Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson to Work to Lift Chinese Censorship of Their Performances

China being the oppressive communist nation it is has been known over the years to censor performers who come to put on their act. This includes musicians as well. When musicians perform in China they can't do songs about criticizing or overthrowing the government. Such censorship has recently prevented metal legends Iron Maiden from putting on the full blown show that fans all around the world love.

This has prevented Iron Maiden from pyrotechnics, smoke effects, lead singer Bruce Dickinson waving the Union Jack during The Trooper, etc. In a recent performance done in China, a fan caught video of Dickinson saying:

“They did say ‘no cameras.’ Do I care? Everybody take out your camera device – take a picture. It’s great to be in China tonight. We ripped it up in Beijing, and we thought, ‘That was a bit serious.’ They had a few rules, so we kind of stuck by the rules and we didn’t do any swearing. There’s another thing I can’t do – see if you can guess what it is later on.”

Mouthing all the swears, Dickinson then says:

“We don’t really give a shit about all that, because the most important thing is the music. The most important thing is that we’re here, and you’re here, and we’re going to have a great fucking time.”

Dickinson then refers to a TV interview he did, saying:

“They’ve got these great pictures of the show with flames everywhere, dry ice and smoke. I thought, ‘That’s a fucking shame, because we can’t do that – we got a little bit restricted.’ Next time we’ll have a word. Next time we come back to China.”

It's kind of ridiculous how blatant China is about how they try to keep their people down. I really hope that for their sake some day the communist government comes crumbling down so that then democracy or some more fair system of government can take its place. When you're having to censor your concerts and art all around, it just goes to show how insecure they really are. If the people got truly inspired they might actually stand a chance.

Throwback Thursday: Queen II, by Queen

In 1974, Queen put out their sophomore album Queen II, the follow-up to their mildly successful debut Queen. Though it contains none of the band's big radio pop hits that would skyrocket them into the legend that they would later become (although one or two of its songs were used in later Queen concerts) it is considered by many rockers (myself being among them) to be one of the absolute greatest hard rock/heavy metal albums ever created.

Queen II was the first album to feature many of the band's trademark sound elements such as: multiple overdubs, big choral backing harmonies, multiple guitar harmonies, and more. However, this was a much more hard rocking Queen than most people are used to. It honestly feels like a precursor to melodic heavy metal in some areas. The sides on the album are labeled "The White Side" and "The Black Side" rather than "Side 1" and "Side 2". The lyrical themes on "The Black Side" are rather dark and fantasy based whereas "The White Side" is more about emotions.

I know I have mentioned this before, but the track Seven Seas of Rhye from this album is one of the single greatest songs Queen ever created. That iconic lightning quick piano riff just whisks you away on a big adventure the moment it sails out onto the air through your speakers. I love the bravado of young Freddie Mercury in this song. He sings with such authority and conviction. It's hard not to get swept up in the moment and feel like you're being a super awesome god along with him.

Ogre Battle is probably THE most heavy metal song Queen ever wrote. The whole band shines through on this one, though I LOVE the way Brian May just tears it up on guitar while John Deacon thunders away on bass and Roger Taylor pounds at the drums in one of the most progressive and odd time signatured rhythms I've ever heard them do. It is heavy, melodic, and of course gives you vivid pictures of all kinds of big fantasy themed scenes. I think one of the best parts though is just how high the backing vocal harmonies get at certain points. I didn't think anyone could go that high.

Queen II is important piece of Queen history because it shows not just where the band got its start, but also that they could do more than just fluffy pop stuff (even if said fluffy pop stuff was AMAZING). It showed that they had real integrity and skill as musicians and writers. It's definitely not what most people would be expecting or hoping to find when listening to a Queen album, but if you give it a chance you might find you dig it anyway. It's something great to rock out to. It has that same old big Queen sound, just with more overdrive and punch.

Queen II, by Queen receives 3.75 out of 5 stars.

Track List:

1. Procession
2. Father to Son
3. White Queen (As It Began)
4. Some Day One Day
5. The Loser in the End
6. Ogre Battle
7. The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke
8. Nevermore
9. The March of the Black Queen
10. Funny How Love Is
11. Seven Seas of Rhye

Buy the album on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Queen-II/dp/B004UUKDWG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1461917816&sr=8-1&keywords=Queen+II

Ace Frehley Premieres "Fire & Water" Collab Video with Paul Stanley

It has been 18 years since Ace Frehley and Paul Stanley appeared together in a music video and 27 years since Frehley appeared in a music video of his own stuff. Just now both of those have come to an end, as Frehley and Stanley just put out a video for Frehley's cover of Fire & Water, by Free (which can be watched below) for Frehley's recent release Origins, Vol. 1.

