SUMMERTIME SPIN- THE GEORGIA SATELLITES: OPEN ALL NIGHT(1988)

Summer of ’88  comes and  another one of my favourite spins (on cassette) was “The Georgia Satellites” when they dropped the follow up to the platinum selling self titled debut.

“Open All Night” is a great title for an album and look at that cover as its like the four dudes that make up the band are up all night as well.

Dan Baird as you all know was the driving force on all three of the Satellite major label releases not only singing and playing guitar but was also the main songwriter.

I’m always  surprised as how much pressure it must have been on guys like Baird back in the day to produce hits.

‘Keep Your Hands To Yourself’ was the biggie hit back in ’86 so come ’88 what batch of Georgia Fried Sizzle Rock could Dan come up with?

Out of the albums eleven tracks, Dan wrote eight along with  two cover tune’s, Ringo Starr’s ‘Don’t Pass Me By” and Whole Lotta Shakin Going On.” Lead slide guitarist Rick Richards contributes Hand To Mouth which is a borderline Stones  tune.

Baird though seals the deal on this album with his songs especially as he is a very crafty lyricist.

Open All Night has the band zipping around almost in ZZ Top land whereas second song in  Sheila is the perfect example of Bairds lyrics.

“Living here in this old town
There ain’t a lot to do
And after work I just ride around
Looking out for something new
When I saw you standing in a drugstore
Trying on your diamond ring
Had to run in jump through the front door
Grab your hand and start to sing about”

Plus the fact that Baird has a awesome Southern drawl seals the deal for me.

That’s the thing with these guys is they don’t deviate to much from their sound.

Lot’s of great driving summer rock stuff on here. “Down And Down” is a ball’s out rock track and that’s where the band excels as these guys had musical chops as well. “Mon Cheri” should have been a single. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t but it has that “Keep Your Hands To Yourself” vibe about it.

I read somewhere that Baird said this album was difficult to make and left it at that.

As a fan of the band, sure it falls a little short if your were to compare it to the debut and even the third album, ’89s” In The Land of Salvation and Sin” which considering was the swan song of the Satellites, they went out on a high note.

If you want to rewind back to 1988 and get a fix of some barroom boogie rock, look no further than “Open All Night”.

Krokus/Heart Attack(1988)

 

Krokus named there 1988 release Heart Attack and it was an appropriately named album if there ever was one. It’s basically Krokus flatlining once and for all after a  promising start career wise in the early 1980’s.  By the end of the 80’s Krokus and more importantly there creative gas tank was on empty….

The dry up started back in the 86 with the Change Of Address album where Krokus got all glammed up and put out a stinker of an album. I bought it…..Tbone bought it….we were fooled by the zany Swiss fellows…. Krokus man in that pic below would have had their asses handed to them if they were involved in a street brawl against the Village People!

Swiss Cheese…

Marc Storace – vocals
Fernando von Arb – lead guitar
Mark Kohler – rhythm guitar
Chris von Rohr – bass, piano, percussion
Dani Crivelli – drums

Tbone was smart. He zipped right off the Krokus Tour Bus after the Change Of Address fiasco whereas I stayed the course and bought the awful live album Alive And Screaming.  The awful part was the recording of  it. I think I only listened to it a few times as the sound was atrocious. The cover was Goofy….see pic below…

See what I mean….Gah!  Show a live action shot for Gawd’s sake! Crap Cover =Crap Album…

Yet still…

1988 and Krokus ditch the glam look that scared Tbone away and went for a street look and a back to basics kinda vibe with trying to release a Rock N Raw album. Like a true Music Fan Boy I bought  Heart Attack in the summer of 88 on cd….

The verdict….

Not Good! It’s surprising that outside the drummer this is the classic lineup that demolished my senses with the Headhunter release from 1983. Von Rohr split before the Blitz album from 84 but returns here to salvage a sinking ship but it’s too late ….

Code Blue…The Song’s..

Side one
“Everybody Rocks” – 3:50
“Wild Love” – 4:01
“Let It Go” – 4:31
“Winning Man” (Fernando von Arb, Chris von Rohr) – 5:15 (originally on Hardware)
“Axx Attack” – 4:24

Side two
“Rock ‘n’ Roll Tonight” – 3:58
“Flyin’ High” (Krokus, Jürg Naegeli) – 4:14
“Shoot Down the Night” – 4:37
“Bad, Bad Girl” – 5:58
“Speed Up” – 6:24

The only song I recall even somewhat liking 1988 style is Let It Go(posted the video for it) …

The production handled by Von Rohr and Von Arb is decent enough but that isn’t gonna salvage the tunes…

 

TPOH/Love Junk(1988)

TPOH is short for The Pursuit Of Happiness in case any of you’s were wondering but probably not as you already know this as you are all educated RAWKER’S!

Love Junk released in 1988 and produced by Todd Rundgren is simply a masterpiece which I would consider now as back in 1988 when I bought this on the heels of the fantastic single I’m An Adult Know there was so much rock out that it was hard to keep up but I really dug these Quirky Canadians. Hell even across the Big Blue Ocean  Mr 1537 champions their cause as well! All Hail the LegoNater!

Moe Berg had the whole I’m a Geek look down but he could fizzle up a real good batch of hooky cancon hard rock and deliver it with a stellar band behind him.

Moe Berg – guitars, vocals
Kris Abbott – guitars, vocals
Dave Gilby – drums
Johnny Sinclair – bass
Leslie Stanwyck – vocals

The Charm of TPOH lye’s in the Women of the band. Kris Abbott  and Leslie Stanwyck  added ABBA like backing harmonies and Rundgren brings them to the forefront right with Moe and his singing which at time’s is part-time speak as well as sing!

Hard Rock blasted in a different way but a real cool original spin on things. Hell even Axl Rose dug em! Photo evidence…

Betcha Moe has this pic above his fireplace! Wouldn’t you?! I sure as Hell would!

Love Junk Tracks..

Coolest pile of Junk ..EVER!

All songs written by Moe Berg….

