Guns N Roses/Appetite For Destruction

So what am I gonna say about a album that has sold 28 Million copies worldwide? Lots….well kinda! Just my Simple  Simon two cents worth…

There’s no need for me to go into the background history of Gunners as well all know the deal but a while back some one asked me to jot down some words on this classic piece of Vinyl Slab! My apopologies to the person who requested as I forgot who it was who asked! My Bad!

Appetite I purchased in late 1987 as i was so heavily Into Drugs! Hahahaha….kidding i was heavily into The Cults Electric album. A bonafide all time classic here at Arena Rock(‘YaYa’ Sez Ian Astbury) and it was Gunners who were the opening act for the Cult on there 1987 Canadian Tour. So I figured If The Cult is ripping out AC/DC style riffs and drums on Electric these Gunner fellas must be doing the same …

Kinda,Sorta!

The Songs were street rock,oozing with sex,dope,hookers,cranked amps,crazy wired lead singer,raw production no gloss as it was opposite to what was the current sound of late 1987 early 1988 (take a bow Mr Coverdale and Bandanna Micheals) a sound myself and Tbone had only heard on a album like Aerosmiths Toys In The Attic and Rocks! Basically the common theme running with the two Aero records and Appetite you believed what you heard both lyrically and musically! Not to many of those low down dirt street albums are out there if you ask me.

Mike Clink the fella who produced this album has to be given props as well. He kept the production raw,simple like plug in a record! Probably has more to do with budgetary reasons than anything and for that it’s for the better sonically speaking!

One of my fav all time concert Intros was when myself,Oinks,Andre and few others caught Gunners on there second show of the Use Your Illuison Tour(May 1991)…the voice that introduced Gunners said… “You Wanted The Best? Well They Didn’t Show Up!”

Perfect….

Oh,one  more thing! For the Love of God Guns  please don’t reunite for anything ….keep your history how I wanna remember it! Sleazeball Rock before the Lawyers/Handlers/Suits/ Destroyed it ……just leave it man ..

Slash,Izzy Stradlin,Steven Adler,Duff McKagan and Axl stomp on Poisons lipstick and make B Micheals cry!

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE-So it begins the riff! And from there here’s  Bill Bailey doing his siren wail like snakey slithery slippery drawl and we’re off! Guns a storming and setting LA fires as they go! Slash rips into the solo and I love the breakdown of the track when Adler nails his cowbell quicker than Tbone downing Tequila on a Saturday Night! The song cranks back up for one final push towards the drugged out finish line and man oh man what a stomper of a track!

ITS SO EASY- Duff launches his soon to be out of tune bass with a real wicked opener and it’s one of those bass lines that’s just DNA ‘d into the sonic regions of your Noggin! Adler,Slash and Izzy all join in and here comes Axl in that deep style singing which I actually prefer to his screech at times! This song is total destruction! No one and I mean no one has come close to these kind of tunes since than in regards to a debut! It’s all here on this Firecracker of a song! Of course right before Slash blasts off on the solo(I dig that little breakdown before the solo ) Axl throws down of of his many F Bombs on this album and well this song who knows how many? A Bakers 12 pack of F Bombs! Sure it’s all here….! Years ago (1988) myself and Tbone were in our local deptmartment store at then time (Zellers) and in there music section they had a actual juke box loaded with 45s! Of course we mosied on over and took a gander at such selections and Lo and behold there was a 45 record of Gunners Sweet Child Of Mine and on the flip side! Yup you guessed it it was It’s So Easy. Boom! I emptied my pockets dumped the change in and selected Its So Easy except for the fact that when it came on it was a live version and Hahahahaha….all you could hear was Axls voice throughout the store especially at the end of the song when he loses his shit on the F Bombs! Hahaha…. A few weeks later we were back at Zellers( we bought Project Driver at Zeller!!)and the jukebox was still there but the Gunners 45 was pulled! Ha!

NIGHTTRAIN-Adler smashes the tar out of his cowbell and we’re off with a huge dose of GNR smatterings all over the musical map! Axl man say what you want about his zany crazy off stage antics but lyrically the cat could write lyrics! I recall Tbone saying this exact comment to me when the Illusions came out to the effect of that there was a ton of lyrics written! Axl was never at a loss for words that’s for sure! Ha!

