Buckcherry - 15

The review for the 15 album is totally thanks to my editor. Andria bought the album, played it over and over, and totally fell in love with it. Then while she was on vacation I get a text saying I should review this album. I had planned to at one point. It's been sitting in my CD player for a month or two now just waiting for this review.

Let me start by confessing that I didn't know Buckcherry has already released five albums. I remember the 1999 self titled album really well, as well as 15, which was released in 2005. I only have one of those two CDs in my possession, and as I write this I'm a little annoyed with myself.

The album opens with So far, which was a great choice. It's a brash, in your face, and get's your heart pumping. Basically it's one of those "we've been battered, bruised, and abused, but we're back and we're going to kick some ass" songs. It's was the perfect opening song.

After that comes Next 2 You which is a great mix of rock and twang, while having a sexy groove as well. It's lyrically pretty typical, and the title gives away the entire concept of the song. It's the music that really makes this song pop huge.

Out of Line reminds me of the sound on AC/DC's Fly On The Wall, if Angus used a talk box. So, if you are a fan of both of those components, like I am, it's not hard to like this song. However, this is an album cut in the sense that it's musically a little more diverse and experimental, but at the same time kept in the area of Stock sounding.

I like the song Everything. It's romantic, but not a silly ballad. It's not any type of ballad. It's a straight forward Rock song, with a real soul. There's nothing special musically, but the lyrical content are the words of a man that is truly in love, and is hurting because she's hurting. "Buried way beneath the sheets I think she's having a meltdown / Finding it hard to fall asleep she won't let anyone help her / The look on her face a waste of time she won't let go gonna roll the dice / Loosing her grace starts to cry I feel her pain when I look in her eyes / I want ta be I want everything, I want everything / Somewhere she is on the streets trying to make things better / Praying to God and breathing deep gotta break this long obsession".

Carousel, is pretty much the same as Everything, except that it has a bit of a country twang to it, and a lot more lovey dovey. It's okay, and I don't mind when I hear it, but I do not go out of my way to listen to it.

By the time I get to Sorry, I'm just about ready to stop listening to the album. Over the course of three songs we go from real love, to a sad typical ballad. I hate songs like this. They have become so standard now that I just have no respect for them anymore. The good part about this song is that it's buried in the middle of the CD, and it all goes uphill from there.

If you are reading this, you should remember Crazy Bitch. They edited the crap out of it for the radio, but it didn't matter. This song was honest to a fault, and one hell of a rock song. A bit standard, but still totally kickin'. Although lyrically crude it get's the point across. "Take it off, the paper is your game / You jump in bed with fame / Another one night paid in full, uh / You're so fine, it won't be a loss / Cashing in the rocks, just to get you face to face / Hey / You're crazy bitch / But you fuck so good, I'm on top of it / When I dream, I'm doing you all night / Scratches all down my back to keep me right on". Good times.

My favourite part of Onset is the lead line. For the most part I will be honest and say that most of the songs on this album are pretty stock, and Buckcherry clearly mastered their playing listening to great Rock songs. The blue prints are all over this album. It's very Guns N' Roses/Aerosmith sounding. But when it comes to this song it's totally enjoyable, crankable, and fun to listen to.

Take everything I said in the last paragraph, and apply it to Sunshine, except that Sunshine is a heavier tune, and I enjoy it more.

After Crazy Bitch, Brooklyn is my favourite song. This is a great rock song, but the fact that it's all slide and accoustic guitar sounding is just fantastic. You might think that would make the song sound all country, but not at all. " Take a flight to London, sing my song / Bring me back to New York, that's where I get paid / Dance with the ladies all night long / Take a train to Brooklyn tryin' to get laid / I see you're walkin' away / Don't be afraid I won't bite hard / It's better than being alone / Black out in Brooklyn I'm so hard / Naked with lady, crashed my car / Maxed out all of my credit cards / Blacked out in Brooklyn, all night long / Brooklyn! / Heading out to Detroit got the call / The motor city's jumping / Maybe I should stay / Curtain call's coming, we'll have to stall / A red heads running away back stage / I see her coming this way / Don't be afraid I won't bite hard / It's better than being alone". This is just one of those songs about the great unwind after the hard touring.

The album ends with Broken Glass, and this was a great idea. This song is a perfect ending to an album. It's fast, aggressive, full of high octaine, and just explodes. This is everything the last song on an album should be. Like I said, these guys studied the masters, and learned how to make a great album.

I will always happily listen to this album. It's one of the few good albums Andria's bought strictly for herself, because she wanted it. I think that was a great call, but when I think of all the Madonna, Evanescence, and Carpenters I've been forced to listen to, I won't say she should buy for herself too often.

8/10 - content

7/10 - production

9/10 - personal bias

Black Sabbath - Paranoid

I hate reviewing albums that are monolithic in stature, because I have to be fair, and a lot of times I find the album isn't as good as the hype. In some cases I find I have become jaded toward certain albums so I feel I'm under valuing them as well. However, I get a break from those worries with this review.

Today I get to write a review about the very first Heavy Metal album, and probably the greatest Heavy Metal album ever written. Black Sabbath's Paranoid is the album that created and defined Heavy Metal. The follow up to the Proto-Gothic Blues Hard Rock self titled album released the year before. (Of course, that's a complicated term that didn't exsist back then.) This album contained every single recipe you needed for what would become the wide world of Metal, and it was given to us in 1970. The album opens with War Pigs. Chances are you know this song, as well as two others on side one of the original vinyl, since they are some of the biggest song names in Rock and Metal.

Now if you have ever listened to War Pigs with anything more than a passing notice, you'll notice a few things. The first is that Tony Iommi understands that you don't have to be playing non stop. You don't have to cram as many riffs, notes, scales and chords into a messure as you can. It's over kill if you always do it. The next thing is that Bill Ward's drum tracks are total psychotic Jazz drumming, he's controlled chaos. Other things you may also notice is that there isn't much low end, but that's because Geezer Butler isn't actually playing in the low end of the bass. I mean it's low, but he plays the bass in a range that allows Tony to go flying into the higher notes without there being a huge gap in the mid range. This is one of those songs that bands just don't understand today. The idea of letting a song breathe, while allowing every member to do what they do exceptionally well.