“Hard to Laugh” (2:38)
“Ten Fingers” (2:53)
“I’m an Adult Now” (4:25)
“She’s So Young” (3:34)
“Consciousness Raising as a Social Tool” (2:27)
“Walking in the Woods” (3:51)
“Beautiful White” (3:27)
“When the Sky Comes Falling Down” (3:25)
“Looking for Girls” (2:50)
“Man’s Best Friend” (2:35)
“Tree of Knowledge” (3:50)
“Killed by Love” (4:01)
“Down on Him” (2:30),

Hard To Laugh kicks off this album in fine fashion and a way’s back I reviewed this track all by its lonesome…Need a refresher click the link Friends…..

Cool Lil Numbers….The Pursuit Of Happiness/Hard To Laugh

Hard To Laugh has Old School Cheap Trick sensibilities but the ladies deliver that cool backing vocal vibe….

The second track  is 10 Fingers and it’s another brilliant song as Moe gets down to the nitty-gritty act on this album about sexual frustration which delves into a lot of these songs. Moe though is clever through his lyrics and Man oh Man 10 Fingers Rocks! The Chorus is totally enhanced by the Ladies. Sooooo Good! Check out the video clip below….

I’m An Adult can we all agree right down to the video is an all time Classic song man. Back in 88 I was 21 . Later this year I hit the halfway point to 100! This song is Pure Genius and Moe I have to tell you I really don’t know if I’m a Adult Now! I try too try to be… The drums must be mentioned as they sound good on this album as it does not sound 80’s Whatsoever! Perhaps these Ladies/Gents were well ahead of their time!

She’s So Young has a single written all over it. Pop sensibilities reign supreme here. This tune and video were played a ton in Canada. I dig this kind of rock as the drums by Kilby kick it, move it along. Nice job fella!

Consciousness Raising As A Social Tool What a title wouldn’t ya say?  Nice hard-driving AC/DC like riff a roll and that must be Kris or is it Leslie doing the second vocal as well. Crafty Hard Pop don’t ya just love.

Side 1 is a complete winner! Every track is top notch. Hence where the Singles came from. Side 2 though is no slouch either. Looking For Girls  has Moe inner channeling his best Angus Young on guitar and even goes one better and drops the F-Bomb which would make his pal Axl happy! Killed By Love is another driving like AC/DC number which features a real slick bass line. Gotta love Moe on this album with these lyrics as he’s tormented by Women throughout! Down On Him Again ends the album with a nice like jingle jangle clean guitar sound with a  REM’s Document like vibe except Moe sings “Your Going Down On Him Again” HAHAHA….fantastic!

Come to think of it for a second….let me ramble here…

AC/DC released Back In Black in 1980. I basically said in my review of that album it  told me about he birds and bee’s of life if you catch my drift…

If I would have been 13 when Love Junk came out this album may have had the almost the same kind of impact as Back In Black lyrically as  Berg  captured on one album his vision of the birds and bee’s….!

I’M  AN ADULT KNOW??? NOPE!

Metallica/ ….And Justice For All(1988)

 

Wowzers!  Got And Justice For All this past Christmas(2016) from my Vinyl Loving Daughter Lexie! Thanks a bunch Lex!

Story Time…..

Lets step inside and go back in Deke’s Time Machine to August of 1988 when I was a soon to be 21-year-old still scooping everything Metal!

The hype for this record at the time  was Huge as Metallica with And Justice being there 4th album was a term we say nowadays “Trending Upwards”  after 1986’s Masters Of Puppets had sold a bunch as people were expecting huge things and huge things were delivered by the Men Of Metallica!

That summer of 88 Metallica were playing on the North American Monsters Of Rock tour featuring Headliner Van Halen/Scorpions/Dokken and Kingdom Come. 

Dokken on this tour was in shambles and they had to follow Metallica every night. So picture this for a second. Here’s Metallica bringing teenage angst to the masses in these stadium shows playing tracks like Battery/Creeping Death leaving the audience wanting to break things or each other than Don Dokken and Curious George follow that by playing the big Power Ballad Alone Again!  Haha…

Betcha those Dokken guy’s were sulking big time every night when they  walked off the stage realizing they got there asses handed to them by having Metallica lay down the Metal Law night after night before them.

Just Saying…. 

So I purchased  this upon release and quite quickly began spinning it and not before too long my younger brother Todd who was at the old ripe age of 11 at this time(1988) took a total shine to this record and it’s still one of those albums he recalls fondly when we talk Rock or should I say METAAAAAAL!

So James/Lars/Kirk and New Dude Jason. We all know there last names and what instruments they play Blah Blah Blah so let’s skip that silliness and delve into some of the tracks….

POUNDING METAL!

No. Title Music Length
1. “Blackened” Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Jason Newsted 6:40
2. “…And Justice for All” Hetfield, Ulrich, Kirk Hammett 9:44
3. “Eye of the Beholder” Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett 6:25
4. “One” Hetfield, Ulrich 7:24
5. “The Shortest Straw” Hetfield, Ulrich 6:35
6. “Harvester of Sorrow” Hetfield, Ulrich 5:42
7. “The Frayed Ends of Sanity” Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett 7:40
8. “To Live Is to Die” Hetfield, Ulrich, Burton 9:48
9. “Dyers Eve” Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett 5:12
Total length: 65:17

Spread out over Two albums and this album I love front to back not only in the songs(more on that later) but the look as it was kinda like an anti somewhat metal looking like cover with the whole Lady Liberty blindfolded  and it reeks of corruption/filth/dollar bills flying around. It’s just a cool cover love the colours. Dig the graffiti like spray of the album title in the bottom right hand corner. Total eye catcher….

Still recall picking this up the day of its release as the hype as I mentioned earlier was huge.  It was a hot August day when I bought this album and after making a stop at a local convience store to snag the latest copy of Kerrang it was home and a drop of the needle was in order!