OUTTA GET ME-is a great rock track its Gunners skidding off the road  and I mean everyone in Axls Noggin was out to get him! The verse  has a real chill vibe and of course the chorus ramps up and Axl delivers us his sermon from the Rock Temple Of LSD(Lead Singers Disease) and we are followers and we all believe! Like Axl Sez its a song about people trying to hold you back yada yada yada! Like I would hold him back if I bumped Into Axl. Tbone though would pull out his business card and go a different route with Axl in conversation  and it would probably pay off! Trust me I seen Tbone live and in action hand his business card to a very famous Canadian Musician and man I fuckin giggled like a school girl after that move! I will tell all in a review coming up…..(hype)

MR BROWNSTONE-one of the best Guns tracks! Love the percussion at the beginning with Izzy and Slash wahing out there guitars and its a real cool groove that is Mr Browstone! The lyrics like so many or should I say all of them are street! You believe Axl when he says ‘ “worryings a waste of my fucking time!” Great vibe and the chorus is Gold! Drugs especially Heroin are bad kiddies Uncle Ax is telling us so!  This is a Groovers delight! The second video is Mr Brownstone a bootleg from Philadelphia. It’s ruff and live man……ain’t no slick polish police around these parts known as Gunnner County!

PARADISE CITY-we all know  the the lyrics right?  Slash begins the festivities with a nice little cool hum and strum and Heeeeeeeeere’s Axl! The song has a jacked up what sounds like to me a cranked up synth and Axl blows his whistle and we’re off! Back in day I loved this as a single because you had your Warrants/Poisons/Firehouses singing there syrupy ballads of  love and heres Izzy and company blasting that shit into the next decade and here’s Paradise City cranked and no ones  worrying about love…..

MY MICHELLE-a super fried out space cadet named Michelle is the topic of Axls story line and that’s what this song is about! Porno,Heroin,Partying …well well well……that Michelle she’s a messed up bird but like Axl says be careful because most of all this song is true! The rawness of this track is great. More Cowbell,Thanks! Great solo and the chorus just kicks it into another frontier! Also bonus points for the end of the song when Ax sounds like he’s comimg unglued for like the 150th time where here hollers..My,my my my my my my Michelle(repeat as many times you like …Go)

THINK ABOUT YOU-once again some great cowbell kicks this tune off and it’s a song no one ever talks about it eben Gunners! So here I posted this track as the video as its a little hard nut kicker of a track! It should get its due and by golly I giving it it’s due! I mean I could go with other tracks but c’mon peeps I can’t be that predictable…..

SWEET CHILD OF MINE-Slash man one of his epic guitar tunes and solo! What the hell could I possibly add in  regards about  this track?

YOUR CRAZY-Wowzers! The band fires up the Party Bus and lifts off into no mans land! Dig the chill vibe during the chorus and boom it ramps up with Adler and Slash leading the charge!

ANYTHING GOES-this one has a Aerosmithy vibe at the beginning and it could have fit snugly on side two of Aeros Rocks after Lick And A Promise and before Combination! Great tracks! Cool tempo change as well..

ROCKET QUEEN-the ultimate song ends this album! Adler and Duff lay down the groundwork and before you know it Slash and Izzy join in and Axl lays down a real good rock voice along with lyrics and man the chorus is DA SHIT! Over 8 minutes of Gunners weaving in and out of different grooves and how about the second part of the song where Axl goes real high with his voice! Man he’s one cooked dude! But he delivers it in spades here! Kudos to the other guys as well! Mint man Mint!

IN CONCLUSION- this review was more about mine and Tbones shenanigans than anything Ha! High jacking Juke Boxes,  handing out business cards,purchasing cassette copies of Project Driver! Frigg that’s lame oh! But if I told Ya all we were doin  hookers,blow,money and partying on the Nightrain you wouldn’t believe us so…..lame it is!

Seriously though when I think of this album 27 years later….Classic comes to mind! It does not get any more street than this ……

One of the all time best……

Hope ya’s dug the ramblin!

 

 

Request Of Vinyl…Killer Dwarfs/ Stand Tall

This is a request from reader Jenn Johnson….here Ya go!

Man 1986 and after I seen the two videos posted above( Keep The Spirit Alive and Stand Tall)  what can Ya say once I see them on the Much Music Pepsi Power Hour I had to get this album Stat!

Considering these guys weren’t on a major label at the time by the way they did these two videos with a real great sense of humour and the packaging of the Stand Tall vinyl(lyrics,pics) it was very impressive I mean compared to say when I bought new releases by major label bands like  Ratt there was no packaging but a clear sleeve to keep the record in!(meh) so full Kudos to the Dwarfs you made this record seeking young rock guy in 1986 at the age of 19 very impressed!

