April 4, 2017 | Author: José Manchado | Category: N/A
FEBRUARY 2010 ISSUE 141 £4.99
FEBRUARY2010
FROM CAR FITTER TO CO-CREATOR OF ROCK’S BIGGEST-SELLING ALBUM BRIAN JOHNSON ON
PRINTEDINTHEUK
£4.99
BACK IN BLACK
Kiss destroy Anaheim, California, 24 November, 2009.
➽
ready steady
go!
ross halfin
Just another dreary day at the office… Kiss fever kontinues as the rock legends wow the US and set the UK box offices alight. Almost literally. “Kiss have sold 40,000 tickets at 35 quid a go in five fucking days!” So ran the text message sent to Classic Rock the other day by a Kiss Army fanatic. When classicrockmagazine.com exclusively announced Kiss’s spring UK tour – their first arena shows here in 11 years – our site almost went into meltdown. Like the flame throwers at the back of the stage, this is one hot ticket. Kiss’s tour – dubbed ‘Sonic Boom Over Europe: From The Beginning To The Boom’ – will will be a fresh, new show specially tailored to European fans and showcasing the new Sonic Boom album. Bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons, currently on the road with the band in the
“now, more than ever, kiss is a four-wheel-drive monster truck.” US, stated: “Now, more than ever, Kiss is a four-wheel-drive monster truck. Our mission? To rock planet Earth. To spread the gospel of Sonic Boom.” See our review on p112 and then fall to your knees and repent if you please… classicrockmagazine.com 7
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FEBRUARY 2010 issue 141
Cover story BETTING WHO WE’RE CHECK OUT UT THE BO A T U DO ON, AND FIN N YOUR CD. BANDS O 65 BEGINS ON p.
45 1980: 12 astonishing months in rock history
It was the year that gave us Back In Black, Ace Of Spades, British Steel, Iron Maiden, Heaven And Hell and countless more. Across eight pages Classic Rock looks back at the year in which rock’s landscape changed forever, featuring interviews with Def Leppard, Judas Priest, Saxon and more.
Features 48 Black Sabbath
What does a band do when they lose their frontman? Panic, usually. When Black Sabbath lost Ozzy, instead they brought in Dio and made one of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time: Heaven And Hell.
56AC/DC
One minute, Brian Johnson was repairing cars on Tyneside, the next he was in the Bahamas recording what would become the biggest-selling rock album ever: Back In Black. Funny, life, ain’t it?
Win
£4,000 WORT! H LEEMA HI-F OF EQUIPMENTI !
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65 robert ellis/repfoto
THE BEST OF THE DECADE! If the cap fits: AC/DC in London in 1980 with new singer Brian Johnson.
2000-2009 cover story
FEBRUARY 2010 issue 141
Regulars 18 The Dirt
ELP and ZZ Top announced as headliners for next summer’s all-new Classic Rock High Voltage festival. Aerosmith: Tyler says he’s in, the others say he’s out. The latest on Ronnie Dio. Festivals for 2010. Say hello to Lions and Band Of Skulls; welcome back Lita Ford, REO Speedwagon and Marillion. The Who to play at this year’s Superbowl; Reef reunite; Faces step up plans for their reunion tour…
28 Photo Pass
“Putting the leopard in the Corvette with Jagger ended up being so dangerous.” Photographer Albert Watson on making Mick Jagger look like a right animal.
34 The Story Behind The Song The Kinks
Ray Davies on the song that created the blueprint for metal and punk: All The Day And All Of The Night.
36 Q&A Stephen Stills
The ’S’ in the folk-rock supergroup that was Crosby, Stills & Nash talks about surviving the 60s and enduring the 70s.
38 Ever Meet Hendrix? Meat Loaf Rock’s most unwieldy raconteur on hanging with celebs, stars and thoroughly undesirable miscreants.
81 Reviews
New albums from White Wizzard, Neil Young, Creed, Cinderella, Tom Waits… Reissues from Montrose, Mick Ronson, Little Angels, Rush, PiL, Europe… DVDs from Nirvana, Billy Idol, Manson, Meat Loaf… Live reviews of Hard Rock Hell III (W.A.S.P., Quireboys, Monster Magnet, Ratt), Kiss, Slash and Friends, Motörhead, Parlor Mob, Yes…
99 Letters
Somebody thinks Classic Rock is ripping people off. Somebody else thinks AC/DC are ripping people off. We don’t just print the “Classic Rock is fab” letters, y’know.
130 Heavy Load Sammy Hagar
The Montose, Van Halen and Chickenfoot frontman on his life and times in a brand new Classic Rock regular.
SUBSCRiBE! NEW YEAR
RESOLUTIO ’S N: MORE ROCKGET IN YOUR LIFE FOR 2010. P86
65
Someone’s going to break through during the next 12 months. We look at some worthy contenders worth keeping an eye on, including Bigelf, Airbourne, Alberta Cross, Black Spiders, Dark Horse, Beholder and many more…
rob MoNK: fUtUre NetWorK plC
Ringmasters: could 2010 be the year for LA prog-rockers Bigelf?
Ones to watch in 2010
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WELCOME
W ON THE COVER Brian Johnson and Angus Young by Robert Ellis
e made this issue at the end of last year – the end of the decade – to be read at the beginning of this one: the perfect time to look back and take stock. So this month we take a look back at the noughties and remember an amazing 12 month period 30 years ago. 1980 was a watershed year for rock music: a year of tragedy (the deaths of Bon Scott and John Bonham, the murder of John Lennon, the suicide of Joy Division’s Ian Curtis) and astonishing rebirth. A new generation of bands, spurred into action by the energy and ethics of punk – but who nevertheless preferred the vocal stylings of Ian Gillan over Johnny Rotten and the guitar playing of Jimmy Page to that of Johnny Ramone – exploded on to the scene. A clutch of classic albums (Back In Black, Iron Maiden, Ace Of Spades, British Steel, Chinatown…) followed. Will the first year of the – er, what are we calling this brave new decade anyway? The tens? The teens? Or are we just killing time until the Roaring Twenties? – live up to its 30 year old counterpart? Not a chance. Some bands might make equally as great rock music, but it won’t have the same impact it did 30 years ago. Lost in our own musical worlds, plugged into our iPods, listening to our personally-tailored playlists, it’s hard to imagine that anything will ever move us collectively the same way again…
Scott Rowley, Editor In Chief
This month’s contributors PAUL ELLIOTT
Former Kerrang! writer Elliott almost single-handedly wrote our extensive cover feature on the best 12 months in heavy metal history, getting new interviews with Brian Johnson, Heaven & Hell/Black Sabbath (get well soon Ronnie!) and Def Leppard. He also contributed the first interview in our new – cough! – serious last page feature, Heavy Load, with Sammy Hagar.
ROBERT ELLIS
One of the great British rock photographers, Robert Ellis began working in the late 60s shooting the Midlands’ folk scene before moving to London and shooting for Melody Maker and NME. His work includes many of the most iconic images of AC/DC, including the little-known shot of Angus and Brian Johnson that graces this month’s front cover.
MALCOLM DOME
Malcolm Dome is a very, very busy man. When he’s not hosting his radio show on TotalRock, writing books or appearing on TV (or in the Crobar), he’s writing features for us or numerous other magazines and running the CR website. This month he’s both revisited 1980 (Iron Maiden, M’head, Scorps and more) and looked forward to 2010 by collaring some new bands.
CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 15
Stereo Can also be played on mono equipment
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Iron Maiden, Hammersmith Apollo, 2005 Contributing Writers
Max Bell, Tim Batcup, Brett Callwood, Carol Clerk, Johnny Dee, Harry Doherty, Malcolm Dome, Lee Dorrian, Paul Elliott, Jerry Ewing, Mick Farren, Hugh Fielder, Paul Ging, Jon Hotten, Rob Hughes, Neil Jeffries, Rob Kern, Dom Lawson, Jonathan Lewis, Ken McIntyre, Joel McIver, Peter Makowski, Gavin Martin, Alexander Milas, BP Perry, Steven Rosen, Jonathan Selzer, Sleazegrinder, Will Simpson, David Sinclair, Sid Smith, Storm Thorgerson, Ben Fong-Torres, Tommy Udo, Jaan Uhelszki, Mick Wall, Irvine Welsh, Philip Wilding, Rich Wilson, Steven Wilson, Henry Yates, Catherine Yates
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ELP and ZZ for High Voltage! A reunited ELP join the Top to headline CR festival. ZZ Top have been confirmed as headliners of the first night of Classic Rock’s very own High Voltage Festival, joining previously announced Sunday night bill-toppers Emerson Lake & Palmer for a weekend of what is set to be top quality entertainment at East London’s Victoria Park on July 24/25. Riding a wave of contemporary acclaim from their appearance at last summer’s Download and a critically praised British tour, High Voltage marks ZZ Top’s first headlining spot at a UK rock festival in 25 years. And in what is set to be their sole live performance of 2010 – and possibly the last show they will ever play together, the culmination of a spectacular career that has seen the trio sell over 30
18 CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM
million albums worldwide, ELP are reuniting especially for High Voltage. From top to bottom, Classic Rock is promising something very different. Perhaps most significantly, in response to the many complaints from our readers, there is no booking fee for the tickets, which cost £130 for the weekend or £75 for a single day (see panel). In addition to ELP and ZZ Top, we are pleased to announce Foreigner as one of the acts playing the main stage. Asia, Uriah Heep, Wishbone Ash, Focus, Steve Hackett, The Reasoning and Touchstone will be playing the Prog stage, while Black Label Society will headline the Metal Hammer stage, which will also play host to Clutch. For latest updates go to: highvoltagefestival.com The three unique stages are specially curated to cater for all tastes, and the way we like to look at it is this – High Voltage is custom-built by rock fans for rock fans. The facilities will be second to none: great food, proper beer, clean toilets, deluxe hospitality packages, designated hotels, free shuttle transport. Somewhere to take the whole family, in fact. We’ll see you at the bar… DL
Ronnie James Dio: fighting a dragon of another kind.
Keith Emerson gets over-excited. Expect similar behaviour at High Voltage in July.
Get well soon, Ronnie… Dio swears to beat stomach cancer.
ELP: REX FEATURES, AEROSMITH/AXL: GETTY IMAGES
STOP PRESS HIGH VOLTAGE BOOKING FEE
There is no booking fee included in the price for High Voltage but there is what’s termed a ‘transaction fee’. Abbie Marshall of (Classic Rock’s partners in the weekend) promoter Mama Festivals explains: “The transaction fee is the postage and packaging and cost of the wristbands all in one fee, and currently there is no way of getting around this. When you buy tickets for any other festival, they charge you a booking fee and then – on top – a postal and packaging fee. We are charging for the latter but have gotten rid of the booking fee.” Classic Rock remains committed to the idea of gigs and festivals without ‘hidden costs’ and to producing a festival that is both good value and a great weekend of quality high voltage rock’n’roll.
Following the cancellation of last month’s European tour from Dio, Ronnie James Dio was diagnosed with the early stages of stomach cancer. The 67-year-old – famous for his work with Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath and, most recently, Heaven & Hell – has completed his first stage of chemo, with encouraging results. A statement released by Wendy Dio, the singer’s wife and manager, thanked fans for their incoming messages of support and promised: “After he kills this dragon, Ronnie will be back on stage, where he belongs, doing what he loves best, performing for his fans. Long live rock and roll, long live Ronnie James Dio.”
With guitarist Tony Iommi having undergone surgery on the cartilage of his right thumb, Dio is not the only member of Heaven & Hell in recuperation. Vinny Appice has also had an operation on his right shoulder and is expected to be back behind the drums in five months. Meanwhile, Dio has received more than 50,000 get well soon messages. Wendy Dio says that the outpouring of affection for Ronnie has “really helped to keep his spirit up”. New messages can be sent care of: Dio Fan Club, Suite 624, 12400 Ventura Boulevard, Studio City, CA, 91604, USA, or by emailing:
[email protected]. DL
Axl snaps!
Rose gets mad at paparazzi. Again. A photographer is claiming he has film of Axl Rose punching him in the head. The unnamed snapper alleges the incident took place in December at LA’s LAX airport when Axl arrived with a woman, who got angry with the photographers. The GN’R singer then waded in, throwing punches, before being ushered away by his own security. An official statement from Rose’s PR says: “Axl Rose was unhurt last evening when he was accosted by an unruly group
of paparazzi at LAX. Mr. Rose, who was about to enter a security checkpoint at LAX when the altercation took place, was approached by a group of unchecked and unruly photographers who became aggressive with the singer and female members of the travelling group.” Where this leads remains to be seen…
This month The Dirt was compiled by Claire Adams, Max Bell, Malcolm Dome, Lee Dorian, Jerry Ewing, Jon Hotten, Rob Hughes,
Dave Ling, Mick Taylor, Henry Yates
CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 19
Eric Woolfson
March 18, 1945 – December 2, 2009
The unsung hero of the Alan Parsons Project, Eric Woolfson has lost his battle against cancer. He was 64. Woolfson worked as a session pianist, before a fateful meeting with Alan Parsons during a session at Abbey Road studios. After the formation of APP in 1975, he wrote lyrics and contributed some lead vocals, including to the band’s bestknown song, Eye In The Sky. The APP never played live, which contributed to the group’s anonymity, but the 10 albums to which Woolfson contributed, including I Robot (1977), Pyramid (’78) and The Turn Of A Friendly Card (’80), sold some 45 million copies. Eric also wrote material for and managed other artists, and was heavily involved with musical theatre. He was hoping to bring Poe, his musical tribute to science-fiction author Edgar Allan Poe, to British stages this year following a run in Berlin. He gave his final interview to Classic Rock Presents Prog for the issue on sale on January 27.
Jack Rose
February 16, 1971 – December 5, 2009
Also known as Dr Ragtime, 38-yearold Jack Rose has suffered a fatal heart attack. Rose was an experimental guitarist whose work, both a solo artist and with noise-rock band Pelt, fused many styles. “Anything pre-1942, that’s my favourite kind of music: Cajun, country, blues, jazz all that stuff…”
Rare footage of Syd Barrett performing See Emily Play with Pink Floyd on Top Of The Pops in July 1967 has been discovered in the BBC vaults. Now fully restored, it will be shown by the British Film Institute on January 9 as part of its annual Missing Believed Wiped event. Bassist/vocalist Glen Matlock, guitarist/ keyboard player Midge Ure, guitarist Steve New and drummer Rusty Egan are to perform together again as the Rich Kids during a ‘one night only’ celebratory benefit concert at London’s Islington Academy on January 7. Queensrÿche have recruited a cast including burlesque and go-go dancers, drag queens, a juggler, a ballet dancer and a trapeze artist to join them for Queensrÿche Cabaret, a performance heralded as “the first adultsonly rock show”, for two shows in Seattle on February 4 and 5.
The composer of a string of hits for Elvis Presley, Aaron Schroeder has died, aged 83, after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. He wrote 17 songs for Presley, five of which (It’s Now Or Never, A Big Hunk O Love, Good Luck Charm, I Got Stung and Stuck On You) were No.1 hits in the US. Schroeder also discovered singer Gene Pitney.
Bruce C Allen Died December 7, 2009
Bruce C Allen was the lead guitarist with alternative rock band the Suburbs, and a the graphic artist who designed the Twin/Tone Records logo and the cover art for the Replacements’ 1984 album Let It Be. The 54-year-old passed away after being taken off a life-support machine. 20 CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM
Aerosmith SOS
Tyler replacement sought; rumours of singer’s drug relapse. Despite Steven Tyler’s recent on-stage appearance with the Joe Perry Project in New York, after which the singer insisted there was “no validity in the rumour that Aerosmith are breaking up”, the rest of the band – guitarists Perry and Brad Whitford, bassist Tom Hamilton and drummer Joey Kramer – are resigned to finding a replacement. Indeed Perry, who encourages would-be successors to send CDs and/or videos of themselves to the group’s management company, has confirmed that a shortlist of candidates has already been drawn up.
“We are talking to a lot of people,” the guitarist told CNN. “But I found the singer for my band [the JPP] on YouTube, so there’s no reason why Aerosmith couldn’t do the same.”
Unfortunately Lenny Kravitz, one of the people the group targeted, has already turned them down. “As much as I’m flattered that Aerosmith would consider me, Steven Tyler is a family friend, and no
Aaron Schroeder
September 7, 1926 – December 2, 2009
ROSS HALFIN
Thank you and good night.
Aerosmith: Tyler insists he’s in, the rest of the band say he’s out.
AC/DC, Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood, Green Day, Dave Matthews Band and U2 will battle it out for Best Rock Album at the 2010 Grammys. Other nominees at this year’s awards, which takes place on January 31, include Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen (pictured), Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Alice In Chains, Judas Priest, Megadeth and Silversun Pickups. Guns N’ Roses, who tour Canada in January and February, will play more North American dates between March 10 and April 10.
voice could ever take his place,” Kravitz says, adding: “I hope the band stays together. They are classic.” John Kalodner, the A&R man who helped to mastermind Aerosmith’s Geffen Records rebirth, is not optimistic of the prospects on either side of the rift. “If you’re asking, is there an Aerosmith without Steven Tyler, my answer is no,” he states. “And if Steven Tyler goes solo, my answer is [also] no.” But while Whitford agrees that “no one can fill Steven’s shoes”, apparently Tyler has not spoken to the Aerosmith camp since the on-stage jam with Perry, and his bandmates are worried about the rumours of a drug relapse. “Steven isolates [himself] more and more [from us] all the time,” Kramer told US trade magazine Billboard. “He’s made some not-so-great choices and he’s got some negative influences around him. I love the guy. I just want to see him get some help.” DL
Maiden to headline Sonisphere Festivals line-up set to make summer 2010 a rock-hot one. As if Classic Rock’s High Voltage Festival wasn’t exciting enough, in terms of rock next summer has just become hotter still, with Iron Maiden and Rammstein announced as headliners of 2010’s Sonisphere Festival at Knebworth Park on July 30/31 and August 1. Other bands so far confirmed to join Maiden – at their only UK appearance of the year – include Mötley Crüe, Alice Cooper, Iggy & The Stooges, Slayer, Anthrax and The Cult, with many other names to be confirmed. Weekend tickets, priced £132.50 (not including camping camping) are available now, along with various other deals. For the latest details head over to www. sonispherefestivals.com Meanwhile, Pearl Jam are the first act confirmed for this year’s Hard Rock Calling series of events in London’s Hyde
Park on June 25-27. The 24-hour box office number for Hard Rock Calling shows is 0844 847 2502 and you can find them online at www.hardrockcalling.co. uk. Pearl Jam also play Dublin 02 Arena on June 22 and the Belfast Odyssey Arena the following day. This year’s Download Festival will take place at its usual home at Donington Park race track from June 12-14, although at press time no acts had been confirmed. And don’t forget the none-louder Hammerfest, the three-day metal jamboree which is the domain of our sister magazine, Metal Hammer. Taking place on March 11-13 at Pontin’s in Prestatyn, the event’s volume-charged delights for 2010 include Iced Earth, Devildriver, Napalm Death, Katatonia and many, many more. Info at www. hammerfest.co.uk DL
Marillion: looking back to move forward.
String In The Tail has been confirmed as the title of the Scorpions’ 17th studio album. Produced by Mikael ‘Nord’ Andersson and Martin Hansen – the Swedish pair behind The Rasmus – it is expected to be released in the spring.
Riches from the rock underground
the ghost
When You’re Dead – One Second 1970, Gemini Records Value: £450+ In 1970, the kind of music on this album from Birminghambased band The Ghost was already yesterday’s news. Elements of West Coast-inspired psychedelia reign over the majority of its more rocking tracks, while the rest of the album displays more folk-rock leanings. Despite its rather dated sound and garage-like production values, When You’re Dead – One Second has enough cool moments to make it worthy of investigation. It’s now considered a cult album, that status helped by strong elements of mysticism both visually, with its gothic sleeve imagery, and lyrically, with its central themes of witchcraft and the supernatural. Crude use of organ adds a trippy edge, especially notable on the more up-beat numbers such as You’re Dead and In Heaven. Too Late To Cry and the hilariously
‘Its central lyrical themes are withcraft and the supernatural.’ infectious Night Of The Warlock, are where things really click here, the former showcasing some great fuzz guitar. Led by Shirley Kent’s formidable vocals, tracks such as The Storm hint at what might have been, had the band been given time to develop. When vocals and harmonies are shared with organist Terry Guy, it occasionally works, especially on the aforementioned Night Of The Warlock, plus Too Late To Cry, but it also suggest that vocals might have been better left solely to Kent. Her two selfpenned songs, Time Is My Enemy and Hearts & Flowers, work particularly well, despite being somewhat at odds with the rest of the album. LD 22 claSSicROckmaGazine.cOm
AC/DC, who are consistently rumoured to be playing summer dates in Europe, recently shot a live DVD in Argentina. After months of conjecture, The Who have been confirmed for the half-time entertainment at this year’s Superbowl showdown between Oakland Raiders and Dallas Cowboys on February 7. Meanwhile singer Roger Daltrey is considering writing his autobiography. “It’s probably time,” comments the 65-year-old.
West Country rockers Reef (pictured) who have been out of action since 2003, are back with the original line-up of vocalist Gary Stringer, guitarist Kenwyn House, bassist Jack Bessant and drummer Dominic Greensmith, and have announced a UK tour in April (for dates see p107). The classic line-up of US hard rockers Dokken recently shared a stage together for the first time in more than a decade. Guitarist George Lynch and bassist Jeff Pilson joined current singer Don Dokken and drummer Mick Brown at a recent gig in California where they performed a two-song encore of When Heaven Comes Down and In My Dreams.
Marillion
Looking for new ideas for an album, the enduring proggers ended up putting a spin on some old ones. After being busy at their Racket Club studio recording a new album, Marillion emerged recently with Less Is More, a shimmering acoustic set of radical reworkings of songs from across the band’s catalogue. Not content to stockpile the strange and beautiful instruments they accrued in the process, they’re taking the show on the road, too. Classic Rock caught up with a jovial Steve Hogarth, who joined the band as their vocalist in 1988. We hear that the new album was guitarist Steve Rothery’s idea. Trust him to take the credit for it! We were in this cycle of write, record, tour, come off the road, write again, record again, and it’s been circular since I joined the band 20 years ago. The lyrics have been gradually becoming more true and confessional, and so I’ve got to a point now where I feel like to write fiction would be a let-down. At the same time, I have days when I think I’ve said it all. So it’s not writer’s block, it’s more writer’s terror. I was going: “I need a little break.” That presented a dilemma because we don’t have enough money to take a break. So we needed to make a record, and I didn’t feel I had enough to say. And then Steve had this great idea… Ha!
boy has got a toy that plays La Cucaracha, and it’s an infectious rhythm, and I thought maybe we could do Cannibal Surf Babe in that style. We tried to re-work Fantastic Place in three-four time, and it sounded really, really moody and soulful for about a verse and a half, and then it began to feel like it had gone on for a week. Anything that didn’t work we threw in the bin. Hard As Love is almost a rewrite, too. Did you worry about how Marillion fans might react? The original is angry, almost nasty. That’s why I used to dress up and put the pigtails in to sing it. It was really important that the audience understood it was being sung by a girl, because if you assume it’s sung by a bloke it’s quite a nasty song. I came up with piano chords for the new verse, sad chords, and suddenly the whole song takes on a sort of sadness that it never had. But no, as soon as you become conscious of what fans or the market want and start to try to fulfil that, then I think you become a parody of yourself.
“It was a chance to force ourselves outside the comfort zone.”
But most bands are content to have a strum through their greatest hits. The opportunity to take the songs down to their bones and then move the bones about, that was terrific. We filled the studio with xylophones and auto-harp and Godknows what else. It was a chance to force ourselves outside the comfort zone. How did you choose which songs to re-do? We were emailing each other. My little
And people seem to like it? Well, I was buying a pair of trousers in a shop in Germany, and this Dutch guy came up to me and said: “Hello. I’ve come all the way from Holland to see you tonight and just wanted to say hi. I really don’t like your new album. For me, less is definitely not more.” I guess he felt was doing me a favour, putting me straight… Apart from him we’ve had a great reaction. Loose Ends on Radio Four called us up and asked if we’d come in and do a song. Now, I don’t think we could have got in there at the point of a gun with the electric stuff. JH Less Is More is out now on EarMusic.
Lions
Meet the new ‘little ol’ band from Texas’. Just don’t expect them to stay that way.
I read their books and I see how degrading they are to women. Although, I mean, we were always crashing on people’s floors, so of course that’d always turn into, ‘Hey, you guys wanna party?’” Thirty is a funny age in rock. It means that Lions’ work ethic is from the Shit or bust. All or nothing. Give up or die trying. It’s the classic old school – “I grew up with the attitude that you get in the van and do it” – dilemma faced by every club-circuit rocker of a certain age. And when his but also that Drenik grudgingly concedes the power of technology. The band derailed in 2005, Matt Drenik became the latest. “Everything was on band’s big break came when a SXSW set led to the inclusion of Metal Heavy the table for us,” sighs the 30-year-old singer. “Everything was going our Lady on Guitar Hero III, and they’ve also benefited from the blogosphere. way. Then a couple of the guys flipped out. Some people think “I fought it for a long time,” Drenik admits. “I remember when FOR FANS OF... they want it more than they do. They start to get it, they freak out, the blog thing started; I didn’t get it. I didn’t get how someone worry about their wives… Well, I don’t have a wife. I’m already in could say a band rules, then a thousand people would go to a it to win it so I might as well keep going.” show. I always assumed you had to make it into Spin magazine or Without missing a beat, Drenik assembled Lions in time to something. But there’s all kinds of outlets for bands now. And honour his former band’s support slots, and fused his anger over people are hungry for music.” the split into coming up with new material informed more by 90s Hard work, plus raw talent, plus a growing cyberspace buzz hard rock than the spectre of ZZ Top that hangs over his native have led to Lions’ debut EP, Let No One Fall. Which just might be “An album that really Austin, Texas. “I think if you’re down here, you’re beaten over the the last great rock release of the decade. But, make no mistake, influenced me coming head with that stuff, so subconsciously it sinks in,” he considers. you’ll be seeing them on the other side. “This band brings out your into this band was “But what was happening when I was a kid was that whole fighting spirit,” concludes Drenik. “We’re a blue-collar band, Louder Than Love by movement of rock bands like Nirvana, Alice In Chains, fighting for the losers and the unsung heroes, man. There’s no Soundgarden. It just takes me back to a time Plan B for us.” HY Soundgarden, Mudhoney…” when I really loved Long-haired and loose-lipped, Lions seem like a good-time music; when I thought band. “But we definitely do not come from the school of bands Lions’ new EP Let No One Fall is available now on bands really meant something to people. like Mötley Crüe,” counters Drenik. “I get super-insulted when Maybe Records. Chris Cornell is a fuckin’ beast on that album. The big vocals, the super-riffy songs… it’s just way cool.”
“We’re a blue-collar band, fighting for the losers and the unsung heroes.”
They are Lions: hear them roar.
CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 23
REO: not resting on their back catalogue.
Sharp Dressed Man
Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo suffered three cracked ribs, “painful internal damage” and a lowerleg injury when the band’s tour bus skidded on ice during a North American tour. All immediate gigs were cancelled.
Rock ’n’ Roll accessories
[1]
The Faces have stepped up plans for a reunion tour. “We’ve been waiting and waiting for Rod [Stewart] to say yes; now he’s finally said no. So we’re gonna do it [without him],” keyboard player Ian McLagan tells Billboard. Meanwhile, Faces/ Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood was released on bail after being arrested recently on suspicion of assaulting his 20-year-old girlfriend, Ekaterina Ivanova.
[2]
[3]
Jeffrey West Fallen Angel Range www.brazier-jones.com/ www.jeffery-west.co.uk £295 [1] Jeffrey West’s latest collaboration with furniture designer Mark BrazierJones is the wonderfully named Fallen Angel (and there are definitely a few of those in rock’n’roll) range of boots, belts, cufflinks and more. Perfect for anyone who dances with the Devil, spins records backwards and causes mayhem with every step. Nicole Farhi www.nicolefarhi.com [2] True to her famous style of wearable yet classically stylish threads, London- based designer Nicole Farhi’s SS10 collection is looking good. Take the T-shirt pictured, for example. Etch an anchor on your arm (if there isn’t one already), grab a bottle of Sailor Jerry’s, ‘borrow’ Mick Jagger’s yacht and watch the women flock to you like seagulls to a picnic. Lennon hat www.bensherman.com £30 [3] Ben Sherman Clothing was born in 1963 and produces many musicinspired looks. The wool Lennon hat (which we reckon it could also be called the Jonno) comes in grey or navy, and has a leather plectrum detail and a quilted lining. 24 CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM
U2, The Rolling Stones and Muse (pictured) are strongly rumoured to be among the leading attractions of this year’s Glastonbury Festival. David Bowie (seemingly rumoured every year) has ruled himself out of the running. The 40-yearold festival, which takes place on the last weekend of June, is already sold out. Sound & Vision, Cancer Research UK’s annual music heritage event, featuring a rock photography exhibition, auction and live performances, takes place at the legendary Abbey Road studios on February 25th. For those who can’t make it, there will be exclusive music memorabilia available on the Sound & Vision eBay shop from Feb 1. More info at www. soundandvision official.comcom
REO Speedwagon
A rousing reception awaits the 40th anniversary shows by this classic, now festivity-fuelled, US band. It’s hard to believe, but REO have now been going for 40 years. They’ve released 15 studio albums, hit the top of the US charts with 1980’s Hi Infidelity, had 14 Top 40 hits over there and three Top 20 singles in the UK. And as 2009 closed they released a Christmas album. So what can the future hold for vocalist Kevin Cronin, guitarists Dave Amato, bassist Bruce Hall, keyboard player Neal Doughty and drummer Bryan Hitt now? As always, Cronin is upbeat about everything in the Speedwagon camp. He even stoutly defends the idea of their Christmas release. Ho, ho, ho!
I’m always writing new songs. I have a guitar with me on the road, and also a miniature recording studio in my iPhone, so there are always lots of fresh ideas cropping up. Right now I don’t know when we’ll record. It will soon be the 30th anniversary of the band’s biggest album, Hi Infidelity. Have you planned any celebrations? We are gonna put out a deluxe edition of the album which will include all the demos. Our manager recently came across these and listening back to them. I’m amazed at how much heavier they are than the final album. In many ways I prefer them. If all goes to plan, we’ll put this out in January 2011, on exactly the same day as it originally came out in 1980.
“It’s not as if we’ve done Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer!”
Okay, let’s get it out of the way: why did you do a Christmas album? When we finished up our last album [2007’s Find Your Own Way Home], it had been such an enjoyable experience working with producer Joe Vannelli that we started to think of ways of doing something else. Bryan had just become a father, I have young kids and so does Bruce, so it seemed logical for the REO daddies to do a Christmas album.
You must be aware that most rock fans are horrified when their favourite bands do this sort of thing. After all these years and success, we’ve earned the right to try different things. As a band, you always want to stretch yourself, and this was a way of challenging who we are. For the first time, I have to sing other people’s songs. And the reaction from the fans has been really positive. It’s not as if we’ve done Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer! And it was fun to do. What next for REO? We’re lucky in that we can still tour a lot and always draw very big crowds. But we don’t want to rest on our back catalogue.
What about doing a tour showcasing the whole album? We did a radio special recently doing exactly that. And it was tough. I’d forgotten how vocally intense it all is. I was struggling a little by the end of the broadcast. We hadn’t thought about taking it further, but if I can get into shape then it would be interesting to do some dates playing the whole album in sequence. Deftones used to do Keep On Loving You live. Are you surprised that a younger generation of musicians acknowledge REO Speedwagon? I’m very grateful and honoured. That’s the highest accolade you can pay us. Art Alexakis of Everclear, Clint Black, Edwin McCain [US alternative singersongwriter], they’re all fans of ours. That’s very humbling as well. Who’d have thought these guys liked what we did? MD Not So Silent Night is out now on Sony.
The Manson MB-1 Standard: doesn’t actually pick up Coronation Street.
Signature versions of ostens electric guitars are 10 a pen ibly ‘normal’ Much less common is the ny these days. unique guitar in terms of genuinely sha features. Bellamy’s is one pe and example, and three more you might be familiar with are Paul Gilbert’s brilliant Ibanez Prince’s iconic Symbol (pi Fireman, ctu we forget, Dave Hill’s aweso red) and, lest Super Yob. Just don’t mentiome John Birch Mike Gwilliam’s Friesian cown Wurzel – complete with udders. Shu -shaped bass dder.
Muse-ic machine If the Manson MB-1 Standard is good enough for Muse’s Matthew Bellamy…
There are those who might argue – and with strong evidence – that Matthew Bellamy of Muse is the leading light in 21st-century rock guitar. Unafraid to explore new sounds, relentless in ambition and a pretty nifty six-stringer to boot, you’d expect the guy to rock with a pretty special guitar. Noted Exeter-based guitar maker Hugh Manson has been building Bellamy’s instruments for a good few years now so – finally – here’s an official signature model. This is the Manson MB-1 Standard, featuring an alder body, bolt-on, birds-eye maple neck, and purposeful matt-black finish; or, for some extra cash, you can have gloss red sparkle should you so desire. The futuristic-looking screen behind the bridge is not so that Bellamy can watch a bit of telly during drum solos; in fact it’s an (optional) X-Y MIDI controller, which affords him touch control over external MIDI gear to add to his already mammoth sonic assault. The guitar also uses an infinite sustaining pickup, and has a kill switch for firing machine-gun staccato sounds. Revelations? Only that it’s a stunning instrument and will leave a £3,299-sized black hole in your wallet. More info at www.mansons.co.uk, or you can read a full review of the Manson MB-1 Standard in issue 325 of Guitarist magazine. Mick Taylor, editor, Guitarist magazine CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 25
IAN DICKSON/REDFERNS
DARE TO BE DIFFERE
A unique guitar is often someth NT to be admired – but not always ing .
Prog veterans to start work on a new album in the spring.
Marillion will begin writing for a new studio album, the band’s 17th, in the spring, singer Steve Hogarth confirmed when he spoke to Classic Rock Presents Prog for the cover story of the new issue. Hogarth also has plans to work with Porcupine Tree keyboard player Richard Barbieri. Marillion, who recently released the acoustic own-covers album Less Is More, feature on the cover of the latest issue of Classic Rock Presents Prog, which investigates the way progressive music has been presented artistically over the years. Roger Dean, Storm Thorgerson, Muse, Jethro Tull, and Curved Air are just some of the artists featured. There are also interviews with Todd Rundgren, Transatlantic, The Pineapple Thief and more, plus your usual feast of reviews and news from the world of prog. Issue 6 goes on sale on January 27. JE
Pre-orders are being taken for Glenn Hughes’s autobiography, The Life, Near Death and Rebirth of A Rock Star: Deep Purple & Beyond, at the singer’s website. Of the book, Hughes says: “I can hardly believe that I survived. I spent a million dollars on cocaine and, when you’ve read this book, you won’t believe it either.”
Lita Ford
Most bondage lovers keep their fetish hidden; the former teen dream’s new album is all tied up in it.
We can also hardly believe that the book, albeit a limited edition that comes with some bells and whistles that will delight Hughes fans (signed by Glenn; bound with a white satin cover… read the full spec at www. classicrockmagazine. com) will cost you a whopping £550!
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didn to R “I got in of The Bends. I but , the time et Pablo Honey really g ught this was .” I tho mazing great, a
Lita Ford was the original queen of
noise. Aged just 17 she joined The Runaways as lead guitarist in the mid-70s, and went on to record solo hits in the 80s. Her biggest was 1988’s Close My Eyes Forever, a duet with Ozzy Osbourne. In the 90s she suddenly retired from the music business and went to live on a remote Caribbean island to raise a family with Jim Gillette, the former singer with LA hair metal band Nitro. Lita’s first album in nearly 15 years, the Gillette-produced Wicked Wonderland, is an erotic collection inspired by their own sex life and penchant for bondage gear.
“The album is about what we do in our bedroom. We like bondage.”
After so long away how does it feel to be back? ! K IC L C It really has been s e High Hop surreal in some ways. We did d m aroun on’t some shows in e th to “I got in f The Moon. I d s Germany, Italy, O ,a e d n id a S b rk e Da Greece and ho’s in th ds good; w d in m it soun better Spain, then s a g n lo is r’s voice some festivals in Gilmou n Waters’.” the US. It’s a whole tha different animal.