The first few bars of album opener Blackened just blew me away as it was a pile driver of a track right out of the gate. Lars drums were huge. James and Kirks guitars were loud. New Dude Jason. Where’s your Bass? Ha ..it’s there but kinda buried under the drums and guitars. Razzing the new guy? Who knows for sure but kinda crazy that the bass is somewhat laid back but perhaps James/Kirk and Lars from what I read in the past were still dealing with the death of Bassist Cliff Burton in 1986 and with drink n drugs floating around I’m sure this didn’t help Jason’s cause! Too be totally honest here I originally thought my vinyl was screwed as the bass was dialed in low..hahaha….silly 20 year old me at the time!

Must mention what the charm for me and this album is not only for the fact that Metallica is at the time writing 5-10 minute songs but the production is dry and think about this for a second as in 1988 it was bands with huge album sounds and 3-4 Radio Friendly Tailor Made Radio Tracks  (I’m not naming names!) so kudos to producer Flemming Rasmussen who was brought back to tidy up and produce this album after original producer Mike Clink got fired.

1988 and a Double Album with the exception of Side 3, Two tracks per side! Also interesting to see in the credits that James is credited with Rhythm Guitars and Kirk with just Lead Guitar. I recall reading at the time that was how they recorded this album. Kinda interesting way of doing things but for this band its Colonel Lars and Captain James!

…And Justice For All the title track is the second and last track on Side 1! Clocking in well at over 9 minutes this song is driven by Lar’s drumming which suffice to say is complex and even the lyrics about social injustice and the environment is crazy as these guys are partying hard at every turn but still taking the craft seriously! That’s saying something!

Eye Of The Beholder with its military like mash-up of drums and guitars take a shot at the mainstream music and censorship at the time the PMRC.  Do you remember all that silliness? Stickering albums as offensive and making Kids wanting music that was offensive  even more….

MuchMusic here in Canada went squirrelly like I’m sure MTV did in the States when Metallica released the video for One.  MuchMusic premiered one night and yup I was home to record it on VHS as this was big news as these guys were the last known holdouts from making a video and when this video was shown everyone went bat shit crazy over it… not your typical video either(no happy joy joy ) as there was no editing involved so it was the full tune. Once again I love when the guitars and drums do that  military like mashup. So  heavy yet pure brilliance as well!

Shortest Straw leads off the second album and it’s a full-out sonic brawl. Straight ahead blistering Metal. The lyrics when you follow them you know James was taking them seriously. Than again I always mention that it blew my mind he was writing lyrics to songs like Fade To Black in 1984!

Huge guitars lead the way with Harvester Of Sorrow. Another stomper of a track that they still play to this day! Great solo in this tune by Kirk.

The Frayed Ends Of Sanity.  What a great title! Lars goes off the rails with his drumming on this one. More guitars/More Drums/More Bass…ummm ok maybe not so much Bass but it’s there……kinda buried under an avalanche of Hetfield rhythm’s!

How about a 9 minute plus musical tribute to Cliff and call it To Live Is To Die a mixture of classical guitar and metallic stomps and it’s a deep long track. Cliff would have been proud ….

The album ends with Dyers Eve which features an all out assault on guitars and drums. If you think Tallica was gonna the end the album on a chill note. Think again….This song is HEAVY!

There ya have it folk’s! 1988 and Metallica step up and do what no bands were doing in 1988 and for one thing that’s a double studio album filled with vocals/riffs/more riffs and drums! How about the length of the tunes! Blitzkrieg!

Too be honest when I first got this back in 1988 like I have said a few other times that there was so much music out that it was hard to devote a full 100 percent to anything as bands were putting out stuff  it seemed like every two weeks.

This album was complete grower on me and here we are like 29 years later and I appreciate this album more now than I did back in 88!

Kudos to James/Jason/Kirk and Lars on this album….

 

 

 

Cheap Trick /Lap Of Luxury(1988)

Cheap Trick….always loved the quirkiness of these Rockford Illinois dudes! How could you not! You had the two cool looking Rock guys (Robin Zander & Tom Petersson) and the two looking Geeks( Rick Nielsen & Bun E Carlos)  Great marketing job and it worked for years especially with the album covers (In Color & Heaven Tonight) but say what you want about image it was the music that did the talking but with these guys with the hits came the misfires. Albums that kinda skidded by the wayside fell short in Trickville.

1986s The Doctor album I reviewed and tossed it under the bus! The first song(It’s Up To You) and the last song (It’s Only Love) which speaking of It’s Only Love which is a well written piece of Power Trick Pop are the two best tracks from The Doctor. In between was a hodge podge of lack lustre material to say the least. Here’s my link to my review of The Doctor……https://superdekes.wordpress.com/2015/05/13/34s-filler-cheap-trickthe-doctor/

I was pretty stoked to learn that after a 8 year absence Petersson was returning with his 12 String Hamer Bass replacing Jon Brandt who filled in admirably while Tom was doing whatever it was he was doing….

1988 and after the debacle which was The Doctor here comes Lap Of Luxury which to my ears is another misstep in Cheap Tricks mid 80s to early 90s commercial slide ….

Course I bought it!

The first couple of tracks are just straight ahead  syrupy power rock. Album opener Let Go could have been a great track but its  washed in keyboards and Bun E’s drums are mixed in a sterile box along with all the trappings of dudes who are floundering for any second crack at success.

No Mercy is another so so tune. Zander and his voice save the day from this song from hitting the scrap yard just like how Brad Delp salvaged Bostons Third Stage album.  Zander can sing. Wowzers even Rick drops a guitar solo in this song amidst electronic everything floating around.

Yikes! The Flame for me is a sellout track. Trick especially Nielsen hated this tune as no one in Trick had any say in the writing of it! I will say that I was glad it got Trick back in the spotlight and made them cool again and this song I’m sure people out there like it. Fair enough but not me….Cool Cheap Trick for me is stuff like She’s Tight from 1982s criminally underrated  One On One album…..

Space is like if you were to mash-up The Cars/Cheap Trick and I like this song. ‘I need some space’ belts Robin in a Ric Ocasek kinda way and toss in some female backing vocals and its Quirky Trick with an added tinge of Quirky Cars. This is a good song in a 1988 way!