If you don't know the title track of this album, something has gone drastically wrong in you life, and I am sorry. This song should be considered one of the most over played songs in history. I should be ranting and raving about how tired I am of hearing this song, God knows I've done it with many others, including a track still to come on this album. However, Paranoid may be one of the single greatest songs under three minutes. This is also the song that I say is the complete blueprints for what became Trash Metal.

Planet Caravan is the only song on this album that could not be considered Metal, and yet Pantera did a cover of it. This is a song I use to use for meditation purposes. It would be the equivilant of Metallica's Fade To Black, Megadeth's A Tout Le Monde, or Pantera's Cemetary Gates, in the sense that it's a slow mellow song on a heavy album. This song is different from those though, because it's a hell of a lot cooler. For starters the percussion is being played on hand drums, I believe sticks are being used, but it's not your normal kit. Then there's the lyrics "We sailed through endless skies / Stars shine like eyes / The black night sighs / The moon in silver trees / Falls down in tears / Light of the night / The earth, a purple blaze / Of sapphire haze in orbital ways / While down below the trees / Bathed in cool breeze / Silver starlight breaks dawn from night / And so we pass on by / The crimson eye of great god Mars / As we travel the universe". Not overly complicated, in one sense and totally mystic in another. Then there's the guitar and bass. Both are totally incredible and need to be listened to for themselves.

The last song on the first side of the vinyl is Iron Man. This is the most over played piece of crap... Naw, I'm just messing with you. I don't enjoy the song like I did when I was younger, because it's been played so much, but I do still enjoy it. It's another one of those songs that's just amazingly written, and allowed to breathe.

The greatest thing about Black Sabbath is that Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler know how to write great music, and Bill Ward knows exactly how to punctuate his drumming in all the right spots. You have to take into consideration that this band is based on the foundations of Blues and Jazz, and it is all over every single song on this album. The dark sinister rumbling that comes from this combination of three musicians is what became Metal. Also the fact that the production always managed to capture Sabbath's sound really helps too.

Okay, so now that we're done covering the highly successful commercial side of the album, it's on to tracks that are a million times cooler.

The second side starts of with Electric Funeral. "Reflex in the sky warn you you're gonna die / Storm coming, you'd better hide from the atomic tide / Flashes in the sky turns houses into sties / Turns people into clay, radiation minds decay / Robot minds of robot slaves lead them to atomic rage / plastic flowers, melting sun, fading moon falls upon / dying world of radiation, victims of mad frustration / Burning globe of oxy'n fire, like electric funeral pyre / Buildings crashing down to a cracking ground / Rivers turn to wood, ice melting to flood / Earth lies in death bed, clouds cry water dead / Tearing life away, here's the burning pay / Electric Funeral / Electric Funeral / Electric Funeral / Electric Funeral / And so in the sky shines the electric eye / supernatural king takes earth under his wing / Heaven's golden chorus sings, Hell's angels flap their wings / Evil souls fall to Hell, ever trapped in burning cells!" Musically this song is scarier than the lyrics. Here's the interesting thing about Black Sabbath, did you ever notice how those above lyrics are actually a warning about how we are going to end up in Hell? They aren't being all Satanic and saying worship Satan, it's quite the opposite.

Hand Of Doom continues on the Hell Howling. I mean this is such a vicious song, but it's all anti-war, anti-murder, anti-killing, anti everything that Metal became a giant cliche of. Then you get to about the two minute marker and the song goes from a peaceful protest to a complete assault and battery that's storming the Capitol. This song has chug, gangland mentallity, brutal and savage intentions, but it's all being directed at the right people, not just randomly. This is one song I would love to hear Metallica cover, except for the fact I don't think Lars could handle the drumming, it would take too much skill.

Rat Salad is an instrumental track. If you want to hear what Jazz and Metal sound like when they are truly being played together this is the song you want to listen to. This is one of those songs that will always be overlooked and underated by anyone other than a music connoisseur.

The album ends with my favourite song from it. Well it's actually two songs put together in one, and I mean that literally, Jack The Stripper / Fairies Wear Boots. The instrumental part at the begining is the first part. Just before the lyrics kick in, you are totally into the actual song Fairies Wear Boots. The lyrical content isn't very acceptable in this day and age, considering it's an offensive double entandre for homosexuals. However, if you take the lyrics at face value instead of reading too much into them, it's a perfectly harmless song about a man that saw some weird stuff and no one believes him. Musically this song is just as amazing as every other, but I like the feel, the flow, the fact that you could dance to this song if you wanted to. It's just a really, really good song.

All in all I consider this one of the greatest albums ever recorded and released, and rightfully so. This album has not only stood up to the test of time, but it has beaten it on the head with a black Gibson SG over and over again. This is more than just a classic album. This is a masterpiece.

The only downside is that my CD copy is not a jacked up digitally remastered from the original tapes copy. This was just ripped from the master copy instead, so the sound is a bit cold until you crank it. However, the production and mixing on this album are fantastic especially given the time period in which it was recorded.

10/10 - content

9/10 - production

10/10 - personal bias

Chris De Burgh - Spanish Train And Other Stories

Of all the artists I grew up listening to, Chris De Burgh was the most unique. I have only ever had one other friend that honestly knew who he was. Aside from, "the guy that wrote Lady In red", and most people don't even know that. Then again, how many people even know Lady In Red anymore.

Chris De Burgh is not very big in North America. He's too complex for the American market, and they don't know what to make of him. Jamming him into either Adult Contemporary or Easy Listening. I understand why, but both are wrong.

However, from what I understand, from Quebec through the Maritimes he is more popular. I can only base this on three things. The Montreal area is where my parents got into him, I've heard a reference to Chris De Burgh on The Trailer Park Boys, of all places, and conversations with my dad.

