Yesterday we recorded our Ratt Talk on Tim’s Vinyl Confessions…Today…it is now up on YouTube. Go check it out as it was a ton of fun. It was great meeting Jex and seeing Deke again. And a big thank you to Tim of Tim’s Vinyl Confessions for having me on. Always a good time to talk about Ratt!!
RATT:
One of the most consistent hard rock bands to emerge from the early 1980s. Not an enormous catalogue, but enough to discuss, with a first time combo of TVC vet Jex, Deke and John. If you’re a Ratt fan, you’re going to enjoy this one.
For My Sunday Song #294, we are going to discuss the song “Blood Red Skies” by Judas Priest off their 1988 album ‘Ram it Down’. The song is not an official single from the album which had some real crappy singles so this would’ve been way better as a single then what the chose. Ok, probably not a better choice as the song is over 7 minutes long so way to long for radio. The album did go gold thanks to songs like this (but mostly due to past success). The song was written by the normal trio of characters with Glenn Tipton, K.K. Downing and Rob Halford.
The song to me is so powerful. There is a real struggle and battle with the singer. And since the singer is Rob, I believe the battle is his struggle with and the world’s acceptance of his homosexuality. He was so afraid of being found out and what that would do to the band and to him. Rightfully so as this was the metal community back in the 80’s and being gay was not widely accepted yet. The song dives in to his personal struggles and what religion says will happen if you are gay, he’s being watched by everyone and is afraid the fame will all go away. But damn it, he is who is and he is going to fight for the right to be who he is and as history has shown, no one cares that he is gay. We all love Rob for Rob and it never hurt him or the band and he is finally happy being who he is.
The most epic song on ‘Ram It Down’ is “Blood Red Skies” the song feels like it is wrapped in a whole Terminator-like vibe. It feels like science fiction in music. The song starts off slower and it sounds like we are in space or something atmospheric like that. There are some acoustic guitars and Rob comes in soft and gentle to keep with the feel of the music. His falsettos are stellar. The song kicks up the tempo with some guitar synthesizer sounds and heavier drumming (although they sound programmed which sucks a little). Rob changes his vocal approach as well getting a little more sinister and angrier. The song takes me back to earlier Priest when they were doing a little more Prog stuff (without the synths though). This is one of the better songs on the album and really reaches new heights with the grand levels it reaches. It is engaging and feels like it is telling some powerful journey which it actually is.
A couple weeks ago we talked through the Kiss 7″ Single for “Beth”. I know, I know…the Kiss Review Series will never die as I’ll always keep finding stuff to show off. Now, I found another one of their singles and this one is from their 1977 album ‘Love Gun’. It is “Christine Sixteen” and the song features Gene Simmons on the lead vocals. As far as chart success, it went all the way to #25 on the Billboard Hot 100. Not bad!
I say not bad because of the subject matter of the song, a lot of stations wouldn’t play it or would only play it after 7pm as if that made it any better. The basis of the song is about an older man infatuated with a girl of the tender age of 16. That wouldn’t fly at all today, but back then, it wasn’t terrible or unforgivable, merely frowned upon I would say based on the fact it still sold like hotcakes. Imagine the chart position if all the stations played it any time of day.
My version is the standard U.S. version, with no picture sleeve. It has the standard Casablanca/Filmworks sleeve which is pretty basic. The B-Side of the song might actually be better than the A-Side is it is Ace Frehley’s song “Shock Me”. More on that later. First let’s discuss the A-Side.
It is Friday! And you know what that means…New Music!! We have a ton of releases for you this week and there are several I am interested in hearing, I’m not sure about buying them yet, but I will stream them. My choices are in Blue. There is a lot of variety on here so I am sure there will be something for everyone. Let me know what you want to hear and what I may have missed. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a great weekend.