Origins, Vol. 1 is an album of covers of songs that influenced Frehley as well as some rerecordings of Kiss songs including one he never played on: Rock and Roll Hell. In a recent press release, Frehley talked about working with Stanley again and how he felt his former band mate did on the track they did together.

Frehley says:

“It was great working with Paul again. All the years we’ve spent apart doing other projects seemed to vanish once we hit the stage! I thought Paul did a fabulous vocal on it. He jumped at the chance to do this because it’s something that’s outside of Kiss and his character in Kiss, and it gave him a chance to, you know, sing. With Paul, you usually think of him singing in a slightly higher register, and on ‘Fire and Water,’ he’s singing deep from his diaphragm, and it’s a real cool vocal. Everyone who’s heard it just thinks it’s the s—.”

I think the video is everything it needs to be: simple rock and roll. No flash or fancy production. Just some old friends on a stage jamming away on a song they love. I did kind of like the intro to the video with them just meeting up on the street like that. It really emphasizes the fact that Stanley and Frehley want to be friends again. The song itself was also done pretty well. I'll admit I was a little thrown off by Stanley singing lower, but I guess that's what happens with age and when he is not trying to sing in Kiss.

Buckethead Chicago 2016 Concert Review

This is going to be a little different in terms of format from how I have gone about doing concert reviews in the past here on Young Ears, Fresh Perspective. The Buckethead concert was not quite what I expected it to be, and not exactly in a fun, cool way.

It took place on 4/25/2016 at the Park West theater in Chicago, IL. It was a nice enough place. Had a bar, places to sit, tables, and a wide spacious area for people to stand near the stage. Anywhere you would have been seated in the venue would have been good enough for you to clearly see what was happening on the stage, which is good considering how some venues just aren't up to snuff in regards to that.

Anyway, when I refer to the show not being what I expected it to be I am talking about the fact that Buckethead ended the show early after only playing a little over an hour. There was a point in the show where there were some technical difficulties being had with Buckethead's guitar rig and the roadie couldn't seem to get it straightened out. This went on for a good 10-15 minutes. Possibly longer than that. The longer it went on, the more I could tell Buckethead was getting frustrated and angry despite the fact he had his trademark white mask covering his face.

Buckethead of course tried to keep the audience entertained and occupied by break dancing, skillfully whipping nunchuks around, moving like a robot with extreme precision to a backing track that sounded like mechanical parts moving around, handing out toys to the audience, shaking hands with the audience, etc. After the roadie couldn't get things straightened out though, Buckethead decided he had had enough and just ended the show right then and there. No real announcement. He just walked off. The lights came back on and his crew started tearing things down on stage.

From here I blame two different people for this:

1. The roadie. The guy kept messing up the whole night. One of the most glaring mistakes he made was when at one point he accidentally knocked over one of Buckethead's guitars mid-show. Unique guitars like Buckethead has are not come by particularly cheaply. I know Buckethead probably has at least some amount of money, but having to replace a guitar like that would probably be a noticeable punch in the pocketbook. In addition to all that, he looked like he had never worked with a guitar rig before judging by the way he was fumbling with all the equipment. I personally hope Buckethead fired him and replaced him already.

2. Buckethead. As a performer myself I completely understand his frustration with the situation. Technical difficulties can be among some of the biggest headaches you can have, especially if they are happening mid-show. That said, I still feel it was a jerk move to end the show altogether when he had an acoustic guitar up on the stage that he could have busted out and played. Buckthead has a ginormous amount of acoustic material in his catalog and he could have played for another 20-30 minutes, leaving the audience perfectly content. Instead people who traveled from several miles around, scheduled things around, and paid good money for got gypped out of the experience they put their cash and hopes toward.

I think Buckethead showed a real lack of artistic integrity in that moment. I understand the fact that his head might not have been in a good place for a moment, but maybe if he had just taken a few minutes to calm down and breathe he would have been in a good enough frame of mind to get back out there and finish what he started and quite frankly owed the audience.

