And So To Bed.......

Like the String Quartet thing of yesterday, there are a WHOLE BUNCH of these, and if someone wants to

DL all of them, I will put them up, but I'm not going to torture you to that degree......I think I once may have posted the Tool version of "Lullabye Renditions", stumbled on the Nirvana version yesterday, and with Nirvana being one of my ten fave bands of them all, I thought I'd contribute this to any parents of young kiddies out there, who want to raise them RIGHT (I talked a while back about my son listening to Mazzy Star when he was In Utero, fetuses today are just SO MUCH luckier......I seriously WOULD use this for a small child's sleep-time music, and there are more on the Bay, a LOT more in fact......but we'll just stick with Nirvana here......Variety. It's what I strive for, and eccentricity.......hell, I know this won't be for everyone, won't be for most, BUT I really do think if you want to instill a great sense of music in your infant, perhaps in 18 or 20 years you will be thanking BigScott (I'm sure I'll be Dead, but it'll be my legacy!)

LULLABY RENDITIONS OF NIRVANA-01 In Bloom/02 Smells Like Teen Spirit/03 Lithium/04 Something In the Way/05 About a Girl/06 On a Plain/07 Heart shaped Box/08 All Apologies/09 Serve the Servants/10 Come As You Are

Glitterbust

As always, I am very skeptical and cautious when posting "newer" releases, such as this one, only out for a month or so.....however, I have listened to it and it's some fine experimental noise rock, from the tandem of Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon and Alex Knost of Tommorow's Tulips. This is really good, if you like this kind of thing, I predict it ends up on several people's "year end best" lists, mine perhaps as well......so, as always, should anyone be offended by this share, just tell me so, and the links will be removed, be it artist, label, or etc.......but I liked this one enough that I wanted to get it a bit more exposure and that's why it's here, it's so new I'd say if you like it, it may not be a bad idea to go and buy it as well......we'll see......anyway a brilliant noisy mess.

Thanks much to John N for sharing this link, the guy is a machine! (a compliment)!

GLITERBUST-01 Nude Economics/02 Repetitive Differ/03 Erotic Resume/04 Soft Landing/05 The Highline

If this is of interest to you, you may want to hurry up in case there are any issues, I always have such concerns on newer releases.

By Request: Truth and Janey

Jack Bond chimes in with a request for some Truth and Janey, kind of rare stuff from those rocking
mid-70's......I have two albums in my stash that might be useful.......they had another release or two, if any of you happen to have any of them, please lets get together and fill out everyone's Truth and Janey shelf.....

OK, these boys were from the USA heartland, Cedar Rapids,  Iowa. Consisting of drummer Denis Bunce, bassist Steve Bock, and guitarist/singer BillyLee Janey. The first, and only official full length that they released was 1976's "No Rest For the Wicked"......standard hard rock, based roughly on the Cream/Hendrix power trio format, it's really a good hard rocking piece, don't really know why it was met with such utter indifference......there was a HELL of lot worse shit out there in 1976.  For my money one of the most underappreciated hard rocking bands of those fabulous 70's.

This is a good album.....the do a solid cover of "Under My Thumb", and there are numerous dark and brooding hard rockers ala "Down the Road I Go" and the title track, "No Rest For the Wicked"......this is one damn good album, for fans of 1970's hard/metal.......as I said, it's a bit hard to find, so here it is if you want it.

I can also supply the VERY good live epic, "Erupts", a live album from the band's peak 1976-77 years.....obviously I never saw them, but judging from this album, they were a VERY good live band....this was released much later on, I think after 2000, after interest in the previously overlooked band started to open up.......it's a DAMN excellent album, I like it better than the studio release, actually.....

And that's all I have......I think they may have released another live disc (unsure) and some singles, EP's kind of things, but for the core of Truth and janey, basically, all you need are these two discs. Enjoy these Jack Bond and anyone else with a taste for the greatest decade in rock n roll, those glorious 1970's!

NO REST FOR THE WICKED-01 Down the Road I Go/02 The Light/03 I'm Ready/04 Remember/05 No rest For the Wicked/06 It's All About Us/07 Ain't No Telling/08 My Mind/09 Midnight Horseman/10 Around and Around/11 Under My Thumb/12 Straight Eight Pontiac

ERUPTS!-01 No Rest For the Wicked/02 Birth of the Heart/03 Universal Lights/04 A Child/05 Building Walls/06 Tunnel of Tomorrow/07 The Light/08 One Down One To Go/09 White Blood/10 My Mind/11 As I Am/12 Ain't No Telling/13 Hard Road

"Greatest Ever" Pop Punk

"Greatest ever" is indeed what they call it, hell maybe it is......

a good mix of some well known good stuff, some well known bad stuff, some obscuritites, and some classics from the golden age of punk....apparently an import effort on some Russian (?) label (looks like Russian fonts/characters to me, I dunno)..... lets hit the high/low points of each disc, the full track list make yourself aware whether there is a lot here you want, as I like to warn, alot of this is commonly compiled on comps of this nature, so if you have an extensive collection, you may wish to program this yourself and whittle it down by a disc or 2.

Disc One leads off with two brattish numbers that truly live up the box set's title (or at least it's theme, not sure about this "greatest ever") ....Blink 182's "What's My Age Again" was a kind poor man's Green Day track, and Sum 41's "In Too Deep" was a really good song that got beaten to death. Surprisingly, most of the rest of the disc stakes out more obscure material...... stuff from Rival Schools, American Hi-Fi, Head Automatica and more, avoiding anything from the awful Hoobastank would have been a good idea, but so it goes....