Also the fact that all there names ended in Dwarf was fuckin funny as hell….seriously though lets explore this little gem of a cooker from Russ,Mike,Darrell and Bad Rondo…….

STAND TALL- all 4 Dwarfs kick down the walls and the song trucks forward and hey these guys mean business the verses,chorus,music everything is here all rolled into one little kick ass opener! Full props to the person or persons who came up with the video idea! The cool thing is here we are in 2015 and the video still holds up well! Kids this is how records were made back in 1986! Ha! It’s also clear that there will be no moping around with the lyrics Stand Tall ….Stick To To Your Guns and kick ass if anyone bugs Ya! Great start!

HUMAN SURVIVAL- Mike opens with a power riff and for the next four plus minutes Russ tells us all how we will survive. Don’t give up hope peeps Sez the Dwafs and by golly I won’t! Good song with a mid tempo groove!

UP TO YOU AND ME-some creepy eery sounds start the song and Rondo and his bass do some Simmons like do,do,do and he locks it in with Darrell on drums and this is borderline ballady kinda maybe ,not saying but it features some nice acoustic guitar mixed with electric of course and the song ramps up come chorus time!

BORDERLINE-it’s about walking the fine line on the Borderline! This is a no frills straight rock song and the Dwarfs are making sure that the   Winnibego is still gassed up cuz the wheels aren’t coming off Til the party ends!

KEEP THE SPIRIT ALIVE-one of the coolest thing about these guys is not only KTSA a great song but the video as well actually the two videos (Stand Tall being the other)are what sold me at the time plus this song is about walking before you run and not giving up! Positive vibes all around here folks! The verse,prechorus,chorus,guitar solo,drums,singing and bassing is all here what a Gem of a tune! When your having a shitty day play this track as I posted the video for it! If the creativness of the video doesn’t make you giggle your fucked! This in 86 was a great track in 2015 I still feel the same way! Love the tempo just a straight forward rock track! Brilliant !

BELIEVE IN ME-Umm yeah these guys wrote a great track here and it shows in the chorus! They still play this song today well maybe not today but when myself and Tbone caught them on there Reunion Of Scribes tour about 12 years ago here in Tbay at the Inntowner (bar) they rocked it! That’s the cool thing about these guys as well they write tunes that ain’t gonna bum Ya out! They give Ya hope and promise so Ya Believe In Me! Like I said the chorus is the money shot…super catchy!

DO OR DIE-Darrell Dwarf lays down the the drum groove and the great thing is the band is not letting down even this far into there album! Do Or Die says Russ and I believe him i really do! Mike throws down a good solo while Bad Rondo on bass hammers the pedal to the metal !

OUT IN THE STREETS-Mike starts off the tune with a power riff followed by some soloing right off the hop! Russ grabs Ya by the neck and takes us down to the street and tells us how to live. Don’t give up kick ass is what he’s saying!

BITE THE HAND THAT FEEDS-some add texture at the beginning of this song with the crowd mixed in (like Def  Leps Rocks Off from On Through The Night) and Mike and Darrell Dwarf rocket the ship straight to the moon at rapid speed! Slam Bam Thank you Mam! This song rocks fast and Russ keeps up with the vocals and Rondo nails the door closed with his bass! Awesome way to end a album …basically a kick down the door scorcher!

IN CONCLUSION- what a great little ball of independent Rock in the form of Stand Tall! These guys did it there way on this release and they should be commended for that! The Dwarfs put the time and effort into the packaging of the LP(lyrics,pics) the videos and the songs! I bought this back in 1986 and I still have it.

Now on Facecrack I follow Darrell ‘Dunk’ Miller (Dwarf) and he’s a pretty chill laid back dude and he always answers whatever ?’s are thrown his way. Anyhoo a few weeks back some fella from the USA was looking for a vinyl copy of Stand Tall and some doofus answered back saying he had a copy to sell for $1000! And if he wanted as well he would sell him the debut Dwarfs album as well for $2000. Dunk interjected saying that was to put it politely “Steep” Ya no shit Sez I. $3000 for two records! Geez dude (owner of the 2 Dwarfs albums )have your head fuckin checked would Ya!

Would I sell my copy your asking …Nope! I mean I have had it for like 29 years so what’s another 29 years ..than we can talk! Ha!

Request Of Vinyl…Motley Crüe/Too Fast For Love

Robbo is a Cruehead from work so he’s been waiting for this one! This Crue’s for you!