Try as they may Trick tries to muster up some rock serious rock and Never Had A Lot To Lose is a great song! A driving rock track that has a real good chorus and it only took to track 5 to ramp things back up into old school respectability!

Don’t Be Cruel is the Elvis tune. Good on these guys getting another hit single off of this album but it must have been worrisome that both your big singles from this record are tunes you didn’t  write! In fairness it was a long 10 years (1978-1988) for Cheap Trick to go without a real decent seller and if I was in their boots I  would have done the same thing.

Wrong Side Of Love is decent tempo with a pretty decent chorus  but it gets drowned in a wash of late 80s keys. Holy man even Bun E is slamming that ride cymbal down on this track.

All We Need Is A Dream is pomp rock and another stab at a hit but i think this would fall under ‘NOPE!’ Nuthin fancy here folks…Next….

Unfortunately things are sliding at a rapid pace around here  as Ghost Town is a one stop order of Schlep Rock meaning MEH! Trick in the year of 2016 should sell this song to one of those wannabe New Country Hee Haw acts and they could retool this song and make it a hit. This  song is a slowly slow tune….Next…

All Wound Up has the boys trying to salvage the end of the album blahs with a  ramp up in the tempo but nada nope. It’s just the sign of a band wanting to toss a Life Preserver for any diehard to latch onto.

Cheap Trick man I still love and listen to these guys all the time but its a mix n match of stuff. Love the 70s output! Love 1982’s  One On One album and also the classic 1997 self titled album that is so good that no one knows about….

Lap Of Luxury I  was happy that Trick got another crack at success but in the general scheme of things it was a commercial bunch of mish mash.

 

RATT/Reach For The Sky(1988)

When I think of this Ratt album (gulp) 28 years later the term ‘sinking ship’ applies somewhat. When Ratt released this album in  November of 1988 myself and Tbone were all over this! New Ratt N Roll!

Ratt I can say even to this day I still can listen too and dig! They had the hooks in the tunes and of course they had your complimentary LA guitar hero(Warren DeMartini) and could actually play.

This album though for all intent and purposes is starting to show some cracks. Some  songs for the most part are pretty good some waaaaay better than others (you’ll find out shortly).

Reach  For The Sky is album number 4! The first three were all million sellers and so was  this one and in the summer of 1989 when Ratt hit the tour trail we (Tbone and Moi ) jumped at the fact that Ratt/Great White and Kix were touring and we’re gonna be playing Ladanos favourite U.S City (Duluth Minnesota)

We secured tickets through a local travel agency who sold drive down packages (hotel and concert tickets for one night since Duluth is only 3 hrs away) to go for a good dose of Live Ratt N Roll….

A few days before the show I got the call that Ratt had cancelled Duluth  due to lack of tickets being sold??!!

WHUT! …..Duluth Arena holds about 5,000 or so and here’s Ratt with a million selling album(the first three went either platinum or double platinum) Great White whose Once Bitten Twice Shy album was at 2 million sold and Kix with Blow Your Fuse which was at gold status and they couldn’t sell enough tickets.. Geezus Murphy!

We also had tickets to go see Poison/Tesla in Duluth(that same summer 1989) and Poison pulled the plug (cancelled) as someone was sick! (Ha) Me and Tbone were on a 0-2 er! Things were looking bleak of course by the end of the summer the streak ended when good Ol Bon Jovi played Winnipeg and  showed up and saved the summer from a being a complete catastrophe!

Stephen Pearcy,Demartini,Bobby Blotzer,Juan Croucier and Robbin Crosby(RIP) keep the party rolling with some good tunes and some tunes that had to haven been written hungover….

Also in Pearcys Sex Drugs Ratt N Roll Bio  he tells us that when they recorded Reach For The Sky they blew tons of cash on wasted days wasted nights(partying,firing producers) and that Juan Croucier did all the bass on computer? Double WHUT!?

“I’ve had enough,we’ve had enough Cold In Vain…she said”

CITY TO CITY-Typical Sleazey Pearcy like tune! A good opener about the Ratt  Dudes rolling from well you guessed it City To City and all points in between! The verses groove along at a mid tempo pace and Steve-o sings a good opener of a track with Croucier providing his distinctive backing vocals.

I WANT A WOMAN-Aaaaah the single! So cheesey, so hokey. I dunno about this tune as RATT is  wanting some serious ladies to dig them and not some phony baloney type girls. Really? Was Bret Michaels handing out his Kraft cheesey single slices for Ratt to devour in the songwriting deptmartment? I think so! Musically the song isn’t bad,lyrically this is asinine like Kiss and their Lets Put The X In Sex song and video (take a bow BMellis)

WAY COOL JR-Whoa! Now we’re talking Guitar Hero Warren starts this sloppy sleazy cool summer breezes riff right out of the gate. Sample in some horns to give that Aero Groove and Ratt slam one right out of the park! Blotzer on the drums  pushes the groove and Pearcy delivers the vocal. Say what you want about his voice now but in the context of Ratt it suits him  fine.

DONT BITE THE HAND THAT FEEDS-Mmmm Ratt delivers a pretty decent tune except for the chorus where that’s the weak part of this tune. The verse’s are solid with some decent playing and such but the chorus lags somewhat …

I WANT TO LOVE YOU TONIGHT-1988 Power Ballad! Cue set formula slow meandering beginning verses followed with big ass chorus and here’s Ratt doing syrupy like Poison drivel! Pearcy! Kick Bret Michael’s into 1989 please. Ratt your sleazy down in the dumpster kinda rockers not some balladeers? That’s why I dug Dancing Undercover(1986)  from these guys so much it was ripping Ratt Rock no fuss and no sap crap! Dancing Undercover was about chicks on the Greyhound Bus and such and creeping around 7th Avenue Looking For Love that shit is the deal. But Ratt knew they needed to play the game.

CHAIN REACTION-Blotzer rolls up some double bass drumming and this is Ratt I like best! Straight ahead rocker,dumbo fun lyrics,catchy chorus all wrapped up with a Warren guitar solo! Watch the live vid I posted from 1988 of them performing this song live!

