STP/Purple-12 Gracious Melodies(1994)

A few weeks back I commented somewhere that I had 2 half-finished STP reviews sitting around for a while. John and James both told me to get em done! So I did and here’s numero uno!

Stone Temple Pilots right off the bat when they dropped the debut Core album in 1992 were a real good band. I dug that debut as Wicked Garden is just that. A wicked track as were a bunch of others.

So with a ton of sales from the Core album you knew the hype was going to be huge for the followup which is Purple which hit the streets back in June of 1994 and with lead off single Vaseoline speeding up the charts it was a quick purchase. Plus add the fact that  it was announced that STP would be opening for the Stones on there Voodoo Lounge Tour in Toronto it was a win win for both myself and Tbone as we had tickets to this show! (it must also be mentioned that Mr Books was present at this show as well!)

What a great marketing move whose ever idea it was not to print the album tracks on the back  cover. All that was printed was 12 Gracious Melodies.  Ha! Those funny Seattle Dude’s!

Scott Weiland(RIP)/Robert and Dean DeLeo/Eric Kretz put out a great record that is still great today…

From the opening track Meat Plow(great title) The Pilots lay down a solid groove almost Sabbath like with the gears a grunging. Meat Plow just has a real cool groove to it. Hey man Weiland has a bullet watch out! STP can play no doubt and ask Tbone as this album is lodged in his all time Top 20!

Vasoline was everywhere in the summer of 94! Such a cool wicked groove between the drums/guitar/bass and Weiland lays down the law with a great vocal! Still remember when they played this track opening for the Stones back in  94 with Weiland slipping all over the stage doing  his Vasoline  stage move! Such a great talent….

Lounge Fly features some huge sounding drums. Cool off beat like stomp featuring some slick like slide guitar from Dean DeLeo. Weiland to no ones surprise drops down an awesome lead vocal!

Ok! I will go on record saying that Interstate Love Song has to be one of my favourite tunes from the 90’s. It has all the great ingredients of a Classic Track. Great groove/Great vocal/Great  music and best of all one of the best choruses you will find anywhere with a real slippery like bass line from Robert who cuts through the mustard with Kretz and his drums! Must mention the real smooth like opening before the faders are pushed up and the song lifts off! PURE BRILLIANCE meaning PURE GOLD (in my book of Rock)

Still Remains keeps the momentum pushing forward with a real cool like Keith Moon smash a roo with the cymbals.

Pretty Penny shows us that these cats can shift musical gears and go all acoustic with some real crazed like rhythm changes during the chorus when Weiland tells us all how Pretty Penny is gone! STP can kick ass even acoustically…..

Back on board with some more Sabbath like music with Silvergun Superman(great title!) but they also chill out melodically during the chorus and they go right back into the Sabbath Doom cave with the verse that features some real like melodic like playing  from Dean! Tony Iommi would be proud of this one….

Big Empty has a smoke-filled bar like atmosphere during the verses in other words a real easy like vibe with Weiland and Dean playing  chill with some slide like acoustically noodling before the chorus ramps up and gives you a swift boot up the arse!

Unglued is so good as well as it stomps right out of the gate and slams your head against the wall. Loud pissed off rage and Weiland has this rage coming over him.. Case in point..

moderation is masturbation
what is what, and what makes you feel good
all these things I think about,
I think about
always come unglued

Dig the groove of Army Ants as it to goes right off the rails as Weiland starts singing. STP does not play it safe with tempo changes and man thats this tune. These tracks work well with a band like STP as they had a singer who could handle it and make it work vocally!

Kitchen Ware and Candy Bars closes the album with Weiland sings about “Sell me down by the river” as this mid tempo rock features a real nasty distorted solo from Dean that end’s this album.

My Second Album  starts a few seconds after Kitchenware and sounds like a 70’s tune with piano and Weiland’s voice and it sounds like I dunno an AM tune from decades ago. Those Silly Temple Pilots mucking around and good on them not taking themselves seriously!

What can you say about this album? A total classic and I would have to say along with Soundgardens brilliant Superunknown (1994) I would  have to say are the two best albums that came out of Seattle.

Alright, alright. I know a lot of people love Pearl Jam. I like PJ as well but these two albums are so good and hey it’s just this schmucks opinion as well.

