Category: Classic Album Review

Reviews of older and classic albums

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Classic Album Review

Album of the Week: AC/DC – Back in Black

On July 25, 1980, one of the greatest (if not THE greatest) Hard Rock records was released onto the world; Back In Black (Atlantic Records). It Mark’s the 7th studio album (6th international album) by Australia’s AC/DC. It was recorded in April and May of that year at Compass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas. The record was produced by the legendary John “Mutt" Lange, and is the band’s first album to feature Brian Johnson (Geordie) on vocals.

Following the breakthrough record, Highway to Hell, AC/DC was prepared to hit the studio again to record their next record. However, in February of 1980 Bon Scott was found dead of alcohol poisoning. Rather than disband, the remaining members – Angus Young (lead guitar), Malcolm Young (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), Cliff Williams (bass and backing vocals) and Phil Rudd (drums) – decided (on March 29) to hire Johnson and continue on. None of Scott’s lyrics were used on Back in Black, because the band did not want it to seem they were profiting off his death. The album’s all black cover was a sign of morning for Scott.

Back in Black is, literally, an unprecedented album. It has sold more than 50 million copies, making it one of the best-selling albums in music history. Typical of the era, over half the songs on the record concern sex, written in innuendos, metaphors, and/or double entendres:

“Shoot to Thrill”; “What do You do for Money Honey”; “Given the Dog a Bone”; Let Me put My Love Into You”; “You Shook Me All Night Long” ; “Shake a Leg.”

One of the best songs offered is about drinkin’!! – “Have a Drink on Me”

“Hell’s Bells” is a reference to all the storms passing over the island during recording. The title track is a celebratory bop of the bands return, and “Rock ‘N’ Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution” is purely self-explanatory.

Favorite Songs: Given the Dog a Bone; Have a Drink on Me; Back in Black

Rating: 10/10!!

*Special Note* In 2014 Malcolm Young was diagnosed with Dementia and, on November 18, 2017 died from the disease at the age of 64.

What is your favorite song off of Back in Black?

Stay Metal,

THE SAW

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Classic Album Review

Hidden Gems brought to you by The Eclection

ALBUM REVIEW: Koenjihyakkei – Angherr Shisspa (2005) 

 BEST TRACKS: Rattims Friezz, Quivem Vrastorr

 FCC Clean 

 LISTEN TO IF YOU LIKE: avant-garde, experimental, jazz

 Before we get into this album in particular, it’s important to mention what “Zeuhl” is which is the musical genre this falls into. Born from 60s and 70s krautrock and coined by the band Magma’s constructed language Kobaian, there are only a handful of groups that have been able to consider themselves under this genre umbrella. As Pitchfork once put it, Zeuhl can be described by “sudden bursts of explosive improv and just as unexpected lapses into eerie, minimalist trance-rock.”

 I would go on to say it is some of the hardest music to describe as it is to find. Koenjihyakkei is the side-project of Yoshida Tatsuya of Japanese Zeuhl group, Ruins, which is heavily influenced by 60s and 70s progressive music in general. This group also includes Aki Kubota (on vocals and keyboards) from another modern krautrock group, Bondage Fruit.

Koenjihyakkei’s “Angherr Shisspa” is one of the best albums to get into this genre with though. 

This would be my own attempt to describe this wild album: experimental opera jazz with intensive complicated time signatures that boom and burst from huge orchestral and choral hits to single xylophonic beats. If you are looking for something like you’ve never heard before and crave the subtle balance between dissonant chord structures and ear candy, this is certainly an important listen. 

The album has this way of being able to add this playful tone to something extremely avant-garde. Sometimes I feel when listening to this album that I am surrounded by a bunch of fairies that are screaming, dancing, and performing various rituals.

It is also another one of those albums that grows on you the more you listen to it, because it draws from so many different types of progressive and experimental music, it’s hard to keep track of it all on first listen. I’d consider this a hidden gem, simply given it’s status of being representative of a genre that does not get a lot of representation. Check it out if you want some new avant-garde music to listen to. 

 – Artzoid (Host of the Eclection)

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Classic Album Review

Album of the Week: Diary of a Madman – Ozzy Osbourne

When John Michael “Ozzy" Osbourne was effectively fired from Black Sabbath in 1979, I don’t think anyone (except the “Prince of Darkness" himself) knew what would become of an Ozzy solo career. In 1980 he released his first record, Blizzard of Ozz, and there was, in fact, something to pay attention to, here. He had found a young guitar player by the name of Randy Rhodes (Quiet Riot), who played in classic fashion but with uncommon precision and style. “Crazy Train" and “Mr. Crowley,” the two singles from the album, give the listener a clear view of both, Ozzy’s future and the talent of the young guitarist.

