Top 10 “Used Vinyl” Purchases in 2020.

This may be my last ever “Top 10 Used Vinyl Purchases” as the one place I had bought my used records from (Moon Money Vintage) closed up shop a few weeks before the world went into the tank back in March 2020

I liked buying used vinyl from that place as they were on consignment so they weren’t selling shit records. Sure I may have paid a buck or two more but at least I knew I was getting a decent used record.

When all is said and done I think I was able to build up my collection to well over 350 LPs from that place over a 2-year time period.

There are a few pawn shops in town that sell used vinyl but they just dump the records in a bin and I can’t be bothered rummaging and hoping for the best. Especially in these times.

Maybe things will turn around and someone can open up a cool record shop here in Tbay. In saying that I’m not holding my breath!

Before I forget make sure you watch for Snowmans/ Ladano’s and Mr. Buried On Mars Best of 2020 list’s  that are coming out sometime soon.

Here are their links to their sites. Give them a follow if you haven’t already.

https://mikeladano.com

https://buriedonmars.com

http://2loud2oldmusic.com

So here we go…

#10- Alice Cooper: Constrictor(1986)– Sure the Coop’s “Constrictor” release sounded like it was recorded in a tin can. There is some Cheesy Alice stuff on here (Thrill My Gorilla) but when Alice came back in 86  “Constrictor” was my entry world into the Coop. So this album gets a pass from me. Alice hooked up with Kane Rambo on guitar and they muscled up some decent stuff too (Your The Life And Death of The Party, The World Needs Guts).

#9- Boston: Third Stage(1986)– Tom Scholz back in 86  confused me that he led off “Third Stage” with “Amanda” (power ballad) but as an old man now in 2020 I get why he did that.  Doing things differently was Tom’s motto so it kinda works.  I mean Tom back then was battling his record company in lawsuits and whatnot as well as battling ex-members of Boston at the time. “Third Stage,” I think out of the first three Boston albums is the third-best record in the Boston catalog. Give it up for the late great Brad Delp whose vocals soar all over the sonic highway on “Third Stage”

#8-The Georgia Satellites: The Georgia Satellites(1986)- Who doesn’t love a good barroom stomping good time record. Dan Baird and the Sataliites cook up 8 originals,2 cover tunes, and this album blasts off from the get-go! Sure everyone knows these guys for the one big hit(Keep Your Hands To Yourself) but ask Tbone about the other tracks on here like “Red Light”! You cannot go wrong with this one!

#7-RUSH: Hold Your Fire(1987)- Can’t believe it has almost been a year since Neil passed on. Finding used RUSH records is a rarity in this town so when I have seen them I would pounce into action. Hold Your Fire is one I grabbed for a good price($10) and added to the collection. Geddy/Neil and Alex wrote some killer stuff on here (“Prime Mover,” “Time Stand Still”, “Lock And Key”). Nice addition to my collection.

#6-KISS: Asylum(1985)- I have been trying to finish up the KISS collection on vinyl and I grabbed this one from Discogs. “Asylum” is a good album once you get by the band wardrobe malfunction that Gene and Paul were into at the time. The songs though speak for themselves as “King of the Mountain”, “Love’s A Deadly Weapon”, “Tears Are Falling” are good tracks. There is always the matter of “Uh All Night”. lol But yeah it’s a decent spin.

#5-Dokken: Beast From The East(1988)– We all know this story. Dokken put out 4 solid studio records, opened up for every rock act at the time, and when this Double Live album came out the wheels came off of Dokken as Don split and the other guys sued as they were about to make that move to the arena headliner.  Still, though the tunes on here are brilliant and George Lynch is the man on here!

#4-Ozzy Osbourne: Bark At The Moon(1983)– On any given day this may be my favorite Osbourne record. Jake E Lee shows up and lays down the gauntlet on guitar. For all his hard work on this album, the Osbournes don’t credit Jake with any co-writes on “Bark At The Moon”. Highway Robbery 101 if you ask me. Did Ozzy write that opening riff to “Rock N Roll Rebel” or the title track? C’mon man no way that happened when Ozz was snorting ants and licking up piss back then. Cheers to Jake as his contribution is huge on this album!

#3-AC/DC: Let There Be Rock(1977)– Earlier this year I came across a fella who was selling 8 AC/DC albums for $80. I already had 4 of the 8 so I asked the seller if he wanted to just sell the 4 that I wanted.  He preferred to sell the whole lot.  So I figured what the hell I’ll buy all 8 and the 4 I already had I would pass onto Tbone which I did. “Let There Be Rock” was one that I did not have on record. Now I do and I’m all the better for it. Angus and  Bon crank everything up to 10 and well…just get a copy for yourself and while we are at it…” Let There Be Rock”.

#2-Deep Purple: Perfect Strangers(1984)– I have always held in high praise this reunion album of Deep Purple. “Perfect Strangers” was my entry point into Deep Purple. This album is an all-time great as Ian Gillain sings for his supper as Richie Blackmore being all moody and shit slays everything in site with his strat. Not one dud track on this album and yeah still to this day my all-time fav DP record!

Now my Used favorite score in 2020 goes to …

#1- Kim Mitchell: Kim Mitchell(1982)- Kim ditches Max Webster dials in his strat and cranks his Marshall to 11 and plays on what I consider some of the best electric guitar recorded to tape. Ask Ladano and he will tell you this is the Best EP ever and I tend to believe him as there are no drop-offs or let down on these 5 songs. Kim basically recorded this as a power trio and it shows. I was beyond giddy when I scooped this for $5 Canadian. If any of you readers out there want a crash course in rock guitar dial this one in on your streaming choice and crank it! You can thank me and Mikey!

There ya have it, folks. Three Top 10 lists in 2020! Thanks for reading and commenting throughout the year!

Merry Xmas and Happy New Year!

 

 

 

Thunder Bay Arena Rocks Top 10 Studio Albums 2020

Thank goodness for music. Here’s what I thought was cool in the year 2020. If anything check out some of my picks as you may find some stuff here that will make you wanna crank it to 11!

