First, a disclaimer: This page, while left untouched for the LONGEST time, will be updated much more readily. Since the last update I have purchased quite a few new albums. Arising from my coma of seven plus years I have finally re-entered the house of music that has always been a staple in my life. So, bear with me, while some of these albums may be a little aged they are still current enough to bear review and recommendation!
Additionally, this is a very subjective series of posts. What appeals to me probably will not appeal to you. Now, that doesn’t mean it is either good or bad, but the beauty of music, like literature, is that there is always something for everybody. There is no room for ‘Music Snobs’ on this page. What I don’t like, someone obviously does and vice-versa.
“Music is my special friend. Until the end, until the end…”
February 15, 2018
Two Tickets to Paradise: The Eddie Money story
I just had the privilege of seeing Eddie Money and it dawned on me how i
important of a performer he was in his day.
Eddie was a part of the second movement of rock and roll as a legitimate musical genre.
Eddie came as almost the last one of the 70s movement of Rock and Roll singers that were every man. He, Bruce Springsteen, Lou Gramm, Billy Joel, and Paul Stanley had voices that belonged to us all. While in the beginning they had the look of their predecessors, the Robert Plants and the Roger Daltreys they lacked the bombasity of those singers. They brought Rock and Roll back to the common man. These guys were the new Elvis’s.
While Paul and Lou helped to define the Arena Rock genre with their voices, the others brought an updated 50s Rock and Roll with their use of saxophones, keyboards, and doo wop vocal stylings to their songs.
But I digress, the reason for this brief blog is to talk about Eddie’s recent bio-stage musical Two Tickets to Paradise.
While it’s heart was in the right place, it performed like a high school musical. The performances were good but definitely not on the plateau they should have been to honor such a great and influential voice and personality like Eddie Money.
As I stated prior, I feel that Eddie was the a voice of the second wave. Interestingly to me, all of the performers I mentioned prior were from the East coast and were from modest upbringings. Eddie ca
me from Brooklyn, Paul came from Queens, Lou from a little town owned by Kodak, and Billy while he was born in the Bronx, grew up in Long Island.
It was perhaps these middle class or regionalized upbringings that led them to have the audacity to become Rock Stars.
After all, a middle class upbringing has you believing that whatever you set out to want to be, to accomplish, is acquired with hard work and a little bit of luck. Eddie said it himself during his show tonight. He said (and I paraphrase) “this is a great country and you can accomplish anything you work hard towards”. Those are the exact sentiments my Mother said to me.
Again, I digress, forgive me, but honestly that’s how I felt that Eddie did.
By sheer force of will, a young man from Brooklyn, NY and a police officer at that, took his love for music, and his inborn responsibilities, and left for the West Coast to become a Rock Star. Then, miraculously, he not only continued his talent and hard work, but hooked up with a legendary promoter of many West Coast acts, Bill Graham, and proceeded to make it big.
34 Million albums sold worth of big.
Divine Intervention? Cosmic Fate? No, merely hard work. Eddie (for what its worth, I’m sure a lot of it was poetic license) was focused and determined in the beginning of his career arc. Yet, he doesn’t shy away from his low points either.
Regardless of the bias he displayed in his bio play, the message remains: If you want something badly enough you have to work towards it. It doesn’t fall in your lap, God doesn’t give it to you, or the Universe thinks you deserve it.
No, if you want it, you have to go out and get it.
Period.
Thank you Eddie, the best parts of your play was you. And thank you for making me remember what a great and influential performer you are.
God Bless.
October 8, 2014
Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga: Cheek to Cheek
A disclaimer: I’m a big fan of Lady GaGa. I’m not a fan at all of Tony Bennett.
I always thought that Bennett was the poor man’s crooner. He took advantage of that time period when the Sinatra and Martin music made a comeback to the kids born in the 80s and 90s and he was the only one left alive that not only could pull the standards off but was old enough to have been around for the originals. So, the kids gravitated towards Tony and left Harry Conick Jr. in his dust, per se.