The first thing to understand is that this artist is a story teller. His lyrics are carefully crafted to tell a very clear story, and the music is written to suit the lyrical content, or the period of the song. I don't even know what the proper description is musically for some of these songs.

Another thing is that you can't be a fan of any specific genre of music, if you are going to like him. You have to like all types of music, because that's what you get. There is no way to nail the Spanish Train album down to any specific type of music. The album open with Spanish Train. This is the story of the battle between God and The Devil for human souls, as played through a game of poker. Musically the song is just very well played. There is no real form or shape to the music. Most of it is used to convey emotion, and help the story along. It takes until the climax of the story until any type of real form shows up in the music, about 3:30 in the song. Even then it's still very free form.

"The cold north wind they call "La Bise" / Is swirling round about my knees, / Trees are crying leaves into the river; / I'm huddled in this french cafe / I never thought I'd see the day, / But winter's here and summer's really over, / Even the birds have packed up and gone, / They're flying south with their song, / And my love, she too has gone, she had to fly, / Take care, it's such a lonely sky, / They'll trap your wings my love and hold your flight, / They'll build a cage and steal your only sky, / Fly away, fly to me, fly when the wind is high, /I'm sailing beside you in your lonely sky". This sounds just like something you'd hear in the mentioned french cafe, around the time of World War I. It's a very pretty song, and so well written and performed. It's not that I'm overly fond of Lonely Sky, but that doesn't mean it's not good.

This Song For You more or less continues where Lonely Sky left off. It sounds like a little extra production was put on to make the music sound like it may have been recorded on a cylinder instead of a record. It's just so well done. If nothing else Chris De Burgh tells a fantastic story with great emotion.

There's a joke in The Full Monty and when one of the working stiffs refer to one of the dancing males as Patricia The Stripper. That song is next on the list, and it is so typically 1930's cabaret that you can't help but love it. I mean this song reeks of sex appeal and that's before the lyrics even kick in. But these were classy lyrics, not just some crap ass "Hey baby, take it off, and show us your tits." There's is nothing of that sort in these lyrics. "You see Patricia, or Delicia, not only is a singer / She also removes all her clothing... / For Patricia is the best stripper in town, / And with a swing of her hips she started to strip, / To tremendous applause she took off her drawers, / And with a lick of her lips she undid all the clips, / Threw it all in the air, and everyone stared, / And as the last piece of clothing fell to the floor, / The police were banging on the door, / On a Saturday night, in nineteen twenty-four... / Take it away boys!"

There are two songs on this album that are very Christianity inspired, but both are done in such amazing context that you'd never know. The first one is A Spaceman Came Travelling. This is the story of a being from another planet coming to Earth and discovering a child with a bright light of silver around his head. This song is the tale of the Angel that came to the shepherds when Jesus was born, but with a slightly different take to it.

I'm Going Home is one of the most typical songs on this album. It sounds like it would have easily fit in on any 1970's Hollywood picture about any type of travel. It's not bad, just not anything special. It's not like the rest of this album. It doesn't have that storytelling free flow, and Jazz-like edge.

I found it really funny when I found out that my dad and the few of his friends didn't like The Painter all that much. Musically I think it's fantastic, it has this great feel in the verses that's light and fluffy. Then you move into the pre-chorus, which has a kickin' pick up. It gets you moving and bouncing. Then the chorus kicks in, and you are just rolling along for the rest of the journey. One of my favourite parts about The Painter is the sax work, and the way that Chris goes nuts with vengeance as the song unfolds.

The next two songs on the album are Old Friend and The Tower. The first one is a pretty little number, that's basically a stroll down memory lane. This song is heavy on the horns, and has that music sound I described on tracks two and three.

The Tower is very slow and mellow. I find it a little too mellow for me, and I normally end up skipping it. However, this is one of those songs that you are meant to sit back and listen to as the story unfolds and brings tears to our eyes. The accoustic work is fantastic and I love the classical picking on top of the strumming. The album finishes with my second favourite Chris De Burgh song. My favourite is not on this album, and is the subject of the joke I mentioned earlier.

Just Another Poor Boy is the story of Christ, Mary Magdaline and his eventual execution. You'd never know this by the lyrics, unless you are using some brain power, or at the minimum are paying attention to the words. "He was but a traveller on the lonely road of life, / She, her name was Mary, a lady of the night, / She found him lying in that road, on a winter's night so cold, / Just another poor boy, treat him right; / She saw that he was hungry and gave him food to eat, / She knew that he was weary and he had no place to sleep, / She took him home to her own bed, she lay down his wounded head, / And washed away the world from his hands and his feet, / He was just another poor boy, just another poor boy, / When he cried out in his sleep she held him tight, / Just another poor boy, just another poor boy, / And she gave him love and comfort through the night, / Till the morning's light... / At night she sat beside him, by the fire he would talk, / He said all men were brothers and that love could conquer all, / Many gathered round to hear, many for his life did fear, / In troubled times like these men seldom talked. / Oh they came for him one morning at the breaking of the day, / She woke to hear him calling as they carried him away, / Accusing him of spreading lies and hate, / His public meetings were a danger to the state, / Some soldier said "Who was he anyway?"/ Just another poor boy, just another poor boy, / And the tears were falling from her face like rain, / Just another poor boy, just another poor boy, / And they hung him on a hillside far away, / And on the ground she lay ... poor boy ... oh my Lord... /". Then right about here the electric guitar with a wah-wah pedal kicks in, and the song just rips it up until the end. but, continuing with "Oh my Lord ... oh my Lord... / Just another poor boy, just another poor boy, / And the tears were falling from her face like rain, / Just another poor boy, just another poor boy, / And they hung him on a hillside far away, just another poor boy, / Just another poor boy, just another poor boy, / And she never dreamed she'd see his face again..." My only complaint is that the guitar wasn't cranked up in the mix. There's this really awesome work going on in the background that you can really only hear properly through headphones.