Joe Satriani – The Elephants of Mars – (Edel Music / earMusic): Joe Satriani never has a shortage of new music. This is his 18th Studio album over the last 36 years which is a new one every 2 years. Can’t beat that (unless you are Guided By Voices). I really loved his early albums but the later albums have been a little spotty for me, but he is still one of my favorite guitarists.
Papa Roach – Ego Trip – (New Noize Records / ADA Warner Music): Now on their 11 Studio album Papa Roach is back to deliver their brand of rock…which is nu metal, rap rock, hard rock, alt. rock, alt metal or whatever you want to call it. All I know, is they have some great songs so will be happy to add some more to the collection.
Released on October 28, 1998, ‘A Little South of Sanity’ was the final album to be released with Geffen Records. Funny thing with Aerosmith, three albums in to a 6 album deal with Geffen, Aerosmith signed a new contract with Columbia Records…who does that. At the time they signed the deal, they only had done 3 albums. ‘Get a Grip’ became #4, the greatest hits compilation was #5 and this live album was the 6th and final one. I guess Columbia Records and Geffen had a good relationship because before this 6th album came out, Columbia got to release ‘Nine Lives’. Only Aerosmith could pull something like that off.
But we are here to talk about the live album ‘A Little South of Sanity’. The album was pieced together from two entirely different tours. Some songs from the 1993-1994 ‘Get A Grip’ Tour and the rest from the 1997-1998 ‘Nine Lives’ Tour which was still going on after this album was released. And here is the strange thing, we don’t know the shows every song comes from which I think is nuts. Isn’t anyone tracking that information? Apparently not. We do know some songs, but a lot are still a mystery. What we do know are there are 23 tracks and almost 2 hours of live Aerosmith. That is perfect.
The cover art is said to be inspired by an incident where Joey Kramer’s Ferrari caught on fire at a gas station. Joey blamed the gas attendant for the incident. Therefore the picture of the gas attendant on the cover is said to be filmmaker Patrick Connolly. At least he is claiming it is him. I don’t know if it is confirmed. And it says filmmaker, but I don’t know what films he has done and I guess it isn’t important. Also on the cover, you notice the album got a Parental Advisory Sticker and it is the only album of Aerosmith to ever get one. It is for some of the colorful language Steven uses in between songs.
While the band was touring for the release of the album ‘Cheap Trick at Budokan: The Complete Recordings’, the band decided to record some shows. On a four night stint at The Metro in Chicago from April 30-May 3, 1998, the band recorded all the shows. One of the cool things they did at these shows is each night they played one of their first four albums in its entirety which was in celebration of the re-release of those albums. After that they then played songs from throughout their career. From those recordings, they made a compilation which turned in to ‘Music for Hangovers’.
The album was released on June 15, 1999 and it didn’t just have the main members of Robin Zander, Rick Nielsen, Tom Petersson and Bun E. Carlos, oh no. They also had a guest appearance from the Smashing Pumpkin’s main man Billy Corgan. Billy also wrote the liner notes as he goes through his love of Cheap Trick and him joining the band on stage multiple times. The show isn’t Budokan, but it is still pretty great. There is a DVD of this release, however, I only have the CD and that is what we will review. Enjoy!
The album opener is “Oh Claire” is a little jam that only says “Oh kininichi wa” and was the last song (uncredited) on ‘Heaven Tonight’ from 1978. They then go straight in to their classic track “Surrender” which they sound just as good as they did 20 years earlier on Budokan. It is rocking with a punk flair and enough energy to get the crowd warmed up for the rest of the show. Then comes the high velocity of “Hot Love” which speeds down the stage at breakneck speed and Robin shows he can still sound as great he did when he recorded the song oh so long ago. Always a fun favorite for me and even more so here.
