5 Songs to Get You Through the Week #19

5 Songs to Get You Through the Week is a feature I run on Young Ears, Fresh Perspective on Sundays/early hours of Monday morning where I pick out 5 tunes that I think are notable and tell you a bit about them. The point is to give you some rocking music to help you deal with your weekday blues. You can either listen to one each day, listen to them all at once, or any other combination that you feel. As long as you can get through the week without the man getting you down, that's all I care about. Without further ado, here are the 5 tracks I've picked out for this week:

1. 20 Buck Spin, by Pentagram

Now before you go getting the wrong idea, no this is not a devil worship band. If you didn't see this week's Throwback Thursday feature then Pentagram is a doom metal band in a similar vein to Black Sabbath that also got their start in the early 70's. 20 Buck Spin is a bouncy rock n' roll jam that goes instrumental for somewhat extended periods (though there are some vocal parts that are fantastically melodic) for some blistering guitar solos. It's a great tune for headbanging and considered one of the band's classic tunes for a reason.

2. She Sells Sanctuary, by The Cult

Being one of The Cult's biggest hits, She Sells Sanctuary seems to have this mystical presence that starts and the very beginning of the song and carries on throughout its entirety. It is fun and upbeat, but at the same time it makes the hairs on your arms stand up with its almost eastern music sounding parts on the guitar mixed with the added on reverb. At the same time though the song is very representative of its time (the 80's); the near electronic tone of the drums gives that much away. Combine all that with Ian Astbury's powerful unique vocal timbre and you've got yourself one hell of a pop rock song.

3. Rocky Mountain Way, by Joe Walsh

After leaving The James Gang, Joe Walsh went on to have a pretty successful solo career throughout the 70's and beyond. It's pretty astounding how in Rocky Mountain Way Walsh is really just playing the most basic of blues forms and yet somehow making it utterly unique, powerful, and memorable even to this day. It just goes to show you that you can use the same technical aspects of any kind of music but twist it in a different way to make it almost entirely your own. I really have to applaud Walsh here.

4. Na Na Na, by Cozy Powell's Hammer

Drummer Cozy Powell was one of the best hired guns you could get in rock and metal for decades (having been in such bands like Rainbow, Whitesnake, Michael Schenker Group, Black Sabbath, Jeff Beck, etc.) till his untimely death in 1997 due to an automobile accident. That being said, he dipped his hands in TONS of projects; one of them being a short lived solo project in the early 70's called Cozy Powell's Hammer. They released only one single titled Na Na Na. It's a fun song about wanting to be a drummer in a rock n' roll band; not caring about what people think you have to do to get by in life. It's simple, joyful, and will help you kick those weekday blues.

5. Roadhouse Blues, by The Doors

If you want some straight up rocking blues with some balls to it, look no further than The Doors' classic Roadhouse Blues. That twangy brown sounding opening guitar riff augmented by honky-tonk keys just builds up into one of the most jumping and jiving tunes I've ever heard from The Doors. This is some straight up tough sounding man music. Like Walsh's Rocky Mountain Way it is just simple structured blues but with its own edge to it. Many bands since then have tried to emulate the kind of magic that The Doors brought to the blues.

Beatles Reunion Could Have Come to Fruition, Says Ringo Starr

Since their break-up in 1970 millions of people pined for the day that The Beatles would reunite and once again make the music that has enchanted and inspired multiple generations. Unfortunately, with the untimely passings of John Lennon and George Harrison such a notion never came to fruition. However, Ringo Starr in a recent interview with Rolling Stone says that he felt that it could have.

“With the [technology] you have now, I think we could have got it together. I think the stumbling block was just sitting around and saying, ‘Okay, let’s do it.’ And we never got to that. You know, we did in twos, we talked about it.”

Of course there were multiple occasions throughout the 70's when people tried to get the band to reunite; primarily through bribery and by attempting to appeal to their good nature for charity. Unfortunately, there would have been too much pressure for them to do well according to Starr. It would be understandable considering the legacy the band had already come by even just after their career together ended.

“But I think if we had just relaxed behind it long enough, we still had the songs, and we still could play. We could have put it together. And we could have done ‘A Day in the Life.’ Of course, it’s ended now. John and George are gone.”

The best we will ever get these days are the occasions when Paul McCartney and Starr will get together on stage to play. It doesn't happen that often, but when it does there is a mighty cheerful uproar. It is the closest thing that the current generation will ever get to seeing the fab four perform together.

Throwback Thursday: First Daze Here, by Pentagram

Once upon a time, there existed a heavy metal band from Alexandria, Virginia who throughout the 70's worked hard and gained notoriety throughout the underground scene only to face turmoil. This band was Pentagram. The band would not release its first full length studio album until 1985 and would be done with almost an entirely different line up; the only consistent member being vocalist Bobby Liebling. Also, the old 70's Pentagram songs that the band had built up notoriety with would be almost entirely replaced on it. However, that is not to say that the "classic" songs went unheard. Official recordings were of course made with newer members of the band, but the old demos with the original Pentagram line-up did eventually resurface and get an official release in 2001; titled First Daze Here.