Are you familiar with the psychotic Andrew WK? His "Party Hard" leads off Disc 2...... this is a perfect place for Andrew, imo, a LITTLE of him goes quite a long way, still a good track you don't hear much anymore. Then there are everyday tracks that you hear, well, everyday, from Fountains of Wayne, Weezer, Hole, Smash Mouth.... the Lemonheads "Mrs Robinson" checks in for the second time this month (Lemonheads post of earlier in month is better context obviously), L7's tremendous "Pretend We're Dead" is not exactly a rarity, but it is such a  good one I had to mention it..... a Husker Du track is ALWAYS welcome, as is anything from the Donnas (one of my fave bands of the 00's), especially the great "Take It Off"..... lesser known stuff here too, The Subways, Hundred Reasons, Len, and a few others...... this is likely the most accessible of the discs.

Disc 3 focuses on older material for the most part, again, a lot of it commonly comped. Buzzcocks, Ramones,  The Jam, XTC, The Runaways, and others are represented here, a rarity or at least an obscurity from one would be nice..... Always loved The Jag's "Back of My hand", Toy Dolls and Jilted John are at least lesser known than most here.

As a whole I'd give this set about 2.5 stars.... too much common material, but ENOUGH lesser material that one should be able to fill up at least ONE disc, I'd say...... that's why it's here! Enjoy!

DISC 1-BLINK 182-What's My Age Again/02 SUM 41-In Too Deep/03 ALIEN ANT FARM-Smooth Criminal/04 LESS THAN JAKE-All My best Friends are Metaheads/05 YELLOWCARD-Ocean Avenue/06 A-Nothing/07 SIMPLE PLAN-I'm Just a Kid/08 FALL OUT BOY-Alone Together/09 BOXCAR RACER-There Is/10 AMERICAN HI-FI-Flavor of the Week/11 GOLDFINGER-Superman/12 HOOBASTANK-Out of Control/13 YOU ME AT SIX-Underdog/14 THE RASMUS-In the Shadows/15 THE STARTING LINE-The Best of Me/16 RIVAL SCHOOLS-Used For Glue/17 HEAD AUTOMATICA-Beating Heart Baby/18 THE ACADEMY IS-About a Girl/19 THE RED JUMP SUIT APPARATUS-Face Down

DISC 2-01 ANDREW WK-Party Hard/02 WEEZER-Buddy Holly/03 LEN-Steal My Sunshine/04 BUSTED-What I Go To School For/05 DANDY WARHOLS-Bohemian Like You/06 FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE-Stacy's Mom/07 SMASH MOUTH-All Star/08 SUGAR RAY-Every Morning/09 THE LEMONHEADS-Mrs Robinson/10 THE DONNAS-Take It Off/11 SUPERGRASS-Caught By the Fuzz/12 HOLE-Celebrity Skin/13 L7-Pretend We're Dead/14 THE SUBWAYS-Kiss Kiss Bang Bang/

15 HUNDRED REASONS-Silver/16 HUSKER DU-Don't Want to Know If You Are Lonely/17 PUDDLE OF MUDD-Blurry/18 PAPA ROACH-Last Resort/19 POD-Boom

DISC 3-01 THE BUZZCOCKS-Ever Fallen In Love?/02 GENERATION X-Dancing With Myself/03 THE RAMONES-Sheena Is a Punk Rocker/04 THE UNDERTONES-Here Comes the Summer/05 THE JAGS-Back of My Hand/06 THE JAM-Going Underground/07 XTC Senses Working Overtime/08 TENPOLE TUDOR-Swords of A Thousand Men/09 SHAM 69-Hurry Up Harry/10 JONATHAN RICHMAN & THE MODERN LOVERS-Roadrunner (Once)/11 JILTED JOHN-Jilted John/12 THE DAMNED-New Rose/13 PLASTIC BERTRAND-A Plane Pour Moi/14 THE RUNAWAYS-Cherry Bomb/15 LENE LOVICH-Lucky Number/16 X-RAY SPEX-Germ Free Adolescence/17 TOY DOLLS-Nellie the Elephant/18 THE DICKIES-Banana Splits

  

The String Quartet: A Tribute to Guns N Roses

Hey, I TRY to get some variety into your life.... The String Quartet, also called The Vitamin String Quartet, has released dozens of these, ie tributes to various rock bands, done up classical style........ there truly isn't a lot for me to say here, the title pretty much says it all..... this is posted pretty much as a lark, enjoy it, ignore it, do what you will do......

I'd like to wish a happy birthday (50th!) to BigCarla66, my one and only, the love of my life and the greatest wife anyone could ever hope for...... last year on her birthday I posted some Bowie discs (her fave), I don't think she's likely heard this one, but since I know she loves the sound of classical music, I think she will like this.

March 30 is ALSO a sad day for me, because my Dad, (BigMike42?) passed away on this day in 1990, at the age of 48...... he was always open to anything musically, he would have loved this also, I think. I miss him, he passed before the explosion of file-sharing/internet music, my GOD he would have loved it.......

Anyway, Dad I hope all is good with you in the afterlife, and again, BigCarla66, I love you more than life itself....... March 30 EVERY year is a happy/sad day, but I will always honor those whom I love, on this blog, with music I think they would like.

A TRIBUTE TO GUNS N ROSES-01 Welcome to the Jungle/02 Sweet Child o Mine/03 Knockin On Heaven's Door/04 Paradise City/05 Don't Cry/06 November Rain/07 Live and Let Die/08 Mister Brownstone/09 Yesterdays/10 Patience/11 14 Years/12 Civil War

Again, Happy Birthday Carla, and RIP Dad........