Here are my Top 10 Studio Albums/Songs for the year 2020!

Here We Go…

#10-Tbone: Lebrain Train– So my pal Tbone bored out of his noggin at “Castle Del Erickson” one night decided to monkey around with all the gadgets on his iPhone (Garageband) and recorded a theme song for Ladano’s Stream. Safe to say he has managed to do in 2 minutes that bands like “Poison” and “Warrant” have not been able to muster up since 1990 and that’s writing a catchy tune! Click the video above and by the way my favorite part of the video comes in at one minute and thirty-five-second mark.

#9-Trapper: Bye Bye Mon Cowboy/Illegal/Winterlong– Guitarist Sean Kelly continues to show his work ethic as not only does Sean play the 6 string in acts like Coney Hatch, Rough Trade but along with vocalist Emn Gryner and their band Trapper released a mini EP featuring a couple of French cover tunes (Illegal/Bye Bye Mon Cowboy) Not only that but Trapper a few weeks back also released an original tune called “Winterlong” that leaves us wanting a full on-length release of originals! Bring it on Sean!

#8-Ozzy Osbourne: Ordinary Man– People bitch and moan about Ozzy using autotune and doing this and that but want do you want. No Ozzy records? People would complain about that. In saying that “Ordinary Man” is a decent spin. Some rockers, some ballads, and other than the last two songs which are not my deal it’s a good album. Kudos to Andrew Watts for co-writing and playing some good guitar.

#7-Kim Mitchell: The Big Fantasize– Kim well into his 60s has released a cool summertime chill-out record called “The Big Fantasize”. If you’re looking for “Lagar And Ale” type Kim rock keep on walking but if your willing to listen to a dude who has earned his right to do the rock he wants to do you may like what Akimbo is doing here!

#6-Whitesnake: The Rock Album- I’m not big on compilation albums but this one intrigued me as 10 of the 16 tracks featured I had never heard. So for that David Coverdale makes my list and it always helps when an album opens with John Sykes and his musical guitar muscle of “Still of the Night.” Plus the fact that there are zippo ballads on “The Rock Album” also helps the cause!

#5-Big Sugar: Eternity Now– Gordie Johnson released the long-awaited “Eternity Now” which went straight in at Number 1 on the iTunes sales charts. No mean feat as Big Sugar lays down the law on epic guitar tracks like “The Better It Gets” and Alex Lifeson makes an appearance on the title track. Gordie is one fine guitarist!

#4-Harem Scarem: Change The World– Pete and Harry do what they do best and that is delivering huge hard rock slabs of pure melodic metal. “Change The World” came out right before the world took a dump yet these guys stepped up with a batch of hard rock delight.  “The Death of Me“ is hands down one of my fav rock tracks of the year. Give this one a spin or a stream and tell Harry and Pete that dEke’s sent ya!

#3-Vandenberg:2020- Holy moly, Adrian Vandenberg enlists a great vocalist in Ronnie Romero, and between the two of them easily have made the list here as Vandenberg has rocked up a batch of great tracks. “Freight Train” is a bonafide winner and Adrian lays down the law on his guitar throughout the 2020 album. I’m glad he has rebooted Vandenberg. 

#2-AC/DC: Power Up– The world needed an AC/DC album and boy did they deliver. I can honestly say I can listen to “Power Up” front to back without skipping tracks. Angus was smart to bring the old crew back and they blasted out an album of what they do best. Power this album Up!

#1-Storm Force: Age of Fear- Patrick, Dennis, Mike, and Greg known as Storm Force put out the magnificent “Age of Fear” this past January, and then the world hit the skids. “Age of Fear” is my Number 1 for the year 2020 as this release is chock full of superb musicianship, soaring vocals, and crafty lyrics along with very solid production(Darius Szczepaniak). A top-notch release that covers all the bases of the Hard Rock spectrum.  If you goggle around on the web all the reviews have been stellar for this band so it’s not just me spouting off.  Check out “Age of Fear”  an appropriately named release if there ever was one in the year 2020!

Check Back Friday for my Top 10 Live Albums of 2020!

 

Ozzy Osbourne: The Ultimate Sin (1986)

 

So album Number 2 with Jake E Lee finds Ozzy Osbourne experimenting with some hair dye in his look and a somewhat new sound courtesy of Ron Nevison. Nevison you know produced the mega Heart album in 1985 and would later produce KISS Crazy Nights record so Ronny had the midas touch going back than in the mid 80’s so Ozzy or someone in his camp figured let’s hitch a ride and see where it goes…

The Ultimate Sin is what came of the collaboration between Nevison and Osbourne. Jake E Lee who had zero writing credits on 1983’s Bark At The Moon album which we all know is bullshit!  Ozzy credits himself as the sole writer on BATM. Ummm right! Your telling me Ozzy came up with that iconic opening riff in the song Bark At The Moon?

BAHAHAHAHA…..

Don’t worry Jake we know the deal! So along with Bob Daisley/Jake and Ozzy wrote Eight pretty decent tracks (Shot In The Dark was written between Ozzy and bassist Phil Sousann) for The Ultimate Sin. More of the polish rock sound of the times. Almost in some parts Ozzy-Heart like due to the production. But the songs cut through for the most part. The drums are handled on this album by the late Randy Castillo.

The opening track which is the title track is a great Ozzy opener as the Ultimate Sin starts off with a stomp of the drums and Jake just like he did on the Bark album steps and delivers as well. Tracks like Secret Loser/Shot In The Dark/Never Know Why/ Thank God For The Bomb/Never are your typical Ozz Rock Tracks. Ozzy knows that his bread needs to be buttered so he isn’t going to deviate to far from the Cash Cow!

I will say that Killer of Giants is a great track. Starts off real slow and does a slick buildup by the chorus. I have always been a sucker for this kinda rock move.

Still a decent listen even today! Though the albums production sounds little too mechanical Heart Like in spots but the main thing is the songs are there.

Black Sabbath/Live Evil(1982)

Gotta love Crazy ex’s!