On November 7, 1981 the greatest Ozzy record (IMO) was unleashed onto the world, Diary of a Madman (Jet); and it was a clear and powerful sign that there would be no containing this madman, later to be called, The Godfather of Heavy Metal! The two singles, “Flying High Again" and “Over the Mountain" give an immediate glimpse of Ozzy’s Genius and the evolution of that young guitarist, Randy Rhodes. The production of the entire record is thick, in a good way! It helps to portray the power of this duo as they were getting wound up to revolutionize the metal world. But it is the title track, “Diary of a Madman" which casted Ozzy’s vision the clearest, I think; with the incorporation of a choir and keyboards, this track is huge when speaking to what was to come – Dark and Eerie.

Unfortunately, it would not be the duo of Ozzy and Randy that would conquer the world. Ozzy would have to foster another relationship when Randy Rhodes was tragically killed (1982) in a plane crash while on tour with Osbourne in Florida. Three Ozzy guitarists would follow, Brad Gillis [Night Ranger] (1982), Jake E. Lee (1982-87) and Zakk Wylde (1987-present). But for this masterpiece entitled, Diary of a Madman, its Ozzy (vocals, obviously), Randy Rhodes (guitars), Bob Daisley (bass), Lee Kerslake (drums) – though neither of the last two are credited anywhere but the original release. Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot; Whitesnake) soon took over bass and Tommy Aldridge (Whitesnake; Ted Nuggent; Thin Lizzy) the drums for the American tour to support the album.

Ozzy has had MANY great songs during his career, but the ONE great record is Diary of a Madman – Triple Platinum in the US!

I got to see Ozzy in 2018 in Bristow, Va. His stage presence, along with Zakk Wilde’s, is the best I’ve seen. Of the “big bands,” this was definitely one of the best shows!

Favorite Songs: Flying High Again, Over the Mountain, S.A.T.O., Diary of a Madman

Rating: A Masterpiece 10/10!!

Stay Metal, 

THE SAW 

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Classic Album Review

Hidden Gems brought to you by The Eclection

Tasseomancy

ALBUM: Ghost Bees – “Tasseomancy” 2008

 BEST TRACKS: Sinai, Erl King

 LISTEN TO IF YOU LIKE: ethereal folk, pagan folklore 

 FCC 

Clean

If anyone reading this is a fan of Grouper, think about if Grouper was to make music similar to Agnes Obel or Joanna Newsome. Oh, and if Grouper obsessively wrote lyrics about pagan myths and sacrifice.

At any rate, the group now called Tasseomancy (based on the title of the album they released under the name, Ghost Bees), the sisters Sari Lightman and Romi Lightman produce some of the most lyrically intriguing modern folk. Their first album under Tasseomancy, Ulalume (2011) attained some significance in the underground music community as an experimental folk album dedicated to poems about death… but before that, they released “Tasseomancy” in 2008, and this is truly a hidden gem.

Some background on this Toronto based group: their great great grandmother was a Russian Jewish tea-leaf reader so the name “tasseomancy” and the album cover for this album are dedicated to her. In general though, their lyrics have an extreme pagan influence, with songs like Tear Tassle Ogre Heart with lyrics like “But god, I trace your guts and wear them as a beauty mark.” Tracks like Erl King refer to the legend of the “Erlkönig,” or king of the fairies (written by Goethe) about an anxious young boy who is lured by the fairy to be murdered. Some example lyrics from this track are “The gifts I could give to you, the wind and the wild river spring. Child, you’re beautiful, come quiet, come willing.” A truly disturbing, but remarkable track.

The vocals are just absolutely haunting on this album, both in terms of tone and lyrics. Certainly check out this album if you want to hear some folk music with dark under and overtones sung by two women who are great a capella performers as well as guitarists.

 -ArtZoyd (Host of The Eclection)

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Classic Album Review

Album of the Week: KoRn – KoRn

You would have to try really hard to find a better record of the time than KoRn’s debute album, KoRn! Released on October 11, 1994, through Immortal/Epic Records, the record (and the band) rewrote how Metal was played and how it was supposed to sound. In fact, it was the beginning of a whole new genre – Nu Metal.

