Kiss - Alive!

"You wanted the best, and you got it. The hottest band in the land. Kiss!" The opening line to the most beloved live album ever released. I have never seen a live album that inspired more musicians than this one. This is also the album that made Kiss.

Kiss Alive! is the reason the classic Destroyer album was ever made. This was a band that just couldn't get any type of real following, or radio play, but for some reason when this double vinyl album originally dropped, it blew the doors wide open for Kiss.

Let me start with live albums recorded prior to the 90's generally aren't that good. Hell, many live albums recorded after then aren't very good either. However, this album was a cut above the rest. Most of the problems with live albums in the 70's is the recording quality. Bootlegs had a habit of sounding as good as produced live albums, and most of it came from the fact that they were recorded by simply plugging into the mixer board.

When bands would take the time to record a live album properly they would often have to record a few different nights, usually at the same venue if they could, just to make sure they could get multiple takes of each song. This is still a practice that's common today. However, today's digital recording gear is a lot easier to move and use than the older stuff is.

Kiss recorded this album in the cities of Detroit, Michigan, Wildwood, New Jersey, Cleveland, Ohio and Davenport, Iowa, and the production value is amazing. I mean so amazing that this set the bar for all live albums that followed, not just the Kiss ones either. Sadly, there came a day when this bubble was popped, for the world.

Yes this was a great live album, and with at least four separate nights of recording you'd think they would be able to get a good take of every song. However, that wasn't the case with this album. It would seem that this thing is filled with studio overdubs. From what I understand there were a number of complications with the recordings, everything from gaps of missing sound in the tapes to Ace's playing not being up to snuff, to too much tape hiss. Ace in particular I always read getting a lot of blame. I have to wonder, if he was that much of a sloppy player how did they ever get so far?

The album opens with Deuce. The original lyrics go, "Get up / And get your grandma outta here / Pick up / Old Jim is workin' hard this year / And baby / Just do the things he says to do / Baby, if you're feeling good / And baby if you're feeling nice / You know your man is workin' hard / He's worth a deuce", wich covers the first verse and chorus. Now the only thing I can take from this is that they are saying that a man is worth having sex with twice. By todays slang I would think they might be talking about some type of fecal fetish. This is not one of those songs that I've ever been a fan of.

From there Paul revs up the crowd a bit before the band kicks into a somewhat bland sounding rendition of Strutter. The first problem is that the bass and guitars mirror each other perfectly and it creates a wall of sound that burries the drums in the mix. I also think the vocals are pushed too far forward. However, it's the performance itself that makes that song sound so lack luster. It's almost like they were bored of playing the song.

Got To Choose, from the Hotter Than Hell album, is the third song, on side one, of album one, of the original vinyl. It's track three on disc one of the CD set. This is the first song on this live collection that makes me stand up and take notice of Kiss. Lyrically, it's your typical Kiss sexist "Ooo, baby" song. But musically it's catchy, and the vocal performance is spectacular. I'm not sure if it's really the band sounding like that live, or studio production, but it's really good.

Hotter than Hell follows that. This is another Kiss song that I don't care for myself, but understand why people like it. It's a rockin' number with a heavy punch to it. This is an example of how Gene Simmons used to be a solid bassist, before all he cared about was the money. Back at this point the music still meant something, even if it wasn't much.

Firehouse finishes off the first side of the original vinyl. To be honest I think this should have been used more towards the end of the night. It would have made a better finale, prior to the encore. It just has that type of sound to it.

Track six, or track one side two, is Nothin' to lose. This is originally from Kiss' self titled debut album. I think it should have stayed there. It's a pretty standard Rock song. It sounds just at home on this album as it would have on a Ramones album, or a Van Halen (Roth era) album.

I will say that as the album moves along the energy also seems to pick up. The band sounds more lively and into the music they are playing. Even the songs I don't care for have an energy that I still find captivating.

I normally would skip C'mon And Love Me, for being one of those Kiss songs that are used to fill every album the band has ever released. However, the live version of this song is awesome. I swear that it's Ace's solo at the end of the song that Danko Jones used to create the driving riff behind Love Call.

Parasite is another song that normally I don't care for, but on this album it totally rocks. The band gets into an amazing locked groove, and just pounds out the main riffs. I would have liked to have heard the drums sound cleaner, because Peter Criss does some good work on this song.

The last song on the first CD is She, originally from the Dressed To Kill album. This song is one of the better songs instrumentally. In studio format, this song is only 4:06, but the band jams it out to a kickin' 6:56. This is a great ending to the first album. It's also one of my favourite tracks on the album the whole way around. I won't argue that Kiss are great musicians, but I will argue that their musicianship was often overlooked. Also, totally overshadowed by the performances.

There are only three songs that are not on this double live album that are on the first Kiss album. This is an astounding fact when you consider there are a total of sixteen songs on this double live album, and just shy of half of them are from the same album. That left only 9 other tracks to cover two other albums. Each of which contains ten songs. Based on that it's easy to extrapolate which of the first three albums is the best.

The second record/CD is broken down with three songs from Kiss, two songs from Hotter Than Hell and two songs are from Dressed To Kill.

The first song to start the second disc is Watchin' You. I'm not a fan of this one. It's okay, but when I look at the track listings for the Hotter Than Hell album, which this song comes from, I see that I don't care for most of the album. Parasite is the only song from there I like on Alive! It's the one Kiss album from the 70's you can guarantee I'll never pick up on my own.

With that being said, I will more than likely pick up Kiss. Like I said before almost the entire album is on Alive! That includes 100,000 Years, which is the next song up. I love this one, right down to Peter Criss' drum solo. It's not complex, and after a while gets a little repetitive (only a little), but it fits perfectly on this album and is great to listen to. Also is doesn't take away from the actual song which is great, and important.

The song 100,000 Years is also one of my favourite Kiss songs. I find it one of the best performances the band gave in the early days. In the live version it's also great to listen to Paul work the crowd as Peter keeps pounding away on the skins. You can easily picture the entire scene from the concert in your mind as it happens. Although I disagree with Paul when he says, "Clap your hands! That's what Rock 'N' Roll is all about." It's the only real negative thing I have to say about this live performance.

Now I don't know if it's because of the way it flowed on the original studio album, or if it is just because it allows for a bit of a mellow break, but Black Diamond follows 100,000 Years on here just like it did on the studio album. I like the studio version much better than the live version, but this rendition gives something unique to the audience. The drummer is also singing the song live.

It takes a lot of practice to sing and play drums at the same time, because of breathing. It's real easy to find yourself out of breath in less than thirty seconds of singing, if you don't know how to do it right. It's even worse if you are as energetic as Peter Criss. I also speak of this from personal experience. So for that reason, and that reason alone, I will not trash talk how rough he sounds while almost yelling the vocals into the microphone.

Black Diamond also sounds like it was the closing song for the night. Then there's a phase effected fade out and then fade in. Then it's on to the first of four encores, Rock Bottom.

Rock Bottom starts off really nice and pretty. Ace knows how to play pretty guitar very well, however, it's just a smoke screen. The song itself is actually kind of heavy, and definately rock hard. This is just a good solid Kiss song, and the live performance is spot on.

My absolute favourite Kiss song ever, is one of my favourite drinking and karaokeing songs. Cold Gin has one of the best riffs I ever heard, and I have loved this song since the first moment I heard this live version. It was the version from this live album that I knew first. I prefer the studio version over this one, but I will put this version on my Mp3 player every now and then instead.

I also feel the need to mention that my favourite song is from their first studio album. My second favourite song is from Revenge, and then everything in the middle fills out the rest.

