Clang & Clatter

Rush - “Second Nature” (Hold Your Fire, 1987)
Since I largely like Hold Your Fire, I was surprised to find when I was fact-checking that it was a commercial disappointment for Rush, the first album since Caress of Steel not to reach platinum eventually. Sure, it’s no Moving Pictures, and at times it can seem a tedious listening exercise what with all the synth layers, but if you can accept it for what it is, it has some great songs, and Lifeson supplies some really tasty guitar parts. Unfortunately “Second Nature” is not one of the good songs and one that usually gets the fast-forward treatment from me.

The Devin Townsend Band - “Deadhead” (Accelerated Evolution, 2004)
Opening with a riff that sounds an awful lot like mid-90s Joe Satriani, “Deadhead” is a slow groove that eventually delivers Devin’s patented wall-of-sound production with equal parts heaviness and sweetness. This is the only track from the album I have, but if the rest of it is like this, I should really pick up the entire thing.

Def Leppard - “Glad I’m Alive” (Live BBC Studio Sessions, 1979)
This is a song I had never heard prior to grabbing this live bootleg by a hungry and determined Def Leppard. Overall it’s a good performance, and it’s a period of Def Leppard’s history I really enjoyed revisiting.

Spock’s Beard - “Thoughts (Part II)” (V, 2000)
This song features everything I loved about Neal Morse-era Spock’s Beard. The only problem is that at 4:39, it’s about 4 minutes too short.

Sugar - “A Good Idea” (Copper Blue, 1992)
Not sure what I can offer that hasn’t already been said about an album that every music critic known to man has gushed over since its release other than I love just about everything about it.

Have a great weekend Fivers. The copy of Sound City: Real to Reel that I recently won through a well-known nationally-syndicated radio interview show featuring a host with a very pirate-inspired-sounding name arrived yesterday, so I suspect the remainder of my day will be spent immersed in Grohlville.

Sparta - “Tensioning” (Porcelain, 2004)
I came late to the At the Drive-In party, about the time they released their swan song Relationship of Command, so I was understandably bummed when I found out the band had called it quits before I even had the chance to take a deeper dive into their back catalog. So I loved Jim Ward’s post-ATDI Sparta from the beginning (well, except for the final album Threes; I’ve never been able to get into that one for some reason). I absolutely love “Tensioning” as well as the entirety of Porcelain, which contains one of my favorite Sparta tunes, “Breaking the Broken.” The whole album is a nearly perfect amalgamation of pop, swagger, noisy guitars, emo/screamo, navel-gazing, and aggression, and it became my gateway drug into other modern noisy pop bands like Mae and Anberlin.

Smashing Pumpkins - “Blue” (“Unplugged” 100% Pure Acoustic Performances, 1993)
One of my previous Fives featured a song from this collection of bootleg acoustic Pumpkins tunes, which is uneven and spotty at best. This is not one of the better songs or performances.

Rush - “Losing It” (Signals, 1982)
For some reason it has become popular to dismiss this album from Rush’s synthesizer period, but honestly, it’s one of my favorites from the band. Songs like “Losing It” have a lot going on behind Geddy’s vocals and the synths that seem to float to the top. If you don’t take the time to really listen, you miss out on some very tasty guitar work from Alex and the funky high-hat-based groove Neil lays down on this song in particular.

King’s X - “Don’t Believe It” (Gretchen Blows Through Chicago 9/14/1989)
Performance of one of my favorite Gretchen Goes to Nebraska tunes from a very muddy King’s X bootleg. Man I wish I could have seen these guys live during that period.

Ginger - “Can’t Drink You Pretty” (Yoni, 2007)
This song popped up in my September 21, 2012 Five. One thing I failed to mention that time was that the album title Yoni comes from a Sanskrit word for… well… a woman’s “down there” area, and nearly every song is about women, relationships, and yes, sex. It also features much of the same cast of characters that Ginger worked with on the albums he released (or is in the process of finishing) this past year.

Michael Parr over at Popdose threw me for a bit of a loop today. I had my Five all percolated and ready to pour when he posted his Five and announced a theme of 2012 releases. So I groaned a bit, thinking my 2012 version wouldn’t be too interesting. Then I scrambled to get mine in before heading to a meeting, and whaddyaknow, it didn’t turn out too bad. But then I thought it would be a waste not to post my original Five, so in typical contrarian fashion, I posted both!

2012 Five:

Torpedohead - “Heartbreak Key” (Greetings from Heartbreak Key, 2012)
I got turned onto this album just recently by Michael Butler over at the Rock and Roll Geek Show podcast when he did a track-by-track review of the album with founder, vocalist, and guitarist Sven Spacebrain. Hailing from Frankfurt, Germany, Torpedohead is fun, high-energy, straight-ahead melodic rock ‘n’ roll chock full of hooks, harmonies, and sing-along choruses. If you’re into that kind of thing, they are definitely worth checking out.