I have taken more teasing, and taunting over my enjoyment of early Chris De Burgh than I have for liking any other band or musician. With the exception of maybe Styx, but that doesn't help my argument in defending the awesomeness of this poet, musician, and all around fantastic story teller.

I also think, based on personal experience, this album is great for camping. Especially around a camp fire, while playing cards.

8/10 - content

8/10 - production

9/10 - personal bias

Ted Nuget - Out Of Control

One of the greatest parts about the early 1990's was the release of the CD boxset. The very first one I remember was the Led Zeppelin box set, which was even advertised on television. After that followed various other ones by other artists. Aerosmith had released two in less than five years even.

This review is about the 1993 boxset Out Of Control, by Ted Nugent. This is the only boxset I've ever owned that only has two albums. Most have three or more. But, two discs are all you need to cover The Nuge's career from start until 1993. This is one of those packages I highly suggest if you can find it, and love Detroit Rock.

Out Of Control opens with Baby Please Don't Go, as covered by The Amboy Dukes. This is a classic song that I've heard covered by countless bands, and I've even made sure to learn the simple rhythm section in case I should ever need it. I don't care either way about this cover. It's solid, but Ted's guitar work isn't all that impressive. He wasn't Double Live Gonzo yet. If I had to pick a cover of this song to listen to, I'll go with the AC/DC version.

My favourite Amboy Dukes' song is Journey To The Center Of Your Mind. This is my third favourite Ted Nugent song over all. This is when you start seeing Deadly Tedly coming into being as the guitarist we all know. On top of that, this song sounds very 60's hippy trippy, which is odd in one way. Since Nugent is against drug use. It's the chorus that makes this song for me. "Come along if you care / Come along if you dare / Take a ride to the land inside of your mind / Beyond the seas of thought / Beyond the realm of what / Across the streams of hopes and dreams / Where things are really not."

I find it funny that in the day of Digital music that a song is left being mono. You Talk Sunshine I Breathe Fire is specifically listed as being mono, right on the CD. I don't understand why they would do something so silly, except for being lazy and not wanting to take the time to re-produce the song. Personally I think this was a bad call, and this track suffers for it. Also the fact that it sounds pretty much like most of the other Amboy Dukes stuff.

There is a cover of the classic Gloria on this collection. It's okay, and if you like the original you may enjoy this one too. This is the first track on this disc to be listed as previously unreleased. The set lists this as being an Amboy Dukes song, Ted Nugent disputed this on his radio station 102.7 WWBR, with his ego claiming this was not done by the Amboy Dukes. I guess he wanted all the credit like normal.

I think Ted is a fantastic guitarist, and he has written some amazing songs, but I really think he should be loaded on a bus with Gene Simmons and Eddie Van Halen, then sent plummeting off a cliff. Just so we won't have to hear about their overly inflated egos anymore.

Call Of The Wild is the first song on here to be a Ted Nugent song, eventhough it's still the Amboy Dukes. The music is no longer sounding like a 60's California hangover, and instead like a Midwest Rock band. This is a good tune, and I'm all for cranking it. It's a bit of a filler, but only as a box set track. As an album track, it's great.

Number four on my list of top five Ted Nugent songs is The Great White Buffalo. You want to talk about Steve Vai, Joe Satchriani, Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, or any other high speed guitarist you can go right ahead. I've seen this man play this song live and his hands are lightning fast. He isn't just working the strings. During the playing of this song he is also constantly switching back and forth between pick-ups, augmenting the dials and he never loses a single beat. He also sings at the same time. This song is just wild. Oh yeah, there's also a great message in the song. "Well,it happened long time ago, / In the new magic land. / The Indian and the buffalo, / They existed hand in hand.... / The Indian needed food, / He needed skins for a roof. / But he only took what they needed,baby. / Millions of buffalo were the proof. / Yeah,its all right. / But then came the white man, / With his thick and empty head. / He couldnt see past the billfold, / He wanted all the buffalo dead. / It was sad...It was sad. / Oh yeah...yes indeed."

This marks the end of the Amboy Dukes and the start of solo Ted Nugent.

Every band has that one song that I can never figure out why it's so popular. For Ted Nugent the song is Stranglehold. It's a good solid song. I won't deny that, but it's a little boring from a Ted Nugent point of view. It's a bit too much in the way of guitar wanking to be enjoyable. It's like Ted opted to go all Pink Floyd, without understanding what being all Pink Floyd is all about.

Stormtroopin' is a pretty decent song. It reminds me of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal in many ways. I can hear a lot of Diamond Head and even some early Def Leppard. But just to clarify, I mean that I can see how many N.W.O.B.H.M. bands took their sound from this song.

After that is Hey Baby. It has a great swing to it and the guitar lines are pretty kickin'. This is one of those songs that you have heard and never knew that it was Ted Nugent. Over all it's not a song that I care for, but I see why many like it. This one sounds very Motown influenced.

If you like high octane blues riffing Motor City Madhouse is the song for you. Lyrically it's a pretty typical song, but it's at least honest. "Woh, those fortified motor cars, / High energy, and it’s all ours / Ha ha ha ha ha / Dig this / Woh, such a heavy place for the boys and girls, / It’s the murder capital of the world / Yeow! / Well, Detroit city, she’s the place to be, / Mad dog town gonna set you free / I say. " This is such a typical Nuge song, but it's a really good typical Nuge song.

Free-For-All is one of those songs I just love to crank. That opening riff is just wickedly contagious and groovy. Mixed with Ted Nugents vocal performance which was very Rap like, in the same way as Steven Tyler, this song is just exciting. I also enjoy these lyrics. "Never before have I turned on you / You looked too good to me / Your beady eyes, they can cut me in two / And I just can't let you be / It's a free-for-all and I heard it said / You can bet your life / Stakes are high and so am I / It's in the air toni-i-ight / I see you there with your cheshire grin / I got my eyes on you / Shake your tailfeathers in my face / And there's no tellin' what I'll do / Well looky here, you sweet young thing / The magic's in my hands / When in doubt I whip it out / I got me a rock 'n' roll band / It's a free-for-all".

