5 Songs to Get You Through the Week #176

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. Driving Rain, by Slash feat. Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators

Guns N' Roses hot-shot six string god Slash just came out with a new solo career song last week that will be on his upcoming record. It's not too shabby. Sounds a lot like a lot of the other stuff Slash has done in his solo career so far, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Definitely worth cranking and giving a fair listen to once or twice. It's pure, straight-up, unadulterated rock n' roll and that is all it needs to be.

2. I'll See You in My Dreams, by Django Reinhardt

While certainly not rock n' roll by any stretch of the imagination, the world of rock and metal owes a great deal to this jazz guitar genius. Despite missing parts of his fingers, he went on to create some of the most intricate and fast played guitar jazz the world has ever known. He was the direct inspiration for Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi to keep playing and try new things after he had his own fingers related accident before Black Sabbath got started.

3. Black Math, by The White Stripes

This is one of the tracks that got me into checking out The White Stripes outside of their hit "Seven Nation Army". I wasn't sure what to expect from the rest of the Elephant album, but this definitely had me hooked. It's loud, pulsing, raw, and is completely in your face without being overly preachy or political in any way. Plus, the way it shifts gears so drastically in ways that still make sense is absolutely astonishing.

4. Burn, by Deep Purple

When Deep Purple got rid of Ian Gillan and Roger Glover in 1973, no one knew what would be next for the band, or if there would even be a next. The arrival of David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes proved that not only would they survive, but they would flourish. This track was a big "FUCK YOU" to Gillan and Glover, showing that Deep Purple could rattle out groundbreaking material without them that was arguably even better than what they had done before.

5. Rock or Bust, by AC/DC

This is one of AC/DC's more solid recent efforts. It's from their latest album Rock or Bust, which is already a few years old at this point. Still, despite having no Malcolm Young this song in particular still manages to crank out that AC/DC fire that we have all come to know and love over the years. You can definitely tell they are missing a key component of the band, but it doesn't stop them from rocking it out anyway.

5 Songs to Get You Through the Week #175

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. Get What's Coming, by Rival Sons

This is one of the songs that initially got me into Rival Sons in the first place. The way it builds up to a pseudo-Deep Purple kind of blues swing with balls makes me want to bang my head and dance around the room. This is another song where the band really seems to know when to pull back so that the next moment can have that much more impact. That's the thing with music. It's not always about what you play. Some times it's what you DON'T play that makes something amazing.

2. Don't Fear the Reaper (in the style of Ghost), by Anthony Vincent and Erock

So in case you guys don't know, these two guys are pretty well known musicians on YouTube. They both have their gimmicks, but they are genuinely talented people. This collaboration they recently did together where they did a Blue Oyster Cult classic in the style of modern metal band Ghost works surprisingly well. It feels like such a grand, yet heavy and melodic production that it feels like you are witnessing an event. Definitely worth checking out.

3. Flash of the Blade, by Iron Maiden

A while back I posted the Avenged Sevenfold cover of this classic, but I figured it was time to share the original. This is Iron Maiden in their prime and it shows. They were firing on all cylinders here and they were not about to slow down for anyone or anything. This song is so full of fire, passion, and raw fury that it makes you want to pretend you are up on stage, air guitar, and bang your head until your neck is sore for days.

4. Crystal Light, by UFO

If you need a quick break from the hard rocking though, this UFO ballad should have you covered. It might be an acoustic tune, but it has this sway and flow to it that makes you feel all caught up in it. You kind of forget the world for a moment by closing your eyes, putting this on, and humming along (especially to the harmonized humming parts). It's also a lot of fun to play on guitar too. Great for learning to do arpeggios.

5. Caught in the Middle, by Dio

This has to be one of my absolute favorite songs that Ronnie James Dio ever did during his solo career. That riff combined with the thundering of the rhythm section and Dio's soaring vocal melodies and delicious harmonies makes this a classic in my book. Why it never was a big radio hit or even a well known metal classic is beyond me. Sonically it is incredibly pleasing. It has that heavy metal punch while still maintaining catchy melody.

Throwback Thursday: Rival Sons, by Rival Sons

In 2011 Rival Sons were still on the precipice of breaking out. Two years prior they had put out their debut record Before the Fire, though that album had not made all that huge of a splash with the mainstream rock audience. That entire album had been recorded for the band that they were before they got Jay Buchanan on vocals. The band then decided to do an EP that would be a better representation of what their sound was now that they had some time to gel as a foursome. The result was Rival Sons.

