Throwback Thursday: Get Born, by Jet

In 2003 rock music was barely hanging on by a thread in the mainstream. You had bands like The White Stripes, The Black Keys, and maybe a couple of others but that was it. Enter Jet, a straight up no frills attached hard rocking garage rock band from Melbourne, Australia. When they hit the mainstream rock scene with their debut album Get Born, they shot straight up the charts with multiple hit singles and made it cool to rock again.

Get Born sounds like a raucous blend of everything we have all loved over the years about bands like AC/DC, Iggy and the Stooges, The Rolling Stones, Oasis, etc. It has that 60's garage rock vibe blended with the heavy punch of 70's hard rock and the driving raw nature of punk. Some of their best known songs came from this album, such as: Are You Gonna Be My Girl, Roll Over DJ, Cold Hard Bitch, etc. Needless to say, this album cemented Jet as a household name in the world of rock n' roll from that point forward.

Cold Hard Bitch is one of my all time favorite rock n' roll tunes. To me it kind of embodies what rock n' roll is all about in terms of its gritty in the gutter lifestyle vibe that is somehow pleasing to the ear. That driving chorus gets me singing along and punching into the air every time. Hell, I even have it as my ringtone for my exes. It's got some great crunchy riffs with only enough polish to make it sound good through a speaker. The rest is just loud, ear thrashing, fun loving rock n' roll.

I guess I can't review this particular album without mentioning Are You Gonna Be My Girl. This is the album's main single and what got the band noticed and so huge to begin with. It's been played and overplayed so many times over the years, but for good reason. The way it just builds up with one instrument after another and breaks into a rock n' roll dance party is something you don't hear a lot of any more. From there on out it just pushes the pedal to the metal and makes you want to just shout "F*** YEAH!" the whole time. It's a definite classic.

Get Born is a MUST have for rock n' rollers of any age, whether you're an older folk looking to have some faith in a newer generation of musicians or a kid looking for some great musical inspiration to help shape your tastes. It's got something for everybody who has ever been in love with the kind of raw, honest, down to the bone rock n' roll that doesn't get all high produced and pretentious. I can't recommend it enough.

Get Born, By Jet receives 4 out of 5 stars.

Track List:

1. Last Chance
2. Are You Gonna Be My Girl
3. Rollover DJ
4. Look What You've Done
5. Get What You Need
6. Move On
7. Radio Song
8. Get Me Outta Here
9. Cold Hard Bitch
10. Come Around Again
11. Take It or Leave It
12. Lazy Gun
13. Timothy

Buy the album on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Get-Born-Jet/dp/B0011Z0YJA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498806875&sr=8-1&keywords=Jet+Get+Born

Gene Simmons Collabs With Ace Frehley on Frehley's Newest Album

Over the past couple of years or so former Kiss lead guitarist Ace Frehley has been getting back in touch with his former band mates. Not necessarily to get back in the band, but to at least smooth things over. Recently this has culminated in Frehley getting Kiss bassist and vocalist Gene Simmons to collaborate with him on a couple of new songs for his upcoming album.

In a recent interview with 92 KQRS Simmons spilled the beans on the collaboration between the two old friends, saying:

“Literally two days ago I was with Ace. He asked me to write for his next solo record. So I went over to his place, way out in the desert some place, and we wrote two things.”

This will be Frehley's first release of new original material since 2014's Space Invader. This is also the second collaboration Frehley has done with former band mates as last year for his covers album Origins Vol. 1 he worked with Kiss rhythm guitarist and vocalist Paul Stanley on a cover of Free's Fire and Water.

Personally I'm glad that Frehley is on good enough terms with his old band mates to at least be friends and occasionally work together again, even if it isn't under the Kiss banner. Maybe it's better that way. They still get to be friends and work together but they don't have to deal with the drama of being in a full time multi-million dollar band. Plus, Frehley's stuff sounds a lot more like Kiss than Kiss's last album did anyway.

Unreleased David Bowie and Queen Collaborations May See Light of Day

In 1981 one of the single greatest collaborations between musicians to ever come into existence occurred: Queen and David Bowie's Under Pressure. To this day it is still considered a classic and sends chills up the spines of countless listeners. However, it has recently come to light that this was not the only song that they wrote during this time and said material may now see the light of day.