I love how when Rick introduces the next track it is by his favorite singer in the whole wide world Mr. Robin Zander. Good thing because he’s been stuck with him for 20 years now. They sing “I Can’t Take It” which might be the only song not from the first four albums. How is possible that Robin still sounds as young and talented as he did when he started. It is crazy and I’ll stop harping on that subject because you get it now. Next up is one of their most famous “I Want You To Want Me” and how can you not singalong to this one. It is played at such a fast tempo it is almost exhausting trying to keep up as Bun E. just pounds away on that snare. And one cool thing about them playing the entire first four albums, they now have on tape songs you might not expect as that one for me was “Taxman, Mr. Thief” which opens with a cool Rick riff throughout as he is really killing it here. In a song that had them being compared to the Beatles (which happened a lot), live it is a straight-up rocker and sounds amazing.
Billy Corgan gets introduced before the next song and if you have the DVD you see he comes out dressed up as his hero Rick Nielsen which got a big laugh. Billy plays guitar on the song “Mandocello”, he is the main guy on the intro and outro, which is a song I found boring on the studio album, but live has a whole new life and sounds fantastic. Robin’s angelic voice still sounds like perfection and Tom’s bassline drives the song home. What was missing on the studio shines through here. “Oh Caroline” is up next and they attempt this one acoustically which is a really nice twist. Already a great song and a sign of a really great song is if it can be played acoustically and be as good and guess what, it is. “How Are You?” which studio wise opens with a piano, live just goes straight in to a heavy bass line and drum beat and rocks right out of the gate. Before it was a mix of Elton John and The Beatles and now it is a rocking Cheap Trick like only the can do. The chorus is a hell of a lot of fun and perfect for a live performance.
“If You Want My Love” slows things back down and although a little rough around the edges vocally is still a classic must have song in the set. This was the first song I felt you could see the flaws in Robin’s vocals which I didn’t know existed. It is still a fun song waving your arms from side-to-side in the air! Then comes one of my all-time favorite songs “Dream Police”, bet you don’t know what album this one is from?? Tom’s bass is the highlight here as it is the driving force of the song. Without it, the song would’ve felt so flat and two-dimensional. Rick joins the vocal fun at the one break which has him going crazy and nuts belting out the lines, it is great. “So Good To See You” has a whole 60’s Beatles vibe and is another where Robin just attacks the vocals. It sounds as good or better than the studio track. I love the energy coming from the band.
Another song I wouldn’t have expected is “The Ballad of T.V. Violence” off their debut, but I guess it makes sense as it is about a Chicago Serial Killer and they are in Chicago. It is a darker and a heavier song and Rick really shreds on this one and Bun E. slams those skins. Robin sings it with a little more edge and the whole band slays! The final song is another favorite with “Gonna Raise Hell”. Bun E. kicks things off with a great beat, Tom lays down the bass riff followed by Rick’s laying the same guitar riff as the bass. Robin sings it with a gritty, gravelly vocal to try and sound as tough as he can. It is a great, heavy rock song to end the show (or at least this CD). Go out with a bang and leave them wanting more which this does. I hate to see it end.
Although the album is from songs spread over four nights, they did mix it where it works seamlessly as if one complete show. Now, it is no Budokan, but what it is is a band that was still having fun playing live although their albums weren’t selling at the time. They have accepted that people love those 70’s albums and they fully embrace it. Had they become one of the very first “heritage acts”? Probably so, but thank god as they could still perform at such a high level. The show is full of energy, fun and excitement and if there is a band to see live, it is Cheap Trick. My Overall Score is a 4.0 out of 5.0 Stars. I mean you can’t go wrong with Live Cheap Trick!!
Kiss has finally realized they can make money on live Bootleg type albums just like everyone else has been doing out in the will. They are finally releasing their own Bootleg Series called “Off the Soundboard”. First up for them was the show from Tokyo 2001 which had Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Eric Singer. This time around they are going with the line-up of Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer. The show is Virginia Beach from July 25, 2004. This tour was the Rock the Nation Tour and one I didn’t see.
When I saw this was being released, I was excited at first as there were a handful of songs that haven’t been on all the tours so it is always great to get live versions when you can. The ones I was excited about were “Unholy”, “King of the Night Time World”, “Got to Choose” and “I Want You”. Their previous release was absolutely perfect. This one turns out, not so much…at least to me. They did maintain the same bootleg feel to the packaging as it is real simple cardboard box feel with stamped looking markings like the bootlegs of old. I do love the simplicity (even if it is a little flimsy).
