just that band. God forbid if someone tried to jam with another band. That would be cause for instant dismissal.

Mike Portnoy comes to mind as the only musician that is putting his name out there on different styles of music and with different musicians.

“Make My Day”

It’s the opening track from the “Amen” album by Manfred Ehlert. Written and arranged by Ehlert it is Glenn’s vocal performance that brings the song home.

There is a keyboard riff there that reminds me of “The Final Countdown” from Europe.

“Phoenix Rising”

The song is written by Tom Galley, Richard Bailey and Mel Galley, but it is the vocal performance by Glenn Hughes that knocks it out of the ball park.

Mel Galley is another guitarist that deserves more attention for his work output. Maybe not having the look of a glam rocker hurt his career in the Eighties, but there is no denying the work that he did with Trapeze, Whitesnake and Phenomena.

This song appeared on the supergroup “Phenomena” project in 1984.

“Lay My Body Down”

It is written by Glenn Hughes and virtuoso guitarist Thomas Larsson.

Another musician from Sweden and the land of the midnight sun. It is a musical Viking conquest.

The song appeared on Hughes’s solo album titled “From Now On…” released in 1994.

“In Your Eyes”

It is from the 1992 John Norum solo album “Face The Truth”.

It is a song written by a super group committee. The writers are Glenn Hughes, John Norum and Peter Baltes from Accept fame, who along with John Norum just finished a stint with Don Dokken.

One thing that is clear is the many relationships that Glenn Hughes as formed. Music is a common language for all walks of life and there is no greater ambassador than Glenn Hughes.

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A to Z of Making It, Copyright, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, My Stories

Progress Is Derivative – The Welcome Home (Sanitarium) Debate

Remember my definition of Progress Is Derivative – taking the best things of what has come before and merging those things all together to come up with something unique, original and innovative.

Case Study for today is Metallica and their song Welcome Home (Sanitarium) from the album Master of Puppets released in 1986.

INTRO (0.00 to 0.20)
Let’s start with the natural harmonics intro. Back in 1971, a certain progressive rock band called Yes released Roundabout. The intro is more or less a droning note, with some harmonics and a hammer on/pull off lick on the E string. Remember Progress is Derivative. Take something from the past and make it better.

INTRO 2 and VERSE (0.21 to 1.48) and (2.10 to 3.10)
Anyone heard of a New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) band called Bleak House? If the answer is NO, then you are in the majority. However, a certain person called Lars Ulrich has heard of this band. James Hetfield has even said in an interview that the band shall remain anonymous. So Bleak House release a song called “Rainbow Warrior” as a seven-inch single in 1980 via Buzzard Records. By 1982, the band called it a day. The intro riff of Rainbow Warrior is catchy. It was so good that James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich are influenced by it. They start to jam on it and they start to tweak it into Welcome Home (Sanitarium). Remember Progress is Derivative. Take something from the past and make it better. Hetfield and Ulrich made this riff the centrepiece of Sanitarium.

OUTRO (4.05 to 4.26) and (04.48 to end)
Remember a little three piece band from Canada called Rush and a song called Tom Sawyer. Metallica have taken the intro from Tom Sawyer and used it as their outro. The feel and the phrasing of the two songs are almost identical. The note selection are just a touch different. Remember Progress is Derivative. Take something from the past and make it unique, innovative and original.

Welcome Home (Sanitarium) is a derivative version of three different songs accumulated into one song. This is what music is all about. Should Metallica have credited Graham Killin, the guitarist and main songwriter of the band Bleak House and the writer of Rainbow Warrior. My answer is No.

The final say goes to Graham Killin. The quote below is from an interview he did with John Tucker in November 2012, on the website http://www.hrrecords.de

‘Dad! You’ve got to go after them for this. They’re using your stuff and you’re not getting royalties for it!’ Killin can’t hide his amusement at the thought. The irony of the situation is that ‘Bleak House’, the novel from which the band took their name, has at its heart a lengthy legal argument that consumes everyone and everything. “So every now and then it’s a little topic that crops up in conversation, y’know? And I think ‘would it actually be worth approaching a music solicitor and saying that as it’s my intellectual property would I stand any chance of getting anything?’” he laughs again. “Who knows?”

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A to Z of Making It, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, My Stories

The Modern Music Paradigm is the 1982 Paradigm (Comparing the output of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Ronnie James Dio with Dream Theater, Trivium and Machine Head)

So you want to make it in the music business as an artist? You want to set the world on fire. Since I have been doing some reading on a New Wave of British Heavy Metal band called Bleak House, I wanted to share their story.

Let’s go back in time.

It’s 1982. Bleak House have two highly-regarded releases out in the market and a loyal fan base. One of those releases was a single called Rainbow Warrior, that had a movable power chord verse riff that went from B to C to D over an E pedal tone. Sound familiar. It should. It is Metallica’s Welcome Home (Sanitarium).

The below quotes are all from an interview that Graham Killin did with the website http://www.hrrecords.de back in November 2012. So what went wrong.

“Looking back now I think we got a bit complacent. We weren’t trying to push enough, the new material wasn’t coming through so easily, and when we were going out playing we were just rehashing what we’d done before. We should have knuckled down and put some new material together, and done more gigs. We should have stuck at it. You look back and you think ‘if we’d stuck at it and done a few more gigs, put some more new music together, who knows what might have happened.”

The modern paradigm is as follows;

1. Stick around and outlast the competition
2. Keep on writing and putting new music together
3. Keep on networking and building relationships – artist to fan. Not artist to record label.
4. Keep on writing and putting new music together

Remember back in 1982, it was very rare to get a two year gap between albums. In 99% of cases, most artists that released an album in 1982, had another album out in 1983 and then another one in 1984. If Bleak House wanted to be a force reckoned with, they had to compete with the competition.

