Old School Album Of The Week For Nov.23rd - 27th

This week I pulled out an album that is one of my all time favorites, that I still listen to on a regular basis. It's the debut album by a band called Masters Of Reality released in 1988 and produced by Rick Rubin. It's an awesome album, a mixture of blues,rock, stoner rock feel. There isn't a bad song on the whole album.
My favorite memories of this album is driving around with my buddy Warren in his yellow VW bug with this album just cranked, smoking ourselves silly and cruising all over the city, I also recall going to his and Chris' apartment downtown and bugging out to this wicked album. We had a lot of good times listening to this.
Favorite tracks Domino, John Brown,Gettin' High and The Candy Song. If you can find this album, I highly recommend picking it up. I could have swore I had this album on vinyl, but apparently I don't.
I didn't realize, but Masters Of Reality are still putting out albums to this day. The line up is always changing, but I think I will take a chance and pick up one of their newer albums and see if they are still any good.

The King Khan & BBQ Live

Thursday night Nov. 26th I went and saw King Khan & BBQ with Those Darlins (from Tennessee) and The Sub Linguals (from Edmonton) at The Pawn Shop on Whyte Ave in Edmonton. I missed The Sub Linguals but did manage to catch Those Darlins. I didn't much care for Those Darlins, whom are a 4 piece band with 3 women and a guy on drums. I don't have much to say about them, other then shave your arm pits ladies, hairy arm pits on a woman are disgusting.

The main reason I went to this show was for King Khan and BBQ who are from Montreal and Berlin. They are 2 piece band who play a mix of soul,funk garage punk style of music. What a great fucking show they put on, you would never guess that there were only 2 guys playing, they made enough noise you would think it was a full band up there playing. The show was sold out and the place was packed and happening. You couldn't help but have a good time at this show with everyone dancing and singing along. They had the place pumping with the dance floor a bouncing. If you have ever been to The Pawn Shop venue, you know what I mean when I say the floor was a bouncing. The Pawn Shop is on the second floor of the building and is an older building. When the place gets rocking, you can literally feel the floor bouncing, well King Khan had the place a bouncing Thursday night.
My favorite song of the night, was a song called Taste Bud, its a rude fun song, I recommend trying to find this song, its a fucking fun song. The whole night was a lot of fun. I give this show a 8 out of 10. Good times!!!!

Band Of Skulls Album Review

On a visit to Megatunes recently I picked up an album by a band called Band Of Skulls (released on Shangrila Music). I had seen the album a few times and a friend of mine (A-Bomb) had mentioned it was pretty good. I mostly bought the album cause of the name of the band and the cool album cover. With a name like Band Of Skulls, I was expecting some heavy music, but to my surprise it really isn't.
They are a 3 piece band from Southhampton,London that have been together as band Of Skulls since 2008, this being their debut album. The band consists of Matthew Hayward on drums,Russell Marsden on guitar and vocals and Emma Richardson on bass and vocals.
The album is called Baby Darling Doll Face Honey, cool album title I think. It's got a great mix of some rocking tunes and some slower almost ballad like songs. Some of the more rocking tunes kind of remind me of the White Stripes, there is also some great harmonies happening in the songs.
The stand out tracks to me are Death By Diamonds (quite White Stripe-ish), Patterns,Bombs,Light In The Morning(another White Stripe-ish song),Cold Fame (a great break up song) and my favorite track I Know What I Am.
My favorite lyrics on the record are from the song Cold Fame
"no one wants to hear you're breaking up,it wasn't long ago we sang start me up,now all your dreaming will have to wait, what you deserve you'll anticipate, play your 45 records late at night,open up the windows turn on the light,and mysterious creatures will fill the room, a midnite show just put on for you, but I still fall from grace with this microphone, how'd you find yourself if you never roam?"
The more I listen to this album the more I am liking it too. I would give this album by Band Of Skulls a 7 out of 10.Oh ya,the vinyl version of the album comes with a cool poster of the cover artwork.