The second last song on the album is the most famous Kiss song ever. Rock And Roll All Nite, which showcases two very important things about American culture. The first is that spelling things Ebonically started with a bunch of White/Jewish guys back in the 1970's. The second is that over played, cheaply written, Pop songs, meant for the lowest common denominator to even understand, were also given to you by the same group of guys.

I'm sure I'll take some heat for this, but let's be honest. If it were not for Ace's solo in the song, it would be Peter Criss banging out the same non stop tempo as the guys sing, "I wanna rock and roll all nite / And party everyday", over and over and over again. I'd also like to point out that Gene Simmons should be sued for false advertising everytime he personally plays this song. After all he pretty much booted Ace out of the band for doing that exact thing. We also have to thank this song, specifically this version, for making Kiss as famous as they are.

The double live album ends with Let Me Go, Rock 'N Roll. This is a great tune, in the same way that all songs about Rock N' Roll always end up being great tunes. It has a solid rhythm section, smoking guitar riffs and they are songs about a subject that everyone listening to the song understands. We all wanna go rock 'n roll.

All in all, I can see why this album is so well loved. It's a fantastic live album, even with the studio overdubs. You can hear the crowd almost the entire way through, all the instruments except for the drums, are mixed very well. I won't hold the drum mixing against them too much either. Peter Criss' drumset was huge, and drums can never get the proper number of tracks they actually need for a live recording. At least not prior to the use of digital.

If this album does nothing else, it at least inspires me to pick up the first Kiss album. The truth is that it inspired me to pick up multiple albums, and become a fan myself. I'm not a Kiss Army type of fan. I think General Simmons is a corrupt dictator, and I can't follow him for that reason. But, I am a fan of the music.

8/10 - content

9/10 - production

7/10 - personal bias

Metallic - Live Shit: Binge And Purge (CDs only)

The first Metallica anything I owned was the Live Shit: Binge And Purge boxset. It was my birthday present for my fifteenth birthday, just after it was released. It was the greatest single birthday present I ever got, with the exception of sexual favours.

I will be brutally honest, and admit that I didn't become a Metallica fan until they started getting radio play, which means The Black Album. However, when I feel the need for a Black Album fix I throw this collection on instead. Three discs loaded with a collection of songs that span the first decade of the band's career, and most would argue the best years and music they ever made. I won't argue that, because I think Reload is better than both The Black Album and ...And Justice For All combined. However, it's this collection that introduced me to Kill 'Em All, Ride The Lightning and Master Of Puppets, and for that I love this collection.

The first disc opens with Sandman (Enter Sandman). I should point out that the track list on the back of the CD case has the songs listed by short form. What you read in the brackets are the proper names I've inserted for those that need it. As for the song itself; I like this version better than the album version, but I generally skip to track two right away.

Creep gets the crowd roaring with James screaming "Creeping Death!" I get the same goose bumps everytime I hear this song live, whether it be in person or recorded. There is such a sense of electricity and power that comes out of this song. It is one of my favourites live, and I like how it's always one of the first songs in the set. It's the perfect crowd pumper.

After that it's to the Justice album for Harvester (Harvester of Sorrow). I liked this song when I started hearing it on the radio, and I use to like it on this disc too. Over the years my taste for this song has greatly diminshed. It's actually gotten to a point where I can barely listen to most songs from ...And Justice For All anymore. The album is just too dark and angry in a way that I stopped being fond of about five years after this set came out.

The one song from Master Of Puppets I was never fond of was Welcome Home (Sanitarium). I know it's a live standard and favourite, but I always thought it was one of the weakest songs off the album. Not because it's slower, but due to the fact that it just doesn't sound as musically impressive as some of the other songs.

I have never liked Sad But True, and I hated that this song was technically the single for this boxset. I saw the live video I don't know how many times, and by the time Z-Rock, Much Music and WRIF stopped playing the single I absolutely hated this song. In A Year And Half In The Life, I think it's Bob Rock that says this is Metallica's Kasmir. While I can see what he was saying, I think that's a major insult to the Led Zeppelin song.

Going from one extreme of The Black Album to the other, we get a Metallica song I have loved since the first moment I heard it. Wolf (Of Wolf And Man) comes roaring up next. I would like to start by saying that the album version sounds better. I think this version sounds too distorted and rushed. Almost like they were trying to squeeze it in.

At this point I should mention that the 25 songs that make up the three discs were recorded over five separate nights in Mexico, February 25, 26, 27 and March 1 and 2, 1993. It's not like they played three hours straight and recorded it. Not to say the shows weren't long, but they weren't that long.

After that comes a cool little screw around listed as Guitar Doodle. This was basically a break while James got his accoustic ready to break out Unforgiven. I'm talking about the original, and what I often consider the weakest of the three songs to bare that name. However, this was the only song from the first half of The Black album that I truly enjoyed. Sadly I don't care for this live version either. I find it suffers from the same problem that Wolf does.

After that it's on to one of the longest, angriest, signature changing, tempo changing, collection of riffs and songs ever put together. Justice, which should not be confused with the title track from ...And Justice For All. This is a medley of, as Hetfield puts it, "A collection of our favourite parts". This is a great way to avoid having to play most of the songs from an album that's more complex than this arrangement. That's one of my two favourite things about this particular track. I also love the way that James works the crowd.

After that it's on to Solo (Bass/Guitar), which is exactly how it's listed on the back. Now let me start with the fact that this track runs 18:50 and half of it is the band kind of dicking around a bit. There are parts of the solos that I love. Jason Newstead breaking into as much of My Friend Of Misery as I think he was ever allowed to play live, and Kirk Hammet's work is not to be taken lightly either.

Also according to Jason when he's talking to the crowd, this track was recorded on the fourth night. I personally think it should have been trimmed down and another song should have been added to the CD collection. It's great listening to the two of them play various songs including Dazed And Confused, but it's not like they played any of them in their entirety. This is pretty big filler to me.

The second disc begins with Never (Through The Never), which is the track that leads off the half I like from The Black Album, except track eight, the biggest piece of shit Metallica ever released, which I'll get to on the next disc.

Never is one of the songs that I like the live treatment on at least as much as the original. However, I normally skip this one too, because I'm in a rush to get to the next track.

My very first favourite Metallica song was For Whom the Bell Tolls, and it was because of this album. Bellz is so simple, and yet electrifying. This song gets a crowd pumped just as hard as Creeping Death, if not harder. This is the only Metallica song I ever took the time to learn on drums and it was specifcally because of this live version. In fact this is the only song from this boxset collection I normally put on my Mp3 player.

From there it goes into my least favourite song from Ride the Lightning, Fade (Fade To Black). This is a song that I've heard so many people say that it kept them from committing suicide, and that's great. I on the other hand hate listening to bands whine about being depressed. It's one of the reasons I dislike Grunge. Also please don't think I'm referring to this as Grunge, that's just beyond insulting. I listen to music to escape being depressed, not to have it bring me down more.

Then it's on to a crowd check, to make sure they are still awake, and a shortened version of Master (Master Of Puppets). This version cuts out the slower mid section and makes it into a more Radio friendly length, although the profanity prevents it from actually getting on the radio. I've always liked this shortened version, not better, but maybe just as much. It's different, without being ridiculously altered. I think part of it comes from the crowd's singing.

Now why they shortened Master and made Seek (Seek And Destroy) eighteen minutes I will never know. The audience Participation is great, and I love Jason's singing/screaming when he gets up to the mic for a verse, but that still doesn't mean this song needs to be as long as it is. The cool little jam in the middle doesn't make up for it either. If this and the solos on the first disc hadn't sucked up so much time we may have gotten more songs on this collection.

The second disc finishes with one of Metallica's most neck breaking songs, Whiplash. Starting with James giving a little intro and insulting the crowd James counts in, "One, two, four, three, two and a half," gives us a few measures and then launches into a slightly sped up version of a song that I like better than the original, although I like other live versions better than this one. Also another song featuring Jason singing.