Back in the 70's Pentagram sounded heavily influenced by Black Sabbath. Some would almost venture to call Pentagram a clone of them. There is some truth to it. The dark fantasy lyrical themes and overall sound of the band (primarily the tone of the guitar) on the First Daze Here demo reflect much of the heavy bluesy sound of Black Sabbath's first couple of albums. However, they put their own spin on it and took it in a unique direction; furthering the doom metal genre. Also, Pentagram does/did NOT worship the devil. Much like their source of inspiration, their message was more of a warning against such behavior.

The track Pentagram are probably known for most amongst their underground legion of followers would be Forever My Queen. Though minor elements of Black Sabbath can be heard, it is still mostly an original sounding piece. It comes in with this big, dark, heavy riff with Liebling's intense and almost frightening vocal presence bursts right in. In a way, it's almost darker than anything Black Sabbath was making at the time despite the fact that if you listen closely it's a love song. Kind of weird the way such things work, isn't it?

20 Buck Spin is one of my absolute favorite songs from this album. Despite the very Black Sabbath tone of the guitar, the bouncy nature of the song almost reminds me more of Deep Purple. It is more bluesy and rock oriented rather than heavy metal. This song is more focused on guitar riffs and solos rather than lyrics, but that isn't a problem at all. It is fantastic to hear a young energetic band just jamming out and giving it every last ounce of power that they can. This song alone makes it a shame that the original Pentagram line-up didn't go anywhere.

While First Daze Here isn't exactly the most original sounding record out there, it's fantastic for if you feel like listening to some old school doom metal. The riffs are good and the vocals and lyrics will haunt your dreams. Plus, if you're a musician looking to get into doom metal then this is a great way to get some basic education on the subject. All the basic elements are there for you to pick up on. If you're just a regular listener it's still a great way to give something different a try and start to get away from the mainstream a little more.

First Daze Here, by Pentagram receives 3.75 out of 5 stars.

Track List:

1. Forever My Queen
2. When the Screams Come
3. Walk in the Blue Light
4. Starlady
5. Lazylady
6. Review Your Choices
7. Hurricane
8. Livin' in a Ram's Head
9. Earth Night
10. 20 Buck Spin
11. Be Forewarned
12. Last Days Here

Buy the album on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/First-Daze-Here--Vintage-Collection/dp/B000QFAE32/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427431009&sr=8-1&keywords=Pentagram+First+Daze+Here

Twisted Sister May Call It A Day Due to Drummer's Death

80's "hid" metal band Twisted Sister amongst other bands lately are considering putting in their notice and calling it quits soon. This is no surprise though, considering the recent loss of their drummer AJ Pero last week while he was on tour with his other band Adrenaline Mob.

In a recent interview with Eddie Trunk, guitarist Jay Jay French discussed the band's future plans and what are currently subjects of discussion amongst the remaining members.

“We’re going to discuss the near term which is the concert in Vegas on May 30, then we’ll discuss getting through the shows in Europe this year. And then we’ll talk about the long term which is – Is 2016 going to be a statement year for us? It's the 40th anniversary of me, Dee and Eddie Ojeda getting together. It may be time. It may be. We are trying to confront the reality of it because I don’t want to be in this forever. We could – some bands are forever in that ozone area and continue to play on. But we need to look at this and say to ourselves, as a live entity, on which our reputation rests, how do we honour that history? How do we honour AJ? And how do we honour the fans’ loyalty?”

It would be understandable if soon Twisted Sister did disband. Led Zeppelin did the same thing when their drummer John Bonham died in 1980. In a way it shows a lot of loyalty because it just wouldn't be the same band that had worked to make the kind of impact that they did for all those decades. It would be intimidating for any drummer to fill someone else's shoes like that. If this is the choice Twisted Sister wishes to make, then I support them. They have had a good run. Couldn't ask for more.

Black Sabbath Officially Announce Final Concert

 
All good things must eventually come to an end, it would seem. Heavy metal godfathers Black Sabbath are no exception; as they have just announced when and where their final performance will take place before they hang up the towel and call it a day.

The aforementioned announcement (which can be viewed in the video at the bottom) was made by singer Ozzy Osbourne's wife and manager Sharon Osbourne, saying “Ozzfest will be back in Japan on November 21st and 22nd. And this will be Black Sabbath’s farewell. We’re also announcing Korn, who are celebrating their 20th anniversary. Now you can’t miss that.”

In addition to one final tour, Black Sabbath are also intending to record one more album, bringing back producer Rick Rubin who worked with them on their most recent release 13; which was released back in 2013.

I'm kind of hoping that original drummer Bill Ward makes a surprise appearance and performs with the band at their final show, but I somehow doubt that will happen. He has refused to work with Black Sabbath since their reunion due to not being handed a "signable contract". If you ask me, that is a bit big headed and greedy of him. Of course I don't necessarily know all of the details of the matter, but you would think that for something like this it would be more about playing music you love with old chums and making millions of fans across the world happy to be able to see you play with the group one more time.