Though Rival Sons was only six tracks long, it had a great deal more fire, energy, and drive to it than the entire Before the Fire album did. The EP ranges from fun zippy radio rock tunes to lumbering stoner rock tunes to acoustic ballads to jazz and beyond. They are all over the map here and yet it still manages to gel together into something cohesive and fun that to this day I still play on repeat over and over again without getting bored.

"Torture" is a Rival Sons staple. No show of theirs is complete without it being performed. It's a hard rocking stomper for sure. It has an ear worm of a riff from guitarist Scott Holiday. One of the great things about this song though is that it is not all full blast all the time. It knows when to back off to create more suspense, which results in that much more explosive and fun energy when the band comes roaring back in. It's a modern classic for sure.

My absolute favorite Rival Sons song of all time comes from this record, which is "Soul". It is a bass and drum centric song in terms of instrumentation and has a more slow jazzy feel to it. However, don't let that make you think it's a wimpy song. It most certainly is not. It has a real Led Zeppelin vibe and can get incredibly powerful. Jay's performance on it is haunting and flooring. Robin Everhart plays an incredibly thick bass line that seems so intricate yet simple at the same time. Michael Miley shows some of his greatest finesse behind the kit here as well.

I cannot recommend Rival Sons enough. Like I said earlier, it may only be six tracks long but it makes up for it by being all killer and no filler. Honestly, the short track list is probably what gives it its strength. There is something to enjoy in every track. Even the guys who have not listened to anything since they graduated high school in 1977 might actually find something in here to enjoy as well. What a novel concept, right?

Rival Sons, by Rival Sons receives 4.5/5 stars.

Track List:

1. Get What's Coming
2. Torture
3. Radio
4. Sacred Tongue
5. Sleepwalker
6. Soul

Buy the album on Bandcamp:

https://rival-sons.bandcamp.com/album/rival-sons-ep

5 Songs to Get You Through the Week #174

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. Helter Skelter, by Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson

This song has been covered to death by every rock and metal band since the 60's, but for good reason. It is a loud, raunchy, balls to the wall howler of a tune. Recently Shock rockers Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson teamed up to do their own take on the Beatles classic and it actually isn't too shabby. It's slowed down some, but the lack of speed is compensated for with towering walls of sound and creepy, yet delightful vocal performances.

2. Perry Mason, by Ozzy Osbourne

This is a song from Ozzy's solo catalog that I feel does not get anywhere near the amount of attention it deserves by the general public. Honestly, it's one of the best songs he has ever done with Zakk Wylde pinch harmonic bending away at the guitar. Unfortunately, the album it came from Ozzmosis was a confusing album because of how many stylistic directions Ozzy's label was pulling him in at the same time, so this kind of fell through the cracks.

3. Pull This Blanket Off, by The Raconteurs

This is not really much in the way of a rock n' roll song at all, but I find the melody and harmonies in it so goddamn ear pleasing that I find myself listening to it over and over and over again when I come across it in my playlist. It's a simple piano driven song with electric guitar accents here and there and no drumming, but it works so darn well. I guarantee if you give this a listen and a fair chance it will get stuck in your head pretty quickly too.

4. Wheels of Confusion/The Straightener, by Black Sabbath

Vol. 4 is where Black Sabbath had moved on from just smoking weed and drinking to the harder drugs. At the time, it was cocaine. As a result, the song writing became that much more outside the box and unorthodox. It especially shows in songs like this. The name of the song is fairly apt, as it's kind of all over the place, yet it still manages to pull together and feel like one cohesive song by the end. You won't hear it on the radio, but it's definitely worth checking out.

5. Shoot to Thrill, by AC/DC

I am honestly surprised I have not up to this point put this hard rocking classic on any of my 5 Songs posts. This song in particular speaks for itself. I don't even need to describe it, honestly because most if not all of you already know and loved it to death and have done so for decades. It is everything an AC/DC or any hard rock song for that matter should be. It's got volume, balls, flash, and sleaze. Can't ask for a whole lot more, now can you?