You know every artist has something in their catalog that they try to forget or completely ignore at least. And for Jeff Scott Soto, this is that record. Done for fun with a bunch of friends and never an intention to release it yet somehow it still got released. Recorded way back in 1992, it finally saw the light of day on November 12, 2009. What could be so bad that the artist cringes at its mention, well I am not sure how to put this. You know we discussed his R Rated, raunchy, parody album with the band Skrapp Mettle a couple weeks ago…Well, this makes Skrapp Mettle look like The Wiggles or even Sesame Street. This is NC-17 or even X-Rated material. I think I may have found the WORST ALBUM EVER MADE!!! And I am not being overly dramatic. I truly think this could be it.
Who were the perverted minds behind this project? It was Jens Johansson (Keyboards) and Anders Johansson (drums) both from Jeff’s time with Yngwie Malmsteen. On bass it was rounded out with Jonas Helborg and of course Jeff Scott Soto on vocals.
For My Sunday Song #293, we are going to discuss the title track, “Nostradamus”, from the Judas Priest 2008 concept album ‘Nostradamus’. The album focuses on the life and times of the great 16th Century writer and prophecy maker which I think is brilliant. The album went to #11 on the Billboard Charts but I think fell flat after that as people just didn’t get it. They were wrong in my book. The title track did get nominated for a Grammy for Best Metal Performance but lost.
The song is an homage to the man himself. It celebrates everything about the man, the myth, the legend. It vindicates the man that was persecuted for his beliefs. He lived in the 16th Century so I am sure they thought he was a witch or evil with all his visions.
“Nostradamus” has some brilliance to it. Rob is full on operatic in his vocals and he really hits some great notes at the beginning and then the band comes in and slams it home with a massive Halford scream. It does actually have a little of the speed metal and has some classic Priest sounds and that Halford SCREAM!!!! What more could you want. I really love the epic, grandness feel to the song. It takes you on a journey and one you will want to travel again and again. The band went for it on this song and album I personally love it.
My first concert of 2022 was from an artist I have been following for over 20 years and for some reason have never taken time out of my day to catch him live. Well that is no longer happening. I am trying to see as many artist as I can that I haven’t seen before (of course time and money permitting). First up was the very talented, singer-songwriter rock & roll star Will Hoge. His latest album, Tiny Little Movies, came out in 2020 and as luck would have it, so did Covid and all touring. He is finally touring the album (which is amazing btw). And I am not missing it this time around.
The show was at the Neighborhood Theater in Charlotte, North Carolina and in my 8 years in Charlotte I have never seen a show at this place and is a crying shame as it is a great place. It holds just under 1,000 people and there is a balcony where you can actually sit as the rest is standing room only. Which really wasn’t an issue as for some strange reason Charlotte didn’t show up as there were less than 200 but Will still performed as if it was 20,000 as he is the consummate professional.
I bought front row tickets! Well, front row balcony because I wanted to sit down. A note on the ledge in front of us said “No Drinks”. I wonder why? So l looked over and okay…I see why now..
Joe Satriani – The Elephants of Mars – (Edel Music / earMusic): Joe Satriani never has a shortage of new music. This is his 18th Studio album over the last 36 years which is a new one every 2 years. Can’t beat that (unless you are Guided By Voices). I really loved his early albums but the later albums have been a little spotty for me, but he is still one of my favorite guitarists.
Papa Roach – Ego Trip – (New Noize Records / ADA Warner Music): Now on their 11 Studio album Papa Roach is back to deliver their brand of rock…which is nu metal, rap rock, hard rock, alt. rock, alt metal or whatever you want to call it. All I know, is they have some great songs so will be happy to add some more to the collection.
2 Loud 2 Old Music 