I don't care for Dog Eat Dog. I don't even know what to really make of this one. I mean it's okay, but nothing special. It's very N.W.O.B.H.M., and very typical of that style as well. If you are into the earlier, more rock oriented stuff from that time period, you may enjoy this one more than I do.

If you want to hear some great guitar please listen to Turn It Up. If you want to listen to music that sounds very high speed 1950's Rock N' Roll turns heavy 70's Rock, then returns back the the previous format, you may want to listen to this song as well. If you're like me, you can just skip this one.

Street Rats is a previously unreleased version. The notes say that it's an alternate version with Derek St. Holmes. I'm not familiar with the original version, so I don't know what the real difference is. I can say that this sounds like a well produced demo, so it may just be a take with Derek singing instead of Ted.

That makes me think of something I didn't think to mention before. Most of the songs that are performed during the post Amboy Dukes days, that are on this first disc have Derek St. Holmes as the vocalist and rhythm guitarist. Some songs feature Ted singing, but not as many as you may think.

The second previously unreleased song from the first disc is Magic Party. I see why it was never released. What I don't understand is why it was recorded. It sounds like it may have been recorded for one of those 70's shows like The Great Space Coaster. This may have even been recorded for that specific purpose.

Hammerdown sounds like it could be Iron Maiden or Judas Priest without even trying. Well, if you ignore the vocalist. I mean you could easily confuse this song as being very N.W.O.B.H.M. The only thing is it causes a big problem that many of those albums suffer from as well. The production sucks.

Okay, it's not fair to say the production sucks. The problem is that these songs weren't digitally remastered from the original recordings. Instead they were just copied over directly from the master tapes and so it sounds flat, unless you crank it up. The only way to get around that is to find the original songs on vinyl.

The second disc opens with Cat Scratch Fever. This is tied with Stranglehold for best known Ted Nugent song. The only difference is I really dig this one. First off, I love when Ted sings. No offense to Derek, but all my favourite songs are Ted songs, except for Journey To The Center Of The Mind. This is song five in my top five.

I have a few problems with Ted Nugent. The first is he is a gun toting, ignorant, egotistical, jackass. The second is he has a only three types of lyrics. Hunting animals, which are some of the best, hunting beaver, or skinning and eating beaver. Which is why I find Wang Dang Sweet Poontang just ridiculous. I can't give it any type of real attention, and that's the same way I've felt as long as I've owned this collection.

Live It Up is pretty cool. It's one of the better produced songs so far. It seems that by 1977 they were finally figuring out how to record Ted properly. It's amazing how much the sound quality changes on the second disc.

Homebound is a fucking awesome instrumental. I mean this thing is totally worth cranking right the fuck up. This is Rock N' Fucking Roll played in style. It's everything that Ted stands for as partiotic American rolled up into a musically kickin' song,, that doesn't have a bunch of bullshit "We love America crap." Anyone can feel great about their country while listening to this one, as long as you are out in the wild.

Out Of Control is kind of typical Nuge. There's nothing different or unique about this one, so if you like Ted you should like this.

After that comes a block of four live tracks. Two are previously unreleased and two are from Double Live Gonzo.

The first previously unreleased live song is Oh Carol. It's very Chuck Berry. After that comes the two tracks from Double Live Gonzo, Just What The Doctor Ordered and Yank Me Crank Me. The first song is originally from Ted's first album. I don't mind it, but it's not a favoutire of mine. The second was an exclusive new track played live at the show. It sounds a lot like Dog Eat Dog. I will say that the production kills this track. If it had sounded better, I may have enjoyed the song more. It has a great Blues sound to it.

Walking Tall is the other previously unreleased live track. It's introduced as being a new song for the album, but it never made it to an album. I don't mind this one, it's okay, but I would have liked to have heard a better version of it. I will say that there is some crazy stuff going on with the guitar on this one that is worth checking out.

Need You Bad is totally forgetable. It's a background song that you hear, but don't really pay attention to. Luckily Weekend Warriors follows that up, and is totally enjoyable. At this point it's back to studio tracks, and production that should have been done better. This song sounds like they were trying to recapture the Amboy Dukes sound instead of continuing down the awesome path started on the Cat Scratch Fever album.

At this point I really start to tune out on the songs. It took until 1979, but even Ted started playing with a sound that was a bit New Wave, much like everyone else started doing to try and stay relevant. All I can do is shake my head and wonder why. Not a single one of them ever got it right.

I have the same opinion about Sate Of Shock, and if it wasn't for Wango Tango being impossible to ignore I would just suggest hitting the skip button until you hit the last song. However, Wango Tango is fun in a Frank Zappa kind of way. In fact saying that this song is Ted Nugent meets Frank Zappa would be a great description for this song. Also you want to talk about Rapping? Holy crap does Ted get crazy with it, and his twisted lyrics. "I got salivate late, salivate late, salivate late / I got the droolin', droolin', get all wet, salivate, salivate / Got salivate, salivate, salivate, salivate, heh heh heh / Yeah you look so good baby, I like it, I like it, I like it / You know what I been talkin' about honey / It's a nice dance, we gotta a nice dance goin' here / Now what you gotta do, I'll tell you what you gotta do / You got to pretend your face is a Maserati / It's a Maserati / It's a Maserati / It's a gettin' hotty / It's a Maserati, Maserati, Maserati / It's a fast one too man, that thing's turbocharged / You feel like a little fuel injection honey? / I'll tell ya about it, I'll tell you about it / I gotta get that hood scoop off, shine and shine and buff / I'll check out the hood scoop / I gotta buff it up, buff it up, buff it up, buff it up, buff it up," and that's a litte piece from the middle of the biggest on running sentence ever.

If you've heard one Ted Nugent song you've heard Scream Dream. To be honest it sounds like he ripped of Stranglehold to do this one.

Terminus Eldorado is one fo those songs that Ted just should not have done. It's like he heard ZZ Top start doing this weird Blues, Disco, New Wave sound and wanted in on it. The thing is he didn't do it as good. Instead it sounds like a Blondie song.