NO SURPRISE-“Why Live Your Life …Why!” Sings Steve -0 and Ratt slow things down to boil it’s almost like they wanna do a Aerosmith groove like tune but these songs are kinda overproduced so the swagger is lost. This song isn’t bad it’s just Ratt has done way better…

BOTTOM LINE-Things pick up as Blotzer smacks the drums and Warren plays almost a pre grungy like guitar against Pearcys voice. Bottom Line is Stephen telling the old lady that come hell or high water its you him together that’s the Bottom Line! This tune is pretty good. I am a sucker for back alley slobber rock!

WHATS IT GONNA BE-A real cool DeMartini opening riff and if Ratt would have fine tuned this song  a little more it could have been a possible single. Kinda corny lyrics but Warren basically saves this song with his playing.

WHAT I’M AFTER-Ratt bid adieu with the last track and its a good Ol Ratt Romper of a song I suppose. Nothing to really write home about. It’s just there. Typical verse,chorus,verse,chorus,Warren plays a cool solo back to the verse and end of album.

FINAL YAMMER- Reach For The Sky is kinda a hodge podge of hit n miss Ratt Rock! The album starts off strong but loses steam and certain parts lag as in Ratt is going through the motions.  Still City To City,Chain Reaction and Way Cool Jr. are all solid tracks while others if they would have tweaked around or perhaps put the recording  studio snow(blower) away things may have turned out better.

Still though I dig Ratt and their next album Detonator was a total bounce back to respectability even though the masses somewhat disagreed.

Further Ratt reading can be found here for …Invasion Of Your Privacy…….https://superdekes.wordpress.com/2015/01/16/sonic-waves-rattinvasion-of-your-privacy/

 

And Dancing Undercover here…https://superdekes.wordpress.com/2015/03/31/sonic-waves-rattdancing-undercover/

U2/Rattle And Hum(1988)

Rattle And Hum is such a great double album. I like how  the U2 guys basically tossed around a  bunch of tracks (live and studio) slapped it together and Bingo! Here’s  Rattle And Hum.

Rattle And Hum was the soundtrack to the movie by U2 documenting their 1987 Joshua Tree Tour jaunt through the U.S.A.

Speaking of the Rattle And Hum movie. I remember it like yesterday when the movie opened up here in Tbay back in 1988. There was absolutely no way I was going opening night but I told my lady friend at the time I would go the second night so we did. I don’t know how many people went the opening night but I’ll tell Ya there was only 10 people at the second nights 9 pm showing.

The public in Tbay had spoken and a turd was dropped in regards to attendance(Ouch) I actually thought the movie was quite good and even bought the damn thing on VHS when it was released a short time later.

Bono,The Edge,Larry Mullin Jr and Adam Clayton put out a real fine damn piece of Rock!

HELTER SKELTER-Bono leads the charge telling the crowd “Charles Mason stole this from the Beatles. We’re stealing it back!” Well played Bono . The Edge strums his guitar and U2 launches into Helter Skelter! U2 does a great version as Mullin rocks the drums while Adam  on bass plays a straight ahead riff and daydreams about supermodels  U2 hooks me in as a listener! U2 is kicking ass! Did I actually just type that?!

VAN DIEMEN’S LAND-This is just The Edge playing a short little 3 minute 6 second song and this is a classic. The 3 other U2’ers take the day off and The Edge pans real Gold with this tune! I loved it than. I love it now! Why oh why did they not utilize this guy as a lead vocalist on some tracks? His voice is fantastic!

DESIRE-Wowzers Folks! This tune when the video was released (before the album hit street) is soooooo Good. Pure and simple! U2 keep it simple silly with bass/guitar and drums! Bono nails a real good vocal. Edge plays a slick clean guitar and provides a real good backing vocal. Larry and Adam just roll all over the place and drive the song doing what they do! Plus for an added bonus Bono delivers a real good harmonica binge at the end of the song! Classic!

HAWKMOON 69-When I hear this song I hear Robbie Robertson on it just with the songs structure and  the ambience airiness  of the sound of drums just floating around in space with some big bass.

ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER-Whoah! As good as HELTER SKELTER is this one is even better. U2 tosses a gauntlet and declares this song as if it was their own. It’s that good of a cover. It sounds like an U2 original.

I STILL HAVEN’T FOUND WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR-I like this version as U2 change it up and add a choir and man there’s a few vocalists from the choir that take this tune up a notch and kudos to Bono for backing off and relaxing and letting others do there spiel vocally! Nice chill vibe added by Edge/Larry and Adam.

FREEDOM FOR MY PEOPLE-35 second jam with a couple of friends, harmonica, guitar and some cool percussion.

SILVER AND GOLD – One of the best U2 songs ever in my estimation. Love Edges guitar here with this song being live U2 ditches the gloss and once again keeps the sound raw! Hallelujah! Bono grabs the mic and delivers a well executed first line “In The Shit House A Shotgun” Awesome stuff and the chorus is deadly with Edge easing off the gas pedal on his guitar as Bono delivers the knock out punch lyric of “A Prize Fighter In A Corner Is Told,Hit Where It Hurts Silver And Gold!” Loooooove it! Of course Bono derails the tune somewhat when he goes Into some political mumbo jumbo but he gets back on track with the classic line “AM I BUGGING YA? DON’T MEAN TO BUG YA!” Bono tells The Edge ” Play The Blues!” What a great friggin track!

PRIDE-A Good Single. The jingle jangle of The Edges guitar along with Adams straight ahead Bassing drive Pride! Bono sings a good song here. Live,it’s a typical sing a long song for everyone!

ANGEL OF HARLEM-Love the horns in this tune! This is the great thing about this album as there’s a bunch of different vibes and production values. Angel Of Harlem reeks cool with a real cool blues vibe pushed by Mullins drums! The pre chorus builds up is real slick as it sounds like Bono is straining his vocals kinda gives it an authentic feel.

LOVE RESCUE ME-Edge chills on the guitar while Bono blows the harp. Larry and Adam join in and even though this is a slower kind of U2 it’s like they shoved there sound into a slow cooker and decided to let the sound take it’s time cooking.