The thrid and last disc opens with Metallica's worst song, Nothin'. Skip this piece of shit like nothing else matters. I don't care what anyone says, Mama Said and Low Man's Lyric are by far superior to this crap meant only for women.

Roam (Wherever I May Roam) is one of those songs that I can go either way on. I enjoy it, but at the same time I generally skip it. I must agree with my editor when she says that the version from S&M is the best version of this song, but I do like this live one as well.

After that we come up to the first song Metallica inspired me to learn on drums, Am I Evil. This was my introduction to the Diamond Head classic that would end up becoming one of my all time favourite songs, no matter if the original or a Metallica version. I don't like this version anymore, though. They cut the song down by a minute or more, and pretty much took out the fun extras, in the name of adding some screwing around. This brings me back to, eighteen minutes of Seek and Destroy?

Then there's a quick fill of Caress (Last Caress) originally by The Misfits, which is always a great song to hear. It's fun and brash and just vicious. What a great tune, no matter when and where they do it. I just wished they performed it with Green Hell as well.

After that it's into the explosive One. I love how they left all the stage pyro sounds in, which adds a great effect to the live sounds. When I got this boxset, this was one of my favourite songs on it, now it's become a skipper as well. I love seeing the song live, but don't feel a need to listen to it live.

There's another two minutes of complete tom foolery before the band breaks into an unlisted track, So What. It's actually a part of the Battery track, which comes in at over ten minutes, but the official song doesn't even start until after the four minute marker.

In retrospect one of my biggest complaints about this CD collection of songs is how much song space is wasted on screwing around. This is fine when watching live performances, but when listening it really loses it's effect. I figure that a minimum of twenty minutes is completely wasted between these three discs.

After Bellz, Horse (The Four Horsemen) was my favourite Metallica song for a very long time, and specifically because of this live version. It would take a few months before I would pick up the Kill 'Em All album, and even still I more often listen to this version instead. Now a days it's more of the opposite, but at the same time I have other live recordings I like better too.

Motor (Motorbreath) is the last Metallica song on this collection. This is one of those songs I'm neither here nor there on the whole way around. I don't care about the original or this live version. It's a great Thrash Metal song, fast, furious, and full of piss and vinegar. I on the other hand prefer my songs a little more hard and heavy, and less thrashy.

The album finishes with Stone. This would be Queen's classic, bullet fast, Stone Cold Crazy. Oddly, I didn't really know the original prior to Metallica covering it. Detroit rock radio was not very Queen friendly, and neither was my house. Not that anyone in my house had issues with Queen, it's just that no one really listened to them. I think that's why I like Metallica's version a bit better. Also if it were not for this boxset I would have had to go through Hell in a hand basket trying to find the single that had the studio version of this cover as a b-side.

By the end of listening to these discs again in their entirety I remember why I don't do it often. I still find myself wanting to skip through half the songs, so I can listen to just very specific tracks, and it takes everything I have not to do that.

This is a great retrospective, based on the idea that this album has been around longer now than Jason Newstead was even in Metallica. It's listening to Jason on this collection that really makes it worthwhile still. However, I could do without all The Black Album commercial crap, and would have liked to have heard more of the lesser played stuff.

I also can't complain enough about the wasted time on these three discs given to screwing around. This is one of the best sounding live albums I have ever heard, and more music should have been included. Part of me is pissed at the band for wasting such time, but part of me likes the glimpse into a band that I wouldn't get to see live for almost another five years (Load and Reload support tours).

Another downside to this live collection is that it's the only official live album the band has, except for S&M, which is a completely different type of live. There have been other maxi-singles or even just normal singles that contain even better live tracks, but no official collection. We really need one too, but thankfully Metallica is still releasing live DVDs, which is where it's really at.

7/10 - content

7/10 - production

6/10 - personal bias

AC/DC - Live

In 1992 I was sporting a pretty big hard on for AC/DC, and a lot of it came from the release of Live. The double CD recorded live at Donnington is jammed full of AC/DC classics, plus it was the promotional tour for The Razor's Edge, which means that it has other great underplayed gems.

Now, this review will be about the double live album, but I didn't start with that. I started with the single live disc, which was a best of both disc collection. It was just as good in it's more limited capacity. At the end of the article I'll include a list of the songs that made up the single disc live album.

Let me start by saying that if I could only own one AC/DC album ever again it would be this album. One of the main reasons is that it's a best of collection, that covers most of the songs I feel a need to hear. The other is that it's two discs, with twenty-three songs. How the hell can you go wrong with twenty-three live tracks from AC/DC?

Let me start with the slow build up, that works the crowd into a frenzy, before the first note is hit to signify the opening riff of Thunderstruck. Of all AC/DC songs, this may be considered the most over played piece of shit. But, when Thunderstuck is your most over played piece of shit, you are doing something totally right.

Which brings me to the only AC/DC song I honestly consider a piece of shit. I have never been a fan of Shoot To Thrill. I don't know why it's as popular as it is. Out of all the songs on the Back In Black album this is the only one I skip. I do the same thing with the live version too. If you're a fan of the song than you'll like the live version too.

After that it's on to the title track from the classic album I just mentioned. "We got some Back in Black for ya. Ready?" To which the crowd replies, and the song counts in. Then it's played well, and finishes. This is one song that sounds very stiff and ridged. You can hear that they put it where they did in the rotation just to get it out of the way early.

I personally love the fact that AC/DC jammed Sin City in between Back In Black and Who Made Who. This is one of those songs that I think they enjoy playing live, even though it's not a huge song. In fact this live version is the only AC/DC version of the song I own, and that's more than enough. Nothing against the song, I just am very happy with this version. It has such bad ass swagger to it.

I love Who Made Who. I bought the CD of the same name, even though I owned most of the songs already, just for this song. (There's other songs I discovered on that CD I like as well, but that's another review.) The live version on here doesn't do it justice. There's something missing in the sound and I'm pretty sure it's a production thing. It's a certain type of buzz, that reminds me of Live Wire, and it really made the original song.

I was mistaken earlier when I said that Shoot To Thrill was the only song I considered a piece of shit. I don't like Heatseeker either. I skip this song no matter which version it is.

The very first AC/DC CD I ever owned was Razor's Edge. I swiped my Uncle Matt's cassettes for Highway To Hell and Back In Black, about four months before I got a CD player, and got Razor's Edge shortly after my CD player. It was the fifth compact disc I owned, which means I listened to it a lot. Fire Your Guns is a song I liked from that album, to a small degree, and the version on here is spectacular. But, I've heard it more than enough in my life to never feel the need to hear it again.

Every live album has that one song that you think goes on too long. In recent reviews I've written I've come across songs like Metallica's eighteen minute version of Seek And Destroy, or Iron Maiden's equally long version of Running Free. This album has Jailbreak, and it runs just shy of fifteen minutes. If you have ever seen an AC/DC concert you know that Angus Young always performs a little strip show during one of the songs. This is that song, for this show.

Like all live albums that contain these extended live songs for crowd play purposes it works live, but get's boring as all fuck when you are listening to it. Angus does some of his cool soloing on the song and get's the crowd going, but it does not translate the same on audio only. Which is a bit of a bummer, since this is one of my all time favourite AC/DC songs.

There's a fade out, and then a fade in. "We're gonna do a song you might know. Song's about a dirty woman's... This song's called 'She's Got The Jack'." The actual listed name is The Jack, and to this day I still don't know if I prefer this version or the studio version more. This was the first version of this song I ever heard, but I really like the card game lyrics as well.