The second last song on the album is a live track called Jailbait. This is a pretty decent tune. I don't care for the production, and the lyrical content is completely asenine, but it's some of the more enjoyable music from this period. This was recorded originally for the Intensities in 10 Cities live album.

I feel I should mention the gap between 1980's Scream Dream album and the 1986 album Little Miss Dangerous. I can only imagine that those songs must have really sucked if they didn't make it on here.

The last song on the album is the title track from Little Miss Dangerous. This is also in the top five of my favourite Nugent songs. This song just blows my mind every time I hear it. It has me dreaming of lace and leather, and in this day and edge it has me fantasising of a Gothic beauty. "In the midnight hour / about the stroke of twelve / She'll be steppin' out / she's gonna raise some Hell / And it's her move / she's holding that wild card / Gotta make her move / she'll make your life so hard / High hell sneakers / head to toe in lace / Such a dangerous body / with a little girl's face." Musically this song just has me busting a nut. The bass line is hypnotic, the drums are mesmerizingly steady, and the guitar is so Tedly.

If you've been paying attention you'll notice that I've only mentioned four of my Six top Ted Nugent songs. The list goes like this; Little Miss Dangerous at number two, Journey To The Center Of the Mind at number three, Great White Buffalo at number four, and Cat Scratch Fever at number five. The very first song on that list is not on this collection for reasons that are beyond me, because the song had been recorded just never "officially" released, at that point. Fred Bear, is by far the best of all the Nugent songs as far as I'm concerned.

If this collection had contained that one extra song instead of the last couple of tracks I didn't care for this review would end with a higher score than it does. The biggest problem with this colleciton is the fact that no real care was put into putting it together. So, the production is completely ass over half the time, and unless you really crank it up, the sound also is very cold.

There is another Nugent two disc collection that was released in 2002 called The Ultimate Ted Nugent. Most of the tracks are the same, with a few exceptions, and if I knew that the sound quality was better I would almost suggest it over this one. The only thing is that it doesn't have any Amboy Dukes, and it doesn't have Fred Bear either. That's the only reason I would still lean towards this one instead. The one thing I will stress about this collection is that it is great when it is mixed in with a bunch of other CDs. I find I enjoy these songs more when listened to separately, as opposed to listening to the entire collection straight through, over even just one disc.

7/10 - content

5/10 - production

7/10 - personal bias

AC/DC - The Razor's Edge

I believe I've mentioned before that AC/DC's The Razor's Edge was the first AC/DC CD I ever owned. It was also one of the first five CD's I ever owned. The version I'll be reviewing here is the 2003 digitally remastered copy. My son has my old copy.

Let me start by saying that the twelve dollar upgrade was worth it. Holy crap the sound is explosive. I mean the dynamics are just through the roof. They make your heart pound in your chest. These songs sound a million times more lively than the original CD does. So, you can already see where I'm going with the production rating.

If you didn't own a copy of this album for some weird reason, I know I made a few tape copies for friends, let me explain how much of a success this album was. It wasn't Back In Black good, but it was this balls to the wall Hard Rock turns Heavy Metal album that created a whole new generation of AC/DC fans. I was one of them. I've explained that I had cassettes of earlier albums prior to owning this CD, but it was this CD that really appealed to me at the time. Highway To Hell is and always will be my favourite album, but at the time I swore by this album.

Thunderstruck which opens the album was the guitar riff of guitar riffs, to my entire grade eight class. At least the cool ones. We all knew one guy that learned to play it, and he was a guitar god as far as I was concerned at the time.

On this remaster you can hear so much more than ever before. Strap on a set of really good headphones, and just listen to the ambience. This effect can also be achieved by cranking the stereo up. I mean really cranking it on some P.A. speakers. But, I thought I'd post the responsible option first. However, based on the sound in my living room, option two is really good too. AC/DC sounds best on an old school stereo system that's built to blow the roof off the house.

After that comes Fire Your Guns. Take all the good things I said above, and strap them on to a song that I don't care for, and that has no ambience, and that covers the this one well. However, I still feel a need to chant "Fire Your Guns", it's just so catchy.

I remember how much I loved Moneytalks when it came out. This was my song, that I sang in front of the mirror, imagining the money falling from the sky. This was the only song where I wanted to be Brian Johnson instead of Angus Young. Later I would discover I prefered being Chris Slade (This album's drummer, and the drummer on Live as well). As I got older I started caring for this song less and less, but that's just due to the commercial sound.

This album had some great singles. Thunderstruck and Moneytalks are good examples, but it was the album tracks that made this album. The album's title track is the best song on the album. It wasn't a hit, and I loved that it was on the live album, but it's this version that makes me drool. The remastered version has that amazing ambience, which makes it sound like the band is performing in the middle of a city square during the dead of night, on top of the already heavily present gangland mentality. The Razor's Edge has gone from being bad ass, to being Darth Vader.

This album also contains my favourite Christmas song, that's not a parody of a classic rock song. Mistress For Christmas captures that awesome "special sweet little something next to the fireplace while the snow falls outside" vibe without even trying. (That's my quote, not lyrics, just so there's no confusion.) It's the perfect Christmas song for Guys. I also acknowledge the male chauvanistic pig quality and all I have to say is "You need to get laid well!"

Rock Your Little Heart is a fun song, but an AC/DC album filler. I mean hell, I wanna rock my little heart everytime I hear the chorus, but that doesn't make it a great song, just a fun one. If this song had come out before all the other songs about rockin' that AC/DC released over the years, this might have been one of those classics instead.

The key to the remastered album is the ambience of many of the songs. For example, I was never a big fan of Are You Ready. It was a hit single, but I thought it was the over played, over rated single. On this re-release it sounds so much cooler. I mean it's no longer a skipper and has become a cranker. There's just this great echo/reverb/overdub sound on some of these songs that has just been made to sound explosive with the remastering. It's very much like discovering a whole new album.