The Raincoats

Hadn't really thought about The Raincoats in a while, for some reason they popped into my nearly-senile
brain a few days ago.....I drug out the great self titled first album, MAN that thing was great, still sounds good today also.

The Raincoats, in their classic incarnation, were vocalist/guitarist Ana da Silva, vocalist/bassist Gina Birch, drummer (formerly of the Slits whom have been profiled here previously) Palmolive (replaced by Ingrid Weiss), and violinist Vicky Aspinall....I remember the debut coming out to rave reviews in 1979, and especially recall Johnny Rotten calling them the best band in the world......I don't know about all that, but that first LP IS a motherfucker, intelligent and unique, if you've never heard it, like it or not, it WILL NOT sound like anything you've heard before......one of the first albums I recall the term "post punk" being used upon, this is a classic that seemingly is somewhat forgottten/underappreciated in 2016 (I could be wrong, referring only to my circles)....Aspinall's violin playing is deliberately abrasive, and really works well. The CD re-issue (the one I have here) includes the fine single "Fairytale in the Supermarket", which is tremendous, but, even without it, this would be a five star classic........the cover of the Kink's "Lola" brings into play FAR more gender-complication issues than did the original!)......don't miss, this is one of the best albums of the late 70's.

The follow up "Odyshape" (1981) is quite different, and, in my estimation not as good (although the debut would be hard to match).....utilizing odd instrumentation (from Wikipedia: shruti box, balophone, shehnai, and kalimba), which, at the very least, continue the band's "tradition" of being nothing if not unique.....however, for my money, the songs are not as good as on the debut, although, actually, I WOULD consider this an essential album for fans of the genre and era......what I'm saying is the debut is so good that they could never hope to match or surpass it.

OK, used to have some other stuff (notably the good live recording "The Kitchen Tapes) but can't find it right now, I wonder if my friend (missing in action?) DaveSez is reading this and has some boots and stuff to contribute? Anyway, the band went on for a while before calling it a day, hell they may still be at it for all I know, but that first album is the one you want, and if it interests you, investigate "Odyshape" as well.......good stuff for you all here, if you are familiar already, you KNOW of the greatness of that first album, if uninitiated, I certainly want to hear the opinions of someone who hears it for the first time in 2016.

THE RAINCOATS-01 Fairytale in the Supermarket/02 No Side to Fall In/03 Adventures Close to Home/04 Off Duty Trip/05 Black and White/06 Lola/07 Void/08 Life on the Line/09 You're a Million/10 In Love/11 No Looking

ODYSHAPE-01 Shouting Out Loud/02 Family Treet/03 Only Loved at Night/04 Dancing In My Head/05 Odyshape/06 And Then It's OK/07 Baby Song/08 Red Shoes/09 Go Away

Omega Plus

Don't remember where I got this one  from, Omega Plus only (?) release was "How to Kiss the Sky",  from
France ca. 1969.......that's about all the information that is available.......that being said, this is a fairly decent set of folkish/progg-ish psych, well worth a listen.....the albums centerpiece, the 16 minute-plus opus "Voyelles" goes on a bit long for my taste, but the other tracks here are certainly worth a listen......anyone have any information on these folks? Not much info out there on them, but honestly not a bad album, a true "period piece" as I like to say (too often, perhaps).

01 Unfaithful Woman/02 Spanish Feeling/03 Wild Cult/04 Which Colour/05 Do You Need Sugar/06 Voyelles

Fuk

The delicately named Fuk released, to my knowledge, just one full length, 2011's "New Wave of  British Punk Rock", I see some other singles and stuff, but this CD is the only one I have......reminiscent, to me, more of the 1980's West Coast USA hardcore sound than of classic UK punk, this is kind of half a joke/half a decent album to hear once or twice. Check the band members' names: Cliff Vicious, Gabba, Glueboy, and Hedge Pig.......maybe just a little too "cute" and ambitious, but if you are a fan of the previously mentioned scene (think Germs, Fear, Circle Jerks, et al) you may get a kick out of this one. Certainly not a "classic of the future" by any means, but I've heard worse in my time.......advance with caution!

NEW WAVE OF BRITISH PUNK ROCK-01 Smash Up the Kitchen/02 Instant Depression/03 More Nothing/04 Centre City Shit Kickers/05 Eye See You/06 Carry On Abroad/07 Eaten Alive/08 Bomber Pop Terror/09 Asbo Hitler/10 Sexy War Victim/11 Mean Eyed Girl/12 Asbo Kids/13 PCK

Stooges Complete Funhouse Sessions

I'm surprised to learn that I have never put these up before, I don't think they are terribly common......you gotta LOVE you some Stooges to be wanting this, as there are SEVEN (!) discs of rough studio work as well as a bunch of random studio chatter, "Fun House" is one of my fave albums, and to me it is of great interest to get behind the scenes of the creation of that masterpiece.....for some of you, this will be a Godsend, to others, this may sound like an excessive exercise in jibberish....both side would be correct, imo.

This is a TRUE picture of the making of  a classic album.....every mistake, every studio discussion, every EVERYTHING that went down while the Stooges were creating "Fun House" is here......it's highly unlikely that you aim to listen to this on your next long road trip, this is one of those efforts that is FAR more a scholarly/informational effort than something just to kick back to......but when it comes to my fave bands (ala the Stooges), every note is something that interests ME.

OK, dig it, this is ONLY for fans of the Stooges.....it DOCUMENTS the making of one of the great albums of the 1970's, I just want to make clear to the dabblers that this is NOT something for you to tap your toes/play "air-guitar" to, this shit is rough, and personally, I find it interesting as hell....I wish I had discs of some of my other fave albums laid out in this manner...