One song that surprises me every time I see the title, and hear the music, on this album is The Razor's Edge. The title track from the album that this touring was for, is one of the best album cuts on it's respective disc. I'll listen to that song before I'll listen to most of the singles from that album. The fact that they sandwhiched it between The Jack and Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap makes me think they wanted more people to like it too.

The live version of this song has most of the same feel as the studio version but, this one feels a little more rushed. Which I find takes away from the gangland feel the original had. In this case it sounds more like the war barrage that it is supposed to be.

After that Dirty Deeds seems like the perfect way to go. I love this song. I have been in a band playing this song live. This song is just pure energy and passion, fuled with three tons of chest beating aggression. This song is Rock N' Roll at it's pure ugly dirtiest. This song was always meant to be played live, especially that solo.

The first disc finishes off with Moneytalks. A very honest song, which also sickens me personally. When this song was the big hit single I liked it, then as I discovered other AC/DC songs I didn't like it so much anymore. Nowadays I skip it, and this live CD ends after Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.

One of the best parts about AC/DC Live is that you can look at it as two separate seventy someodd minute concerts or one, two and a half hour long, concert. The first disc and second disc both flow in a way where they sound like two perfectly different set lists, but equally enjoyable. The only problem with the first one is the length of Jailbreak.

The second disc opens with Hells Bells, which is just a great song. As well as being the perfect way to start off the second half of the concert, or just the sesond disc on it's own. Also since this song is as popular as it is, I don't feel a need to say more on the song.

From there it's on to Are You Ready. This is one of those songs that's grown on me over the years. I didn't like the single when I first heard it, and I still don't care for the studio track all that much, but this live version has really grown on me. I still don't go out of my way to listen to this song, but I don't feel a need to skip it anymore either.

I don't care for That's The Way I Wanna Rock N Roll. It's one of those songs that just sounds badly dated to a time in music I don't care to think about. Specifically the 1980's.

High Voltage is one of those songs that I both like and don't care for at the same time. I find it bland and lacking the balls that one might find in an AC/DC song, but at the same time it does have great drive to it. The version found on this live collection falls under the "bit over extended" catagory. It runs about ten minutes and is used to work the crowd. I do enjoy it artistically, because of some of the jamming, but over all the mid section runs too long.

You Shook Me All Night Long is the biggest, sexiest, most commercial song AC/DC has ever released. I don't care how many strip clubs I go into. I don't care how many "special events" I attend. This song will always be welcome in my life. This song is sex on high heels and totally what Rock N' Roll is one third about.

I was raised thanks to my dad and Uncle Paul that the magic words were "Drugs, sex, Rock N' Roll." These are the secrets to great Rock N' Roll for sure, and make up almost the entire AC/DC catalog. Every other song is covered by Alice Cooper's secret recipe of "Sex, Death and Money".

Track six is the perfect follow up to You Shook Me in a sense. Whole Lotta Rosie is a Tasmanian hippo in heat, on high heels. I didn't care for this song when I was a teen, and it took until I was in my early twenties before I would say I enjoyed this song in anyway more than my personally seeing it live. Now, I'll put it on my Mp3 player when I want a fun mix.

The one song I have never liked from AC/DC is Let There Be Rock. This song was designed to be played live, and it is an excellent live staple, but it's not for me. I also really didn't need a twelve minute live version. This one is still a skipper to this day.

This flows into Bonny, which is just a nice little filler, for the crowd's enjoyment. At a minute long it's perfectly acceptable to throw in here for fun. Then it's into three of my top five favourite to end the live album. First it's Highway To Hell, which is best when performed by Bon Scott. I love Brian Johnson's live version, but you can't beat Bon.

After that it's T.N.T. This song is so Punk. I mean it's too complex to be Punk, but I swear this is where the British Punks got their "Oi!" chanting. This is the only time that I might like Brian Johnson doing a Bon Scott song better. There's soemthing in this live version that just sounds more bad ass.

The album and concert comes to a close only after the cannons of For Those About To Rock (We Salute You) signal it. This is my favourite AC/DC song, with the exception of Night Prowler. I love the studio version, and this live version takes me even further into the stratosphere, but after seeing it live in person it's never the same. Those cannons are instruments of sonic beauty. It's the perfect climax to a body draining, spiritually fulfilling concert.

I will never badmouth this album, except for certain songs I just don't care for, or certain songs running too long for the CD listener's enjoyment. Bruce Fairbairn did an excellent job on the production of this album and I enjoyed every song I already enjoyed, and in some cases I enjoyed them more on here.

8/10 - content

8/10 - production

8/10 - personal bias

Bonus Review: The single live disc.

Thunderstruck, Shoot to Thrill, Back in Black, Who Made Who, Heatseeker, The Jack, Moneytalks, Hells Bells, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, Whole Lotta Rosie, You Shook Me All Night Long, Highway to Hell, T.N.T., and For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) make up the single disc edition of AC/DC Live . Unless you are a hardcore AC/DC fan, this disc is more than enough for you. With the exception of Heatseeker and Moneytalks, this makes a great greatest hits package for a starting AC/DC fan.

8/10 - content

8/10 - production

9/10 - personal bias

Madonna - Celebration (Deluxe Version)

So, I'm looking at a double disc collection of Madonna songs and I have three different thoughts running through my head as I prepare for this review. The first is that I really don't mind Madonna, except for the fact I can't stand "Dance" music. Oh sure, some songs I'm really going to rip into, but there are other tracks on here I really do like.

The next thought to go through my mind is if I have to listen to another gay guy tell me what a genius madonna is I'm going to punch him in the face for being a biggotted, fascist, yuppie bitch. Madonna is no better than Gene Simmons of Kiss, which I constantly hear the gay community bash. She's whoring herself for the money, and trying to justify it by saying that it's self exploitation. Whoring is whoring and at least Gene is honest about his. Other than that they pretty much are the same. Well, if you don't include the part about the different styles of music.

The last thought is that most of these songs are so much cooler to listen to on the album I'm currently going to refer to as The Discoball Tour, but that's a different review for another time. That was a very shocking revelation of enjoyment.

The album opens with Hung Up, which isn't a bad song.

After that it's on to Music, which I like when it's the cover by Canadian group Out Of Your Mouth. The original, which is on here, is okay, but I'm not into that music, so it doesn't do much for me.

I will give Vogue the props it deserves because it's a good song, but it was so over played that I have so little use for it now. Although there is something about watching a bunch of drunk women do the Vogue 20 years or so later.

Okay, so Madonna decided to record a song with Justin Timberlake and Timbaland called 4 Minutes. It is a giant piece of shit. I mean it's a steaming pile that Madonna should be ashamed of herself for releasing. It's almost as bad as if Madonna had tried rapping. Oh, wait. that diatribe is still coming.

Holiday is cute, classic Madonna. This is the type of stuff I can understand girls cranking in their cars while driving along the with the top down, or dancing around the house singing and dancing with a broom. This is good fun Pop music.

Everybody is Madonna's very first single. By today's standards it sounds like a bank of little Casio keyboards used to make the music, while Madonna overdubs lyrics. If you watch How I Met Your Mother, you'll understand my reference of, Robin Sparkles was born in this song.

Do I really need to talk about Like A Virgin? Go rent Resevoir Dogs, or listen to the soundtrack, to get the best review of this song ever. Better yet, you can read it here.