Old School Album of The Week For Nov. 16th-20th

This week I pulled out an album that still stands the test of time, yet got no recognition then or now. AC/DC's album from 1985 Fly On The Wall. To me, this was the last decent album they put out til this years Black Ice album, although, I think Fly On The Wall is way better. Why, this album got no airplay and isn't really recognized is beyond me. This album kicks fucking ass!!! There isn't a bad song on this album. Sure, it's your typical AC/DC album, drinkin' and sex songs, but hell, this is way better then anything they put out in almost 25 years. And you can't go wrong with songs about sex and drinkin'. Titles like, Shake Your Foundations,Sink The Pink,Playing With Girls, Send For The Man and Danger pretty much tell you what your in for. Good times!!!!
The first song and title song Fly On The Wall opens with this verse,
"You can dance through the night
Rock roll music itchin' to fight
Makin' love drunk or stoned
Lookin' for dollars get broken boned
It's a game too tough to tame
Ends up the same, sweatin' out the rain"
I'm thinkin', what a great fucking opening verse for an album, let's rock!!!
Second song, Shake Your Foundations, is another great song, that I am surprised that they don't play live in concert very often with the great sing along chorus of
"Aye,aye,oh,shake your foundations"
My favorite line in this song is in the first verse again,
"See me leanin' on the bar
I got my head in a whiskey jar
Feelin' good,cos the city's alive
I'm gettin' ready to rock and jive"
Third song, First Blood, favorite line,
"Some like it hot
Some like it quite not so hot"
That line makes me laugh,lol.
Fourth song, Danger, favorite verse,
"Red lights are flashin'
There's been a misunderstandin'
Bruised an broken bandaged
Through drinkin' all that brandy
I was under the table but I came back for more
Gotta hit the bottle but my head hit the floor"
Oh ya, that verse brings back some memories.
Fifth song, Sink The Pink, the title says it all, this is one of the few songs from this album that gets a little bit of airplay.
Side Two,Sixth song, Playing With Girls, again, the title says it all. Favorite line.
"Highball women that are hot to touch
Legs do the talkin' speelin' out the lust"
And thats the first 2 lines, another great rocker.
Seventh song, Stand Up, Favorite line,
"Get on the red dress, slip on the lace
Up for a high heel and a pretty face"
Song eight, Hell Or High Water, the chorus is Hell Or High Water, but it sure don't sound like he is saying that, must be the Australian accent, have a listen to it, tell me what it sounds like he is sayin'.
Ninth song, Back In Business, another fun song, favorite line,
"Breakin' out, about to shout
Feel the need for one more round"
I can relate with that line :)
Tenth song, Send For The Man, Favorite line,
"This ain't a gun in my pocket
I got the goods in my hand"
I have really enjoyed listening to this album this week, brought back some good memories. My earliest memories of Fly On The Wall is my Cousin coming for a visit to Edmonton from Estevan with his buddy Shane during the summer of 85'. My parents had a camper set up in our backyard, which is where we stayed in, drinking and rocking out to AC/DC on the ol' ghetto blaster. I think this was my Cuz's first real listen to AC/DC.
Then in August of 1986, I got to experience the band in concert at the Coliseum with opening band Queensryche, what a fuckin' excellent show it was too. I remember on my way into this show, seeing people in the parking lot drinking whiskey straight from the bottle, a 60 oz'er at that. This was a rowdy show and a really good time.This is such an underrated album.
By the way, what ever happened to Simon Wright?

Book Review

I recently finished a book my brother had brought me to read when he was here in August. It is a book wrote by Rudy Sarzo called, Off The Rails (Aboard The Crazy Train In The Blizzard Of Ozz) Sarzo has played in Quiet Riot,Whitsnake and Ozzy's band Blizzard Of Ozz. He played bass in all of the mentioned bands. This book is for the most part a journal of his tour with Ozzy between March of 1981 and Sept 1982, Ozzy's first solo tours with original and still the best guitar player Ozzy has ever had, Randy Rhoads.
The book starts with Rudy's upbringing in Cuba and coming to America and finally finding a band to play in, starting with Quiet Riot and then ending up with Ozzy, after Ozzy had left Black Sabbath. The book is full of all kind of stories that I have heard before but not from an actual member of the band. The biting the head off a dove at meeting with record executives, pissing on the Alamo in Texas while dressed in drag and so many other drunken stories, cool to hear stories from Rudy, whom was actually there at the time. Ozzy was quite messed up at this time in his life.
Then there is the tragic story of the plane crash that killed Randy Rhoads. This is the most detailed telling of the story I have ever heard. Worth the read.
All and all, an easy read, but a fun entertaining book. Check it out if given the chance.