In a recent interview with Mojo, May discusses the sessions and how they didn't stop with the one song, saying:

“It wasn’t easy. He described us (Queen) as all precocious boys and could be forceful. Those are the things that happen in a studio, that’s when the sparks fly and that’s why it turned out so great. “[They locked horns] in subtle ways, like who would arrive last at the studio. So it was sort of wonderful and terrible. But in my mind, I remember the wonderful now, more than the terrible. Not all of what we did in those sessions has ever come to light, so there’s a thought … ”

I for one would be absolutely ecstatic to hear more of the collaboration between Bowie and Queen. I can only imagine how passionate and creative such music must be if it's even a fraction as good as Under Pressure. What I'm wondering however is why they didn't put it all out or why they haven't done so yet considering how many times they have rereleased the entire catalog and released greatest hits album after greatest hits album. Regardless, they will definitely get my money if they put those songs out.

5 Songs to Get You Through the Week #123

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. It's a Man's World, by Rival Sons

Rival Sons absolutely kill it with their version of the James Brown classic. They definitely put some more rock n' roll balls into it. If anything, I think I actually prefer this version even though I'm quite the fan of Brown. It feels like it has a lot more passion and soul in it. You can feel the angst just dripping from Jay Buchanan's vocals and the absolute power of the whole rest of the band. It takes the song and blasts it into outer space.



2. Rock the Nation, by Montrose

This tune sadly doesn't get played much if at all, which in my opinion is a shame. It's not the crowning achievement of Montrose's debut album, but despite that it is a pretty solid rock n' roller and will get you amped up for sure. You can hear just how great Ronnie Montrose's guitar work really was when he was still with us. Sammy Hagar also gives it that much more of a shine. Can't really go wrong there, can you?

3. Hypnotize, by The White Stripes

This song is the definition of hidden gem. It's only a minute and a half long, but you'll want to rock out the entire time it's going. It is pure punk rock from start to finish. It's loud, fast, and thundering. It's like even though this was around the time the band was getting big and more diverse and creative in their sound, they still didn't forget their roots as musicians. You won't hear this one getting mentioned or played a lot, but in my opinion it is still a jaw dropper and will have you hitting repeat over and over.

4. Nothing But a Good Time, by Poison

Every now and again I still need my trashy cheesy 80's hair metal fix. I loved Poison when I was in high school and I'd play this song among many other Poison classics day in and day out. It's not something I would consider a work of art, but it's fun. Nothing but a good time, you might say. In all honesty, that's all it needs to be. I can't really say I fault them for that despite the fact they were just using this kind of music to get chicks and money.

5. Ain't No Rest for the Wicked, by Cage the Elephant

Who says I don't listen to anything more recent? I dig the slide guitar in this tune for sure. Not a whole lot of bands seem to really make slide guitar rock any more. No, I'm not counting country bands because that isn't rock n' roll. Anyway, this is another one of those modern classics that you have to crank at top volume while driving down the highway. It has that solid groove to it that will just get you moving and swaying the entire time.

Foo Fighters Announce New LP: "Concrete and Gold"

It's been almost three years since Dave Grohl's passion project the Foo Fighters put out their most recent release: Sonic Highways. Now however, they are about to make a big return by putting out what they consider to be their heaviest, yet most harmonic record yet on September 15th titled: Concrete and Gold.

In a recent interview with BBC Radio 1's Annie Mac, Grohl opens up about the album in terms of what it sounds like, how he feels about it, and how there are some twists with it, saying:

“We’ve made the biggest sounding Foo Fighter record we’ve ever made. I’m not just saying that. I said to Greg, ‘I want to make a record that sounds like Motorhead doing Sgt. Pepper,’ and he was like, ‘OK.’

So we recorded an 11-song record with him and honestly, I think it’s going to take a lot of people by surprise. Every band says it’s the best record they’ve ever made, but it’s definitely the hugest thing we’ve ever done.

For six months, I’ve been trying to keep this a secret and I can’t wait for people to hear it because this is the first record I’ve ever been this proud to play for people.