Got You By The Balls is another song that became fantastic with the remaster. I always liked the song to some degree, most of which was very silly and juvenile, but now I enjoy it so much more. This is probably one of the heaviest blues songs I've ever heard. The lyrical content is also very bluesy too. "Hey mister businessman / Head of the company / Are you looking for a lady / One who likes to please? / Hey mister businessman / This one likes to tease / With a special service / In French quantities / But she won't sacrifice / What you want tonight / She won't come across / Unless there's money in her hand / And she's calling all the shots / She got you by the balls (repeat multiple times) / Hey mister businessman / High society / She can play the school girl / And spank you all you please / But she won't sacrifice / What you want tonight / She won't come across / Unless there's money in her hand / She don't go overtime / She got you by the balls (repeat multiple times) / (Kiss your balls goodbye) / Hang it left, hang it right, / Got you by the balls / Got your shorts, got your curlies / Got you - by the balls / She got you by the balls (repeat multiple times until end)".

The same content is carried on in Shot Of Love, which is so catchy sounding, but not a song I'm overly fond of.

I keep forgetting that Let's Make It is even on this album. When I hear it, I enjoy it, but it's just one of those AC/DC songs I never think about. Which leads me to saying that this album has some of the most enjoyable fillers I have ever heard. Bruce Fairburn did a fantastic job with the original production on this album. He took a bunch of songs that are so A-typically AC/DC and made them all stand up and shout. At least while the CD player is going. As I said I forget some songs even exsist outside of the moment.

Goodbye And Good Riddance To Bad Luck is one of the few AC/DC songs that I only like for the lyrics. "Getting (bombed | bummed) out on booze / Got nothing to lose / Run out of money / Disposable blues / Sleazy hotels / Like living in hell / The girls on the hustle / With nothing to sell / Want something for nothing / It's always the same / Keep pushing and shoving / And I'm down on the game / Always in trouble / Forever detained / Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye / And good riddance to bad luck / Well spread out the news / There's a free man loose / Back out of jail / And chasing some flooze / Bad luck has changed / Broken the chains / Lay down a claim / For monetary gains / Wonder what's coming / Out for the take / Freedom for loving / And lust for the taste / Eyes are wide open / Wild to the game / Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye / And good riddance to bad luck / Goodbye and good riddance to bad luck ". Musically I have very little use for the song, althought the solo is kickin'.

The album ends with If You Dare. This song is just pure testosterone. It's like TNT (the AC/DC song) gave birth to a bastard Punk that really wants to get his bad boy on. This is just bad assery at it's simple best.

I love this album more now than I did for a long time. I can still feel a lot of the young teenager in me rockin' his little heart out, while the adult in me sits back and goes, "This is some good shit."

The bottom line is, if you don't have this album you should, and you should make it the 2003 remastered version. If there are newer better remastered albums I don't know about them yet, so I can and will only suggest this version of the original CD version, or the cassette.

8/10 - content

10/10 - production

9/10 - personal bias

Diamond Head - Lightning To the Nations

I got into Diamond Head for one simple reason. Metallica was into Diamond Head. Half of the Lightning To The Nations album can be found in the official Metallica catalogue. If you include the unofficial catalogue there are only two songs on this album Metallica hasn't covered. I think that's pretty impressive, and speaks mountains about this album.

Also known as The White Album, Lightning To the Nations was the record that shot Diamond Head to the front of the pack in the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, at least in 1980 when this album dropped. Produced by Reg Fellows and featuring the line up of Sean Harris, vocals, Brian Tatler, guitar, Colin Kimberley, bass, and Duncan Scott, drums, this album will blow your mind.

I bought this album in the summer of 1996, and I was treated to some fantastic music. It was the first time I ever heard the album's title track. It's like a cross between Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden. There's that typical fast paced speed riffing of NWOBHM, but it still has sections that are allowed to breathe and take form on their own without it sounding forced, like bands of 70's Heavy Metal understood.

Just so we are clear, I don't like The Prince. I don't like Metallica's version. I don't like Diamond Head's version. I just don't care for the song. I don't have a good reason, and that will just have to be good enough for you, because I don't have anything better. I think this song is weaker than the next one, and the next one is either about vampires or oral sex, depending on the day of the week you ask certain members of the band.

"Over and under, do you go down to the sea / Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah / Sweet and timely caress, dear babe fulfillin' me / I can feel her heart, it is beating down inside / Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah / Tasty, tasty, tasty, tasty / Into her valley, all her charms taste of love / Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah / Fragrance of my dreams, yeah go down, take my love / Oh yeah, yeah / Taste my bitter wine, cos there's something boiling up inside / Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah / Tasty, tasty, tasty, tasty / Faster......love.... / Make me go..... / Shoot me / Faster, faster / Love, sucking my love / Oh Lord, sucking my love / Oh Lord, sucking my love". These are the words that make up Sucking My Love, the only song Metallica has covered from Diamond Head, but never officially released. I can understand why, but at the same time I think it's a great song musically. At least it's better than The Prince. It has a great guitar riff, the bass is doing what bass is supposed to do, and the vocals are full of echo for dramatic effect. There's also a bunch of improved moans in those lyrics as well, which help set the tone for this song even better. Also the wind chimes add that magical touch this song needs as well.

After that it's on to the most popular Diamond Head song. Am I Evil? You know it, as it is performed by Metallica, or at least you should. It was on the CD release of Kill 'Em All until 1995 or '96. It's all played live at almost every Metallica show as well. In fact most common people would argue this is more a Metallica song than a Diamond Head song. Those people are morons and shouldn't be allowed to speak. If they have ever listened to this original version, they would hear that Metallica did a really good job of covering a spectacular song. However, this version is better.

The weakest song on this album is Sweet And Innocent. This would have been a good song if it had been released by Def Leppard, might have even earned them a couple more platinum records. But, on this album it's substandard and a bit of a let down. The nice part is that it's the second shortest song on the album, so you aren't stuck listening to it for long, although it does feel like it runs long.