YD PINK FLO
iPod Roulette We grab Diamond Head guitarist Brian Tatler’s iPod and hit Shuffle… CLICK! t Jus That Was e if L r u Yo
A to g METAjoyLinLIC g listenin .
nergy lly en “I’m rea um. It’s full of e thing this alb itely the best , It’s definthe Black album since for me.” 26 CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM
one. He has a wonderful way of describing all that. [Hands phone to Jim Gillette.] JG: When we started writing this album, what was coming out was what we do in our bedroom. So we talked about it and said: “Should we even be putting this out there?” We were a little hesitant, but then decided to do it. The idea is that maybe more people will then open up in their relationships. Because we like bondage, it doesn’t necessarily mean that’s what we think other people should do. People tend to be embarrassed or shy and keep their fantasies to themselves. I guess the message is talk about what turns you on. [Hands phone back to Lita.]
CLICK! sed Citizen Era
MUSE
What is the new album about? It’s about family life, our love life, our hate, our pain, our pleasure. It’s very personal. Jim says it’s written from the heart. It’s about our wicked wonderland.
it is a fair b se there kid “I suppo When I was a d of prog. to Sabbath an ot g d I listene t the older I’ve u ff b tu C s Would you D to / AC I listen recommend bondage the moreis. Muse are like th zing.” as a means to spice up ama people’s love life? Whatever floats anybody’s boat. I think… let me get Jim to answer that
There’s a biopic of The Runaways due in 2010, with Scout Taylor-Compton playing you. Did the makers of the film approach you about it? It wasn’t something I personally wanted to get involved with. I pretty much left it up to the people doing the film. I’m sure it’ll be a great film, but I can’t say too much about it. Do you care about the legacy of The Runaways? There are a lot of difficulties that I’ve had with certain people. Some of them I get along great with, but there are a few people who were not in The Runaways who are causing some problems for me. [Ford has claimed that Joan Jett’s manager offered to buy the rights to her life story for $1,000, a move she’s called “pretty disgusting”.] I dunno, I’d really rather not talk about it. It’s making it ugly for me, when it should be a very fond memory. RH Lita’s Wicked Wonderland album is available now on Ear Records.
TYLER CLINTON
Marillion hit 17
Band Of Skulls: combine their iron fist with a velvet glove.
“We’re a loud band, let’s not get that wrong. But we do delicate things as well.”
Band Of Skulls This Southampton trio could go all the way – if they keep their eyes on the road.
harmonies make it difficult to believe that the band have only existed in this form since 2008. “People say it’s like watching a tennis match – everyone looks left, then everyone looks right,” he laughs. “And three is a good number of people to When he was a teenager, Russell Marsden was almost killed by have in a band, because a majority can be found, whether the decision is rock’n’roll. “Me and a friend borrowed a car and went out for a drive,” the ‘Shall we have lunch now?’ or ‘Shall we take a prog direction?’ If two agree, Band Of Skulls frontman recalls of the potentially fateful day. “We had then the other has to go with it.” Motörhead’s Ace Of Spades in the cassette player, and we basically started They might still be sharing a hotel room when Classic Rock calls for our swerving the car to the rhythm, until we lost control and spun off interview, but things are moving fast for Band Of Skulls. After FOR FANS OF... the road into one of those places where old people stop to look at slogging briefly on the south-coast toilet circuit, the young band’s the view. We ended up in a dust-ball in front of them eating their career enjoyed two unexpected spikes. The first of those was when sandwiches and coffee. Whenever I hear that song now I’m I Know What I Am was picked up by iTunes as a Single Of The transported back to those happy times.” Week, and the second when the Skulls track Friends was featured Fast-forward to 2010, and Marsden’s own band are making on the soundtrack to hit vampire movie Twilight: New Moon. “If it’s music so good that it might make you crash your car. Contrary good enough for [Radiohead mainman] Thom Yorke and Muse,” to the death-metal connotations of the name, Band Of Skulls Marsden considers, “then we can’t really turn our noses up at it.” “A record like In combine their iron fist with a velvet glove. Their debut album, Smart move. But it’s clear that Band Of Skulls are far more than Rainbows [Radiohead] just a bunch of careerists. Baby Darling Doll Face Honey, is an eclectic collection in which can’t help but influence monolithic, bluesy struts like I Know What I Am dovetail with “Our ambition was always just to make our record as good as bands. For a band to angel-hair balladry like Honest. have their whole career it could be,” the Skulls frontman concludes. “Now we have that as behind them and still “We’re a loud band, let’s not get that wrong,” Marsden clarifies. a benchmark. We’ve always wanted to be a band with staying produce something “But all the great bands can do the most delicate things as well. power, and I think we have enough ideas and enough songwriters that’s challenging and We go to extremes.” to do that.” HY beautiful… it’s impressive. They almost Most intense of all is the vocal chemistry between Marsden set up genres of music, and bassist Emma Richardson, a partnership whose dead-on Baby Darling Doll Face Honey is out now on You Are Here. then abandon them, and still manage to be relevant. And I think that’s every artist’s ambition.”
CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 27
OT THE STORY BEHIND THE SH Band
Mick Jagger 2 Los Angeles, 200 Location
By
Albert Watson
“T
he original idea for the shooting was to have Mick Jagger driving a Corvette, with the leopard in the passenger seat. The big cat, a wild animal, seemed to suit Jagger, who likes to jump around a lot on stage, of course. However, putting the leopard in the car with him ended up being so dangerous that we had to build a safety partition. So, while we were waiting and to use the time well, I thought ‘Let me try a quick double exposure with the leopard and with Mick.’ “I shot the leopard first and with a china marker drew its eyes and nose on the viewfinder of the camera. Then I rewound the film and photographed Jagger, fitting his eyes and nose over the eyes and nose of the leopard on the viewfinder so they matched. So, it was a straightforward, old-fashioned double exposure shot. “I didn’t think it would work, and I
“Putting the leopard in the Corvette with Jagger ended up being so dangerous…” almost threw out the film. But of the twelve shots, four of them matched up, and this was the best of the four that worked.” Taken from Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History, 1955–Present by Gail Buckland, published by Knopf. It’s available from all good bookshops, online retailers and direct from www. turnaround-uk.com, priced at £28.99. ALBERT WATSON
Throughout his career, scottish-born photographer albert Watson has shot no less than 250 covers for Vogue and over 40 for rolling stone. He also created the photography for countless advertising campaigns for the likes of levis, gap, revlon and chanel, and was the official royal Photographer at the wedding of sarah Ferguson and Prince andrew. For more, stop by: www.albertwatson.net 28 classicrockmagazine.com
classicrockmagazine.com 29
A leopard may not change its spots but Jagger does.
CLASSIC ROCK JUKEBOX
WHAT WE’VE BEEN LISTENING TO THIS DECADE Electric Worry
Marlon JD
MASTERS OF REALITY (2001)
Epic Problem
Divinations
TOOL (2001)
CLUTCH (2007)
THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 00S!
FUGAZI (2001)
Even Mona Lisa Smiled QUIREBOYS (2008)
Everything You’re Breathing For THE PARLOR MOB (2008)
Fat Lip
SUM 41 (2001)
Fooled Again
RICHIE KOTZEN (2008)
Ghosts Anything Goes AC/DC (2008)
Are You Gonna Be My Girl? JET (2005) Asking Around For You
IT BITES (2008)
Ghosts Along The Mississippi DOWN (2002)
Go
DEF LEPPARD (2008)
JOE BONAMASSA (2006)
Grace Kelly
ENDEVERAFTER (2007)
Bible Black
DINOSAUR JR (2007)
I Believe In A Thing Called Love
Baby Baby Baby Been There All The Time Better
GUNS N’ ROSES (2008)
Boots Of Chinese Plastic THE PRETENDERS (2008)
Bring Me To life
MIKA (2007)
HEAVEN & HELL (2009) THE DARKNESS (2003)
I Love You More Than Rock ‘n’ Roll THUNDER (2005)
By The Way
I’m Shipping Up To Boston
Carolina Drama
In Your Honour
Castanets
Into The Fire
Check My Brain
Jaded
Chop Suey!
Jesus Of Surburbia
EVANESCENCE (2003)
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS (2000)
DROPKICK MURPHYS (2005)
THE RACONTEURS (2008)
FOO FIGHTERS (2005)
ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO (2001)
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (2002)
ALICE IN CHAINS (2009)
AEROSMITH (2001)
SYSTEM OF A DOWN (2001) Cochise AUDIOSLAVE (2002)
GREEN DAY (2004)
Come To Life
ALTER BRIDGE (2007)
Johnny Appleseed JOE STRUMMER & THE MESCALEROS (2001)
Joker And The Thief
Country Girl
PRIMAL SCREAM (2006)
Crazy Bitch
BUCKCHERRY (2006)
Creepin’ Up On You STATUS QUO (2002)
Danger! High Voltage ELECTRIC SIX (2003)
Wrong Man
WOLFMOTHER (2005)
Faith In The Heartland JOURNEY (2005)
Keep Believin’ THE ANSWER (2005)
Keep It Sweet WAYSTED (2007)
Life’s A Bitch MOTÖRHEAD (2004)
DEEP PURPLE (2005)
Don’t Drink The Water STONE GODS (2008)
Down With The Sickness DISTURBED (2000)
Count Of Tuscany DREAM THEATER (2009)
Mein Herz Brennt RAMMSTEIN (2001)
Lord, Kill The Pain PIG IRÖN (2007)
Make Me HEART (2004)
MANIC STREET PREACHERS (2009) MASTODON (2009)
Message To The Boys THE REPLACEMENTS (2006)
The End Of The Line METALLICA (2008)
MF From Hell THE DATSUNS (2002)
Mississippi
BOB DYLAN (2001)
Money, It’s Pure Evil BIG ELF (2009)
More News From Nowhere
NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS (2008)
Sing For Absolution MUSE (2003)
New York, New York RYAN ADAMS (2001)
No One Knows
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE (2002)
No One Loves Me & Neither Do I
THEM CROOKED VULTURES (2009)
Oh Josephine
BLACK CROWES (2008)
Open Car
Schism
Seven Nation Army WHITE STRIPES (2003)
Shotgun Smile WINTERVILLE (2005)
Sick Man Of Europe CHEAP TRICK (2009)
Slither
VELVET REVOLVER (2004)
Sneak Out
ROSE HILL DRIVE (2008)
So She’s Leaving THE TREWS (2005)
Soul Creek
BLACK STONE CHERRY (2008)
Soul Mover
GLENN HUGHES (2005)
Still Unbroken
LYNYRD SKYNYRD (2009)
Suddenly Attacked BIG LINDA (2008)
Tear Your Heart Out HEAVEN’S BASEMENT (2008)
Teenage Dirtbag WHEATUS (2000)
The ’59 Sound
THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM (2008)
Out Here All Night
The Death And Resurrection Show
Party Hard
The Galway Girl
PORCUPINE TREE (2005) DAMONE (2006)
ANDREW WK (2001)
Party Pit
THE HOLD STEADY (2006)
Paschendale
IRON MAIDEN (2003)
Peacekeeper
FLEETWOOD MAC (2003)
Everything In Its Right Place RADIOHEAD (2000)
Rambledown STONERIDER (2008)
Revival
ATOMIC BITCHWAX (2009)
Rock In Black
KILLING JOKE (2003)
STEVE EARLE (2000)
The Lucky Ones PRIDE TIGER (2007)
The Only Ones
THE WILDHEARTS (2009)
Tribute
TENACIOUS D (2001)
Daylight Goes To Town UFO (2004)
Unemployed Boyfriend EVERCLEAR (2000)
Wasted Life
DUFF MCKAGAN’S LOADED (2008)
We’re All In Love NEW YORK DOLLS (2006)
Rock ’N’ Roll Psychosis
What Do You Want From Me?
Rock Star
NICKELBACK (2006)
Whatever Way You Wanna Give It
ROLLING STONES (2005)
Woman In The Window
GO HOME PRODUCTIONS (2005) JIM JONES REVUE (2008)
Rough Justice Spindrift RUSH (2007)
Satan’s Finest GRAVEYARD (2008)
Scatagoria
ALICE COOPER (2003) HOT LEG (2009)
SATELLITE PARTY (2007)
Words (Big Mouth) IAN HUNTER (2007)
Worldwide Suicide PEARL JAM (2006)
See more Best of the Decade stuff at classicrockmagazine.com 30 CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM
WIN £4,000 OF LEEMA HI-FI! Yes, you read that right; we haven’t put three zeros on that value by mistake. Thanks to those top types at equally top hi-fi company Leema Acoustics, one very lucky Classic Rock reader is going to win an absolutely blinding CD player/ amplifier/speakers hi-fi set-up with a Recommended Retail Price (RRP) of more than £4,000!
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[email protected] or call them on 01938 811900 TERMS AND CONDITIONS: Text entries: Text the word shown in brackets after each answer, followed by a space (very important) then the letter which you think refers to the correct answer. For example, if you think the answer is the amplifier, text ‘LEEMAROCKS B’ to 87474. Postal entries to: Classic Rock, Future, 2 Balcombe St, London, NW1 6NW. Text message or postal entries for both competitions can be received at any time between 7am on January 28, 2010 and IIpm on February 4, 2010. Texts will be charged at 50p each, for correct or incorrect answers. By sending your entry you agree to these competition rules and you confirm you are happy to receive details of future offers and promotions from Future Publishing Limited and carefully selected third parties. If you do not want to receive information relating to future offers and promotions, please include the word STOP at the end of your text message or at the end of your postal entry. The winner will be drawn at random from all correct entries received by the closing date. Only UK residents aged 16 years and over may enter this competition. No employees of Future plc or any of its group companies or the employees of any entity which has been involved with the administration of this competition or any member of their households may enter this competition. No responsibility is accepted for entries delayed or lost in the post. Proof of postage will not be accepted as proof of receipt. The prize is as stated and no cash alternative is available. Future Publishing Limited is not responsible whatsoever for any failure by the competition organisers to provide the prize on time or at all or for any loss, damage, costs, expenses, or personal injury caused by the prize. If you have any query or complaint in relation to the prize, you should contact Classic Rock Presents. If you are a winner of the competition you accept that Future Publishing Limited has the right (without additional payment or seeking permission) to use your name, address and likeness for the purpose of announcing the winner of the competition and for related promotional purposes. All entries must be received by the closing date. No purchase necessary. Future Publishing Limited, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath, BA1 2BW.
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The sTo ries beh inD The son Gs
The Kinks
All Day And All Of The Night
Ray Davies recalls how, in three takes one morning in 1964, a neurotic 19-year-old and a guitarist with a razor created the blueprint for metal and punk. Words: Rob Hughes Picture: Bruce Fleming/ Getty Images
DAVIES AND THE DOORS
All Day And All Of The Night has become a staple of rock lore and prime fodder for that hardy perennial: the cover version. Among those who’ve shaken it loose are the Stranglers, Steve Vai, Quiet Riot and Status Quo. There’s also a long-held theory that The Doors liberally ‘borrowed’ from it for 1968’s Hello, I Love You. In an interview in 1978, Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek said his band initially thought the song was “a lot like a Kinks song”. He then added: “It’s all rock‘n’roll, we’re all family, we’re not stealing anything from them, we’re sort of… [humming the melody]… Yes, it is a lot like it, isn’t it? We’re sorry, Ray!” 34 cLASSIcROcKMAgAzINe.cOM
M
adison Square Garden, October 30, 2009. Metal giants Metallica are among the heavyweights celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Ozzy joins in for a banging version of Iron Man and Paranoid, while Lou Reed is on hand for Sweet Jane. Then James Hetfield steps up to the mic: “We got completely schooled on early riff-rock by this man and his band – The Kinks.” Enter Ray Davies for a bracing assault with his two 1960s trailblazers: You Really Got Me and All Day And All Of The Night. With its thumping power chords and shredding solo, All Day And All Of The Night – recorded in September 1964 – is often cited as the jump-off point for punk and hard rock. Black Sabbath, The Clash, Thunder and The Who are among those who have acknowledged their debt to it. Davies is routinely painted as the consummate English songwriter, the wistful composer of Waterloo Sunset, and avid preservationist of the local village green. But early Kinks were a band forged by American rock’n’blues. Their third single, You Really Got Me, which borrowed heavily from The Kingsmen’s Louie Louie, made No.1 in the UK in 1964. The distorted guitar riff by Ray’s brother Dave was a revelation. But it was the follow-up that really created the metal/punk blueprint. “The one that started it was All Day And All Of The Night,” Ray Davies explains to Classic Rock. “The sounds on that one, if they were made today, would sound like Green Day or a metal band.” The secret to The Kinks’ early guitar sound was Dave Davies’s brainwave of slashing his speaker cones of his amp with a razor. “As it vibrated it produced a distorted and jagged roar,” he commented later. It was a sound they patented in the theatre halls of Britain throughout the early part of 1964. It also brought them into conflict with their first producer, 23-year-old American Shel Talmy. “Initially we did everything he asked us to do, as regards the first couple of singles – Long Tall Sally and You Still Want Me,” says Ray Davies. “But we found that we were developing a certain live sound and wanted
to replicate that in the studio. He had recorded You Really Got Me once, maybe twice, but it wasn’t the way we sounded. Basically, he was smart in that he accepted our point of view. Smart producers get what the band want.” Davies began writing All Day And All Of The Night “in my music publisher’s office. Then we went on a little tour, so I wrote part of it in the car. It was written over a period of about three or four days.” It was certainly a step up from their previous hit. Dave’s sliding power chords and Ray’s throaty vocals are somehow more urgent than before, while the lyrics tap into a more aggressive strain of teen angst: ‘I’m not content to be with you in the daytime/Girl I want to be with you all of the time.’ Ray Davies agrees: “It’s more demanding. Maybe that was because we’d just come off a success with a number one single. So it was a bit cocky.” Brother Dave adds: “I cranked up my guitar more than on You Really Got Me. When we went into the studio, everybody knew what they were doing. There was a new-found confidence. I think we did it in three takes.” The song was actually recorded, Ray Davies reveals, at 10am. “We came down to London especially to record it, as we’d played Birmingham the night before. The first time the band heard it was when I ran through it with them at the soundcheck. Afterwards we drove back down to London, got up in the morning and finished the song by midday.” There was still time for some dispute though, involving session drummer Bobby Graham, a relative veteran brought in by Talmy before Mick Avory became an integral part of the band. “Before verse two and into verse three,” explains Davies, “I wanted a ‘bop-bop-bop’ fill, but Bobby was a bit reluctant to do it. He said I was getting a bit cocky, telling him what to do. But it ended up on the record. I wanted it there because I’d heard it on Buddy Holly’s It’s So Easy and I’d always
wanted it to be on one of my records. We had a big argument over it, but in the end he took it on board.” Record label Pye, however, weren’t too enamoured with The Kinks’ latest sound, and initially rejected the song for being “too working class”. “I think they had a problem with The Kinks because the first two songs that Shel produced were kind of Merseybeat-sounding and Americanpolished,” he reasons. “But The Kinks were a rough-and-ready unit. Certainly the whole feeling of All Day And All Of The Night is working class, without parochially trying to sound working class.” Whatever its social standing, All Day And All Of The Night was a ferocious blast of rock’n’roll. It gave The Kinks their second major hit and cemented them in the US as one of the key bands of the British Invasion. Shel Talmy, who today remembers Davies
“The sounds on All Day And All Of The Night, if they were made today, would sound like Green Day or a metal band.” as “complex, conflicted, unsure, angry, resentful, mistrusting, untrustworthy” as well as “a very talented songwriter”, still believes guitarist Dave is owed his dues. “Dave is one of the more underrated guitarists in rock,” he asserts. “He’s always been overlooked for no reason I can determine, except that he never got the PR he should have.” Ray Davies, meanwhile, has been quoted as calling All Day And All Of The Night “neurotic, youthful, obsessive and sexually possessive”. He’s keen to set this straight: “Burt Bacharach actually called it ‘neurotic’. He reviewed it for some music magazine. But that’s what it was; I was a neurotic 19-year-old at the time. I’d say I was a sweetheart, but I’m sure others say I was appalling to work with.” Ray Davies’s new album Collected is out now on Universal Records.
The Kinks: drummer Mick Avory (top left), didn’t appear on All Day And All Of The Night
THE fAcTS RELEASE DATE October 1964 HIGHEST CHART POSITION UK No.2, US No.7 PERSONNEL Ray Davies Vocals/guitar Dave Davies Lead guitar/ back-up vocals Pete Quaife Bass guitar/ back-up vocals Bobby Graham Drums wRITTEN By Ray Davies PRODUCER Shel Talmy LABEL Pye
Stephen Stills The ‘S’ in CSN&Y on playing with Hendrix, hanging with The Beatles, “darker forces” and still loving Neil Young.
S
Words: Max Bell Portrait: Bill Ray
tephen Stills is enjoying a timely renaissance at 64. Old Captain Manyhands has recently released a Manassas outtakes compilation and a live album recorded at Shepherd’s Bush in 2008. He also features on the acclaimed Crosby, Stills & Nash set Demos, archived by Graham Nash, who is working on a box set for Stills that will range from the Au Go-Go’s and Buffalo Springfield to the present day. After a spell of bad health, Stills is also involved in a new ‘covers’ album with his compadres (overseen by Rick Rubin) and is waiting for clearance on a jam set he recorded with Jimi Hendrix in the late 60s. Stills sounded renewed when he spoke to Classic Rock about some old times, good times. Like he says: “I don’t want to be complacent and rest on my laurels any more, because they’ll turn out to be cacti.” Your new Manassas album Pieces, gems from the archive, is going down a storm in these parts. You must be delighted. Chuffed to bits, squire. I spent enough time with you bunch to beware of flattery. It could get me in a peck of trouble. It could be a load of old bollocks. It was great to go back and remix some old tunes from the vaults; to remove the unnecessary echo, tidy up the duff lyrics. Also to listen again to those players like Chris ‘Curly’ Hillman, Joe Lala and Al Perkins. We were the first country-rockbluegrass-steel-Latin band. And we were darned good. When Manassas played the Rainbow in London in 1972 you were living in England. Part-time. I’d bought Ringo Starr’s Brookfields mansion for £100,000 – he bought it from Peter Sellers – and I had the most rock’n’roll fun ever living in Britain, in stockbroker Elstead, Surrey. I loved it all, the fresh mown grass and the spring air. I played cricket; I even know the rules. In fact I still watch the big matches on Sky. I loved Britain. I could drive round in my Bentley or my Roller when your roads were empty. So now you think I’m a fucking Tory! I relaxed at [London hangouts] the Bag O’ Nails and Ronnie Scott’s. I was a happy man, and my work showed that. People say I’m a taskmaster and I was on my gig. I locked the gates of the mansion, had a cook come in and I rehearsed those guys to death. I used to be an insomniac, so I’d wake them in the middle of the night and make them play. But then chances are they were awake already. You’ve said you put Manassas together because you were tired of the whole CSN&Y experience. That didn’t take long! The Crosby, Stills & Nash thing became iconic. That was crushing to me as an individual. I wanted to try other things. David [Crosby] was enjoying being famous, he worked hard at that. When that band came to England and played at the Royal Albert Hall I soon realised everyone is infinitely more famous than me. Being less celebrated gave me breathing space. You became a regular Surrey-based superstar. I’d worked on a Doris Troy album for Apple. And I was hanging out with George Harrison, Ringo and Eric Clapton, among others when I made my first solo album, Stephen Stills. Eric was coming by the
36 classicrockmagazine.com
house for a tickle, and a lot of work got done in between a two-year party at Ronnie Wood’s place. Not that Ronnie ever invited me. Going to Apple while the Beatles were breaking up was heavy for a kid from Florida. I’m in a studio with the fucking Beatles? Huh? It was very affirming when they told me: “Go ahead and do your thing.” But then they’d say: “But don’t get too successful. This is a small island, there’s not enough room at the top for everyone.” On your first solo album (1970) you pulled off a coup getting Clapton and Jim Hendrix to play on Go Back Home and Old Times, Good Times respectively. In California we had that jazz theme where everyone could be on anyone else’s record. Not exactly piggybacking by me, because my other groups had already sold apace. I bumped into Eric one evening, and he came by and the night degenerated into an endless jam of the Champs’ Tequila. Then we did the album track in the studio. His solo was one take and he got a fabulous sound. His greatest solo? It inspired me. Forty years later I might just have the chops to emulate him. Hendrix was a god. I saw him play close up, and I saw him with a band many times. It was always a startling experience. Oddly, I don’t think he ever quite got that magic I saw down on his records. After the golden streak of Buffalo Springfield, CSN&Y, your early solo albums and Manassas, things went awry for you. Ah, the ‘Jurassic Age’. I had too much fun doing what everybody else was doing. People told me I was one of the great rock stars, and then I became a little inept. Things got a little crackers in Manassas. We overdid everything. We’d be fine with the music but we’d forget about the words, making up ridiculous lyrics. And they weren’t exactly Monty Python. Afterwards in America I got drawn back to the darker forces and the years thereafter became a blur. We didn’t care about the consequences. Money was flowing, goodies were available. So when management stole money we didn’t care because we didn’t even miss it. I made some very bad decisions. And, as the British are always reminding me, Neil Young came along and stole my thunder. But who wants to talk about him? Well… I guessed you would. Obviously I love Neil. I saw him recently in the finest car builders shop in the world in South San Francisco. He’s been working on an electric/hybrid engine which he’s put into this 19-foot-long 1959 Lincoln Continental. He’s got it running on practically nothing. It’s funny seeing it next to all these gorgeous, gas-guzzling hot rods. You know Neil, once he gets his teeth into something… As a guitarist I loved his weirdness. Ironically, in Buffalo Springfield he’d be the one who stood still and played while I was the madman. Now he’s got all the goddamn energy and I got too many cuts and bruises from life. I was a lot more athletic back then and I’m paying the price. But I still love it when he and I get unleashed occasionally. We’ve always been a good team. The recently released Stephen Stills Live At Shepherd’s Bush and Manassas Pieces are available via Rhino Records.
Stephen Stills: a very good guitar player who “made some very bad decisions”.
Time & life PicTures/geTTy images
“A Lot of wor done in betw k got A two-yeAr p een ronnie woodArty At ’s pLAce.”
Ever Meet Hendrix? He saw Iggy’s first show, he thought the Grateful Dead were “abysmal”, he used to hang out with Grand Funk. He got on a motorcycle for The Rocky Horror Picture Show and got moobs for Fight Club. He is Meat Loaf, and these are some of his stories.
P
Words: Peter Makowski Portrait: Mick Hutson
rior to batting his way out of Hell, even before greasing his wheels as Motorcycle Eddie in the stage and film version of The Rocky Horror Show, in the late 60s Michael/Marvin Lee Aday, aka Meat Loaf, was busting his chops on the tortuous gig circuit with a band called Meatloaf Soul. The band went through a series of name changes with each new line-up. But it was as Floating Circus that they truly arrived, with a series of gigs at the Grande Ballroom – a legendary Detroit venue – opening up for an
eclectic range of acts including Dr John, Sun Ra, The Fugs, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. Here Mr Loaf recounts his experiences with other Grande regulars including the eviscerating MC5, the schizophrenic Iggy Pop and a then unknown band from West London called The Who. He also explains, in a tale involving Grand Funk Railroad, why you shouldn’t go to him for career advice, and talks about the rise and fall of his favourite singer, Joe Cocker. All that and a smarty-pants Ed Norton of Fight Club too.
IGGY & THE STOOGES
I saw Iggy play his first show at the Grande Ballroom. His band consisted of the MC5’s road crew, none of who could play an instrument. The whole set was one song in the key of E. After an instrumental intro, in the key of E, Iggy came on, immediately took off his T-shirt and then started maiming himself by sticking needles through his fingertips and in his chest. He then somehow got hold of a cream pie, jumped off stage and started making out with this poor guy’s girlfriend. So this guy’s freaking out, and Iggy just laughs and slams the pie in this poor kid’s face and starts rubbing the cream all over himself. And then he jumps back on stage and disappears. That was the whole show. Fucking hilarious! It was over in six minutes. We played with The Stooges many times, and off stage Iggy was the quietest, most soft-spoken person you could ever meet. He used to pull me up and say: “Hey Meat, man. We’ve just learnt another chord!”
THE WHO
I remember seeing them in Detroit and I didn’t have a clue who they were. Roger came out in a suede tassled jacket which I thought was hilarious. Keith Moon was unbelievable, you couldn’t take your eyes off the guy. They used to announce The Seeker by saying: “This is a new song that we’ve never played before.” And I thought: “Yeah, right. I bet that’s what they say every night.” And they did. I also remember that Daltrey stood at the side of the stage when we were on, watching intently. 38 classicrockmagazine.com
I met him many years later at a music award ceremony. I was in the bathroom taking a piss and he came up behind me and said: “You’re Meat Loaf, aren’t you? I remember seeing you with a band in Detroit years ago. You were brilliant.” I couldn’t believe that he remembered me. Years later he sang on one of my albums.
GRAND FUNK RAILROAD
I knew the Grand Funk boys since they were in a band called The Pack. They were originally called Terry Knight & The Pack. Terry went on to become Grand Funk’s manager and was a really sharp guy. Once he met you he never forgot your name. Just like Jimmy Iovine. The Pack were an amazing band. Don Brewer was a phenomenal drummer and Farner had a soulful voice – he played bass in those days. But they didn’t have much success. I remember a story they told me about the time they supported Gary Puckett & The Union Gap. The Union Gap was a bubblegum act who had lucked out with a couple of hits fronted by Gary Puckett who was a vile egomaniac. When The Pack supported them, Puckett wouldn’t let the band use his back line and they had to set up on the floor in front of the stage. It was so humiliating, and definitely contributed to the band splitting up. Hearing that story had a huge impact on me and I always made sure our support bands were taken care of and lent out equipment to anyone who needed it. When The Pack split up, Mark and Don decided they were going to form a heavy rock trio in the style of Cream and Hendrix, and were initially after my bass player, Rick Bozzo, to complete the line-up. They approached him, and Rick came to me for advice. At the time, my band were beginning to make headway; while Mark and Don had just started rehearsing at the Flint, Michigan YMCA. They were so broke that they paid for their rehearsal time by sweeping up afterwards. So I convinced Rick to stay with us. Of course, Mel Schacher joined and Grand Funk Railroad became one of the biggest rock bands in US history. I remember one day we were driving somewhere in Hollywood and suddenly there was this huge billboard with Mark, Don and Mel’s faces plastered across it. Rick just looked up, sighed and said: “That could’ve been Mark, Don and Rick.”
MC5
Undoubtedly one of the best live bands ever. The Grande Ballroom played host to all the visiting superstars like Cream, Hendrix, Janis Joplin, but the local superstars were MC5. They were brilliant. Along with Joe Cocker and Buffalo Springfield, MC5 are the band I saw the most times live. ➻
Marvin Lee Aday: bored by the Dead, freaked out by Stanshall, insulted by Cocker.
EVER MEET HENDRIX?
The Bonzos: “One of the most incredible live bands.”
reTna
I knew the guys really well and they were always great fun to watch. They mixed politics with theatrics. Their manager, John Sinclair, was a member of the White Panthers and facing a heavy rap for possession of dope. The stage would be covered in American flags and they would have this preacher introduce them, and then it would be straight in: “Kick out the jams, motherfuckers!” It was a cross between the James Brown revue and The Rolling Stones. LA didn’t get it, New York didn’t get it; it was a Detroit thing. Wayne Kramer was the best live performer bar none. He’d slide across the stage on his knees. He would have these insane guitar duels with Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith .They dressed up in these silver glitter outfits but they’d be playing this heavy shit. Rob Tyner was a fantastic vocalist. But it was Kramer who stole the show. I would go as far as saying that he was the biggest influence in my life as far as my live performances go.
THE BONZO DOG DOO DAH BAND
Man, they were abysmal. I remember they headlined once at the Grande. The support acts included the MC5, Bob Seger and us – all highenergy. Jerry Garcia and his crew came on and started playing this song and it seemed to last for weeks! After about 20 minutes half the audience had gone .The problem was that we couldn’t leave. Because of weather problems the Dead’s
Jerry Garcia: “I didn’t realise their sets went on for days.”
40 classicrockmagazine.com
equipment hadn’t arrived and we had lent them our back line. I didn’t know anything about the band at the time and didn’t realise that their sets went on for days [laughs] – well that’s what it felt like. We were stuck there all night.
Joe Cocker: “My favourite vocalist of all time.”
JOE COCKER
We were doing a festival with Ted Nugent, MC5 and the usual Detroit crew and the headliners were this British act called The Grease Band, who I’d never heard of. While our band was setting up, this real scruffy guy with greasy hair and dressed like a hobo came up to me and asked if he could borrow our organ because theirs had packed up. We had a Hammond C3, which was a monster, like a church organ. Most bands had a B3 which was portable in comparison. I was pretty big at the time and had no problem moving it. The first thing this ‘roadie’ says to me is: “I bet it isn’t easy moving that weight around.” “Yeah, it can be hard,” I replied, thinking that he’s talking about the organ. “When we make some more money we’ll get a B3.” ‘’No, I’m talking about you, pal,” he replies. “I used to be your size. It ain’t much fun.” Can you believe it? This fucking roadie was making fun of my weight. Anyway, he did compliment our set so I helped him set up, and then I went round the front of the stage to check out this new limey outfit. The band comes on and plays an instrumental and then the ‘roadie’ come on, starts singing and blows me away. It was Joe Cocker. And from that day onwards he became my favourite vocalist of all time. I once saw him in the 70s when he was battling with drug and alcohol problems, and that was depressing. He looked a real mess when he stumbled onto the stage, and threw up after the second song. I had to leave after that, I couldn’t watch any more. But even now he’s still my favourite singer.
roBerT knigHT arcHiVe/reDFerns
THE GRATEFUL DEAD
“The Grateful Dead? Man, they were abysmal. They started playing and it seemed to last for weeks. After 20 minutes half the audience had gone.”
EDWARD NORTON
I would have to say that Edward Norton is without a doubt one of the most intelligent people I have ever met. His whole family are really talented. He can talk about any subject with great depth and knowledge. I remember I was hanging out with him and Kevin Spacey at one of the film screenings of Fight Club. Edward is going on about something or other, his face is all serious and focused. Suddenly, in the middle of this diatribe, Kevin Spacey blurts out: “Edward, what the fuck are you talking about?!” Ed looks up and. without missing a beat. just carries on from where he left off.
Meat Loaf: Bat out of Hell – The Original Tour (1978) DVD is out now on Eagle Vision.
ricHarD e. aaron/reDFerns
They were one of the most incredible bands I’ve ever seen. They did this thing in the middle of the show that blew me away and I’ve still not figured out how it they pulled it off. In the middle of the song, the sound cuts out, like there’s some kind of electrical malfunction, but the band just keep playing, making all the moves and mouthing the vocals. Then suddenly the sound comes back on and they’re all totally in sync with the music. For a minute you think you’ve gone crazy, and the audience, who are already pretty wasted, are staring at each other in disbelief. It’s difficult to describe without you being there. But one thing’s for sure: Viv Stanshall was definitely the king of freaking people out.
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Black Sabbath: Winners of the 2009 Classic Rock Award for Best Reissues! The First Three Albums Out now! Expanded with bonus tracks!
BLACK SABBATH Black Sabbath (2CD/2LP)
BLACK SABBATH Paranoid (3CD/2LP)
BLACK SABBATH Master Of Reality (2CD/2LP)
BLACK SABBATH Vol 4 (CD/LP)
BLACK SABBATH Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (CD/LP)
BLACK SABBATH Sabotage (CD/LP)
Also out now!
• Deluxe editions remastered from the original source tapes • 16 page booklets featuring rare memorabilia, and new in-depth story of each album written in conjunction with Bill Ward • Also available on super heavyweight deluxe limited edition 12” gatefold vinyl
BLACK SABBATH Technical Ecstasy (CD/LP)
BLACK SABBATH Never Say Die! (CD/LP)
John Bonham and Bon Scott died, Lennon was shot… and heavy metal rose from the ashes.