The iconic album cover depicts a small girl bringing her swing to a stop as she squints to see an ominous figure standing before her holding knives. A shadow of the figure and the knives is all that can be seen in the art. Speaking of shadows, the little girl’s shadow appears to depict her hanging from the KoRn brand. Intense!

Korn recorded almost the entire album with all members playing (and singing) simultaneously, rather than the normal routine of tracking one instrument at a time. They felt that playing as a band captured the distinctive sound and quality of the music, rather than the production. Jonathan Davis (vocals) recorded the bagpipes on “Shoots and Ladders" by walking around the parking lot, playing, while a microphone was set up at the back door.

“Blind" is THE song on this record! The awesome dueling riffs of James “Monkey" Shaffer and Brian “Head" Welch are matched only by the trademark line of Davis, “Are you ready?!?!?!?” “Ball Tongue" is an example of the incredible bass playing of Reginald “Fieldy" Arvvizu, with his patented clicking of his pick-ups. “Shoots and Ladders" calls into question nursery rhymes and their dark meanings of racism, plague, rape, and killing. The lyrics in quite a few of the songs concern experiences suffered by Davis – “Clown" is about a skinhead getting an attitude with Davis, and the road manager knocking the clown out. “Helmet in the Bush" is about Davis’ drug abuse. “F***“ is about when Davis was in high school where he was continuously bullied and called names. And “Daddy” is a very dark and disturbing track about Davis being abused by a close family friend. It is extremely graphic! “Need To,” “Divine,” “Predictable,” “Fake,” and “Lies” are the rest of the songs on the record, all dealing with Davis’ experiences. David Siveria plays drums and his quick, snapping hits really add a tribal feel to the album.

This record (and a major motivator for the band) is to be a voice for the voiceless; for those broken, beaten, and scarred. It helps to heal by realizing that you aren’t the only one going through this horrible thing. KoRn knows and understands.

As of 2013, KoRn has sold over 10 million copies worldwide.

Favorite songs: Blind and every other song on this record, but especially Blind!!

Rating: 10/10!!! One of my all-time favorites!

Stay Metal,

THE SAW

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Classic Album Review

Lost and Refound Folk Albums of the 1970s

So much music is made in the world, it can be overwhelming. Great albums are bound to be lost to time, especially in the days of physical copies. Thankfully, prolonged dedication has allowed for some lost albums and artists to be refound and given a second chance. Here are some of the greats:

Linda Perhacs: By day a dental hygienist in Beverly Hills in the 1960s, by night a folk-psychedelic singer-songwriter. Leonard Rosenman, a prominent film-composer, was one of her clients and was impressed by a demo tape of recordings she gave him; he then produced her masterpiece 1970 album Parallelograms, the title track inspired by synesthesia on Ventura Freeway and “seeing music”. The album didn’t chart well commercially and she returned to her dental career. In the 2000s, Perhacs was tracked down and Parallelograms was rereleased before she given the chance to record two new albums: The Soul of All Natural Things in 2014 and I’m A Harmony in 2017, both evidence that pure talent never fades.

Listen to: Hey Who Really Cares, Paper Mountain Man

Bill Fay: A college student in Wales in the 1960’s, Bill Fay was less interested in his electronics classes than the music he was making in his spare time. His demos scored him a recording spot at Decca Records, and he released two progressive-folk albums: his gentle self titled debut in 1970 and the more charged Time of the Last Persecution in 1971, the latter of which grapples with moral issues such as the Vietnam War and segregation through a religious lens. After the albums failed to gain attention, he was dropped from Decca and “deleted” from the music industry. He worked as a fish packer and groundskeeper until the late 90s, when he was tracked down by producers Jim O’Rourke and Joshua Henry with help from Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy. He has since been able to release three new albums: Life is People (2012), Who is the Sender? (2015), and his latest release, Countless Branches (2020). 

Listen to: I Hear You Calling, Tell It Like It Is

Rodriguez: Folk songwriter Sixto Rodriguez released two albums with Sussex Records in 1970 and 1971, both with poetic lyrics often discussing life in inner city Detroit. Neither album was an immediate success, leading him to quit music in the 70s and buying a house in a government auction for $50 (which he still lived in as of 2013). Meanwhile, and mainly unbeknownst to him, his records gained massive success in Australia, Botswana, New Zealand, and Zimbabwe, and stood as anti-Apartheid anthems in South Africa. He become the subject of a documentary, Searching for Sugar Man, which chronicled two Cape Town fans searching for him and went on to win a Sundance prize in 2012. Since his rediscovery, his albums Cold Fact and Coming from Reality have been reissued and he has been in talks with producer Steve Rowland about releasing new music. 