You can see why Tbone has placed this in his  all time Top 20 as all the tracks are excellent.  No make that all 47 minutes 3 seconds of 12 Gracious Melodies are Classic!

 

 

Megadeth/Train Of Consequences(1994)

Not everyday you see Tbays own Paul Shaffer the leader of David Lettermans House Band blowing harp(harmonica) on a Megadeth track on National TV. Well back in 1994 that did just happen so check out the vid posted! It’s a great track….lemme tell ya’s about it!

First of all a Metal Horns Salute to Arena Rock Reader Sarca who commented on my babble of Deths Countdown To Extinction Review that she loved Countdown but her favourite track of MegaMustaines was Train Of Consequences! Sarca you called it and I didn’t take the bait as i didn’t want Sneaky Ladano and Wily O Aaron to figure out today’s post! This ones for yoooooou Sarca!

Train Of Consequences like Mr Letterman  states on the video is from the 1994 album Youthanasia. Overall it’s a decent Metal Record but man Train Of Consequences in my book is pure Gold! The music is heavy catchy Metal while Dave Mustaine writes some real cool lines on this track like the chorus “Set the ball A Rolling I will be clicking off the miles on the Train Of Consequences my boxcar lifestyle. My thinkings derailed I’m tied to the tracks on the Train Of Consequences there ain’t no turning back!”

David Ellefson drives a real cool bass line while drummer Nick Menza smacks da crap out of his kit and when you watch the video is Menza wired? Holy shit man the dudes bopping up and down behind the kit but whatever his deal is he’s a solid player!

Marty Friedman in 1994 must have had the coolest hair in rock! Ha! Marty flings out some real cool super riffs on the 6 string while Mustaine in the vid chills back by the drums perhaps telling Menza to settle the “Beep!” down while letting Marty play some serious guitar…

MegaMustaine though totally steps up with this tune! He wrote a classic. I just love it. His snarled like vocal fits this tune perfectly. Basically don’t gamble folks or you will end up on the Train Of Consequences!

Hock my brains headed West……

The Cult/The Cult(1994)

 

Quick observation for you’s! When Metallica put out St Anger(2003) remember when everyone went seriously cuckoo over the snare drum sound that sounded kind of tinny and drove listeners crazy?

Guess what folks,the producer Bob Rock not only produced St Anger but he also produced The Cults self titled debut from 1994 as well and listen to track 10 on the Cult album Universal You(video is posted)and tell me that sound of the snare isn’t the same kind of snare sound on Metallica’s St Anger? Pretty damn close says I!

I didn’t read about anyone ripping Rock for the production angle of the Cult album(than again there was no social media back than) but man he got sizzled in the musical electric chair over the St Anger Album….ok this wasn’t a quick observation ….

Seriously the snare drum on both of these albums does not bother me in the least…

Now ….The Cult are a exceptional band as no two albums sound alike.

The Cults Love(1985) album is trippy psychedelic rock! The great Electric (1987)album is street rock  masterpiece while Sonic Temple(1989) is Arena C%#k Rock 101, Ceremony(1991) pushed the big early 90s Arena Rock message a little further but 1994 brings new tunes from the Cult and massive shift in direction with sound! Kinda like a hard rock version of U2’s Achtung Baby(production wise) ! Hmm in the credits there’s Scott Humphrey doing keyboards and programming. Who is he you ask? Well let me tell Ya. Scottie is the fella who produced Motley Crues Generations Swine three years later (1997) you can hear a lot of this Cult album in the production angle with all the studio gadgets and such that Humphrey used on the Motley Sixx album!

In regards to  Generation Swine it had a ton of cool comments from the Arena Rock Followers  and just for the record your Honor… Ladano, only likes 3 or 4 tracks from Generation Swine….!

Hahaha!

Just sayin!

Crazeee Antics Of A Beat Generation……

Cult 94 features Ian Astbury(vocals),Billy Duffy(guitar)and two hired sidekicks Scott Garrett(drums) and Craig Adams (bass)

For a added bonus The Cult are sporting some flashy new hairdos along with there new sound!