WHEN LOVE COMES TO TOWN-BB King(RIP) does the honors with U2 on this track and its a great song. It’s a  little rough around the edges(no pun) and its a real good song that flows effort less or sounds like it. Bono along with BB throws down a real good vocal while Larry drives the drums and Adam plays some straight ahead bass and dreams about super models. Love the raw production of this track! Great Great Song!

HEARTLAND-U2 go for the big atmospheric sound with some trippy sonics. Bono and The Edge’s voices carry this tune especially at the end when they really ramp it up at the end.

GOD PART 2-Larry hits the electronic drums and this tune almost sounds like it could have for fit somewhere on side 2 of Zooropa! Kinda trippy U2!

THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER-Jimi Hendrix’s Woodstock solo segues right into the next track which is…

BULLET THE BLUE SKY-What a killer live drum sound on this song! Wow,Larrys kick drum sounds so good live here. Kudos to the dude doing the mixing at the soundboard.

ALL I WANT-Big end of the album tune! It’s a slow builder. Kind of a interesting end of the album song! It’s a big sonic epic delight! Bono’s vocals soar and directs the rest of the U2’ers to site back and relax and lap up the chillness!

FINAL YAMMER-U2 deliver it here folks! I like the fact that it’s a big mumbo jumbo batch of different styles,live and studio songs all rolled into a double album!

Bono,Edge,Larry and Adam show up bash out some new tunes with some that have a snappin edge to them. Fast forward to 1993 and U2 should have kept a rougher edge to their sound!

Dokken/Beast From The East(1988) Part 2!

 

Let’s get right to it Folks with sides 3&4 of Beast From The East….

Cast of Characters- Don Dokken(Vocals),George Lynch(Geetar),Jeff Pilson(Bass) and Mick Brown(Drums)

King Of Yammering- Deke

Actually before we get to it everyone knows my deal with Greatest Hits Albums and how I have a issue with them. Ha! Well one of my faithful Arena Rock Readers BMellis said within my review on Wednesday in regards to the first part of Beast From The East  I was bashing Greatest Hits albums that I was taking Cheap(Pot)  Shots at him (BMellis) and his sidekick  Rockin Roberts without naming them! Hahaha,myself and BMellis had a good laugh about this as this wasn’t my intention but from now on…yeah it’s gonna be!

To Be Fair to these two Greatest Hits Guru’s (BMellis&RockinRoberts) they like the best  songs on compilations so be it……

Seriously though where is The Hunter?

HEAVEN SENT-Don leads the Japanese faithfull with some opening “oh oh oh!” And they follow and George plays some real chill cool riffs during the verses and the song like so many Dokken tracks ramps up at the chorus! Great tune! Slow build of a tune but it still has some ommph to it!

ITS NOT LOVE-more Curious George playing some more real chill riffs and this song has single written all over it! Don tells us “Why Baby Why?” Seriously Don you just regroup,pick up the chics hit the next town and party down on the Tour Bus like there’s no tomorrow! Thats how Tbone explained it to me on how Rockstars roll! Ha! Great catchy chorus and more back and forth banter between Don and the Japanese faithful!  You realize if your a fan of Dokken just how many of these tunes on this double live  were singles …..speaking of singles…lookie what’s next!

ALONE AGAIN-oh oh power ballad ….make it mega power ballad time! This song sold the Tooth And Nail album and out of the ten tracks on Tooth And Nail this was the only power ballad! Actually compared to a lot of crap at the time this is pretty good and a lot of bands copied Dokkens format. By that I mean nice soft quiet verses and once the chorus hits….KABOOM big time power riffs, Que big time guitar hero solo than back for one more romp around the chorus and nice little fade out…..back in the mid to late 80s this is how LA Bands made a ton of cash! Myself I made little cash washing dishes in a cafeteria to fund my music addiction! FIRST TIME EVER…A POWER BALLAD VIDEO IS POSTED here at ARENA ROCK….Ummm no I’m not mellowing!

JUST GOT LUCKY-things in Tokyo ramp back up and Just Got Lucky is Don going on  about how the woman is the devil in disguise! Ha…we all have been there done it….George plays some good guitar whereas the song sounds like a big solo but it’s not if that makes sense. Just watch the video!

BREAKING THE CHAINS-when most people think of Dokken they think of this song! Fair enough as its a good song for me though when I think of It I remember the adds Rokken with Dokken! What I wanna know is how much was the record company Yahoo being paid yearly to come up with selling slogans like Rokken With Dokken! This song features a real good lead vocal into the chorus. Lunch peels rubber on the solo while Pilson and Don handle the vocals ….

IN MY DREAMS-Don,Jeff and Mick do some acapella with  the intro and the songs goes from there. This was a pretty good decent rock single and it pushed Dokken in sales and solidified there fan base! Watch the video from Philly 1987 style…these cats can play and sing…

TURN ON THE ACTION-end of the show, time to hot dog some quick rock. George shreds, Don howls, Pilson holds down the bass while Wild Mick smashes his drums and there off! Rokken Dokkens night in Tokyo comes to a end!

WALK AWAY-so here’s  a studio track tacked on the end of the live  album! Walk Away is kinda a ballad. Walk Away Dokken and they all literally did just that! I recall this video and I think Don was sporting some real funky looking dreads in the hair dept. I was fuckin spooked and never revisited Walk Away again….can’t even tell you about the track other than its not a rocker….

IN CONCLUSION – Dokken,too bad they split. I dug these guys and was pleasantly surprised that in 2015 I still dig this live album! It’s a solid ball of live rock well I’m sure there was tweaking in the studio but who cares. What I don’t know what was tweaked  won’t hurt my deal with this record! Lynch is awesome on this and when I thought about reviewing this album I was thinking I hope I can make it through with Curious George going off to shredville. Sure George does during some solos and of course his guitar solo but no worries folks he stays within the lines(ha!) .

These guys if they would have stayed together were  well on there way to Arena Headline  Status but …….

SHIT HAPPENS!

