Riot’s Restless Breed back in 1982 was my first Riot purchase. I had seen the ad for this album in Circus or Hit Parader and outside of the goofy looking seal cover inside this album packed a bunch of NYC street rock filled with riff’s and vocals delivered like a punch to your throat.
Riot I dug and when I reviewed their classic 1981 album Fire Down Under you get the sense that they were real close to breaking it big but singer Guy Speranza(RIP) abruptly quit and In Through The OutDoor kicking it off its hinges is new lead throat Rhett Forrester(RIP)
Restless Breed gets under way with Hard Lovin Man with a straight kick to your gut like rock track. Rhett sings it like he lived it. The guitars of Rick Ventura and Mark Reale(RIP) are real good with each guy trading off a barrage of solo’s while Rhett just wails away.
CIA features a slick melodic chorus. CIA is a take no prisoners tune. Don’t muck around with the CIA as they will come hunting with their magnum!
The title track Restless Breed is an absolute beast of a track. It starts off simple enough and then ramps up come chorus time. Restless Breed I cannot emphasize how awesome of a track it is. Check out the vid below….it’s live…
When I Was Young kinda has rock radio written all over it as Rhett takes a chill pill and sings the tune and has a galloping like beat to it. Very autobiographical like song.(original version was done by The Animals I believe) Nice guitar work by the boy’s.
Drummer Sandy Slavin and Bassist Kip Lemming rock the shit of their instruments to start off Loanshark. Rhett is jacked up and collecting payments over due! Tons of ride cymbal..
Hey man the first 18 seconds of Loved By You sounds like Dokken’s Into The Fire but played in a different key mind you. Than again maybe it’s me. Another great rock track. Hey man is Rhett dabbling on a harmonica on this track. Yes siree some one is…sounds like a party going on int he background. Great track.
Over To You pulls no punches another great song in the Riot catalogue and once again they shift gears into a melodic chorus mind you not losing their edge!
Showdown takes a step back and Rhett is taking a walk out the door on his woman. It’s official a Showdown while Dream Away keeps the Riot hard melodic train a rolling while the chorus has Rhett and the guitars trading off.
To end the album Violent Crimes kicks you square in the crotch. Ouch! No fooling around. Violent Crimes just flats out rocks as the Riot Train may come off the tracks. Great chorus and real cool Bass ripping by Kip!
So here’s the deal…
I purchased this deluxe edition of Restless Breed which includes a 6 song live Ep recorded in July 1982 that at the time was sold separate and there weren’t many copies floating around. These live Rhett tracks are the clincher with a total ripping version of Swords And Tequila. The other 5 songs on the EP are from Restless Breed.(Hard Lovin Man/Showdown/Loved By You/Restless Breed/Loanshark)
The reissue itself is pretty slick as well on cd. A mini gatefold sleeve. Mini poster and lyrics on the back. The powers that be went all out on this one.
Better yet when I stumbled upon this on Amazon.ca it was listed for $9.98(purchased it right away) and a few days later it went up to $19.98??
My buddy Muc jumped all over this as soon as the lead off single Fantasy was released back in early 1982 on the album from which it came from simply titled Aldo Nova. This debut sold huge amounts not just here in Canada but went Platinum in the United States as well!
Aldo was a solo artist he wrote and produced all the tunes here and basically does all the instruments himself!
Super Duper Nova!
Aldo Nova: vocals, lead and rhythm guitars, bass guitar, keyboards, synthesizers
Dennis Chartrand: acoustic piano
Michel Pelo, Roberto Biagioni: bass guitar
Michael LaChapelle, Terry Martel: drums, percussion
Daniel Barbe, Dwight Druck: backing vocals
Not only that but along with the Producers Hat. Aldo also had a hand in mixing and engineering the album as well! That’s keeping costs down in the roaring 80’s!
Oh yeah here are the song’s and if you’re wondering Aldo wrote these all by his Lonesome!
“Fantasy” – 5:05
“Hot Love” – 3:54
“It’s Too Late” – 3:23
“Ball and Chain” – 4:01
“Heart to Heart” – 3:42
“Foolin’ Yourself” – 3:35
“Under the Gun” – 3:47
“You’re My Love” – 3:33
“Can’t Stop Lovin’ You” – 3:57
“See the Light” –3:56
Fantasy is a Classic Rock delight! Props to Aldo as he not only opens this album with a great track it was his lead off single as well and clocking in at over 5 Minutes must have made Radio DJ’s back than happy as they could tack on a few extra minutes where they could grab a Coffee or a Coke(AHEM!). Speaking of Coke. How about these lyrics.
Outta site, buy your kicks from the man in the white
Feels alright, powder pleasure in your nose tonight
See the men paint their faces and cry
Like some girl it makes you wonder why
City life, sure is cool but it cuts like a knife, it’s your life
Fantasy I will say hooks me with that piano/synth pace as soon as Aldo’s voice kicks in! There I said it! Basically its like the Piano on the studio version of Christine Sixteen but Aldo cranks it up to 78 rpm’s! Great guitar driven track…Love it. Posted a live clip of it below from 1982!
The rest of the album is a Hard Rock delight where at times I can hear Tom Scholz from Boston in some of Aldo’s playing. Songcraft is huge on this album and Side 1 is huge! Track after winning track.