MR. BROWN - What the fuck was I talking about ?
MR. ORANGE - You said "True Blue" was about a guy, you said it's a girl who meets a nice guy, But "Like a Virgin" was a metaphor for big dicks.
MR. BROWN - Ok, let me tell ya what "Like a Virgin"'s about. It's all about this cooze who's a regular fuck machine. I'm talking, morning, day,night, afternoon, Dick, dick,dick, dick, dick,dick, dick, dick, dick.
MR. BLUE - How many dicks is that?
MR. WHITE - A lot.
MR. BROWN - Then one day she meets a John Holmes motherfucker, and it's like, whoa baby. I mean, this cat is like Charles Bronson in "The Great Escape." He's diggin tunnels. Now she's gettin this serious dick action, She's feelin something she ain't felt since forever. Pain. Pain
JOE - Chew? Toby Chew? No.
MR. BROWN - It hurts. It hurts her. It shouldn't hurt. You know, her pussy should be Bubble-Yum by now. But when this cat fucks her, it hurts. It hurts like it did the first time. You see the pain is reminding a fuck machine what is once like to be a virgin. Hence, "Like a Virgin."

After that it's on to Into The Groove. Once again this is a bit of a dance basic, but I totally get it. "Only when I'm dancing can I feel this free / At night I lock the doors, where no one else can see / I'm tired of dancing here all by myself / Tonight I wanna dance with someone else". I mean I personally always used the excuse, "I'm a drummer, I don't dance." But, this song does bring about that inner feeling that makes you wanna get up and move.

Track nine on this collection was my dirty little secret right up until this get's published. Like A Prayer has been my favourite Madonna song since is first came out. I loved the video with all the burning crosses, and black Voodoo lords and everything else about it that was totally Metal. Sure, musically there's nothing Metal about it, but I don't give a shit. Musically it's very rich and diverse in it's very limited capacity. Synthisizers are only so good, by themselves. But this song ends up on my Mp3 player pretty regularly.

Now if you can't tell, this collection has been mixed up, which I like. Sometimes I don't mind when a best of package follows years of release, but having it mixed up though out 2 CDS is much better in this case. If it had been done in order like Elton John's Greatest Hits 1970-2002, I would never listen to the second disc. There's only a hand full of songs after 1990 I'll even admit to tolerating.

Ray Of Light is one of those songs. It's not that I like it. I don't. It's gay club trash, as far as I'm concerned. Also that's meant as being very literal, not as a negative cheap shot. This isn't like that Moby techno crap. It's more like that Madonna crap you always hear in gay clubs, that you can at least nod your head to.

Sorry (the song) pretty much follows what I just said, and is the next track. I'm sure that somewhere along the way I'm going to catch shit for the gay club remarks, so let me be very clear to anyone that's going to start attacking me. I support equality, which means I don't care who the fuck you are or what you do, as long as I don't have to go into your club and listen to your shitty music. You throw on some Judas Priest then we'll start talking.

I love Express Yourself. "Long stem roses are the way to your heart / But he needs to start with your head / Satin sheets are very romantic / What happens when you're not in bed / You deserve the best in life / So if the time isn't right then move on / Second best is never enough / You'll do much better baby on your own", has a great message. This was a song that would have empowered more women if it hadn't been for the fact that this was right before Madonna went completely Blonde Ambition Tour and started performing sex acts on stage.

It get's pretty typically girly on Open Your Heart, but this is cute Pop Madonna, so it's forgiveable. At least that's what I'll keep telling myself, while listening to drum machines and K-Mart Blue Light special keyboards. I swear I had a kid's starter Casio that sounded just like the ones in these early songs.

Borderline is yet another one of those songs that just makes you want to bounce around the house with a broom in one hand while singing your littel heart out. Well, it would if you were a girl, or gay, or me acting like an ass in front of my kids. I'll be honest I don't really remember Secret from the 90's. If it was not for this collection I don't know if I would know this song at all. I will say that I like the little bit of Wah enhanced guitar that's quietly playing in the background, and it helps me enjoy the song on the whole. This might be one of the few songs from this time period I don't mind.

Erotica is a piece of shit. I don't care who the fuck you are, or how you try to justify this song, you can't. Let me start with the fact that Madonna can not talk dirty in anyway that's a turn on. She doesn't have the voice for it, and it comes out sounding like nothing more than cheap slut trying to be sexy. Musically this song is so boring. Way to just let the sample play on and on and on.

Justify My love falls in the exact same catagory. I'm not sure how the hell Madonna got the idea that she was a sex symbol, and I don't know why anyone let her think that she was, but they really shouldn't have. At least Gene Simmons has that huge tongue. The only thing huge on Madonna is an out of control ego, especially at the time this song was released. In fact we get to thank this song for the reason that Britney Spears, Christina Aguelera and all the other girl Pop-tarts feel that they have to be complete whores, even if they have good music. This song doesn't have that either, and that's the part that bugs me the most.

The first disc ends with Revolver, featuring Lil Wayne. The song is okay, and after repeat listenings I could see a band covering this, and making it sound a lot cooler. However, this song does give me a great joke. "My love's a revolver / My sex is a killer / Do you wanna die happy? / Do you wanna die happy?" These word are not a warning about how good she is in bed, with Madonna's experience I would expect her to be an expert, but instead the female Pop Queen is letting you know that her vagina is toxic and will kill you.

As I start the second disc, part of me really wants to just skip to another disc for a break. Two full CDs of Madonna back to back are too much for any straight man to endure. That is unless you have nerves of steel, an extreme threshhold for psychological abuse, or have really crappy taste in music. I admit to the first two, but the second doesn't apply.

The second disc opens with Dress You Up, which is followed by Material Girl. These are so 80's girly Pop that the bubble gum powder, sugar sweetness, with make you ill. We can also blame the second song with the reason why every female born after 1970 is a completely materialistic yuppie monster. Seriously, I tell you that Madonna and Gene Simmons have equally destroyed women for the next few generations to come still.

La Isla Bonita is beautiful song, and is one of the few times I appluad Madonna. It's great that a white Itallian girl from Detroit, was able to run away to New York and still release a song that sounds authentically Spanish. At least with a little help from Patrick Leonard and Bruce Gaitsch.

Is there a need to discuss Papa Don't Preach? It's a song about a teenage girl that didn't understand how to use birth control, and wants daddy to just help out while keeping his mouth shut, eventhough she's a complete fuck up and deserves to be yelled at. As much as this is a great song from one point of view, it's a horrible message to put in girl's heads. There are too many teenage mom's that have had this attitude and totally screwed up their kids lives because of it.

I should be fair and mention that Papa Don't Preach was barely written by Madonna. She actually only adjusted and changed some of the lyrics.

I really like Lucky Star. This is such a fun song, and the type of music I don't mind my teenage daughter listening to. It's sweet and simple. Sadly Madonna had to grow up and become the exact opposite of a roll model.

Burning Up is another one of those really old Madonna tracks, that contains real instruments, on top of all the synthisezer crap. This is actually a really good song, and if the Dance element was removed it could have been a decent rock song. I don't care for Crazy For You. I feel that musically this song is beyond lazy. Lyrically it's pretty typical for a song called Crazy For You. I personally have no use for this run of the mill 80's slow song.

I've more or less liked the song Who's That Girl since I saw the movie of the same name on cable. I don't remember the movie much, only that it was boring and that this song was one of the better parts about it. I like the latin elements to the song, but on the whole I find the music very stock.

I'm not sure where I stand on Frozen. From a totally unbiased point of view it's a relatively decent song. Well put together and arranged, but it's not a hard thing to do with computer programming, and sampling. I personally don't really care for the song, but I can accept and understand it as a piece of art that just isn't for me.

I don't know Miles Away. Research indicates that it's from the album Hard Candy, which I only made fun of, never actually listened to. A 50 year old Madonna in a dancer's spandex outfit was just more than I could handle. It's not like she's Tina Turner, and she needs to stop pretending that she is. The song itself is actually okay, especially for older (in age) Madonna, which generally sucks.

Take A Bow is better than most of the songs I've heard from the Bedtime Stories album, but still not my cup of tea. I actually like this song when I'm suffering from insomnia. It's better than sleeping pills.