Now,
that being said…
The album is fun. It’s nice to hear a full orchestra performing jazz standards. Performance wise, I have to admit, Bennett sounds good here. At 88 years of age he can still sing better than I can (at least when someone is listening. Alone in the car, wel,l I’m on par with Lou Gramm).
Lady GaGa’s performance, well, the Princess says it best: She sounds like Liza. Which isn’t an insult by any means. I guess I just thought her voice would be stronger in this venue.
The one thing I will say though, is that Lady GaGa and Tony sound like they’re having fun with this album.
High points: All of it. Enjoy.
So, pour yourself a glass of your favorite libation or better yet, make yourself a highball, turn on the Philco to let the tubes warm up and settle in for 45 minutes of nice Jazz.
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October 7, 2014
Septicflesh : Titan
Wow, ambitious isn’t a word descriptive enough to describe this work.
It’s interesting, years ago when the music business was in a similar lull of crap being presented 
on the airwaves I made a comment that the only truly ambitious and creative music was coming out of the Metal side of the musical genres. Albums such as Sepultura‘s Roots were so far advanced of the norm that it seemed to be the only place if you were a music aficionado to find progressive music.
Currently, we have Titan by Greece’s very own Septicflesh.
How ambitious is this album? Well, not only do we have the Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Adam Klemens but we have the Children Choir of Prague on this album. And that doesn’t include the fact that the band actually has costume and makeup designers.
This is amazing and thought inducing stuff.
Period.
Once again like similar bands in this genre, the vocal style is used as a singular percussive instrument added to the mix of the others. The layers of sound that emerge from this record are on par with what Queen did on their early recorded works. Everything works in an orchestral tapestry.
High points: Prometheus, Order of Dracul, Titan, The First Immortal, and Confessions of a Serial Killer.
I recommend this album to any fan of progressive music. If you can put your biases to the side and just immerse yourself in a listen to the disc I think you’ll be in for a pleasant surprise. In fact, I would liken this disc to the works of H.R. Geiger. You either love it or hate it, but the one thing that is for sure is that it will leave an impression on you either way.
Indifferent this art is not, like the best art.
As a side note: I purchased this along with four other albums at the same time. Albums that I thought I would like better by bands I was more familiar with. Guess what the only album I still listen to on a regular basis?
Till next time….
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October 6, 2014
Arch Enemy: War Eternal
I realize that I am very late to the party when it comes to this band. My first exposure to them was a singer ago and a cover of “The Oath” by mega-band KISS. While I appreciated their ambition and more especially their appreciation for one of my favorite KISS songs I still 
didn’t pursue their material.
What a mistake that was.
This new album, War Eternal is probably my favorite album of the year so far.
The energy and power of these songs is just something to behold. And, the melodies… I’ll be honest with you, I truly have a hard time classifying this band as ‘Death Metal’ because the song structures are just so superior to other bands that fall in the Hard/Heavy Metal genres. Yes, I realize that the gutteral singing style is what lends itself to the categorization but…
Also, Alissa White-Gluz’s vocal just kick so much behind. 
High points: War Eternal; Never Forgive, Never Forget; No More Regrets, and Not Long for this World.
I highly recommend this to anyone who appreciates melodic metal. Don’t be close minded and dismiss this for the vocal style. Instead, look at this as melodic metal with a great industrial vocal instrument.
The only weak spot I found on this album was the Mike Oldfield cover: Shadow on the Wall. I appreciate their ambition but after an entire disc of melodic metal it just seemed like a displaced song.
Till next the album…
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June 11, 2013
Two new entries here.
First: Megadeth: Super Collider
Yes, I am biased.
Megadeth is my second favorite band, behind The Who. I may as well be up front right now. However, this fact does not keep me from being honest about their output.