HEAVY METAL THUNDER Thirty years ago, rock’s landscape changed forever. It was the year that gave us Back In Black, Ace Of Spades, British Steel, Iron Maiden, Heaven And Hell and countless more. Classic Rock looks back at an incredible time. Words: Paul Elliott, Malcolm Dome, Geoff Barton, Rob Hughes, Neil Jeffries & Philip Wilding
CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 45
THE ASTONISHING 12 MONTHS OF
No Place To Run UFO
JANUARY
A
ccepted UFO wisdom says the band were at their peak with Michael Schenker in the line-up. But although the records were good, on the road the guitarist was notoriously erratic. After going AWOL in 1977 on the eve of a major US tour supporting Rush, and walking out for good in November 1978, the band recruited old buddy Paul Chapman (leading to the demise of Lone Star). Hugely talented and reliable, the Welshman was exactly what UFO needed and with him everything went to another level. After a year of touring, Chapman and the band
“We weren’t getting rich. We spent too much money enjoying ourselves…” were revitalised and ready to make No Place To Run – which hit the streets in January 1980. The cover shows the band, photographed by Hipgnosis at night beside a set of petrol pumps for no obvious reason, resplendent in turn-of-the-decade rock duds – ‘smart’ jackets, stretch jeans and white high-tops. The cover was available in a variety of sleeves, each with the shot tinted in a different colour. As Chapman’s broody instrumental opener Alpha Centauri gave way to the full-blooded rocker
Lettin’ Go, it was immediately clear this was UFO at the height of their powers. It also marked a huge step up for them in the USA. As Chapman recalls: “No Place To Run was the tour where everything changed around – we started headlining in America and it was one of the highest-charting albums the band had had over there. There was a real buzz around it. Lots of people today tell me it’s their favourite period of the band.” The album was given a big budget with erstwhile Beatles producer George Martin hired by the band’s long-time label Chrysalis to produce a hit single – but trying to get UFO into that mindset was like nailing jelly to the ceiling. Far from his comfort zone with a hellraising rock band, Martin’s best effort, Young Blood, just scraped into the UK Top 40 chart. But the album rose above all this and today is at least as good as Obsession – Schenker’s last studio effort with the band. Indeed, tracks such as This Fire Burns Tonight, Gone In The Night or the (probably) Springsteeninspired title-track are strong enough to have been on Lights Out. Chapman, recalls how, alongside great success, No Place To Run brought frustration, too… “We were so busy touring. Our schedule was so full-on. We were trying to squeeze 15 months out of every year. “We weren’t getting rich. There are some horror stories – but we did spend too much money enjoying ourselves. We were our own worst enemies. But at the time you don’t think about 20 years down the road. If you could you’d be rich – but boring as shit!” NJ
Words: Paul Elliott
46 CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM
MARCH
“W
e had the time of our lives making that album. We were young kids – Rick Allen was 15, I was 19 – and we were recording our first record at Tittenhurst Park, where John Lennon lived before he sold it to Ringo! And I drew the long straw, so I got Lennon’s old bedroom with the amazing view. By the time we got there, December ’79, the place had changed. The white room where you saw John and Yoko doing Imagine, there was a pool table in there now. “When we moved in, Dr. Hook were moving out, and Ray Sawyer, the guy with the eye-patch, challenged me to a game of pool and introduced me to my first smoke of weed. And I beat him! I rang a mate and said: ‘I just beat the guy who sang Sylvia’s Mother at pool!’ But my mate pointed out that Ray Sawyer hadn’t sung that song, and he also pointed out that Ray only had one eye, so beating him at pool couldn’t have been that difficult… “We had Tom Allom producing us. We’d had three producers up for
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times… 1980 might arguably have been the greatest ever year for rock, but amid the many triumphs were some of music’s greatest tragedies. JANUARY began with a rock classic at No.1 on the UK singles chart, Pink Floyd’s Another Brick In The Wall Part 2. And displacing ABBA’s Greatest Hits Volume 2 at the top of the
‘January began with a rock classic at No.1 on the UK singles chart – Pink Floyd’s Another Brick In The Wall.’
album chart was the debut by The Pretenders, featuring the No.1 hit Brass In Pocket. The US, meanwhile, was treated to The Clash’s London Calling (which the UK saw in ’79). In the first month of a new decade, Rush’s Permanent Waves was a bold reinvention for one of the quintessential 70s rock bands, its modern sound perfectly illustrated by the hit single The Spirit Of Radio. Also released in January were Sheer Greed, the debut by Girl, cocky London glam rockers
DEF LEPPARD: CHRIS WALTER/PHOTOFEATURES
A Year In Review
DEF LEPPARD’S JOE ELLIOTT ON THEIR DEBUT ON THROUGH THE NIGHT
THE 12 ASTONISHING MONTHS
GO TO CLASSICROCK MAGAZINE.COM FOR MORE FROM 1980.
Boy band: Def Leppard in 1980 (Pete Willis), second from right.
grabs. Chas Chandler, who’d worked with Slade and Hendrix. Roy Wood, who I really wanted cos I loved Wizzard. And Tom Allom, who’d done Judas Priest, which sealed it for Pete [Willis, guitarist]. Back then, Pete was to Leppard what Brian Jones was to the Stones – he thought he was in charge but ultimately he wasn’t. During recording I got into a fistfight with Pete because he knelt on three of my Subbuteo players on purpose! But Pete was adamant about getting Tom Allom, and to be honest Tom was a great guy. “Tom’s whole thing was to keep the gang spirit up. I’ve got some great photos of him with rosy cheeks popping another cork. But we worked fast. We did all the backing tracks in a day. Then we spent three weeks completely ruining that record with unnecessary overdubs. “In hindsight, it shouldn’t have been a boys’ own holiday where an album came out of it at the end (which is what happened) – it should have been like boot camp. But it’s a great record for what it was. Rock Brigade’s kinda cool, if a bit daft. Overture is very Rush but it has its moments. And we stole a lot from
UFO on When The Walls Come Tumbling Down. “Some of the songs were quite dark, like Answer To The Master, very Sabbath-like. But one song, It Don’t Matter, really shows where Leppard were going. That could have been on Pyromania. But when we recorded it, the cowbell didn’t sound like a cowbell, so we took the kettle out of the kitchen and used that. We put a big dent in it, and when Ruth, the cook, saw it the next morning she went ballistic. Oh well – needs must! “On Through The Night did pretty well for us. It gave us a tour where we sold out Sheffield City Hall. It went Top 20 in the UK. But it got okay reviews – and I agree with them. We were still a work in progress. Compared to the first Boston album, the first Zeppelin album, the first Van Halen album, it’s Wycombe Wanderers to their Chelsea. “Yes, we were too full of ourselves, but who wouldn’t be at that age? We were staying at John Lennon’s mansion, drinking too much and hanging out with Dr. Hook!” PE
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fronted by Phil Lewis, then squiring Bond girl Britt Ekland, and also featuring future Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen; Union Jacks by The Babys, the Anglo-American pop rock heroes led by singer John Waite and also starring keyboard player Jonathan Cain, later of Journey; and No Place To Run by UFO, who had lost guitarist Michael Schenker but gained a legendary producer, the ‘fifth Beatle’
George Martin. Martin wasn’t the only former Beatles producer who turned to rock music at this time. In FEBRUARY 1980 came the Ramones’ End Of The Century, helmed by Phil Spector and featuring a cover of one of the cranky producer’s signature 60s hits, Baby I Love You. British postpunk music was flourishing with the Psychedelic Furs’ eponymous first album and Elvis Costello & The
Attractions’ brilliant Get Happy!, while across the Atlantic, Heart’s Bebe Le Strange precipitated a mid-career slump and Bryan Adams’ self-titled debut showed promise. But February’s biggest story was the death of AC/DC singer Bon Scott from what a coroner later recorded as acute alcohol poisoning. Few believed that the band could carry on without him. Bon’s death was felt keenly by Def Leppard, who shared management with AC/DC and had befriended Bon when
the two bands toured together. Leppard’s debut album, On Through The Night, was released in MARCH and reached No.15 on the UK chart, while Saxon, another Yorkshire band that had also risen from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, hit No.5 with Wheels Of Steel. And prog-rock icons Genesis would do even better with Duke, their first No.1 album. In America, there was a changing of the
guard: the first album by the Joe Perry Project, Let The Music Do The Talking, coincided with a decline for Perry’s former band Aerosmith, just as Journey, with their sixth album Departure, were ascending to the status Aerosmith once enjoyed as America’s favourite rock band. In APRIL 1980, headbangers were in dreamland. Arriving in this one month were five CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 47
THE ASTONISHING 12 MONTHS OF
Is he evil? Dio on stage with Black Sabbath.
48 classicrockmagazine.com
How Black Sabbath lost Ozzy and recruited Dio to make one of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time. Words: Paul Elliott Pictures: Fin Costello/Redferns
n the summer of 1979, the unthinkable happened. Black Sabbath fired Ozzy Osbourne. Ozzy had been out of the band before, quitting in November 1977 before rejoining two months later. But this time there was no going back – not, at least, until the original Black Sabbath reunited in 1997. Ozzy reacted to the split in the only way he knew how, holing up in an LA hotel room, getting trashed, barely seeing daylight, before Sharon Arden became his new manager and rescued him from oblivion. Meanwhile, the three remaining members of Black Sabbath – guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward – acted swiftly to find a replacement for Ozzy. There was only one candidate: former Rainbow singer Ronnie James Dio. With Dio, Sabbath created one of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time. Heaven And Hell, released in April 1980 (five months before Ozzy’s solo comeback Blizzard Of Ozz), marked a spectacular return for a band that many considered finished. Here, in the band’s own words, is the story of how Black Sabbath were born again with Ronnie James Dio: how the band survived jail, sniper fire and the bizarre disappearance of their drummer to prove there was life after Ozzy. Geezer Butler: “It hadn’t been working with Ozzy for ages. Ozzy needed to go away and get himself together. He’d already left a couple of years before that anyway. It was a band just dying.” Tony Iommi: “We managed to scrape together the last album with Ozzy, Never Say Die. That was the end. It was desperate. The songs were all over the place.”
Geezer Butler: “Ozzy just wasn’t interested in doing anything. Tony and me and Bill were working on stuff. We had to. The record company was paying for everything, so we just carried on.” Tony Iommi: “All that time, it was me going to the record company – ’cause nobody else would go! – and they’d say, ‘How’s the album coming along?’ ‘Oh, all right…’ It was getting really desperate, but the record company didn’t understand why we would split with Ozzy. ‘Why break up? Why not just continue and make money?’ They didn’t see it from our side – the musical side of it.” Geezer Butler: “When we finally made the decision about Ozzy, Tony said he’d been talking to this great singer. Ronnie came over, we played Children Of The Sea, this blues song we were doing, and we thought, ‘Bloody hell!’ We’d been sitting there for six months with absolutely nothing, and Ronnie comes in and just nails it straight away.” Tony Iommi: “It was a new lease of life.” Ronnie James Dio: “Children Of The Sea was the first thing that I was presented with. I don’t audition – I’m confident enough in myself. But it was somewhat of an audition, for all of us – I auditioned them, they auditioned me. I knew we could be great together. But I’m a different animal to Ozzy, of course. I think in different musical terms, so it led us in a new direction. We were creating this album together, and it was important that it be that way. I didn’t want to be replacing something that Ozzy would do, but luckily, he hadn’t been doing anything, so it wasn’t a problem.” Tony Iommi: “I’d heard the Rainbow stuff, so I knew what Ronnie could do.” ➻ classicrockmagazine.com 49
THE ASTONISHING 12 MONTHS OF
Ronnie James Dio: “I don’t want to be negative about Ritchie [Blackmore], but in Rainbow it was sometimes very difficult. Ritchie and I wrote some great songs, some really wonderful things, but Ritchie is a genius and he has a very single-minded attitude. With Ritchie, you kind of have to sing over what he wanted to give you. I learned a very difficult process of singing over his riffs most of the time – he just kept on playing them! Tony is a genius in his own right, but he and Geezer gave me so much more latitude, so much more space for expression. It was just wonderful for me. That was really the big difference. Plus, personally, it was great. I might not be British, but it didn’t make any difference. I came from a working class family the same as they do. So we were able to relate on those terms – it was all about the music.” Tony Iommi: “During the recording we moved from the studio [Criteria in Miami] to a house in Bel Air. We converted the garage to a studio, but it was so bloody hot in there we had the gear set up in the house! And that’s where we wrote the song Heaven And Hell, sitting in the lounge, jamming. It was one of those songs that just Ronnie saved road.’ ‘But you can’t, Bill – we have a show to do tomorrow!’ But he built up as we went along. Sabbath from just said, ‘I’m going home, I’m on my way right now.’ And he left. “For me, it felt like there was more room to play on that album, oblivion after Ozzy So we had to sneak out of town and had to make up that show at and that song is a good example of that.” descended into another point. We went back to Los Angeles, and that’s when Tony Ronnie James Dio: “We had all of these great songs – Heaven…, a drug haze. called me and said he had this album by a band called Axis and the Children Of The Sea, Lonely Is The Word, Die Young – but we needed one drummer was Vinny Appice…” more to complete the album. Geezer and Tony and I went to Jersey Vinny Appice: “I met everybody and then we played and I tried but unfortunately Bill’s dad died at the time, so Bill stayed in to do my best. I guess it was good, because everybody else went to Britain. And it was in Jersey that we wrote Neon Knights. the bar!” “We knew what we wanted to do. It had to come up to the Tony Iommi: “And that’s while he was playing!” standard of those other great songs. We recorded it in Paris in a Vinny Appice: “I kept playing and two hours later they all studio [Studio Ferber] where nobody spoke English. Martin Birch, came back!” our producer, barely spoke English – and the rest of us weren’t very Ronnie James Dio: “We thought, ‘Great, this is our guy’. I was proficient at the time either! We went in and knocked it out and so happy and got so loaded that I got arrested that night. I drove there it was – Neon Knights! Our feeling was, ‘Phew, thank God it’s home and got arrested. Spent the night in jail in the San Fernando over!’ It took us a long time to make that album, and we met a lot Valley, California. I was in a cell and most of the people in there of resistance along the way from a record company that probably, were Mexican. They were all sitting on this at that point, didn’t believe in the band. Bill bench and this one giant Mexican guy got up was wonderful at that time. He would always and said to another guy, ‘Gimme a cigarette!’ go to the bank with his little briefcase and he The guy went, ‘I don’t smoke.’ And boom, the made friends with the woman who was big Mexican punched him out! Then he went trying to help us out.” to the next guy: ‘Gimme a cigarette!’ Same Tony Iommi: “Bill turned into a reply: ‘I don’t smoke.’ Boom! So it’s coming businessman. Well, he thought he did around to me, and I didn’t smoke either. But anyway! To be honest, at that time, all ties had when he got to me he said, ‘I know you.’ been severed with management. We were on – RONNIE JAMES DIO I thought, ‘Please let him know me!’ Luckily, our own.” we’d played at the Los Angeles Coliseum on Ronnie James Dio: “The album itself was that tour, 100,000 people, and this Mexican guy he was in the a success based upon what we did, and not so much with a record crowd. He said, ‘You’re in Black Sabbath!’ Then he turned to the company giving it its full shove behind it. It was a word of mouth guy next to me and said, ‘Give him a cigarette!’ The guy gave me a thing. And then, of course, after the album started selling, the cigarette – and I smoked it!” record company discovered us! The hard work was done by us. Tony Iommi: “We had three or four days to rehearse with But in the middle of the tour, Bill left the band. We were in Denver, Vinny before we went to Hawaii to another stadium.” having a meal. There was a show the next day at a stadium there Geezer Butler: “The crowd in Hawaii were mental. There was a – the tour was massive at that point. And we got a call, and I don’t Geezer Butler and big fire in the stands. Somebody set a mortar off that landed know why he asked for me, but it was Bill, and he said, ‘I’m leaving. Tony Iommi: backstage. And apparently there was a sniper outside the stadium, I’m going home. I can’t take it anymore. I don’t wanna be on the Sabbath stalwarts. shooting at people as they were leaving!” Geezer, Bill Vinny Appice: “To get me through that first show, I had a book and Ronnie: the with instructions – like, ‘verse two, speed up.’ And halfway rebirth of Sabbath. through the show it started raining, and it went on the book! I’m like, ‘Fuck!’ I had no clue how to get through the songs. The endings were a little long…” Tony Iommi: “That gig was nerve-wracking! But we got through the tour and the album did really well for us. I love Heaven And Hell. A lot of musicians out there got into Sabbath through that album.” Ronnie James Dio: “Dave Grohl is a great guy, so genuine, and he always says the same thing when we meet: ‘Oh, Heaven And Hell, it’s wonderful!’ “It’s an album that we’re all very proud of. We wrote great songs and we presented them very well. It was not Black Sabbath with Ozzy – it was something new, and it just worked.”
“IT WAS NOT BLACK SABBATH WITH OZZY, IT WAS SOMETHING NEW AND IT JUST WORKED.”
Black Sabbath’s Heaven And Hell is reissued by Universal on March 29th. 50 classicrockmagazine.com
THE ASTONISHING 12 MONTHS OF
Permanent Waves RUSH
JANUARY
P
ermanent Waves, Rush’s seventh studio album and their first Top Five hit in the US, was an unexpected respite for the band, following the crushing Hemispheres sessions and years of touring with no elongated break. It gave them an international hit single in The Spirit Of Radio and even changed the way they wrote songs. “Permanent Waves was the step,” drummer Neil Peart recalls. “It changed how we made records; it taught us to breathe, with Spirit… and Freewill. We were learning to be more concise too. A lot of lessons were learnt. Not least to step back from it all.”
“…Waves changed how we made records. We were learning to be more concise.”
For Rush fans, it was also an album shrouded in mystery, as the Manics’ Nicky Wire remembers: “The mythology that spread around our school about that cover, the blacked out headline, was that there was another version of that existed with the words on… every time you went in a record shop you always had to look for it, it was the Holy Grail.” For Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson it was one of the real surprises when they went back and studied their catalogue pre-tour. Geddy: “I was really surprised by Permanent Waves, songs like Jacob’s Ladder and Entre Nous sounded just great.” “It was great getting to do some of those songs again, to experiment with it,” agrees Lifeson. “I know Ged was knocked out when he went back to …Waves, we both were.” And for some people it’s still an album whose parts are almost impossible to play. Peart: “There was a British band Catherine Wheel who did did a really good version of Spirit…, mixed it up a bit. I heard an interview with the guy going: ‘The parts we left out were the ones we couldn’t play…’” PW
JUDAS PRIEST MAIN MAN ROB HALFORD ON BRITISH STEEL APRIL
Rush: getting the hang of short (ish) songs.
“T
he title of the album was a statement in itself. Sheffield steel was the inspiration for British Steel. And we should all be proud that British musicians are responsible for this force in music called heavy metal. Black Sabbath and Judas Priest invented heavy metal – true heavy metal music. British Steel is classic Priest metal: intense, angry and fierce. “With every Priest album you know you’re going to get intensity, but we always tried to do something new. And what I love about British Steel is that it’s so spontaneous, so fresh and so immediate. The sound is just remarkable, very pure and organic. “We put the album together in 14 weeks. We’d just got back from the US. In those days, it was album/tour/album, an endless cycle. We had to get in
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52 CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM
by ex-Lizzy guitarist Brian Robertson and ex-Rainbow bassist Jimmy Bain; Canadian trio Triumph’s Progressions Of Power; Brit pomp rockers Magnum’s Marauder; and one of the classic post-punk albums, The Cure’s Seventeen Seconds. MAY was another month marred by tragedy: the suicide of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis on May 18. The band’s second album and masterpiece, Closer, would serve as his epitaph two months later. May produced only two albums of
real merit. Whitesnake’s Ready An’ Willing was their first Top 10 entry, spurred by the classic single Fool For Your Loving. And Peter Gabriel’s third solo set, known to aficionados as ‘Melt’, was a brilliant, leftfield art-rock record, featuring Kate Bush on the hit single Games Without Frontiers and Gabriel’s old bandmate Phil Collins on drums but no cymbals – an idea of Gabriel’s that
‘April was headbanger dreamland – Heaven And Hell, British Steel, Iron Maiden, Animal Magnetism all arrived…’
gives the whole album an unconventional feel. Paul McCartney also released his third solo album, misleadingly titled McCartney II, but it was a lacklustre record that suggested Macca had disbanded Wings prematurely. In JUNE, two of American rock’s biggest personalities launched albums that promised much in their titles, but where Sammy Hagar failed to deliver with Danger Zone, Ted Nugent’s Scream Dream lived up to the Motor
RUSH/SCORPIONS: GETTY, PRIEST: RETNA
albums that would go on to become classics of hard rock and heavy metal: Black Sabbath’s Heaven And Hell, Scorpions’ Animal Magnetism, Van Halen’s Women And Children First, Judas Priest’s British Steel and Iron Maiden’s self-titled debut. The latter pair were even released on the same day, April 14! And as if all that wasn’t enough, that month also produced the first and best solo album by Thin Lizzy’s Phil Lynott, Solo In Soho; the eponymous debut by Wild Horses, led
THE 12 ASTONISHING MONTHS Judas Priest: “British Steel was definitely a highlight for us.”
Animal Magnetism THE SCORPIONS
I
APRIL
t now seems like a dream team. The Scorpions on tour in the UK, supported by Blackfoot. But that’s what happened in 1980, as the German heroes continued their commercial climb. “We’re a different band now to the one we were with Uli Roth on guitar,” vocalist Klaus Meine said GO TO CLASSICROCK after the band played the MAGAZINE.COM Newcastle City Hall on that tour. FOR MORE FROM 1980. “Matthias Jabs has come in, and we’re now ready for a new era.” Animal Magnetism was a stylish mix of pumping melodies, crashing riffs and priapic lyrics. “It’s what we are,” explained rhythm guitarist Rudolf Schenker. “We are a heavy metal band, and most of our audience is male, and they love thinking about girls!” There were two very different songs here, though. Lady Starlight followed on from Holiday on the previous record, while The Zoo was almost psychedelic. “We’re not all about having a party,” laughed Meine. “We love the big ballads like Lady Starlight.” “With The Zoo, we wanted to do something different,” added then drummer Herman Rarebell. “It’s got a voicebox, and we tried to make it
a little claustrophobic. When Klaus first heard the music, he just said it reminded him of New York – and it all went from there.” The album cover, though, caused major controversy. Design company Hipgnosis had come up with something overtly, and perversely, sexual. The band, though, didn’t see it that way. “I think it’s a great cover,” insisted Schenker. “This is art, not porn.” “Because it came between Lovedrive and Blackout, people overlook Animal Magnetism,” Klaus Meine says now. “But I think it’s one of our best.” MD
there and bang it out, ’cause of the pressure we were under. In all honesty, we had no time to think. It’s a very stripped-down sound, and [producer] Tom Allom was the catalyst for that. We just let the songs do their job. At the end of the day, it’s all about riffs. “There has always been a strong fantasy element to Priest songs, going back to Tyrant and Sinner. And Metal Gods was another fantasy song, about these metal robots taking over the world. I just wrote it on the fly. And it was the same thing with Rapid Fire, when I came up with a new word: ‘desolizating’. I’ve been making up new words for years. I was just trying to express the emotions I was feeling. “British Steel was definitely a highpoint for Priest. We had so much inside us that we wanted to get out. We were on fire!” PE
City Madman’s wild reputation. Like Hagar and the Nuge, two of America’s greatest bands also met with very different reactions to their new albums: Blue Öyster Cult’s Cultosaurus Eretcus was hailed as a return to form, while Kiss’ criminally underrated Unmasked bombed. It was business as usual for two of British rock’s legendary names, with Jeff Beck continuing his exploration into jazz-rock fusion on There And Back, and the Rolling Stones knocking out the laziest album of their
‘Five months after Bon Scott’s death, AC/DC released Back In Black – it would be the biggestselling rock album ever.’
“People tend to overlook Animal Magnetism, but I think it’s one of our best.”
Animal Magnetism’s success would see the Scorps play the first Monsters Of Rock.
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career with Emotional Rescue, although the title track was a classic. But there were younger British bands on the up. NWOBHM grafters Samson released Head On, with vocalist Bruce Dickinson’s performance impressing many, including his future employers Iron Maiden. And Girlschool, the all-female kindred spirits of Motörhead, debuted with Demolition. In Germany, Accept
emerged as potential heirs to Judas Priest with their gonzoid second album I’m A Rebel. In JULY came The Big One. Five months after the death of Bon Scott, AC/DC released their comeback album Back In Black, with new singer Brian Johnson. Against all the odds, Back In Black went on to become the biggest-selling rock album of all time. Two
weeks after its release, Back In Black topped the UK chart, just as Queen had done a fortnight earlier with The Game, their only transatlantic No.1. Rather less successful, but rightly revered by hard rock connoisseurs, were Tomcattin’ by Southern rock rebels Blackfoot, Metal Rendezvous by Swiss/Maltese riff merchants Krokus, and Wild Cat by North-East metalheads Tygers Of Pan Tang. And for those of a loftier disposition, there CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 53
THE ASTONISHING 12 MONTHS OF
Van Halen’s Diamond Dave. Who else?
Iron Maiden IRON MAIDEN
APRIL
A
pril, 1980. Iron Maiden release their self-titled debut album. It hits the UK charts at No.4. And, suddenly, NWOBHM is a serious commercial force. This is more than the band themselves had dared hope to achieve. “What we’re trying to do is capture our live energy in the studio,” bassist Steve Harris admitted just a couple of months earlier. “We know the songs are good enough. But being in the studio is a learning experience as much as anything else.” “We’re not even thinking about becoming rock stars,” added vocalist Paul Di’Anno. “Our dream was
“I don’t like the way our debut sounds. I wish I could go back and do it all over again.”
always to be able to make an album. Now that’s coming true!” Iron Maiden has become an iconic inspiration for succeedinggenerations, But in 1980, it was all about the young leaders of NWOBHM living up to the expectations of the fans and the media. “I still can’t believe it,” exclaimed guitarist Dennis Stratton, on the day the record entered the charts. “I can afford to buy a round of drinks!” While the success changed Maiden’s status from rising young hopefuls to big time contenders, Harris wasn’t happy with the production. “I don’t like the way our debut sounds,” he admits. “[Producer] Will Malone didn’t get what we were all about. I wish I could go back and do it all over again.” In many ways, that first Maiden album was the foundation for everything else that’s happened in metal over the succeeding three decades. It set the tone, the standard and threw down the gauntlet. “I’ve got a message for everyone else out there,” proclaimed Di’Anno in 1980. “Iron Maiden’s gonna get ya!” MD
VAN HALEN BASSIST MICHAEL ANTHONY ON WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST APRIL
“I
n the early years of Van Halen, pretty much everything happened quick. We’d always go into the studio as a band and record together, record live in the studio, and a lot of ideas would come out then. We never took a lot of time actually recording an album until the 1984 album. The record company always wanted us back out on the road, so we’d barely finish an album and we’d be back out on tour. “When we made Women And Children First, there was still some material we were using from our original demos. Take Your Whiskey Home, I always loved that song, and that was written even before I was in the band – that’s how far back that song goes. In A Simple Rhyme, Fools – those were songs from our demo sessions for the first record. We took little parts from old songs and expanded them. “Romeo Delight was like a steamroller coming right at you. When we toured
Iron Maiden: the Stratton/ Di’Anno line-up.
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54 CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM
a template for specialist rock festivals for generations to come. Monsters Of Rock was its name, Donington Park its home, and the first line-up assembled made it a dream ticket for metal fans, with Rainbow headlining over Judas Priest, Scorpions, Saxon, Canadian rockers April Wine, and two acts from New York, Riot and Touch. Famously, Touch bassist Dough Howard swallowed a bee at Donington when it landed in
his beer after his band’s set (not during it, as has often been stated). But he – and Monsters Of Rock – lived on, with Donington assuming mythic status as a holy ground for metal fans. Albums released in August 1980 included the Michael Schenker Group’s selftitled debut (on which the ex-UFO axeman comprehensively outgunned his former bandmates), Gillan’s Glory
‘In August, a new event was born. Monsters Of Rock was its name, Donington Park its home.’
Road (Ian Gillan’s finest hour outside of Deep Purple), Siouxsie & The Banshees’ third album Kaleidoscope (marking the debut of drummer Budgie and ex-Magazine guitarist John McGeoch) and Killing Joke’s hugely influential self-titled debut (featuring Requiem and The Wait, later covered by Foo Fighters and Metallica respectively). But fans of progressive rock had their loyalty tested by two controversial new albums. Jethro Tull’s A was dominated by modern synthesisers, while Yes
MAIDEN/LIZZY/VAN HALEN: GETTY
was Echo & The Bunnymen’s dark and edgy Crocodiles, and Ultravox’s electronic/rock crossover Vienna, on which debutant frontman Midge Ure created his magnum opus, the album’s hymnal title track, only to see it denied the No.1 spot by Joe Dolce’s pre-PC novelty hit Shaddap You Face. For British rock fans, AUGUST had long been the focal point of the festival season, with Reading Festival the climax. But on August 16, 1980, a new event was born, one that would set
THE 12 ASTONISHING MONTHS
Chinatown THIN LIZZY
T
OCTOBER
he turn of the 80s was a strange time for Thin Lizzy. Leader Phil Lynott got married, had a second child and recorded his first solo LP, Solo In Soho (albeit one that included bandmates Brian Downey and Scott Gorham). But the biggest change was the bedding-in of new guitarist Snowy White after the mighty GO TO CLASSICROCK Gary Moore suddenly quit MAGAZINE.COM during the Black Rose tour. FOR MORE ON 1980. “The band was a shambles and it got to the point where I couldn’t face even one more gig,” Moore recalls. “I left in the middle of a tour and stayed in LA for a year.” Moore had become exasperated by the increasing drug use of Lynott. Snowy, meanwhile, has “a lot of affection for the first six months or so, when we were working on the album. But even then there were glimmers of what was to come. So much studio time wasted…” Subsequently, too much of Chinatown, their tenth album, lacked real spark. Side One carried the best stuff, from the dynamic We Will Be Strong to cocaine anthem Sugar Blues and hit singles Chinatown and Killer On The Loose. The latter proved controversial, a pertinent commentary on the exploits of the
Yorkshire Ripper, then very much still at large. Interviewed on US TV by Robert Klein, who pointed out that the song “doesn’t glorify him, but it’s almost joyful”,Lynottcountered:“Chinatown is aseedypartof Londonlate at night. Iwas there recording, so Igotto meetmany characters. Alotof the hookers were veryparanoid aboutthe killerwho was on the loose. I wanted to write a warning song and the way I thought it could be most frightening was to become the part of the Ripper in the vocal… Obviously I don’t condone the rape of women.” RH
“I have a lot of affection for the time when we were working on the album.” Phil Lynott: both a Thin Lizzy and solo album in ’80.
we started the set with that – it was right in your face. But Eddie Van Halen was always experimenting with different stuff. When we did And The Cradle Will Rock… all of a sudden keyboards entered the mix, but it didn’t sound like a keyboard because Eddie played this cheap little Wurlitzer just blazing through Marshalls. It wasn’t like he was trying to make any kind of a keyboard sound, but growing up as a keyboard player he was always messing around with them. We heard it and said: ‘Wow, this was something different!’ But we never wrote with singles in mind. We considered ourselves an album band. It wasn’t until Jump that we had a gold single. “It was a party time in the studio. When we went in there, we tried to make the least amount of work of it as we could. Our producer Ted Templeman was dating a girl called Nicolette Larson, she was a back-up singer, and she was hanging out in the studio, so she sang on Could This Be Magic? We partied all the time in the studio – that was one thing there was no lack of!” PE
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unveiled a new line-up on Drama, with singer Jon Anderson and keyboard player Rick Wakeman replaced by Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes of new wave act the Buggles. In SEPTEMBER, Ozzy Osbourne proved he could live without Black Sabbath with the release of his solo debut Blizzard Of Ozz, on which Randy Rhoads emerged as rock’s new guitar hero. And Molly Hatchet’s Beatin’ The Odds proved that Southern rock could
live on without Lynyrd Skynyrd. The Dead Kennedys confirmed their reputation as the most subversive band in America with Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables, a landmark punk rock record featuring the incendiary Holiday In Cambodia and California Über Alles. The Skids galvanised the British postpunk movement with The Absolute Game. And three of rock’s pioneering figures released visionary albums: Tom Waits with Heartattack & Vine, Kate
Bush with her first No.1 Never For Ever, and David Bowie with his last classic album, Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps), featuring the brilliant No.1 single Ashes To Ashes. But the month ended in disaster. The death of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham on September 25 signalled the demise of the greatest rock band of them all. Aged 32, Bonham had succumbed to a pulmonary edema (waterlogging of the lungs) following the last of many heavy drinking sessions.
In OCTOBER, many rock fans were mourning over their Zeppelin albums. Nevertheless, there were some great new records released, including Bruce Springsteen’s mighty double set The River, Dire Straits’ Making Movies (featuring the classic Romeo And Juliet, and Springsteen sidekick Roy Bittan on keyboards), Cheap Trick’s All Shook Up (again produced by George Martin), Talking Heads’ Remain In Light (featuring their greatest hit
Once In A Lifetime), Welsh trio Budgie’s thunderous Power Supply, and Diamond Head’s debut The White Album (aka Lightning To The Nations), which had these NWOBHM heroes from Stourbridge acclaimed as the natural successors to Zeppelin. A couple of great bands were scraping by: Status Quo with the lightweight Just Supposin’, Thin Lizzy with the hot-and-cold Chinatown. But the re-formed Hawkwind sounded revitalised on CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 55
THE ASTONISHING 12 MONTHS OF
E-Zee Hire Rehersal Studios, April 1980.
“WHAT? DO I WANNA JOIN AC DC?” One minute, washed-up former rock star Brian Johnson was running his car-repair business on Tyneside, the next he was in the Bahamas with Angus and co. recording what would become the biggest-selling rock album ever: Back In Black. Words: Paul Elliott
II
t was in March 1980 that Brian Johnson got the phone call that would change his life. A new decade had just begun, but Johnson had little cause for optimism. At 32 he was feeling washed up. Recently separated from his wife, Johnson was living at his parents’ house in Gateshead, running a small car-repair enterprise and struggling to get by. His days as a rock’n’roll star had long-since passed.
n the early 70s Johnson had lived the dream. As the singer with glam-rock band Geordie he was Newcastle’s answer to Noddy Holder, a working-class hero with a Jack The Lad charm and a voice like the foghorn on the Tyne ferry. Geordie had enjoyed a decent run: they were signed
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to EMI and had a Top 10 UK hit in 1973 with the foot-stomping anthem All Because Of You. But, unlike Holder and Slade, Geordie were never really cut out for the big league. The hits dried up, the band lost their record deal and, after some lean years playing working men’s clubs in the North East, they split up.
“When I left Geordie,” Johnson recalls, “I was completely broke. I had nothing. And I had two kids and a mortgage to pay. I was driving a VW Beetle that was 14 years old. I was fuckin’ skint.” In the late 70s Johnson had scraped together just enough cash to start up his own business, fixing windshields and fitting vinyl roofs on fancy sports cars. It just about paid the bills, and was partly a labour of love: Johnson had been “nuts about cars” since he was a kid. He was also making a little money on the side – just beer money – with a new version of the old band, christened Geordie II. Only this time there were no delusions of grandeur. “It was a cracking little band,” Johnson says, “but we were never gonna make it as a recording act.” Brian Johnson was no fool. He knew there were few second chances in rock’n’roll, and so he treated Geordie II as merely “a bit of fun”. The band’s live show had a touch of cabaret about it – “We did a lot of comedy in there, cos the boys were very funny” – but they could rock too. And there was one song that was always guaranteed to get their audiences jumping – a song by an Australian rock band called AC/DC that was making a big noise in the late 70s. “I didn’t know too much about AC/DC,” Johnson admits. “They were this cult band. But everybody was talking about them – I mean everybody. We used to play Whole Lotta Rosie. And we’d always save it for last, cos the place would go crazy!” Brian loved singing that song. He still loved being up on a stage. But he wasn’t kidding himself. “I was old. Shit, I was 32; I’d passed my sell-by date.” Then came the phone call that would change everything. A woman with a German accent told Brian that a band was auditioning for a new singer, that he had been recommended, and that auditions were being held in London. Brian asked for the name of the band. He wasn’t going to travel all the way to London without knowing who he was auditioning for. When she said she wasn’t ➻
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Still scared shitless: Beano on stage in New York, October 1980.