So it’s sometime 1982 and I’m flipping through Music Express magazine and in its pages there’s a add for these 4 rocked up glam guys with a bunch of Canadian Tour Dates called Cruesing Through Canada and for all you Tbay readers yes the Crue was gonna play here in our fair hometown at the Landmark Inn(Hahahaha ) seriously I remember seeing a add also about Kim Mitchell playing the Landmark as well so I guess it was a rock bar at one time?  Anyways to make a long story short The Crue got kicked out of Canada(Alberta I think ) so they didn’t even make it here and if they did Ummm I was 15 so me,Muc and Tbone woulda been Shit Out Of Luck at getting into that show.

But the add in Music Express peaked my curiosity level as to these long hairs from California…Motley Crüe was the name warping DeKEs young mind was there game….and ummmm…

Crue won!

LIVE WIRE- Mick Mars opens the album with that riff which we all know and bam here comes Tommy Lee and I tell Ya next to the Motley Corabi record (from 94) and parts of Dr Feelgood(89) this is Lee’s best drumming the mix on the debut is mint man! Shit Tommy gets my vote for MVP on this album! He’s the captain of the ship here folks,yeah stop your giggling he’s on fire and he plows this record from the get go! Vince sounds good a little light weight in the vocals but thats cuz he’s still young. Mars can play guitar and well he should I think he was like 55 years old(ha)when this album was recorded in 1981. Nikki Sixx chips in and keeps the bass simple….what a opener and man listen to the break at the end when Tommy nails the cowbell. Recorded  gold with the sonics!

COME ON AND DANCE-guitars/bass and drums rocket this song into space and its evident that Nikki Sixx has the knack (on this album ) for writing the hook! The verses are straight ahead catchy sing alongs…..the chorus hell man more Tom Lee cowbell…bam bam bam C’mon On Dance…Mick nails down the hatch a quick little solo and its back to the sing along catchy verse…..with more cowbell!

PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER 1 – Sixx goes for the throat on this track and it has all the elements of a great early 80s nugget! Cool riff/ some heys thrown in/Mars doing diddling things on his guitar / Sixx playing some cool grooving bass/ more kick ass cowbell from Tommy Lee with Vince rolling it all up vocally into one big fatty of a memorable rock track!

MERRY GO ROUND- a rock ballad before the term power ballad reared its ugly head on the Theatre Of Pain album(Home Sleaze Home) but give Sixx credit man,he’s young figuring out shit musically and I mean if he doesn’t have the tunes who the hell is gonna supply the music? Vince?(hahaha)…..this song is ok,that’s it all I mean mellow,chill acoustic verse and than Mars Bars lays it on thick with his sludge sounding riff a rolla! Geez the more I talk about Merry Go Round I’m kinda digging it now…..is that a buried under the mix cowbell I hear at the start of the second verse ?

TAKE ME TO THE TOP-Tommy Lee starts off this song and man it’s another straight ahead rock track! Nikki and his bass aid the song and this is a flat out rocker! Mars lays down the solo and Vince lays down a great vocal(shit did I just say that?)

PIECE OF YOUR ACTION-hmmm what i remember about this tune from all those years ago is Mars lays down a solo by himself with Tommy keeping the count going! I mean I’m 15 and here’s a dude throwing down power chord solos on a studio album of all things! I mean that’s ballsy! The song itself is good the verses are cool the chorus is catchy….another great Crue track!

STARRY EYES- Nikki knows Tommys the man so Mr Lee starts Starry Eyes (oh oh….Starry Eyes) this is glam cranked up and no holds barred rock n roll!  This has a real good chorus ..ok how about a real damn good chorus! Geez and there’s Tommy nailing his cowbell yet again!

TOO FAST FOR LOVE- whoah no…….this is the title track and Sixx nails another gem. Cool verses Tommy leading the charge with everyone following him(Nikki with his bass,Mick with his walker..oops I mean his guitar and Vince nailing down the lead vocal) cool chops all around in this song! Dig the drumming man!

ON WITH SHOW- whenever I hear On With The Show I think of the times after a few beers with the Erickson bros(Tbone/Darr/Rugg)  when the beer buzz is wearing off and your dead tired and it’s late at night and your about to pass out Rugg would babble out ‘Frankie died just the other night”..,..and BOOM…..laughter would erupt man what a quote….but yeah I guess this song was about Nikki as he was really Frankie or so the story goes On With The Show!