Far from it. Anyone that knows me can count on one thumb the number of repeat listenings I’ve
had with The World Needs a Hero.
Anyways…
The problem with a band like Megadeth is that their catalog has those one or two albums that fans adore and relate to. They also pin the band to those particular works. While the consistency of their output may have been greatly uneven, it’s those albums that fans remember with nostalgia (similar to a make-up wearing band and an album called Destroyer). The reality is: very few bands are consistent in their output. There are only so many Iron Maidens or Motorheads. Heck, even the Ramones tried to go pop (Do You Remember Rock and Roll Radio? I try to forget, honest.)
So, don’t be expecting another Rust in Peace, it just isn’t going to happen. In fact, it only happened once, so deal with it.
That being said, let’s just put it this way: Super Collider is damn good hard rock/metal album. Similar to 13, Dave plays up to the abilities of his current line up. However, this time he delivers a more mainstream album probably in the hopes of radio airplay. If this album must be compared to prior works, then it is probably more in line with Cryptic Writings but not as extreme as Risk.
High points: Super Collider, Beginning of Sorrow, Don’t Turn Your Back, and Forget to Remember.
In the wasteland that has become hard rock and metal, this stands out as a solid listen. Do yourself a favor and give it a try. Yes, you’ll probably bitch at some parts but it is clearly better than listening to what passes as music today, Barfoon 5 anyone?
Second: Fallen Angel: Crawling out of Hell
New music time!
I found this release by accident. I had sniffed out a new Comic Book shop, Cosmic Comics, by chance and decided to wander in to regale him with my comic book knowledge. However, what I discovered was an accompanying book and CD set performed
and written by the store’s proprietor.
Yes, I said that right. A book AND record. Remember the Power Records from the 70s? (Most of you probably don’t. Really aging myself here.)
Well, I was so intrigued that I had to purchase them. And it definitely wasn’t a disappointment.
The best way to describe this album’s sound is by comparing them to early Paul Di’Anno Iron Maiden. Musically the band sounds like the aforementioned band while the lead singer channels not only Di’Anno, but also Halford and the like.
Now, don’t misconstrue me. This is solid stuff and quite good. It is not merely a cover band with grand ambitions. No, this is a genuine band, who has their own independent ambitions.
Conan and Kirk?! Team up of the decade!
This is fun stuff. Very listenable, very ambitious and well executed.
The other unique aspect of this album is the accompanying book. This album is a concept album and the book is the prose telling of the musical story.
I appreciate the effort that went into this and as far as I’m concerned this deserves to be perused. Now, is it Operation:Mindcrime?
No. But then again, very few are. But this is clearly, as I stated prior, head and shoulders above what pas
ses for music today.
Buy it.
Now.
October 5, 2012
The Ramones: Leave Home (1977)
Remember what used to pass for music back in the 70s until this band came around?
Back then I used to buy a new album a week. I’d trek on over to the House of Guitars 
(after buying my comics at Rite Aid and Wabs drugs) and plunk down my $3.96 (I think it was something like that). Walking around the circular rack this nondescript album cover struck me.
There, in the camera’s lens were four guys from Queens New York with leather jackets and ripped, worn blue jeans. Not flamboyant androgynous costumes. Nope, these guys looked like us!
Flipping this record on the turntable was like the adrenaline rush you experienced when jumping a homemade ramp with your Schwinn Sprinter coming down a large hill. In fact, if I remember, Lester Bangs’ review said something like, “It’s like watching a freight train roaring down the tracks driven by Bugs Bunny! (sic)”
There is nothing else to say. The Ramones are probably the most influential/least commercially successful bands of all time. And the songs? When Springsteen sang “We learned more from a three minute record…” He didn’t know about these guys. They taught us in two minutes!
This was their second release, but my first introduction to these guys. And, I was hooked for life. The premier punk band showed us what real rock and roll was supposed to be. Also, while they had 13 other studio albums, this one holds a special place in my heart.