“I didn’t know too much about AC/DC. They were this cult band.” – Brian Johnson
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permitted to tell him, he suggested she gave him the initials of the band’s name. There was a pause. “Okay… it’s A, C and D, C.”
U
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Jonno was gonna need a big drink after that first live show. And this was it.
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ntil the morning of February 20, 1980 AC/DC had seemed unstoppable. In the seven years since the band were formed in Melbourne, they had built a huge following throughout the world. Led by guitar-playing brothers Malcolm and Angus Young, and fronted by boozy, charismatic singer Bon Scott, they were widely acknowledged as the most electrifying rock’n’roll band on the planet. At the turn of the 80s, AC/DC were on a roll. Their album Highway To Hell was certified gold in the US with sales of half-a-million copies, and in the first week of February the single Touch Too Much became their first UK Top 30 hit. Then on February 20, after a night out with friends in Camden, north London, Bon Scott was found dead, later declared “death by misadventure” by coroners. He was just 33. Bon’s death devastated his bandmates. Angus reflected: “When you’re young you always feel immortal. But after Bon died I felt horribly grown up.” It was at Bon’s funeral (on February 29, in Fremantle, the suburb of Perth where he had grown up) that the surviving members of AC/DC decided their future. Bon’s father Chick took Malcolm Young to one side to offer some words of encouragement and to give his blessing for the band to carry on without his son. It gave them the lift they needed. “Bon would have done the same,” Angus said. “We felt we had his blessing too.” After the funeral, Angus, Malcolm, bassist Cliff Williams and drummer Phil Rudd flew back to London, where they lived apart in small rented flats. For a couple of weeks they remained in mourning. “We were still real low,” Malcolm said. “We weren’t snapping out of it.” Then, at Malcolm’s insistence, he and Angus began writing again. “It was the two of us,” Malcolm recalled. “Pick up the guitars, just for therapy. Maybe that’s the way to get through this.” At the very least, they wanted to finish what they had started with Bon. A couple of new songs had been written just before Bon’s death. One was based on a stop-start riff that Malcolm had written during a soundcheck on the last tour. The other was recorded as a rough take with Bon on drums; Bon hadn’t finished any lyrics. But as soon as the new songs started coming together, in mid-March, Malcolm and Angus felt it was time to find a new singer. It wasn’t going to be easy – for the band or for the singers who would be trying out. Bon was a one-off, a huge personality and the epitome of rock’n’roll cool. To Malcolm, Bon was a talismanic figure. “He pulled us all together. He had that real stick-it-to-’em attitude. Bon was the single biggest influence on the band.” How would AC/DC replace a man considered by many to be irreplaceable? To Angus, the answer was simple. “Bon was a unique character,” Angus told Sounds magazine in March 1980, as auditions for a new singer began, “and we wouldn’t like to have someone who was a Bon imitator. We’re looking for something that little bit different.” Angus also acknowledged the problems facing potential candidates: “It’s difficult for any guy to walk in knowing that Bon’s just died, and probably thinking that we’re all going to be a bit funny about a new guy singing his songs. That’s added pressure.”
But, as Angus indicated, there was a change of mood in the AC/DC camp. With strong new material written, and with auditions under way, AC/DC were looking forward, not back. “We’ll certainly do our best to put out a great album,” Angus said. “And if someone walked in tomorrow and clicked, we’d go straight in and record it, cos we’ve basically got all the ideas and songs. It just needs that one missing ingredient.” Brian Johnson didn’t know it at the time, but he was always the favourite for the job. “My name was on the list up front, but they just couldn’t find me,” he explains. “I’d fallen off the end of the world, nobody knew where I was.” It was Bon who first told the other guys in AC/DC about Brian, having seen a Geordie gig in the North East of England. He later told Angus that the singer in Geordie had done the best Little Richard impersonation he’d ever seen – he was rolling around on the stage, screaming his head off. “It was rare that Bon ever raved about anything,” Angus said. What Bon didn’t know was that after that show, Brian was rushed to hospital with appendicitis. He’d been screaming because he was in agony. Following Bon’s death, an AC/DC fan contacted the band’s management to recommend Brian. “It was a guy from Cleveland,” Brian recalls. “He sent a Geordie album to them with a letter saying: ‘You’ve gotta listen to this guy.’” And, as Brian later discovered, the producer of Highway To Hell, Robert John ‘Mutt’ Lange, was also aware of Brian. “Mutt had said to the guys: ‘Listen, there’s one guy you should really listen to.’ And I think it was Mal who said: ‘That’s twice his name’s come up.’” AC/DC’s management were instructed to trace Brian. But when they made the call, he remained hesitant. He admits: “I’d been bitten once by the music industry, and I didn’t want it to happen again.” In the end, he only agreed to audition for AC/DC when another job in London, for a jingle, fell into his lap. “I wasn’t gonna do it,” he shrugs, “but a friend of mine, Andre, phoned us and said: ‘Brian, I have an advert I think would suit you fine. It’s £350.’ That was a big lump of money. It was a proper job, for Hoover. And I thought, hang on, I could probably go down and do the AC/DC thing on the same day. I just thought, I hope I get this ad thing. Because Andre did tell us: ‘There’s this big, black soul woman, it’s going to be you or her that gets it.’ I went: ‘Oh Christ!’” The day Brian travelled to London, the omens were not good. Fearing that his clapped-out Beetle wouldn’t make the trip, he borrowed a friend’s car, a Toyota Crown. Just a few miles outside Newcastle he got a puncture. “I just went: ‘Oh, fuck!’ But the strength you had then…” He worked like a maniac to fix the flat tyre, then floored the Toyota down the M1, arriving just in time to meet Andre at the studio in North London. Brian sang the jingle – ‘The new high-powered mover from Hoover, it’s a little groover!’ – and the £350 was in the bag. But when he got back in the car and headed across London for his appointment with AC/DC at Vanilla Studios in Pimlico, his confidence evaporated. “I was sitting in this little café just across from the studios and, God, it was miserable. I wanted to go home. I was too nervous to go over there. I just thought I hadn’t got a chance of getting the gig, because they don’t know me, really. I thought, gosh, they’ll be looking for somebody with the long hair, it’s not gonna work. Plus they’re
Brian and Angus warm up for the greatest year of their lives.
a young band. I remember getting this pie and a cup of tea, and I couldn’t eat the pie cos the fuckin’ crust was too hard! I was starving. And I just went: ‘Oh, bollocks, better make a move.’ I got up and walked across the street. And that was it. That was me changed after that… “I just remember the lads had been waiting there for quite a while for us, they’d been in that studio a long time, auditioning singers. They were just great. I’d never met such a bunch of non-prats! They were just regular guys. As soon as I walked in I just felt comfortable. Malcolm came over and
AC DC
AC/DC’s Back In Black platinum party gig, New York. Other “nonprats” just out of shot.
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“When you’re young you always feel immortal. But after Bon died I felt horribly grown up.” – Angus Young said: ‘There you go, mate’ – and gave me a bottle of brown ale. He said: ‘You must be thirsty.’ I went: ‘You know what? I could just kill this right now!’ And I did – boy, did I!” Once the formalities were out of the way, the band asked Brian what song he’d like to sing first. Brian suggested Nutbush City Limits, the early-70s rock/soul classic by Ike And Tina Turner. “It was brilliant!” he says. “After we did it I was smiling, and they said: ‘That was a breath of fresh air, mate!’ Everybody that had come in before me had gone: ‘Smoke On The Water?’ And the boys were like: ‘No, not again!’” Then came the real test, the clincher. They tried Whole Lotta Rosie. “I got tingles singing …Rosie,” Brian says. “I had a lucky day, you know?” Phil Rudd would later state that after that first audition they were sure they’d got their man. But Brian returned to Newcastle none the wiser. Even when he was summoned back to London for a second time he was still uncertain. “They asked us down again and I said: ‘Guys, I cannae be doing this. I got a shop full of cars up here.’ And I did! But I went down in the end.” The second audition passed smoothly, but again the band remained tight-lipped. “I stayed at a hotel overnight with Keith Evans, one of their roadies,” Brian recalls. “Keith was going: ‘I think you’ve got it, mate.’ I said: ‘Nah, I think they’re just making their mind up.’” It was a few days later that Brian received a call from Malcolm Young. “I’ll never forget it,” Brian smiles. “It was my father’s birthday and I’d been playing pool at The Crown pub. I went back home but there was nobody in the house, mum and pop
had gone out somewhere. And the phone rang and it was Mal. He said: ‘We got an album to do, we gotta leave in a couple of weeks, so… if you’re set for it…’ I said: ‘Are you telling me I’ve got the job?’ And he went, ‘Oh yeah.’ I said: ‘I tell you what, mate, I’m gonna put the phone down. Could you ring again in 10 minutes just so I’m sure that it’s not somebody takin’ the piss?’ And he went: ‘Yeah, sure.’ And he phoned back, on the dot, and says: ‘So, are you comin’?’ He still wouldn’t say it! Mal’s not like that. ‘Well, are you comin’ or what?’ And I’m like: ‘Shit, yeah!’ I put the phone down – I didn’t want him to hear this – and I went: ‘Whoah! Fuck!’ I’d bought me pop a bottle of whisky for his birthday present and I just opened it up and took a big swig of it. I was so excited, but I didn’t know who to tell. There wasn’t anybody to tell!”
O
n April 1, 1980 – six weeks after Bon Scott’s death – AC/DC announced Brian Johnson as their new singer. Brian had been itching to tell his younger brother, but when he did his brother just laughed. He thought it was an April Fool’s joke. “The worst thing was to tell the band I was in,” Brian admits. “After I got back from the first audition, we were doing a show one night and I told them I went down to London and I had a sing – that’s what I called it, ‘a sing’ – with AC/DC. They went: ‘Did you?’ I said: ‘Aye, they were in the studio and they’re auditioning down there and I went and had a sing.’ And they went: ‘Oh, right. Anyway, what are we doing first tonight?’ They never
thought anything of it. So later, when I knew I’d got the job, we were playing just west of Newcastle in a working men’s club, and afterwards I said: ‘Guys, I’ve got some news. I hope you’re happy for us, but I’ve been offered this gig with AC/DC.’” Brian’s first press interview as AC/DC singer was with Sounds. He spoke candidly about his hopes and fears. “I still don’t know quite where I am,” he confessed. “All I know is there’s a stack of work to do and the rest of the band have still got to find out about me. I’m still scared shitless, really!” Brian wasn’t the only one feeling the pressure. As he explains: “The band weren’t in the best financial state at the time, cos the album before, Highway To Hell, had cost so much money.” In London, the new-look AC/DC worked quickly to finish writing the new album. “When I went in, the guys had some titles for songs but no lyrics,” Brian says. “A couple of titles came from the lyrics I wrote later on. But it’s hard to remember, because it was a blur. They didn’t even know what my lyrics were gonna be like. Literally, they said: ‘Can you write some lyrics for us?’ I said: ‘I’ll give it a shot!’” In late April, with nine tracks completed, the band and producer Mutt Lange flew to the island of Nassau in the Bahamas to record the new album at Compass Point studios. As engineer Tony Platt explained, living and working on a remote island helped to “bring everyone together”. The first song recorded set the tone for the album. The funky riff that Malcolm had been playing around with on the Highway To Hell tour had been fashioned into a crunching anthem ➻ classicRockmagazine.com 59
THE ASTONISHING 12 MONTHS OF
titled Back In Black. The lyrics were a statement of invincibility and a salute to Bon. Back In Black, said Malcolm, was AC/DC remembering “the good times” they’d had with Bon. It was a theme they picked up on again with Have A Drink On Me, the song they’d cut as a demo with Bon on drums. The lyrics (‘Whisky, gin and brandy/With a glass I’m pretty handy’) were a drunken toast from Brian to his predecessor. And Brian also proved that, like Bon, he had a way with a double-entendre: on You Shook Me All Night Long he joked: ‘She told me to come but I was already there.’ He says now: “I thought I’d gone too far with that, I must admit, but nobody seemed to mind. There’s a lot of lovely ways you can do things.” There were times, however, when Brian struggled with lyrics, notably on Hells Bells, the mighty epic that ended up as the first track on the album. The riff – dubbed “ominous” by Malcolm and “mystical” by Angus – called for a heavy opening statement, but Brian just couldn’t find the words until he experienced something akin to divine inspiration. “I was just sitting on my bed one night,” Brian recalls, “and these bedrooms were just breeze-block cells with a bed and a table with a light on it and a toilet. That was it. I was sitting there wondering how good it had been. Cos we were doing it so quick, Mutt would never let me listen to what I’d done because we had to get the guys in straight away. There was no luxury of sitting around thinking, nothing like that. Then Mutt came in and said: ‘Are you all right?’ He was a wonderful man; he knew the pressure I was feeling. I thought: ‘Phew!’ I’d already written three songs and it was day after day. I’m going: ‘I’m fucking running out of ideas here…’ “Mutt says: ‘Tonight we’re gonna do Hells Bells, Brian.’ I’m thinking: Hmm… Hells Bells, right. I’d just done Back In Black, so I thought: ‘Can it get any moodier?’ And then, right at that moment, there was a tropical thunderstorm the likes of which I’d never seen before. Mutt said: ‘Listen… thunder!’ And I said: ‘That’s rolling thunder, that’s what they call it in England.’ He says: ‘Rolling thunder – write that down.’ And this is true – it went ‘boom!’ The fucking rain came down in torrents, you couldn’t hear yourself. And I just went: ‘Pourin’ rain!’ And the wind whipped up – ‘I’m comin’ on like a hurricane!’ I was gone. The song was ready that night. I hadn’t even heard the track cos they were busy doing it. It was whacked down in the greatest haste.” At the end of their fifth week the band had nine tracks were in the can. They needed one more to finish the album. Malcolm and Angus wrote it in 15 minutes. “I thought it was just gonna be a boozy chuckaway,” Brian admits. “Mal came up with the title, saying: ‘’Ere, Jonno, we’ll call it Rock And Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution.’ I thought: ‘Eh?’ There’s a great one to fucking rhyme with! “I’ll never forget the start of it. I went into the recording booth, the intro starts and I hear: ‘Brian, it’s Mutt. Could you say something over that? Just talk.’ I was smoking a tab at the time and you can hear it. I was going: ‘Yeah, all you middle men.’ I just did this southern preacher thing. Honestly, it was one take. I never ever thought that it was gonna be on the record.” With recording completed, Malcolm Young travelled to New York with Mutt Lange and Tony
Platt to mix the album while the rest of the band headed back to London. “I never heard the finished album ’til two months later,” Brian says. “But when I did I was knocked out. I couldn’t believe it was that good… A wonderful album, full of surprises.” Most surprising of all was the first sound on the album, added at the eleventh hour: the portentous tolling bell for Hells Bells. The idea had come to Malcolm when he’d nipped out for a piss during mixing at New York’s Electric Lady studios. Tony Platt dashed across the Atlantic to record a bell at a church in Loughborough. But the bell tower was home to dozens of pigeons that flew noisily from their roost each time the bell was struck, thus ruining Platt’s recording. Thinking on his feet, Platt
months and one day after Bon Scott had died. Within two weeks it topped the UK chart. And in the US, after a slow start, the album was certified platinum in October, when it began an incredible 13-month residency in the Billboard Top 10. Back In Black not only resurrected AC/DC, it took them to a new level, elevating the band to superstar status and transforming Brian Johnson from hasbeen to hero. For Brian, the greatest tribute came when AC/DC returned to Australia at the end of the Back In Black tour in February 1981. After their gig in Sydney, Bon Scott’s mother, Isa, told him: “Our Bon would have been proud of you, son.” And when he got home to Newcastle there was another moment to savour. After years of driving old bangers, he finally got himself a flashy motor. “I treated myself to a Chevy Blazer,” he laughs. “It was an SUV – four-wheel drive. It was blackand-white – I was in Newcastle, after all. I’ll never forget, my next door neighbour, he always used to smirk at what I did; he got a new Cortina every four years. And my Chevy was gorgeous! I remember him going: ‘That’s a big, daft, stupid bloody thing, isn’t it?’ I went: ‘You jealous, mate?’ I was dead pleased. It was a big, daft, stupid thing, but I didn’t care. I knew I’d made it.” Thirty years on, Back In Black is the biggestselling rock album of all time, with worldwide sales now at a staggering 49 million. Its success is all the more amazing given the circumstances in which it was made. But as Malcolm Young said: “We meant it. It’s real. It’s coming from within and was made from what we’d all gone through. That emotion on that record… that will be around forever.” “It’s funny,” Brian says. “My daughter phoned me the other day and said: ‘Dad, I just wanted to say I’m so proud of you.’ I said: ‘What?’ She said: ‘All these years you’ve just been my dad’ – she’s never been an AC/DC fan, she’s just a regular good girl and all that. But she said: ‘I just didn’t realise how brilliant this album is!’ She said her new favourite songs are Shoot To Thrill and Let Me Put My Love Into You. I said: ‘I’m pleased you finally got it! How old are ya?’ She says: ‘I’m 36 now, dad!’ I said: ‘You’re older than I was when I did it!’” Back In Black was the album that saved AC/DC’s career. Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash even went so far as to say it “saved rock’n’roll”. Not only is it the greatest comeback album of all time, it’s also arguably the greatest rock album ever made. “The whole point of that album was to celebrate Bon’s life,” Brian says. “The boys had lost a great friend and a great singer – a pal. They’d gone through all their shit together. He wasn’t just a singer in the band, Bon, he was their best pal.” During the making of Back In Black there were times when Brian felt Bon’s spirit with him. “I feel soft saying it,” he admits, “but I was worried. Like, who am I to try to follow in the footsteps of this great poet? Cos Bon really was a kind of poet. And something happened to me – a good thing.” What Brian Johnson and AC/DC achieved with Back In Black was little short of miraculous. But as this most unassuming of rock stars concludes: “I don’t think I could have done it unless it was those particular four boys. If it had been four other gentlemen I don’t think it could’ve happened. This is a special band. They do something to you.”
“The whole point of that album was to celebrate Bon’s life. The boys had lost a great friend and a great singer – a pal.”
Shake a leg: on stage at Birmingham Odeon on the first BIB tour.
commissioned a custom-made bell from a specialist foundry in Leicestershire and recorded that. But the end result was worth the trouble. The slow tolling of the bell – spookily, it strikes 13 times – added to the dramatic effect. In addition, the album’s all-black cover design fitted the mood of a band that was emerging from the darkest times. In some quarters at AC/DC’s record label, Atlantic Records, there was resistance to the black cover, but the band wouldn’t yield. The cover was a memorial to Bon. And that was that. Back In Black was released on July 21, 1980, five
AC/DC Backtracks is on sale now via Columbia/Albert.
geoRge chin
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– Brian Johnson
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THE ASTONISHING 12 MONTHS OF
Saxon: “People underestimated us.”
Ace Of Spades MOTÖRHEAD
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t’s the iconic Motörhead album, the one that everyone knows. And the record that turned Lemmy and co from the band who’d kill off your lawn if they moved in next door (as they’d threatened in 1975) and into the one who were regulars on TV shows and in the national papers. “I suppose we became the one metal band that people could admit to liking,” laughs Lemmy. “Even through we weren’t a metal band.” Riding high on the back of the Overkill and Bomber albums in 1979, the crucial change for Lemmy, ‘Fast’ Eddie Clarke and ‘Philthy Animal’
“I’m proud of what we did. Was there a magic about 1980? Well, we were on a roll.”
Taylor was to bring in producer Vic Maile for the new album. He gave the trio a sharper, harder and more focused sound. “I believe what Vic did was get me singing rather just barking,” says Lemmy. “Our playing was a lot more solid as well, and this helped to bring out the strength of the songs.” The power and quality of the songs was, and is, the mainstay of the album. From the title song through Love Me Like A Reptile, on to The Chase Is Better Than The Catch and finally The Hammer, everything slotted into a thunderous flow. It was no surprise, therefore, that when the album was released on November 8, it stormed up to No.4 in the UK charts, which still remains the highest position the band have ever achieved with a studio record. The title track also made it to No.15 as a single. It was the perfect way to finish what had been one of the greatest years in rock and metal history. “Of course I’m proud of what we did on that album,” says Lemmy. “Was there a magic about that year for rock? Well, we were on a roll.” MD
Motörhead: “We weren’t really a metal band.”
SAXON’S BIFF BYFORD ON 1980
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robably more than any other band, 1980 was Saxon’s year. The Big Teasers From Barnsley wrote and released not one but two all-time classic albums – Wheels Of Steel and Strong Arm Of The Law. The former got to No.5 in the chart; the latter to No.11. They notched a Top 20 single with 747 (Strangers In The Night) and played the inaugural Monsters Of Rock festival. “It was definitely a big year for us and for the heavy metal genre in general,” singer Biff Byford affirms. “Everything was just right, do you know what I mean? There was a massive groundswell and a lot of young fans were getting into metal. We hit at the right time with some great tracks.” What set Saxon apart was the quality of their songs, propelled by Paul Quinn and Graham Oliver’s mighty riffs, Pete Gill’s then innovative double kick drum technique, and rounded off by Biff’s evocative lyrics. “I was writing about all sorts of things, really… particularly events that affected me as a lad. I think we were breaking new ground, writing about things like that. That was the domain of bands like Genesis, telling historical stories with quite poignant lyrics. “Machine Gun [from Wheels Of Steel] is about World War One; Sixth Form Girls [from Strong Arm…] is basically about me being in the factory and the girls in the public school up the road. A lot of people think it’s a bit of a childhood fantasy type of thing, but that song is really all about the workers of the north and the class divide.” Biff is quick to acknowledge punk rock’s influence on the 1980 metal explosion: “We were trying to write fast songs and there were definitely elements of punk in there – the fast and furious riffs were an essential part of it. Machine Gun had to be one of the fastest songs anyone had ever heard up to that point. I think we frightened a lot of people in 1980 with those two albums.” Naturally, Biff still harbours fond memories of the 1980 Monsters Of Rock. “It’s not difficult to step back and remember us going on stage at Donington. People underestimated us. We were coming on stage as the new British band of people’s choice. The crowd went fucking nuts. It was great.” GB
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great live recording came with Irish bluesman Rory Gallagher’s Stage Struck. And the new face of Irish rock arrived with U2’s brilliant debut Boy. But in a year overloaded with albums by many of rock’s biggest names – Bowie, McCartney, Queen, the Stones – there was also a comeback by one of the biggest names of all, McCartney’s old partner John Lennon. Double Fantasy, co-credited to Lennon and wife Yoko Ono, was the former Beatle’s first album in five years and seemed
destined to resurrect his career until, just three weeks after the album’s release, came the news that shook the world. The murder of Lennon by deranged fan Mark Chapman in New York City on DECEMBER 8 was the most shocking event in the history of music, and the last and most seismic event of a year in which great music and great tragedy had come in equal measure.
‘The murder of John Lennon was the most shocking event in a year which had seen both triumph and tragedy.’
The final month of 1980 was the year in microcosm. The last big albums were by The Clash, whose sprawling triple-album Sandinista! divided fans and critics alike; Steve Winwood, whose second solo album Arc Of A Diver was a smooth adult-rock masterpiece; and Queen, with the soundtrack to the movie Flash Gordon. But the death of John Lennon brought a terrible end to a year in which so many great things had happened in music, but so much had been lost.
SAXON: REX FEATURES, MOTORHEAD: GETTY
Levitation. And ex-Hawks bassist Lemmy was now at the peak of his powers as leader of Motörhead, whose career-defining fourth album Ace Of Spades reached No.4 on the UK chart, its legendary title track one of the all-time great rock anthems. NOVEMBER saw two bands releasing their second great album of the year, Saxon with Strong Arm Of The Law and Whitesnake with Live… In The Heart Of The City (still the definitive ‘Snake album ahead of 1987 ). Another
bigelf black spiders brand new sin airbourne tiger please/w.e.t.
the virginmarys voodoo johnson
the union cauldron
beholder dark horse/ delain astra
the gaslight anthem electric eel shock plus many more!
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Extensive touring habits meant Bigelf’s idea of “having a whip-round” was a bit different to everyone else’s.
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With a successful UK tour supporting Monster Magnet completed at the end of last year, the future looks bright for Austin, Texas band Lions. Their latest EP, Let No One Fall, features half a dozen killer tracks – think Velvet Revolver with a bit more attitude. For more about Lions, check out our High Hopes feature on page 23. ON THE CD: Track 1 – Gimme Riot by Lions
uRBAN VOODOO MACHINE
This sharp-suited nontet took the CR office by storm in the latter part of ’09. And this year looks set to consolidate upon that, as the fellas are hard at work on their second album. “Everyone is on top form, playing and singing their guts out,” says band leader Paul-Ronney Angel.
ONES TO WATCH IN 2010
Bigelf
LA prog-rockers Bigelf are in rude health and getting bigger by the decade. Damon Fox is new to mobbings. “We felt like The Beatles in Poland,” the Bigelf frontman laughs of a recent meet-and-greet. “We were meant to be signing some posters, and we didn’t even get past the door before we got surrounded by 200 people. I’ve never experienced that many fans at once, all clamouring for the top hat. Very cool, but kinda scary…” He loves it really. The incident – a highlight of the 2009 Progressive Nation tour headlined by Dream Theater – is testament to a wider phenomenon: that prog has never been hipper, younger or sexier. It’s something of an image makeover for the genre formerly dismissed as brain music for anoraks, and while Fox isn’t convinced Bigelf are a perfect fit in the pigeonhole – “one of the big debates of the tour was whether or not we’re progressive…” – he isn’t about to jump off the bandwagon now. “I guess I’m the Robert Fripp,” he says of his status as sole survivor of Bigelf’s 1991 line-up. “This band was my embryo. What’s important fluctuates for other members, and they want to move on, not live the dream. But for me, it’s always been about rock’n’roll. I can’t give up, especially when we’re this close.” Certainly, there is something in the air. This year, the top-hatted Fox says, will be the one. “The early years were pretty tough, but you’re doing it for the sheer love. The last 10 have been pretty good. But I have high hopes for the next decade. Bigelf is finally connecting… there’s a pulse out there. The Dream Theater and Opeth fans were obviously the biggest make-up of the crowd on the Progressive Nation tour, but just as a routine, I would ask every night, ‘does anybody know of Bigelf’? And there was a pretty good reaction. And then of course, I’d joke that they’d just looked on YouTube 24 hours earlier.” With last year’s Cheat The Gallows still slow-burning, there will be no new Bigelf record released on the Powerage label in 2010 (“but I’ve got all the seeds ready to go”). Instead, Fox hopes to build momentum with a masochistic tour schedule. At his age, he says, this will be hard work. For us, it is very good news indeed. At a time when most bands slope on, play, slope off, Bigelf shows are manic affairs, with Fox playing ringmaster from his paddock of vintage synths. “And this is just the beginning,” he adds. “Just wait until we’re headlining big theatres. If people think we’re over-the-top now, that comes purely from the music and the band mentality, because there’s no smoke, no lights. We’re not even involving theatrics yet. In 2010, people can anticipate a more intimate experience, which is always optimum. Rock’n’roll is best in a club.” After two decades of slog, could Bigelf truly infiltrate the public consciousness? Fox doesn’t see it as such a flight of fancy. “I think Bigelf could be mainstream,” he insists. “In my mind, we’ve always been a mainstream concept. I don’t think I ever set out to make prog rock. I just set out to make good music. Of course, prog rock is real hip right now, and the concept of ‘being’ prog, and Mellotrons, and having 10-minute songs… but for me, it was just to be a good band. “The definition of ‘mainstream’ is the problem,” he adds. “Mainstream these days means Britney Spears, Nickelback, Miley Cyrus. Mainstream to me, in the older sense, would be Queen. It’s not bubblegum. I mean, if System Of A Down or Rage Against The Machine are mainstream, then yes – that’s what Bigelf could be. Or maybe we’re too bizarre. But I don’t have boundaries. Some bands are happy in their little sub-genre world – I don’t care for any of that.” We’ll see how it works out. What’s beyond doubt is that Fox and Bigelf are stealthily climbing another career ladder. “I’m working my way up the ranks in the top hat club,” he grins. “I guess the head of the club used to be Alice Cooper, or Marc Bolan, but I believe Slash is the chairman now. He’s the CEO of top hats!”
astra
Astra are spearheading the Second Wave Of Psychedelic Prog (SWOPP) and the San Diego band’s debut album The Weirding – out now on the estimable Rise Above label – is a full-on, far-out concept offering, packed with perplexing lyrics, narcotised noodling and bizarre song titles. Astra will make their UK live debut on April 14 at London’s King’s Cross Scala at a gig sponsored by Classic Rock Presents Prog.
airbourne
Airbourne, the hard-drinking, even harder-boogie-ing Australians will release their second album in 2010. Titled No Guts, No Glory it was written in their natural environment – the pub. “Where else but the Criterion Hotel, the very pub we played our first gigs in – we even worked there at one point,” cackles frontman Joel O’Keefe. Stylistically speaking, don’t go expecting any great departures. “The bands we all listen to – Motörhead, AC/DC and Rose Tattoo – have a core sound that doesn’t change, though each album has a different flavour,” theorises O’Keefe. “It’s the same with us. We’re a bunch of plumbers, mate. We’re not going to start building brick walls.”
eureka machines Eureka Machines are one of the most exciting power pop bands we’ve heard in long while. “We’re doing a bunch of headline dates in January,” says lead singer Chris Catalyst. “Then we are recording our second album of future pop classics which we are hoping to have out in May, in time for festival season. It’s tentatively called Champion The Underdog, and it follows similar lines to our debut album Do Or Die, but it’s more rock, more pop and more punk all at the same time. Basically, it’s 10 times what we were doing before.”
THE gaslight anthem
After an incredible 2009, New Jersey’s TGA record in NYC this month with Ted Hutt, The ’59 Sound producer. Frontman Brian Fallon recently tweeted “New songs = Tom Waits and early Clapton singing London Calling-era Clash with Social D as the band, with Diana Ross on back-up!” CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 67
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the syracuse trio go it alone for fourth album and uk/europe domination! It’s been a rough year for the Syracuse trio. Now with no label support, the trio of Kris Weichmann (guitar/vocals), Chuck Kahl (bass) and Kevin Dean (drums) self-released their fourth album Distilled several months ago. “When you don’t have a label, everything falls on your shoulders,” admits Wiechmann. “But the upside is that nobody tells us what to do!” Weichman believes that, right now, the band are
musically in the best place they’ve been during several years together. “We sound as I always felt we should be. It’s taken us a while, we got lost and torn apart, but maybe that was meant to happen.” The band intend to concentrate on playing the UK and Europe, where they feel at home.“The music scene suits us really well, we love to tour there.” • ON THE CD: Track 2 – The Death Of One Thing Or Another by Brand New Sin
If the idea of Queens Of The Stone Age nesting with Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith appeals, then meet Voodoo Johnson, a young Birmingham band who’ve the potential to be global gods. Together for just three years, the five-piece have already opened for Duff McKagan’s Loaded, Hawkwind and Valient Thorr. Their two EPs to date have also certainly underlined their talent. Now they’re ready to make 2010 an even bigger year. Their mix of classic sounds and 21st century attitude will ensure they’re a major noise in the months head. • ON THE CD: Track 3 – Bad Habit by Voodoo Johnson
the virginmarys toby jepson-endorsed futureproof metallic blues.
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beholder
One of the big surprises of the Bloodstock Open Air Festival in 2009, the British steel of Beholder is getting noticed everywhere. As they showed on debut album The Awakening, the quintet have an unleashed energy that turns into a controlled tirade. This is fresh, unfettered, untainted metal that comes straight from the soul. With a sound capable of appealing to both old school metalheads and young converts alike, in 2010 Beholder have the capabilities of becoming standard bearers for UK metal across the world. • ON THE CD: Track 7 – Snake Eyes by Beholder
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Taking blues rock into the second decade of the 21st century, this is a young British trio with a hint of darkness and a lot of raw talent. The three Mancunians – vocalist/guitarist Ally Dickaty, bassist Matthew Rose and drummer Danny Dolan – have already caught the attention of Gun frontman Toby Jepson, who was impressed enough to produce their upcoming debut album. “Toby’s manager saw us and told him about the band,” says
falling red
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We’re talking rawk’n’roll rather than rock’n’roll with this Cumbria-based four-piece, and they claim that there’s no one frontman in the band, rather they’re all frontmen. Taking their cues from vintage Guns N’ Roses with a dash of 70s punk spirit and 80s Sunset Strip rebellion, Falling Red’s debut album Shake The Faith is released on March 1. • ON THE CD: Track 9 – How Do You Feel (On Me) by Falling Red
Ally. “It’s been great having someone like him guiding us. And Mike Fraser, who’s worked with so many big names, has mixed the record. Their confidence in us three kids is encouraging.” The album, called Cast The First Stone, is due out on the band’s own label, and then they’ll hit the road. “We’re old school. We want people to come and see us, and then stick with the band.” • ON THE CD: Track 8 – Portrait Of Red by The Virginmarys
dommin
If you have a penchant for introspective goth-tinged rock – think Type O Negative in a collision with Depeche Mode – then this LA quartet could be the band for you. “Dommin is the sound of the brokenhearted,” says frontman Kristofer Dommin. “It’s about finding love, losing love, and personal reflection – all universal themes.” Their debut album Love Is Gone will be released on February 15.
ONES TO WATCH IN 2010 on the
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alberta cross
black spiders the sheffield stoner rock squad turned eight-legged touring machine. If 2009 was a good year for the Sheffield band, who claim to ‘eat thunder and shit lightning’, then the next 12 months could be even better. Guitarist/vocalist Pete ‘Spider’ Spiby elaborates: “We want to record our album right at the start of the year, and get it all sorted for release as soon as we can. It’s just a case of getting everything sorted.” Having started ’09 supporting Airbourne and ended it opening for The Answer, the band are definitely on a roll. Now, Spiby, guitarists Ozzy ‘Owl’ Lister and Mark
‘Dark Shark’ Thomas, bassist Adam ‘Fox’ Irwin and drummer ‘Tiger Si’ Atkinson are aiming to get the momentum into a higher gear. “We’ve been offered the chance to play at the South By South West Festival in Texas, which is very prestigious,” enthuses Spiby. “We’re also up to support bands on a couple of major British tours. So, already it looks like we’re gonna have another strong year.” • ON THE CD: Track 6 – Si, El Diablo (exclusive demo) by Black Spiders
This Anglo-Swedish band have caused quite a stir at CR HQ the last couple of months, and we’re predicting great things for them in 2010. Although based in NYC these days, frontman Petter Stakee met bassist Terry Wolfers in pub in East London. “The Strong Rooms in Old Street,” Stakee says. “It’s like a music studio-slashbar. Our friends ran the place so we went there every night and got free booze. We ended up talking about music. We fucking punch each other every second day, but I’m sure we’d take a bullet for each other.” Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that before they play some more UK dates in April. • ON THE CD: Track 4 – Leave Us And Forgive Us by Alberta Cross
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danny connors & the ladders If you caught any of Paul Weller’s stadium shows last year, and you rocked up before the main event, there’s every chance you will already be aware of the rock’n’soul charms of Danny Connors & The Ladders. With their Small Facesmeets-Sly-Stone style appeal, there’s little surprise that Connors cites Ronnie Laine as an influence. Having released their self-titled EP last September, Danny and co hit the road in the UK for a headline tour next month. • ON THE CD: Track 5 – Temperature by Danny Connors & The Ladders
electric eel shock
funded by the fans for the fans, now the j-punkers storm cyberspace!