I'm for sure NOT gonna discuss each disc, the track lists below will explain it to you EXACTLY......but if you are a fan of the Stooges, a fan of "making the record" documentation, or even just a fan of "off-the-beaten-path" recordings, I think I would recommend this to you. There are some fine, hard rocking (fuck, it's the goddamn STOOGES shit here, and I hope that this is something that some, at least, of the minions find to be a treasure strike....as always, TELL ME what you feel about my posts....I can only make this blog what YOU want it if you give me YOUR input, and I am dead serious.....if you think this post, and posts like it, sucks, then you have no one to blame should you not tell me. Right?

One final warning: When the say "Complete", they are NOT kidding

DISC 1-01 Fun House (Tape Glitch Fragment)/02 Studio Dialogue/03 1970 (Incomplete)/04 Studio Dialogue/05 1970 (Take 1)/06 1970 (Take 2)/07 Studio Dialogue 08 1970 (Take 3)/09 1970 (Take 4)/10 Studio Dialogue/11 Loose (Demo)/12 Studio Dialogue/13 1970 (Take 5)/14 Lose (False Start) (Take 1)/15 Loose (Complete Funhouse Version, Take 2)/16 Down on the Street (Take 1)/17 Studio Dialogue/18 Loose (Take 3)/19 Down on the Street (False Start) (Take 2)/20 Down on the Street (False Start) (Take 3)/21 Studio Dialogue/22 See That Cat (TV Eye LP Version)/23 Studio Dialogue/24 1970 (Take 1)/25 Funhouse (Take 1)/26 Studio Dialogue/27 Lost In the Future (False Start #1)/28 Studio Dialogue/29 Lost In the Future (False Start #2)

DISC 2-01 Lost In the Future (Take 1)/02 Studio Dialogue/03 Lost In the Future (Take 2)/04 Lost in the Future (Take 3)/05 Studio Dialogue/06 Loose (Take 1)/07 Studio Dialogue/08 1970 (Take 1)/09 Loose (Take 2)/10 Loose (False Start) (Take 3)/11 Studio Dialogue/12 Loose (Take 4)/13 Studio Dialogue/14 Loose (Take 5)/15 Studio Dialogue/16 Loose (Take 6)/17 Loose (False Start) (Take 7)/18 Loose (Take 9)/19 Loose (Take 11)/20 Loose (Take 12)/21 Loose (Take 13)/22 Loose (Take 14)/23 Loose (Take 15)/24 Slide (Slidin' the Blues) (Take 1)/25 Studio Dialogue/26 Loose (Take 16)/27 Loose (False Start) (Take 17)/28 Loose (False Start) (Take 18)/29 Loose (Take 19)

DISC 3-01 Loose (Take 20)/02 Studio Dialogue/03 Loose (False Start) (Take 21)/04 Studio Dialogue/05 Loose (Take 22)/06 Studio Dialogue/07 Loose (Take 22)/08 Loose (Take 23)/09 Loose (False Start) (Take 24)/10 Loose (False Start) (Take 25)/11 Studio Dialogue/12 Loose (Take 26)/13 Loose (Disc 27)/14 Down On the Street (Take 1)/15 Down On the Street (Take 2)/16 Down On the Street (Take 3)/17 Down On the Street (Take 4)/18 Studio Dialogue/19 Down on the Street (Take 5)/20 Studio Dialogue/21 Down on the Street (Take 6)/22 Down on the Street (False Start) (Take 7)/23 Down on the Street (Take 8)/24 Down on the Street (False Start) (Take 9)/25 Down on the Street (Take 10)/26 Down on the Street (False Start) (Take 11)/27 Studio Dialogue/28 Down on the Street (False Start) (Take 12)/29 Down on the Street (Take 13)/30 Down on the Street (False Start) (Take 14)/31 Down on the Street (Take 15)

DISC 4-01 TV Eye (Take 1)/02 TV Eye (False Start) (Take 2)/03 Slide (Slidin' The Blues)/04 TV Eye (Take 3)/05 TV Eye (False Start) (Take 4)/06 TV Eye (Take 5)/07 TV Eye (Take 6)/08 Studio Dialogue/09 TV Eye (Take 7)/10 TV Eye (Take 8)/11 Studio Dialogue/12 TV Eye (Take 9)/13 TV Eye (False Start) (Take 10)/14 TV Eye (Take 11)/15 TV Eye (Take 12)/16 TV Eye (Take 13)/17 TV Eye (Take 14)/18 Studio Dialogue/19 1970 (Take 1)/20 Studio Dialogue/21 1970 (Take 2)/22 Studio Dialogue/23 1970 Take 3)

DISC 5-01 1970 (Take 4)/02 Studio Dialogue/03 1970 (Take 5)/04 1970 (False Start) (Take 6)/05
1970 (Take 7)/06 1970 (Take 8)/07 Fun House (False Start) (Take 1)/08 Fun House (Take 2)/09 Fun House (Take 3)/10 Studio Dialogue/11 Fun House (Take 4)/12 Fun House (Take 5)/13 Studio Dialogue/14 Dirt (Take 1)/15 Dirt (take 2)

DISC 6-01 Dirt (Take 3)/02 Studio Dialogue/03 Dirt (Take 4)/04 Dirt (Take 5)/05 Dirt (Take 6)/06 Dirt (False Start) (Take 7)/07 Dirt (Take 8)/08 Dirt (Take 9)/09 Dirt (Take 10)/10 Dirt (False Start) (Take 11)/11 Dirt (Take 12)/12 Freak (Take 1)/13 Freak (Take 2)

DISC 7-01 Down on the Street (Mono Single Edit)/02 1970 (Mono Single Edit

Do you guys like this type of thing, or am I wasting my time? Is this too "scholarly", for lack of a better term? I have always liked this set, found it fascinating as hell, BUT if the readers don't, it does me no good to post stuff like this up......PLEASE comment, as you know, I want to make this blog into something that helps EVERYONE to acquire their PERFECT music collection.....if stuff like this is less interesting to YOU than it is to ME, the only way I'll know that is if you'd tell me.