P.O.D. - “Beautiful” (Murdered Love, 2012)
I purchased this for my tweenaged son based on the hype that this release would be more similar to Satellite than their recent releases. It’s a good album, but apart from a couple of songs, I don’t think it delivers on the promise. This is the obligatory “ballad” to try to grab at least a little CCM FM radio airplay, although with subject matter that includes suicide, cutting, drugs, and depression, I doubt they’ll get played on anything but the edgiest of stations.

Ginger Wildheart - “Strange New Year” (555%, 2012)
Here’s another excellent track from Ginger’s wildly successful PledgeMusic campaign. This triple-album definitely lived up to the hype, and it’s one of my favorite purchases of the year so far.

Rush - “The Wreckers” (Clockwork Angels, 2012)
I’m still trying to get into the new Rush album. I was sold on it based on “Headlong Flight,” and while the album is good, I struggle to listen to it all the way through in one sitting. “The Wreckers” is easily the poppiest song on the album, hearkening a bit to something off of Hold Your Fire or their other late 80s output.

Nada Surf - “Looking Through” (Dulcitone Files, 2012)
Beautiful tune from a digital-only EP of acoustic performances of five of the tracks from the band’s most recent release The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy. As much as I like this band, late though I was to the party, I’m not sure why I haven’t picked up that album.

Original Five:

Led Zeppelin - “Hats Off to (Roy) Harper” (Led Zeppelin III, 1970)
Zeppelin’s nod to the Mississippi Delta blues. I wish I loved it as much as they did. I just can’t get into this song.

Rush - “The Necromancer” (Caress of Steel, 1975)
Part Tolkien, part By-Tor, “The Necromancer” (and Caress of Steel as a whole) marked the point at which Rush dived headlong into the long conceptual pieces that marked the first part of their career. Although Caress was a commercial disappointment and earned the ire of their record company, most of the album is quite good. I especially like the spaciness of Part I of this track. Fortunately Rush didn’t cave under the pressure from their label to abandon the concept songs and produce a hit for the next album, which resulted in what is considered by many as the definitive Rush album.

KISS - “Then She Kissed Me” (Love Gun, 1977)
Not necessarily a bad cover of Phil Spector’s “Then He Kissed Me,” I just never thought it fit with the rest of the album and didn’t see the point, especially when I discovered this album as a pre-teen expecting the blood, the fire, and the spectacle I had at that point associated with KISS.

Collective Soul - “General Attitude” (Youth, 2004)
By the time Youth was released, Collective Soul had left Atlantic, lost its lead guitarist and songwriting collaborator Ross Childress, and had become (in my opinion) largely an Ed Roland solo band. Despite all this, it’s a great overlooked album, if you can get past some of the over-processed guitars. “General Attitude” is a pretty good representation of the rest of the album, a well-written straight-ahead pop song. Nothing wrong with that.

Glen Phillips - “I Want a New Drug” (Mr. Lemons, 2006)
I wasn’t quite sure what to think when I first heard this almost-unrecognizable cover of the Huey Lewis & the News mega-hit. These days I really appreciate Glen’s sparse, stripped-down rearrangement of the song.

Saosin - “Deep Down” (In Search of Solid Ground, 2009)
Decent enough song from this emo/screamo unit, curiously opting to drop the screamo for this particular number. “Deep Down” was apparently the 4th single from the album, not that I would have known that without peeking at (the mostly reliable) Wikipedia. I came late to the Saosin party, discovering them around the time of their mid-2010 hiatus. Too bad since they are capable of some pretty good stuff if you’re into this sort of thing.

Rush - “Working Man” (Different Stages, 1998)
I’m not sure why Rush feels compelled to release so many live albums, especially when there isn’t much difference between many of them. This version of “Working Man” just seems tired to me, and I think Peart’s overplaying here is an indication that he would be utterly bored with reproducing the album version. And as with the original, the most interesting part here is the instrumental section, that in this case segues directly into the more interesting “Fly By Night.”

Coldplay - “We Never Change” (Parachutes, 2000)
“Hi, my name is Phil, and I like Coldplay. No, I do. I really do. Seriously, guys, I do.” I realize no self-respecting metalhead should ever be caught saying he likes Coldplay, so an intervention may be in order here. Not that I understand some of Chris Martin’s lyrics, but boy does he feel them when he sings. Hey, the guy is married to Gwyneth Paltrow, so he gets a pass.

Dream Theater - “Yes Medley (with Steve Howe)” (Uncovered, 1995)
Dream Theater teamed up with prog legend Steve Howe in 1995 at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London to run through a medley of Yes tunes. The result ended up on a bootleg that ended up on my computer. Gotta love the interwebs.

Coldplay - “Amsterdam” (A Rush of Blood to the Head, 2002)
“Yes, I’m sure I still like Coldplay. No, I don’t have the problem, you do. No, I’m not stupid, you’re stupid.”