IN CONCLUSION- For the Crue I tell Ya next to the Corabi album of 1994 this one that one no matter what one those two in my mind are there best recorded studio works! What a great mix and production on the debut. Tommy Lee before he discovered 360 drums cages and rollar coaster drum solos and before Tom Werman took over production duties on the next three Crue albums(Shout At The Devil/Theatre Of Pain/Girls,Girls,Girls) and basically ruined the drum sound(to me anyways) is a tour de force. Tommy like I said earlier drives the album into uncharted territories for a debut! As well for a debut album how many albums can you name out there that has that much cowbell action?

Toms Cowbell Action-6 Songs that’s how many!

But yeah Hombres I love this record! The Crue is starving here and they go for the throat with a nothing to lose approach and of course in the end it payed off in spades!

Request Of Vinyl..Big Wreck/In Loving Memory Of

daBrun wants Big Wreck! Well Big Wreck it is……

So 1994 and i remember it well ,Tbone bought a Ibanez guitar and a Fender amp when we were playing in the Current River Band. We againest better judgement attempted to play Won’t Get Fooled Again by the Who! ( I had no business playing Entwhistles bass lines) Since we didn’t have a keyboard player  Tbone messed around with his guitar sound and came up with a real cool sounding part on his guitar where he could do that synth part on his guitar…what the hell does this have to do with Big Wreck you say well….

THE OAF- begins with lead guitar singer songwriter dude Ian Thornley doing that same guitar noodling in 1997 that Tbone was doing in 1994 hahaha….at the beginning of The Oaf for about 20 seconds! Every time I hear it it reminds me of Tbone,had hung low screwing around with different tones etc! Haha.. Ok enough of that, Big Wreck crashes out of the gate with this heavy kinda WHOish riff. This is a great track. You know by listening to this that Big Wreck (Thornley/ Brian Doherty-guitar/Dave Henning-Bass/Forrest Williams-drums) that these guys are talented musical cats! Word on the street was that these guys attended the Berklees Music College in Boston and hooked up! A great leadoff track and one that makes everyone especially in Canada take notice! Bonus points for the mandolin being played underneath the chorus!

THAT SONG- ahhh,my pal  DaBrun I think  this is his favourite song on this album and well why wouldn’t it be? DaBrun loves the line “it’s always been that way,a pocketbook Brando” That Song is great display of a melodic verse driven by drums and Thornleys cool rock voice and than when it hits pre chorus big time power chords (ala the sound of the day)big big crunchy guitars and than Thronley puts the tune in chill mode when he sings the line” So you crank that song,it may sound doom,so just leave the room” ahhh man this is a classic track that still holds up well today! DaBrun you crazy PocketBook Brando You!! The video posted is real good check out these guys playing with Thornley especially the other guitarist by the name of Pete Thorn who is a top dog rent a guitar hero for many a artist! Ian should roll with these guys man…there awesome! Ian tells Ya in the song to crank That Song …..so whadda waiting for??!

LOOK AT WHAT I FOUND-some real slippery slide guitar starts off track 3 and the verses are laid back with Thornley just relaxing vocally and the bass and drums crank this song into gear by the chorus! Keep your Ears below the ground, take a look around …Look What I Found  Ian sez….cool acoustic strumming…..just love how this song builds and builds and man some cool wah pedal…hurray for wah!

BLOWN WIDE OPEN- this is trippy great tune..Thornley doesn’t write sugary coated power ballads,he writes em with some ooooooomph! Blown Wide Open is a great tune and example of Oooooomph!  Blown Wide Open just rocks along but a simple rocks along ..you know the Guns still smoking …Blown Wide Open! These dudes like i said can play at any speed!

HOW WOULD YOU KNOW-almost Zep like(too my ears anyways) some real neat textures in the sonics. For young guys at the time the Wreck boys carry the torch high for 70s rock! But don’t get me wrong here folks! Big Wreck make it there own deal!

OH MY-cool use of drums and of course the guitars acoustic/electric and this song goes from chill to heavy max back to chill in milli seconds! Oh My is great and a different change of pace….

UNDER THE LIGHTHOUSE- this is a cool slowzee kinda of tune! Thornley and Doherty are cool at doing some guitar noodling in this track and it’s ok not to overkill everything in site with overplay! They add to this track! Real cool song…laid back, reminds me of summer this song does….and of course the use of the word  Lighthouse is a added plus!

FALL THROUGH THE CRACKS- Some loud kinda clanging noise starts off the song and than BAM…..guitars and rock volume at full throttle! This song is a real hard rock drivin song! No nonsense and the Wreck boys will Wreck you up real good if Ya double cross or piss Em off! Crank this one…..