The madcap Japanese trio have been steadily building up a following through an incessant touring schedule. And now, they’re ready to really to make a major move right through the ranks, into the big time spotlight. “The next year or so will be very exciting for us,” says guitarist/vocalist Akihito Morimono. For their last record, Transworld Ultra Rock, EES used an online facility called Sellaband. com to raise $50,000 from fans to pay for the
taking dawn
Taking Dawn are fans of 80s metal acts such as Skid Row, GN’R and Bon Jovi but they don’t let the fact rule their lives. Adorned with athletic guitar solos, the Las Vegas-based quartet’s songs fuse kick-ass attitude and weighty, melodic hooks. They see what they do as a modern take upon tried ‘n’ trusted themes, and they’re pretty darned good at it. Their debut album is due on Roadrunner early this year.
recording costs. It’s typical of the way in which the threesome work, always looking for fresh ways to raise their profile – and funds! “I’m not sure if we’ll do this again, but we do intend to use the internet a lot more in 2010. We’ve got lots of new songs and the plan is to record an EP and then to make it available for download only .” • ON THE CD: Track 10 – Goodbye Peach by Electric Eel Shock
cauldron
Cauldron were on issue 134’s free CD. The track was the delightfully titled Chained Up In Chains – and we’ll wager that the chorus-line –‘Chained up in chains under the moonlight’ – lodged in your brain after a single listen. As our Metal Hammer mates enthused about this Canadian trio: “They sound like the best NWOBHM band you can think of with added muscle.” Couldn’t have put it better ourselves.
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ONES TO WATCH IN 2010 on the
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dark horse
MARK JANSSEN
Dark Horse by name, Dark Horse by nature. This Bath-based band snuck up on the Classic Rock massive towards the tail end of 2009. They were put together by brothers Tim, Will and Ollie Walter with the addition of schoolfriend Tom Johnson in 2004 after witnessing a gig by The Darkness – and they’re still only about 12 years old. Okay, so we lied about that last bit, but their big riffs and raw sound belie their tender age. They closed last year with some support slots on The Answer’s headline tour, and their debut EP will be released through Sugar Shack on February 8. • ON THE CD: Track 14 – Into The Night by Dark Horse
w.e.t.
three is the magic number for this soto/scandi rock venture.
Jeff Scott Soto is astonished by the reaction to W.E.T., a Scandinavian-American alliance of musicians from the groups Work Of Art (hence the name’s ‘W’), Eclipse (its ‘E’) and the Soto-fronted Talisman, who broke up this summer when bassist Marcel Jacob committed suicide. “I’ve never had a bigger buzz than this in 10 years,” Soto enthuses. The singer spent a year fronting Journey before being controversially
ousted. “The response has been so incredible.” W.E.T. (also the album’s title) is such a bold, hook-laden slab of radio rock that reviewers have perceived it as a direct response to his dismissal from Journey. “It does have that Steve Perry-era Journey feel, but for the most part, it’s a lot heavier.” And the possibility of dates? “If the demand is there, we are ready to tour!” • ON THE CD: Track 12 – One Love by W.E.T.
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delain
While this was initially seen as a project showcasing former Within Temptation keyboard player Martijn Westerholt, Delain are now a fully formed band in their own right. Sure, there are bound to be comparisons with Westerholt’s former group, but led by the beguiling vocalist Charlotte Wessels, the Dutch five-piece are already carving out their own symphonic metal niche. Recently performing a well-received set at Hard Rock Hell festival, their second album April Rain is due out on in the UK on January 25 through Roadrunner. • ON THE CD: Track 15 – April Rain by Delain
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the union
all hail the mighty coalition of messrs morley and shoulder. Comprising former Thunder guitarist Luke Morley and ex-Winterville singer/guitarist Peter Shoulder, The Union are set to cause a stir this year. Morley and Shoulder moved quickly following Thunder’s dissolution, completing the line-up with ex-Thunder bassist Chris Childs and ex-Tokyo Dragons/current Quireboys drummer Phil Martini. Demand for their intimate live debut was so high that “the first show sold out in about 20 minutes
tiger please
While we might not be 100 per cent convinced by South Wales quintet Tiger Please’s name, we’re certainly convinced by their sound here at CR. It’s big, it’s anthemic, it’s melodic as all hell. It’s the sort of stuff that the Kings Of Leon and Snow Patrol have made a career (and a fortune) out of. Debut album They Don’t Change Without Moonlight is out now. • ON THE CD: Track 11 – Without Country by Tiger Please
flat, so there was no option but to find somewhere bigger,” explains Morley, who goes on to reveal that “a whole pile of material” has been written for an album which will be recorded in January, with a view to a release in March. But don’t expect Thunder Part Two. “It’s something completely new,” stresses Morley. “We’re keeping the songs as good as possible, with a few unexpected directions. So long as it feels right, we’ll go with it.”
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“In an ideal world, Kingskin would be teleported back to the 90s to open for the Chilis on their Blood Sugar Sex Magik tour. Also on the bill would be Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana!” says guitarist Jak Chantler. It’d be a good fit too, as Kingskin are a heady mix of early Alice In Chains and Primus. Catch ‘em on tour in the UK this year. • ON THE CD: Track 13 – Slug by Kingskin
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The Osbournes, The Dirt, YouTube, MySpace, iTunes and a whole load of reunions – how the noughties changed rock’n’roll, for good and for bad. Words: Scott Rowley
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t’s already become fashionable to look at the music of the noughties with despair, to bemoan the lack of truly classic albums, the lack of even one band with the stature of a Led Zeppelin, a Beatles, an AC/DC or Sex Pistols. But I’ll be honest with you – I loved the last decade. I know: there was terrorism and war and Katrina and the worst recession known to man… But you’ve gotta live. The last decade was a quarter of my life – I got married, had kids and came to work on Classic Rock – and the soundtrack was pretty good, if you ask me. Even if none of them made a classic album, an amazing A-Z of hot new rockers and returning heroes appeared month after month, year after year, with at least a handful of tracks to renew your faith in rock’n’roll… AC/DC, Aerosmith, Alabama 3, Alice Cooper, The Answer, Alice In Chains, Alter Bridge, American Dog, Andrew WK, Atomic Bitchwax, Audioslave, Audrey Horne, Backyard Babies, Bad Wizard, Band Of Skulls, Biffy Clyro, Big Elf, Big Linda, Black Crowes, Black Stone Cherry, Blackfield, Black Keys, Bob Dylan, Boston, Bruce Springsteen, Buckcherry, Bullet For My Valentine, Butch Walker, Cheap Trick, Chickenfoot, Clutch, Coheed & Cambria, Crippled Black Phoenix… Classic Rock magazine was born at the end of 1998, but it’d be a biiiiiig stretch to say that the last decade has been our decade. The movers and shakers of Classic Rock’s decade rarely troubled the gossip columnists or made the front pages. The heroes and villains of the Pop Culture Pantomime that was the 00s were Dame Doherty, ‘Widow Twanky’ Winehouse and (look behind you!) wicked old Abanazar himself, Simon Cowell –= with a
supporting cast that included (look at her behind!) Beyonce, Girls Aloud, Lily Allen, the Arctic Monkeys and Lady Gaga. No surprise there, or even anything to protest about. The greatest rock’n’roll has often been created outside the mainstream, after all. After being ignored for the 90s, it was as though rock, metal, prog and blues musicians steeled themselves, a new confidence appeared and – even if record companies weren’t signing them, radio wasn’t playing them and TV was just plain ignoring them – the internet meant that bands could distribute their own records, and showcase tunes via MySpace and YouTube. Suddenly if you looked hard enough – and here on Classic Rock we tried to look under every virtual rock – it seemed that there was an explosion of great new bands and reinvigorated new material from old heroes. …Damone, Deep Purple, Def Leppard, Derek Trucks, Detroit Cobras, Diagonal, Diamond Nights, Dinosaur Jr, the Donnas, Down, Dream Theater, Drive By Truckers, Dropkick Murphys, Drunk Horse, The Damned, The Darkness, The Datsuns, Eagles, Endeverafter, Europe, Everclear, Foo Fighters, Frankie Miller, the Gaslight Anthem, Glenn Hughes, Gomez, Gotthard, Graveyard, Guns N’ Roses… In the pages of Classic Rock, Eagles of Death Metal frontman Jesse Hughes claimed that his band were involved in ‘the Quentin Tarantino-izing of classic rock’ and just as Tarantino’s films saw old genres being given a thrilling new spin, so was rock reimagined, turbo-charged, souped-up and celebrated by bands old and new. Our writer Sleazegrinder called it ‘super-rock’ – an ➻
axl/Darkness/metallica: getty images, Vr: ross halfin, acDc:future network plc
There were no new musical movements, a dearth of all-time classic albums, not one new rock icon, and record sales went in to terminal decline… So just why was the noughties a great decade for rock music?
DECADE
ckwise from top left): noughtie by nature (clo unstoppable; School fly brie re we ess rkn The Da AC/DC's Black Ice rm; wa and ny fun s Of Rock wa um of 2008; Chris alb g llin tse bes was the 2nd made sense of the l Tai g Lon The Anderson's Metallica took on ; line dec ry's record indust t thing Mötley bes the e am napster; The Dirt bec was finally acy ocr Dem e Crüe produced; Chines went… and e cam er olv released; and Velvet Rev
'Humour sunk The Darkness, but ironically the 00s was the decade that rock got funny.' emboldened, unstoppable strain of rock that paraded riffs proudly, hollered vocals crudely, solo’d madly. It stood as the perfect antidote to the New Indie Consensus™ that saw what (Creation records boss) Alan McGee memorably described as “music for bedwetters” take over the mainstream: Coldplay, Keane, Snow Patrol, Travizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Let the mainstream have ’em. We had… …Heaven & Hell, Heaven’s Basement, the Hold Steady, Hot Leg, Ian Hunter, Iggy Pop, Iron Maiden, Jeff Beck, Jeff Lang, Jet, Jim Jones Revue, JJ Cale, Joe Bonamassa, Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros, Journey, Judas Priest, Kate Bush, Killing Joke, Kings Of Leon, Lacuna Coil, Louis XIV, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Lemonheads… When the 00s began I was working on the UK’s best-selling guitar magazine, Total Guitar. The magazine had built its success by riding on Britpop’s coat tails. By the time I joined their traditional cover artists – Oasis, Blur, The Verve etc – weren’t selling and neither were dependable veteran artists like The Beatles. It was time for something new and, taking Kerrang!’s lead (instead of the NME’s), we had a run of success covering nu metal (Linkin Park, Papa Roach, Slipknot, Marilyn 74 classicrockmagazine.com
Manson) alongside nu punk (Blink 182, The Offspring, Green Day, Sum 41), exciting ‘new’ guitar heroes (John 5, Zakk Wylde, Paul Gilbert), and a healthy dose of classic rock (Hendrix, the Stones, Clapton etc) and metal (Maiden, Metallica, Sabbath). By the mid 00s, though, the fizz had gone out of the punk revival, nu metal seemed ludicrous, and a whole generation of 90s rockers (Chili Peppers, Manics, Feeder, Stereophonics) had gone a bit, well, bland. We needed something new again. The NME discovered The Strokes around then, setting the ball rolling for years of kids in skinny-fit t-shirts and cords ripping off Television, the Velvets, Joy Division and Gang Of Four. (And an outrageous double standard: somehow it was alright to rip-off those ancient old bands, but radio playlisters would tell The Answer that their music didn’t fit because it was “retro”!) One night, driving somewhere or other, I punched on the radio and heard the music of my dreams: crunching riffs, wailing guitars, vocals beamed in from the 70s – a dirty, bluesy groove whipped into shape by lashes of wah-wah. It sounded like Hendrix if he’d never come to
London but had stayed locked in his basement in Seattle for 30 years, inviting members of Soundgarden and Alice In Chains round for endless jams. It was (what else?) the John Peel show and the band, that much-missed Scouse accent told me, was Nebula. Stoner Rock had arrived some years before and now it was, in the words of New Times’ Tom Bowker “slowly seeping into the consciousness of aging punk rockers and bored metalheads”. It was, you could say, the start of a new classicism: the period when all ‘that old rock shit’ from the 70s began to make sense to the generation that had missed it first time around. (I joined Classic Rock not long afterwards.) Rock’s time had come again, but the industry had changed. A&R men and radio playlist committee members were all in their 20s. They wanted a return to the music of their youth and that meant a Britpop revival. The bands they signed and promoted were such a collective bag of shit that even the NME began rolling its eyes at what became termed ‘landfill indie’: faceless, talentless and everywhere. So a new wave of hard rock bands did not storm the charts. Well, all except one. For a short while The Darkness were unstoppable. They had the sound and the songs and an old school charm that seduced even the tabloids. It didn’t last, of course. Justin Hawkin’s voice, flamboyance and his love affair with the ridiculous side of rock pushed the rock audience to its limits (just as relationships with his brother and,
leD zep: getty,
(clockwise from this Good times, bad times one of many highre we in pel pic): Led Zep ther – hair metal Pan el Ste ns; profile reunio xcupine Tree xxx x xxx xx xxx xx Por ; Xxx iours? killers or sav xx g movement; xxxxpro xxxxedxxx x ead xxx a new arh spe back into rock; Tenacious D put laughs the blues. ted ven rein s ipe Str ite Wh
10 ESSEnTiAL
00s
PROG ALBuMS
Kid A Radiohead, 2000
Deadwing Porcupine Tree, 2005
Ghost Reveries Opeth, 2005
FrancesTheMute The Mars Volta, 2005
Present Van der Graaf Generator, 2005
by all accounts, his septum – were also at breaking point). Humour sunk The Darkness but ironically the 00s was the decade that rock got funny – Tenacious D, Hayseed Dixie, Electric 6, Steel Panther, the movie School Of Rock – everywhere you turned someone was squeezing into spandex, throwing devil horns and mocking/celebrating rock clichés. Far from harming the genre, it reminded a lot of people why they liked rock in the first place – the theatricality, the comic book characters, the spectacle – and paved the way for the return of the likes of Kiss. The return of Mötley Crüe, meanwhile, was paved by a far more, um, literary device: the publication of joint autobiography The Dirt in 2001. Outrageous, hilarious, heart-breaking: the book was one of the few rock biogs to be read by people outside the fanbase. In the politically-correct 80s and 90s it would have been viewed with disgust – as an example of extreme rock piggery. In the 00s it was greeted with something approaching relief: relief that not all rock stars were as boring as Bono and Chris Martin. On MTV The Osbournes ran from March 2002 until March 2005. Some rock fans howled with despair at what they saw as a metal icon’s continued fall from grace. The rest of us chuckled into our post-pub pizza and warmed to a guy who had gone to the edge and come back a little bit frailer and a whole load
more scatty, but with his sense of humour and human decency intact. Whichever way you looked at it, Ozzy and his wife were now mainstream icons. On a business level, the decade started with Metallica’s challenge to file-sharing website Napster. They won the battle but the war was fought on too many fronts and the decade ends with record sales in terminal decline. One of the record companies’ few consolations? The rock buyer would still prefer to own a hard copy than have a download, as witnessed by the astonishing success of last year’s AC/DC album, Black Ice (the second best-selling album of 2008, with over seven million copies sold worldwide). Broadband changed everything. We were – and are now – in the age of 'The Long Tail'. A concept popularised by Wired magazine editor Chris Anderson, the Long Tail – the theory explaining why businesses could expect to sell a large number of different items but in relatively small quantities – perfectly described why we could expect to live in a world with fewer blockbusting bands. The theory runs a bit like this: your local record shop was constrained by its physical walls – it couldn’t stock everything, so it narrowed things down, stocking records by a few hundred key artists, promoting records by a few dozen hit artists. Web retailers like Amazon had no such physical restraint. So John Q Metalhead in Doncaster walks into HMV to be ➻
Black Holes And Revelations Muse, 2006
Snakes And Arrows Rush, 2007
Frames Oceansize, 2007
Rapid Eye Movement Riverside, 2007
Black Clouds And Silver Linings Dream Theater, 2009
THE 00s
Prog in the 00s By Geoff Barton
Prog used to be the dirtiest four-letter word since, well… dirt. But in the 00s the genre finally came of age. It entered the mainstream while also remaining determinedly left-field. It was the best of both worlds. (Those worlds being Earth, of course, and the planet Zixxon in the system of Nebulos.) The days of prog being the sole province of pretentious behemoths are long gone. For decades the ancient wizards of prog were the butt of critics’ jokes. But no longer. So, what happened? How did this most bloated and pompous of genres become almost… trendy? You can, perhaps, blame us rock journalists who are so eager to put
'For decades prog was the butt of jokes. not now.' bands into a convenient pigeonholes. But when Radiohead released their hyper-challenging album Kid A in October 2000, we got confused. And when Muse went nuclear five years later with Black Holes And Revelations we started scratching our heads like a monkey attacking its scrotum. Frankly, we were baffled. Because Coheed And Cambria, The Mars Volta, Mew, Oceansize, Porcupine Tree et al couldn’t be shoved into a box. Their music was expansive, epic and challenging, for sure. But that’s where the common ground ended. Because their approaches were similar but contradictory. Comparable but unrelated. Identical but different. The only option was to call them all prog and be done with it. It might’ve been a feeble cop-out, but it worked. Because it reminded us of the full meaning of the word: progressive. The rise of new prog – or prog moderne, as they say in Ipswich – has undoubtedly benefited the old stagers of the genre. Marillion became a rock cottage industry. Rush were lauded as prog legends. Peter Hammill had a heart attack in 2003 yet still managed to re-form Van der Graaf Generator. New bands got in on the act, too. Cosmic copycats Litmus aped Hawkwind. Crippled Black Phoenix took Pink Floyd as their inspiration. Diagonal noodled away for hours… and hours… and hours.The rise of prog metal can’t be ignored, either. Dream Theater, Ayreon and Opeth were all critically acclaimed – while Queensrÿche returned with concept album American Soldier. In the Noughties, prog became the most backwards-looking, forwardthinking music you could possibly imagine. Prog is truly the show that never ends… And just to prove it, next year sees the comeback of ELP at CR's very own High Voltage festival!
classicrockmagazine.com 75
By Henry Yates
Nobody saw the post-millennium blues boom coming. This was supposed to be another decade of water-treading and wagon-circling, peopled by the same old 60s warhorses and – at the other end of the food chain – the hack covers bands murdering Spoonful in provincial pubs. Musically, the blues had become Monty Python’s dead parrot sketch: a face-clawingly familiar routine whose 12-bar punchline could be spotted a mile off, and whose inherent fustiness seemed out of step amidst the blogs, downloads and clickwheels of Y2K. Strange to think of all that now, in the last days of a decade when the blues was edgy, inventive, modern and – get this – sexy. If you’re looking for the ‘storming of the Bastille’ moment, try July 3, 2001, when The White Stripes released third album White Blood Cells. Sure, Jack White was a guitarist capable of twisting his Delta influences into the zeitgeist. Just as important, he was chalk-faced, colourcoded and quotable – a rock star as imagined by Tim Burton – giving the nascent scene its figurehead and
'in the 00s the blues was edgy and – get this – sexy.' catalyst. It’s not too glib to say that White’s status as the only true guitar hero of the 00s kicked down the door for everyone else. Genius came from all angles. Stateside, we were thrilled by the sparse garage racket of The Black Keys, the blooming of Derek Trucks’ potential, the Albert Hall-humping explosion of Joe Bonamassa and the MTV sheen of John Mayer (a guitarist who inverted blues protocol by done leaving his baby, Jennifer Aniston). Keeping the British end up were Joanne Shaw Taylor, Davy Knowles, Jay Tamkin and Oli Brown, all messing with the set texts to great effect, and raising hopes for their respective second albums. Further afield, acts as disparate as Tinariwen (Mali), Derrin nauendorf (Australia) and Matt Andersen (Canada) tipped their hats to the past masters, while refusing to ape their tricks. Nor was the scene simply about cheekbones and bumfluff. The offkilter material of lifetime sloggers like Seasick Steve, T-Model Ford, Otis Taylor and Michael Powers was finally dragged into the daylight by the public appetite for innovative blues. Clapton might have spent the decade on autopilot, but behind him, old dogs like Taj Mahal learned new tricks. The old guard can't live forever, and doubtless the next decade will see a change in the world order. We needn’t worry. The blues is in safe hands.
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ESSEnTiAL
00s BLuES
Queens Of The Stone Age: took stoner rock into the mainstream.
ALBuMS
Bad Man T-Model Ford, 2002
Elephant White Stripes, 2003
Songlines Derek Trucks, 2006
Definition Of A Circle Otis Taylor, 2007
Attack & Release Black Keys, 2008
Open Road Oli Brown, 2008
Maestro Taj Mahal, 2008
i Started Out With nothing And i Still Got Most Of it Left Seasick Steve, 2008
The Ballad Of John Henry Joe Bonamassa, 2009
White Sugar Joanne Shaw Taylor, 2009
confronted by copies of Metallica’s St Anger covering the walls. In previous years John Q Metalhead would have taken a punt on St Anger but this year he’s heard all about it – via the web, magazines, digital radio – so he decides to give it a miss and looks for Dream Theater’s much raved-about Train Of Thought instead. He heard a track on this new website called MySpace and it ticks all his particular boxes. HMV – restrained by shelf space, by having to make room for albums by 50 Cent, Norah Jones and Dido – doesn’t have it. So wily old John Q Metalhead buys it online. Imagine that effect worldwide: millions of music fans sampling millions of different bands and then able to buy or download the stuff they like, not the stuff hyped to them by advertisers and the radio. …Man Raze, Manic Street Preachers, Marillion, Mars Volta, Mastodon, Megadeth, Metallica, Midlake, Monster Magnet, Mostly Autumn, Motorhead, Muse, New York Dolls, Nick Cave, Oceansize, Opeth, Orange Goblin, Otis Taylor, Paul Gilbert, Pearl Jam, Pig Iron, Porcupine Tree, Pride Tiger, Primal Scream, The Parlor Mob, the Pretenders… If the record industry didn’t have enough problems trying to work out which albums would be dependable hits, a whole new generation of music fans grew up in the 00s amassing huge music collections without ever having to buy a CD – a USB stick packed with music, or a DVD filled with dozens of albumsworth of MP3s, was their equivalent to a C90
mixtape. Nickelback and Buckcherry scored hits through viral videos, but mostly bands struggled to ‘crossover’. All the old crossover mechanisms had gone – radio wasn't playing that old rock, magazines sales (with the exception of Classic Rock and sister magazine Metal Hammer) were declining as newspapers covered music more than ever before and the internet broke news and tour dates, terrestrial TV cancelled all music programmes (with the exception of Jools Holland), and record companies could no longer afford to pay the bills for young bands to go on tour with established acts, building a fanbase the slow, traditional, well-earned way. Instead bands were talking directly to the converted – through their own websites, specialist radio stations like Planet Rock and Rock Radio, and magazines like ours – tapping into highly passionate fanbases willing to buy CDs, t-shirts, boxsets and pay increasingly steep ticket prices. Where a hit album used to be the gift that kept on giving – supplying a steady stream of royalty payments throughout an artist’s life – the decline in album sales (in 2008, Nielsen SoundScan revealed that album sales had dropped 45 per cent from the year 2000) meant that the money had stopped rolling in. How to make up the shortfall? A lucrative reunion tour, with tickets snapped up by hardcore fans desperate to see their favourite bands one more time, and a newer generation
the D/whitestripes/Qotsa/seasick steVe: getty
Blues in the 00s
10
10 ESSEnTiAL
00s MELODiC
THE 00s
melodic rock in the 00s
ALBuMS By Dave Ling
Radiohead: prog with ideas as impressive as the musicianship.
Seasick Steve: saving the blues with a broken guitar.
Signs Of Life The Sign, 2000
The Seventh Day Von Groove, 2001
Corporate America Boston, 2002
The Destiny Stone Pride Of Lions, 2004
Lipservice Gotthard, 2005
'if anything, rock music benefited from a world gone to shit. This was no time to listen to Coldplay.' eager to see The Real Deal, whether it be Led Zeppelin, Cream, Van Halen, Mott The Hoople or Kiss. With gigs becoming the focus of the artists and punters able to download individual tracks (if they paid for music at all), is it any wonder that The Album – that collection of tracks grouped together (however loosely) by a common theme and sound – suffered? There were some great albums made in the 00s, but the new way we consumed the music (building playlists, hitting shuffle, streaming tracks via MySpace, building collections in Spotify, emailing links to YouTube videos to our friends) meant that we probably didn’t appreciate them the same way. …Queen + Paul Rodgers, Queens Of The Stone Age, Queensryche, Quireboys, the Raconteurs, Radiohead, Rammstein, Richie Kotzen, Riverside, Robert Plant (with Alison Krauss but especially with the Strange Sensation), Rose Hill Drive, Rush, Ryan Adams, Satellite Party, Saxon, Seasick Steve, Shooter Jennings, Slayer, Slunt, Starcastle, Status Quo, Stone Gods, StoneRider, Stooges, Supergrass, System Of A Down, The Soundtrack Of Our Lives, The Storys…
Ironically The Decline Of The Album was probably one of the reasons for prog’s renaissance. Despised and ridiculed for decades, suddenly prog seemed admirable again. Here, after all, was a bunch of artists determined not to let their work be reduced to a three minute mp3 file. Concept albums thrived, songs extended way past iTunes’ 10 minute single download limit, difficult ideas and ambitious arrangements made prog the perfect antidote to X-Factor mania. Suddenly making prog music was the most punk thing an artist could do. (Ironically, punk now inhabits a similar hinterland to prog, with its credibility ruined by a decade's worth of pop-punk bands and emo acts. Where once punk articulated the rage of youth, now it provides the soundtrack to The O.C.. And it left a vacuum. Few rock acts railed against The Man in the noughties, or even attempted to comment on a world under threat from terrorism, war, climate change and recession. Bruce Springsteen admirably tackled September 11 on his The Rising album, Green Day railed against George W. Bush on American Idiot, Queensrÿche took us into Afghanistan ➻
Songs From The Sparkle Lounge Def Leppard, 2008
H.E.A.T. H.E.A.T., 2008
Revelation Journey, 2008
Secret Society Europe, 2009
Karma Winger, 2009
In early 2002, an eight-page Classic Rock investigation of the melodic hard rock scene profiled a once-proud genre in apparent mortal danger. Eight years on, there’s been a marginal improvement. On the downside, specialist independent labels such as Angelmilk and MTM Music have gone bust, all-day events tending to be cancelled more often than actually taking place (a notable exception being the Firefest, now into its sixth year) and the problem of declining attendances at shows, as highlighted by the recent UK dates from House Of Lords, remains critical as ever. In a development that nobody could possibly have foreseen during the genre’s major label heyday, one company – the Italian-based independent Frontiers Records – now holds the signatures of such previously huge-hitters as Journey, Toto, Survivor, Styx, Winger, nelson, Great White, Asia, Giant, Tesla, Mr Big, Extreme, Danger Danger and Stryper (and if rumours are correct, in 2010 Frontiers will issue the first studio album from Cinderella in 16 years). The continued existence of the above bands, considered embarrassing anachronisms by mainstream media and the record industry alike, confirms melodic rock’s stubborn streak. And sure enough, the likes of H.E.A.T., Gotthard, W.E.T., Eden’s Curse, Wig Wam, Pride Of Lions, Shadowman, Eclipse, Mastedon, Brother Firetribe, Radioactive and The Poodles are now flying the flag for a latest wave – each in various stages of youth and mostly though not exclusively aligned to what
'The appeal of a good song sung in tune seems unlikely to die…' is now beginning to feel like a Frontiers Records production line. And yet for all its perception issues, at the spectrum’s top end Def Leppard, Europe and especially Bon Jovi (the latter now obviously an advanced borderline case) have had no problems selling records and keeping afloat. American Idol protégéturned-modern rocker Chris Daughtry has even had a UK hit. The triumphant scenes of Def Leppard’s headline spot at Download ’09 – on a Sunday that also featured (ulp!) Journey – confirming that the time-honoured appeal of a good song sung in tune (Oi! No Joe Elliott gags please!) seems unlikely to die anytime soon.
classicrockmagazine.com 77
sleaze rock in the 00s
By Sleazegrinder
It could only have occurred in the 1980s, a wretched decade stuffed with designer drugs and excesses of everything, when louder and meaner was better, when dudes dressed like chicks and strip clubs were elevated to houses of worship. Bands like Mötley Crüe, Ratt, WASP, and many, many lesser lights rode the waves of debauchery to fame and fortune for nearly a decade, leaving behind a handful of gems: Too Fast For Love, Appetite for Destruction, Smack’s On You, Rock City Angels’ Young Man’s Blues, just about anything by Dogs D’Amour and Hanoi Rocks. All of these bands had the same basic idea: mash up Aerosmith and the Stones with the Sex Pistols, throw in an unhealthy obsession with drugs, booze, and loose women, and wrap it all in black leather and cowboy boots. And it worked, every time. By the end of the 1980s, the glammetal scene had degenerated into self-parody, from Kiss’s hot-pink spandex to Poison’s ruby red lipstick, so sleaze-rock broke ranks and burrowed itself underground. In the
'Half of 2009's porn films had sleaze rock soundtracks.' 90s, you had to be pretty sleazy yourself to have even heard of bands like The Hangmen, Gunfire Dance, Coma-Tones, Motorcycle Boy or Junior Manson Slags, and that suited the fans just fine. It wasn’t until Buckcherry’s cocaine-party rallying cry in 1999 that sleaze even popped its greasy head back into the mainstream. Cherry’s success clearly influenced dozens of bands to explore their inner dirtbag, and the 00s were littered with sleaze-rock almost-weres: Black Halos, Crystal Pistol, Endeverafter, Towers of London, Pure Rubbish, Hardcore Superstar. But none of them broke through the way Buckcherry did, and sleaze rock remained a slithery, dark presence just under the surface of hard rock. The only remotely sleazy band selling tickets to the big show as we enter the next decade is Steel Panther, and they’re just kidding. Sleaze still lives and seethes, however: half the porn films last year had soundtracks by bands like The Erotics, Sex Slaves and Stars from Mars, the last record by Chicago degenerates The Last Vegas was produced by Nikki Sixx, and glam-slamming pervs Semi-Precious Weapons are spending a good chunk of 2010 touring with Lady Gaga. Is this all leading up to an 80s-style sleaze-rock renaissance in the 10s? Hard to say, but I’d keep my snakeskin boots handy, just in case.
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10 ESSEnTiAL
00s SLEAZE
ALBuMS
Bad Sneakers And A Pina Colada Hardcore Superstar, 2000
a Them Crooked Vultures: p. new breed of supergrou Tender is The Savage Gluecifer, 2000
The Violent Years Black Halos, 2001
Making Enemies is Good Backyard Babies, 2001
All that Glitters is Dead The Erotics, 2002
Party Animals Turbonegro, 2005
Another Hostile Takeover Hanoi Rocks, 2005
15 Buckcherry, 2006
Self-titled Chinatown, 2006
Kiss or Kill Endeverafter, 2007
iron Maiden: took metal to all corners of the world.
and Iraq on American Soldier, and Radiohead kept sticking the knife into capitalism. But if anything rock benefited from a world-gone-toshit. Face it: this is no time for the self-pity of Coldplay, it's time for music that's as urgent, visceral and emotive as the times we're living in.) In the end The Decline Of The Album and the wealth of new talent was just a continuation of a fragmentation that’s been happening since the birth of rock’n’roll in the 50s. A proliferation of new acts, old acts, and new media has meant that we all agree on less music than ever before. As rock critic Simon Reynolds commented in The Guardian last month: “The fragmentation of rock/pop has been going on as long as I can remember, but it seemed to cross a threshold this decade. There was just so much music to be into and check out. No genres faded away, they all just carried on, pumping out product, proliferating offshoot sounds. Nor did musicians, seemingly, cease and desist as they grew older; those that didn't die kept churning stuff out, jostling alongside younger artists thrusting forward to the light. It's tempting to compare noughties music to a garden choked with weeds. Except it's more like a flower bed choked with too many flowers, because so much of the output was good.” …Taj Mahal, The Trews, Them Crooked Vultures, Thunder, Tool, Towers Of London, Turbonegro, T-Model Ford, UFO, Uriah Heep, Van der Graaf Generator, Velvet Revolver, Waysted, White Stripes, Whitesnake,
Wildhearts, Winger, Winterville, Wolfmother, Year Long Disaster, Young Heart Attack… We’re locked into our own iTunes playlists, headphones on, streaming digital radio, logging on to Spotify. Our own individual tastes are indulged to such an extent that it’s hard to imagine that, even in the more narrow and defined world of rock, we’ll agree on any one collection of tracks from one artist ever again. Writing about the death of Elvis Presley in 1977, rock critic Lester Bangs commented: “We will continue to fragment in this manner, because solipsism holds all the cards at present; it is a king whose domain engulfs even Elvis’s. But I can guarantee you one thing: we will never again agree on anything as we agreed on Elvis. So I won’t bother saying good-bye to his corpse. I will say good-bye to you.” Lester was ahead of his time, but it could be that finally, 33 years later, we're not just saying good-bye to the 00s, we're saying good-bye to the kind of consensus that brought us megabands like the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and AC/DC in the first place; saying good-bye to any kind of defined rock community, that – just as the internet has ironically given us easier access than ever before to all kinds of music – we're splintering into a million purist rock'n'roll tribes: metalheads, proggers, hair-metallers, punks, bluesers, mods and rockers. …Which is kinda where we all came in all those years ago. Vive le rock!
iron maiDen: john mcmurtrie
THE 00s
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White Wizzard
Will their new album put a spell on you?
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Ingredients:
82 Albums p88 Reissues p94 Buyer’s Guide p96 DVD
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Edited By Ian Fortnam
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S M u B l A
Steve Morse Band
White Wizzard: just like being in a cowshed in Wakefield.
White Wizzard Over The Top Earache
Their mission: to take the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal into the 21st century. Is this wise?
T
hirty years since its inception, there’s still an unholy obsession with the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal – and we don’t just mean among aging rockers and Lars Ulrich. Let’s face it, the NWOBHM has refreshed the parts other music genres have failed to reach. Who would’ve thought Lady Starlight, Lady Gaga’s DJ, would turn out to be a fan? How did Blitzkrieg and Bashful Alley bludgeon their way into the world of New York performance art? The mind boggles as much as Ms Germanotta’s stage outfits. Now, from Los Angeles, there’s White Wizzard. If someone told you Over The Top had been recorded in a cowshed in Wakefield on a Memorex C90, that its title was inspired by a track on Raven’s Rock Until You Drop – which it may well have been – and that original whitevinyl copies, catalogue number WIZ 001, were selling for £750, you’d have no hesitation in believing them. White Wizzard are clearly NWOBHM connoisseurs, but the great thing is that Over The Top doesn’t sound at all dated. Like all the best NWOBHM this crackles with livewire enthusiasm; it’s blissfully naïve, delightfully underproduced and impregnated with a deep-rooted affection for the music that’s provided the unlikely inspiration for these 82 classicrockmagazine.com
Californians. The main reference point is Iron Maiden – complex duelling guitars and all – but there are also portions of Praying Mantis, whiffs of Weapon, smidgeons of Saracen and hints of many other second-tier NWOBHM acts. White Wizzard come into their own on mission statement Out Of Control where they namecheck NWOBHM pioneer Neal Kay and declare they’re riding the ‘second wave of a new electric storm’. Strike Of The Viper (which surely should’ve been titled Stryke Of The Vyper; a glorious opportunity missed) is another madcap headbanger – you can’t help but leap from your Parker-Knoll Recliner when frontman Wyatt Anderson screams: ‘Stand up for metal!’ (When was the last time anyone, apart from Manowar, had the gall to say that?) There’s another genius touch on Death Race: dig those Space Invaders bleeps over the solo, very much ‘of the era’. Our only criticism is that some of the songs are overlong, concise songwriting being a key NWOBHM attribute. Plus we would’ve loved to have heard a reworking of White Wizzard’s best song, High Speed GTO, which was recorded with a different line-up. nnnnnnnnnn Geoff Barton
Out Standing In Their Field EAR MUSIC/EDEL Deep Purple guitarist ploughs in with solo album No.12. Unlike legions of other shredders, Steve Morse’s day job earns him the kind of mainstream attention that an instrumental album from anyone else could barely hope to command. As if in return for that privilege he has written 10 songs with melodies that can (mostly) be enjoyed even by those who wouldn’t know a humbucker from a hamburger. The Steve Morse Band is completed – as usual – by bassist Dave LaRue (whose fluent work is almost as prominent as Morse himself) and drummer Van Romaine. Despite Morse’s fusion background, this is a great mix of styles leaning mostly towards rock. It opens spectacularly with Name Dropping which grooves like a Deep Purple classic and ends nine songs later with the acoustic Baroqu’en Dreams. The heavyweight Relentless Encroachment wouldn’t have sounded out of place on Rush’s Snakes And Arrows, while the Celtic-flavoured Flight Of The Osprey could be Thin Lizzy without a lyric. But if it’s bluegrass/green tractor-based puns you’re looking for John Deere Letter stands out – fantastic country-style picking (by both Morse and LaRue) of which Albert Lee would be proud. nnnnnnnnnn Neil Jeffries
Mitch Ryder
Detroit Ain’t Dead Yet (The Promise) FREEwoRLD Seminal Detroit rocker’s triumphant return. Before Iggy or The MC5, before Nugent, Kid Rock or Jack White, the fearless heart of Mitch Ryder and The Wheels’ Motownpowered garage rock was the sound of Detroit. Battered and bruised in bad deals and cack-handed career direction, Ryder’s irregular output since then has nonetheless shown a vibrant and engaged spirit, fully deserving of the enhanced platform he gets to strut his stuff here. A crack band and producer Don Was frame a superbly gutsy, deeply impassioned
display of soul know-how and songs – from the sizzling funk groove of One Hair, to the lusty If My Baby Don’t Stop Crying – that show keen wit and the fruits of hard won experience. Rev it up and let the motor run one more time. nnnnnnnnnn Gavin Martin
Mudhoney
Live At El Sol MUNStER Live without a net – or overdubs. Who wants a Mudhoney live album that’s clean, sonically balanced and full of obvious studio trickery? Nobody. Which is why the fact that this has all the hallmarks of an official bootleg is its strength. Recorded two years ago in Madrid, the mistakes come riding through like badges of honour, the band’s discord is just glorious and the music’s rougher than chins at a stubble convention. In short, it’s what grunge was always supposed to be about – closer to punk than to the charts. Listen to the way the band shake up songs like Touch Me I’m Sick and Suck You Dry. Iconoclastic to the last, the band use the basic structures of these tracks as a starting point for some startling grooves. If you think every live album has to be pristine, reflecting the studio albums, you’re gonna hate this. Be warned, this is truly a live experience. nnnnnnnnnn Malcolm Dome
The Apples In Stereo
#1 Hits Explosion YEp RoC The Apples In Stereo best of goes pop! No one’s more aware of The Apples In Stereo’s inability to crash the singles chart than the band is; hence this collection’s rather arch title. Not so much a singles band anyway, more a live act and album proposition, singer Robert Schneider’s loosely banded crew have been making perfectly pitched, psychedelic pop for the better part of 15 years. They’ve managed a meagre six albums in that time and why they’ve finally decided to curate part of their past now is something of a mystery, but as a taster of the band’s output it’s as good a starting point as any.