Novi Punk Val

Once again my weakness for non-English language rock gets me, this time with a really good collection of punkish numbers from Yugoslavia. Likely having read this far you ALREADY know whether you want this one or not, my experience is that most yanks either love or hate this kind of thing.......IF you like this kind of thing, though, this is a good one, bands from the late 70's-early 80's such as Pankrti, Grupa 92, Buldogi, and a few others......if you're a fan of the punk of that era (and if you aren't, why are you here?), do yourself a small favor and check this out, you won't be sorry.

NOVI PUNK VAL-01 PANKRTI-Anarhist/02 PANKRTI-Tovar si, jest vam ne verjamem/03 PANKRTI-Lublana je Bulana/04 PRLJAVO KAZALISTE-Moj otac je bio u ratu/05 GRUPA 92-Videti jih/06 PROBLEMI-Sranje/07 PROBLEMI-Grad izobilja/08 BERLINSKI ZID-Mozgani na asfaltu/09 BERLINSKI ZID-Po cestah mesta/10 PARAF-Narodna pjesma/11 GRUPA 92-Kontroliram misli/12 BULDOGI-To ni balet/13 TERMITI-Vjeran pas/14 TERMITI-Mama, s razlogom se brines/15 TERMITI-Vremenska progonoza

Full Blown Cherry

Hey, you just never know......when I stumbled across something called "A Rockabilly Tribute to the Ramones", I of course thought "this is for me", figuring it had to be in the so-awful-it's essential category, and I was set to torture you kind folks with it.

Know what though? It really is enjoyable to listen to......the simplicity of rockabilly combined with the simplicity of the Ramones actually DOES work, of course it IS still amusing, but far from unlistenable....I find that Full Blown Cherry has also given the world "A Rockabilly Tribute to AC-DC" as well, if I can find that one likely IT may be spectacularly horrible, but this one, not so much........

Just a little something different, if you are a fan of either the Ramones or of rockabilly, this does not insult either of them. The world is often to serious a place, really, and we need more light-hearted throwaways such as this.

A ROCKABILLY TRIBUTE TO THE RAMONES-01 Blitzkrieg Bop/02 Rockaway Beach/03 Sheena Is a Punk Rocker/04 Cretin Hop/05 She's the One/06 Judy Is a Punk/07 The KKK Took My Baby Away/08 Teenage Lobotomy/09 I Wanna Be Sedated/10 Do You Remember Rock n Roll Radio/11 Beat on the Brat/12 Bop Till You Drop

Iced Earth

Well, I've always loved metal, as ya know, and Iced Earth, despite a far less than constant lineup, have
certainly lived up to that goal.......formed in Tampa in the mid-80's, Iced Earth were basically about guitarist Jon Schaffer, a Judas Priest/Iron Maiden style slammer (not a put down). Scaffer was the only constant in the band, there is no fucking way I am listing everyone who teamed up with him, although, interestingly and unlike  alot of metal bands, they went through a myriad of vocalists which we WILL investigate......

So, ok, the first offering I have from these boyos is the self titled 1991 debut.....Gene Adam handled vocal chores on this one, but it's really NOT about vocals, rather, it's a showcase for Schaffer's guitar antics......it's really a fairly good piece of work, actually, if you are a fan of bone-crushing metal, "When the Night Falls" and "Written on the Walls" are pretty damn good, and the rest isn't bad at all.

"Night of the Stormrider" came out shortly after and utilized John Greely on vocals......it's got a conceptual theme, dealing with religion/apocalypse type things, but, I'll tell ya, this motherfucker rocks as well...."Pure Evil" and "Travel in Stygian" stand out, but a good old fashioned and overlooked slammer of metal, of which these guys did up on all their albums......slamming shit, no question.

Matthew Barlow took over vocal duties for 1995's, "Burnt Offerings".....I may like this as well as anything they did, it's really dark, gloomy, and heavy as fuck, somewhat innovative as it includes the really cool 16 minute "Dante's Inferno", as well as cool shit ala the title track and "Burning Oasis", this is a REALLY under appreciated slab of metal, and also came with (included here) a bonus disc with rough mixes various Iced Earth tunes, which is REALLY cool, it sounds like a fucking garage band trying to play Iced Earth tunes and works VERY well.....the "main" disc might be thier best/my fave effort, and the bonus disc really DOES work in this context....if you hate this kinda stuff, you're not going to like the set, but real metal-heads will thrill to the whole thing, including the (imo) very fine and fitting bonus disc.

The follow up to "Burnt Offerings" was 1996's "The Dark Saga"....ok, I gotta say, while not "bad", it's also not that good, either, sounded at the time for all the world like they were trying to gain (gag) "mass acceptance"....certainly, it is listenable, but does not replicate the dark-metal crunch of its predecessors.

Next we have the 2-disc "Days of Purgatory", which is interesting in that it features Barlow on vocals on some of the pre-Barlow tracks..... "Written on the Walls", for example, from  their self titled debut, is given a complete overhaul , with a complete set of new lyrics and even a new title, "Cast in Stone"..... a BIT redundant, but not terribly so, myself I wouldn't have made it a 2 disc set,but if I had a brain I'd be licking off Drew Barrymore's tattoos....wait, did I do that one yesterday?