Live To Tell is a skipper. It's an 80's filler and I don't understand how it made this album, or why it ever became popular.

Beautiful Stranger is one of the best songs I think Madonna has ever released. It's not stupidly whorish, but instead coyishly tantalizing. I love the fact that musically it reflects the 60's feel of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, without it being a 60's Pop song.

The song Hollywood comes from an album featuring a rapping Madonna. While this song has no rapping is does have an oddly out of place accoustic guitar that drives most of the song. Madonna should be shot and in both knee caps and have her larynx ripped out. Then left in a locked padded room and forced to listen to this song for the rest of her life.

When I heard Madonna was going to be doing a song for a James Bond movie I must say I wasn't happy, but when I thought about it, it made sense. Die Another Day is a modern Bond song, but it is very much a bond Song. It belongs up there with all the other Bond songs over all the years. I'll listen to this one as much as I'd listen to Live And Let Die. Although I personally don't put either on.

Don't Tell Me is a pretty typical song. It has your basic static vinyl drumbeat, and a bunch of computer generated instruments over top of it. I don't think she was really even trying here.

How does one not like Cherish. This is such a cute song. Once again, if I had been a teenage girl this would have been one of my jams. I also feel a lot dirtier and ashamed of myself for that entire last sentence.

The album finishes with the title track, a brand new song recorded just for this collection. So, basically this is a two disc maxi single for the 2009 song Celebration. Which wasn't even that good. It's okay, but after 27 years (1982-2009) you would think she would have expanded the sound of her music. Instead we get treated to just an update of what the 1982 gay clubs are playing now.

If you are a Madonna fan, but don't own anything, this double disc collection is for you. If you own only one or two albums, I would still suggest picking up this one. That way you can get the best of the crap, without having to listen to the filler crap.

I personally find that two CDs are too much, but then again I find one full CD of Madonna too much as well.

9/10 - content

9/10 - production

6/10 - personal bias

Slash - Slash

After doing a review for the new Slash album, Apocalyptic Love, and being disappointed, I've opted to throw on the first (self titled), and better, album and enjoy.

This album features fourteen tracks with 12 different vocalists. Myles Kennedy performs on two separate songs and one is an instrumental. The best part about this album is that it all sounds like Slash, but Slash doing a variety of styles. This isn't just a basic, "Look Slash is playing guitar", album. It's a collection of songs that show growth, personality, and excellence.

The album opens with Ghost, this track has Ian Astbury performing vocals. Now, I've never been a fan of The Cult. I enjoy various songs, but I would never call myself a fan. That's a title I'm not worthy to carry. However, I did like his work with The Doors about a decade back, and I think it was because of that he's on here. I'm not saying he's channeling his inner Jim Morrison, but that vocal sound the two share in common helps push this song ahead.

I also like Slash's guitar styling. It has the sound that clearly screams "Shut up! Slash is playing." But, it still sounds different from his normal Rock style. This is a little more fancy, and modern sounding.

Crucify The Dead is the second song. This features Ozzy, and sounds like a typical Ozzy song with Slash rocking the guitar. I enjoy the song, but it's nothing special. I can't stand The Black Eyed Peas, but they've brought me personal enjoyment, as well as musical surprise. The Enjoyment comes from my first Mp3 player which I won during a contest on Much Music. This was in the really early days of Mp3 players as well.

The surprise comes from them giving us Fergie, one of the best female Rock vocalists I've heard in a long time. The song Beautiful Dangerous, let's this poor woman that's confined to the Girl Pop industry spread her wings and fly. Every time I hear this song I curse out Fergie for wasting her time singing all those stupid, commercial, moron friendly songs. She should be rocking it out like the next Ann Wilson. Which is someone I think she sounds very much like.

Myles Kennedy make his first appearance with Slash on the song Back From Cali. The song has grown on me over the years, but only because it's actually a pretty solid Rock tune. I've come to discover that I'm just not a big fan of Myles' original vocal work. However, I will keep stating for the record that Slash, Duff, Matt, and Izzy should go and hit the road with Kennedy and do a Guns N' No Roses tour.

Promise is sung by Chris Cornell of Soundgarden fame. This song follows so smoothly after Back From Cali, that it takes a moment before I realize that the song and vocalist have changed. I'm less of a fan of Cornell's voice than I am of Kennedy's, however, I have liked many of Chris' performances over the years. This is not one of them. I'm sure there are loads of people that will read this and think I've no clue what I'm talking about, but to me this is a pretty stock song. It's meant more as strong album filler, than a piece of work to be taken overly serious.

My first introduction to Wolfmother was Guitar Hero III, I think. The song Mother is pretty cool, but I still had no clue who the hell Andrew Stockdale was when I picked up this album. I didn't know who he was when I first heard this single either. Now I will never forget.

I have friends that I know can't stand his voice, and I understand why. He's like Geddy Lee of Rush in the sense that his voice tends to be high and have a whiney sound. It's an aquired taste. But, I think it makes By The Sword a fantastic song. Slash's guitar sound blends very well with his Pink Floyd styled vocals, by which I mean lot's of echo, and spacial sounding.

Adam Levine of Maroon 5 is the vocalist on the song Gotten. I don't care for the mushy lyrical content, but Adam is spectacular when it comes to singing sweet nothings in pretty songs. Slash also knows how to take a slow ballad and turn it into a great middle of the guitar neck Blues song. He doesn't over play it, and pretty much allows the song to just breathe.

Doctor Alibi is your basic run of the mill Lemmy Kilmeister Rock N' Roll bad assery. It's like listening to Motorhead with Slash playing lead. Which means it's totally about throwing up the evil eye (devil horns), and letting the head bang. I love this song.

Sadly the only instrumental track on the album is Watch This Dave. Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters and Duff McKagan come out to play on what might be my favourite song on the album. I love listening to the way Slash just weaves his guitar back and forth through the rhythm, throwing in little shreds and fills, but mainly letting it breathe. I mean this song goes from Velvet Revolver sounding, to G'N'R Illusions era, to a whole new realm that we normally don't get to enjoy. All this without it ever once sounding like Slash is trying to showboat.

The album then slows down with I Hold On, featuring Kid Rock. This is one of those songs that is clearly Rock, but with only slight production changes it could easily go Country. It's a bit upsetting that Kid Rock pretty much is only doing songs like this now, but if you liked Picture with Sheryl Crow, then you'd probably like this one.

Nothing To Say starts up sounding like something from either Ozzy or Alice Cooper, and quickly turns into an Avenged Sevenfold song. M Shadows of the aforementioned band is the vocalist on this track as well. I can't stress how much this sounds like an Avenged Sevenfold song, and not just because of the vocals. That really helps, but it's the guitar work that really does it.

That being said, the Metal world should thank Slash everyday that he opted to be a Rock God instead. Maybe the last true Rock God at that. The way he opens up on this song and just starts hammering those solos home is fantastic, and worthy of baring the term Metal.

The second song to feature Myles Kennedy is Starlight. Now go back and read everything I wrote about Back From Cali and Promise. That pretty much covers this song as well. If this had been the worst song on the Apocalyptic Love CD, that would have been a fantastic album. Instead it was a good song on this album, that caused false hope about the new album.

Saint Is A Sinner Too features Rocco DeLuca, which in the grand scheme of people on this album, would be considered a nobody. Myles is the only other person that might rank as low on the totem pole of who's who.

The song he performs on is a nice and pretty little ditty. I enjoy hearing it, but don't feel a need to go out of my way to listen. However, I won't skip it either. The album finishes with a Punk Rock legend, singing cheesy lyrics that only a man of his calliber can get away with. "Gee, I really like your tits / I'll say anything that fits / We carry our vision / Wherever we go / If you keep your mouth shut / It's still gonna show / We're all gonna die / So let's get high / We're all gonna die / So let's be nice / I'm in the mood / So let's intrude / Pee on the ground / And jump around". This is why Iggy Pop is the hero of ancient grown men/children everywhere.