Dokken/ Beast From The East(1988) Part 1!

 

Dokken was a band that had a chance for the golden ticket to complete stardom but because of the constant bickering between lead singer Don Dokken and guitarist George Lynch Dokken the band imploded after 4 studio albums …Breaking The Chains(1983),Tooth & Nail(1984),Under Lock And Key(1985)and Back For The Attack(1987)…

I think I read somewhere years  ago that Dokken was due to release one more album to fullfil there 5 album contract so with Dokken in chaos they headed to Tokyo cut a double live  album (Beast From The East)put it out in November 1988 and shortly after broke up due to internal bickering….

These guys should have chilled for a bit and bounced back instead they shut down and though there were various solo  albums from the band guys they reconvened in 1995 for the  great Dysfunctional album (Long Way Home is a awesome track!)but were never able to gain there previous 80s momentum.

Hey that happens when your a bunch of bitches towards each other!

I reviewed Tooth And Nail a while back and a lot of people recalled that album very fondly so I thought what the hell let’s check out what at the time would be the live Dokken Swan Song….

Kudos to Dokken they could have never put out a live album in 1988  but instead of gone with a Greatest Hits album to finish off there record deal  which would have made me puke!

Don Dokken(vocals) George Lynch(guitar) Jeff Pilson(bass) and Mick Brown(drums) give us a double double live album …

Where’s The Hunter?

UNCHAIN THE NIGHT-some prerecorded parts of the Intro to Unchain The Night are pumped through the speakers and before you know it were all Rokken with Dokken and Unchain The Night is Dokken playing a mid tempo rock track straight ahead no frills just enough ooomph to be the opening number! Don Dokkens voice I always liked especially with this kind of Dokken Rock! George Lynch plays a slick fast gunslinger guitar most of the time but when duty calls he could relax and slow down the shred albeit for the song whereas many guys from his era over shredded to the point of making me feel nauseated! Hello Yngwie J! Pilson on bass (and some great backing vocals throughout this album) and Wild Mick on the drums pound the bottom end to the ground and were all aboard the Dokken tour bus! Pass the Hairspray!

TOOTH AND NAIL-now Lynch ramps up and spits out furious riffage and huffing and puffing on the double bass drums is Mick smashes,crashes cymbals and Don hollers ‘how long will it take? To break the spell….straight to the top Tooth And Nail!”  Dig the solo by Lynch man especially at the end as the bass and drums stop for a few seconds and Lynch nails smoke on up and down the fretboard and Mick assaults his snare and were back up to super snuff speed! Impressive that they passed on this as the opener and instead blow our senses out on track 2! Well played sneakey L.A. Rock Guys!

STANDING IN THE SHADOWS-Lynch kimda meets Ed Van Halen opening before this song takes off and Lynch once again steals the show on this tune! Standing In The Shadows is one of the better tracks from Back For The Attack and I dig the live version as I found sometimes some off these 80s albums when I listen to them now they  have like 100 guitars on tracks and at the time I guess it was called for but now ..aaaargh! The good thing is Pilson is pretty simple yet effective on the bass as he holds it together while Lynch does his guitar hero stuff on this album.

SLEEPNESS NIGHTS-whoah another good slow driver of a tune from Back For The Attack. Has a pretty slick groove with a real good chorus. Whoever put this setlist together for these shows had a pretty good idea what young DeKEs liked back in 88! Sleepless Nights is a great track! No frills just good Rock! We know the deal like Don Sez your giving it Til 6 am and it’s another Sleepness Night coming your way! Isn’t there some drugs out there to make you sleep or keep you awake? Hahaha….just sayin!

KISS OF DEATH-is a rip roar of a tune! This is a fast paced tempo tune. Lynch is Unleashed In The East(Ha!) here and he plays a gazillion notes but it makes sense.  This is like 87 Whitesnake on steroids! The word on the street back than is Don wrote this song about AIDS! Yeah no shit Don was dropping down some serious lyrics here almost a Hard Rock Bono with a message! But at least Don doesn’t ram the message down everyones throat! Lynch goes bonkers during the solo while Brown and Pilson keep the tour bus on the road!(do not I mean do not spill the party treats that are ready for consumption on the table!) You want loud rock! Fast guitar,soaring vocals..it’s here!

WHEN HEAVEN COMES DOWN-I think when I reviewed the studio version of this on the Tooth And Nail album I called it Sludgey Pudgey(not sure if i said I’m too lazy to look it up) Live here it sounds better obviously with a better tempo and It kicks …kicks in a way that Vince Neil needs to be kicked when singing live and kicked in the other way of Bret  Michaels needs just a plain hard swift kick in the ass period! Lynch plays once again the in the confines of the song! Hot diggity doggity I think I’m more psyched by Lynch on this live recording than anything! Ha! Serious! The chorus here is big and tough sounding  like after a shot of Jack Daniels and a tussle of Hairspray sprayed around for good measure!

INTO THE FIRE-of course as a Dokken fan you know this one right? The pace of the live version is sped up and DOKKEN here craft perfect Rock Single 101! By that it’s a cooling opening of drums,bass and Lynch’ power chords. Don tosses down a good vocal along with some good backing vocals courtesy of Pilson and were Into The Fire which segues right into …..

MR SCARY-and were off with a 3 minute  or so Lynch guitar solo,riffing like a lunatic but with him I’m ok with it like i said compared to some other 80s guys! (Hello CC Deville) Lynch  can play no doubt and next thing you know Pilson and Brown slam out a barrage of LA Metal Chops as these guys could play but like any band from the time they get lumped in as just another act. I think what hurt Dokken was they made some goofy videos like Burning Like A Flame. Remember that one with the Dokken guys riding around in a fire truck! Haha….WTF!! Silly cheese ..not a bad song but what a Dumbo video! But yeah Mr Scary ends side 2 and I wonder what Don was doing during this time of the musical only portion of the show?? Ahhhhh that’s right he was on the horn with the record company trying to negotiate a better record deal for himself at the time while his soldiers are In the trenches on stage doing the real work…..