Pleasingly dense to point of almost being cloying, post Beach Boys and Beatles influences are rife, vocal harmonies smother the sound and almost everything’s done in around three minutes. 2007’s New Magnetic Wonder saw them aspire briefly to be ELO, but overall their brilliant pop sheen is to the fore here. nnnnnnnnnn philip wilding
Tom Waits
Glitter And Doom Live ANtIMysteriously underwhelming gig recordings from US icon. Recorded in the USA and Europe during Waits’ sold-out 2008 tour, Glitter And Doom Live delivers the sepia-tinted clang, clank and boom that’s been his trademark for the last quarter of a century, topped off by that blistering bullfrog bellow of a voice. Yet for a sound so distinctive – think Captain Beefheart and Dr John grappling with a junkyard orchestra – it seems to congeal rapidly on this disc. The most memorable moments are those that step outside the archetype, such as the rusty balladry of Fannin Street, the heartfelt Falling Down and carney recitative Live Circus. Exacerbating the album’s dearth of variety, almost all the shaggy dog stories and elliptical
observations that are part of Waits’ live performances have been lumped together on a second disc as a single 36-minute track, Tom’s Tales: ideal for listeners with short attention spans who don’t want their music interrupted by all that tedious talking, less so for those hoping for an accurate replication of the flow of a typical concert. Entertaining as it often is, Glitter And Doom Live seems like a compromise, suggesting the definitive Tom Waits concert document has yet to be captured. nnnnnnnnnn Jonathan Lewis
to embellish an already complex musical palette. Very occasionally, magpie tendencies backfire – the dervish sitar on Crazy Rainbow evokes Austin Powers more than Arthur Lee, and the intro to I Don’t Mind has a more than platonic relationship with The Small Faces’ Tin Soldier. Quibbles aside though, this is superior stuff, more sunny rays than fiery brimstone, and infused with enough contemporary nous and infectious energy to prove the old adage: sometimes you’ve gotta look back to look forward. Happy days indeed. nnnnnnnnnn tim Batcup
Brimstone Solar Radiation Band
Out of Ashes wARNER BRoS Yet more brooding alt metal. When you’ve sold as many records as Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington you can do pretty much what you want – but it seems the angst-driven vocalist’s muse remains firmly in the shadows with this new project. Boasting the kind of lyrics that any troubled teen will identify with, this is all about emotional catharsis, not unlike Chester’s day job. However, one big difference is the complete lack of annoying hip-hop stylings. This is more about layered, soaring melodies and huge riffs embellished with
Smorgasbord KARISMA Smorgasbord by name… Accurately fusing those key 60s touchstones – the naïve and uplifting west coast psych scene with its more grounded and scuffed British pop counterpart – is no mean feat for a Norwegian five-piece whose career started within singeing distance of the 90s’ church-burning black metal mayhem. That they do so with considerable verve and aplomb, casually weaving in threads of pastoral prog and Zappa-like jazz meanderings, further serves
Dead By Sunrise
electronic noodling – the trouble is the band make it sound a bit too ponderous at times and things don’t really take off until the punky thrashing of My Suffering. A more pacey approach would have paid off big time. nnnnnnnnnn Essi Berelian
The Vibrators
Under The Radar CAptAIN oI! 1977 rang. It wants its second division punk bands back. Hot on the ‘exciting’ news of The Rich Kids reunion, The Vibrators are back with an album of 14 new tracks. Yep, languorous but still active with Knox on vocals, Eddie on drums and produced by original bassist Pat Collier, this does exactly what it says on the tin without any surprises – except possibly for the croonballad How Beautiful You Are. You get the impression that what held The Vibrators back in the early days is the same as what holds them back now. The production may be deliberately low-fi but it’s the lack of urgency or antagonism that’s most stultifying. ‘I wrote a million songs but I never got a hit,’ wails Knox on Don’t Need It. Too true, chum. On tour now with the UK Subs. nnnnnnnnnn Alex Burrows
ROUND-UP: blues
sYD Wall
Gunshot Lullaby E&E First off, yes, P-a-U-l is the worst band moniker since Biffy clyro, evoking an idiot child being taught to spell its name, and sufficiently awkward to pronounce that you won’t bother. Two
albums in, Paul andrew Ulysses lamb is stuck with it, but the Detroit man’s musical vision is expanding, and when gunshot lullaby gets it right, it’s fresh, streetwise and exciting. Blues is the backbone, but this record never sounds trad or autopiloted. on Behind The Brothel, a gospel choir melds with a twittering flute and a funk bassline. rockers like martyred eyes, i Will never
Wall To Wall BAD REpUtAtIoN No Rory, no glory. If you’re a Rory Gallagher fan, you’ll know that Taste was one the guitarist’s earliest bands, formed in Cork, Ireland in summer 1966. Rory sadly died in 1995, of course. Yet what we have here is a brand new Taste album… full of rarities’n’outtakes, right? Wrong. Taste 2009 features drummer John Wilson and, occasionally, bassist Richard ‘Charlie’ McCracken, both early but not original group members. McCracken is absent here, Wilson being joined by craggy Belfast bluesers Sam Davidson (guitar/ vocals) and Albert Mills (bass). That preamble is about as interesting as it gets, because Wall To Wall is a shockingly produced album full of the most miserable-sounding blues. In the seedy backroom of an Oirish drinking den Taste might just about be acceptable but whoever put them in the recording studio should be Tasered in the bollocks not once, not twice, but six billion times. A coupla songs (Devil’s Woman, Pretty Woman Of Mine) offer a vague approximation of Rory’s signature doodling but otherwise this has all the flavour of boiled bacon and cabbage. nnnnnnnnnn Geoff Barton
by Henry Yates That’s ‘Paul Andrew Ulysses Lamb’ in full.
P-A-u-l
Taste
Tell and i ain’t givin’ You Up bounce along on riffs that splice rage against The machine with Jimi Hendrix. and if lamb’s grittier vocal lines sometimes sound like he’s trying a little too hard to be the ‘voice of the street’, you can forgive him, because he kinda is. it won’t be number one with a bullet, but it’s worth a shot. nnnnnnnnnn
Pat McManus Band 2PM Bad Reputation
Delbert McClinton & Dick 50
mcmanus has history: that much is clear from his grizzled inlay shot and veiled sleevenote references to a metal past. as it turns out, he’s infinitely fresher than half the hack blues ‘prodigies’ out there, playing guitar like he knows the clock is ticking, and spicing his more straightforward cuts with forays into rockabilly shred and irish folk. it works. nnnnnnnnnn
Acquired Taste New-West acquired Taste is a misnomer: mcclinton’s writing is so benevolent and barb-free that you could pipe it into a retirement home. For a certain time and place, this is a comfortable jumper of an album, with mama’s little Baby and starting a rumor seemingly programmed to make you nod, tap and hum. nnnnnnnnnn
Jimmy McIntosh
Stevie Cochran
New Orleans To London Blues Boulevard nepotism makes the world go round, and perennial sideman Jimmy mcintosh isn’t too proud to call in the favours for his solo debut. ronnie Wood pitches in for five tracks, and Jeff Beck (calling himself ‘Hot rod’) on three, and while all this stardust doesn’t quite elevate the album to classic status, it’ll keep you listening long enough. nnnnnnnnnn
Live At Montreux Blues Boulevard a five-times montreux veteran, it’s obvious that cochran is a great night out. But at home, this set is a mixed bag. He’s a feisty vocalist, a fruity guitarist and – when he makes the effort – a strong writer, but the class of his John lennon tribute, Why Do They kill?, is offset by a few too many straightforward cuts in the 12-bar tradition. nnnnnnnnnn classicrockmagazine.com 83
Neil Young: don’t fear the reaper.
The De Rellas Hollywood Monsters CrushWorld
B-movie punk shenanigans. Just how many punk bands are there peddling this kind of thing: a drive-in movies aesthetic fused to trashy guitars and guttersnipe vocals? Yes, it’s kind of fun in a rocketfuelled New York Dolls sort of way at first, but it rapidly becomes clear that the De Rellas have only one song idea – and by the time you’re just three tracks in you know how the remaining nine tunes are going to pan out. In among the self-penned efforts, the band tackle Carly Simon’s You’re So Vain, which they make completely their own by ditching almost everything about it except some of the lyrics. To say it’s the highlight of this debut set says it all really. nnnnnnnnnn Essi Berelian
Neil Young
Dreamin’ Man Live ’92
The Saints
WarnEr Bros
Richly emotional, one-man-and-his-dog live rendition of a great Young album.
W
hen Neil Young released Harvest Moon in 1992, it was intended as a companion piece to Harvest, an international No.1 some 20 years earlier. Harvest Moon, featuring many of the same musicians, marked a sudden return to gentle, rural songwriting after the wild guitar riots of Ragged Glory and Weld. Although Harvest Moon, a sensitive and modest album, can sometimes be overlooked among so many of Young’s formidable accomplishments, it did result in a Top 10 UK chart placing, his highest since Harvest. Before its release, Young road-tested all of the songs live, singing alone with an acoustic guitar and a harmonica. Now various performances have been compiled to create Dreamin’ Man, a complete live version of Harvest Moon. Stripped of their familiar arrangements, there’s no hiding place for these compositions, which have become more intimate to be revealed as acoustic folk songs, pure and simple. This is generally not a bad thing, although some might well miss the lovely steel guitar and sweet, subdued backing vocals on Dreamin’ Man, the slipping, sliding, magical guitar notes and swoon-some voices on Harvest Moon and, certainly, the way in which the late 84 classicrockmagazine.com
Nicolette Larson duets so beautifully with Young on You And Me. However, most of the selection bears up exceptionally well in any comparison with the well-known studio recordings. From Hank To Hendrix ambles along sedately with its crucial flourishes of harmonica. Young’s banjo is present and correct for the hillbillyish ode to Old King, his dearly departed hound dog. And although the string section has disappeared from the slow, hymnal Such A Woman, Young performs it beautifully with a stately piano accompaniment that befits its devotional atmosphere. The one-man-and-his-dog format lays bare the soul of a remarkably emotional album that ranges from the richly romantic and melodic Harvest Moon to the nostalgic One Of These Days and a delicate You And Me, in which Young dreams of recapturing the headiness of young love, but will settle instead for contented partnership. He’s nothing if not realistic, casting a half-amused eye over the ageing process (Unknown Legend) and railing against environmental destruction in the moody, 11-minute Natural Beauty and the Gulf War via a stark War Of Man.
nnnnnnnnnn Carol Clerk
Live At Pig City Brisbane 2007 shoCk Queensland’s rock royalty’s rampaging reunion. For Brisbane fans and archivists it was the equivalent to The Sex Pistols or The Clash getting back together. Chris Bailey and Ed Kuepper spent much of the time since their classic punk era I’m Stranded single with daggers drawn. Together here with third Saint Ivor Hay, nearly 30 years since their split, for a brassbolstered comeback (organised by local author Andrew Stafford) they assuredly pack a punch but there’s a hard faced coldness to go with the ruthless attack and a worrying disconnection from their core material. The good tunes still stand but its hard to detect a genuine thrill or momentum to the comeback with Bailey’s cynical sneer often sounding forced and jaded. nnnnnnnnnn Gavin Martin
Creed
Full Circle VirGin Will the circle be unbroken? Derided by the critics as a lumpen Pearl Jam, Creed sold 50 million albums before singer Scott Stapp dislocated himself from the rest of the band – who went off to form Alter Bridge – after
2001’s Weathered. Seven years later they’ve kissed, made up, absorbed a few home truths and gone back to their roots, hence the title of the album. Cynics will sneer that they never got beyond first base anyway but they weren’t listening after the first album. Creed fans will find the prevailing nu-metal and Zeppelin riffage familiar, the main difference being that the band sounds better. They’ve opened themselves up with greater separation and you can even hear acoustic guitars on a couple of tracks. Much of that is down to Alter Bridge, which has boosted the confidence of the instrumental band members, particularly guitarist Mark Tremonti. And Stapp has responded by finding a broader vocal range. Unfortunately the songs, with the exception of the title track and the opening Overcome, are not as strong as the strident, single-minded belters of yore. Then there is the question of whether Creed still strike the same chord with their fans who are also seven years older. nnnnnnnnnn hugh Fielder
REM
Live At The Olympia In Dublin 39 Songs WarnEr Bros Double CD of best songs from 2007 ‘working rehearsals’. Back in July 2007, REM set up camp at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin and tested out new songs that would eventually make it on to 2008’s pleasing return to guitar rock Accelerate – and to keep everyone happy played a set of old tracks too. Supernatural Superserious appears in its original form as Disguised, as does the marvellous Houston. Testament to the band’s standards is that one of the better new tracks, On The Fly – a beautiful, distant cousin to Automatic For The People’s Nightswimming – didn’t even make it on to Accelerate. The real attraction of this album though is that it captures a band reassessing their back catalogue, riffling through old songs they haven’t played in decades (delving as far back as 1982’s Chronic Town EP and rediscovering lost live gems such as Monster’s Circus Envy), ignoring the hits and in the process recapturing that elusive ‘mojo’ that made them great in
Henrietta Butler/redferns
AlbuMS
the first place. There a few lyrical mis-steps – “Oh, whoops” stumbles Michael Stipe during Drive – apologies and selfmocking (“This will become known as an experiment in terror”) but REM hadn’t sounded this visceral or relaxed since Bill Berry’s departure. If you used to like REM here’s an album to make you believe again, if you’re a relative newcomer here’s a far better delve into their back catalogue than any best of. nnnnnnnnnn Johnny dee
Cinderella
Live At Mohegan Sun
additional songs are Fallin’ Apart At The Seams, Push Push and Still Climbing. Performed by the original lineup and augmented by keyboard player Gary Corbett, most of the group’s MTV favourites are here, but guitarist Tom Keifer’s gravelly voice, a cornerstone of the Cinderella sound, is starting to sound strained. Production is also slightly muddy. All things considered, with rumours of a new studio album in the pipeline, LAMS is some way off being essential. nnnnnnnnnn dave ling
Tyla & The Dogs
FrontiErs
Bloody Hell Fire
You shall not go to the ball… It’s been 15 years since Cinderella’s last studio album, the misleadingly titled Still Climbing, emerged and then quickly vanished again at the height of grunge. So, with the band intent on retreading its four-album catalogue, what does Live At Mohegan Sun offer us that, say, 1999’s Live At The Key Club or the far more recent Extended Versions, do not? If you bought the latter three years ago, you might want to give this one a miss as it’s simply a re-titled expansion of the same record (an extended version of Extended Versions, if you will). The three
Top dog’s all new double disc. As prolific a songwriter as Prince on his day – and with a similarly baffling large back catalogue to boot – Tyla’s outdone himself with his latest release, all 23 songs of it. Bloody Hell Fire collects together all of Tyla’s musical traits: the down-at-heel troubadour, the louche rock and roller and the lovelorn balladeer. Consistency might be Tyla’s problem though, since the heady days of the Dogs D’Amour it’s sometimes felt that there’s been a new Tyla record every few months or so, thus nullifying their impact. It’s a shame as most of his solo output has been of a consistently high standard and Bloody Hell Fire is more of
housE oF 111/CarGo
the same, perhaps even the best that Tyla the solo artist has to offer. Some self-editing wouldn’t hurt (two versions of the same song pushes things a bit), but with his lament for Paul Raven – The Rave – and in the punchier, horn-filled turn his tunes have taken, Tyla’s found a new voice, one that still sounds like it smokes twenty a day, but refreshed nevertheless. nnnnnnnnnn Philip Wilding
Gordon Gano & The Ryans
Under The Sun YEP roC Violent Femmes pioneer finally finds suitable bedfellows. The influence of Gano’s seminal work, The Violent Femmes’ selftitled 1983 debut, can be still be heard in everyone from Arcade Fire to Gnarls Barkley. Now seven years since his solo debut, an all-star affair that hid Gordon’s acid wit and individuality under an umbrella of admirers, he’s hooked up with brothers Billy and Brendan Ryan (aka The Bogmen). A well-made match it is, too – impishly arcane musical invention , superbly stewed invective, bizarrely inflamed and engaged scenarios providing a flinty feast of off kilter excellence. As a writer Gano’s potency holds strong, the
postures he strikes as narrator call to mind what could happen if Tom Waits and Verlaine presided at a church meet, on mountain moonshine. The Ryans’ knowledge of the off-road terrains ,where a host of joyously mongrelised genres thrive, is a great boon to GG’s rampant imagination. A slight warning, Gano’s Baptist beliefs occasionally rub up a little too strong (The Way We Were) but perhaps it’s no more than you might expect from such a singular force. nnnnnnnnnn Gavin Martin
Karen O & The Kids
Where The Wild Things Are Movie Soundtrack dGC Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman starts a rumpus. It’s so easy to get it wrong when making music for kids, adults often falling into a mawkish trap of cutesiness that’s unpleasant for little ’uns and big ’uns alike. It’s to Karen O’s credit that her soundtrack to Spike Jonze’s film encapsulates childlike abandon and adventure with a refreshingly unpatronising gusto, the frontwoman all but indistinguishable from the rag tag choir of ankle-biters during the gleeful hipster indie rock of All Is Love. Few are as skilled as Miss O when it comes to articulating emotion, sounding as lost and wounded from
ROUND-UP: prog
Native Window Star City Recording Company the eyepatch is an under-used fashion item in the rock world. Bowie is probably the most well-known supporter of this piratical accessory, closely followed by Pete Burns, of course. connoisseurs will
The Eden House
remember chainsaw caine of slave raider also making an impressive effort. in the world of prog, however, the only known ’patch wearer was, and is, richard Williams. guitarist Williams, a founder member of kansas, is joined here by drummer Phil ehart (another kansas original), singer/bassist Billy greer and violinist david ragsdale. interestingly, their record label, star city, is run by Jeff glixman,
Panzer Princesss
Oh No, It’s Panzer Princess WWW.PanzErPrinCEss.CoM
A right royal ruckus. There are so many fine things about Sweden’s Panzer Princess, it’s hard to know where to start. Therefore, we shall list their attributes in no particular order. The members are Tank Hooker, Simon LaRue, Kelly Morgue and Sir Alex (taking time out from his Man Utd duties no doubt). They are a pick’n’mix of Hanoi Rocks, New York Dolls and Heavy Metal Kids (fuck the E-chords, bring on the E-numbers). This racket-strewn album has track titles like Asshole, Bastard (Son Of A Bitch) and Gag Me, Cuff Me. The singer has a peroxide mohican. You might call them garage rockers… but bear in mind their garage used to be on a council estate at the wrong end of town, and it was torched last Tuesday by itinerant crackheads. PP are, frankly, stinkin’ brilliant. This album tanks in the best possible way. nnnnnnnnnn Geoff Barton
By geoff Barton
’Patchy performers: Native Window.
Native Window
a child’s eye view in Worried Shoes as she does as an adult in YYY’s Maps. Long may she stay untamed. nnnnnnnnnn Emma Johnston
who produced some of kansas’s bestselling releases. native Window sound like a class act, don’t they? and they don’t disappoint, concocting an array of glossy, emotioncharged anthems in the shapes of still (We go on), Blood in the Water and the soulwrenching an ocean away. it’s a bit mike & the mechanics in places, but so what? nnnnnnnnnn
IOEarth
The Looking Glass Jungle these are an odd bunch, their line-up including a couple of fields of the nephilim alumni plus guitarist andy Jackson (Pink floyd’s recording engineer). Here you get a cd of cover versions – including a fine reinterpretation of radiohead’s street spirit, with chilling vocals from tallulah rendall – plus a dVd of nine songs from first album smoke and mirrors. top stuff. nnnnnnnnnn
IOEarth www.ioearth.com ioearth is the brainchild of dave cureton and adam gough, former music students who have known each other since they were 12. this beautifully crafted twin cd is divided into three movements (Water, earth and air) and is dubbed ‘an eclectic blend of sound and emotion’. the ethereal vocals of louise graggins and claire malin are an added bonus. nnnnnnnnnn
Konchordat
Whisperwood
English Ghosts Konchordat Music When chas & dave extolled the virtues of margate, we bet they never thought they’d find proggers konchordat lurking in the seaside town. the band describe their sound as ‘majestic, bold and often epic in scale’ – and they’re not far wrong. the 20-minute title track is stately and masterful, while styx-like closer coda? showcases their heavier side. nnnnnnnnnn
Whisperwood www.whisperwood.com twenty years in the making, this tells the tale of elvin brothers elric and lokai who, when they aren’t working as travelling minstrels, dwell in (you guessed it) Whisperwood. Very Jethro tull and Bo Hansson-like, this tolkien-esque tale straddles two cds. With over two hours of music, it’s an fantasy narrative par excellence. nnnnnnnnnn classicrockmagazine.com 85
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S E U S S I E R
Montrose: essential listening for fans of gonzo metal.
★ Sammy Hagar on the politics behind leaving Montrose: “I got fired on the Warner Brothers Music tour right before we did our headline show in Paris. The night before in Brussels there was a picture of me in a paper and the caption said: ‘Montrose’, and I saw Ronnie looking at it and he was pissed off. That night he came up to me and said: ‘Don’t come on my side of the stage.’ Then the next night he said: ‘I’m going to quit the band after tonight. What are you going to do?’ I said: ‘I’ll start my own band,’ thinking, ‘Fuck the prick.’ I’m not mad at him any more. We made up… 15 years later. I didn’t really hold a grudge, I was hurt.”
88 claSSIcRockMagazIne.coM
RoBeRT ellIS/RePFoTo
Hard Facts
David Byron Band
Montrose Montrose
rock cAndy
The legendary powerhouse debut from the West Coast rockers, resurrected and remastered.
W
hen Montrose first appeared on the scene in Britain they were viewed with suspicion by the denim masses and the press alike. Suddenly out of nowhere this debut appeared; allegedly pressed on virgin vinyl with extra space in the grooves to make it the loudest rock album ever released. On the cover a bunch of half-naked dudes could be seen exuding an arrogance that was perceived as a threat to the average anaemic, spotty, girlfriend-less headbanger. We were used to a gestation period with our bands, hence Led Zeppelin 1,2 and 3 followed by the symbol, which was obviously 4. With Montrose we had a bunch of upstarts who acted and looked as if they had already struck gold before hitting their first chord. At the same time, one couldn’t deny the pure energy and enthusiasm that counteracted the more self-conscious, self-indulgent whims and fancies of Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Black Sabbath etc. It was difficult to resist the visceral, untamed feedback led assault of tracks like Montrose’s Bad Motor Scooter. Sure, Montrose sounded like a hybrid, paintby-numbers riposte to Brit metal and had a singer who looked like a beach bum version of Robert Plant, but they also had – to quote CR.com columnist Ginger – chutzpah and plenty of it. Montrose was formed in 1973 by eponymous lead guitarist Ronnie and featured Bill ‘The Electric’ Church (bass) and Denny Carmassi (drums). All three were already seasoned vets who had trodden the boards with Edgar Winter and a curmudgeonly Van Morrison (who fired Montrose with the immortal line: “Ronnie, it looks like rain.”). The only unknown quantity was Sammy Hagar, who Ronnie discovered singing soul standards in a low-dive bar in the North Beach area. Recorded in a matter of days and mostly live, with just over 33 minutes of music (with one cover version; jump blues standard Good Rockin’ Tonight) Montrose produced a mission statement that still resonates in the rock charts today with bands like Buckcherry. The band were also blessed with producer Ted Templeman (previously the Doobie Brothers’ producer) and uber engineer
Don Landee (also the Doobies, plus Captain Beefheart) who would use this album as a template for their future successes with Van Halen. The similarities are obvious: the dynamic, original lead guitarist (who Eddie admits inspired him), the rock-solid brothers in rhythm, and the larger-than-life lead vocalist who eventually went on to replace Dave Lee Roth in VH. This was formulaic heavy metal at its best. The songs are simple, raw, gutsy and sexy, and in different hands would sound like parody. Take f’rinstance Space Station #5 with its bizarre seagull squawks, Hawkwind riffing and inane lyrics. It’s purely a vehicle for Ronnie’s backward guitar histrionics, a Highway Star jnr, and it works. Album opener Rock The Nation is equally banal, brainless and brilliant. It’s Hagar’s spontaneity, naivety and enthusiasm that drives this beast into overdrive. Like all the best frontmen, you believe that he believes in what he’s singing about. The band never fully recovered from Hagar’s departure (see Hard Facts box on the left). He brought the best material to the table and after leaving the band gradually developed into one of those introspective noodlers Montrose were once an antidote to. I saw Montrose support Status Quo in Bristol in 1974 where they were allocated a small portion of the stage and failed to impress the audience (an experience Hagar is still recovering from). If I recall they gave away Montrose frisbees at the gig which were thrown in the direction of the band as a mark of the heads-down, no-nonsense crowd’s dissatisfaction. Although the band disappeared from my ever-expanding radar after this show, the album grew in stature and legend as the years passed. Now, surprisingly for the first time on CD, this historic debut has been released appropriately on a label which is named after track six. The package comes with informative notes, band interviews but unfortunately no extras (c’mon guys – a few live tracks would have been nice!). Essential listening for any selfrespecting lover of gonzo metal.
‘The album grew in stature and legend as the years passed.’
nnnnnnnnnn Peter Makowski
Lost And Found Angel Air Low-key comeback from the the original Uriah Heep singer. Lost And Found is a two-CD set of demos, plus rehearsals and a live set, from the years 1980-1982 in which Byron worked with the much younger guitarist-cum-producer Robin George. The second CD’s live work suggests that the alcoholism blighting Byron’s private life didn’t trouble him on stage. And while the demos on disc one are not the strongest material of his career, his unique voice still had the power to lift it. He veers easily between goodtime rock (Fool For A Pretty Face, Learn The Dance) through boogie (What’s Your Game) to peak on the unexpectedly soulful Still Wanna Hold You. With Heep, Byron was a star, and history ought to lend these recordings greater weight, but his death in obscurity in 1985 somehow only makes them sadder. nnnnnnnnnn neil Jeffries
The Gun Club
Miami/The Las Vegas Story cooking vinyl Two potent albums now expanded with live shows. The late, tormented Jeffrey Lee Pierce was on a twisted gothic revenge fantasy when he set out his Gun Club stall in early 80s LA. Following hot on the heels of the Fire Of Love debut Miami (1982) put his unforgiving Jim Morrison-esque visions in cleareyed perspective. Both there and on the extra disc included on the brilliant 1984 follow-up The Las Vegas Story concert recordings provide a salutory reminder of The Gun Club’s ferocious in-person power and Pierce’s dramatic and unhinged persona. A fascinating dose of noir desperation fuels the songs and the brain-busting assaults are aided by guest guitar from Blaster Dave Alvin. There’s also a wickedly diabolic reimagining of Pharoah Saunders’s The Creator Has A Master Plan. Quite – and Jeffrey Lee Pierce had his too. nnnnnnnnnn Miami nnnnnnnnnn Las Vegas gavin Martin
Grand Prix
Grand Prix rock cAndy Pomptastic melodic rock gem. Sadly underappreciated, this wonderful debut album from 1980 seriously makes you wonder what could have been for this super-talented and mostly British outfit. In the end it all came down to timing, or rather a lack of it. At odds with the more straightahead rock ethos of the rapidly burgeoning NWOBHM scene, Grand Prix were far more polished and sophisticated that many of their peers, their lush arrangements having more in common with US acts such as Journey. Add in poor promotion by their record label RCA and Grand Prix had their work cut out for them getting anywhere. This cracking first album, however, showcases a band not afraid to make their tunes extremely hooky and commercial. Canadian Bernie Shaw – who nipped across the Atlantic to take a shot at the big time in the UK – has a voice ideally matched to the writing nous of keyboardist Phil Lanzon and guitarist Mick O’Donoghue, and there’s really no let-up in the quality of the tunes. Stick it on the stereo and imagine what could have been… nnnnnnnnnn essi Berelian
The Saw Doctors To Win Just Once – The Best Of The Saw Doctors UniversAl
Winning streak. Although the Saw Doctors have been peddling their ballsy bluecollar Irish folk rock for a couple of decades, nearly three-quarters of this collection comes from the first half of the 90s including I Useta Lover, still Ireland’s biggest-selling single. In fact their 1991 debut If This Is Rock And Roll I Want My Old Job Back supplies eight of the 22 tracks. But if that suggests a compilation cash-in from a band past their prime, think again. Last year the band chalked up another big Irish hit with a punky cover of the Sugarbabes’ About You Now, and they’re about to have another with the syrupy She Loves Me… She Loves Me Not. The luck of the Irish? nnnnnnnnnn Hugh Fielder claSSIcRockMagazIne.coM 89
REISSUES
Gregg Allman
One More Silver Dollar The Solo Years 1973-1997 CapriCorn
Varied career highlights. The loss of his brother Duane, drug busts, drink problems and the wellpublicised divorces (from Cher, among others) have often overshadowed Gregg Allman’s musical career. This useful compilation is a sharp reminder that his 1973 solo debut Laid Back (represented here with four tracks) and the live album that followed are a potent distillation of southern blues and soul roots. A crack band, including stalwart Stones/ Allmans pianist Chuck Leavell, counterpoints Gregg’s smoky organ jabs and racked, impassioned vocals. By comparison, with Gregg relocated to LA and disowned by his southern compatriots, his late-70s and 80s work shows composing fatigue and what is now badly dated production. nnnnnnnnnn Gavin Martin
Mick Ronson: sorely missed.
Mick Ronson
Slaughter On 10th Avenue / Play Don’t Worry leMon
A brace of Ronnos with live and studio extras.
W
hen the kids had killed the man, Ziggy had to break up the band. And, much to the chagrin of the Spiders From Mars, the main man left them in 1973 after the contract-filling Pin Ups; the glamour days were done as Dave went to the Dogs. For guitarist Mick Ronson that meant the opportunity to follow his muse. With Spiders bassist Trevor Bolder in tow, and Bowie stalwarts Mike Garson and Aynsley Dunbar for company, Ronno maintained contact with his recent past on a debut solo that hit the Top 10 in March 1974. Slaughter… is a mixed blessing. The interpretation of Richard Rodgers’s instrumental ballet piece was an ambitious vehicle for Mick’s trademark thick-as-treacle Les Paul, but it sounds overblown now. On the plus side, Bowie gifted him Growing Up And I’m Fine, Music Is Lethal and half the portmanteau piece Pleasure Man/Hey Ma Get Papa, three slices of old-school camp given a no-nonsense twist. Ronson’s skills as an arranger, producer and sonic guitar technician are better appreciated on Play Don’t Worry, a less self-conscious affair boasting better songs and more context. Billy Porter finds Ronson stepping outside Bowie’s shadow with a
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cautionary tale influenced by Lou Reed’s narrative approach and Biff Rose’s comic delivery, while the Velvet Underground’s White Light/White Heat – an old Spiders live favourite – had been tossed around when Ronson was producing Reed’s Transformer album. An earlier acquaintance with the Ohio country band Pure Prairie League inspired the inclusion of Angel No.9 and the radio-friendly Woman – shards of pedal-steel litter the album and the nine out-takes. The real excitement lies in discovering This Is For You, written by Laurie Heath of the New Seekers (!) and Milkwood fame. Ronson’s sumptuous acoustic style, so vital to Bowie’s sound from The Man Who Sold The World on, is given full rein. Having just been part of Mott The Hoople, a new friendship with Ian Hunter lent Girl Can’t Help It a breezy rock’n’roll bounce, and there’s even a soupy ballad, Empty Bed, that has a whiff of Jacques Brel’s old Gauloise’n’garlic folderol. Best items among the bonus tracks are Ronno’s pleasantly sleazy Dogs (French Girl) and a version of Stone Love (Soul Love) for old time’s sake. Aye, the Spider Man is still sorely missed.
nnnnnnnnnn Play Don’t Worry nnnnnnnnnn Slaughter… Max Bell
13th Floor Elevators
Psychedelic Circus retroworld Still takin’ you higher. For those hardpushed to afford the Elevators’ recent 10-disc compilation Sign Of The Three Eyed Men, Psychedelic Circus is the one to fork out for instead. What you get here is a distillation of live tapes from 1966-’67, in which Texas’s ultimate exponents of trippy garage-rock yelp, wail and create merry havoc on an eye-bulging set of covers and originals. If their intention really was to create the aural equivalent of a full-on acid trip, they more or less got there; the effect is heightened by the bizarre electric jug of LSD fiend Tommy Hall. They attack Bo Diddley’s Before You Accuse Me with all the heft of a proto-Led Zeppelin, while Roky Erickson doing his best Buddy on Holly’s I’m Gonna Love You Too is Stars In Their Eyes through a Wonderland mirror. Best of all, though, is Fire Engine, with Stacy Sutherland’s helterskelter guitar and Roky growling like there’s no tomorrow. Which, sadly for the band, turned out to be the case. nnnnnnnnnn rob Hughes
Airrace
Shaft Of Light roCk Candy Melodic throwbacks. Rock Candy specialise in reissues that make you feel both old and good. Shaft Of Light came out in 1984, and those who can remember the moment can recall the momentum that Airrace had behind them. Signed to Atlantic and with Beau Hill producing, they were considered a real shot to follow melodic hard rock bands like Foreigner, Heart and Survivor onto the radio and into the charts (ah, how simple record marketing was back then). It’s one of those mysteries of synergy that it never happened. Shaft Of Light is a highly commercial record featuring a superlative, hairy-chested singer in Keith Murrell, and some thunderous AOR tunes, in particular Caught In The Game and Promise To Call. Hearing it again brings a rush of recognition and recollection. This is a slick, sharp record, glowing with craft and heart, and its major fault was one of timing. Airrace just missed out, but not because of the music. nnnnnnnnnn Jon Hotten
Cluster
Sowiesoso / Curiosum Sky Krautrockers’ mid-period synth experimentation. Thanks to a fine BBC documentary, a new guidebook and the complete reissue of the Kraftwerk back catalogue, we seem to be in the middle of another Krautrock mini-revival. And while it’s debatable whether we need any more albums by Eloi or Frumpy, these two midperiod Cluster reissues, Sowiesoso and Curiosum, are fine. The heavily experimental Cluster duo of Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius were exploring the, then, liberating potential of the synthesiser. But, unlike contemporaries Kraftwerk, they were not interested in making futuristic urban pop music, but bucolic, ambient soundtracks that had more in common with Tangerine Dream. The band were fresh from a couple of fruitful years spent with Neu! guitarist Michael Rother (with whom they recorded as Harmonia) in 1976
when they recorded the first, and best, of these albums, Sowiesoso. The melodies of Dem Wanderer and Zum Wohl are clearer and utilize gentle and chiming guitars as a result. By 1980 however, their efforts on Curiosum suffer in comparison to the more urgent sounds of Throbbing Gristle and Cabaret Voltaire that were coming out of the UK. nnnnnnnnnn Sowiesoso nnnnnnnnnn Curiosum John doran
Arthur Brown
Reissues leMon Still crazy after all these years. In the 80s, Arthur Brown relocated to Austin, Texas. While there he teamed up with former Mothers Of Invention drummer Jimmy Carl Black to record an album of R&B standards. Brown, Black & Blue is that collaboration. And you’d probably have to be a bit of an Arthur obsessive or a Mothers completist to need to have its bar-band versions of Smokestack Lightning, Got My Mojo Working, Stand By Me et al in your collection. Still, it sounds like Arthur and Jimmy had a laugh.