Mike Plume Band @ The Brixx Bar and Grill

Thursday night Nov.12th BZ,Earl and I went to see Mike Plume for the second time in a few months. This was my third time seeing him play live, but the first time I had seen him play with his full band. This show was originally billed and booked for the Starlite Room, but was moved at the last moment to The Brixx, which is in the same building, but in the basement and a way smaller venue and not near as good as the Starlite Room. So that was a disapoinment. Nothing worse then going to a rock show and people are more into eating and chatting then checking out the tunes.
We got there for the last 2 songs of the opening act The James Murdoch Band, the little bit I heard, I thought they sounded pretty damn good actually.
Up next of course was The Mike Plume Band, who I was really looking forward to seeing. While he didn't have the guitar player I was hoping to see play with him. The guy he did have (Jackson Langley) was a really good guitar player, although I thought he was little dramatic with his playing and facial expressions. Don't get me wrong, he was a great player, I just thought he was a little too animated for my taste. Nonetheless, the whole band was on, drummer (Anastasios) bass player (Ben Wilson)Ben kept a really cool groove with great background vocals and at times seemed like he was playing rhythm guitar and not bass, excellent bass player. And of course Mike was sounding awesome, they were really layin' it down. Mike is one of my favorite song writers these days. They played songs from their whole catalog of music. Some of my favorite tunes from the evening were, the title song from their newest album 830NFLD,Alcohol,one of my faves from his new album Like A Bullet From A Gun,Weeds,Oblivion, one of the better hockey songs ever wrote More Than A Game, plus many more. They played for 2 hours with not a boring moment through out the show. The only bummer was that he didn't play a song from his new album that I was really hoping to hear (Keeping Time With The Telephone Poles) other then that, and the venue, this was a great show. Have to say The Brixx isn't one of my top choices for a venue, too small, too may pole structures obscuring the stage and it was more a place to eat and talk then a real rock n' roll venue.
I would give this show an 8 out of 10. Also, I thought it was cool that Mike recalled my name when I went up to the merch booth to buy a couple of albums. That to me, just showed he actually does respect his fans.And takes the time to autograph CD's and have pictures taken with his fans.Kudo's to you Mike Plume!!!!
Look forward to seeing you play again soon.

Old School Album of The Week For Nov. 9th-13th

Well, what can I say, other then I think I should have every Friday off from work so I can over analyze the album of the week.
This week I pulled out the Black Sabbath album from 1972 Vol. 4. What a fucking great album, this is still my favorite Black Sabbath album. Every song on this album is good, right from the first line of the album to the closing line of the album. This is when Sabbath as a whole wrote great fucking songs.
The first line of the first song Wheels Of Confusion ( long ago I wandered through my mind) What a great first line and song, as soon as this album starts you know you are in for a treat, great riffs (Tony Iommi) and lyrics through out the whole labum. I get the feeling this is a relationship album. that's what I am gathering from the lyrics.
Song 2 Tomorrow's Dream - Favorite line in this song
"yes I'm leaving the sorrow and heartache,
before it takes me away from my mind"
Song 3 Changes - I have always liked this song, probably my very favorite song ever from Black Sabbath. Actually probably the best ballad ever, for me anyways! Listening to this song gives me shivers up my spine everytime I hear it. Just Ozzy's vocals and piano, a beautiful song. Favorite line in this song, actually verse
"I feel unhappy,
I feel so sad,
I lost the best friend,
That I ever had"
And that's the opening verse, you know your in for a heavy song with that kind of start. Just a great great song.
Song 4 FX - This is just some weird fucking instrumental, some weird shit this is.
Song 5 Supernaut - The start of this song is just some wicked riffing from Iommi, Tony plays some of the greatest riffs ever. Favorite line in this song
"I'm gonna climb up,
every mountain on the moon,
and find the dish,
that ran away with the spoon"
It's like a fucking nursey rhyme, I love it.
Song 6 Snowblind - Any real fan of Sabbath will know what this song is about without my expalining it. Great riff through out this song as well.
Favorite line in this song
" Fill my dreams with flakes of snow
Soon I'll feel the chilling glow"
Ya, this songs gives me shivers too.
Song 7 Cornucopia - This song starts real gloomy, with a heavy bass sound,then breaks into some wicked riffing. Favorite lines from this song
"Exciting in their plastic ways,
Frozen food we can't replace"
"You're gonna go insane,
I'm trying to save your brain"
Song 8 Laguna Sunrise - Another instrumental song, some cool acoustic playing on this song.
Song 9 St. Vitus' Dance - A Sabbath love song if you can believe it(Sabbath style of course). Favorite line in this song.
"If I were you I would try again and try to make amends,
She only thinks of you,you know I am talking as a friend"
What a great fucking line.
Song 10 Under The Sun - Another song that starts real gloomy, then breaks into some great riffing. Favorite line in this song.
" I've opened the door,
and my mind has been released"
And then the last line of the album.
"Go and live your life,
and leave them all behind"
Like I say, great lyrics from start to finish, and then the band fucking rocking hardcore, what a great album. I never get bored of hearing this album. It should be listened to from start to finish and not on random play.
Now do youself a favour and pull this classic out of your collection and listen to it.