Check Back Friday when I yammer on about sides 3&4 of Beast From The East….

AC/DC…Blow Up Your Video

Had no real intentions on reviewing this album by ACCA DACCA at this time but last week Mikey over at his site reviewed Blow Up Your Video and gave it a rating of 2.5/5 stars!? Even at one point in the comments  said he coulda sold it at a 2/5 rating…..

Click HERE for Mike’s review.

Wowzers sez I! I mean that’s almost 3/4s Filler here at Arena Rock….

Mike throws down some valid points in his review but in his comments everyone was agreeing with him! Hahaha….except me! Double Hahaha……I just said I should review it and flip my spin on it! Than Jompa from Sweden shows up with comments after Mike Sez he wants Jompa to chainsaw The AC/DC album….Jompa says Blow Up Your Video is crap and there’s only 3 good tracks on it….

I laughed said I  gonna convert all the naysayers in the comments and Mike said  Jompa and myself should do a showdown on this album! I told Mikey ….I ain’t gonna win againest a dude with a chainsaw…..

But hey I will try ….

January 1988,new AC/DC(Blow Up Your Video) , Dave Lee Roth (Skyscraper) and a little later on VH with Ou812 and the mighty Iron Maiden (7th Son Of A 7th Son) are all purchases I made in that early part of the  year on CD! Welcome to the world of technology DeKEs!

AC/DC were bouncing back with the Who Made Who album and a tour that put them back in the public eye and here comes Simon Wright,Cliff Williams,Brian Johnson,Malcolm and Angus Young with there first full studio release in 3 years….(1985s underrated Fly On The Wall was a commercial flop,but not here at Arena Rock)

LETS DO THIS…..

HEATSEEKER-some cool Angus noodling and drum guy Simon counts in and we’re off this is boogie woogie DC at there best! The song drives quickly towards the chorus and we’re all happy that AC/DC is back into boogie rock! Mal and Ang guitars are cranked and Yep I agree with Mikey that the mix is kinda muddy but muddy fits AC/DC to a T. Too much polish would do this no justice man….I like The DC grimey! Grimey it is! Think about it folks for a second! 1988 everything ,well most hard rock back than was polished except for a few like Gunners(Appetite For Destruction) but bands like  VH (with a bizarre mix job on OU812) quite a bit of mud sonics there  but for a real high tech produce job check out Diamond Dave with Skyscraper! AC/DC sez If You Want Mud Mix……..You Got It!

BLOW UP YOUR VIDEO-love the openings riff of this tune! Malcolm and Angus are the kings off cool basic rock hooks! Jonno lays down the law about picking up his woman in his Chevy and were punching gas and the song rocks start to finish! I like these songs without having to watch the vids! The geetars are smoking here…..

MEANSTREAK-this begins the first of 3 DC tunes that are just straight ahead mid tempo Dc Rawk! Johnson sounds like a greasy sleazeball used car salesman and Frigg would you buy a car from him? Sure you would Ha! I love how he sings this tune in the verses mixing matching lines like ” I’m the perfect culture vulture in the face of poverty an I ain’t met no one  who told me I got class,say never feed the animal the boys got too much class!” Perfecto! The  tempo pushes the song forward with Angus doing some neat little doodles on his guitar….

GO ZONE-mid tempo track features those backing ACDC Gang Vocals…..Gooooo Zone! Indeed this is just another slower boogie woogie Rock out with Angus and Crew! Think of this as the bastard brother of First Blood from Fly On The Wall during the verses!

KISSIN DYNAMITE-so the end of side 1 brings in a another song in typical AC/DC jam fashion! Johnson sings it as he sells it! “feel like Kissin Dynamite!” Sez he! I dig there slick move when they shift gears from the chorus back to the verses! The song is a straight late night barroom shuffle out the door boozed up with a bird on your arm kinda tune! Ok ok I will say it!!!!! TNT Oi! Dynoooooooooomite!

NICK OF TIME-oh yeah man one of my favs from this record Gem Like! Simon Wright counts the boys in and holy friggin Wowzers! AC/DC is jammimg in a different beat as Simon drives his drums along with making Cliff think on his bass and Geezus Murphy …I love this tune! Jonno sounds sinister on the lead vocals and that’s the way we like the vocals delivered ….. Angus peels off some Chuck Berry riffs in the chorus and were off…crank the video posted!

SOME SIN FOR NUTHIN-creepy crawler of a tune is low down dirty DACCA! This tune oooozes sleaze and creeps along at a snails pace! Simon cracks his cymbals during the chorus and the song builds up kinda….another great tune. AC/DC hangs loose on this tune like what’s the rush sucka’s? Play the video posted Don’t Blow Up The Video!

RUFF STUFF-Jonno likes EM big …likes Em small! Ha! So give B.J some Ruff Stuff another late night what sounds like a free for all booze fest and the the guitars barrel along at a pace to keep the party Movin and Grooving!

TWOS UP-whoah! This tune is a end of the album GEM! Angus and Malcolm play some real cool chill guitars kinda like Overdose from Let There Be Rock and Simon drives the band forward and Jonno delivers a great lead vocal! Over 5 minutes of slow stomp DC! Mid paced but what a cooker! Jonno tosses down a ménage a trois like scenario with lyrics like “I love the way you slip and slide, I like the way you girls work out,and make a partnership,make a partnership,I go you go,she go we go,Twos up! Give me heads,give me tails” boom done Great track!

THIS MEANS WAR- I have to agree with Mike..this is a toss in end of the album  thrown in tune! Too be honest this  album for me ends after Twos Up and how the hell you top that bad boy! You don’t …can’t really tell you anymore so….

IN CONCLUSION- am I gonna really convert anyone’s thinking if they already didn’t like this album? Probably not but I had fun anyways yapping about it! Maybe it was the timing of this release that I always dug it! Or maybe for the fact that I dug those AC/DC albums that didn’t sell as much but had great songs! Who knows but I dig and still like this album …..

Now Jompa go easy on that chainsaw on me will Ya!!!!

This Friday more AC/DC coming up……..