Look at Judas Priest. In 1980 they released British Steel, in 1981 they released Point of Entry and then in 1982 they released the big one, Screaming For Vengeance. Then they went on a two year gap between long players.

Let’s look at Iron Maiden. In 1980 they released Iron Maiden. In 1981 they released Killers. In 1982 they released The Number Of The Beast. In 1983 they released Piece of Mind. In 1984 they released Powerslave. In 1985 they released Live After Death. In 1986 they released Somewhere In Time. Then they started to go on a two year gap between long players. Iron Maiden worked hard for their success. That is why they are on top right now.

Another hard worker I want to mention is Ronnie James Dio. Let’s look at his output.

In 1975, Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow was released. In 1976, Rising came out. In 1977, On Stage came out. In 1978, Long Live Rock N Roll came out.

With Black Sabbath, he was involved with the Heaven and Hell release in 1980. In 1981, Mob Rules came out. In 1982 Live At Last came out.

In 1983, Dio released Holy Diver under his own name. In 1984, The Last In Line came out and in 1985 Sacred Heart was released. 1986, the Live EP Intermission and then in 1987 Dream Evil came out with Craig Goldy on guitar.

That is 12 releases in a 12 year period. Remember that all of these releases took place at a time when it was expensive to create and release music. During a period when the artist was king and in control of what they created, before the dark times of when the Record Labels controlled what style of music would be recorded and what songs would be released. As an audience we felt that those records deserved our attention. Today, anyone can record and release material. However, the fan now needs a reason to pay attention.

So for any artist starting off. This is the standard again. You need to be creating and releasing. You need to be giving us a reason to pay attention. Forget about the 2 to 3 year gap between albums. That is the Record Label standard. It was never the artist standard.

Compare the above paradigm to the music released in the last 10 years.

Trivium kicked things off in 2003 with Ember To Inferno. In 2005 they released Ascendancy. In 2006 they released The Crusade. In 2008 they released Shogun. In 2011 they released In Waves. In October 2013 they are going to release Vengeance Falls an album that was finished in March 2013. Five albums in ten years.

Machine Head released Supercharger in 2001. In 2003 they released Hellalive and Through The Ashes of Empires. In 2007 they released The Blackening. In 2011 they released Unto The Locust. In 2012 they released Machine F***ing Head. It looks like a new album will see the light of day 2014. Five proper albums in 12 years and seven all up (including the live albums).

Dream Theater is an interest subject on this. Let’s look at the 2000’s era with Mike Portnoy in the band.
2001 – Metropolis 2000: Scenes From New York
2002 – Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
2003 – Train Of Thought
2003 – Official Bootlegs – The Majesty Demos 1985-1986
2003 – Official Bootlegs – Los Angeles, California 5/18/98
2003 – The Making Of Scenes From A Memory
2004 – Images and Words: Live In Tokyo/5 Years In A Livetime DVD (re-release of their 1990’s VHS releases)
2004 – Live At Budokan
2004 – Official Bootlegs – When Dream and Day Unite Demos 1987 – 1989
2004 – Official Bootlegs – Tokyo, Japan 10/28/1995
2004 – Official Bootlegs – Master Of Puppets
2005 – Octavarium
2005 – Official Bootlegs – Images and Words Demos 1989 – 1991
2005 – Official Bootlegs – The Number Of The Beast
2005 – Official Bootlegs – When Dream and Day Reunite CD and DVD
2006 – Score
2006 – Official Bootlegs – Awake Demos 1994
2006 – Official Bootlegs – Old Bridge, New Jersey 12/14/96
2006 – Official Bootlegs – The Dark Side of The Moon CD and DVD
2007 – Systematic Chaos
2007 – Official Bootlegs – New York City 3/4/93
2007 – Official Bootlegs – Falling into Infinity Demos
2007 – Official Bootlegs – Made in Japan – Deep Purple
2007 – Official Bootlegs – Bucharest, Romania 7/4/02 DVD
2008 – Chaos In Motion: 2007-2008
2008 – Greatest Hit (…and 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs)
2009 – Black Clouds And Silver Linings
2009 – Official Bootlegs – The Making of Falling Into Infinity
2009 – Official Bootlegs – Train of Thought Instrumental Demos 2003
2009 – Official Bootlegs – Uncovered 2003-2005
2009 – Official Bootlegs – Santiago, Chile 12/6/05 DVD

And this is the Dream Theater era without Mike Portnoy
2011 – A Dramatic Turn Of Events
2013 – Dream Theater
2013 – Live at Luna Park

“Gez wanted to earn some money from it and we weren’t doing enough gigs for that and besides, whatever we used to earn we’d plough straight back into the band for merchandise and to cover recording costs and have more singles pressed, stuff like that. But he wanted to actually earn something, make some money out of it; and yes, he did join a country & western outfit, as the urban myth goes, and yes, he has made money out of it; he joined a band that was actually making money. And he ended up marrying the singer!

As for Roy, it was inevitable that he might get an offer from somebody else. At one stage I think he had the opportunity to audition when AC/DC were looking for a drummer. But he didn’t go! He bloody well should have done; I’m sure he would have got in because he was such a great drummer. After Gez and Roy left I don’t think the magic was there any more. Bleak House got put on the shelf, and there it stayed. I think that was around September 1983, and we never played live again after that.”

It’s time to add a fifth point to the modern paradigm.

5. Don’t focus on the money side of the art. If you want a weekly wage, it is time to get a job that pays weekly.

Great art and everlasting music comes from inspiration. It doesn’t come from a thought process that involves money. As soon as a band member or an artist is thinking about the pay day, they are not in it for the right reasons.

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