April 1979 and  Ozzy get’s the boot from Black Sabbath and Sabbath went and hired Ronnie James Dio as the Ozzman’s replacement!

In this corner you have Ozzy Osbourne(ex Black Sabbath singer) and in the far corner you have Black Sabbath (with than current vocalist) Ronnie James Dio. 

April of 1980 Sabbath release the Dio fronted Heaven and Hell album. Ozzy counters in Sept of 1980 with the release his debut album Blizzard of Ozz. 

November 4th 1981 Sabbath releases the Mob Rules album while just 3 short days later(Nov 7th 1981)  Ozzy rolls out his second solo album Diary of A Madman.

December 1982 Ozzy puts out the double live Speak of The Devil album which features all Sabbath tracks.(Ozzy to his credit said the record company wanted a double live album of late guitar hero Randy Rhoads  but Ozzy quashed it saying there was going to be no cash grab as Randy had died just six months earlier in March of 1982)

Also in December of 1982 Sabbath put out their own double live album titled Live Evil. (Great cover as well)

Haha..these guys(Ozzy and Sabbath) took pissy pants to whole other level as one was trying to outdo the other with releasing albums the same month and even days apart. Silly Old  Farts!

Anyways Dio and Sabbath put out a pretty good document of the Mob Rules tour with Live Evil but during the mixing of this album both Dio and drummer Vinnie Appice exited Sabbath and in the band it was two Americans (Dio and Appice) vs two Brits(Iommi and Butler).  A Black Sabbath Royal Rumble with accusations and turmoil in regards to stuff being tweaked in the studio when the two other guys weren’t around. On Live Evil  Ronnie James Dio is listed as just Ronnie Dio and  Vinny while he was credited as a full-time member on the studio Mob Rules album but come  on Live Evil Vinny falls under the Special Thanks category.

Well it’s safe to safe to say Geezer and Tony wanted to stir things up now …

Having said that…

Live Evil though is a great listen even in 2017 and to be honest I enjoyed this album more now in 2017 than in 1982 (Thanks Aaron). 14 tracks all together. 8 of the track are from the fronted Dio albums and I can tell you all that the songs Neon Knights/Mob Rules/Childern of The Sea /Voodoo/Sign of The Southern  Cross are all played brilliantly.

Ronnie does justice on the Ozzy tracks and I admit back in 1982/83 it took a while to wrap my noggin on how Ronnie sang songs like Black Sabbath/NIB/War Pigs/Iron Man but he pulls it off on his own terms.

Amazing how in the span of just under 2 short years(1980-82) Dio/Appice’s tenure in Sabbath would be done with two studio and one live album under their belts….

Of course Dio/Appice return to Sabbath in 1992 with the Dehumanizer album but by late 1992 Dio/Appice are out again.

Until…

2006 when Dio/Appice hooked up once again with Butler/Iommi (this time calling themselves Heaven and Hell instead of Black Sabbath)until Ronnie’s untimely passing in 2010….

 

Todd & dEKe’S Boneyard…

So a few weeks back along with my Brother Todd we headed down to the States to catch Iron Maiden!

To get to Minneapolis from Tbay is approx 6 hours by vehicle. When Mr 1537 (who lives in England) asked me how far of a drive it was and I answered 6 hours(no biggie I said) Mr 1537 laughed( at the no biggie comment) as he said he could drive across his little island in that time.

Our Listening music on the way down to see Maiden was well….Maiden!

Book of Souls/Live Envivo/Live After Death were all played on the drive down! Basically 3 full double albums were played to reach our destination!

On the drive back home to Thunder Bay the next morning  it was time for Sirius Satellite Radio. After Todd got his morning fix of the NFL station. After a few minutes he dialled up Ozzy’s Boneyard which had a Fathers Day Special in which the Host played Rock Tracks by Rocker Dads like Ozzy/Tommy Lee/ Dave Mustaine/Bruce Dickinson/Gene Simmons. Basically the Host would talk about the Rock Dad’s and then play a tune by them.

When Megadeth was played Todd mentioned how Deth’s Rust In Peace impacted him as a 13-year-old learning guitar  back in 1990. I replied with how it was with Countdown To Extinction that I really gravitated more to. Todd said maybe it was time for me to have  a revisit with Rust In Peace.

I laughed when the Host (can’t remember her name) talked about AC/DC’s Brian Johnson being a father so up next was an AC/DC track and they played Shot Down In Flames. 

Umm Ding Dong, Brian Johnson was not in AC/DC at this time as the singer! The late great Bon Scott sang Shot Down In Flames! Yeah I’m being picky but c’mon man do your homework!

After a while Todd put on Hair Nation and here’s Ratt (Lovin You’s A Dirty Job) Def Leppard(Photograph) Skid Row (I Remember You/Gah!) But it was two tracks well maybe three tracks that brought out some chatter between us.

Conversation went like this….

Motley Crue/Jailhouse Rock(Live)

Deke- “Man! I can’t believe how much of a dumb ass I was back in 1987!”

Todd- (laughs)-” Why?”

Deke-” I actually liked this back than. But let’s just cut another studio track, Slap a live audience on it and drag this end of the album tune out by 5 minutes….! Fuckin Sixx!”

Dokken/Breaking The Chains(song)

Todd-” George Lynch was a real great guitar player back than” What are they doing now? Lynch Mob?”

Deke- “Yeah that and a bunch of guitar clinics and a Dokken reunion last year where Don looked and sounded shot!”

Todd-” No Way!!?”

Deke-” One of the few bands that did not stick out a dud album in the 80’s but man George looked like a friggin banana on that Tooth and Nail Tour when half his hair was blonde and the other half was black!”

Poison/Look What The Cat Dragged In…

Exactly at the 48 second mark of the song Look What The Cat Dragged In, Lead Singer Bret Micheal’s finishes the chorus where he sings the line  “Look What The Cat Dragged IN…RRRRRRRAAAR!