They turned the amps back up a bit for 1998's "Something Wicked This Way Comes".....my friend Tim who loves this band to pieces, really likes this album, not sure I concur......it's OK, but ONLY OK, honestly, it's heavy-heavy metal, lovers of metal should find a slot on the shelf for this one, if you are not big time into metal, likely you will pass.

The THREE(!) disc "Alive in Athens" is more than a little excessive,
the band DID have some live chops, but THREE discs? I'm a metal fan, as you can see, but in general NOT a fan of live metal albums, they tend to go on a bit long, and this effort defines my complaint......if you're a fan, this is for you, if not, well......

Around this same time they released an EP entitled "The Melancholy".... while not horrible, it does contain a highly questionable cover of Bad Company's "Shooting Star" (a bad song to begin with, sez only me), as well as a version of Black Sabbath's "Electric Funeral" (and a decent one at that)... again, for fans ONLY of this type of thing.

Next, they released a 5-disc box set, "Dark Genesis"... while I do happen to have one, I'm not posting the whole thing here, as three discs are remasters of the first three albums......however, also included is the rare EP "Enter the Realm" (1999 and really very good), as well as a disc entitled "Tribute to the Gods" (Gods?) which contains cover versions of a bunch of tunes that apparently influenced the band.... it's not bad, but there are no real surprises here, AC-DC, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden.....you know how I feel about these things, the versions here are so close to the originals, for the most part, that imo there was not really a point in bothering.

2001's "Horror Show" is not a favorite of mine, at all, it's a conceptual affair with a bunch of tunes inspired by various horror films, see the track list below, but I think this one tries WAYYYY too hard and doesn't work....again, my friend Tim would not agre with me, for certain (It's great to be open minded like myself, and not a slavish sheep like TIM (just kidding fucker you know I love ya!))...

Tim "Ripper" Owens, who would serve as Rob Halford's replacement on vocals in Judas Priest takes over singing duties on 2004's "The Glorious Burden", and imo, it's a good one, one of their better works actually....while often conceptual metal alabums fall flat, this one works, as it is themed around various battles and moments in military history....call me crazy, but I really like this one, I think perhaps Owens gave them a needed shot in the arm. The disc-length "Gettysburg" is nothing if not ambitious, and in my estimation, this is certainly the band's most overlooked work, many thought them to be past their peak, but do not miss this one.....a fine and seriously hard rocking, bone crushing 2 disc set.

"Framing Armageddon" is next in line, and takes the concepts sprouted on "Something Wicked" and expands
on them......a lot of instrumental guitar hijinx here, and this would be Ripper's farewell....still, all in all, this is not a bad effort either, these guys (or, more accurately, Schaffer), were a hell of a lot more ambitious than 90% of other metal bands of the day. Released in tandem was the EP "Overture of the Wicked", and features perhaps their best known tune "Ten Thousand Strong".

There is yet another segment to the "Something  Wicked" series, "The Crucible of Man", which I was pretty sure I have but can't find, I'll look some more tomorrow, but there is, in either case, a hell of a lot of stuff here, metal fans, if unfamiliar, you have no excuse......they compare somewhat favorably to Iron maiden or Judas Priest, perhaps a notch beneath those bands, but if you are a fan of headache inducing metal, you won't go wrong here...I gather they've released an album or two since, fuck, they might still be kicking it now, but nothing I've heard (I need to talk to Tim I guess).....anyways, here is some fucking hard rocking, ear piercing, semi-intellectual heavy metal for ya, as always feel free to discuss, comment, or contribute any of the stuff I don't have........I know some metal-heads (HI Tim!) listen to NOTHING but hard core metal, but me, I just consider it another nook in the rock n roll universe.

Enjoy these, there is some good stuff here.

ICED EARTH-01 Iced Earth/02 Written on the Wall/03 Colors/04 Curse the Sky/05 Life and Death/06
Solitude/07 Funeral/08 When the Night Falls

NIGHT OF THE STORMRIDER-01 Angels Holocaust/02 Stormrider/03 The Path I Choose/04 Before the Vision/05 Mystical End/06 Desert Rain/07 Pure Evil/08 Reaching the End/09 Travel In Stygian

BURNT OFFERINGS-01 Burnt Offerings/02 Last December/03 Diary/04 Brainwashed/05 Burning Oasis/06 Creator Failure/07 The Pierced Spirit/08 Dante's Inferno

THE DARK SAGA-01 Dark Saga/02 I Died For You/03 Violate/04 The Hunter/05 The Last Laugh/06 The Depths of Hell/07 Vengeance Is Mine/08 Scarred/09 Slave to the Dark/10 A Question of Heaven

DAYS OF PURGATORY DISC 1-01 Enter the Realm/02 Colors/03 Angels Holocaust/04 Stormrider/05 Winter Nights/06 Nightmares/07 Before the Vision/08 Pure Evil/09 Solitude/10 The Funeral/11 When the Night Falls

DAYS OF PURGATORY DISC 2-01 Burnt Offerings/02 Cast In Stone/03 Desert Rain/04 Brainwashed/05 Life and Death/06 Creator Failure/07 Reaching the End/08 Travel in Stygian/09 Dante's Inferno/10 Iced Earth

SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES-01 Burning Times/02 Melancholy (Holy Martyr)/03
Disciples of the Lie/04 Watching Over Me/05 Stand Alone/06 Consequences/07 My Own Savior/08 Reaping Stone/09 1776/10 Blessed Are You/11 Prophecy/12 Birth of the Wicked/13 The Coming Curse