Throwback Thursday: Vol. 4, by Black Sabbath

By 1972 Black Sabbath had without a single shadow of a doubt cemented themselves as one of the big four of hard rock/heavy metal along with the likes of such royalty as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, and Uriah Heep. With three well recognized albums to their name and them being on the way up the ladder all the time, they decided to get even more creative with the drug, money, and fame fueled classic Vol. 4.

Black Sabbath had always been a curious and experimental (to a point) band, but Vol. 4 is where this really starts to become apparent. This is where the band went more toward complex rhythmic patterns, unusual song structures, and an overall darker flavor. Since the band had all the time and money they could ever want to be in the studio, they also worked with synthesizers to make their tracks more full of variety and to add another dimension to the sound.

"Snowblind" is considered by many hard core Black Sabbath fans to be one of the band's major classics. It has a towering, crushing wall of sound kind of riff that is backed up by a trudging but gigantic rhythm. Naturally the subject nature of the song is cocaine, due to the fact that during the time the band was recording this album they essentially were snowblinded by all of the cocaine that they were doing.

The one track from this album that many people know (even though they probably know it more from the cover by Charles Bradley) is "Changes". It is an entirely piano driven track. No guitar. No drums. No bass. Just Tony Iommi at the piano and Ozzy Osbourne at the mic. It is an intensely profound, heartfelt, and passionate ballad. It is all about love, loss, and the changes that occur within one's self when dealing with a massive heartbreak. The performance is absolutely haunting to this day.

Vol. 4 is not my personal favorite Black Sabbath album, but it does feature many of the band's most ambitious and experimental songs of their entire career. It really is an adventure and a trip to put it on and listen to it. A word of advice, though. If you do give it a listen I HIGHLY suggest you listen to the song "FX" on a high quality set of headphones. It is really something else. That said, it is certainly worth checking out.

Vol. 4, by Black Sabbath receives 3.5/5 stars.

Track List:

1. Wheels of Confusion
2. Tomorrow's Dream
3. Changes
4. FX
5. Supernaut
6. Snowblind
7. Cornucopia
8. Laguna Sunrise
9. St. Vitus Dance
10. Under the Sun

Buy the album on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Vol-4-Black-Sabbath/dp/B01H2ROWDE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1531466445&sr=8-1&keywords=black+sabbath+vol+4

5 Songs to Get You Through the Week #173

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. Funk #49, by The Black Keys

I didn't even know this cover existed until earlier tonight. I was perusing through some Black Keys stuff on YouTube and happened to stumble across it. Unfortunately it isn't on any of their albums, though it's out there somewhere. That said, it doesn't sound a whole lot like the original. This one is a lot more raw, lo-fi, and gritty blues. Essentially, it is the early Black Keys take on the song. Quite frankly, I like it. It's different and a lot of fun.

2. You Was Born to Die, by Blind Willie McTell

Here is your quick dose of old delta blues for the week. People like Robert Johnson get all the attention more often than not when it comes to delta blues. However, there is such a rich tapestry of artists who made up that musical movement in the 20's and 30's. Blind Willie McTell is definitely one of them. This tune in particular showcases some nifty finger picking as well as some lovely vocal harmonies that just hit you right in the soul.

3. Smokin' in the Boys Room, by Brownsville Station

The Motley Crue cover of this has been a smash hit for several years now, but most people don't know that this song was originally written and released by Brownsville Station back in 1973. It definitely isn't as loud, balls to the wall, and in your face, but it still has some real rock n' roll and bluesy swagger to it. For a short period back then, it actually was a fairly big hit. It's easy to hear why when you dust it off and give it a listen for yourself.

4. The Jack, by AC/DC

This is as close to straight up blues as you're going to get when it comes to AC/DC. To be fair though, most of the Young brothers' guitar influence came from the likes of B.B. King and other great blues guitar players of that time period. Heavy metal players were actually NOT their biggest influence. This tune also has some swagger to it. It lays back in the verses and tells a story and then roars into the choruses, only to back off afterward. The solo section is one of the best in AC/DC's whole catalog.

5. The Phone Call, by Joe Satriani

This song in particular is an oddity for Joe Satriani. Not that his music isn't already odd to begin with. What I mean though is not only does this song have singing, but it also is a straight up I-IV-V blues pattern on an acoustic with electric on the solos. Also, the vocals all sound like they are being sung over the phone while leaving a message on someone's answering machine. It's a fun little song that I don't feel gets anywhere near enough attention.