WASTE-hey man some good ol mandolin and now boom all the instruments are onboard and is it me or is Thornley scorned here by someone I mean this whole record must have been therapeutic for him! (Shit if I had done a relationship record back in yesteryear it would have sounded like Pink Floyds The Wall mixed with Poisons Look What The Cat Dragged In.)This song builds up and takes off towards the middle of the track and just shifts gears….Big Wreck doesn’t play it safe and I like that as you don’t know what’s around the corner musically with them!

BY THE WAY- more acoustic and this is a throwback sonically to the 70s big time! Listen to the drums on this track! Cool groove by Forrest Williams. Well played……

BETWEEN YOU AND I- some deep down low dirty bass action leads the charge on this track as where headed towards the finish line! This one has tones of grunge riffing but Thornley has a deadly knack for writing catchy hooky melodic chorus’.

PRAYER-is a slow builder of a tracker and a real catchy and listen to this one on the headphones…tons of guitars some cool keys and power riffs all rolled nicely into this rock ditty! Shit man great material Thornley hosed out of failed  relationships!

OVEREMPHASIZING-how about a 7 minute end of the album jam out! This has elements of Soundgarden to me like from  there Superunknown album! This is epic and the all 4 Wreck guys are locked and loaded to kick out the  doors on this final track! Love the slide guitar during the chorus! Nice feedback to end the Wreckord!

IN CONCLUISON- Big Wreck stormed out of the gates with a keeper of a debut and man me and Tbone took notice! I mean great catchy hooks/ well written songs/cool throwback not over done  production(take a bow Matt Dematteo and Chris Wardmen along with the Wreck guys) These guys made us instant fanboys…..

 

Request Of Vinyl…Guns N Roses/Live At The Ritz

 

Special thanks to Mikey at mikeladano.com for sending me a copy of Live At The Ritz! (Fm Radio broadcast) All he asked for in return was to read my spin on it…..also folks this is my 100th post! Crazy that just this past August I started this blog with a push from Aaron,Mike and Rich and for everyone else who has been supportive at reading my stories,posting comments,following me on WordPress and Facebook ..for that…

Thanks!

Here it goes…

Some bands would self proclaim themselves as the Most Dangerous Band in the world,Ummm, when I would read stuff like that in magazines back in the day the first word I would think of was Poser! I mean c’mon man no one but no one is dangerous except for well ….

I would consider from the 70s Aerosmith as a dangerous band as you did not know what the hell was gonna gonna happen at a Aero show! Like would Steve Tyler pass out halfway thru the show,tumble off the stage or would Joe Perry impale at a moments notice his stratocaster into his Marshall stack! And fuck right off out of the building they were playing in!? Who knows but at least it may or may not happen and they walked that fine line of not knowing themselves! But I was too young to catch Aerosmith at there drug fuelled over the top off the rails heyday but one band that a lot of us do remember from our era is Guns N Roses circa 1988!

Live At The Ritz is one of the best unofficial live releases ever!  Recorded Feb 2 1988. This is early into Guns rise to the top of the World Charts later in the  80s! This is Gunners playing at a 1500 seater on the back of one record with the original dudes …Axl/Slash/Duff/Izzy and Steve before fame turned them into a self destructing corporate rock act by like say 1993 or maybe 1992 when Guns got a brass section a extra keyboardist and they lost that street rock cred in the matter of say a few years by 1992 when they went all Vegas like with there band! Even more goofy was all these other incarnations of Guns touring around that Axl has put together! Too bad I mean back about 12 years ago I had a hard time watching bootleg vids of Guns N Roses of a guy with a upside down KFC chicken bucket on his fuckin head(Buckethead was his name,great guitar player but…)

Anyways this Live At The Ritz was broadcast on Muchmusic on there Big Ticket concert broadcast and Yep my Vcr was a rolling and man I watched this thing over an over and Geezus Much had to edit this thing to the nines so when Axl dropped the F Bomb! Mr Muchmusic Sensor guy would push the Beep Button….beep,beep,beep It’s so Beep Easy,Beep,beep and more beep like Beep right off!

I could never understand why Gunners never released this? Perhaps MTV owned the original rights? Who knows? But whatever 26 years later and Mr Ladano has Hooked me up!

Drop your change and let’s climb aboard the Night Train….