Great Hard Rock Songs follow Fantasy and Aldo pulls no punches in rocking but I will go on record and say that Fantasy is the heaviest track on Side 1.
Side 2 is still pretty solid especially with the opener Fooling Yourself but it dips a bit towards the end but overall it’s a real good debut as Aldo was not only selling records but he scored the opening slot on Sam Hagar’s Three Lock Box Tour and I recall reading in Circus Magazine a monthly column written by Lou O Neil Jr where he wrote that he was giving Sam a run for his money! Whether that’s the case or not. Aldo was making strides…
It was at my buddy Muc’s house back in the summer of 1982 when I first seen an actually Saxon album in Thunder Bay! Sure I read about them as they were part of the whole New Wave Of British Heavy Metal along with Def Leppard/Iron Maiden and others but Muc, give him credit as he bought this on import for how much back in 82 I have no idea but it blew my mind when I seen the look of the cover with Saxon red logo and the fact that it was live was the clincher seal of the deal…
I Love Live Albums…..
Of course another selling feature for me was the that it had some live shots on the back of the cover as well. I was swayed….
Muc was always cool at lending me vinyl so it wasn’t before to long I got this into my hands and hear it from the start to finish…..
This album is a great live document and to this day I can listen to this and it takes me right back to 82…
Chaps Known As Saxon….
Biff Byford – Vocals
Graham Oliver – Guitar
Paul Quinn – Guitar
Steve Dawson – Bass
Nigel Glockler – Drums
HMO’S Saxon Hit List..
1. “Motorcycle Man” 4:22
2. “747 (Strangers in the Night)” 4:38
3. “Princess of the Night” 4:20
4. “Strong Arm of the Law” 4:39
5. “Heavy Metal Thunder” 4:09
Side two
No. Title Length
6. “20,000 Ft.” 3:26
7. “Wheels of Steel” 8:52
8. “Never Surrender” 3:54
9. “Fire in the Sky” 2:41
10. “Machine Gun” 3:52
Boom out of the gate and it’s Motorcycle Man and the statement is made right from the get go that these Dudes can play the Metal! Glocker especially on the drums is a beast on this album and at various times shifting from straight ahead beats to crazy ass double bass drumming. I believe he still is with em today but for actual confirmation ask HMO….. Tell him Deke’s sent ya!
747 (Strangers In The Night) is really where it gets interesting as this song is littered throughout with a great melody and hook with a a melodic chorus but amplified by the Marshall Amps. Still though Biff tosses down a great vocal….love how he sings the line “Radiiiiio Oooooperator trying to get the message through”
Don’t be fooled by the title Princess Of The Night this is not a mushy balled but a steamer of attack which once again features a real kind of melodic chorus but the drums smash it around and keep the song moving forward!
STOP!!……GET OUT!! …WE ARE THE STRONG ARM OF THE LAW….this is one of the first sing along with Biff tunes on this album and Strong Arm is a great simple straight ahead rock track that is well delivered almost with a bit of an AC/DC like simplicity to it. Not that simple as I could never play it…. Must make a special mention how I still crack up laughing when Biff tells the crowd he wants to see them “Dying from Exhaustion!” at the start of the song!
Heavy Metal Thunder is just that! Thunder as in drums and guitars along with the vocals this song is over the top classic!
20,000 Feet leads off Side 2 and it’s more fast and furious Saxon Metal. The thing is these is a couple of these dudes looked like hippies more than metal dudes but at the same time they weren’t really worried about image now were they?
Over 8 minutes of one of the great Saxon numbers and that’s Wheels Of Steel. Always dug the fact they just went about their business and could at times lay down a simple AC/DC like groove and keep things simple! Biff is in fine form here …..crowd participation “She’s Got ..what??” Biff asks the crowd.
Never Surrender must be Saxon’s motto in 2017. This song I always found it a little to Saxon Sluggish for me liking! The lyrics are tough Biff telling us to all “Never Surrender” Don’t give up the fight! yada yada. Ok,got it but the music has the pace of a liquored up turtle crossing the Autobahn!
Biff and crew get back on track with Fire In The Sky as the pace picks right back up and boys lay down a real cool 1982 groove(Umm whatever that means that is) Yeah its kinda funny as no one ever talks about these tracks but there good Metal tunes. I will go on record and say that Glocker on the drums is a beast here. I will also go on record and say that Guitarist Paul Quinn was wearing ball hats long before Matthias Jabs donned the look after Jabs realized his hair was falling out from too much Love At First Sting! One more thing while were at it…That Bass dude from The Darkness stole the look from Steve Dawson like 20 years later.
Machine Gun ends the album and it’s Saxon going out in a Blaze Of Glory! Cue end of album quick metal track followed by a big racket of explosion to end Saxon Metal night with the swirl of a siren ending the album…
Kids….This is Metal!
Once I heard this album and was blown away by it I was onboard with Saxon from that point forward for a few years but by the time 1986’s Innocence Is No Excuse landed (no pun) I was off the Saxon purchasing curve. Tbone however much to my amazement did buy Innocence …so there ya go…
Eagle…..was a great blast from the past!