Rush - “Limbo” (Test for Echo, 1996)
Looks like I’m going to open this month-closing Five with … yes, you guessed it … more Rush. Can’t say that’s a bad thing, though. This time it’s the great instrumental from Test for Echo. As much as I love actual Rush songs, I really wish they did more instrumentals.

Spock’s Beard - “Beware of Darkness” (Beware of Darkness, 1996)
Rush had been out of its progressive rock period for more than a decade when Spock’s Beard came onto the 90’s music scene to become the official prog-rock flag-bearers. I had heard their name bandied about in music snob circles for some time before I finally checked them out, and am I ever glad I did. I was blown away by the excellent musicianship, stellar vocal harmonies, and most importantly, strong songwriting, even amidst the prog-rock wankery and excess. Ultimately, strong songs always win me over whatever the genre, and while this particular cut is not a favorite, it’s still great.

Toad the Wet Sprocket - “Brother” (All You Want, 2011)
This is turning out to be a great Five so far. Up next is a re-recording of a Toad classic for their first reunion album, a best of collection released on their own Abe’s Records label meant to recapture publishing and licensing rights to some of their biggest Columbia hits. Sounds as fresh as it ever did.

King’s X - “Shoes” (Dogman, 1994)
When King’s X teamed up with Pearl Jam and STP knob-twiddler Brendan O’Brien to produce their redefining, transitional album Dogman, they were accused by just about everyone of chasing the mainstream success grunge had afforded other bands in the early 90s. What they didn’t realize is that O’Brien had sought out the trio to work with them (rather than the other way around) and that most of the grunge forefathers had actually acknowledged King’s X’s late 80s drop-D riffage as a huge influence on their sound. A new set of ears in the control room, a change in gear for guitarist Ty Tabor, and darker lyrics from bassist Doug Pinnick (who was growing more frustrated with organized religion and would eventually walk away from it completely), combined to create an album that is widely regarded as one of their best works despite its being quite different from anything else in their catalog. If you don’t own this album, you should.

C’mon Five, one more song. Don’t fail me now.

Def Leppard - “When the Walls Came Tumbling Down” (Live BBC Studio Sessions, 1979)
And … this Five came tumbling down. Not really—this just isn’t my favorite NWOBHM-era Leppard song. Elliot’s vocals are a bit pitchy (don’t you just love American Idol for bringing that term to the forefront of music critiquing?!), and you can tell the young band were still trying to hone their sound. Still not bad, and quite a bit better than much of the dreck they have produced in the last decade.

Hope everyone has a great no-labor Labor Day Weekend!

Creed - “Higher (Acoustic)”
Ugh. Terrible-quality (it sounds like Scott Stapp is singing underwater) acoustic version of unknown origin of a song I actually liked at one point before MTV and mainstream terrestrial radio absolutely played it into the ground. Maybe it’s time to delete this?

KISS - “Getaway” (Dressed to Kill, 1975)
Ace Frehley penned track sung by Peter Criss from one of my favorite KISS albums. I recently finished Ace’s memoir No Regrets, and I had no idea that even this early in their career KISS didn’t have it together as much as they let on. There were already personal problems within the band, and they were in constant danger of disbanding for financial reasons alone. Manager Bill Aucoin was floating the whole operation on credit cards. Heck, even the suits they wore on the album cover (save Peter’s) were borrowed from Aucoin’s closet. Anyway, back to the song—stripped down, dry, basic KISS at its best.

Rush - “Big Money” (A Show of Hands, 1988)
Big money is what it sounds like Rush must have made on this tour and the subsequent records sales of the recordings. A Show of Hands serves as the live performance snapshot of the band’s synthesizer and technology era, with album closer “Closer to the Heart” being the only track featured from the band’s classic rock days. I’ve never been a huge fan of this song, but it’s Rush, so it gets a pass.

Queensrÿche - “Roads to Madness” (Live at Harpo’s, 1984)
Ah, Queensrÿche. For anyone not keeping up with the sordid goings-on in the ’Rÿche camp, let me simply say it’s a huge mess—lots of finger pointing (and apparently spitting, hitting, and slapping, depending on who you believe), he-said-she-said (yes, she said, as in Tate’s wife and step-daughter, who were both involved in the business side of the band), and now with the band splitting into two different factions, both threatening to put out material and tour under the Queensrÿche name. “Roads to Madness” is one of my favorite old-school ’Ryche tunes, and the guys do an admirable (if not slightly off-key) job from a live bootleg I picked up somewhere. I can’t imagine having seen these guys slogging away in the club circuit with grandiose songs like this back in the day. It always seemed destined for a much larger stage to my teenaged ears.

P.O.D. - “Hollywood” (The Fundamental Elements of Southtown, 1999)
“Hollywood” is a hard-hitting, sludgy rap-metal affair and is the true album opener after what is essentially a filler track. It sets the listener up for what to expect for the remainder of their major label debut (and first platinum album) released just two years before their true breakthrough album Satellite.