We're All Gonna Die is the last track on the album, and as ridiculously juvenile as the lyrics are, this is just a great Rock song. I'd say a great Punk Rock song, but Slash's playing is too complicated to downgrade it in such a way.

All in all this album is great. There are a few songs I could have done without, but compared to a couple of the tracks I've heard that were left out, I'm okay with what was left on. I also think that Slash really should stick to doing albums with multiple artists, if he's going to stay solo. It makes him work harder and play better. It's the variety that makes this album so good.

8/10 - content

7/10 - production

8/10 - personal bias

Ramones - Ramones

As of my original writing of this review, I only own three Ramones albums. I own the first album, the last live recording, and a greatest hits that covers everything in between. I would own more from them, but I didn't get into the Ramones until my late teens.

My little sister actually liked the Ramones before me, thanks to the movie Rock 'N' Roll High School. If you are wondering how this could happen, all I have to do is say Varg. I've mentioned my friend that had a habit of killing songs/album/bands for many of us in our teens. I heard Acid Eaters, and I don't remember which other album, more times than I can clearly remember.

It also didn't help that at the time I was going through my "punk is talentless shit period". It took until 1997 before I finally bought my first Ramones anything, and it was We're Outta Here! Recorded on August 6, 1996 when the Ramones performed their 2,263rd and final concert. Those thirty-two songs opened me up to a whole world as high speed enjoyment. It's because of the Ramones break neck speed that Metal moves so fast.

It took around half a decade after that, before I got around to picking up anymore CDs, from the leather clad punks from Queens. When I did finally start picking up albums I opted to go with the self titled debut, Ramones. However, it's not the standard classic album. It's the 2001 Expanded Edition release.

It has the original 14 songs available remastered in Rhinophonic Authentic Sound (Digitally remaster and released by Rhino, for the Warner Archives). Plus, it also has 7 demo versions and a single version of various songs.

The album opens with the uber classic Blitzkrieg Bop. I can't believe I've seen this song become the monster that it now is, and in my kid's life time. This song was always known to some degree, enough to call it popular, but underground popular. However, in the time since Dee Dee, Joey and Johnny Ramone have all died, this song has become legend. It's right up there with Iggy Pop's Lust for Life in the Punk stratosphere of commercial popularity.

Beat On The Brat is held back on the recording by the production. This song should have been allowed to run wild at a blistering pace, and instead totally feels like it's being held back from beating on the brat. I remember reading somewhere that when this album was recorded the producer Craig Leon was a metronome Nazi. Well that might be a bit of an overstatement, but that's how I find most of this album sounds.

Judy Ia A Punk is one of those songs that you either like or you don't. It's a great rock song, with a very 60's kind of vibe. Part of me always thinks of The Monkees, when I hear this one. Which is great, except that it's not a quality Monkees song. I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend is so 50's high school dance music. I could so picture Marty McFly playing this one in Back To The Future, and the audience never knowing it's a punk song from two decades later. Well except for the fact that the tempo is unusually fast.

Chain Saw is the original Scoobie-Doo cartoon meets Texas Chain Saw Massacre. This song has the best production on the entire album, because it's the only song that sounds like more than just the band locked in a room and told to play at one specific tempo. It also has violent machine noises. I do really love this song. It's one of my favourites on this album.

I like bits and pieces of Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue. I don't care for the song over all, and I don't understand why so many people like it so much. It's just a really odd song to me.

The nice part about a Ramones song is it's over before it gets boring. The problem is that it makes the longest song on the album seem really long, and repetative. I Don't Wanna Go Down to the Basement is only 2:35 and I would swear if I hadn't looked that it was closer to four minutes.

It's a good thing that on the original vinyl Loudmouth and I Don't Wanna Go Down to the Basement were separated by different sides of the album. On the CD one runs into the other, and they sound like the exact same song with different words.

Which brings me to the simplicity of the lyrical structure to this bands songs. You get one verse, one chorus, and adlibbed variations on those two sets of words. It's simple genius, when it works on a song. It's boring as shit when it doesn't.

Havana Affair is one of those songs that I would like to love, but I can't. I've heard the original version on here and a cover by Red Hot Chilli Peppers. I like the original version better by far, but it still sounds like it could have been done better. The producer should have had them try to tweek it just a bit more still. Try and find more of the song's voice.

I don't care for Listen To My Heart. It has that problem of sounding too long, even though it's only two minutes.

I'm not sure how I feel about 53rd & 3rd as well. I really like the song. It's one of the most complicated songs on the album, but at the same time I don't care for the jagged rhythm. To which people then say, "You're clearly missing the point of the song". To which I point out that I clearly am not. I just don't really care for it.

Let's Dance is a Sock Hop, on a beach, with hoola hoops, where everyone got into the crack. Also can someone explain to me which Ramone was the organist? I'm pretty sure the first rule of Punk is no piano. Then again this was the first Punk album, so I guess they didn't have that rule yet.

I Don't Wanna Walk Around With You, is another song that just seems longer than it really is. It's these types of songs that make up what would be this album's fillers. Thankfully there aren't to many of them.

Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World has the following lyrics, "I'm a shock trooper in a stupor / Yes I am. / I'm a Nazi schatze / Y'know I fight for fatherland / Little German boy / Being pushed around / Little German boy / In a German town / Today your love, tomorrow the world". I find this very powerful and captivating, since these are the only words spoken in the last song on the original vinyl. It's a great ending to the album, and it's one of the few Ramones songs I would love to cover on any type of regular basis.

The Bonus Tracks start with the demo of I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend, and I like the tape hiss filled version just as much as the original. In some ways I like it better, specifically the guitar sound.

From there it's on to Judy is a Punk. I like this version better. It's the band let off the leash, performing the song the way they would perform it. I still don't care for the song that much.

I Don't Care is a demo just like almost every other bonus song. Also like many other songs, this was previously unissued. The song is pretty much the title said over and over, but if it had great potential and it should have been explored and released on this original album.

All the Stuff (And More) Volume One is a compilation album, made up of the first two albums, plus some other demos. I Can't Be is one of those, and is now on here. It's not as good to my ears as the demo song before it. I'd say skip it, but it's really not that long.

The demo for Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue would be better than the studio version if the sound quality was better. However, I still don't care for the song.

I Don't Wanna Be Learned/I Don't Wanna be Tamed is a second track that could only be found on the All the Stuff (And More) Volume One album. I like this one more than I Can't Be, but not as much as the next demo.

You Should Never Have Opened That Door is another song that is very much just like I described Chain Saw. It would be my guess that someone said, "Those songs are pretty much the same. Why do you need to have two songs about killers?" I think that person should have been shot, for clearly only having half a brain.

The album ends with Blitzkreig Bop (Single Version). Normally when there's a single version of a song it's to make it more radio friendly. Many times radio edits are to remove certain offending words, or to shorten for time. This song didn't need either, and the running time is still the exact same. So, without listening to the song you have to wonder what the hell they did to it.

That famous version of this song you always hear, it's actually this version of the song. The production is slightly altered. For starters, the guitar is pushed further forward, and the vocals have echo on them now. Actually the sound of the entire song is cleaned up, sort of. A better way to describe it would be instrumentally separated.

The original version has a very level blended sound, where it's hard to pull the instruments apart. The single version has the drums balanced and holding down the background noise, the bass is really pushed up to create a clear thumping, and the vocals really radiate from the center. This is what an over produced Ramones album would have sounded like, if they were going for commercial success.