High points: Commando, Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment, Pinhead, Swallow My Pride, California Sun, Carbona Not Glue, and especially Glad To See You Go (who can forget the line “Get the glory like Charles Manson.” Do you think that Tarantino listened to this as he wrote the story to Natural Born Killers?)
If (and I highly doubt it) you have never listened to this, do it. If you haven’t in a while, re-visit it! Again, remember when music was fun!
In addition: Not only were these guys on The Simpsons, in Rock and Roll High School, but how many other bands had a song written about them by Motorhead?! Pretty good for a group that never had a top ten, twenty, thirty or even forty album!
R.I.P. guys. And no, I was not “Glad to see you go, go, go, goodbye.”
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Sept. 20, 2012
Primal Fear: Unbreakable (2012)
Does anyone remember the days of good Power Metal? No, not Pantera’s first albums but, real power metal. The bands that took the hooks and attitude of ‘hair metal’ (I hate that term by the way. Everybody’s got hair, even the lame ‘alt’ bands, for fuck’s sake.) and combined it with arena rock. You know, when music was fun!
Well, it never went away. Over in Europe, where all things metal have surviv
ed, unscathed, many new bands are producing such good stuff. Well, today, we are going to visit the ‘new’ (January of this year, yes, I know, I’m a little late but I’ve had this since then.” release by Primal Fear: Unbreakable.
What can I say? Just wow. Like I said prior, if you liked Power Metal before you’ll love this.
Ralf Scheepers and the boys don’t do anything fancy here, just pure, great, metal. And you know something? Maybe that’s all we need sometimes. Scheepers voice is simply great here and so is the rest of the band.
(For those who are uninitiated into the world of Primal Fear. The band was formed after Scheepers failed to get the Judas Priest front man gig when Rob Halford left the band back in the early nineties. So, the man has pipes. Do yourself a favor and look up his Priest covers on You Tube.)
High points are: Unbreakable (part 2), Metal Nation, Strike, Where Angels Die, and Born Again.
Major high point is Bad Guys Wear Black. I defy you to not want to put your fist in the air and sing along during the chorus!
If you’re tired of introspective, whiny ‘alt’ rock dig back with something new. You won’t regret it. And, you may even be happy to be alive for a day instead of worrying about mundane garbage!
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On the turntable(MP3) today is Queensryche’s 1988 magnum opus, “Operation: Mindcrime.” I have always said that most good bands have at least one masterpiece in them. For some bands it can be two or three great albums (Beatles, The Who, Queen, etc…). This was this little known band (at the time) from Seattle’s.
While Operation revisited themes that the band had addressed in their prior releases, Primarily the ability and strength of Youth inspired Revolution, Operation brought it all forth in a coherent, literal, narrative.
(Actually, on both The Warning and Rage for Order, the themes of youth rebellion were quite predominant. Songs such as Take Hold of the Flame and Chemical Youth (We Are Rebellion) can be considered precursors.)
In addition to the aforementioned themes, the story introduced issues they would also address in future releases. Primarily the corruption and dis-ingenuity of organized religion, government, and politics.
The story was entertaining by borrowing from the plot of The Manchurian Candidate and placing it in modern day (at the time) backdrop,
As ambitiously reaching as this album was, it succeeded where most high-reaching ideas do not. Not only was it thought provoking and coherent in its storytelling, the album was also brilliant in its musicianship and execution.
High points on the album are: Spreading the Disease, Revolution Calling, The Needle Lies, Breaking the Silence, I Don’t Believe in Love, Eyes of a Stranger, and, especially, Suite Sister Mary.
Most concept albums have perhaps two or three primarily memorable songs on them. This album accomplished what few did, the majority of the songs stood on their own. Similar to The Who’s Tommy or Quadrophenia and The Wall by Pink Floydthere are many high points on this disc.
If you have never heard this or have long ago, do yourself a favor and revisit it. It is well worth the (re)listen.