ITS SO EASY- oh yeah man,you hear the crowd and now you hear Duffs bass and Axl and everyone else joins and Guns is wired, fried,playing and swerving all over the musical map and it’s only the first song! Axl gives Er with his deep voice and goes all crazy at the end! It does not get I repeat does not get better than this! This is live folks,Duffs bass cuts out towards the end of Its So Easy and its just Slash/Izzy and Steve trying to keep the train from derailing……

MR. BROWNSTONE-Steve lays down the drums and this dude could play before he was punted from the band less than two years later! Slash and Izzy are the guitar duo in action here and they are locked and literally loaded! Love the performance on this album. Best version I have ever heard….that Ol man he’s a really Motherfucker gonna kick him on down the line! Nuff said!

OUT TA GET ME- Axl tells us all don’t take  bull dung from anyone cuz everyone is Outta To Get Me! This is a straight ahead rocker! You have all heard it. Gunners have entered the saloon,have drank everything in site and have taken they’re party onto there bus! Thats Out Ta Get Me…..to Axl everyone is Out Ta get him and guess what,I’m not! Hahahaha…..

SWEET CHILD OF MINE- later by the summer of 1988 this song was everywhere! I mean this song launched em worldwide. I still remember being in Sears in the summer of 88 and as I walked by there TV display the Sweet Child vid was on so well I cranked the display TV as high as it would go and walked away! Gunners had crossed over into Sears…tell Axl that he would have punched me in the throat! This song as we all know has one of the greatest guitar solos of all time! Slash man what can Ya say! The dude smacked out on whatever vice it was still pulls it off man it’s just sick! Great version !

MY MICHELLE- love this tune on here! Slash and Izzy start off with some moody strumming and than bam the volume goes up 10 fold and here’s the drums and  cowbell,love Duffs chill out backing vocals and Axl( he’s wired to say the least on the video ) proclaiming that your daddy works in porno,now that mommies not around….hahahaha….think about this song for a sec. Here you have Guns In 1988 saying My Michelle is strung out,there’s no way out,doing coke for free,party til your connection calls basically the dregs of living on the seedier side of the tracks and than you have Poison in 1988 singing cheeseball anthems like Nuthin But A Good Time …end of story!

KNOCKIN ON HEAVENS DOOR-Axl tells the crowd that there pal Todd Crew died after dancing to close to Mr Brownstone so they dedicate this Bob Dylan cover and this live version is there best one as well I found the one on Use Your Illusions to slick and polished…like this song how it’s done here!

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE-U know where u are?? Yeah it’s the Jungle and were all gonna die! Classic song this is Guns blazing forward and kicking everyone’s ass in site ! Dig the part where it breaks down (Axl chirps …And when your high..)and builds back up and oh yeah that other part where Steve nails the cowbell super quick and Slash and Izzy solo out……it’s all here folks wound tighter than a top!

NIGHTTRAIN- more cowbell please and Steve Adler smashes the drums. This  song is a corker of a track! Bottoms up get aboard the NIGHTTRAIN. Great song Slash just about takes it off the rails solo wise but pulls it in last minute! Considering how kamikazed out these guys were at the time what is more impressive is how much we still talk about em today!

PARADISE CITY- shit this tune was another huge single….this version at the Ritz Is just  crazy nuts good! Watch the vid posted! The last minute forty of the vid is classic!! Slash is rolling around on stage. Axl hops off the stage,people mob him,Axl apears back on stage, does a quick jewelry check of himself and continues his  sleazy snakey slithering moves while head bobbing! See that’s what I’m talkin about ! That’s Rock!

MAMA KIN- Aerosmith is covered by Guns! This tune the way Guns play it could’ve been like they wrote it! Later on that year (1988) Guns opened for Aero! Wonder what Axl and crew were doing when Tyler and his posse would launch into Angel?! Hahaha….yeah I know…..where’s My Michelle?!

ROCKET QUEEN- the ultimate Gunners track it’s all hear. 7 minutes of up and downs,slips and sides,tempo changes,Axl blowing out his voice and on this track Axl just disappearing for a verse! You gonna tell him to smarten up? Yeah that’s what I thought so !  Man oh man I wish I could have been at this  show!

IN CONCLUSION- this is LIVE in the truest sense of the word! It does not get any better than this! At the time of this recording hard rock bands were putting out polished pieces of recorded work! Sure some of it was pretty good but man some was bad but Guns comes along kicks us all in the heads  with there street level sound and bad ass imagery! Enjoy this recording and these songs posted. I’m serious when I tell ya’s that this is the real deal!