GONE-Wowzers, it takes all of 5 seconds to realize that the Cult 94 is not gonna sound like 1992s Ceremony album! Gone is a different breed of Cult!  Off beat piano and Fuzz bass start the tune smashing loud trebley drums,distorted guitars and the WolfChild himself Ian Astbury tossing down some F Bombs and Mother F Bombs as well! Cult 94 is a different beast! No Arena Rock posing here,nada,none zippo!

COMING DOWN(Drug tongue)-Cool, orbiting around the sonics is a synth and not before to long the band cracks into  the track. This is a straight ahead rocker that has Astbury singing in a chill kinda way in the verese before he lets the WolfChild out and slips into Rock mode in the chorus! Full out Tambourine assault is included in the track with Duffy spearheading riff a plenty! Super duper song Folks! I like this song more now in 2015 than back in 1994. Guess I’m finally coming down! Check out the live vid! Hey the Cult got haircuts but man they will still kick your ass! This shits the deal!

REAL GRRRL-I think this tune has some of Astburys best singing ever! Yep i do. Real Grrrl builds  slowly with the beat and how can you go wrong with some Na Na Na’s tossed in. The Cult never ever play the same song twice! I mean these songs go from one to another on this album and you don’t know what to expect!

BLACK SUN-This  is a great headphones record. Black Sun begins with a real cool riff by Duffy along with some cool percussion example tambourine and man Duffy is the unsung King Of Cool Riffs! He gots zillions of them and Black Sun is example of that! Astbury himself pushes the boundaries of his vocals sings low,sings deep as he totally steps up vocally on this album! Black Sun itself steps up and the pace picks up at the chorus and man what a real good well written tune!

NATURALLY HIGH-The beginning sounds like it’s from Achtung Baby. Adams and Garrett lock in with the drums and bass and they carry the tune with Duffy flinging guitar licks of brilliance throughout.

JOY-another great rock track. The song starts with drums and Billy playing quick little sounding off key riffs with a swirly keyboard buzzing over the top and than poof keys be gone! Ian and the boys speed It up during the chorus  with a ton of percussion and slow Er all down back Into the verse! The Cult Experience has taken full effect on Joy!

STAR-some weirdo synth sound starts and before you know it The Cult is firing on all cylinders! Duff and The Wolfman had a real good knack at writing singles but singles that didn’t puss out! Star is a classic here at Arena Rock! It has drive and Astbury bar nine is the greatest tambourine player in rock! Laugh and you will eat the beat! Sooo good and once again solid verses/chorus it’s all here! Watch the live the video posted along with Coming Down. It’s live ..it’s The Cult….it’s ROCK!

SACRED LIFE-Abby Hoffman,Kurt Cobain,Andrew Wood these are fellows that passed on early in life and Astbury writes some real serious stuff! People come,People Go sings Astbury while Duffy plays almost like a somber style of guitar. A great track that fits into this albums running order just fine….

BE FREE-Duffy nails Gold with the riff that starts Be Free! This song chugs at Cult Speed. Tons of cool percussion add fuel to the  Cult musical Fire! This song is a end of the album Gem as well as the next track! But first Duffy spins more cool rifffage and Garret on the drums keeps the tune in full out rock mode! Be Freeeeeeeee…..Sez Ian and he continues with “like the birds and the beeeeeeee’s” holy crap Peeps Astbury is schooling us with life lessons. Here’s some more ” don’t eat shit if  you wanna stay fit” and one more ” and “don’t get high if you wanna fry,like Dusty and me”. Also Astbury throws down about 30 “Come On’s” at the end of Be Free! Someday I  gonna just do a whole blog on Ian’s lyrics….man I love this stuff…..

UNIVERSAL YOU-here’s the snare folks! Ha….enjoy the video posted! What a Soundgardeny sound mixed with a pint  of Sabbath to knock you on your ass! This song friggin cooks… Ian and crew get real greasy and grimey here and it shows and hey how some cool Ianisms lyrically like ” all gods childeren they got ass,they got class!” Ha ha! Even though Ian ditched that cool looking Wolfhat (displayed on the cover of the Electric album) by 94 he still throws down some real good at times oddball lines but man he delivers it with real style and coolness. Put it this way if I walked around saying ‘all Gods childern they got ass,they got class” I would be locked  away for decades!