More seriously, in 2002 Arthur returned with the Crazy World for Tantric Lover, a collection of new songs. Some, like Gabriel, were brilliant; others, like the schmaltzy Heartaches, less so. But it’s proof that there is and always has been more to Arthur Brown than a flaming helmet and his ‘novelty’ hit Fire. nnnnnnnnnn Brown nnnnnnnnnn Tantric tommy Udo
Spirit
Fresh From The Time Coast – The Best of 1968-1977 raven Virtually definitive compilation of the LA psych-rockers. Spirit didn’t fit into the band cliques that formed around Los Angeles in the late 60s. With a line-up that spanned the ages from teenager Randy California to his stepfather drummer Ed Cassidy, they looked odd without trying to be. John Locke’s musical ear ensured their arrangements were tighter than the acid norm, while songwriter Jay Ferguson could switch from eccentric psychedelia to sweet pop at the drop of a tab, as in the stand-out
tracks Fresh Garbage, the exquisite Dream With A Dream and Animal Zoo. This two-CD set does Spirit justice, collecting all the best from their four albums as a disciplined five piece before meandering through the increasingly idiosyncratic world of guitar prodigy California (once a Hendrix accomplice) as he zapped across the time coast of cult album Spirit Of ’76, and the Farther Along reunion. An excellent primer for new listeners, it should also send fans back to their masterpiece, Twelve Dreams Of Dr. Sardonicus. nnnnnnnnnn Max Bell
SRC
Black Sheep rpM Cult Michigan rockers. Grill rock fans on late-60s Detroit and chances are they’ll come up with the MC5 and the Stooges. SRC were a bunch of Ann Arbor kids in thrall to the British R&B of the Pretty Things and The Move, preferring to tinker with the limits of song rather than merely crank it up to 11. This collection, drawn from the band’s three albums for Capitol and various 45s, proves that while singer Scott Richardson
Little Angels
was a capable frontman, the star attractions were brothers Gary and Glenn Quackenbush. Gary’s pummelling guitar leads are Sabbath-heavy; his sibling’s psychedelic Hammond riffs push the band into the proggy beyond Procol Harum. Their 1968 single Black Sheep is a blaze of fuzzy Anglophilia, while the guitars on Refugeve and Paragon Council astro-plane somewhere into the cosmos. Peter Gabriel once said he loved SRC’s first album so much he wore its grooves down. You can see the attraction. nnnnnnnnnn rob Hughes
Ray Davies
and the loss of the ‘green and pleasant’ isle he once knew. It seems incredible that his first solo album proper (Other People’s Lives) wasn’t released until 2006, but the songwriting is poignant and detailed, not least on the suburban Next Door Neighbour and, given his encounter with a New Orleans mugger a couple of years later, 2002’s oddly prophetic After The Fall. At times, as on the piquant London Song, he really could do without the studio sheen and the girl backing singers, but this is a collection you should stick at. nnnnnnnnnn rob Hughes Ray Davies: poignant and detailed songwriting.
Collected UniverSal Decent solo-years compilation. The glossy production might not do Davies much service on this assortment of tunes from his two recent solo albums and elsewhere, but beneath it there’s the barely veiled disquiet and sour social commentary that marks his best work. Yours Truly, Confused, N10 is a case in point, feel-good horns fanfaring over Davies’s feel-bad assessment of dotcom Britain
Little Angels: inexplicable underachievement.
Don’t Prey For Me / Young Guns LEMON/BAD REPUTATION
The Angelic upstarts at their best.
mick Hutson/redferns
F
or a while back in the late 1980s and early into the next decade, Scarborough’s Little Angels were the British band that looked the most likely to break into America. They had the image, the hooks and were cooking live. Unfortunately it never happened. Their 1989 debut Don’t Prey For Me has now been reissued by Lemon Recordings (a Cherry Red subsidiary who are also reissuing the Ronson album – on the page opposite). It has the energy, vitality and power of young kids rushing wide-eyed into the rock’n’roll dream. The songs all breeze along with the spontaneous enthusiasm of youth, but also sparkle with a somewhat surprising maturity. Two decades on, you can hear that they had something. It was almost like a very young Def Leppard – with a naivety that was endearing, but also with the vision to become something much bigger. The seven-track bonus CD, stuffed with material from EPs, just serves to make this a more than decent representation of an era.
By 1991’s Young Guns (now available on Bad Reputation) the band had become altogether sharper and more worldly wise. Producer James Barton brought a shine to the band’s sound that would have seemed out of place previously. This album bristles with hit songs. From the slow groove of Boneyard to the anthemic title track and the thrusting Juvenile Offender. The addition of a horn section, The Big Bad Horns, allows the Angels to try some almost funky moments. And it’s not hard to understand why this album really broke through commercially in the UK. The difference between these two records is almost the same as that between Def Leppard’s On Through The Night debut and follow-up High ’N’ Dry, although the Angels didn’t have the ‘Mutt’ Lange magic. But when you hear again
how good Little Angels at their best could be, it makes their ultimate global underachievement even more inexplicable. nnnnnnnnnn Don’t Prey For Me nnnnnnnnnn Young Guns Malcolm dome
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Geddy: “Stop us if you’ve heard this one before…”
Rush
Working Men
AtlAntIc
Canadian power trio cherry-pick their live catalogue and hope fans will bite again.
C
ollecting an hour’s worth of high spots from their recent (ish) live albums (Rush In Rio, R30 and Snakes & Arrows Live), Working Men bills itself as a Best Of… Live, with the inclusion of just one previously unreleased track, One Little Victory. Without the occasional excesses of a full set, what you get here is a compact, highly polished and adroit workout of 12 cherry-picked favourites taken largely from their heavyweight albums Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, Signals and A Farewell To Kings. As you’d expect, these performances are the veritable cream of the crop. Helped by an impressively punchy and massive sound, the world’s biggest cult band are in the form of their lives throughout, the set-list just about cohesive despite disparate sources and the mildly unsettling fade-outs after each number. Newer songs Far Cry and Dreamline – certainly strong on their own merits – inevitably suffer compared to superlative, universe-sized renditions of Tom Sawyer, Limelight and the polyrhythmic party piece that is YYZ. It’s about halfway through 2112 when it becomes obvious that the relationship between Rush and their fans is a little more intense than is usual. Indeed, such is the fan fervour, if Ayn Rand herself
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were transported back from the dead she could be forgiven for thinking her philosophies had spawned some rabid rock cult. As the intro gives way to the football-chant riff, the already vocal crowd move into top gear, launching into a demented and affectionate calland-response between band and audience, and in the process illustrating that Rush have possibly the only fans who can sing along in 7/8 and clap their hands in 5/4. All of which leads us to the obvious question: why release this live ‘best of’ at all? Releasing five live albums in almost as many years invites accusations of over-milking the fan base; those albums have sold a lot of copies. Only a curmudgeon would begrudge the band a spot of haymaking when the evening sun is out, but an unsavoury and unwelcome whiff of turkey and dollars lingers over the project, compounded further by some perfunctory packaging. Tucked into the Christmas stocking of a casual Rush fan (should such a creature exist), it more or less passes muster as an introduction to the band’s considerable catalogue. The already converted need only reach for the Rush live albums they already own.
nnnnnnnnnn tim batcup
Britny Fox
Britny Fox/Boys In Heat IronbIrd
Oops, the boys are backcombing again… If Britny Fox had split up after track one of their eponymous debut album, they would have left hair metal as legends. The song in question, Girlschool, contains prime requirements of the genre: risqué subject matter (the notion that Foxy frontman Dizzy Dean Davidson is dating a schoolgirl); the potential for single entendre (‘You’re stayin’ after school’); and, of course, an overheated, irresistible chorus, expertly screeched. The video was quite stupendous too. They couldn’t top it of course, and although Britny Fox has its moments – the hook-laden Long Way To Love, the gang-vocals of Kick And Fight – the record slips quietly away towards the end. Boys In Heat displays the perils of over-ambition. Trying for a bit of Poison-esque balladry or Cinderella-style rootsiness (something that didn’t actually work for Cinderella), Britny Fox came up short. Again the album started well enough, with In Motion and Standing In The Shadows, but again it fell away, leaving behind just an overdressed corpse. nnnnnnnnnn Jon Hotten
Tony Banks A Curious Feeling EsotErIc
Passably progressive. Peter Gabriel truly broke musical ground. Phil Collins did not, but went stellar. Mike Rutherford cracked the pop charts. Steve Hackett remained mostly true to his prog roots. Strangely, it was keyboard player Tony Banks, the driving force musically behind Genesis, whose solo career never quite got off the ground. A Curious Feeling was Banks’s first solo album, and probably his best. Recorded in 1979 (while Genesis were on hiatus as Collins dealt with his divorce), there are many Genesis motifs here, not least on opener From The Undertow, which borrows from Undertow from Genesis’s … And Then There Were Three…. Conceptual (based on Daniel Keyes’s Flower For Algernon) and mostly performed by Banks (with String Driven Thing
vocalist Kim Beacon and drummer Chester Thompson helping out), the music on this new, lavish reissue has stood the test of time well. This is lush pastoral English prog rock that deserved better at the time. nnnnnnnnnn Jerry Ewing
Europe
Out Of This World/ Prisoners In Paradise IronbIrd
A B.O.G.O.F. big-hair bonanza! After Swedish pretty boys Europe conquered the world with The Final Countdown in 1986, the pressure was on to deliver more radio-friendly, hair-metal hits. This 2-for-1 package is the band’s subsequent albums: both solid, but neither destined to repeat the huge success of that album and that song. Out Of This World, from 1988, is the stronger of the two. The highlight is Superstitious, arguably Europe’s greatest ever song, with a heavy, Purple-inspired riff, triumphant chorus and a real doozy of a solo from debutant guitarist Kee Marcello. And Open Your Heart is a song Whitesnake would have killed for. Out Of This World did good business, going Top 20 in the UK and US. By the time of ’91’s Prisoners Of Paradise, grunge had arrived. The album peaked at a lowly 61 in the UK, although it had some fine moments in the punchy single Halfway To Heaven and the heavyweight Seventh Sign. Chastened, Europe called it a day in ’92. But with a new album, Last Look At Eden, released to rave reviews last year, their rehabilitation is complete. nnnnnnnnnn Paul Elliott
Dangerous Toys
Dangerous Toys/ Hellacious Acres IronbIrd They sold a million records… then disappeared. Among aficionados of 80s cock rock, Dangerous Toys will always be remembered for one song: Sport’n A Woody. With its defiant refrain – ‘Sport’n a woody till the day I die!’ – it’s a priapic, gonzoid hair-metal cult classic that ranks alongside Spread Eagle’s Hot Sex and Danger Danger’s Slipped Her The Big One. It’s also the standout track on the Texan quintet’s eponymous first album, originally released in 1989 and
Andrew MAcnAughtAn
REISSUES
now reissued in a two-disc set with the follow-up, 1991’s Hellacious Acres. Arriving at the end of hair metal’s golden era, Dangerous Toys shifted more than a million copies in the US. Produced by Max Norman (Ozzy, Y&T), it has the raw edge of early L.A. Guns and the biker-rock sensibility of Junkyard, with singer Jason McMaster coming on like an overexcited Axl Rose. However, as The Darkness later discovered, having Queen producer Roy Thomas Baker helming your second album is no cast-iron guarantee of success. Hellacious Acres stiffed, and McMaster was left rueing his decision to turn down a job with another Texan band… by the name of Pantera. nnnnnnnnnn Paul Elliott
Gillan
Live: Triple Trouble EdsEl Two famous early 80s live shows, and more. Vying for supremacy in 1981 were three bands led by former members of Deep Purple. Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow celebrated their biggest ever hit single, I Surrender. David Coverdale’s Whitesnake had their highest charting album, Come An’ Get
It. And Gillan – fronted by Coverdale’s predecessor in Purple, and Blackmore’s nemesis, Ian Gillan – released their most successful album, Future Shock. Yet Gillan were unlike Rainbow or Whitesnake. For all their popularity, Gillan operated with the casual air of a drinking club, in keeping with their leader’s down-to-earth, laddish image. In contrast to their po-faced peers, Gillan were the ultimate people’s band. That essential quality is at the heart of this three-disc anthology, which features two landmark performances from 1981 – at London’s Rainbow theatre and the Reading Festival – plus a Radio 1 session from ’82 and highlights of another 1981 gig from Nottingham. And although there is one personnel change, with future Iron Maiden guitarist Janick Gers replacing Bernie Tormé, the songs mostly remain the same, as does the band’s off-the-cuff, tight-butloose vibe. Gillan were a rollicking live band – witness the hell-forleather fury of Unchain Your Brain – and Ian Gillan’s boozy bonhomie developed a rapport between band and audience that has rarely been equalled. These were good times. nnnnnnnnnn Paul Elliott
Riot
Thundersteel/The Privilege Of Power IronbIrd There’s (still) a Riot going on. New Yorkers Riot will always hold a special place in any discerning rock fan’s heart. They played the inaugural Monster Of Rock festival in 1980 (the events of that year being the theme of this particular issue) and early albums Rock City and Narita were a winning amalgam of slick US rock’n’roll and raw NWOBHM sensibilities. The departure of vocalist Guy Speranza was a bit of a blow, but they replaced him with the maniacal Rhett Forrester and carried on regardless. (Sadly both are dead now: Speranza succumbed to cancer; Forrester was shot during a carjacking incident.) Riot took a hiatus in ’83, re-emerging three years later with only one original member: be-syruped guitarist Mark Reale. Comeback album Thundersteel is regarded by some as one of the first speed metal albums but in reality it just sounds like a tinny, poor man’s Judas Priest. Some say Riot lost the plot with experimental follow-up Privilege Of Power but today it sounds like an undiscovered classic. It’s full of weird between-song patter
(branded ‘unintelligible nonsense’ in the sleeve notes) and includes cameos from The Brecker Brothers and the Tower Of Power horns. Even so, the Accept-like Metal Soldiers is totally triumphant, while Black Leather And Glittering Steel is rightly regarded as the 82nd greatest song title of all time. nnnnnnnnnn T'steel nnnnnnnnnn Privilege geoff barton
John Cougar
Reissues cHErry rEd Hello ’Campers. Few X-Factor-style saps have endured the slap in the face that awaited John Mellencamp when he released his debut album, Chestnut Street Incident. Picking up the record for the first time, he made the unpleasant surprise that his manager had billed him as ‘Johnny Cougar’. Oops. The record barely deserved the hype. It has the rootsy vibe that Mellencamp’s talent, when matured, would transmute into some genuine American classics, but the younger Johnny lacked the chops. Instead, his own songs wither beside his covers of Oh, Pretty Woman and Twentieth Century Fox. The Kid Inside was the intended follow-up but was pulled by the record company and wasn’t released until 1982, after Mellencamp had hit big with
American Fool. The Kid… is a stilted affair, at best a curio for his more devoted collectors. nnnnnnnnnn Chesnut nnnnnnnnnn The Kid Jon Hotten
Peter Hammill
Roaring Forties FIE! Hammill fortified. The reissuing of Peter Hammill’s seemingly endless back catalogue continues with this gem from 1994, one of the Van der Graaf Generator man’s most accessible offerings. The Gift Of Fire is weirdly reminiscent of Chris Rea’s Road To Hell, while You Can’t Want What You Always Get… rocks out to such an extent it could almost be dubbed ‘Hammill goes AC/DC’. The centrepiece is 20-minute epic A Headlong Stretch, a tortured trip that recalls VdGG’s A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers in the scale of its ambition. Why, it even contains the line: ‘We come to grief, we hit the reef.’ But the best lyric crops up in Sharply Unclear: ‘All the mirrors in your playroom/They twist your psycho-epidermis into shape.’ Crazy, nearincomprehensible poetry. We wouldn’t have it any other way. nnnnnnnnnn geoff barton
Keith Levene and John Lydon: Image is everything.
Public Image Limited Reissues
VIrgIn
Lydon’s post-Pistols band’s debut gets threevinyl-platter, sonically superior release.
F MichAel ochs Archives
or all that they were an amazing band, the Sex Pistols were a product of compromise; an accident caused by strong-willed characters pulling in different directions. From Glen Matlock’s classic-rock sensibilities, to Johnny Rotten’s desire for white noise, to Malcolm McLaren’s situationism and hucksterism. No wonder they exploded. PiL, Lydon’s post-Pistols group, were closer to the sound of people pulling together in unison. And in 1979 this resulted in Metal Box, their second album and grand artistic statement. Lydon’s faith in giving a mate a bass guitar and saying: “Join my band,” had finally paid off with Jah Wobble proving himself to be one of the best bassists of the post-punk era. His instinctive feel for rolling dub reggae rhythms helped him carve out great pockets of sound forming the cornerstone of this album.
And if the bass was heavy, the guitars were trebley and piercing. Original Clash member Keith Levene used arpeggiated chords on an aluminium guitar to achieve results that still make the flesh crawl. Of course, the idea of people pulling together didn’t apply to drummers. One of the many who occupied the stool in PiL during this period was future Fall member Karl Burns, who decided to leave the band after being set on fire by Wobble. This reissue of Metal Box, on three 12" vinyl platters (packaged in a metal can) – ideally suited for delivering the bass-heavy grooves of such fare as Albatross – allows us to appreciate it as it was meant to be heard. This is not an easy listen, but songs such as Swan Lake (aka Death Disco), Careering and Poptones are the best
of the genre. Virgin must think we’ve all been good little boys and girls as well, as they’re also reissuing the excellent Plastic Box anthology, which gives as good an overview of the band as you’re likely to get.
nnnnnnnnnn Metal Box nnnnnnnnnn Plastic Box John doran
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buyerS
Steve Winwood: from child prodigy to genuine music icon.
Steve Winwood
Essential Classics
With the Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Blind Faith and solo, one of the voices in rock has shown himself to be a truly singular talent.
I
n a career that spans 45 years, Stephen Lawrence Winwood has been many things: child prodigy, leader of one of British rock’s most innovative bands, co-founder of the world’s first supergroup, multimillion-selling solo star… And through it all, three qualities have marked out Winwood as a truly singular talent: his mastery of the Hammond B-3 organ, his brilliance as a songwriter and, above all, one of the most richly expressive and soulful voices in rock. Born in Handsworth, Birmingham on May 1, 1948, Winwood was barely into his teens when he served his rock’n’roll apprenticeship playing in a band that backed blues legends Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, BB King and Chuck Berry. He was still only 15 when he joined the Spencer Davis Group along with his older brother Muff. Young Stevie was the group’s star, co-writing and singing their now classic 1967 UK No.1 Gimme Some Lovin’. But he didn’t hang around. By the end of that year he’d formed a new band, Traffic. Originally based in a cottage in rural Berkshire, their very own hippie commune, Traffic’s idiosyncratic blend of rock, folk, blues, jazz and psychedelia made them trailblazers of the new rock era.
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But Winwood was always looking for fresh challenges. In 1968 he made a guest appearance on the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s landmark double album Electric Ladyland, playing organ on the extended blues jam Voodoo Chile. And in 1969, with Traffic disbanded, Winwood hooked up with another icon, guitarist Eric Clapton, to form the short-lived, onealbum supergroup Blind Faith. Winwood revived Traffic in 1970, but by 1975 the group had become passé and Winwood went solo – in the most literal sense; on 1980’s Arc Of A Diver, his commercial breakthrough, Winwood played every instrument himself. In 1988, at his peak as a solo artist, Winwood topped the US album chart with Roll With It. These days he operates in a more low-key fashion, releasing solo albums as and when he pleases, his latest being 2008’s Nine Lives. With his status as a rock legend secure, Steve Winwood doesn’t have to push himself too hard. As he once said: “I never wanted to be a great star. I wanted only to be a great musician.” Paul Elliott
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Traffic
The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys ISLAND, 1971 If there’s one song that best illustrates the genius of Steve Winwood, it’s the 11-minute title track of Traffic’s fifth album, a hypnotic jazz-rock masterpiece and a searing indictment of the music industry. Already a veteran at 23, Winwood felt exploited. Two sub-par Traffic albums – the odds ‘n’ sods collection Last Exit and the live Welcome To The Canteen – had resulted from contractual obligations. Winwood’s anger was softly voiced but no less powerful for it. There are many other great songs on this album, but on the track The Low Spark… Winwood truly bared his soul.
Steve Winwood
Arc Of A Diver ISLAND, 1980 Winwood’s eponymous solo debut, released in 1977, was a flop. Coming just two years after Traffic split, it was mostly co-written with former Traffic bandmate Jim Capaldi. Winwood seemed unwilling, or unable, to move on. Three years later everything changed. Arc Of A Diver established Winwood as a successful solo star with a new vision. Updating his sound with state-of-the-art synthesisers, he embraced the new decade with a modern, sophisticated blend of soft rock and what critics rather patronisingly dubbed ‘blue-eyed soul’. Arc Of A Diver was the album that defined Steve Winwood as a solo artist.
Virginia TurbeTT/redferns
guide
Superior Reputation cementing
Essential Playlist
gimme Some Lovin’
The Best Of The Spencer Davis Group
i’m A Man
The Best Of The Spencer Davis Group
Spencer davis group
The Best Of The Spencer Davis Group EMI, 1998 The songs that first made Steve Winwood famous are still thrilling more than 40 years on. Foremost of these is Gimme Some Lovin’, a jubilant rhythm & blues stomp powered by Winwood’s electrifying Hammond organ riff and sung with the soul power of a Motown superstar. The song has been covered many times but nothing comes close to matching the original. Also included on this collection is another classic hit co-written and sung by Winwood, the blistering I’m A Man, which went Top 10 in both the UK and US.
Traffic
Mr. Fantasy ISLAND, 1967 Released in the year of Sgt. Pepper and the Stones’ similarly acid-tweaked Their Satanic Majesties Request, Traffic’s first album was very much a product of the psychedelic age, even though it was originally issued without the quaintly trippy hits Paper Sun and Hole In My Shoe. Some of the songs are truly bizarre, such as Berkshire Poppies, but Winwood had a more serious agenda, as illustrated by the soulful Dear Mr. Fantasy and the melancholy No Face, No Name, No Number. Moreover, the jazz-influenced jam Dealer and the sitar-led Utterly Simple posited Traffic as a rock group without limitations.
blind Faith
Blind Faith POLYDOR, 1969 Forming Blind Faith, Winwood teamed up with former Cream members Eric Clapton and drummer Ginger Baker, plus bassist Rick Grech, in ‘the original supergroup’. The band made their live debut in front of an audience of 100,000 at London’s Hyde Park in 1969. Two months later this album was at No.1 in the UK and the US. In places it was brilliant, Clapton’s Presence Of The Lord a deep, spiritual blues, Winwood’s Can’t Find My Way Home a beautiful acoustic number. But when Clapton bailed, Blind Faith was over, their sole album forever marred by that infamous cover photograph.
Good Worth exploring
Traffic
John Barleycorn Must Die ISLAND, 1970
After Blind Faith and an even briefer tenure in another ‘supergroup’, Ginger Baker’s Airforce, Winwood began work on a solo album. But, having enlisted Traffic drummer Jim Capaldi and sax/flute player Chris Wood, Winwood soon bowed to the inevitable and re-formed the band. His decision was quickly vindicated; John Barleycorn Must Die was Traffic’s first goldcertified album in the US. As a trio, the group mixed fluid, experimental jazz rock with English folk themes, reworking a traditional song dating back to 1465 for this album’s title track.
Avoid
dear Mr. Fantasy Mr. Fantasy
No Face, No Name, No Number Mr. Fantasy
roamin’ Thro’ The gloamin’ With (40,000 Headmen) Traffic
Can’t Find My Way Home Blind Faith
John barleycorn Must die
John Barleycorn Must Die
empty Pages
John Barleycorn Must Die
The Low Spark Of High Heeled boys
The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys
Steve Winwood Back In The High Life ISLAND, 1986
Winwood’s fourth solo album marked the end of his 20-year association with Island Records, and he left them on a high. Propelled by the chart-topping single Higher Love, it sold more than five million copies. The album is a model of elegant, soul-influenced mainstream rock, all very 80s but so finely crafted that it has aged surprisingly well. Having performed his previous two albums alone, this time Winwood called on some big names, including James Taylor, Chaka Khan, Joe Walsh and Chic’s Nile Rodgers. And, once again, there was a co-writing credit for friend Vivian Stanshall.
Traffic
Traffic ISLAND, 1968 Creative tension was always an issue for Traffic. Even when creating their first album in a rustic idyll there was a clear disparity between Winwood and guitarist Dave Mason, who wrote Hole In My Shoe, a song Winwood recorded “under duress”. Mason left the group soon after Mr. Fantasy, but, in a surprise volte-face, he returned for this second album. His Feelin’ Alright? was in keeping with the album’s laid-back vibe but, tellingly, he played no part on its key track, Roamin’ Thro’ The Gloamin’ With (40,000 Headmen). In short order, Mason was fired, Traffic was put on ice and Winwood was hanging out with Eric Clapton.
Steve Winwood
Talking Back To The Night ISLAND, 1982
Winwood’s third solo album has been largely forgotten. Released two years after the classic Arc Of A Diver, and again recorded by Winwood alone, it failed to match its predecessor, stalling at No.28 in the US. It is, though, a strong album, and its most famous song, the AOR anthem Valerie, has enjoyed a long and unusual afterlife. When first released as a single in 1982, Valerie stiffed. But a remixed version hit the US Top 10 in 1987, and in 2004 the song was reworked by Eric Prydz for his UK No.1 bangin’ choon Call On Me. Winwood was so impressed by Prydz’s version that he re-recorded vocals for it.
Steve Winwood
Roll With It VIRGIN, 1988 Winwood’s first album for Virgin Records was a US No.1, as was its lead single and title track. But on a creative level Winwood was sleepwalking. For an album featuring The Memphis Horns, veterans of classic soul records by Otis Redding and Isaac Hayes, Roll With It sounds strangely soulless. Even Hearts On Fire, co-written with Jim Capaldi, is forgettable. Only the title track and the finale, Shining Song, are worthy of Winwood’s name. In short, Roll With It is the kind of bland, yuppie rock enjoyed by Patrick Bateman, homicidal lead character of Bret Easton Ellis’s 80s satire American Psycho: a most dubious recommendation.
Many A Mile To Freedom
The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys
Arc Of A diver Arc Of A Diver
While you See A Chance Arc Of A Diver
Valerie
Talking Back To The Night
Higher Love
Back In The High Life
classicrockmagazine.com 95
Demon
Nirvana at the Reading festival in 1992: ‘unmissable’.
Nirvana
Live At Reading
UniVeRsal
Legendary 1992 festival show by grunge giants finally gets an official release.
S
unday at the 1992 Reading festival was a familiar scene of mud, intoxication and rancour as punters huddled around beer-cup bonfires attempted to keep up with rumours concerning that night’s headliners. Earlier in the day L7 singer Donita Sparks throwing her used tampon into the audience had been the main discussion point, but now talk was of Nirvana: had they split up? Had Courtney Love kidnapped her husband Kurt Cobain? Was he ill and in a hospital somewhere? Nirvana’s rise from nobodies (the previous year they’d played an earlyafternoon slot sandwiched between Chapterhouse and Silverfish) to superstars on a sales level with Madonna and Michael Jackson had been meteoric, but despite their success chaos surrounded them – riotous TV appearances, tales of drug abuse and narcolepsy, quotes from Cobain that he was ready to quit and always the Nancy Spungen-cum-Wicked Witch Of The West figure of Love looming over the band’s every move. In brief, no one thought Nirvana would show up. As it turns out, Cobain’s entrance is perverse, maverick and flippantly plays up to the wild rumours. Pushed on stage in a wheelchair, Cobain looks a wizened old cripple in a hospital gown, before
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shedding wig and chair and launching into Breed and a set of songs mainly from Nevermind and Bleach. Adding to the sense of mayhem the trio are joined on stage by a mysterious pogo-ing man bouncing around the stage between Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic. The pogo man’s presence isn’t remarked upon until an hour into the band’s set, when we learn that his name is Tony and “he writes all the songs”. Despite their reputation Nirvana are ferociously tight during this show – “Hey, we rehearsed last night,” Cobain jokes after In Bloom – and testament to the fact that a great band with brilliant songs doesn’t need elaborate stage sets. Piety surrounds Nirvana’s legacy, but this Reading set amply demonstrates their humour and sense of mischief (singing Boston’s More Than A Feeling over the top of Smells Like Teen Spirit) as well as their intensity. The often-bootlegged footage on this DVD has been colour-corrected and the sound is far superior to the bootlegs. There are no extras, and with no liner notes either it does feel slightly inadequate as a package, although a CD of the same show is included. Unmissable.
nnnnnnnnnn Johnny Dee
Up Close And Personal – Live In Germany Hillstone Latter-day gig from good but underchieving Brit rockers. Filmed in 2006, before the band’s appearance at the Keep It True festival, Up Close And Personal is something of a companion-piece to Live At Tiffany’s 1982 released earlier this year, the two gigs book-ending Demon’s career. And while the 1982 show captured their grand-guinol-ona-budget early days, Up Close And Personal includes some of their more expansive later material, notably the epic Blackheath and the similarly wide-scale Life On The Wire. Demon are physically constrained by their lack of commercial success, but they have always been ambitious musically, and there’s a nice contrast between the downhome and unpretentious fellows they are in the tour-diary inserts, and the wholehearted, convincing way they play. Don’t Break The Circle, their most famous song, provides a tremendous climax, too. nnnnnnnnnn Jon Hotten
Marilyn Manson
Guns, God And Government eagle Rock Fear him, America. Originally released in 2002, this concert film from the final night of Manson’s Holy Wood tour catches him while he’s still middle America’s public enemy number one; when he was still a bit dangerous. These days Manson continues to spit and rage and slam the door for a dwindling demographic, but he has never been close to capturing the bile-fuelled hate metal on display here. You get all the hits – Disposable Teens, The Fight Song, The Beautiful People – and all the spectacle. Whatever you think about Manson, his ability to stage a truly spectacular rock’n’roll extravaganza is never in doubt. What we get here is The Rocky Horror Show as reimagined and rebooted by a cabal of David Lynch, Alejandro Jodorowsky and Tim Burton. The transfer to HD is lovely, particularly the close-up shots of MM himself. Extras include the Mansondirected short film The Death Parade, with cameo appearances from Eminem, Ozzy and Sharon
and Christian fundamentalist camp icon Tammy Faye Baker. Just the thing to send you on a killing spree. nnnnnnnnnn tommy Udo
Bon Jovi
Live At Madison Square Garden MeRcURy Dull as ditchwater. According to this accompanying press release, the legendary Leonard Cohen rates the live cover of his own song Hallelujah on this DVD – of the final show on the band’s lengthy Lost Highway tour – as his favourite. No disrespect, but time must have wreaked havoc with his hearing because, much like the rest of this startlingly disappointing DVD, it’s a slapdash affair, and one that doesn’t hold a candle to Jeff Buckley’s version. Lost Highway might have been the biggest tour of 2008, but the Bon Jovi on display here seem lacklustre and even bored. They might have been tired after such a lengthy trek, but surely headlining a venue they first played 19 years previously would have sparked some life into the band? Even the expected older numbers, of which, thankfully, there are many, fail to ignite the kind of passionate performance the band once delivered as standard. And with no extras the whole package seems as empty and uninspired as the band do. nnnnnnnnnn Jerry ewing
John Fogerty
Comin’ Down The Road: The Concert At Royal Albert Hall UniVeRsal Creedence legend, still at the top of his game. When John Fogerty returned to London’s poshest venue in 2008, it was all of 37 years since he last played there, fronting Creedence Clearwater Revival, one of America’s greatest rock‘n’roll bands. Not that time had changed him much. His hair still thick, his features a little craggier, his voice still a thing of wonder, and his guitar playing still sharp as a knife, Fogerty rolled back the years with a powerful, authoritative performance. Backed by a band of seasoned pros including Billy Burnette (formerly of Fleetwood Mac and Bob Dylan’s band) and John Mellencamp’s old powerhouse drummer Kenny Aronoff, Fogerty laid down the law with a blend of Creedence classics and
Chris Taylor/reTna
DvDs
solo material old and new. From the hypnotic Born On The Bayou to an exultant Proud Mary, the old master made it all look so, so easy. nnnnnnnnnn Paul elliott
Meat Loaf
Bat Out Of Hell – The Original Tour eagle Vision When Meat was big in more than just girth. Back in 1978 Meat Loaf really was the great, wobbling jelly of a misfit outsider who so reflected and inspired Jim Steinman’s baroque teenage vision. An apparition in a full, ill-fitting dress shirt, clutching a red hanky tight to his chest like a comfort blanket, he was like nothing else you could see on a stage at the time. It’s nice, then, to have the moment captured here, because it has significance, given Bat Out Of Hell’s enduring and endearing refusal to die. It’s a concert film shot in Germany, originally for television some eight months after the original Bat… album was released. Of particular interest is
Steinman’s oddly unsettling presence at the piano, all puffy hands and wildly frizzed hair. They perform all of the album except for For Crying Out Loud, and the weird magic of the songs is fully apparent, especially when contrasted with set-filling, throwaway covers of Johnny B Goode and River Deep, Mountain High. The show would get bigger; Meat, eventually, would get smaller. This one night in Germany has a charm all of its own. nnnnnnnnnn Jon Hotten
Billy Idol
In Super Overdrive Live eagle Vision
Once a punk, always good value. Originally broadcast in July 2009 as part of US TV’s Soundstage series, In Super Overdrive Live is a 12-song set shot in Chicago that (naturally) leans heavily on 1983’s Rebel Yell album, and there are a couple of Generation X numbers for older time’s sake. Idol struts around, gurning and
winking at the girls in the front row as the Anti-Sid Vicious – a man with the key to his garden shed, in place of that padlock, around his neck. Although there are no extras with this DVD, the show was well shot and edited, with long shots revealing the Congress Theatre’s surprisingly barebones stage-set. On it, Idol’s long-time guitar sidekick Steve Stevens and recent writing partner drummer Brian Tichy work hard to keep the main man happy. Over the 70 minutes, you can’t help but conclude that Billy looks good for his 55 years – and also that he doesn’t look like a man who goes long without a glance in the mirror to confirm it. nnnnnnnnnn neil Jeffries
sid vicious
Sid! By Those Who Really Knew Him oDeon enteRtainMent Another doc on ‘the great big pimple on the arse of punk’. By the end of this exhausting account of nihilism-by-numbers, it becomes painfully obvious that nobody really knew onetime Pistols bassist Sid Vicious. There is no sighting of alleged best mate Mr Lydon, and
significant others – Ma Vicious and Nancy Spungen – appear only as panto villains in this comedy of errors. Which means what we’re left with is a motley array of C-listers including that guy from Adam & The Ants who looks like Uncle Fester, an embittered Dave Vanian, a bemused Rat Scabies, Caroline Coon – who is hilarious in her role as Grande Dame – and, of course, Glen Matlock. The only bits of wisdom and truth come from Sid’s college mate Jah Wobble, who provides a sobering overview of Sid’s rise and decline, with his depressing description of visiting the former John Ritchie’s flat and being confronted by the sight of mother and son both shooting up. “Sid never had a father figure to guide him,” Wobble reflected. No, Sid had Malcolm McLaren, who comes over a rather slimy, old-school huckster whose lack of scruples and morals played a large hand in Sid’s downfall, although it seems pretty obvious that this “good-looking, well haircutted [sic] berk”, as Matlock describes him, was destined to die young. nnnnnnnnnn Peter Makowski
Oil City Confidential
Feelgoods’ malpractice exposed [movie release]. In this impeccable prequel to The Filth & The Fury and The Future Is Unwritten, Julien Temple focuses his camera’s attention on Canvey Island’s criminally undervalued pre-punk R&B assault force: the genuinely terrifying Dr Feelgood. With the showing-out, Sarfend swagger of beered-up bank clerks intent on recreational violence, these amphetamine–eyed malchicks offered the most exciting live experience extant during the final throes of the premier epoch of prog: a first, teasing glimpse of clipped, Clockwork Orange concision in a world of artistic indulgence and stretched audience patience. Fallen vocalist Lee Brilleaux’s imposing presence leers only from archive clips, leaving Wilko Johnson the film’s true star: a fitting cinematic tribute to a thoroughly overlooked national treasure. nnnnnnnnnn ian Fortnam
It Might Get Loud sony MUsic
Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White compare their rock guitar histories in this absorbing docu-movie.