Listen to: I Think of You, Jane S. Piddy

Sibylle Baier: Young German actress and singer-songwriter, Sibylle Baier, recorded her songs for her only album Colour Green on reel-to-reel tapes sometime between 1970 and 1973. She never released them, and gave up hopes of a career in artistry in favor of raising her family. Thirty years later, her son Robby compiled a CD of the songs to give to family members and it found its way to the Orange Twin label, who released it in 2006. These fourteen hauntingly beautiful folk songs have since become well loved, which has left Baier “really quite perplexed” but “smitten” according to her son Robby (she prefers to stay off the Internet, it makes her “dizzy”). 

Listen to: Forget About, Tonight

One of the most magnetic qualities about folk music is its everlasting relevance; no matter how much time has passed, a good song will always strike a chord. These lost and refound albums and artists exemplify this trait, as they not only inspired dedicated searches in their name but still make a lasting impression on old and new listeners today.

 -DJ Big Hoss 

(camryn darragh)

i got really into this and it got kind of long

Categories
Classic Album Review

Album of the Week: Dirt (1992) – Alice in Chains

Alice in Chains is one of my favorite bands of all time. My mom used to play them all the time while I was growing up. I remember riding in a Ford Ranger when I was 5 and my mom would play Rooster while we were driving down the road. It is a distinctive memory that I will always cherish.

Layne Staley (RIP) is one of my favorite vocalists because you can hear the beauty, pain, and sadness in his voice. He had such a powerful sound and his voice was like listening to a wounded angel. Mix Staley’s voice with the harmony of Jerry Cantrell (guitarist) and you end up with a masterpiece.

I like the overall sound and variety that is on their 1992 album Dirt. It is one of my 10/10 albums as well! A lot of my favorite songs come off this album (Them Bones, Rooster, Junkhead, Angry Chair, and Would?). Down In A Hole is also another song that is well-known to a lot of music fans.

Dirt is the second studio album that was released by them and it peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart. The album was also well received by music critics. It has been certified four-times platinum and has sold 5 million copies worldwide making Dirt the band’s highest selling album to date. It was also the last album recorded with all four original members (bassist Mike Starr was fired from the band in 1993). Shortly after the release of this album, the band was invited to open for Ozzy Osbourne on his No More Tours tour in 1992.

Rooster was inspired by Cantrell’s relationship with his father, who served in the Vietnam War. It was written from the perspective of his dad while he was traveling through the jungles and trying to survive.

If you haven’t listened to this album in its entirety, I definitely recommend that you do. It is one of the most popular Alice in Chains album and it is not a surprise to me that it is.

What is your favorite song off of Dirt?

Stay Metal,

THE SAW

Categories
Classic Album Review

Classis Album Review: Metallica – …And Justice For All

The fourth studio album from Metallica; recorded January – May at One on One Recording Studios in Las Angeles, California, and released on August 25, 1988 …And Justice for All (Elektra) amounted to the end of Thrash Metal as it was known at the time. Helping to mold the genre, Metallica, with this record, effectively brought it to its logical conclusion.

Not only was the album a natural progression of the band’s sound – starting with Kill ‘Em All (1983), through Ride the Lightening (1984) and Master of Puppets (1986) –  …And Justice for All was progressive metal (before there was such a thing). When Cliff Burton unexpectedly died in 1986, Metallica was searching for an outlet of sorts, I think, and with this record came an unleashing of rage and torment. It features staggering complexity, fast tempos, multiple time changes per track, eight or more riffs per track, and lyrics concerned with politics, the environment, legal injustice, censorship, and war. Jason Newsted was tapped for the bass position, though the final mix of the record nearly filtered him completely out. Blame for this fact flies all around, but I think it’s a sign of the struggle on behalf of Hetfield and Ulrich (and to some degree, Hammett) to cope.