For all things Metal and I mean M-E-T-A-L check out HMO’S Blog! It’s a great read! Click The Link Below!
Just watch the clip posted below and you will catch my drift…
So this is from the video release Live Vengeance which was released back in 1983 but then went out of print and was reissued with Priests Metalogy(2006) box set at which time the audio portion of this show ended up on iTunes (which I snapped up) but is now gone?
Folk’s the video posted above is how you start a Metal Show back in 1982/1983…
Cue intro song the musical Hellion as the stage fills of smoke and Lights are flashing at a rapid pace to give a seizure like vibe that reveals Metallic looking stage complete with a wall of Marshall Stacks and Ramps Galore!
Before too long theres Priest ripping into Electric Eye complete with lasers added as a bonus. Whoah Nelly this is just the first 4 minutes of the show! Cue Total Metal Rock Sync Moves by Tipton and Downing at the end of Electric Eye!
Judas Priest if you don’t know by consists of…
Rob Halford – vocals
K. K. Downing – guitar
Glenn Tipton – guitar
Ian Hill – bass guitar
Dave Holland – drums
Below is the track list for Live Vengeance! This is METAL!
“The Hellion/Electric Eye”
“Riding on the Wind”
“Heading Out to the Highway”
“Metal Gods”
“Bloodstone”
“Breaking the Law”
“Sinner”
“Desert Plains”
“The Ripper”
“Diamonds & Rust”
“Devil’s Child”
“Screaming for Vengeance”
“You’ve Got Another Thing Comin'”
“Victim of Changes”
Encore:
“Living After Midnight”
“The Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown)”
Encore 2:
“Hell Bent for Leather”
I was glad to score this off of iTunes as I think it’s the best Live Priest album out there. Sure 1979s Unleashed In The East is a bonafide classic but with Live Vengeance it’s a smidge ahead in the fav department as the album Priest was plugging on this tour Screaming For Vengeance is easily one of my all time great’s so this Live Meal Deal just resonate’s with me a bit more!
Halford and Company are on fire here! Priest lay down the Gauntlet and Shove it down our ear lobes! Halford nails the vocals on all the tracks and since this tour was Priests break through in North America Halford ever being the salesman tells the Memphis crowd( where this was recorded) that “The Next Track Comes Via Unleashed In The East The Way Of Sin After Sin..It’s The Sinner”
Way to push product Robert! Ha! KK and Glenn man are at the top of their game here as they just toss huge bombastic Riff After Riff our way. Even cemented in one spot on the stage Ian Hill just slams the 4 String bass into submission while trouble maker drummer Dave Holland is pretty solid!
Case in point watch Screaming For Vengeance Below…CRANK IT!
The title track just flat-out rocks! Sooooo Good! I recall watching this ways back around the mid 80s or so and KK’s guitar was mixed so low you could barely hear his solos whereas Tiptons guitar was cranked beyond relief. Fortunately with this updated version that’s not the case at all. You hear KK and his Flying V’s just fine!
I would have to say this is my all time Priest era it does not get better than this show/set list. A good few years before Priest found the Turbo synthesizer and starting writing some debatable material.
Thats right Santers those Young Dudes( well back in 82 that is) ripped out 3 pretty decent albums that did ok but should have did better. Hailing from Toronto they adopted the Power Trio format and Boom with this being album Number 2 they were on a good roll so much that myself and Tbone became instant Fanboys as did a few others at our High School!
Racing Time dropped some pretty decent CanRawk and the Santers Brothers Rick(Guitar and Vocals) Brother Mark (Drums) and Sidekick Rick Lazaroff (Bass) played some good rock!
Santers ……
1 Mistreatin Heart 3:15
2 Mystical Eyes 3:50
3 Still I Am 3:30
4 A Dog Without A Home 3:03
5 Road To Morocco 3:51
6 Two Against The World 3:28
7 Back Streets 3:03
8 Winter Freeze 3:57
9 Hard Time Lovin You 3:07
10 Racing Time
Racing Time was a little more Raw in the production end of things on this album but make no mistake this album has stood up pretty decent over time!
Still recall seeing these guys here in Tbay at out Local University (Lakehead) early 1983’ish where as a young 15-year-old watching these guys play that night they blew out my eardrums! They were Friggin Loud! Don’t believe me watch the Live Video I posted below from their Racing Time Tour playing the superb Road To Morocco.
See what I mean! Santers are on fire here… Pretty damn good display of guitaring especially during the solo!No fooling around as these Cats could play! Actually a lot more UMMMMPH live than in the studio but hey there was no wimping around these parts!
Racing Time is basically your straight ahead No Frills Hard Rock Album by that it’s not meant as a Slag it’s just Santers did what they did and by that they did what they did well! Whut??!
Seriously though the songs are well crafted Hard Rock Nuggets. Opener Mistreatin Heart should have been a bigger single which features a driving piano that doesn’t drown out anything .
The last tune the title track features a Bona fide Piece Of Cool Guitar Riff A Roo courtesy of Mr Santers! Check it out as I posted the video at the top of the post which features the album cover of Racing Time. Good stuff….