Elvis Presley Single

Last weekend I had some friends over for a few drinks. A friend of mine (Tim) whom I used to work with came over for drinks, but happened to be broke at the time, and didn't wanna come over with out beers, I told him not to worry about it, as there were all kinds of beers in the fridge. He did come over, but felt obligated to bring something for me. And what he brought me, was a 7" single Of Elvis Presley released in 1956. This single actually has 4 songs on it, Blue Suede Shoes and Tutti Frutti on side A and I Got A Woman and Just Because on side B. The record itself is in great condition considering how old it is, its got a bit of a warp to it, but the playing condition is in mint condition, the cover has a little ware to it, but nonetheless really cool. This is the oldest piece of vinyl I own. Thanks a lot Tim, much appreciated.

Old School Album of The Week For Nov. 2nd - 6th

This week I pulled out an album from 1985 that I used to listen to quite often as a teenager. W.A.S.P. The Last Command. I listened to these guys religiously between 1984 and 86, this was their second album. While not as good as their debut album, I was still rocking out to it in 1985. I was a hardcore WASP fan, and had everything they put out for about 3 years, import albums, singles,picture discs, videos, anything I could get my hands on. Back in 85 WASP were considered extreme and were part of the reason that they started putting warnings on records, for lyrics and such.
The album The Last Command doesn't really stand the test of time, but I still enjoyed listening to it this week. My favorite songs on the album are Ballcrusher, Blind In Texas and of course Wild Child, cause after all, when this album came out, that's exactly what I thought I was.
I had tickets to see WASP in 84 when they were supposed to play here in Edmonton with Krokus, but ended up cancelling. But I finally did get the chance to see them play in 2004 at Red's, it was a fun show, but unfortuantelly the only original member now is Blackie Lawless.
WASP actually just released a new album in the past couple of months called Babylon.
By the way, what ever happened to original guitarist of WASP Chris Holmes?

New Slayer

Yay, new Slayer came out this week (World Painted Blood), and it is exactly what you would expect from Slayer. Some brutal metal, all out thrash, no compromise with these guys. Slayer is starting to kind of remind me of Motorhead, not the music, but you know exactly what you are getting when a new Slayer album comes out. They don't change, just some hardcore thrash, relentless shredding and pounding with the usual lyrics about religion,war, death, suicide and such, all very up lifting subjects,lol.Not music for the weak. I don't think they will make many new fans, but they sure as hell won't lose any either. Slayer never lets you down with new music. Overall, I am quite impressed with it. Stand out tracks for me are title track,Hate Worldwide,Public Display Of Dismemberment and Playing With Dolls.
This is an album to listen to if you need to get an anger on or got a chip on your shoulder, cause this shit will pump you up and make you wanna hurt someone.
I give this album a 8 out of 10.