It's Electric is a good song, but the production on the intro sucks ass. It sounds like they didn't quite cue the tape right and the first half second is spliced in wrong. I will say that the Metallica cover is much better than this version, but I think it's because this song needs to sound thicker than the production this album has to offer.

The album finishes off with Helpless. I think that this should have been the lead off track instead. It doesn't have the sound of a finishing song. This is another track where I think the thin production hurts the song a bit. For the time it was fantastic, and the music is phenominal, but it could have sounded better, and would have today.

This is one of those albums that I am not only happy I picked up, but I consider myself better off for giving myself this educational experience. There is so much that can be taken from this album, including how to write bad "Oh, baby" lyrics with success.

I will say that in the decade and a half that has followed since I picked up this album I have yet to pick up another Diamond Head record. Partially because I've never heard anything about any other album, and partially because I've never come across another one. If I were to find another album, I would pick it up based on how much I enjoyed this one.

7/10 - content

7/10 - production

8/10 - personal bias

Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet

It was 1986 and Bon Jovi released the greatest album they would ever make. Produced by the ledgendary Bruce Fairbairn, and full of great musicianship and catchy lyrics.

This was the very first "Gorwn up" cassette I ever owned. I recieved it for my birthday the year it came out. I've spent much time listening to, and debating the significance of this album. I have come to two conclusions over the years. It was meant to give Glam/Hair Rock of the 80's some form of a real credential. It was also meant to make this music female friendly.

The album opens with Let It Rock. This is a great album opening. The big, dramatic, keyboard opening that just lights up your auditory system. It lets you know that you will have to Rock, and you'll have to enjoy it. Even if you don't want to. It's just one of those songs.

The next two songs are Bon Jovi's greatest hits. You Give Love A Bad Name and Livin' On A Prayer are the two most recognizable songs this band has ever released. Over the years I've come to accept the first one as a staple in the 80's lexicon of Arena Rock. The second song I've come to consider as one of the most over rated songs of all time.

The only thing Livin' On A Prayer has going for it is the use of the talk box with the guitar. I have no use for this song and will skip it everytime. I think it's totally overrated and is nothing more than your basic run of the mill New Jersey Midwest Rock dressed up to look fancy. Lyrically I can understand the plight of two young adults in love and struggling to make it, but this really isn't any better than listening to any of those songs that are really boring and are meant for girls.

I'll never forget the first time I heard Social Disease. I didn't get the joke at the beginning, but I understood every word that was being said. This song has all the subtlety of Gene Simmons on Viagra and Ecstasy. The music is just as beautifully dirty as the lyrical content, and Richie Sambora's guitar work is so infectiously cliche it gets right into your being. This sounds just like every other song released by a band worth anything in this period of time. At least when it comes to the subject of sex. Just to clarify that statement I mean that this sounds like, Guns N' Roses or Aerosmith, not Skid Row or Poison.

My absolute favourite Bon Jovi song is Wanted Dead Or Alive. This is one of those songs that I would hate to have to live without. First it has such a cowboy sound to it. Not Country music cowboy, but a real man riding the earth cowboy. Except that you can replace the horse with a motorcycle instead. This song belongs right next to Alice Cooper's Desperado as far as I'm concerned. This is one of those classic road songs that I'm sure will live on forever in one way or another.

That was the end of side one of my cassette. A lot of the time I would just hit rewind and start from the begining again. The second side had some good tunes, but only one of them ever really captured and held my attention.

Raise You Hands has a great guitar opening, and I love the way the keyboards make those certain sharp phase cuts into the mix. The rhythm is fantastically solid, and if this wasn't Bon Jovi it could be believed that this may have been a Metal band. I know what I say sounds like a blasphamy to the Metalheads, but they need to stop lying to themselves. Also it only applies to this song, and it's furious paced Arena Rock. This is one of those songs where you have to show Richie a little love.

I personally have no use for the next four songs, which finish off the album. If I were to burn a copy of this CD, or dub a tape, for a friend, I'd swap out the last four songs with much better tracks from other albums.

"I saw a man down on lonely street / A broken man who looked like me / And no one knows the pain that he's been living / He lost his love and still hasn't forgiven / He said: I've been through some changes / But one thing always stays the same / Without love, there's nothing without love / Nothing else can get through the night / Nothing else feels right without love". This is the second verse and chorus to Without Love. This is so typically 80's Power Ballad. If you close your eyes you can picture the high school dances and the big hair, and there is nothing romantic about that.

I'd Die For You is trying to be all tough and bad boy, but all deep like Pony Boy in The Outsiders. Instead there's this keyboard in the background that makes it sound like a Michael Jackson song, and about as tough as Beat It. In fact that might be the perfect comparison for this song. After a few repeat listenings I would like Bon Jovi to die for me, but I don't have a vagina so I don't think that will happen.

Seriously what's with the three love songs in a row? I understand that I'd Die For You is not a slow song, but it's still a love song. It's all for the girls and their wet romance fantasies. But, by the time that Never Say Goodbye reaches the first chorus I remember why I mock Bon Jovi so much. Jon is personally one of the biggest pansy asses to ever be allowed to reach platinum record status. The worst part is that I can't even blame Desmond Child for any part of this piece of shit either. This was all Jon and Richie.

The album ends with Wild In The Streets. I don't know what to say about this one. Pretty much take everything I said about Livin' On A Prayer, make it a sped of Rock tune, and that covers it all.

Basically, if you take an earlier Bruce Springsteen album, or John Cougar Melloncamp, and add a distinctively 80's sound to it, think Footloose (the original), you get the idea behind most of this album. Well, make it also geared a little more towards women too.

Musically, I do respect this album. Lyrically, I would like to see Jon Bon Jovi get ass raped by Desmond Child while they are forced to listen to just the vocal and keyboard tracks over and over again. But, the chicks enjoy the album and that's all that matters right?

Bottom line is, listen to the first six tracks only, and at the most.

7/10 - content

7/10 - production

6/10 - personal bias