Request Of Vinyl…..Kim Mitchell/Akimbo Alogo

It still kinda freaks me out that everyone has been  Very supportive of my scribblin’ and bullshittin and trust me it’s pretty cool to get props. But along the way I’ve had people request a few things and my pal from work DaBrun said ‘when you doing Akimbo?’ And well a new category is added here at Arena Rock …..Request Of Vinyl Is the new category!

1984 and guitar hero rock is huge! VH especially EVH with the 1984 release bring it home and than some,but in the Canadian backwoods Kim Mitchell is crafting a solid piece of rock n roll himself and it shows to me that you can grow a skullet,wear a cap and still play a mean rock guitar! Akimbo Alogo it is….

Ladies and Gentlemen,shall we……

GO FOR SODA- if you were my age in 1984 16 going 17 you heard this tune! Nobody hurts nobody cries! might as well……Kim throws it down on the first tune and we’re all onboard..all of us..Tbone/Mucc/JackLoaf? I mean how the hell can you not be!? Muchmusic played the snot out of this video and I was ok for every sap vid they played at least you knew Akimbo and his crew would make us Go For A Soda eventually!

THATS A MAN- cool opening and the Kim and the Akimbos keep the party going with Kim telling everyone in attendance What it takes to be a Man! Kim and Pye Dubois sure crafted some clever funky lyrics! Great solo and riff alomg with drums and bass.

ALL WE ARE- big time song at the time of its release along with the video and man Kim tells the world what a great foil in Peter Fredette he has on rhythm guitar and keys! So much so that when Kim played here in Tbay a few summers backs at a festival (I’m not plugging this festival as its a poorly run operation especially the VIP packages that were offered) but when Kim sauntered on stage he spoke a few words said his voice was shot and that Peter Fredette would be handling all the lead vocals! The dude came up in spades he pulled off all the Akimbo hits and Kim just wailed on his guitar man,great show! Back  in 84 though  Fredette nails the big backing vocal on this track and for a synthey sounding track its a keeper here at Arena Rock friends !

DIARY FOR ROCK N ROLL MEN-guitar,drums and bass drive this tune along with super cool catchy chorus! Kim and the boys know how to write catchy hooks and this is one of em!

LOVE TIES-kinda of to my ears anyways,this is the sign of the times sounding 1984ish track and it’s still a good track but on this stellar album it falls a little short to me anyways!

FEEL IT BURN-Kim sez “hey you don’t have to come ripping out of the gates on side 2 like your pants are on fire kinda tune!” No sir! This song is smooth and damn catchy! Great production on this album by Nick Blagona as well! He makes the album sound crisp even to this day! Well written and played track!

LAGER AND ALE- Holy Sheeeeeit this song really gets going and man the story of it is classic! We can all relate to the line at least once(and for many in our lifetime more than once!) “I got decisions to be made between Lager and Ale!”….and “Hope you’ll nod at this drunken bar slob! Cuz I’m ready …willing and able!” Man this song just rips into the 80s party lifestyle! Ha…love the drums and bass plowing and forging a path of Rock for Kim To lay down some real cool axe work! Plus to top it off Akimbo sez ‘I’ll pay for the bar tab even the taxi cab off to my to my hotel we’ll wallow!” Get this song and crank it now! Crank the video posted above! Dooooooo it! A classic!

RUMOUR HAS IT- the party just keeps on going and well this is right up there as one of my all time fav Akimbo tunes! The drums just come out of the gates kicking down the door and we’re off! Kim does some real tasty guitaring in this track and man sidekick Pete lays down a great lead vocal and holy shit entering the Top 10 of all time Deker fav guitar solos is the masterpiece axe work layed down by Kim on this this tune! He wails man! Check this out! It’s on iTunes for $1.29 buy the friggin thing will Ya! No don’t! Just buy the whole damn album for $9.99!

CAROLINE- Kim after rocking our socks off with the two previous gems slows the pace back a little with this song! Great track and it just shows the diversity of rock on this record!

CALLED OFF- what a great title for 1984 and for being in high school at the time of this release! Called Off sure it could be about ending your relationship with someone in high school or Called Off as in the soccer game is cancelled due to lightening strikes or Called Off due to Kim saying this record is done man! Wow man great last track to well a classic record!

IN CONCLUSION-Akimbo Alogo is pure Solid Gold and I ain’t talking about that 70s funkey show either! I’m talking about Kim throwing done some classic good hard rock with Pye Dubois doing the lyrics and Kim and the boys doing the rest! One of the all time greats here folks!