Deke and Todd- HAHAHAHAHAHA(For about 15 seconds after) as Micheals sings the second verse were still mocking the RRRRRRRRRAAAR part like a couple of teenage boys yet here is my bro who just turned 40 and myself who will be hitting 50 and  30 years after this albums release I finally hear the RRRRRRRRAAAR part? That is even funnier….Must have been Poisoned listening to this album back than. Yeah That’s it….

Here’s the video posted so you can hear it for yourself…

Todd likes to try and  stump me and he did on this next one. I should have waited til the chorus but I wanted to look cool and look like a Banger know it all but instead I was tagged out at the plate. The song you ask? Black N Blue/Miss Mystery.  Of course which leads to me explaining how Bruce Fairbairn got the Jovi Producers hat after hearing this Black N Blue album. Basically I was trying to save face which leads too…

Bon Jovi/In And Out Of Love

Deke-” Wish Jon would play this tune now especially when he sings the  “Bring your Girlfriend/Bring your Mom line” hahaha

Another track came on after the Jovi and this lead singer just wailed with a screech so bad, so annoying that Todd was trying to set me up with another strike out or stump the Deke as if you were…but I wasn’t biting…

Todd-” Hahahaha…this is brutal who are these guys?”

Deke-“Have no idea? This guy sounds like Tom Keifer all snapped up and inhaling helium….”

The band- Britny Fox. The song-Long Way To Love.

I did tell Todd that these guys went Gold on this album back in 1989. Than again everything went Gold back than as Record Companies were signing anything Hair Metal like good or bad and in this case Bad!

There ya have it ….It was a great way to kill some time and have a few laughs…..

 

Black Sabbath/The End -Tour Edition (2016)

When Sabbath announced  The End Tour it’s going to be The End for Sabbath. One of the coolest ideas that became a reality was the fact that Sabbath was gonna release a 8 song EP to coincide with the tour and it was going to be sold only  at the shows in physical copy! That means no ITunes for me! Not available in the stores or anywhere only at the shows! That’s it!

The End Tour began in Omaha Nebraska and the posts on FaceCrack by people attending the show wasn’t about the show itself but the fact that there was no CD copies of The End for sale! Who cares that Ozzy and company just blazed your sleepy city with 100 minutes of pulsating Doom but more like “Where’s The Discs?” Hahahaha….

Now you could say I’m being brutal here but hey folks I flew out to Vancouver from Thunder Bay(3,025 Km or 1,880 Miles)  to see this show and it got postponed (Ozzy pulled the chute due to Sinusitis or whatever)  so not only did I not get the CD I got zip! Hahaha..still had a great time in VanCity you all know that but yeah I would have traded the CDs in for a Sabbath show that night! Be careful what you wish for!

After the Omaha show Chicago was the second date on The End Tour and there were CD’s for sale going for $30 U.S a pop at the show. One guy being the entrepreneur bought some copies took pics of them at the show and dumped them on eBay and they sold quick. Something like over $200 U.S a copy! Holy Crap!

Aaron at the KMA has very graciously shared this EP with me and for one thing there calling it a EP that clocks in at almost 50 minutes for 8 songs! Man,that’s like two full length  old school Roth  Halen albums combined!

So the album  titled simply THE END-Tour Edition is split into 4 Studio Songs(songs written around the mighty 13 album sessions) and 4 Live Songs(1 recorded in Australia,1 recorded in New Zealand and 2 Songs from fellow blogger ‘Bop’s’ backyard of Hamilton Ontario from 2013)

Cast Of Characters-Ozzy Osbourne,Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler

Must mention that the 4 studio tracks the drummer that appears on them is Brad Wilk!

Tommy Clufetos does the drumming on the 4 Live tracks!

The first studio track SEASON OF THE DEAD begins with that slow Sab crawl off timing a Tinge Of Doom added to start the proceedings. Ozzy starts and its Ozzy folks no one sounds like this guy. Say what you want about his singing but when you hear him you know its him! His voice is tailor-made for this vibe and Season Of The Dead is a 8 minute stomp! Super Duper cool drumming by Wilk as well as Geezers bass tone is dope sick good! Tony as always thunders his riffs through his Laney cabinets and Rick Rubin (producer) makes it sound ohhhh soooo good!

Followed by CRY ALL NIGHT which stomps out of the gate and picks up steam as Iommi punches the gas on a wah pedal and Cry All Night is a straight ahead Sab punch to the throat rocker! Real glad that Ozzy and company have made this music available! Well kinda…

TAKE ME HOME starts off with a loud thud times 4 as bass/drums and guitars are locked tightly together. Ozzy sings a great tune and Geezer’s Bass is jacked as the bottom end rumblings of the mans Bass is friggin huge! Take Me Home is a well written song and kudos to these guys especially as Iommi tosses down a classical guitar like solo with Geezer and Brad Wilk keep the proceedings moving along nice thank you very much!

Rounding off the studio tracks is ISOLATED MAN. Brad Wilk man! What can you say about this guys drumming? This track especially when Tony goes into his solo and Geezer and Wilk are left to their own devices and its such a great groove they lay under Iommi! Geezers bass just rumbles underneath Wilks rolls and cymbal smashing. Ozzy with his double tracked voice one sounding sinister.one sounding like Ozzy(ha) is great for this track! great fuggin song! That rhythm jam out between Iommi/Butler/Wilk is Sonic Gold!

Kinda weird that these might be the last 4 Sabbath Studio Tracks Ever! I would say yeah they probably are due to the fact with 13 going Number 1 in many countries how could they top that after 45 years? Exactly you can’t…

If this is indeed The End what a ripping good way to end your studio career! Bravo Sabbath!

Now onto the Live Goodies….

GOD IS DEAD recorded live in Sydney Australia in 2013 just starts and chills out the crowd sleepy satanic like power that puts the listener into the Sab abyss and you are not getting out! God Is Dead is a rocker and for the first 5 minutes its just that Sab Sludge which we all love until Ozz hollers Jump and BOOM the Sabbs kick into overdrive with Tommy smashing  cymbals,Geezer running his fingers all over the bass and Tony flinging lightening bolts of riffs and boom Ozzy’ s back to telling us all that God Is Dead!