Stick It In Your Ear Reader Robbo likes the stories that are added to my reviews of albums! Look no further Robbo today its Storytime…
DATELINE-MARCH 1982…
Little less than a year earlier in the summer of 1981 a young Deke’s discovered Iron Maiden whom just had put out there second album Killers. I was blown away by it as i had never heard Metal played this way (back in the summer of 81 I was 13 ) I was hooked by the fury of the music. Guitarists Dave Murray/Adrian Smith were like Glenn Tipton/KK Downing(Judas Priest) except Murray/Smith were on speed but man the riffs were huge. Bassist Steve Harris not only walloped me outside the noggin with his Bass playing but the dude was writing most of the tracks! Drummer Clive Burr (RIP) kept the beat looked cool and played drums even more cooler!Singer Paul Di’anno had a Punky like vocal delivery that had a tinge of Metal in his vocal range which back than made his vocals sound cool and fit the format with what Maiden was doing…..
Maiden a little later in 1981 released the 5 song Live EP Maiden Japan which only solidified my young mind in hitching a ride on the Maiden Juggernaut! ( for those wondering I have not reviewed Killers yet but I have reviewed Maiden Japan).
Maiden was getting some press in the American Music Mags(Hit Parader/Circus) at the time not much though( course that would change) so when March of 1982 rolled around and I ventured into one of my usual Saturday check out the record shops hunt. On the racks there before me was this cover…(see pic below)
My first thought was” WHUT???!!”. I quickly grabbed it and well look at that artwork! I was Psyched Out/Pumped. What a total score and here I am on a cold March Saturday hanging around downtown and the first record shop I saunter into(Music City was the store’s name) and BAM! New Maiden! So after I come to terms that I’m holding new Maiden I quickly turn over the cover to see whats on the back but before I even looked at the song titles whose the dude holding the torch?? (see pic below)
Second thought was “Ummmmm…Where’s Di’anno?” There on the back album cover was the new Lead Singers Name. Bruce Dickinson is his name and becoming Deke’s all time favourite Metal Singer and Performer was going to be his game! I was shocked. So now I really couldn’t wait to get home and spin this for the first time…….
The Song titles themselves are even cool…
Side one
1. “Invaders” 3:20
2. “Children of the Damned” 4:34
3. “The Prisoner” 5:34
4. “22 Acacia Avenue” 6:34
Side two
1. “The Number of the Beast” 4:25
2. “Run to the Hills” 3:50
3. “Gangland” 3:46
4. “Hallowed Be Thy Name”
Maiden knew the deal and that was captivate the minds of youth (I was now 14 when NOTB came out). Include great artwork on the front and back cover. Include lyrics and pics on the inside vinyl sleeve. Speaking of which. My copy of this album had the pics as well as the lyrics on the inside sleeve of the album. Tbone actually bought this album on Vinyl at around the same time ( he was always a cassette tape kinda guy) and his copy came with nothing! Haha…Just a clear see through sleeve. We had a laugh it was no biggie to him if it was me I woulda been pissed! Ha!
Packaging and Presentation was huge for me back than like i had just mentioned. I would stare for hours at Maidens album covers(no I wasn’t baked) as artist Derek Riggs would add so much dynamic to his artwork of Eddie. (1986’s Somewhere In Time being the prime example of this). Maiden knew how to do it. Another fav Metal album of mine Judas Priests 1981 album Point Of Entry had squat for packaging. Nothing..no pics/no lyrics just the songs who was on them/who produced the album and that was it! C’mon Priest toss me a bone! Ha! I will say that by the time Priest released in July of 82 the classic Screaming For Vengeance they redeemed themselves and included cool artwork/lyrics etc. Hmmmm wonder where they got that from?
Being 14 other than AC/DC I don’t recall to many acts at the time flipping out or in Maidens case firing Lead Singers! So it didn’t shock me as much as it did when Bruce said he was quitting 11 years later in 1993. That shocked me but in 82 it was new music. No make that New Metal Music! I was too young to care about ‘Musical Differences/Drug Problems/Divorces’ Give me Tuneage!
Maiden delivers…
It took of all but 20 seconds to have Maiden shoot up Deke’s popularity pole(Ha!) and secure forever the Number 1 Spot of Greatness in the Metal Field!
Opener Invaders is a stomping good track. Harris and his bass are jacked and talk about first impressions as Bruce comes out with his Air Raid Siren like wail and I’m hooked! What a set of pipes this guy possesses! I’m on board. Burr plays a metal like shuffle and Smith/Murray lay sonic sweeps of metal riffs with there 6 strings! What an opener!
Children Of The Damned slows it right down but man guitars both electric and acoustic push the tune and Maiden knows not to sap out the track. Burr pushes the tune along at a nice clip and Bruce goes from singing quick like shots of Metal(opener Invaders) to actually singing at a slower clip and proving without a doubt that he is a worthy successor to Di’anno..
The Prisoner. Wow! This is one of my fav Maiden tunes EVER! From the voice over from The Prisoner Tv show to the launch of Clives drums this tune is a down right classic! Adrian Smith does the co write thing with Harris and the chorus is ohhhh so good! Catchy with a hook. The guitar solos are off the charts. It’s all here man! Clip is posted below complete with Dickinson’s arm apparel! Proceed with caution!