Now that I have that all out of my system though, let's get back onto a more positive note. When Buckethead was playing he did an absolutely PHENOMENAL job. After his four year absence from touring his live playing clearly had not gotten cobwebs on it at all. He ripped through many of his fan favorite songs that I myself had wanted to hear for YEARS from the Guitar Hero II blister-giver Jordan to the haunting Soothsayer to the bouncy Binge and Grab among many others. There were a few tunes I didn't quite recognize, but that isn't surprising considering how many hundreds if not thousands of songs Buckethead has in his catalog.

The stage set up was rather simple. It was just his equipment and then a slide show screen with a Michael Jordan DVD being projected onto it (Buckethead is a HUGE Michael Jordan fan, hence the name of his song Jordan. He was even wearing a Michael Jordan jersey over his cloths due to the fact he was in Chicago). Honestly, I was a little surprised I didn't see the two head statues I've often seen him have in performance videos I've watched. Maybe they were there and I just didn't see them.

Buckethead played along to backing tracks of drums, bass, and occasionally rhythm guitar. I guess it saves him time, money, and effort because he doesn't have to deal with a whole band while out on tour. Considering the fact Buckethead usually seems to like simplicity in his life this doesn't really surprise me at all.

All that said, I would still go see Buckethead again as long as he made sure his gear and employees were up to snuff. It was a great deal of fun to see the macabre chicken bucket adorned guitar god do what he does best. If I got a full show out of him next time he is in town then I will completely forgive him for what happened the other night. I will continue to listen to his music and be a fan. I would still recommend going to see him to anyone who loves guitar based music and wants to see something that is out there and different from the norm.

This Buckethead concert receives 2.75 out of 5 stars.

5 Songs to Get You Through the Week #70

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:

Quick Notice

Tomorrow there will be NO Young Ears, Fresh Perspective post. Instead, it will be moved to Tuesday when I would normally take a day off. I know, I know. You're all devastated. The reason for this however is because I will be attending a Buckethead concert in Chicago! That said, you guys will be getting a review of the show this coming Tuesday on the blog! I'm pretty stoked myself. This is a concert I've wanted to go to for nine years. Unfortunately I've missed opportunities due to stupid reasons and then there was Buckethead's four year hiatus from touring. That said, this week on 5 Songs to Get You Through the Week it's Buckethead Week!

1. Welcome to Bucketheadland, by Buckethead

I once read somewhere that this was originally supposed to be a cover of Crazy Train, by Ozzy Osbourne. I can kind of notice the resemblance, but the two are entirely different overall. This is the track that for many Buckethead fans introduced them to the madness and creepiness that is this masked guitar playing wonder that adorns a chicken bucket atop his head. Even if the Buckethead story isn't really what you're into, it has some heavy hitting riffs and some finger blistering guitar solos for you to rock out to.

2. Interlude, by Buckethead & Friends

In 2005 Buckethead put out an album called Enter the Chicken where he and a bunch of his musician friends collaborated to make an album. Each song has a different singer/vocalist. This song in particular doesn't even have Buckethead on it at all. It is just Dan Conviser singing and playing  ukulele. Even though it is only an 18 second song, it is one of the most charming tunes I've ever heard. I could have it on repeat for a while and not get sick of it.

3. Hog Bitch Stomp, by Giant Robot

You a fan of chicken pickin' at all? If you are then Buckethead will knock your socks right off with some of the speediest and cleanest sounding blue grass you have ever heard in your life. I guarantee your jaw will hit the ground pretty quickly because there aren't a whole lot of people around who can do that kind of thing. To make it better, it's actually somewhat musically complex if you listen to it close enough; especially given how many parts are woven together to make Hog Bitch Stomp what it is.

4.  Nottingham Lace, by Buckethead & Friends

Time to delve back into Buckethead's more weedily high speed in your face guitar stuff. Also from the Enter the Chicken album, this is a straight up regular Buckethead tune with no vocals. Be that as it may, he does what he does best: big eccentric riffs, lightning quick leads, and haunting melodic solos. The solo in this song is in my opinion one of the absolute pinnacle moments of his recording career. It's epic, long, and in a way is like a song in itself. It even has a bit of an All Along the Watch Tower kind of vibe to it at certain moments.