EMPORER’s NEW HORSE-builds up slow and than takes off like a rocket! Astbury throws down some real classic lines as in ” Being angry is your game,Overdosing is part of the game,So you read all this French Symbolist Poetry,You don’t even get it on the Fucking BBC!” Astbury man what can you say he tells it like it is in other words he’s middle fingering the uppity ups in society! For that I thank you kind sir! This tune drives  forward also for a added feature The chorus is real good as well! Gem I will say!

SAINTS ARE DOWN-lotsa acoustic here folks as The Cult put away the distortion and end the album on a slow kinda sweeping but epic tune! A great finish to a great album!

IN CONCLUSION-  I  appreciate  this album more now in 2015 than when I bought this on 1994. The Cult shift direction and plop down a brilliant piece of work! Bob Rock produced a deadly wall of different textures while Duffy/Astbury continue there streak of not rehashing the same sound album to album. Astbury steps up huge with his vocals and lyrics while Duffy as always is one of the  best King of Riffs(dude should get more respect) Adams and Garrett on the bass and drums as well fill the role as they stay within the confines of the song. Actually it’s to bad as The Cult imploded in 1995 but of course they came back rocking by 2001.( Beyond Good And Evil) Hey whatever happened to the drummer and bass  guy? Poor chaps they join a decent band and than a year later there unemployed….

Regardless friends check this one out…..also for another great writeup check out Mike Ladanos site for a bunch of  well written Cult Reviews including this one and if you dig around hard enough in the comments of The Cult 94 you can read my thoughts on it! All I will say is that I would bump this up one full point from my original rating of it at Mikes Site…..

Some say pushing the musical envelope…I say The Cult take that envelope and torch it!

 

Cinderella/Still Climbing

Cinderella even knows the deal in 1994 as it’s the first album of theres not to feature any pics of them! Let The Music Do The Talking!

The early nineties weren’t kind to Tommy Keifer and crew! 1990s Heartbreak Station didn’t sell as much as the debut (Night Songs) and followup(Long Cold Winter) as well there tour supporting Heartbreak Station had a few issues as well.

Myself,Oinks and Andre had tickets too catch the Cinderella/David Lee Roth co headline tour with Extreme opening in  Alpine Valley in Wisconsin in July of 1991 when the whole tour was scrapped due to lack of tickets being sold! SAY WHAAAAAAA…….

Just like that Cinderalla fell from the musical map. You can’t even blame Cobain/Seattle/ Grunge whatever the music shift change was as Heartbreak Station burned to the ground before that Nevermind business stuff happened.

I read that Tom Keifer was having some serious vocal problems and that the Docs shut him down! Just like that Cinderella was kaput until…

1994 Cinderella put out the insanely excellent Still Climbing record and no one gave a fuck except for the hardcore bunch of fans or would that be handful of fans left! I have no problem saying I was and still am a fan!

Cinderella on all 4 of there studio albums did not duplicate there sound from album to album….

Night Songs..I reviewed it here…https://superdekes.wordpress.com/2015/08/14/sonic-waves-cinderellanight-songs/

Long Cold Winter- they tell there drummer Fred Coury to stay home and The late great Cozy Powell slams the skins on the album which has a bigger more shift in hard blues rock sound and of course some biggie tunes that you know like Gypsy Road and that ballad tune…..ha!

Heartbreak Station-was a fantastic record. The title track is a epic piece of music and shit man it’s a ballad but Keifer spins it so it’s not a I Saw Red debacle that Warrant issued but of course Warrant had more success with there single…silly public! Heartbreak Station has tons of slide guitar,horns, cool percussion and Fred does all the drums!

Which now brings us to …

Still Climbing…Which just drops out of nowhere in November of 94 and I think I may have seen like two adds for Still Climbing one I think in M.E.A.T Magazine and the other in my brothers Guitar World Magazine ..that’s it ..no Vids (I know of and even you tube I’m looking for anything posted so it might just be story time today Folks!)

Tom Keifer,Jeff Labar,Eric Brittingham and hired drum guy Kenny Aranoff(John Cougar) put out what I consider the best ever unknown hard rock record that if your hunting around in shops and come across Still Climbing pick up the damn thing……

BAD ATTITUDE SHUFFLE-scruffy old school phonogram scratchy needle scuzzing across vinyl starts this song off and before it there’s Tommy  and his voice and man it still sounds like Tommy! Bad Attitude Shuffle just flat out rocks after that. Double bass smoking drums and a real hard rock polished produced record(not overdone) just gets your attention from the get go! Labar and Keifers guitar playing are top notch and they never got the credit they deserved as they could play! Bad Attitude Shuffle goes off the rails or should i say Tom does as he hails a bunch of F bombs at the end of the song! Street cred 101 and you will get your ass kicked if you mess with Toms scarf collection!