How about an old school 70s throwback to UNDER THE SUN From Auckland New Zealand. Under The Sun is a great song and its out of the classic  Sab catalogue! By that I  mean it starts off one way-Chill and ramps up and I gotta say what a great Fackin drummer Clufetos is! He takes this song and drives it forward man. Who cares if he’s playing Bill Wards parts. Tommy though is like the engine room of Sabbath and you think Geezer and Tony would stand for a sub par drummer? Mmmmm not happening! Added bonus is the real cool guitar feed backing live..I love that shit. Under The Sun is one of those great songs has many tempo changes and some awesome playing and even Ozz lays down a real good  vocal live. Seriously! Kinda make you want to stomp around kinda like doing a Doom Like Jig!

I gotta say this version of END OF BEGINNING from Hamilton Ontario is a complete monster of a performance! It’s Sabbath heavy with a sonic assault to the head. So it starts with a creepy vibe but as the song chugs along it picks up and shifts into that Doom Gear and man when Ozzy hollers ‘Jump’ and the boys behind  him launch into that Sabbath rocket this song just goes into another stratosphere. Iommi plays a blistering solo here and I love how he shifts to a melodic tone as Oz sings the ‘its alright,its ok’ line. What a friggin great tune! Posted the actual you tube video of this song recorded that night in Hamilton that is on the cd and I tell you what they did not doctor this bad boy up in the studio.Kudos to the person that filmed this as he focuses on Ozzy when he’s singing,Bulter riffing like a lunatic on his bass,Iommi during his solos and Tommy mashing about on his drums! Well done!

 So the last track live is once again from Hamilton and there’s Ozzy thanking  the crowd for “putting 13 at #1 in Canada!” Ozzy starts chirping “Cuckoo” a few times to the  crowd before the Sabs launch into Age Of Reason. With all Sabbath songs a certain per cent has to have a bunch of doom,plodding riffs. Tommy starts the song off and Geezer and Tony on cue sludge it forward even at the centre of the song it has the big epic keys like synth pushing and adding atmosphere to the party. Love how the song ramps up and chills the Frigg  back down! These guys are Masters Of Reality. Ozzy telling the crowd he loves them and Iommi just solos into his own Blizzard Of Sabbathness! Pure Genius!

This album is a worthwhile score if you come across it at one of there shows!

 

 

Ozzy Osbourne/Bark At The Moon(1983)

There was a ton of hype for this record in 1983 and if  your any kind of hard rock follower you know why. Just a year earlier Randy Rhoads (RIP) who  joined Ozzy when Ozzy was tanking professionally and personally (late 1970s) basically rescued the Ozz and wrote the all the guitar riffs to Ozzy’s first two solo albums(Blizzard Of Ozz and Diary Of A Madman) before a joyride plane ride ended Rhoads life!

Ozzy though carried on. Hired Brad Gillis and they released Speak Of The Devil(all Sabbath tracks) but as 1982 rolled into 1983 Gillis departed and went back to my good friend Tbones guilty pleasure and that would be NightRanger!

Enter Jake E Lee! This was big news as who was this new hot-shot LA guitar slinger playing with Ozz? Guitar World was the first place I read about Jake and even for that matter seen a picture of him. I guess he played in early incarnations of Rough Cutt and Ratt and then slinked around until he got the Ozzy gig!

So in December of 1983 out comes Bark At The Moon and what’s interesting is in the credits Ozzy it says wrote all the songs! No one else was involved! Ummm yeah right! Word on the street was that Sharon (Ozzy wife and manager) made Jake sign a contract relinquishing all co writes and if he refused to sign they would fire him and hire another guitar player. What else could you do if this was indeed the truth. You finally land a once in a lifetime gig and you got Sharon strong arming and threatening you. So of course you sign it.

Theres some real slick guitar riffing on this album so I tend to believe that Jake was forced at will…

Ozzman,Jake,Don Airey,Tommy Aldridge and Bob Daisley crank out what I think is a pretty damn decent piece of Rock!

Thanks to Aaron from the KMA for getting me a copy of this album! Cheers Pal!

BARK AT THE MOON- Jake solos right out of the gate and lets us all know that everything is well in Camp Ozzy! What a corker of a opener. Jake burns his fretboard with a real ripping riff and by golly it got my attention real quick! Ozzy nails down a great vocal and the chorus with its bass line drives the song real smooth down Osbourne Avenue! Tommy Aldridge (the only fella left from Ozzys band a year earlier) slams the drums and Jake plays a fantastic solo and for a band that lost a superstar guitarist the year before its amazing that Ozz and the boys could muster up pure brilliance right out of the gate!

YOU’RE NO DIFFERENT-Kinda Ballad like…Kinda not! Keys play a big role on this album but don’t fret kids Jake and his six string is still cranked up.

NOW YOU SEE IT NOW YOU DON’T-My favourite track from this album! It reeks Cool! The opening riff along with Tommy’s drums are locked n loaded and I just dig the sloshy grind between guitar and drum! “Overbearing Woman. Making It So Hard For Me!” is the opening line.  I read on Wiki that Bob Daisley wrote these uncredited lyrics and they were directed straight at Sharon which is pretty surprising to say the least! Who know’s only the ones involved would. This song though is great especially when they head into the second verse and you can hear Don Aireys little 80s Synth blasts at the end of each line. Even after the solo they rip right back into the verse for another dose of the Overbearing Woman! Crank the video when your eating your Cheerios!

ROCK N ROLL REBEL-Power chords from Jake lead of this track and its a full-bore Jake E Guitar workout! Ozzy lets us all know he’s a Rock N Roll Rebel and people say he worships the devil but I say hogwash! This is Jake’s tour de force man! He slays the strings,bends,dives,riffs and proves without a doubt he belongs!

CENTRE OF ENTERNITY-Don Airey opens side 2 with big swooping organ like synth blasting intro and Ozzy and Peeps follow suit with Jake and Tommy barrelling down the highway at a 110 mph with the guitars and drums tearing along at super speed! This is a great track with Ozzy and Jake trading off between vocal and some serious guitsr rifffage!