5.  Jordan, by Buckethead

How many of you remember Guitar Hero II? If you don't, then this is the video game that got Buckethead a lot more exposure from the main stream. For the game he was asked to come up with the most difficult guitar solo he could, so as to give players a real challenge. Needless to say, Buckethead was up to the task. The tune is filled with some of the fastest and craziest playing he can muster in multiple styles. In addition to that, it's actually a pretty good song too. The riff though repetitive is catchy.

Black Country Communion Reunion to Kick Off Next Year

All four members of Black Country Communion have officially announced that they will be rejoining forces next year.

The super group consisting of guitarist Joe Bonamassa, bassist and vocalist Glenn Hughes of Deep Purple fame, Derek Sherinian of Dream Theater, and Jason Bonham (son of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham) will be getting together to make music for the first time since they split in late 2012 after the release of their third studio album Afterglow.

Hughes initially broke the news on Facebook, saying:

“To quote Joe this morning, ‘maybe it’s time to break out the heavy bats again.’. Time is the healer.”

Bonham posted a picture of the band and said:

“2017!”

Black Country Communion split back in 2012 due to differing levels of priority the band took with everyone and the fact that Bonamassa did not care for how much credit Hughes was taking for writing the songs on Afterglow despite the fact that Bonamassa did a lot of the writing himself. Kind of hard to blame him on that one, to be honest.

Personally, I am absolutely STOKED that BCC is about to be back in action. I was super bummed the day I found out they broke up. That band is one hell of a rock n' roll machine and I just know whatever they put out next will top anything they have done before. Plus, now many folks who haven't gotten to see them live yet (myself included) will get a chance to do so.

Throwback Thursday: Colma, by Buckethead

In 1998, the strangest character in rock Buckethead put out his fourth studio album: Colma. The man adorned with a blank white face mask and a chicken bucket atop his head decided to go a route he hadn't gone up to that point in time: entirely acoustic. This album was said to be a gift from Buckethead to his mother because she had developed colon cancer and he wanted her to have some nice music to listen to while recovering.

I have to admit that Buckethead hit the nail on the head with Colma. He achieved the goal he set out to attain, which was make nice relaxing music. In Colma Buckethead proved that he was more than just another shredder with a gimmick. However, even though Buckethead went unplugged, that made the music no less Buckethead. There might not have been the kind of heavy and occasional shredding tunes he is known for, but there was still that sense of darkness and creepiness that is his trademark. This time Buckethead managed to still do those things while at the same time doing it with some emotion.

Hills of Eternity is one of my absolute favorite Buckethead songs of all time. It has a bit of a hip-hop sort of drum beat to it, but the guitar parts are beyond hauntingly beautiful. It kind of washes over you with the coolness of night and eases your frayed nerves from the stress of the day. The way it flows and progresses feels incredibly natural. When you're done listening to it, it isn't really over. It's one of those tunes that will kind of stick with you for a long time to come. In the middle of the cold dark night, you'll play it once again.

Big Sur Moon is part of what lets you the listener know that Colma is in fact still a Buckethead album. It honestly is some of the finest fast acoustic playing I've heard in some time. The odd thing is that it doesn't even sound like shred. The quickness and echoing of the notes and the overall atmosphere the song provides gives you a sort of foreboding tension, as though you are expecting for something to leap out of the dark at you at any moment. Be careful. You never know when you might end up being next.

Regardless of what kind of musical genre you like, Buckethead has something for you to listen to. He covers a wide variety of styles in his playing. Colma is definitely a nice change of pace from what Buckethead usually does, even though that in itself is pretty damn awesome. Whenever I need to unwind and de-stress, Colma is one of my go-to albums. If you play it along with rainymood.com then you will get an even more calming experience. This is definitely a must-have for Buckethead fans and for those who just want something nice to listen to.

Colma, by Buckethead receives 4 out of 5 stars.

Track List:

1. Whitewash
2. For Mom
3. Ghost
4. Hills of Eternity
5. Big Sur Moon
6. Machete
7. Wishing Well
8. Lone Sal Bug
9. Sanctum
10. Wondering
11. Watching the Boats With My Dad
12. Ghost Part 2
13. Colma

Buy the album on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Colma-Buckethead/dp/B0000067WV/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1461283662&sr=8-1&keywords=Colma