All in all this is a great album. If I had been in charge of putting together the original album, using all the songs that make up this Expanded Edition, I would have changed out at least three songs. Loudmouth, Listen To My Heart, and Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue would have been replaced with I Don't Care, I Don't Wanna Be Learned/I Don't Wanna be Tamed, and You Should Never Have Opened That Door, if I had had my way.

If you find the original album you should pick it up all the same. It's the original Punk album, and just for educational purposes it should be a part of any record/compact disc collection. If you find the Expanded Edition I would suggest picking that up even more. I can't stress how much better the Ramones sound as a band on the demos, not to mention five of the seven demos are just really good to listen to.

The only thing that hurts this album is the production. Part of that comes from the time and equipment, but I think most of the blame needs to go on Craig Leon's head. Admittedly this was his first Pop/Rock/Non Classical Music album, but it was the wrong band to start with. The second album he's credited with producing, that falls into the Pop/Rock catagory, was Blondie's self titled debut, and he did a much better job with the production.

8/10 - content

5/10 - production

7/10 - personal bias

Music From The Motion Picture Detroit Rock City

So, I was sitting around picking out the next batch of CDs to review, when Andria (The Editor) pops up with "You haven't done any sountracks in a while. You should do a couple of those." The next album that crossed my hands, that fell into that catagory, was Music From The Motion Picture Detroit Rock City.

Detroit Rock City was a movie about a Kiss cover band (Mystery) in 1978, that is trying to get to a Kiss concert in Detroit Rock City. A very simple concept for a comedy filled with great music. Music that really helps drive the movie, and in some cases the jokes.

There are two really good parts about this soundtrack. The first is that there are only four Kiss songs on it, instead of an entire soundtrack. The other is that some of the songs have been covered by modern bands instead of being the original version. However, keep that in mind when I later go on a long winded diatribe about Marilyn Manson butchering an AC/DC classic.

The album opens with a cover of Thin Lizzy's The Boys Are Back In Town. This version is performed by Everclear. These guys were pretty much "One Hit Wonders" even though they found success through a few different songs, none of which I can remember. This song is pretty much a note for note cover. It sounds like a really good cover band that got to record a classic rock song.

Kiss' Shout It Out Loud follows that up. I don't know how many times I'll end up talking about this song in the future. There must be a at least two actual Kiss albums I own that have this song on it. That being said, it's not one of the Kiss songs I care for. It's one of those well written Pop songs they do a decent job of pretending is Hard Rock.

Then it's on to Van Halen's Runnin' With The Devil. My favourite Van Halen song, and the only reason I don't write off David Lee Roth as a complete twit. This is a great song to have on any soundtrack, and even better on this collection.

It's time for another cover again. This time it's one of the best covers I have ever heard. I know the original artist disagrees, but Ted Nugent is a pompous, arrogant, ass that needs to, and I quote Frank Zappa, "Shut up! And play your guitar".

Pantera's version of Cat Scratch Fever is the perfect example of a band taking someone else's song, playing it faithfully, and still making it sound like their own. It's not a perfect note for note cover. It's a perfect covering of a song, while playing your own version of the notes. This song is totally and undeniably Pantera's Cat Scratch Fever. Dimebag knew how to play his Nuge, and he plays it so well. And as a kid raised on Ted Nugent, I will stand right up to Uncle Ted's face (As long as there is nothing around he can shoot me with) and say that I like this version better.

I know Black Sabbath's Iron Man. You know Black Sabbath's Iron Man. We all know Black Sabbath's Iron Man. If you don't, I'd like you to explain to me how. I would have liked a cover instead of the original in this case for sure.

Okay, remember at the start of this when I mentioned Manson butchering AC/DC. We are at that point now.

Marilyn Manson performs AC/DC's Highway To Hell. I know part of you is cringing already. let me start by saying that I don't think anyone in the band has the foggiest clue of how to play the original song. The verses only sound like the verse in the sense that Manson sings them the same. The chorus kind of sounds like the chorus, and I won't bitch about that too much. That's the only part of the song worth anythng. The rest of the song is a complete disgrace and abomination to anything and everything Classic Rock and AC/DC. I would punch Marilyn Manson in the face for this song, if it wasn't for the fact that he has at least one other full album he deserves it for instead. This cover is a big steaming load of shit. However, I do like it as video game driving music.

A cover of 20th Century Boy is performed by Drain sth. This sounds more like what I would have Manson do to the previous song. This all female Metal group slows down this classic into something that sounds more like a funeral dirge. In retrospect I would say that they went all Type O Negative on the song. I don't mind it, but fans of the original may not be so kind.

One thing I did notice about this album, and also applauded, was how many bands that are made up of only women were on here. Drain sth was the first group and two more are still to come. I only mention this because these bands are actually really good bands, that can more than keep up with the guys that make up all the other bands on this album. The only "Girl Band" not represented, that clearly should be, is Heart. The soundtrack's title track is the eighth song on the album. It's Detroit Rock City and you should just know it. If you don't, go youtube it, and educate yourself you ignorant bafoon.

I like that there are two Thin Lizzy songs on this album. I'm even happier that the overplayed one was the one that got covered, and Jailbreak was the original. Jailbreak is a fantastic song, from a group that's pretty much considered a "One Hit Wonder". I've got a fantastic best of collection that says differently. This song is so bad ass, and full of that bravado that only comes from growing up in bad place, like Ireland.

After that, it's Cheap Trick's Surrender (Live). I'm not a fan of this song. It's a good Pop song, and I see the appeal, but it's not for me. Also, eventhough I know this song was recorded live, it sounds studio engineered live.

There's this completely odd cut between that song and David Bowie's Rebel Rebel. It sounds like the type of cut you might find on a mix tape recorded off the radio. But, on to the Bowie classic.

This is one of Bowie's songs that I normally don't care about. It's a little too Disco for me, but in a British way. A lot of the Glam bands had a great ability to mix Disco rhythms into Rock songs, and come out with these really neat Pop songs. Most of the time I want nothing to do with it, and this is one of those times.

At the start I said that I like that there were only four Kiss songs on the album. One of those four is performed by The Donnas. Strutter is done in the same great style and fashion as the original Kiss classic. I enjoy listening to a chick sing it more than a guy, and I think it sounds better in this cover than it does when Kiss performs it. These girls are a flat out Rock Band, and I would normally feel bad for referring to any of them as a chick, but they are bad ass chicks.

The original bad girls of Rock N' Roll were the Runaways, and I am so glad that it's School Days that's on here instead of Cherry Bomb. Don't get me wrong, I love Cherry Bomb, but it's nice to hear other songs from them. Also, holy shit can they play. The bass in this song is just awesome, and the vocalist sounds so bad ass. I really think these girls could kick the shit out of any Rock's biggest bad boys. Lemmy will back me up on that too.

Now where I was happy that they put a different Runaways song on besides the normal hit, I was upset that they put this lame Sweet track on. I so would have rather had Ballroom Blitz instead of Little Willy. It's a funny and cute double entendre, but that's where my liking the song ends. After that it's all head shaking.

The album ends with the last Kiss song. I know what you are thinking, if you've never seen this album, "It must be Rock And Roll All Night." That is thankfully wrong. What a shitty cliche that would have been. Instead the album ends with Kiss performing Nothing Can Keep Me From You. This song is credited as being written by D. Warren, which on a quick search I can't figure out exactly which D. Warren it is. The song itself is boring and should have been left unrecorded.

All in all this isn't a bad collection of songs. Sadly most of the songs are pretty standard, and it's really only some of the covers that make this album really worth it. Although I do enjoy throwing this disc in my CD player from time to time, because of the mix of songs.

8/10 - content

7/10 - production

6/10 - personal bias