SO TIRED-This song confused the hell out of me back in 1983-84. I was like “WHUT!” So Tired Is kinda a bizarre track that sticks out like a sore  thumb. Call it a power ballad? Nope. Call it what? A song that is just a musical shift its like Ozzy was trying to cross over into a different territory musically speaking and fair enough. For my money though a song like “Tonight” from Diary Of A Madman is much better suited to Ozzy’s voice and with a bit of kick than So Tired. I’m sure people out there like this tune and yeah I can listen to it surprisingly enough now in 2016. Back in 1984 it was give me loud guitar instead please!

SLOW DOWN-Jake and Tommy lead the charge and this song kicks the tar out of So Tired and The Ozzman is back. Just a simple good Ol fashioned Ozz tune. “Slow Down Your Moving Way Too Fast!” Just a Simple Simon straight ahead rock track! Ozzy and the synths reign during the chorus but having said that at least they don’t water down the guitar in the mix of the album!

WAITING FOR DARKNESS- End of the album production. Don Airey and his keys full throttle and propel this song. Prince Of Darkness meets Waiting For Darkness! This song is a decent ending to the album in general. This song is one that no one ever talks about it as its buried at the end of the album. Call this one Ozzy Proggy!

FINAL YAMMER- Jake E shows up and makes us listen with our ears to let us know there’s a new guitar sheriff in Ozzville! No one forgets or forgot about Rhoads but hand it to Jake he set the pace with the opening title track and lays down the law! That was the way to do it man! Show up do your job and people will notice and we did!

Too bad if it is the case he got uncredited for the tunes here and Ozz takes all the credit. Still what a great debut for Jake and a pretty decent album overall  for Ozzy!

Black Sabbath/Never Say Die(1978)

Well folks this brings to an end my Sabbath January Sabbath Posts! I hope you all enjoyed reading it much as I had blogging about these albums! They are fantastic pieces of work. Now there’s been a method to my madness for doing the 6 Ozzy only Sabbath albums. My good friend Metal Todd has very generously bought me a ticket (and a place to stay)to see Black Sabbath/Rival Sons February 3rd/2016  in Vancouver British  Columbia! Holy Frigg,Yeah I’m Going! (full show review will be blogged about) I’m stoked. So myself,Metal Todd,his wife Nicole and another friend of Metal Todd’s named Naisan are going!

It’s gonna be F*^kin Killer!

Thanks a million times over Metal Todd and Nic!

I’ve been real lucky over the years to see some real stellar all time great guitar players live such as  Joe Perry,Brad Whitford, Alex Lifeson,Eddie Van Halen,Ace Frehley,David Gilmour,Keith Richards,Ronnie Wood,Adrian Smith,Dave Murray,Janick Gers,Slash And Izzy,Kirk Hammett,James Hetfield and now Tony Iommi! Man,just to hear the King Of Doom riffs ply his craft live is gonna be a real mindblower for sure!

So what better way than to prep myself sonically for the show than to review these Ozzy albums! The 13 album that Sabbath released a few years back was I thought very good and I will review it at some point but I just wanted to focus on the 1970s version of studio Sabbath output for now.

Up to this point I had never done a full-out one month series of a certain band and it ended up being a good listening experience!

You gotta hand it to guys like Mike Ladano that will post fantastic written blogs exclusively on one band and do about 15 reviews in a row. I got to 6… haha….

Speaking of Mike check out his fantastic site and read his DVD review of the Never Say Die Tour! It’s a sneak attack Friday Special. Click here Folks…..

http://mikeladano.com

I also must mention that Aaron from The KMA listened to all the Motley Crue studio albums (7 or 8 at least maybe more) in a week! After that listening expeirience Aaron said one of the greatest one liners every stated about listening to all that Crue in a 7 day span! The quote was “I Feel Dirty And I Need To Take A Shower!”

Hahaha…

Ok enough babble……

Never Say Die is Ozzy’s swan song from 1970s Sabbath. By 1978 the wheels were coming off big time! There was a ton of issues big time with Ozzy who actually quit before the recording of Never Say Die and was replaced by some fella named Dave Walker but Ozzy returned to rejoin and record with the band. On the Never Say Die tour it was common to hear that openers Van Halen were giving Sabbath more than a  run for they’re  money shortly  after the tour Ozzy quit yet again. So I guess when it rains it pours …..

Technical Ecstasy (1976)was recorded in Miami(party,drugs,cartel and hookers are the first thing that come to my mind) whereas Never Say Die was recorded in Toronto in January of 1978(cold,colder,coldest and the Toronto Maple Laughs(Leafs) are the first things that come to my mind).

Does Sabbath have enough gas in the tank to punch out another album of greats? Mmmmmm let’s see….

NEVER SAY DIE-Sabbath nail Gold right off the bat! Listen to the video of this song that I posted as Bill Ward plays his role of Satan Jazz Drummer playing Heavy Metal! Holy Frigg the drums on this track are so good they shuffle at a clip and Its amazing. That’s just the drums folks! The rest of the lads Tony and Geezer lay it down with a real good mix of bass and guitar! Ozzy and his vocals are mixed perfectly here. Gone is the sterile studio sound of Technical Ecstasy replaced by a good studio sound. I have no idea why people bash this album but let’s continue on shall we?!

JOHNNY BLADE-a creepy Mr Crowley like keyboard opens Johnny Blade and before long Uncle Tony and his guitar ramble out of the gate. This is a pretty cool tune. Ozzy howls down during the chorus “Jooooohnny Blaaaaaade!” Bill and Geezer are locked n loaded and along for the ride!

JUNIOR’S EYES-I may need to be corrected here but I tend to think that this is the only Sabbath song ever just to have Geezer and Bill starting the tune off and keeping the bass and drums going right through the whole song in a mid tempo kind of  fashion as it’s Sabbath jamming and it’s a pretty decent song as well. Tony even cranks out some psychedelic like riffs.