5 Songs to Get You Through the Week #18

5 Songs to Get You Through the Week is a feature I run on Young Ears, Fresh Perspective on Sundays/early hours of Monday morning where I pick out 5 tunes that I think are notable and tell you a bit about them. The point is to give you some rocking music to help you deal with your weekday blues. You can either listen to one each day, listen to them all at once, or any other combination that you feel. As long as you can get through the week without the man getting you down, that's all I care about. Without further ado, here are the 5 tracks I've picked out for this week:

1. The Lemon Song, by Led Zeppelin

This is a pretty buoyant bluesy rocker from Led Zeppelin's second album Led Zeppelin II. I'm sure you've heard it on the radio a handful of times if you listen to the classic rock stations. It's a great way to get a grooving vibe going if you want something to move a little bit to while driving to work or wherever it is you're going.  Guitarist Jimmy Page does some fantastic finger picking work while Robert Plant just howls away. Definitely a must-listen for anyone just starting to get into Zeppelin.

2. Mambo Sun, by T. Rex

This isn't exactly what you would consider soft easy listening music, but Marc Bolan's vocals in this tune seem to be almost sung at an odd sort of whisper. I guess that is part of what makes this glam rock groove so intriguing. It adds to what in my opinion is more of a soundscape rather than a traditional pop song with distinguishable verses, choruses, bridges, etc. The song starts, makes you move, and just goes till it ends. As boring as that might seem to some people, it actually works to the song's advantage. It's a fun time for sure.

3. Smokestack Lightnin', by Howlin' Wolf

If old school blues is more your speed, then this blues classic by Howlin' Wolf is right up your alley.  This was recorded in the late 50's and you can definitely tell. However, that doesn't make it any less smooth and soulful. If anything, it makes it more so. The vocals are so deep and rich that they remind you of a really well brewed cup of coffee in a way. The Chicago style harmonica playing only adds to the richness and sends a shockwave of pure awesome through your body. If you want a blues song that isn't so sad, give this a listen.

4. Raw Power, by Iggy and the Stooges

Like 50's rock but some times wish it had a bit more punch to it? Look no further! In his early career Iggy Pop and his band The Stooges answered your prayers. The Stooges took the genre to a whole other level and even acted as a bridge between traditional rock and what would become punk (aka proto-punk). The track Raw Power is rock n' roll at its most basic, but with better production, a more punched up guitar sound, and more sleazy lyrics. It's a great way to get your aggressions out while still retaining some level of musical integrity.

5. Honky Tonk Women, by The Rolling Stones

If you have a fever and the only cure is a prescription for more cowbell, this is the song for you. It starts with it and it just keeps going through the whole song. This is one of the Rolling Stones' best and most well known cheery upbeat jaunts. I sing along to it every time it comes on. Even if it's for the millionth time, I find it impossible to grow weary of the tune. It has everything: cowbell, guitar, horns, and an atmosphere of FUN. If only one song were ever able to get you through a crappy week, it would be this.

Former STP and VR Vocalist Scott Weiland Not So Fan Friendly

It isn't so uncommon to find that someone you idolize or consider a personal hero to you isn't quite the person you had thought they were. Never did this become more apparent than when recently former Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver vocalist Scott Weiland said some rather distasteful things to fans that had paid for a meet and greet package with him at a show of his in Boston.

An article on KSHE 95 mentions how several fans were disgusted by the way Weiland treated them during their time with him. These fans posted to Weiland's online message board about these experiences and how it left them feeling empty and upset.

A user named PigsInZen wrote:

“Scott didn’t even look at me when I was talking to him, he put his arm around me and literally said ‘Let’s get this s— done with.’ As I fakely smiled for my photo, I couldn’t believe what just came out of my hero’s mouth…Scott should not be saying that when people paid $150 for a brief picture with him after the show.”

Toahiaph, another user said:

“[Scott] says something like, ‘OK, hurry up I don’t want to hear it.’ I stand next to him and smile for my picture…meanwhile he was complaining the whole five seconds that it was taking too long. I will NEVER pay to shake his hand again.”

A great deal of the fans at the meet and greet think that Weiland was under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or both. A user named Matthew elaborated on this and said, “I did the meet and greet as well and he said ‘Let’s suck a d—!’ to me and that was it. Over and done in 10 seconds. He was definitely drunk and ready to get outta there.”


It would be no surprise if this were the case, given Weiland's notorious history with substance abuse. Such problems got him fired from both Velvet Revolver as well as Stone Temple Pilots. It really is a shame that at this point in his life Weiland doesn't seem to have his crap together. All his other rock n' roll peers in his age group seem to have. It has ruined what should have been one of the best experiences for his fans by disillusioning them in a pitiful unnecessary way. Hopefully some day he can kick his vices for good and give his fans what they deserve.