ALIVE IN ATHENS DISC 1-01 Burning Times/02 Vengeance Is Mine/03 Pure Evil/04 My Own Savior/05 Melancholy (Holy Martyr)/06 Dante's Inferno/07 The Hunter/08 Travel In Stygian/09 Slave to the Dark/10 A Question of Heaven

ALIVE IN ATHENS DISC 2-01 Dark Saga/02 The Last Laugh/03 Last December/04 Watching Over Me/05 Angels Holocaust/06 Stormrider/07 The Path I Choose/08 I Died For You/09 Prophecy/10 Birth of the Wicked/11 The Coming Curse/12 Iced Earth

ALIVE IN ATHENS DISC 3-01 Stand Alone/02 Cast In Stone/03 Desert Rain/04 Brainwashed/05 Disciples of the Lie/06 When the Night Falls/07 Diary/08 Blessed Are You/09 Violate

THE MELANCHOLY (EP) 01 Melancholy (Holy Martyr)/02 Shooting Star/03 Watching Over Me/04 Electric Funeral/05 I Died For You/06 The Ripper/07 Colors

ENTER THE REALM (EP)-01 Enter the Realm/02 Colors/03 Nightmares/04 Curse the Sky/05 Solitude/06 Iced Earth

TRIBUTE TO THE GODS-01 Creatures of the Night/02 Number of the Beast/03 Highway to Hell/04 Burning For You/05 God of Thunder/06 Screaming For Vengeance/07 Dead Babies/08 Cities on Flame (With Rock N Roll)/09 It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock N Roll)/10 Black Sabbath/11 Hallowed Be Thy Name

HORROR SHOW-01 Wolf/02 Damien/03 Jack/04 Ghost of Freedom/05 Im-Ho-Tep (Pharaoh's Curse)/06 Jekyll & Hyde/07 Dragon's Child/08 Transylvania/09 Frankenstein/10 Dracula/11 The Phantom Opera Ghost

THE GLORIOUS BURDEN DISC 1-01 The Star Spangled Banner/02 Declaration Day/03 When the Eagle Cries/04 Don't Tread on Me/05 Greenface/06 Atilla/07 Red Baron Blue Max/08 Hollow Man/09 Valley Forge/10 Waterloo/11 When the Eagle Cries Unplugged

THE GLORIOUS BURDEN DISC 2-01` The Devil to Pay/02 Hold at All Costs/03 High Water Mark

FRAMING ARMAGEDDON-01 Overture/02 Something Wicked (Part 1)/03 Invasion/04 Motivation of Man/05 Setian Massacre/06 A Charge to Keep/07 Reflections/08 Ten thousand Strong/09 Execution/10 Order of the Rose/11 Cataclysm/12 The Clouding/13 Infiltrate and Assimilate/14 Retribution Through the Ages/15 Something Wicked (Part 2)/16 The Domino Decree/17 Framing Armageddon/18 When Stars Collide (Born Is He)/19 The Awakening

OVERTURE OF THE WICKED-01 Ten Thousand Strong/02 Prophecy/03 Birth of the Wicked/04 The

Coming Curse

Oh, and hey...these are all (or mostly, I forget) FLAC files.....some love them, some hate them, as I've said before, how I have them is how you get them....but they are a bit more work for me, as most of them need split....this is a rather large project, but it's cool, if you want an album that is split, download ALL parts and it will work fine, trust me......yeah, yeah, when I originally downloaded them I should have converted them, but the cold hard fact is I didn't.......so this is what you are getting....no bitching, there is a lot of good shit here, and if it's too much work for you to DL multiple parts or convert them (free converters are available online), then you are a bit too self-entitled.....we work each day, practically, to make a wide variety of music available to you, and it's not THAT much work to fix it up the way you prefer.......think about it, it's not that hard, and, hey, believe me, it's much more work for us than it is for you.......sorry to rant, but I do get tired of people bitching about the free music they get through me and my wonderful team of helpers......good shit here, take the extra five minutes and GET IT DONE......and of course, let me know what you think, or what you'd like to see here........as Brian likes to say "One Love"!

David Peel & the Lower East Side

Dragging out the weirdness for yer Easter weekend, sort of an "anti-classic" if you will.....another of
my Dad's faves, this is actually (imo) close to unlistenable, but as a child I got a heavy dose of this album, and it meant a lot to my Dad and his hippie pals.

The only album I have from this lad is "Have a Marijuana", and , really, I'm pretty sure it's all I need.....acoustic "rock" with lyrics that I'm sure shocked the hell out of the world at the time, advocating the usage of marijuana, the evils of the "man" and the police, honest to God it's probably the ultimate unlistenable "period piece" (1968), and IF you happen to have a sense of humor (so many don't), this can really be a fucking hoot to listen to, just don't expect some unknown "classic", cuz this ain't it.......

So why am I posting it? Well, you rarely see it online.....as I said, it was a fave of my Dad's, which means something to ME, and as I said, it is hilarious to listen to, SHOULD YOU happen to be one of those few people who actually owns a sense of humor......

Well anyway, I've got some great metal/prog stuff for later tonight if I get to it or tomorrow, but for now, light up a doob and relive 1968, just don't expect any kind of uncovered classic here.....similar to my post of Starz or the Shaggs, it's all a part of HISTORY, be it good or bad.......if you've never heard this, you owe it to yourself.....hell, give it a listen and then delete it, just so you can say you did!

HAVE A MARIJUANA-01 Mother Where is My Father?/02 I Like Marijuana/03 Here Comes a Cop/04 I've Got Some Grass/05 Happy Mother's Day/06 Up Against the Wall/07 I Do My Bawling in the Bathroom/08 The Alphabet Song/09 Show Me the Way to Get Stoned/10 We Love You

Jonder presents his fave band You Am I in a covers set!