SHOCK WAVE-Wow I just love this tune! It’s Happy Sabbath or would that be High Sabbath! Regardless this song has a real good verse and even a better chorus driven by Geezer’s bass and Ozzy’s lead vocal. Even Tony lays off the doom gas pedal and drives the song with a clean guitar tone.

HARD ROAD-This song a revved up Sabbath rocker. It trucks along  at a decent clip. Pretty cool song actually not sounding like Sabbath. Iommi plays a mean clean guitar while Geezer drives the bass along with Bill on the drums.

AIR DANCE-Freaky Sabby! Ozzy outs in space and this is one of those tracks that as a listener your thinking to yourself “WHUT?”.

OVER TO YOU- Kinda a different tune. Iommi though as like many a Sab tune starts it off and it’s a different kind of Sabbath. Different tempo changes as Bill does his jazz drum fills along with Geezer and Tony joining along for the ride. This tune at first I was like ???? Now I would rank it !!!! It’s a  grower for sure,give it a few spins kids!

BREAK OUT-Now where would we be without a Sabbath musical only song? Right! Ozzy gets the day off in Toronto and Geezer,Bill and Tony play what could almost be considered a Sabbath Stripper like tune! There’s horns and an off beat like stomp. Not a bad tune if you’re heading to a seedy late night hours bar!

SWINGING THE CHAIN-Bill Ward does the lead vocals here. I guess the deal with this  song was that Dave Walker who had replaced Ozzy for a little bit worked on this song with Geezer,Bill and Tony. When Ozzy came back to Sabbath to record he refused to sing this song as another  singer had worked on it! Ha! Goes to show you that Sabbath was just  writing enough material for their  albums and no more! I guess the album tour album tour etc cycle can catch up to Ya and in this case it does as there are no extra songs lying around. This tune is a mash-up of sounds even a distorted harmonica is heard(The Wizard? Ha!) I dunno I think the Sabbath gas tank is pretty much empty by this tune. It’s like “let’s get this over with and hit the pub!”

For the most part I really like Never Say Die.(5 – 6 Tunes I dig) To me in the Ozzy Sabbath catalogue it’s like what Done With Mirrors by Aerosmith is to Aero. Two albums by these two powerhouse acts and they don’t want to know about them!

For myself. I dig em tons and if you have been reading my Yammers (blogs as most people call them) than you know my utter dig fest for Done With Mirrors. I reviewed it and it’s floating around the site …Never Say Die is another one of those albums that if you give it some time will grow on Ya! Trust me!

FINAL YAMMER- For everyone that read,commented and just flat-out took the time to check out my Ozzy Sabbath Series thanks tons! What a real cool part of Metal History and I was glad to go along for the ride with Sabbath!

My first Ozzy related owned Ozzy Sabbath was Ozzy’s Classic Speak Of The Devil which you can click here and read about how it affected me as a young snot nosed kid…https://superdekes.wordpress.com/2014/10/06/sonic-waves-ozzy-osbournespeak-of-the-devil/

It’s amazing how many people love the first 4 albums and as  Mikey Ladano commented perhaps the essential first 6 many people would attest too being the Ultimate Sabbath.

I do have to say that Technical Ecstasy and Never Say Die were the two albums that surprised me the most. Now,I’m not a huge Sabbath expert like many others out there but Never Say Die kinda knocked my socks off especially the first 5 songs as like I said earlier is parallel to Aero’s Done With Mirrors. Kinda funny that to me both those albums songs tail off towards the end and that would be due to the bands being Hammered amongst other devices floating around at the time!

Still though there are points of genius amongst the songs like the tune’s  Never Say Die and Shock Wave and that’s due to the drive of Bill Wards drums. The cat just blew my mind with his drumming,percussion playing and singing the odd tune as well. Too bad currently him and Sabbath are on the outs with each other.

Geezer Butler and that fuzzed out NIB tone as  the dude set the bar for total bass jamming and riffing and let’s not forget that it was most likely Geezer who had a huge hand in the lyric writing as well.

Ozzy is Ozzy man! But you can hear how his voice had developed from album to album and got stronger as Sabbath went on in there recorded history.

Tony Iommi is the Sniper with guitar riffs of doom! The guy is legend and kudos to him as I have no idea how many various incarnations of Sabbath he had kept going through the 80s (Hello David Donato!) Tony plowed through and through and now were At The End as Sabbath are calling it a day and I hope they stick too  it being The End!

 

 

Black Sabbath/Technical Ecstasy (1976)

Interesting turn of events at Camp Sabbath as when Technical Ecstasy is released the production has changed. Gone is the wicked warmness audio of the first 6 albums replaced on Techinical Ecstasy a more kind of  sterile studio sound. Everything even the songs are a different kinda Sabbath. Still though what do you do in Sabbaths case? Do you keep doing  what you’re doing and people will call you out as your not changing it up (musically) or do you in fact change it up and people will still bust your chops about changing. This record for me is Sabbath in no man’s land. Trying to move forward yet still trying to keep the crack of the door a little open on there past!

Tony Iommi,Geezer Butler,Ozzy and Bill Ward recorded this in Miami! Say no more as I’m sure there was a wee bit of partying going on at Sabbath HQs and they probably realized at one point “Ummm we gotta get a album done!”

BACK STREET KIDS-Iommi nails a heavy riff and the fella’s as they always do join in. Think Hearts Barracuda  pace not that this sounds like it  just the tempo! BackStreet Kids is a great song except that Ozzys vocals are mixed trebly like and perhaps that due to the sound of the album in whole but especially this song. Ozzy sings the tale of being in a rock n roll band going from nothing to something. The middle point of the song has a good ol synth a roo making a cameo which sounds once again Who Quadraphonia like. BackStreet Kids gets the album off to a rocking start!

YOU WON’T CHANGE ME-Sabbath is right changing gears. You Won’t Change Me is almost a slowish tune that weaves in and out with different time changes.

ITS ALLRIGHT-Bill Ward does the lead vocal here and he’s got a pretty decent voice. Sabbath is getting technical here! Not resting on their past success. It’s Allright is a no frills track! Pretty decent actually.