Charlotte are you taking me to 22 Acacia Avenure. You know this tune is gonna be Evil with that opening riff. Another epic tune and another super-duper chorus! Big time guitar action with some real cool drumming and vocals especially the middle part when Bruce and the music mash-up before the solo..
Beat her mistreat her do anything that you please
Bite her excite her make her get down on her knees
Abuse her misuse her she can take all that you’ve got
Caress her molest her she always does what you want
Wowzer’s no messing around with these lyrics. But there is always hope for Charlotte…
You’re running away don’t you know what you’re doing
Can’t you see it’ll lead you to ruin
Charlotte you’ve taken your life and you’ve thrown it away
You believe that because what you’re earning
Your life’s good don’t you know that you’re hurting
All the people that love you don’t cast them aside
All the men that are constantly drooling
It’s no life for you stop all that screwing
You’re packing your bags and you’re coming with me
After hearing this for the first time. I’m 14 and my mind is blown! This is just side 1!
Side 2 begins with the classic title track Number OF The Beast. What can be said about this track that hasn’t! It’s evil based on a dream Harris once had! Creepy opening voice followed by 4 minutes of Bombastic Metal! Charged up Lead Singer (what an opening wail)! Amped up band …I can’t really add to this! Another all time great!
Maiden actually got some decent video play on Muchmusic(Canada’s Music TV Channel) with Run To The Hills. Burr sets the pace with this track and the guitar’s just rip along at a galloping clip in sync with Steve-o’s Bass. Another fantastic wail and scream from Bruce when the solos are done and Maiden put the throttle down and lead the charge in telling all bands that if you’re in our way we will boot you all into next year!
Gangland also takes off with Burr( who cowrote this with Smith) leading the way and Gangland features a heavy yet kind of melodic chorus as the drums lead the way. Maiden themselves never really took a shine to this tune but its a very good track. Well,I think it is!
You want epic(seems to be a theme on the album) this is it! Hallowed Be Thy Name would be the one! This tune features Maiden all over the musical map! Power Riffs! Big Drums! Sweeping Lead Vocals! Crazy Ass Tempo Changes! YUP! It’s all here! Just a bona fide end of the album Gem which has been played on every Maiden Tour except the 2012 updated 7th Son Tour! ( I know as I attended one of these shows!) If that doesn’t give you an example of a classic nothing will!
Whoah Folks this ended up being an 1600 plus word review! How could I not tell you all the tales of Maiden Folklore through the mind of an 14-year-old!
Maiden blew my mind and still do to this day. Adrian Smith really stepped up on this album with 3 co writes(The Prisoner/22 Acacia Avenue and Gangland)and solidified himself as a strong writer. New Boy Bruce delivers and blows the doors off of everything around a singer change. (Give Di’anno his due though with the two albums and Ep he recorded with Maiden are top-notch) Always heard that Bruce had more to do with this album but wasn’t credited due to a previous contractual obligation that had to be worked out with a record company. Never heard him or Maiden say this. I read it years ago but I could see it being true….
You all want a crash course in great Guitar Playing? Look no further than this 1982 Five Song Gem released by Akimbo himself which was his first crack at being a solo artist after Kim split from Max Webster.
Kim pulls no punches with his guitar as it’s just Guitar/Bass And Drums and this EP Kicks serious ass! There is not a Patio Lattern in site!
The 5 tracks that make up the EP are all hard hitters and for my money this is some of perhaps the best of Kim’s career and he’s made some good rock n roll records.
Cast Of Characters Kim Mitchell( Awesome Guitar&Vocals),Paul Delong(Drums) Robert Sinclair Wilson(Bass) and Peter Fredette(Backing Vocals) Pye Dubois(Lyrics)
Kids In Action sets the bar real high with Akimbo just riffing all over the map in between bursts of a real good verse and a flat-out super-duper chorus which is just GOLD!( Dave Roth recorded Kids In Action for his Eat Em And Smile Album but bumped it off in favour of Tobacco Road) Course Kim has Peter Fredette who is still Kim’s sidekick in his band today who provides his great backing vocals to Kim’s lead vocals. The Video posted of this tune is from 1984 watch Kim take the solo to the moon and back at the 2 minute 49 second spot! Kids this is how you solo and play flash but keep everything in check and in Action!
You gotta just love tunes when they start off with a real cool guitar riff and Bam theres cowbell added to the mix! Miss Demeanor is a real cool rock track and how about a shout out to the mix and production of this album. Drums and Bass are mixed awesome and Kim on this track is on Fire! Take a bow Jack Richardson and Kim on twiddling the knobs on this short little classic.
Big Best Summer starts off with a wallop of heavy bass and Kim locked in with DeLongs drums. Quick burst of energy from Kim’s guitar leads this track into super coolness. Posted the vid and why not? I should have posted all 5 tracks seriously….