(SCOTT) first of all, a lot of work went into this obviously... secondly, my first exposure to You Am I was Jonder's recent compilation of their work.... and I enjoyed them quite a bit, that is why we are here... to ALL introduce each other to new things that we may regret we have missed.... anyway, I was doing something else but having some trouble with both Pirate Bay AND Song 365 (grrrrrrr), so it's Jonder to the rescue with another fab set of stuff  (You Am I covering various tracks, to me sounds EXCELLENT)..... can't wait to listen to this one!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm going to try again to make a few You Am I converts with this set of covers.  As AC/DC fans, Scott and Brian might particularly like the first track, where singer Tex Perkins (ex-Beasts of Bourbon) is backed by You Am I on "Dirty Deeds".  Tex also croons Rod Stewart's "Tonight's The Night" near the end of this comp (before the Frank Ocean cover!)  

In between, You Am I pays tribute to the Stooges, Stones, Dolls, Who, Pretty Things, Beatles, Easybeats, Replacements, X, Big Star, and more.  Brothers and sisters, I truly believe that You Am I is one of the best rock bands currently in action, with a shit-hot rhythm section, raunchy guitars, and a great frontman.  See if you don't at least agree that they do these songs proud. 

01 Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

02 (You Must Fight To Live) On the Planet of the Apes

03 Search And Destroy

04 Live With Me 

05 Looking For A Kiss

06 Fox On The Run 

07 Ramblin Rose

08 In The Street

09 Circles 

10 Can't Explain

11 Makin Time

12 Midnight To Six Man

13 You Can't Do That

14 She's So Fine

15 I Can Hear The Grass Grow

16 My Friend Jack

17 There's Gonna Be A Showdown

18 I'm So Tired

19 White & Lazy

20 Ain't Exactly Good

21 Television Addict 

22 We're Desperate

23 You And Your Sister                                                         

24 Tonight's The Night

25 Super Rich Kids

YOU AM I COVERS:  tinyurl.com/gpq2myh

Thanks to Jonder for these, like all the rest of my contributing friends, PLEASE never leave me, this blog would be a shell of what it is without your great outside contributions!

I Look Inside Myself and See My Heart is Black.....

In the spirit of the past posts of "Louie Louie" (which Brian masterminded and I assisted) and the ancient "Gloria" post which I thin I created or stole one or the other, I present you with a "Paint it Black" extravaganza..... .what do I say? Well let's loos at the lyrics of this great song, a classic by any standards....

I see a red door and I want it painted black
No colors anymore I want them to turn black
I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes
I have to turn my head until my darkness goes

I see a line of cars and they're all painted black
With flowers and my love both never to come back
I see people turn their heads and quickly look away
Like a new born baby it just happens ev'ry day

I look inside myself and see my heart is black
I see my red door I must have it painted black
Maybe then I'll fade away and not have to face the facts

It's not easy facin' up, when your whole world is black

No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue
I could not foresee this thing happening to you

If I look hard enough into the settin' sun
My love will laugh with me before the mornin' comes

I see a red door and I want it painted black
No colors anymore I want them to turn black
I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes
I have to turn my head until my darkness goes

Hmm, hmm, hmm
Hmm, hmm, hmm
Hmm, hmm, hmm
Hmm, hmm, hmm

I want to see it painted, painted black
Black as night, black as coal
I want to see the sun, blotted out from the sky
I want to see it painted, painted, painted, painted black
Yeah! Hmm, hmm, hmm

OK, this is a great fucking song that often summarizes how we all feel at times ("not easy facin' up when your whole world is black").... But i never really dreamed there were so many versions (we recently heard the Animals fine version here)....... 

Well, here is the "track list" as it were...... I'm not going
to idiotically name the song each time, just the artist will suffice, but there are some expected as well as surprise performers here..... first of all the Stones original is here, as a "benchmark", so to speak, and the Animals version appears for the second time this week on this blog. But Deep Purple? Floating Bridge? Metal wankers Helloween? The great Jody Grind? How about Jonny Lang's surprisingly good effort? The Standells? Jesus, how about Rammstein of all people? or VANESSA CHARLTON (better than i'd have expected),  just goes to show that often, a song transcends normal circles and can be interpereted a variety of ways.... this is the one........ enjoy, and don't be afraid, it REALLY IS a good listen!

01 After Hours/02 Anvil/03 Bluebeard/04 Chris Farlowe/05 Deep Purple/06 Earth Crisis/07 Epsilon/08 Eric Burdon & the Animals/09 Eternal Afflict/10 Flamin Groovies/11 Floating Bridge/12 Folkswingers/13 Glen Tipton/14 Gob/15 Helloween/16 Incubus/17 Jody Grind/18 Johnny Lang/19 Marduk/20 Medley: Black On Black In Black/21 Rage/22 Rammstein/23 Rufus Zuphall/24 Sister Sin/25 Taetre/26 The Agony Scene/27 The Animal/28 The Black Dahlia Murder/29 The Rolling Stones/30 The Standells/31 Vanessa Charlton/32 Vicious Rumors/33 The Vines/34 W.A.S.P.

More a scholarly exercise than something to listen to on a road trip, but I really liked it (hey that's ME)..... check this if you are interested in how very many ways a song can be interpreted.......if you are familiar with me you know I HATE cover versions that are "note for note" copies of the original, I find them pointless.... not too much of that here, and it is really interesting as hell in my opinion..... which is your favorite/least favorite? Love to hear from you on this topic!