We have bunch of guests we haven’t told anybody about. Some will really surprise you. There’s one who is probably the biggest pop star in the world – and I’m not kidding. They sing back up on one of the heaviest songs on the record and we’re not telling anyone who it is.”

This sounds like a rather intriguing record to say the least. While I have the bad feeling that it is probably going to sound like every other Foo Fighters record of the past decade or more, maybe I'll be pleasantly proved wrong. I really hope I am because this sounds like a pretty cool idea if it comes out the right way. As for what pop star is on the record, I'm rather curious about that as well. I honestly can't say for sure who it could be.

Throwback Thursday: Montrose, by Montrose

Ever wonder where super star rock singer Sammy Hagar got his big start? As years go by it becomes less and less common knowledge, but in 1973 Hagar was hit up by then famous guitarist Ronnie Montrose seeing if he wanted to start a band after the two of them had been introduced to one another by a mutual friend. The two seemed to hit it off and quickly came out with what many consider to be one of the best hard rock records of the early/mid-70's: Montrose.

Montrose is blues tinged hard rock through and through from the first track to the end. It really doesn't give you much time to breathe. No slow tunes/ballads or anything. Even to this day that is a fairly uncommon practice for most rock n' roll and even heavy metal bands. That said, the whole album is all killer and no filler and is meant to be played at the highest volume you can get out of your stereo. It's big, crunchy, thundering, and yet at the same time melodic. Everything a good hard rock record should be.

Bad Motor Scooter is one of the most well known songs Montrose ever put out. Even if you didn't know it was them playing it, there is a good chance you have heard it at least once if you listen to classic rock with any sort of frequency. I just love how all throughout the song Ronnie makes his guitar sounds like it's a motor scooter revving and zipping up and down the country roads while at the same time knowing where to make things stay musical. It's an upbeat, loud, and will definitely get your blood pumping.

Rock Candy is another one of the more well known tunes Montrose put out in their short run with Hagar on the mic. It has this gigantic, thunderous, room filling vibe to it. You could definitely picture it blasting out through an arena with its steady rhythm and riff and soaring gritty vocals. In some ways it's reminiscent of Led Zeppelin, but at the same time it is still doing its own thing as a song. Montrose's guitar work is top notch here. You can hear all kinds of bluesy intricacies being noodled throughout it. The solo of course is up to Montrose's high standards.

Montrose is one of those albums over the years that I have been able to listen to every single tune on it from start to finish on repeat and not get tired of despite the fact it is all hard all the time. I'm sure you'll find multiple songs on it that you will like yourself. It's a must-have for anyone who is a big fan of Sammy Hagar or even classic rock in general. If you didn't know about this band and album, you have for sure been missing out.

Montrose, by Montrose receives 5 out of 5 stars.

Track List:

1. Rock the Nation
2. Bad Motor Scooter
3. Space Station #5
4. I Don't Want It
5. Good Rockin' Tonight
6. Rock Candy
7. One Thing on My Mind
8. Make It Last

Buy the album on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Montrose/dp/B002FU4BTY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498205089&sr=8-1&keywords=Montrose

Dave Grohl's Daughter Makes Live Debut with Foo Fighters

One of the coolest things ever in my opinion is when a big shot rock star will bring their kid(s) on stage to jam with their world renowned band at a huge show. Good Guy Dave Grohl has done just that by bringing out his eight year old daughter Harper during a Foo Fighters show in Iceland for a performance of the Queen classic We Will Rock You (which can be viewed in the video above).

Grohl introduces his daughter to the crowd, saying:

“About two weeks ago my daughter said, ‘Dad, I want to play the drums.’ I said, ‘OK, you want me to teach you?’ She said, ‘Yes.’

“And I said, ‘Do you want to get up in front of 20,000 people in Iceland and play?’ She said, ‘Yes.’"

Personally I think that is one of the coolest things Grohl has done yet. I knew he was a good guy to begin with, but he seems to be an even better dad. Harper seems to have inherited some of his talent as well. Maybe when she gets older she will join the band full time or have a band of her own? Who knows? Regardless, it will be intriguing to see what this kid does in the future.