5 Songs to Get You Through the Week #95

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. Halloween, by The Misfits

Can't do Halloween right without this classic from horror punk legends The Misfits. This song pretty much encompasses everything that makes the night so creepy, scary, special and just downright awesome. The whole thing just sounds evil in all the best ways, especially the creepy sounding vocal harmonies in the chorus that just moan "Halloween" over and over again. Never heard anything like it before in my life and I couldn't be happier.

2.  Sweet Transvestite (Rocky Horror Picture Show), by Richard O'Brien

Halloween also isn't complete without going to the Rocky Horror Picture Show! This in my opinion is one of the most iconic songs on the whole soundtrack. It's a lot of fun to dance and sing along to and quite frankly it's just silly, especially in the context of the movie. You don't really take it seriously, but at the same time you can't help but finding yourself singing it long after it's over and you're around people who probably would think you weird singing a song originally sung by a man in pearls and heels.

3.  Killer, by Alice Cooper

I think this song is one of the original Alice Cooper band's greatest masterpieces. It has this sense of overall dread the entirety of the time it's going, but with the way the end turns into a dirge with the condemned man being killed and then his soul entering Hell it definitely gives goosebumps. It's no surprise that this is the song that has been used at Alice's concerts for the past few decades for when at the end of the show Alice gets executed (usually by beheading).

4. Thriller, by Michael Jackson

I know, I know. Michael Jackson doesn't usually fit the mold of this blog, but f*** it. It's Halloween! Can't go wrong with attempting to do the iconic dance to this catchy upbeat funk tune. Plus, anything that horror icon Vincent Price is involved with is virtually guaranteed to be gold. You might not like the man for what he may or may not have done in life, but you've got to admit that he really knew how to write a song and dance.

5. Walpurgis, by Black Sabbath

This demo is the original version of the Black Sabbath classic War Pigs. This version has a lot darker lyrics with themes of witchcraft, Satan, burning churches and priests, etc. Their record label was not too fond of these lyrics and forced the band to write a whole new set, lest the whole song be dropped from the album altogether. I can kind of understand why they did that. People in 1970 were NOT ready for this kind of thing. Listening back though, it's kind of fascinating to hear the origins of this Sabbath staple.

 

M. Shadows on Avenged Sevenfold Working with Neil DeGrasse Tyson

In a surprise move, Avenged Sevenfold released their seventh album The Stage with no prior announcement to a release date earlier this week (the 27th). The band had been building up to the a surprise announcement, but most fans just thought it would be a release date and announcing of the album's title. In The Stage, much to many fans' delight it turns out the band worked with famed astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson for a song titled Exist.

Many of the songs on The Stage discuss outer space and artificial intelligence, so they wanted to give more impact by using audio from Carl Sagan's The Pale Blue Dot. Unfortunately Sagan's estate wasn't having it, so instead A7X reached out to Tyson. In an interview with Rolling Stone, singer M. Shadows discusses the experience, saying:

“We explained to him that we wanted to educate our fans and we wanted to a voice of science in another art form, and he was like, ‘Yep – if it’s for education, let’s do it!’ He asked us to read through a bunch of essays that he’d used at the Hayden Planetarium, and find any portions that we wanted him to take and expand on. We found some stuff we liked, and went back and forth on the phone with him about it to the point where we were all happy with it, and then he laid it down for us.”

I've listened to Exist myself. It's one doozie of a tune even with out Tyson's audio part. The fact that they would include something as knowledgeable and profound as they did in their music makes me have a whole new level of respect for them as musicians and people. I never took them to be the type that were into science and education, but I was delightfully proven wrong. It may be a 15.5 minute tune, but it's very much worth listening to.

Throwback Thursday: Stranger in Us All, by Rainbow

In 1995, a sad day came upon us: the release of legendary guitar master Ritchie Blackmore's final rock album Stranger in Us All; done under the Rainbow moniker. Blackmore had become fed up with his former band Deep Purple (and rock music in general) and left them two years prior. He wanted to do a solo album just under his name, but pressure from his label made him do it under the name Rainbow. For this record Blackmore put together an entirely new line-up - having no one who had ever played with him before in the group. The most notable musician naturally was Scottish vocalist Doogie White.