GYPSY-Ward kicks off Gypsy with his drums and cymbals smashing around and Gypsy ramps Sabbath back up. But wait a minute this tune almost sounds like a mini rock opera as the song shifts gears slows down and brings a mid temp pace along with some keys. Gypsy is a real interesting track. A bit of it sounds like Sabbath and a bit doesn’t! Give these guys credit there baked from the sun recording in Miami and there still shaking things up! This is a great song! I posted the video so check out Miami Sabbath!

ALL MOVING PARTS(STAND STILL)-Love Iommi’s riff n roll on this song and hey there’s a creepy 70s synth seeping in the background. Nice pace by the boys here. You know Sabbath took on a ton of heat for this record but seriously these songs are good it’s funny even Sabbath disses some of this stuff!

ROCK N ROLL DOCTOR- Junkie Sabbath looking for a fix! The lyrics say it all. “If You Wanna Feel Groovy,Give The Doctor A Call,Doctor Rock Will Help You Anytime At All!” Hey readers! That’s the deal of this tune almost a throw together good time tune and that’s Miami talking I believe. Even dig the honky Tonk piano throughout the tune as well. Happy High Sabbath just wanting a good time!

SHE’S GONE-I guess the song Changes kinda affected Ozzy and Crew as they were trying to write chick songs at times succeeding and others sometimes falling short. Too be honest this one falls short I mean the stuff I think of Sabbath is heavy doom and gloom. You can’t blame Sabbath as they’re trying to channel their inner self through song! Whoah that’s deep! Ha!

DIRTY WOMAN-Wow! Sabbath ends their album with the 8 minute plus Dirty Woman workout! Basically tells the tale of Ozz wondering around looking to score and picking up a  Dirty Woman she don’t mess a round.(could be about Hook or Smack) Iommi,Butler and Ward pull out all the stops how about some big drums,loud guitars and pumping bass changing the song structure up and before you know back to all Sab hands on deck for a heavy metal workout with Bill smashing his double bass drums at a ferocious clip!

Techinical Ecstasy by all accounts is a pretty good album. I know for many out there it boils down to the first 4 Sabbath albums and fair enough. Some and from what I read  the critics bashed this one and the next one(Never Say Die) but as I pointed out earlier people sometimes have a hard time accepting change and perhaps these songs aren’t classics but for myself there pretty good especially if the production angle  could have used  had a little more liveness to it….

Never Say Die coming up on Freaky Friday….

 

 

 

Black Sabbath/Sabotage(1975)

Geez man that’s a Creepy Cover! Than again I shouldn’t say much myself as I’m a walking fashion diaster but Sabbath is not gonna make any Teeny Bopper Magazines circa  1975 like 16 or any of those print media publications with those crazy looking threads. What does matter though is that inside the sleeve is a Hard Rock continuation of classics put forth by Black Sabbath!

HOLE IN THE SKY-Sabbath on album number 6 kick out the jams with the Sabotage opener! Ozzy sounds like he’s about to bite the head of a bat here as his voice right off the hop is full of piss n vinegar mixed with a shot of Evil. Bill Ward drives the drums with cymbals a smashing almost Keith Moon like in approach. Iommi and Butler crank riff over riff.

DON’T START(TOO LATE)-Once the sonic opener of Hole In The Sky is finished here’s Tony and his acoustic are relaxing with a nice little piece of music to make everyone let there guard down than……BOOM INTO…..

SYMPTOM OF THE UNIVERSE-Bam!!! You want a menacing opening  kick you in the ass opening Riff? Symptom delivers just that! Iommi is on fire with his Gibson SG and what a set of chords to lead the charge. Geezer and Bill are locked n loaded and they just rock it real hard! Ozzys back and he’s taking us through the centuries. What a crazy good song as Bill goes all apeshit on his drums. Dig the quick start stop of the drums right before the solo. Sabbath is not losing steam at all if anything there gaining traction so what’s next?

MEGALOMANIA-Whoah! Megalomania is one big epic piece of Sabbath Prog Gone To Hell Rocka Rolla! Seriously this tune starts like your sitting in a castle with  Ozzy and your about to get your noggin cut off and in strolls Bill with some cowbell. Atmospheric is this song! Some real huge riffs and you can hear where Zakk Wylde(Ozzys solo guitarist) learnt from Iommi on this song! The band wails all over the musical map! This is a lesson taught by Four Professors(Iommi,Ward,Butler and Osbourne) who are polluted to the max but when Hells Bells rings at 12 Noon they open there Musical Lunchbox and school everyone on how Devil Prog is done! Gem I  Say!

THE THRILL OF IT ALL-Big time Riff driven song with Iommi in the drivers seat! The song stomps and I love the crunch of Tony’s guitar. Thrill Of It All at some points (middle point of the song) I hear some Who Like Synth creeping in to enhance the sonics.

SUPERTZAR-Do you really think we were gonna sneak out of a Sabbath album without a creepy sinister sounding song? Not on Sabotage folks! This is a piece of music that sounds like Hell has hit Disneyland! Tony’s guitar is huge but behind him is a wall of strings and a Choir that’s gonna give  you nightmares into next week. Sabbath Haunting Sabbath! This is a Ozzy less track of your wondering….

AM I GOING INSANE-The wheels are coming off the Sabs! Ozzy sings this song like he coming unglued at the seams and he probably was as all of Sabbath were. Geezer pounds a decent throbbing bass line that leads the tune into the looney bin! Kind of a psychadelic sounding Sabbath. Wirly Twirly vibes are on tap here.

THE WRIT-Cue Ozzy laughing at the beginning and laughing and laughing! The Writ is another huge chug of epicness! Over 8 minutes of Sabbath over the musical horizon. The Writ is a slow menacing track that weaves its way around different time changes and cue up some mandolin at one point and hop aboard with Geez,Bill,Tony and The Ozz as the good ship SS Sabbath leaves the port. The Writ Is where it’s at.

See you all back here next week for some (Technical) Ecstasy!