Cool that Canadian Kim can inner channel some Urban Mississippi into his guitar playing and the song that results is Tennessee Water. A real zippy fast cool track that features Robert and Paul jamming in the middle parts of the tune before Kim dials in his strat and rocks into another zone. Kim sings the line of Looking For The Good Life In Between All The Clatter,Tonight I’m At The Bojar Grill And They’re Only Serving Up Tennessee Water,We Gotta Turn The Party Down We Only Got Til Tomorrow,So Pop Them Corks Mothers And Start Drinking The Tennessee Water…
Chain Of Events closes out the Ep in a chill kinda way and what better way to end the album with a different kind of vibe. Its still rock but lets say cool rock with Kim’s cool laid back rock voice. Chain Of Events is a fitting end to a monster EP…
Wowzers….This was really back in 1983 my intro to Kim Mitchell and talk about setting the bar high! This is Akimbo Unleashed with just his guitar and cool rock voice and he slays man! This is pre Alana Loves Me and Easy To Tame. This is guitar cranked way up in the mix to lay down the law…(this album is hard to find but iTunes does have it)
Don’t believe me? Ha …Listen to Paul Gilbert( Mr Big) and big time rock guitar guru speak highly of Mitchells albums( especially this EP),songs. Paul even plays snippets of his tunes in this short little 2 minute clip I posted..Cool Stuff….
FASTWAY! Wowzers this is a cooker of a debut! Fast Eddie,he of Motorhead fame bolts from Lemmy in 1982-83,forms a band with Pete Way,he ex of UFO,grabs a young rock singer Dave King enlists a solid Rock Drummer (Jerry Shirley)and proceeds to write a batch of good Ol school hard rock tunes that is until…..
Pete Way takes a bunch of cash from Ozzy joins Ozzys solo band and splits(Petes tenure with Ozzy is short lived) from Fastway! Great name by the way! Ha! So Fast Eddie plays along with guitar the bass on this album as well and what a great album…..
Fastway had a real shot at things as they toured with Iron Maiden and Coney Hatch back in 83 for this album and in case your wondering this is a no cheese zone…..
Love Me The Hard Rock….
EASY LIVIN- is a great leadoff track! If Your looking for Fast Eddie Motorhead this ain’t the place this is straight forward rock! Easy Livin gets the party started and Dave King sounds like a young Robert Plant here and the mix of this album is classic no frills rock n roll! Jerry Shirley plays some real cool rock drums and man oh man were Outta the gate here quick! Crank the vid to hear what I’m yammering on about! Kudos by the way who put the vid together for Easy Livin! In the vid they show shots of the front and back album covers and pics of the vinyl version!
FEEL ME,TOUCH ME- Jerry drives the bus with his drums and this another rocker! Cool singing,cool percussion with the use of tambourine and Fast Eddie plays his solo againest Kings Harmonica and that’s always bonus points here at Arena Rock! Big bombastic sound this album is from 1982 but it has a mid 70s sound to it! Man the drums are mixed real good here!
ALL I NEED IS YOUR LOVE-drums once again drive this tune! King sings the song and doesn’t sing in any falsetto mumbo jumbo. He knows his deal and man Shirley is a monster on this album! Not overplaying but adding some real cool zippity cool fills! Man no one can make albums sound like this anymore! Catchy tune….
ANOTHER DAY-King sings softly along with Fast Eddie on acoustic and after a minute thats enough it’s goes into rock mode real quick! Shirley spears the folky opening with his sticks and were off! Big power riff during the chorus! Boom with electric guitars are a rocking!
HEFT- Eddie stsrts off with a real cool riff and drums join in and this is heavy with a groove and King pulls off a real good Bobby Plant yell and a My My thrown in! The drum mix is so fucking good on this album did not already say that!?
WE BECOME ONE- this song starts off in one gear and shifts Into another gear during the chorus! This band is locked and loaded and looking to kick yours and mine asses! By golly they do! Great solo by Fast Eddie!
GIVE IT ALL YOU GOT- Shirley stsrts off with quick fills and this is a real quick blast of rock! Quick guitar,cool vocals! SimpleSimon rock!
SAY WHAT YOU WILL-love the groove and tempo of this tune! The bass reminds me of Cliff Williams of ACDC on Gimmie A Bullet from Powerage! You know that throbbing bass ..bump bump bump…Eddie and the boys just keep the booze n rock rolling!
YOU GOT ME RUNNIN-Eddie starts the show and the band rocks it into gear. Dave King sings it good on this song and many others. Listening to these tracks all these years later is kinda sad as they could never duplicate this albums awesomeness!(more on that later)
GIVE IT SOME ACTION-cool guitars and holy sheeeit Theres cowbell here on the verses and the chorus keeps the party going. Shirley and Eddie play it out Til the end….
IN CONCLUSION- Fastway the debut from these guys is a great rock record! It’s a no frills all out party album! Fast Eddie ditches the speed metal of Motorhead grabs a young dude on lead vocals(Dave King) and a throwback powerhouse drummer(Jerry Shirley) and Fastway stormed out of the gates with this sure fire winner!
Unfortunately to my ears though all was lost as Fastway put out a polished turd for there followup(All Fired Up) and than did that goofy soundtrack album(Trick Or Treat) both of these I did not purchase as some poor unfortunate fellows I went to highschool did!
This abum ..is the real deal! Too bad all was lost after it!
1982’s Coda by Led Zeppelin is my first Zep purchase! I was 13 when Zep packed it in December 1980 when John Bonham died and give them credit (Robert Plant/Jimmy Page/John Paul Jones)they walked away from a huge pay day …..