Throwback Thursday: Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock, by Joe Satriani

In 2008 Joe Satriani had long since dazzled the world with his ability to create fireworks on the fret board in classic albums like Surfing With the Alien and Flying in a Blue Dream. As years went by, he decided to delve into the more artistic side of his craft rather than continue to make melodic space rock. One of the major culminations of this endeavor was his 2008 release Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock.

Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock has a rather diverse overall sound. The production value is incredibly high throughout it all, though. Some songs are straight up arena rockers, some like you are dancing to flamenco in Spain, and others sound like they belong in the soundtrack of an indie film, and others just go off in their own unique directions. The only way to describe the overall sound is just Joe Satriani doing whatever the hell he wants to do.

"I Just Wanna Rock" sounds like something that could have come out of either the 70's or the early 00's garage rock revival. It is one of the few tracks that has vocals on it, though the lyrics are not really lyrics so much as spoken word parts that are sort of put to a melodic context. You would have to listen yourself to understand what I mean. Regardless, Satch is showing off some of his classic rock influences for sure.

"Come on Baby" is the most ballad-like song on the entire album. There is no flash or edge here, but certainly no lack of talent. You can almost picture your own words to the melodic line the lead guitar lays down, which I think is what Joe was going for. You really feel like without the title of the song what the emotional message is. It's a song about being sad, lonely, and wanting your baby to come back so you can fix everything back up.

This was actually the very first Joe Satriani album I ever bought. Got it autographed by the man himself the same day, as he was doing a meet and greet as well as a short set at a Guitar Center in Chicago. That said, I have not regretted this purchase since. It is a very solid album and has aged incredibly well. It does not feel dated in the slightest. In my opinion, that is a sign of some high quality music right there.

Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock receives 3.6 out of 5 stars.

Track List:

1. Musterion
2. Overdriver
3. I Just Wanna Rock
4. Professor Satchafunkilus
5. Revelation
6. Come on Baby
7. Out of the Sunrise
8. Diddly-A-Doo-Dat
9. Asik Vaysel
10. Andalusia

Buy the album on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Professor-Satchafunkilus-Musterion-Rock-Satriani/dp/B00168LEB4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1530846793&sr=8-1&keywords=Professor+Satchafunkilus

5 Songs to Get You Through the Week #172

 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. Hip (Eponymous) Poor Boy, by Jack White

This little ditty without a single speck of a shadow of a doubt has to be my absolute favorite song that Jack White has written during his solo career so far. It is not a rock n' roll tune at all, but it feels like old school, fun, classic bubblegum pop but with real instruments and some well written lyrics that are not in the slightest bit shallow like other modern pop tunes. I find myself playing it on repeat all the time because it is way too damn catchy for its own good. 

2. Burn It to the Ground, by Nickelback

Oh no! Not Nickelback! Yes, Nickelback. I really don't understand why it is so trendy to hate on them. I really don't. Plus, it wasn't all THAT long ago that we were ALL rocking out to them and getting stoked for each new album they would put out. I think if the stupid fad would die out we could get back to appreciating the fun music that they make. You can't honestly say that this stereo cranking tune doesn't make you want to air guitar.

3. Double Talkin' Jive, by Guns N' Roses

If more old school hard rock is more your scene though, have some classic GN'R. Fun fact: This was actually the first Guns N' Roses song I ever learned how to play on guitar. It isn't all that difficult, but that doesn't make it rock any less. It has sheer fire, passion, and rage and Axl Rose isn't even the one singing it. It was actually rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin who took the mic on this one. It rocked back then and it sure as hell still does now.

4. Walk, by Pantera

We all got the devastating news recently that former Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul died due to a heart attack. It really is a shame because he wasn't all that old. In his 50's, if I recall correctly. He could have had many more years of rocking and rolling ahead of him, but some times the Reaper comes for us when we least expect it. That said, in this week's post we will take a few minutes to remember the sticksman with one of his most beloved tunes.

5. Yellow Submarine, by The Beatles

And now for something completely different. When the world seems like too much of a sad, depressing place full of chaos and rage it is nice to just take a break from it all and put on one of The Beatles' most fun, cheery, and uplifting songs. I know I always feel better afterward. Always have. In fact, I remember being 11 years old and singing this over and over while all of my peers were getting into whatever crappy pop stars or rappers were popular at the time.