Though the lyrical content of …Justice covered new ground, this record is all about the instruments! Specifically, nasty riffs, percussion, and double bass. Speaking of double bass, Lars’ double kicks on this album, have been dubbed, double “paper bass.” I love how they sound! The song “One” was the first music video for Metallica and was seen as an anti-war rant. The track “To Live is to Die” is a bass medley of unused recordings by Burton. Newsted played the medley that Burton wrote on the album. All lyrics on the record were written by James Hetfield, except the Spoken Word on “To Live is to die,” posthumously credited to Cliff Burton. All other music is credited to Hetfield Ulrich, and Hammett (Newsted gets co-credit on Blackened).

…Justice reached Gold in Norway; Platinum in Argentina, Finland, New Zeland, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom; 2X Platinum in Australia and Germany; 3X Platinum in Canada; and 8X Platinum, selling 8 million copies in the United States.

Favorite Songs: Blackened; …And Justice for All; Harvester of Sorrow

Rating: 10/10!! And quite possibly my favorite Metallica album!

Stay Metal,

THE SAW 

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Classic Album Review

Great Find: “Michael and His Slipper Tree” – The Equals

A few weeks ago, skimming through Spotify, I came across a brilliant track by the East London R&B/Rock Fusion group, The Equals. The song is titled “Michael and His Slipper Tree” and was released in 1969 on their album “Equals Strike Again”. The band was formed by Eddy Grant, Lincoln Gordon, Dervin Gordon, Pat Lloyd, and John Hall when the five were in high school. They began touring by 1965 throughout Europe. “Hold Me Closer” was the band’s first single, however it did not make it big. It was their 1967 song “Baby, Come Back” that put them on the charts. The song did particularly well in Germany and the Netherlands.

I was surprised to discover the band recorded in the 1960s. When I heard “Michael and His Slipper Tree” for the first time, I initially thought the band would have been from the 1980s. They certainly have a unique, timeless sound that will have you singing “Michael! Michael and his slipper tree, slipper tree, slipper tree, brand new shoes for you and me!” all day. Spotify even has a radio and maxi version!I  highly recommend giving this band a listen!

-DJ Lizzo 

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Classic Album Review

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Pure Reason Revolution - "The Dark Third"

ALBUM REVIEW: Pure Reason Revolution – “The Dark Third” 2007 Europe Release

BEST TRACKS: Golden Clothes, Twyncyn / Trembling Willows, Voices in Winter

FCC Violations: none

Recommended if you like: Space rock AND Symphonic metal 

 One of the best progressive rock albums to be released in 2006, but went largely unnoticed. The Europe Release in 2007 is the important one to obtain given that it has 5 added tracks that can only be found on that release and are some of the best tracks on the album. 

Some background is that Pure Reason Revolution was formed in England in 2003 and have released 3 full-length studio albums since then. The Dark Third is their first and probably their most essential album. If you have any interest in both space rock and symphonic metal, this may become your new favorite album. 

According to Wikipedia, the “dark third” is a reference to how a person spends a third of their life asleep, and this comes out in the spacey themes that pervade this album.

Produced by Paul Northfield (who has produced albums from many other progressive outfits such as Dream Theater and Rush), this album takes virtuosic instrumentation and a capella and crafts it into a rainbow of different emotions. One moment you’ll feel reminiscent for the past, and the next you’ll feel an epic march toward the future. I have always described this album as “if the members of Pink Floyd decided to start a symphonic metal band and add a female vocalist.” In fact, one of the tracks from this album “The Bright Ambassadors of Morning” is a direct reference to one of the greatest Pink Floyd tracks of all time, “Echoes.” 

The beginning of The Dark Third is a long wash of spacey guitar riffs as it works its way into the 2nd track “Goshen’s Remains” where the female vocals come in, the music slows down, and builds into an intense wall of sound, which continues to persist throughout most of the tracks. Of course there are parts where things get slowed down, but that delectable intensity never quite ceases. One of my personal favorite tracks on the album is “Voices of Winter / In the Realms of the Divine” which exemplifies this duality perfectly. The first side of the track being more low-key “astral folk” and then moving into the second half which uses the themes from the first half for a crazy build up into another crash. 

Another track that exemplifies the “eclectic”-ness of this album is the last track (European Release only) “Golden Clothes.” This track is 7 and a half minutes long but contains 3 themes that go from light to dark and back with ease, and contain an impressive mixing of genres ranging from classical, to alternative, to metal, to electronica.

Give this album a shot if you are interested in anything that does a lot of genre-mixing, but even moreso if you enjoy space rock and symphonic metal. 

 -ArtZoid (Host of The Election)