I missed the whole Zep deal but it was my buddy John Young(where are you?) that I had first heard Zep! Hell he first gotten into Kiss, than Pink Floyd,Zeppelin he even dabbled a bit with Y&T (Black Tiger and Meanstreak) and aborted ship when Y&T commercialized there sound so John would always be moving onto some other musical act whereas I would study up on each group buying everything in site whether good or bad on each act and well JY wherever you are in this world! Thanks again man……
CODA is a bunch of left over songs from various recording sessions that were sitting in the vaults …..man for leftovers these are friggin classics!
WERE GONNA GROOVE- Yep we are! Listen to the beginning of this track,man Bonham lays it on thick right out of the gate and John Paul Jones drives a real cool snappy bass line and young boy Robert Plant nails done the vocals while Jimmy Page is flinging quick bolts of riffs! This is my intro to Zep! Thank Ya much!
POOR TOM-Bonzo plays a real slick smooth drum fill! The jive of his drums carries this tune and heres Jimmy and John Paul Jones joining in and Plant delivers a real cool rock vocal! Love the harmonica I this tune especially between breathes on the harp Plant quips “Keep Talkin!” Man this is a awesome tune!
I CANT QUIT YOU BABY- is the live track on here recorded at a sound check and man the drums sound big like cannons going off! (This is recorded from 1969!) Page riffs like a man making a deal with Satan! Plant tops it off with his vocals he sings rock style than shifts gears in the second verse while the band esp Page play lightning quick bolts of brillance! Man oh man! Zep is a powerful machine live. Bonzo Wowzers he is Zep!
WALTERS WALK-Page starts,Bonzo and John Pauly join ship and its a great track! Another all out Zep rocker and man what can you say about Plants vocals? There awesome! He knows his deal when to do the hey hey mamas and not when to do them! Fantastic singer man always has been always will be!
OZONE BABY-Love this tune! It gets right out of the gates quick with drums,bass guitar all in sync and boom were off! Plant throws down some real good vocals and like many a Zep tune Bonham smashes the crap out of his Ludwig drums and man this is powerful stuff! Crank the Video and enter the Ozone known as Led Zeppelin!
DARLENE BABY-this could have been a huge hit but Zep rolled (no pun intended) a ton of rock hits but it’s crazy that they kept these tracks like Darlene sitting around collecting dust until Page decided to clean them off and release it. Darlene has a nice slower paced groove but let’s not kid ourselves here Bonzo drives the bus with his drums on this tune and its full steam ahead jaut not at 100 mph! Love how Zep have a ton of tempo changes but never come unglued!
BONZOs MONTREAUX-this is basically the full meal drum deal from John Bonham! It’s amazing that all of this material is from the late 60s to 1980 and the sound of the drums are huge! The sonics of Zep still sound current in the year 2015! Zep had a timeless quality and that is why Jimmy Page can keep remaster remastered remastering the same studio albums over and over and people still purchase! That my friends is a quality no make that superior product!
WEARING AND TEARING-Zep rips out of the gate at breakneck speed and this song just drives ….fast! Page ramps up his playing while Jones and Bonzo are popping pistons down in the engine room! Zep ends the album at a walloping pace! Man this is awesome material and it was leftovers? Like are you fucking kidding me?
(Bonus Track) HEY HEY,WHAT CAN I DO-Yup I’m breaking protocol here as I purchased the deluxe 2015 reissue Coda and always whenever I do these reviews of these albums I don’t review the deluxe editions blah blah blah etc I just stick with what I had bought back in the day which was the original track listing!
Hey,Hey,What Can I Do man I just love this tune it fuses some real good lyrics with Plant putting aside his Arena Rock God vocals and throwing down a real chill vibe vocal whereas Page fills up the song with some cool electric/acoustic and mandolin playing while Jones and Bonham well they just stay in the zone man and they deliver one of my fav Zep tracks ever! SALUTE! Crank the video and see how Zep can rock the boat!(Ozone Baby) and also pull back the reigns with s slower paced tune that still rocks in a Zep kinda way(Hey,Hey,What Can I Do?)
IN CONCLUSION- I love this album and maybe by it being my first actual Zep Purchase maybe that has something to do with it! But all of these songs on Coda stand up on there own merit! Of course after I was hooked on Coda it was a delve back into there catalogue and what a catalogue it was! Some day I’m gonna have to review those albums as there all classics!
Welcome to Pickin LeBrains Week here at Arena Rock….
Mikey himself is reading this going ” wawazat Deke?”
I came across Mikes Word Press Blog when i was surfin one Sunday afternoon (about 3 years ago)and came across his site as I had googled Helix and BOOM a interview Mikey had conducted with Brian Vollmer appeared. I than commented on his blog and told him a Helix/Triumph story and also where i was from….
Mikey response was classic …he told me he went out with a PYSCHO Girl from Tbay and all his cassette tapes were in Tbays landfill after the breakup!
Hahahaha….a musical blog friendship was born! Along with Mikey I got to know a bunch of great bloggers thru WordPress…Aaron,Rich,Sarca,HMO, James,mr 1537, and many others as well it’s a huge community and check out these guys/gals sites off to the right of my page under the title Fellow Friends.
Also you just maybe never know you might be next in line for a 3 album Personal Fav Salute!