You can sort of hear Blackmore's waning enthusiasm for rock/metal, but he and his band still churned out one hell of a performance for Stranger in Us All. You can tell that in some ways Blackmore went back to his hard rock roots to a certain extent, but it still had a great deal of that glossy overtone that many of his post-Dio albums had in the 80's when he was trying to make the band a big commercial success. To be honest it's kind of an odd mash-up of styles, but in a way it kind of encompasses many different parts of Blackmore's career sound-wise. In other ways, you can hear the beginnings of Blackmore's next/current project Blackmore's Night - the renaissance music group he formed with his wife vocalist Candice Night (especially in tunes like Ariel where she sings back-up).

Wolf to the Moon is one of my absolute favorite tracks on Stranger in Us All and quite frankly is one hell of a way to kick off an album. That driving riff at the intro tells you right from the get-go that you're in for a wild ride. The rest of the song with its carefree atmosphere and rebellious lyrics make you feel like you're just out tearing it up on the highway on a motorcycle; not giving a single care in the world and just living from stop to stop. It also has some of Blackmore's most signature solos and riffs on the whole album here. It feels the most like a classic Blackmore song.

Personally, I cannot say enough good things about the redone version of The Yardbirds's Still I'm Sad. This was a tune that ended the very first Rainbow album, so in a way it's kind of appropriate that it be the song that ends the final one. As it began, so too shall it end. You know? This version unlike the previous has vocals and has a more definite song structure, rather than it being a bit more of a funky open jam for Blackmore to just solo all over. White gives an insanely powerful and chilling vocal performance on this one. I can't praise him enough.

If you're more of a fan of Blackmore for his rock style playing, then this is definitely a record for you. It's kind of a nice way for him to say goodbye to his fans of multiple decades before going off to make faerie music for the rest of his days (aside from the three rock shows he did this past summer for shits and giggles). Even when Blackmore is somewhat phoning it in he still puts on one hell of a good show and can write a rocking tune. It's also a great record for those who are fans of Blackmore's Night to start getting a taste of what in my opinion REAL Ritchie Blackmore music sounds like. Regardless, Stranger in Us All is a solid album.

Stranger in Us All, by Rainbow receives 3.75 out of 5 stars.

Track List:

1. Wolf to the Moon
2. Cold Hearted Woman
3. Hunting Humans (Insatiable)
4. Stand and Fight
5. Ariel
6. Too Late for Tears
7. Black Masquerade
8. Silence
9. Hall of the Mountain King
10. Still I'm Sad

Buy the album on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Stranger-All-RITCHIE-BLACKMOREs-RAINBOW/dp/B000024J76/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1477636378&sr=8-1&keywords=Rainbow+Stranger+in+Us+All

Original Yes Keyboardist Rick Wakeman Won't Attend Ceremony if Band is Inducted

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has been notorious for snubbing a great deal of well deserving bands/artists over the years. According to founding Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman many of the bands ignored by the Hall are prog rock bands. Due to that fact among other reasons, if Yes does get inducted this year he probably won't attend the ceremony.

This is Yes's third time being nominated for induction since they first became eligible in 1994. Unfortunately though due to the nature of the Hall they haven't been inducted. Wakeman weighs in during an interview with WROR, saying:

“I pushed for Yes to go in the Hall of Fame when I wasn't in the band, because I felt the band deserved to go in years ago. There's some bands that have been inducted that I have no idea why they’re in there. There’s bands like Yes and a few others and you go, ‘Why aren't they in?’ It just doesn’t make an ounce of sense to me.

It seems that anything to do with prog rock was considered a dirty word by them. It’s the most inventive and the most influential music to musicians that there’s ever been in the history of rock’n’roll – and yet it’s ignored. I’m not sure whether I’d turn up. I’m so disgusted with the way that prog rock and Yes have been treated, I might be busy. I might be washing my hair that night.”

I can kind of understand why Wakeman feels the way he does. If the Hall is snubbing prog rock bands just because they aren't big hit producing machines like so many of the other inductees then I don't blame Wakeman for wanting to opt out of the ceremony if they do get inducted. Prog rock is some of the most creative, exploratory, and mind expanding music to ever exist. Those who do it well deserve to be recognized just as much as anyone else for their accomplishments.

