Clang & Clatter

Look behind you. Popdose’s Friday Five is here.

Scorpions - “Holiday” (Love Drive, 1979)
Another tender jam from the Scorpions. These guys did the hard rock ballad so well. Love it.

Neal Morse - “Mercy Street” (Testimony 2, 2011)
As the title suggests, this is the second autobiographical album that details how this Spock’s Beard leader decided to leave one of the most respected modern progressive rock bands to embark on a solo career that matched up with his conversion to Christianity. I like the tune, but it seems it really needs to be listened to in the context of the entire album. Despite that, there are several vocal melodies from this that are absolutely golden.

Nirvana - “Lounge Act” (Nevermind, 1991)
Meh. I’ve never really liked this one much. It lacks the energy of the rest of the album until the last third of the song when Cobain starts screaming.

Collective Soul - “Maybe” (Disciplined Breakdown, 1997)
Say what you will, but I really liked Collective Soul back in the day. Some of their tunes have aged well, while others haven’t. As far as I’m concerned, “Maybe” is in the list with the former.

Saint Vitus - “Look Behind You” (The Blasting Concept Volume II, 1990)
I was listening to the excellent previously-unreleased Hüsker Dü outtake “Erase Today” from this SST compilation just yesterday. And since I absolutely loved this comp and very nearly wore the cassette out back in the late-80s, you would expect that AllMusic would give it a 1.5-star rating and lead off their review with this comment:

Perhaps unwittingly, The Blasting Concept, Vol. 2 marks pretty much the exact point at which SST Records irretrievably lost it.

That may be true, but it doesn’t make me love this Saint Vitus track—and most of the others on here—any less.

It’s time to hit shuffle again and see what iTunes serves up for IckMusic’s Friday Five. Here’s what happened today:

Anthrax - “Contact”/”What Doesn’t Die” (We’ve Come for You All, 2003)
Pointless album intro song “Contact” was first up today, so I’m going to cheat and include the second track from the disc “What Doesn’t Die.” Combined they form an excellent opening from one of my favorite Anthrax albums. This album is suited in every way for John Bush’s growling, aggressive vocals, and it is the release that actually got me excited about Anthrax again after the easy-to-overlook albums that followed 2001’s Sound of White Noise. It’s a shame this was Bush’s last proper release with the band before the reunion tour with Belladonna and all the soap opera-ish antics began.

Robert Plant and Tori Amos - “Down By The Seaside” (Encomium: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin)
There are a lot of good covers of Zep tunes on this disc. Too bad this isn’t one of them.

Anthrax - “Strap It On” (We’ve Come for You All, 2003)
Another track from this album?!  What’s up with your shuffle randomization algorithm, iTunes? Hey, works for me. And despite what the title implies, this song is about strapping on your guitar and thrashing out old-school style. Get your mind out of the gutter. Guitar solo courtesy of the late, great “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott.

Nirvana - “Breed” (Nevermind, 1991)
OK, I guess I’m one of those weird metalheads that doesn’t blame the Seattle grunge scene for killing metal. Some of those bands really needed to go away anyway. Good riddance. That being said, I’m also not one of those guys that thinks this was a perfect album or that Kurt Cobain’s entrance onto the music scene ranks up there with the Second Coming. As for the song itself, it’s definitely one of the better tracks off the album.

Caedmon’s Call - “There’s a Stirring” (my calm // your storm, 1994)
Speaking of the Second Coming, the last track for today is from my one-time favorite folk-/acoustic-based Contemporary Christian band. Slower live track with excellent harmony vocal arrangement accompanied by all manner of acoustic guitars, double-bass, percussion, and even a fiddle (or violin if you’re a fancy-pants music kind of person). Nice way to end this Friday Five.