ALL COMES DOWN-kinda of a Aerosmithy bluesy late 80s vibe complete with horns and this is driving rock! Actually these songs would have fit and in some cases would have improved Aeros Get A Grip album! Yeah kids I said that! Tommy sez  ‘ when the shit hits the fan Ya gotta stick to the fight!” Agreed! Great solo from the Cinderdudes!

TALK IS CHEAP-the crash  of All Comes Down ends with guitar buzzing and Ken on drums and Eric on bass hold,down the bottom end! Another great rock track with a added dose of Aero included in the prechorus! This song crunches hard blues rock with some real nice percussive flair and that’s the thing with Keifer he did it all in this band wrote all the tunes man those other cats were lucky man or they claim to fame would have been “would you like fries with that?!” More great solos! Shit man this album cooks full steam ahead Captian Keifer!

HARD TO FIND THE WORDS- almost a slow Stones kinda of blues ballad with almost a bit of a country rock flair! Tommy sings in a straight ahead rock voice and when the chorus fires up he goes into his patented Kiefer screech! Think the song Heartbreak Station! Lots of slide guitar and the drums keep the song moving! Basically think a mash up of the Stones and Skynryd for this one!

BLOOD FROM A STONE- nice trippy Hammond b3 start and some serious wah pedal kick Blood From A Stone and its a  straight ahead rock track!

STILL CLIMBING- Kenny does some cool snare drum rolls and Keifer and Crew join the fray for the title track! It’s a slow builder of a track and shifts gears the Hammond B3 is a perfect mix with the slide guitar action going on.

FREEWHEELIN- Cinderella does some speed and this is a throwback to the debut! Straight ahead 4 on the floor rock stomper! Nuthin gets in  Tommys way! Double bass drums,loud guitars cymbals crashing yeah CinderRock is fine in 1994! Too bad many didn’t take notice!

THROUGH THE RAIN-think Don’t Know What You Got Til It’s Gone and you have Through The Rain. Piano drives this song. I always respected Keifers deal at writing ballads. Perhaps as he did it out of the gate on Night Songs with Nobody’s Fool and he has a knack for doing it. Sure he’s playing the game but in doing so he didn’t make it so obvious! Thanks Thomas!

EASY COME EASY GO- Tyler and Pery would have killed to have had written this track themselves! I will declare right here folks this is one of my all time fav Cinderella tracks! It’s Big !Bombastic! It Cranks! It Has Class! Ha ok,ok! Seriously though this is a absolute end of the album Gem! It sneaks sleaze and cool all over the place! Big power riffs and a hook so catchy it just grabs you and makes Ya scream for more! Ha! This is a Arena Rock Junkie delight! The song in the verses sounds like a page right out of Aeroville! The chorus when Kiefer belts “Easy Commmmes……Easy Goooooooooes!  The music underneath his voice is the Shit! Snap happy piano honkytonk mixed with hard rock guitars drums and cowbell! I’m tripping on a musical Ecstasy here folks….God this is gonna get ugly!

THE ROADS STILL LONG-think Coming Home from Long Cold Winter. It’s a mid tempo kinda tune! Not bad really and give these guys credit they stuck to there formula even in GrungeMania! That’s saying something!

HOT AND BOTHERED- hey man before Fred Coury bolted he stuck around and recorded this tune which was on the Wayne Worlds soundtrack! Hot And Bothered is a  straight ahead rocker! Listen to the video!

IN CONCLUSION-Cinderella stepped up huge when the chips were down and delivered a straight ahead rock record at a time when no one gave a Crap about 80s rock! Even Nikki Sixx changed the course of The Crue and we all know what happened there! (Motley Corabi great album,no one cared must have been the year 1994!) Scoff all you like but Tommy got his voice back ramped up his songwriting, gave the other guys in Cinderella (Lebar and Brittingham) some employment and by golly I will say this may just be my fav output of  theres……