So I thought for fun this week I would review 3 albums under the category of Pickin Lebrains! 3 bands that Mikey loves and knows every stitch,every nook and cranny of there music and for your reading pleasure for everyone else 3 albums by 3 artists I have not reviewed yet! Believe it or not but these 3 reviews this week I don’t think Tbone ever bought. I could be wrong and Tbone if your reading this, it may be the first week I don’t cheap shot you with a Nightranger,Y&T or Bad English Jab in print! Enjoy the week off my friend! Hip Hip Hooray!
First up…..Rainbow…..sorry Dorothy not that Rainbow but Richie Blackmores Rainbow featuring AOR Pop Tart Joe Lynn Turner on vocals,Bobby Rondelli on the drums,David Rosenthal on keys and Richies sidekick from his Deep Purple days Roger Glover on bass….
Rainbow I got into back in early 82 and that was due to John Young. He’s the fella I have discussed in various posts here at Arena Rock and you can read about him here under Nicknames.(on the right side of the page under Categories)
Straight Between The Eyes was my first ever Rainbow purchase that year of 1982 and why not its a great slice of Hard Rock done good…..
DEATH ALLEY DRIVER-this is a Kickin opener and as soon as I heard this track at John Youngs house I had to get my own copy! Death Alley Driver is just that, big sound (this album was recorded in Quebec at Le Studio) so the sonics are here! Richie goes nutty on his strat while Rondelli pounds the gas pedal on his kit and Richie weaves up,and down his fretboard along with Rosenthals keys! Turner is a good hard rock AOR singer and here he proves it. This song is played fast and sets the tone and makes me as a young snot nosed kid take notice!
STONE COLD-for me this is the Rainbow I got know and sure I knew Ronnie James Dio was in Rainbow a while before in the 70s so I guess perhaps Turners voice was too tailor made for American audiences and well can Ya blame Richie? That’s were the dough is made and I’m sure they made dough off of this tune! This tune could have fit nicely on another big album at the time Foriegners 4 album. Watch the video posted to see what I’m yapping about! Stone Cold is here though and it’s a good track and kudos to Rainbow for tacking on a slower tune 2nd track in! Who the hell does that ever?
BRING ON THE NITE(DREAM CHASER)-Bobby plays a quick snap happy drum beat on this tune and it’s too me sounding like another single kids with a real super catchy chorus and Richie cranks his guitar up during the solo and that’s to keep the metal heads like me happy basically tossing me a McHappy Blackmore Meal Deal during solo time. This is a real good song and it’s evident to me that Richie I’m sure woulda punched me in the mouth with the comment that Foreigner 4 was a huge influence in this song and Stone Cold.
TITE SQUEEZE-This one sounds like a jam turned into a song! Love the Purplish sounds courtesy of the keys! Take a bow Mr Rosenthal! Love how the song shifts kooky gears after the chorus with Richie conducting the troops thru this tune.
TEARIN OUT MY HEART- Yeah you can tell by the title that this one is gonna be the slowey doughey balladeer song of the record and why not in Turner, Richie has the voice to do it and he does. Now this is a good song at the time I skipped it every time but here 33 years later and well it’s not too bad. Yeah call me Mush! For my money though Stone Cold is the better of the two! Having said that though I do dig when the song goes into the chorus it ramps into big power chords and Richie torches his fretboard with tons of blazing licks but stays in the frame of the song! Ahhh crap maybe I do like this song better than Stone Cold!??
POWER-Straight ahead rocker! The keys are cranked and Roger Glover is working the bass hard and Rondelli is playing a straight ahead groove on the drums while the dude in black keeps everyone in check and this is no nonsense Rainbow! Turner is giving his all vocally and Yep Rainbows a Rockin!
MISS MISSTREATED-great title! Richie leads the pack and another straight ahead rocker with once again the keys are filling out the sound huge! Miss Misstreated is a romping good time rocker! Dig the chorus where the song courtesy of the keyboards sounds like it’s gonna come unhinged but thankfully that does not happen!
ROCK FEVER-Joe throws down some cliche lines like ” never seen you rock,never seen you roll…Rock Fever!” The band does not deviate to far from the rock road and were good here if your looking for a no brainer 4 on the floor stomper! This is your track than and for 93.7 % of the time this is my deal!
EYES OF FIRE-Wowzers now we’re talking! Eyes Of Fire is a big bombastic slab of progressive Rock served with a side order of Deep Purple! This song smashes and crashes with epic greatness and for me it’s one off those end of album Gems! All these players take this song to the next level! I friggin dig it! You can too crank the video!
IN CONCLUSION- Rainbow 1982 is my intro to there music and by early 1984 Rainbow is defunct as Blackmore and Glover revamp Deep Purple and release a masterpiece called Perfect Strangers! Rainbow though for me put out a real good hard rock album chocked full of Big Arena Rock and even though all these years later I hear some Foreigner in this record I tell Ya one thing I would rather have Rainbow nicking a bit off of 4 than Journeys Escape( as that one was the other big seller at the time! ) Gosh that would have been aweful!
Check back Wednesday for another instalment of PICKIN LeBRAINS!
deKe's Vinyl Reviews & More... 