Playing Live Means Nothing to The Who's Pete Townshend

In recent years it's become rather clear that Pete Townshend, guitar player and song writer for The Who does not seem to derive any pleasure from touring any more. In fact, he hates it. Recently he has added onto that thought saying he feels that it's a scam.

In an interview with The Guardian, Townshend goes into how he feels about having played at the Desert Trip Festival with The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, and plenty of other big name rock acts from yesteryear and today, saying:

"I’m such a boring fucker. It means nothing to me. I would be a liar if I said, ‘It was really fun, man. It was great!’ It wasn’t great. It was a gig. I did it and I got paid. The fact is, I don’t really like performing. But I’m good at it. I’m lucky to be good at something.

I could have worked in an abattoir. I don’t get high on stage. I might come off stage and look in the mirror and go, ‘Hee hee,’ but it’s mischievous. It’s, ‘What a load of crap. We pulled off another scam.’"


I know I've said this before, but I think saying stuff like that publicly is probably not in the band's best interest. I know he despises his band and performing, but maybe he should save all that till after the tour is over so that the ticket sales don't drop and the fans that do come don't feel let down before the show even begins. I know I wouldn't want to go to a show where the performers actually hate what they're doing.

5 Songs to Get You Through the Week #94

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. Roll Over Beethoven, by Electric Light Orchestra

It's not often that a cover can maintain the same spirit or even outdo the original, but I think in the case of Electric Light Orchestra's cover of this Chuck Berry classic it's safe to say that this is one of those times. It has that raw driving sincerity to it, but at the same time it has that clever progressive and orchestral vibe that only Jeff Lynne can make happen. Somehow symphony and rudimentary rock n' roll manage to come together seamlessly here.

2.  High and Humble, by Steepwater Band

If you want something a little more down to Earth and grooving, then this is the route you want to take. Definitely some top notch blues rock guitar playing here. I like that the vocals have a lot of that Lyrnd Skynrd southern soul type vibe to them without trying to rip off Ronnie Van Zant. Definitely a solid track. If you're needing something to get you pumped and going, then definitely put this tune on 11.

3.  California Girls, by David Lee Roth

Normally I don't post tracks on here for you to have a laugh at the artist's expense, but I couldn't resist making this one exception. David Lee Roth covering this Beach Boys classic is probably one of the most amusing things you'll hear all week. Somehow though, considering how much of a California beach bum Roth was known for being back in the day I'm not really surprised that he decided to make this one of his debut singles as a solo artist.

4. Cold as Ice, by Foreigner

Can't go wrong with this Foreigner classic, especially if you've just recently had your heart broken by someone cold hearted prick. It has power, emotion, and true gritty soul. The way they take such rudimentary bluesy piano playing and turn it into something so much more powerful and grand is something that not just anyone can manage to do. Takes a certain magic and finesse to one's ability as a songwriter and musician and Foreigner clearly has that.

5.  Martyr, by The Last in Line

This band made of original members of Ronnie James Dio's solo band with Andrew Freeman stepping in for the passed on metal legend put out an album this year chocked full of brand new material. You can definitely hear that the group still has that old musical chemistry that they had in the 80's - especially in the ripping and running track Martyr. It's upbeat, rumbling, and has much of that lightning quick fret board precision the old tunes had, though with Freeman's own form of vocal moxy pouring through like an open floodgate.

 

Queen Puts Out Harder, Faster, and More Rocking Version of "We Will Rock You"

Queen is about to release a double album of epic proportions, titled: Queen on Air: The Complete BBC Sessions. It will cover six radio sessions the band did in the 70's for the BBC and it features something rather neat: a more uptempo, riffy, and rocking version of their big hit We Will Rock You (which can be listened to below).

The iconic stomps and claps are gone, but replacing them is some of the best riffing guitarist Brian May can do. It drives, it punches, and it kicks some serious ass. It's definitely faster too, which still gets you pumped up - though in a different way than the original did.

Queen on Air: The Complete BBC Sessions will be out on November 4th and will be available as a two disc CD set, a triple disc vinyl set, and a digital and deluxe six disc package that also includes live performances and interviews.

Personally I can dig this version of the classic. While it will never come anywhere close to overshadowing the iconic crowd pumping official recorded version, it's a fun alternate version to jam out to whenever you're in the mood to rock out. Put it on, and crank the volume up to 11.