I
t Might Get Loud is a bold, unique and insightful exploration into the lives of three very different guitarists with three very different stories to tell. Stories so lavish and bursting with intrigue that if they were told in full, this 97-minute movie would end up as a cinematic marathon. The stars’ guitar-playing abilities – not to mention their personalities– are so impressive that you’d be forgiven for thinking that the notion of cramming everything into one movie might be wishful thinking on the part of director Davis Guggenheim. But the insightful snippets presented here are so unique and appetising, it does feel like you are seeing and listening to these people for the first time. There’s less than you might expect about the bands each guitarist plays/played in or the songs they’ve written, and more about the three individual musicians, their own tales of six-string addiction and how each of them was set on the path to guitar stardom. The film begins with Jack White building
a makeshift guitar from an empty Coke bottle, a plank of wood and some nails, before he explains his early career genesis as an upholsterer with a punk rock appetite. The Edge is frank and upfront about his technological technique, going so far to display how his most intricately sounding and stadium-stunning riffs can sometimes be nothing more than two chords and a box of electronic wizardry. We watch Jimmy Page meander through Headley Grange, revisiting that hallway where Bonham famously delivered those thundering beats for When The Levee Breaks. He also divulges, while air-guitaring, how powerchord pioneer Link Wray’s Rumble was the influence that lit the fuse for his own personal musical powder keg. All highly mouth-watering stuff. But the main course features each of the three maestros taking turns to deliver some signature guitar work, while the other two scratch chins, study fretwork and genuinely
…Loud: “bold, unique and insightful.”
ponder the obvious contrasts in the five decades of guitar mastery they collectively share. The Edge gets digital, Jack White digresses, but when Jimmy Page cranks up his amp and thunders out Whole Lotta Love you’ll be retrieving your jaw from the floor – just like Jack White and The Edge had to. nnnnnnnnnn Josh Harper
ClassiCroCkmagazine.Com 97
Airbourne. Electric Mary. And now Australia’s next hottest band…
The Debut Album “…The swagger and debauchery of early Aerosmith and Guns N’ Roses…” – Rave magazine, Australia
Also available on Powerage Records…
www.poweragerecords.com
Communication Breakdown
Send your letters to: Communication Breakdown, CLASSIC ROCK, Future, 2 Balcombe Street, London NW1 6NA, or email them to us at:
[email protected]. We regret we cannot reply to phone calls. For more letters and comment, visit www.classicrockmagazine.com (Apologies for the one page letters section this month: Xmas deadlines meant that this issue had to be finished within days of the last one going on sale. Normal service resumed next month…) “CR ARE A BUNCH OF HYPOCRITES!” How long ago was it that Classic Rock championed their readers with a piece about booking fees for concert tickets being a rip-off? Yeah, that’s it – wave your ‘we’re with our readers’ flag like you mean it. And now you announce the Classic Rock High Voltage Festival. And guess what, no booking fee! Wow, Classic Rock putting their money where their mouth is, and very admirable that is too. But wait a minute. What’s this “processing fee of £5.20 for a standard post-out option of the wristband(s)”? That wouldn’t be a booking fee under a different name would it? Oh no. No, that’s completely different you see because a booking fee applies to tickets, and the “processing fee” is for sending out wristbands. You know what? You’re just another bunch of hypocrites… Mike Bradley, Cheltenham
smoking T-shirt. I went to see The Almighty (awesome band) when the smoking ban had just kicked in I had to get rat-arsed to get rid of the weird effect of sterility. It was a great gig all the same. As for current bands not being as great or as legendary as AC/DC because they are second in line, what are you are talking about? Bands will struggle today because people don’t take chances with albums when they download singles and want a free ride off the backs of bands by downloading for free. What do you think bands run on, fresh air? If you’re a struggling new band, downloads work very well, but take a step up and you need cash to rehearse, record, tour and, yes, provide the T-shirts you like to wear. I have to say I try to listen to new bands, and I have bought many new albums that CR has recommended – and not got a bad ’un yet. However, although I listen to older bands and young bands, I won’t listen to cacophonous rubbish that is paraded as ‘new wave’ anything. So if you’re young and play like Black Stone Cherry, The Answer, or Airbourne then, hey where’s the gig? As for the ‘long-hair’ jibe. Maybe you should open your eyes a little more, climb down off of the soapbox, go to gigs by bands you don’t know anything about, and support the music scene so that your peers can enjoy what we ‘elders’ have been enjoying very well before the ‘blessing’ the current scene or current technology is bestowing on us all came along. Retro, via email
Abbie Marshall of (Classic Rock’s partners in the festival) promoter Mama Festivals explains: “The transaction fee is the postage and packaging and cost of the wristbands all in one fee, and currently there is no way of getting around this. When you buy tickets for any other festival, they charge you a booking fee and then – on top – a postal and packaging fee. We are charging for the latter but have gotten rid of the booking fee.” For Classic Rock’s part, we realise that any ‘hidden cost’ is not AC/DC’s ideal, but we can assure you Backtracks: that we are trying to produce a TRACKS IN BLACK “magnificent festival that is both good value – but it should be.” I don’t want this to turn into a and a great weekend of high moan, but we shall see voltage rock’n’roll – it’s a where it goes. I feel, as a learning curve for us, but fan of rock music, that I we’re trying and we believe get nothing in return for it’ll be worth it. my loyalty to certain bands. This thought SHOOTING STAR occurred to me recently Firstly sorry about the length as I looked into getting the of this, but I’ve got a lot to AC/DC Backtracks. Now, say. I need to pick at the the version in the shops is holes in your Star Letter okay, but the special [issue 140], What people edition one online is want is a media-rich magnificent – and at £150 experience in a nonit ought to be. But there’s
Last month’s issue: the Star Letter annoyed Mr Retro.
the thing, it’s not £150, it’s £180 when you include the enforced shipping/handling costs of £30 from UPS. As we can only buy it from the website, we have to pay this. Where is the fairness in that? The band obviously know that us fans have to do this, so why advertise it at £150 when the actual cost is £180? It’s now a price I won’t pay, just on principle. Why not sell it in the mainstream shops as you’re such a mainstream band? At the other end of the spectrum, I have to thank you guys at Classic Rock magazine for the free Space Rock CD for introducing me to Generous Maria. I ended up buying their Command Of The New Rock record secondhand and it’s great – and £175 less than AC/DC’s reject tracks. Pete, via email GET WELL RONNIE Along with many other readers, can I wish Ronnie James Dio a speedy recovery. I’m sure the ‘big’ fella will slay this latest ‘dragon’ and soon return to what he does best. I was gutted when his latest UK tour was cancelled, as I was due to go to Manchester Academy with my wife and a mate to see him. The cost of the tickets totalled £60 – plus the infuriating £9 booking fee. I got the email from Ticketmaster telling me of the cancellation and that I would be entitled to a refund if I sent the tickets back to the venue by Recorded Delivery – another £2 of ‘dead money’. Imagine my surprise (not!) when my bank account was reimbursed with the face value of the tickets, but alas not the £9 booking fee. Needless to say I will have to go through the same rip-off scenario when the maestro returns to our stages, hopefully in the not too distant future. That will be another £20 wasted on spurious admin charges and post. But money is certainly not everything in the world, and once again can I wish Ronnie James Dio all the best in his treatment and recovery. Ian Cousins, Neston, Wirral
“Isn’t this processing fee just a booking fee under a different name?”
Well said Ian: Best wishes to Ronnie from all at Classic Rock – and a happy new year to you all. CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 99
QUIZ Think you know your rock – not to mention your roll? See how many of these questions you can answer, and how many album sleeves you can identify from the details pictured. A
B
1. Which was the last Foreigner album before singer Lou Gramm quit to go solo? 2. Lynyrd Skynyrd were famous for their song Sweet Home Alabama, but where was the band formed? 3. Still rocking the world’s biggest stadiums today, which singer said in 1969: “I don’t really like singing very much, I enjoy playing the guitar more than I enjoy singing, and I can’t play the guitar either.” 4. What was the name of Terrorvision’s first album? 5. Which is the only band ever to have had all their albums
C
D
make it into the US Billboard Top 10? 6. Which one-time member of Kiss was previously a staff songwriter for the TV show Happy Days? 7. Which guitarist replaced Eric Clapton in John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers? 8. Which American band’s 1972 debut album came with a raspberry-scented ‘scratch and sniff’ sticker? 9. Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Cassady left Jefferson Airplane to form which band? 10. Which band has recorded
Flock Of Numbskulls
100 classicrockmagazine.com
E
covers including Cream’s I Feel Free, Wings’ Band On The Run, Gerry Rafferty’s Baker Street, and Dead Kennedys’ Holiday In Cambodia? 11. Which US ‘hair metal’ band of the 80s had the same name as a classic Walt Disney animated movie? 12. Who were the rhythm section on both of David Lee Roth’s solo albums Eat ’Em And Smile and Skyscraper? 13. Which later multimillionselling British band’s first three singles were I’m A Mover, Broad Daylight and I’ll Be Creepin’, none of which charted in the UK?
F
G
H
14. John Wetton, Gary Tibbs, John Gustafson and Graham Simpson have all played bass with which band?
17. Which Yes song title is also the original name of the band that changed their name to Deep Purple?
15. In the 80s and 90s, German singer Lenny Wolf fronted a band with the same name as a band fronted by British singer Arthur ‘Fire’ Brown in the 70s. What was the band’s name?
18. Projects In The Jungle (’84), I Am The Night (’85) and Reinventing The Steel (2000) are albums by which band?
16. What is the name of the producer (who is also the founder of Shrapnel Records) who worked on albums by a raft of then up-and-coming guitarists including Yngwie Malmsteen, Richie Kotzen, Paul Gilbert, Marty Friedman and Jason Becker?
19. On which of Iggy Pop’s studio albums would you find the songs My Baby Wants To Rock & Roll, Candy, Butt Town and Pussy Power? 20. Which band’s drummers down the years include Leon Ndugu Chancler, Graham Leer and Michael Shrieve?
Answers on page 101
By BP Perry
ROSS HALFIN
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Live, loud, lewd and large in LA.
Kiss
102 Interviews p105 Tour Dates p108 Live Reviews
Quiz answers from page 100: Agent Provocateur (’85). 2. Jacksonville, Florida. 3. Mick Jagger. 4. Formaldehyde. 5. Led Zeppelin. 6. Vinnie Vincent. 7. Peter Green. 8. The Raspberries. 9. Hot Tuna. 10. Foo Fighters. 11. Cinderella. 12. Bassist Billy Sheehan and drummer Gregg Bissonette. 13. Free. 14. Roxy Music. 15. Kingdom Come. 16. Mike Varney. 17. Roundabout. 18. Pantera. 19. Brick By Brick. 20. Santana. Album Sleeves: A) Sixteen Stone (Bush). B) Cosmo’s Factory (Creedence Clearwater Revival). C) For Earth Below (Robin Trower). D) Forever Changes (Love). E) Vault (Def Leppard). F) Insomniac (Green Day). G) Emerson Lake & Palmer (Emerson Lake & Palmer). H) Montrose (Montrose).
LIVE! Peter Hammill: there’s something in the air…
“I alway s hoped to d more th o an just epheme ral stuff. I’m still obs ess by writi ed ng.”
Peter Hammill
VdGG’s enigmatic captain flies solo with some live dates for Thin Air.
H
aving performed all the instrumental and vocal parts on his new solo release, Thin Air, Van der Graaf Generator frontman Peter Hammill also plans to retain his independence during a bout of touring activity. With the new album and these shows being performed alone, this is a solo project in the truest sense. Absolutely. On the one hand Van der Graaf is still charging forward in its weird and wonderful way, and doing everything myself – just a piano, guitar and the songs – is the exact diametric opposite. They are entirely different worlds, but after all these years, I feel very privileged to still be able to do this. Is there a part of you that whistles ‘Sheesh’ at the thought of releasing your 28th album? The way my catalogue has amassed is pretty
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amazing. From the beginning I always hoped to do more than just ephemeral, instant stuff. One thing I’m very pleased about is that I haven’t released 28 albums that were exactly the same. Now, at 60-plus, I don’t write anything that remotely resembles what I did as a 19-year-old, which is also quite satisfying. Writing and recording music is still something that, as my wife attests, I remain obsessed by. Thin Air is a remarkably dark record. Even by my standards [laughs]. Fundamentally, its theme is disappearance – of all kinds of things. And that’s hardly conducive to cheeriness. The songs Ghosts Of Planes and The Top Of The World Club are partially, one might say belatedly, inspired by the events of 9/11. It’s only now I’ve felt distanced enough to express a view. They’re not specifically about
GET THE LED OUT
http://tinyurl.com/58794m A DJ from New York who knew Led Zep tells stories about knowing Led Zep. (Currently up to Vol. 420.)
PETE’SPROGRESS
the WTC, terrorists or loss of life, more the cultural significance of ‘before’ and ‘after’ what happened that day. Can you tell us what to expect at these shows? Oh, definitely not. I’ve a repertoire of about 60 songs, and on any given night I’ll play 15 or 16 of them.
★ As well as Cadogan Hall, Hammill also plays Leamington Spa in February. Other dates are yet to be confirmed. ★ Remastered editions of Hammill’s solo albums Roaring Forties (1994), X My Heart (’96) and This (’98) are available via www.sofasound.com ★ VdGG reunited for their first gig in 28 years, at London’s Royal Festival Hall, in May 2005.
And how soon do VdGG commence following 2008’s Trisector? Collectively and individually we’re already working up the material. But we don’t want to just tread the same path we’ve used before. DL Peter Hammill plays London Cadogan Hall on January 31.
AURAL INNOVATIONS
www.aural-innovations.com Space rock throwdown. The ideal companion for getting chonged up.
INTERVIEWS
Walking on the wild side…
Enuff Z’Nuff
Illinois pop rockers pack a live surprise with glam rock buddies. Enuff Z’Nuff return from the brink for a co-headlining tour with Faster Pussycat. Bassist Chip Z’Nuff explains the journey.
You were reunited with Enuff Z’Nuff lead singer Donnie Vie by the pilot of VH1’s reality TV show Bands On The Run back in 2006, although in typical Enuff Z’Nuff fashion the show failed to make it to the screen. They didn’t pick up the option, but it gave us the ammunition to make a new record – our 18th, believe it or not. Donnie realised that what he and I have together is great, and that there’s still some gas in the tank. The latest album, Dissonance, is only available in Japan. We couldn’t find a deal in the United States, but it’s looking likely that Derek Oliver, whom we used to work with at Atco Records, will put it out in England [via Rock Candy Records]. Are you friends with Faster Pussycat? Yes, we’ve toured in the States before. And, let me warn you, we anticipate this tour being particularly wild; the whole 80s thing is coming back. You have also toured as a member of former Guns N’ Roses drummer Steven Adler’s band, Adler’s Appetite. And you know what? I think I’m gonna bring Steven with us on this tour – he can get up and do a couple of songs each night. How much of a treat would that be? DL The tour begins in London on January 18.
Click!
Quality online destinations to visit this month
Lacuna Coil: capo di tutti capi.
CHRIS DENNER
In your last Classic Rock interview (2005), singer Donnie Vie had refused to tour with the band when they were dealing with the death of guitarist Derek Frigo. Drummer Ricky Parent (who has now also died) had also been diagnosed with cancer, and your marriage had collapsed. We’ve been through some tough times. But I’m grateful for the time I spent with Derek and Ricky. They’ve left an indelible mark.
Lacuna Coil
Ten years on and Milan’s metal maestros are finally breaking through.
C
elebrating a spot in the US Billboard Top 20 for their fifth album, Shallow Life, Italy’s Lacuna Coil are set to play their biggest headline dates in the UK so far. Frontwoman Cristina Scabbia sets the scene. The band has worked hard for this breakthrough, but you must be thrilled by the reaction to Shallow Life? You’re right, we’ve paid our dues for more than 10 years, but this time we wrote an album that we like everything about. It connects so well with the crowds that come to the concerts and every kid is singing the lyrics. That’s a big reward. How much of the new album will you play on these dates? Headlining in Europe it’ll be a little bit of the old stuff and a quite a lot of new material. Known for having produced Duran Duran and Linkin Park,
was Don Gilmore fun to work with? For someone with such a great portfolio he’s very down-to-earth. He keeps you focused on the work, but when the pressure builds up he’s always got a joke to lighten the mood. Don taught me so much. With us being Italian, he made Andrea [Ferro, co-vocalist] and I pronounce every single word correctly, which is something we’ll apply to the next record. Shepherd’s Bush Empire will be your largest London date so far. We’ve headlined the Astoria many times and I hear the Empire is a very
“Having every kid sing along to our lyrics is a big reward.” TAKE BACK THE HORNS
www.takebackthehorns.com He’s not gonna take it anymore: Dee Snider takes back the horns.
attractive old theatre, which is cool. A digital-only single, I Like It, was given three very different remixes by New York electronic music act Interface, electro/pop/ emo darlings Das Basslaster and UK-based deejay Dan Peace. How would you describe the response to that? [Laughing]: Well, you can’t please everybody. The idea came from the record label, but we are not closedminded. I kinda liked hearing what those guys did with our song. Your own personal involvement with animal rights campaigners PETA was recently documented by an internet poster campaign. I’m not vegetarian, I’m an omnivore, so I thought a lot about getting involved. I wanted to be honest. But the idea of torturing animals for the sake of make-up offends me. DL The dates begin at Dublin Academy on January 29.
CABO WABO CANTINA
www.cabowabocantina.com Anywhere near Lake Tahoe in the near future? Eat at Sammy’s. CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 103
LIVE! Stryper: friends in high places?
Baroness: “We pull elements from everywhere.”
Baroness
American sludge-proggers play the UK in January. The Savannah, Georgia-based quartet’s second full-length album, Blue Record, has marked them down as a name to watch. We caught up with John Baizley, who as well as guiding fast-rising sludge-proggers has his art on the sleeves of several noted underground releases. You’re a very hands-on guy, writing the songs, designing the sleeves. So the whole package is important? That’s absolutely true. During the last eight years with this band, I’ve tried to make sure that everything is taken care of. It’s definitely kept me on my toes [laughs].
Stryper
Don’t expect Sympathy For The Devil from rock’s best-known ‘God-squad’.
W
e catch up with guitarist Oz Fox as he approaches the pulpit for a rare date from Stryper, probably the world’s most (in)famous Christian rock band, which takes place in London as part of the US outfit’s 25th anniversary world tour. It’s hard to believe that it’s more than 20 years since Stryper last played the UK. That was on the To Hell With The Devil tour, I believe. We’re very enthusiastic about making music again. It’s great to be coming back. Do you recall much of that particular gig? At [London’s] Hammersmith Odeon? Are you kidding? My gosh, we were excited about playing there and the crowd was great. We also filmed a video [for the song Honestly], too. Can you talk us through the band’s apparent demise in 1993,
and the band members’ decision 10 years later to reunite? Michael [Sweet, singer] wanted to do a solo project and move away from being in Stryper, and we broke up. It was a difficult time in everyone’s lives. Coming back together, it’s been surreal but at the same time necessary, as the fans wanted it to happen. Do the band still throw bibles into the crowd? Yes, and we’ll do it again in England. It’s important for us to keep on giving out God’s word. For some, Stryper turned their
“We still throw bibles into the crowd, and we’ll do it in England.”
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back on that message circa 1990’s Against The Law album, when the band changed their image and toned down the lyrical positivity. So what really happened? We had become very frustrated with the church and being shunned by the mainstream media, so we went off in another direction and took it too far. We wanted to show the world we could rock just like anyone else. It was a big mistake. Another cloudy area, perceptionwise, is that this summer you married a former prostitute. My wife Annie [Lobért] was a prostitute for 11 years until a drug overdose almost killed her. She now has a wonderful ministry called Hookers For Jesus, helping people that are trapped in the world of sex trafficking to exit the business. What she does is amazing. DL Stryper play London Islington Academy on January 24.
THE ROCK N ROLL SUPERSHOW
www.therocknroll supershow.com Video podcast: interviews, live streams and more.
Coming from the stoner scene, does recreational smoking aid your creativity? When I’m creating I tend to be very Spartan. I do things aesthetically, so I’m not much of a drug user. Like Mastodon, Baroness’s former Relapse labelmates, you are fiercely proud of being a metal band. Can you tell us about the music’s prog element? It comes from keeping an open ear. We pull elements from everywhere. That having been said, the prog bands that I personally favour are the obvious ones – Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Radiohead; those that think outside of the box. Nevertheless, you don’t encourage comparisons with Mastodon. Would it be fair to say Baroness are more accessible? I couldn’t disagree too much with that. But Mastodon are a much more technical band. How would you describe the progress you’ve made in Britain so far? Oh, we’re very happy with you guys’ acceptance of us. Outside of the US, the UK was the first country we visited and we always like to go back. As music fans, British audiences display a real intelligence. DL The tour ends in Birmingham on January 25.
UVTV
www.undergroundvideo television.com Podcast featuring live clips and videos and whole lot more.
Tour Dates What’s coming your way… Trent FM Arena MEN Arena CIA Wembley Arena SECC
THE 69 EYES
London Manchester Glasgow Nottingham
Islington Academy University King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut Rock City Guildhall Colston Hall Hammersmith Apollo Academy Apollo Picturehouse Academy Academy Academy Civic Hall Rock City Mandela Hall Academy
Isle Of Wight
Mar 9 Mar 10 Mar 11 Mar 12
London Rotherham Bournemouth Birmingham
Mar 29 Mar 30 Apr 1 Apr 2 Apr 3 Apr 5 Apr 6 Apr 7 Apr 8 Apr 10 Apr 11 Apr 13 Apr 14
THE ANIMALS AND THE MOVE
Bilston
ASTRA
London
Festival
Jun 11-13
COLIN BLUNSTONE
Chislehurst Bilston
Beaverwood Club Robin 2
Feb 4 Feb 11
JOE BONAMASSA
BON JOVI
London
Hammersmith Apollo Magna Centre Windsor Hall NIA
O2 Arena
May 28 May 29 May 30 May 31
Jun 7/8, 10/11, 13, 17, 19/20, 22/23
ERIC CLAPTON AND JEFF BECK
London
O2 Arena
Feb 13/14
LES CLAYPOOL
London
Camden Koko
Mar 8
DEPECHE MODE
London
O2 Arena
Feb 20
THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN
London
Camden Barfly
Feb 12
EMERSON LAKE & PALMER AND MORE
Robin 2
Mar 4
High Voltage Festival London Victoria Park Jul 24/25
King’s Cross Scala
Apr 14
Blackpool Glasgow Middlesbrough Bournemouth London
BACKYARD BABIES
London
BLONDIE, THE STROKES AND MORE
Feb 19 Feb 20 Feb 21 Feb 23 Feb 27
AIRBOURNE – RESCHEDULED DATES
Portsmouth Bristol London Liverpool Manchester Edinburgh Glasgow Leeds Newcastle Wolverhampton Nottingham Belfast Dublin
Islington Academy
Feb 9
ENTER SHIKARI AND THE KING BLUES Empress Ballroom Barrowland Empire Academy Hammersmith Apollo
Feb 6 Feb 7 Feb 9 Feb 11 Feb 12
EUROPE AND DIAMOND HEAD
BAD COMPANY
AND JOE PERRY PROJECT
Birmingham Manchester Sheffield Cardiff Newcastle Glasgow Brighton London
BARONESS
London Manchester Glasgow Birmingham
LG Arena MEN Arena City Hall CIA Metro Arena Clyde Auditorium Centre Wembley Arena
Apr 1 Apr 2 Apr 4 Apr 5 Apr 7 Apr 8 Apr 10 Apr 11
Camden Underworld Islington Mill Nice ‘N’ Sleazy Hare & Hound
Jan 19 Jan 20 Jan 21 Jan 22
BLAZE BAYLEY
Dudley Leeds Swindon Swansea Nottingham Grimsby Weymouth Winchester Southend-on-Sea Peterborough London Bury Dumfries Edinburgh Aberdeen Glasgow Newcastle
ERIC BIBB
London Bilston From Birmingham
JB’s Feb Rio’s Feb 12 Bar Sin City Rock City Yardbirds Finns Tower Arts Centre Riga Bar The Park Camden Underworld Hark 2 Towler The Venue Bannermans Moorings Bar Ivory Blacks Trillians
Feb 6 Feb 9 Feb 11 Feb 12 Feb 13 Feb 14 Feb 16 Feb 17 Feb 18 Feb 19 Feb 20 Feb 24 Feb 25 Feb 26 Feb 27 Feb 28 Mar 1
Bloomsbury Theatre Robin 2 Cheese & Grain Town Hall
May 10/11 May 21 May 22 May 23
NDS
JORGEN ANGEL/REDFERNS
30 SECONDS TO MARS
Nottingham Manchester Cardiff London Glasgow
EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER
RECO MME
Leeds Birmingham London Oxford Bournemouth Bristol Manchester Newcastle Glasgow
EVILE
Cardiff Wrexham York Glasgow Newcastle Manchester Nottingham Leeds Bristol London Wolverhampton
Academy Academy Shepherd’s Bush Empire Academy Academy Academy Academy Academy ABC
Feb 18 Feb 19 Feb 20 Feb 22 Feb 23 Feb 24 Feb 26 Feb 27 Feb 28
Barfly Central Station Fibbers Cathouse University Academy 3 Rock City Rio’s Thekla Camden Underworld Civic Hall
Jan 14 Jan 15 Jan 16 Jan 17 Jan 18 Jan 20 Jan 21 Jan 22 Jan 23 Jan 24 Jan 25
FASTER PUSSYCAT AND ENUFF Z’NUFF
London Sheffield Newcastle Swansea
Camden Underworld Corporation Legends Rock Club Vice
Jan 18 Feb 8 Feb 12 Feb 13
FEAR FACTORY
Manchester Wolverhampton Glasgow London
FM
London
Academy 2 Wulfrun Hall Garage Camden Electric Ballroom
Feb 16 Feb 17 Feb 18 Feb 19
Covent Garden Roadhouse
Feb 7
STEVE GIBBONS BAND
Bilston
Robin 2
Jan 28
GRAHAM GOULDMAN, MICK TAYLOR, JENNIFER BATTEN AND MORE
Fifestock Festival The Inn At Lathones
Feb 18-Mar 4
Welcome back, my friends… reuniting especially for CR’s High Voltage Festival, this will be ELP’s only live show of 2010 – and possibly their last ever! Unmissable. Hard Rock Hell Festival
GREEN DAY
Manchester London
London Victoria Park
Lancashire Cricket Ground Wembley Stadium
Jun 16 Jun 19
THE GROUNDHOGS AND STRAY
London Wavendon Derby Stratford-on-Avon Kendall Sheffield Glasgow Bilston
Oxford Street 100 Club The Stables Flowerpot Cox’s Yard Brewery Arts Centre Boardwalk The Ferry Robin 2
PETER HAMMILL
London Leamington Spa
Cadogan Hall Assembly Hall
HARDCORE SUPERSTAR
Manchester Glasgow Newcastle Reading Nottingham Birmingham Swansea London
Roadhouse Kin Tut’s Wah Wah Hut Academy Sub 89 The Basement Rainbow Club Vice Highbury Garage
Jan 8 Jan 16 Jan 22 Jan 23 Feb 6 Feb 12 Feb 13 Feb 14 Jan 31 Feb 1
Jan 21 Jan 23 Jan 24 Jan 25 Jan 27 Jan 28 Jan 29 Jan 30
STEVE HARLEY & COCKNEY REBEL
Dublin Belfast Edinburgh Newcastle York Wolverhampton Buxton Bristol Wavendon Holmfirth Ipswich Brighton Cardiff London
Academy Spring & Airbrake Queens Hall Journal Theatre Opera House Wulfrun Hall Opera House Colston Hall The Stables Picturedrome The Regent Dome St David’s Hall Shepherd’s Bush Empire
HAWKLORDS
Bilston
Robin 2
HAYSEED DIXIE
Galway Limerick Dublin Cork Belfast Aberdeen
Roisin Dubh Dolan’s Tripod Cypress Avenue Spring & Airbrake Lemon Tree
May 23 May 24 May 26 May 27 May 28 May 29 May 30 Jun 1 Jun 2/3 Jun 4 Jun 6 Jun 7 Jun 9 Jun10 Feb 17 Feb 18 Feb 19 Feb 20 Feb 21 Feb 22 Feb 24
Inverness Banchory Glasgow Dundee Edinburgh Newcastle Nottingham Cleethorpes Preston Holmfirth Leicester Bath Bridgwater Tavistock Bridport Falmouth Bournemouth Cambridge St Albans Bilston Hull Doncaster London
HIM
Norwich Manchester Edinburgh Newcastle Bournemouth Birmingham Nottingham
July 25 Ironworks Woodend Barn ABC Fat Sam’s Picture House Academy Rock City Beachcomber 53 Degrees Picturedrome Y Theatre Komedia Palace The Wharf Electric Palace Princess Pavilion V Club Junction Arena Robin 2 Tower Rocks Festival The Tramshed
Feb 25 Feb 26 Feb 27 Feb 28 Mar 1 Mar 2 Mar 4 Mar 5 Mar 6 Mar 7 Mar 9 Mar 10 Mar 11 Mar 12 Mar 13 Mar 14 Mar 16 Mar 17 Mar 18 Mar 19 Mar 20 Mar 21 Mar 22
UEA Academy Picture House Academy Academy Academy Rock City
Mar 13 Mar 14 Mar 15 Mar 16 Mar 18 Mar 19 Mar 20
STEVE HOWE TRIO
Birkenhead Gateshead Derby Manchester Worcester Aberdare Norwich Cambridge Wavendon Ilfracombe
Pacific Road Arts Centre The Sage Assembly Rooms Band On The Wall Huntingdon Hall Coliseum Theatre Arts Centre Junction The Stables Landmark Theatre
Mar 7 Mar 8 Mar 10 Mar 11 Mar 12 Mar 13 Mar 15 Mar 16 Mar 17 Mar 19
ICED EARTH, DEVILDRIVER, SKINDRED AND MORE
Hammerfest
Prestatyn
IGGY & THE STOOGES
London
Hammersmith Apollo
Mar 11-13
May 2/3
For the latest tour dates and ticket info, visit classicrockmagazine.com NAZARETH Stand by for a string of singalong hits and favourites including Bad Bad Boy, Broken Down Angel and My White Bicycle from these enduring Scots rockers in January and February.
RAMMSTEIN Get your metal dancing shoes on, grab a German dictionary (if you’re into lyrics) and grab yourself some big-show, glitztastic, arena-sized metal in February.
REEF Gary Stringer and co. realise the
error of their ways and reunite for an April tour. Get ready to get Naked (well, not really) and get a Good Feeling at a venue near you in April.
CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 105
LIVE! JETHRO TULL
Northampton Oxford St Albans Torquay Brighton Ipswich Reading Southampton High Wycombe Swindon London Bristol Croydon Derby Manchester Birmingham York Newcastle Aberdeen Perth Glasgow Liverpool Sheffield
Royal & Derngate New Theatre Arena Princess Theatre Dome Regent Theatre Hexagon Guildhall The Swan Wyvern Theatre Highbury Union Chapel Colston Hall Fairfield Halls Assembly Rooms Apollo Symphony Hall Opera House City Hall Music Hall Concert Hall Pavilion Philharmonic City Hall
ELTON JOHN
Watford
Vicarage Rd
KAMELOT AND ADAGIO
London
Camden Koko
KATATONIA
Manchester Nottingham London Prestatyn Cardiff Wolverhampton
Academy 3 Basement Highbury Garage Hammerfest Barfly Little Civic
KILLING JOKE
Edinburgh London
KISS
Dublin Glasgow Manchester Birmingham London
Picturehouse Hammersmith Apollo
O2 Arena SECC MEN Arena LG Arena Wembley Arena Rio’s Academy Sub Live Moho Live Sugarmill Academy 2 Camden Underworld
KISS
May 29
It’ll be hits, classics and entertainment all the way when rock’s greatest showmen don the slap for shows in May.
Mar 28 Mar 9 Mar 10 Mar 11 Mar 12 Mar 13 Mar 14 Apr 15 Apr 16 May 7 May 9 May 10 May 11 May 13 Jan 16 Jan 17 Jan 19 Jan 20 Jan 21 Jan 22 Jan 23
MARK KNOPFLER
Glasgow Newcastle Birmingham Manchester Cardiff Brighton Bournemouth London
SECC May 21 Metro Radio Arena May 22 LG Arena May 23 MEN Arena May 25 CIA May 26 Centre May 27 BIC May 28 Royal Albert Hall May 30/31, Jun 1-4
LACUNA COIL
Manchester Birmingham Glasgow Bristol London
Academy Academy ABC Academy Shepherd’s Bush Empire
Jan 31 Feb 1 Feb 2 Feb 4 Feb 5
LAMB OF GOD AND JOB FOR A COWBOY
Birmingham Newcastle Glasgow Manchester London
Academy Academy Barrowland Academy Brixton Academy
LOSTPROPHETS
Leicester Hull Nottingham Margate Portsmouth London Doncaster Leeds
De Montfort Hall Ice Arena Rock City Winter Gardens Guildhall Brixton Academy Dome Academy
NDS
Mar 5 Mar 6 Mar 7 Mar 9 Mar 10 Mar 11 Mar 12 Mar 13 Mar 14 Mar 16 Mar 17 Mar 18 Mar 19 Mar 22 Mar 23 Mar 24 Mar 25 Mar 27 Mar 28 Mar 29 Mar 30 Mar 31 Apr 1
KITTIE, IT DIES TODAY AND MALEFICE
Leeds Newcastle Reading Manchester Stoke-on-Trent Birmingham London
RECO MME
Feb 9 Feb 10 Feb 11 Feb 10 Feb 13 Feb 4 Feb 6 Feb 7 Feb 9 Feb 10 Feb 11 Feb 13 Feb 14
Leamington Spa Brighton London Bristol Whitehaven Glasgow Newcastle Glenrothes
Assembly Hall Concorde 2 Highbury Garage The Tunnels Civic Theatre Academy Academy Rothes Hall
Feb 12 Feb 13 Feb 15 Feb 16 Feb 18 Feb 19 Feb 20 Feb 21
NICKELBACK AND DAUGHTRY
Liverpool London
Arena Wembley Arena
Jan 17 Jan 19
OBITUARY, DORO, ROSS THE BOSS AND MORE
Bloodstock Festival Derby Catton Hall
OCEAN COLOUR SCENE
Dublin Glasgow Manchester Cambridge Birmingham Glasgow Edinburgh Yeovil Norwich Newcastle Manchester Southampton Bristol Port Talbot
O2 Arena SECC MEN Arena Corn Exchange Academy Academy Corn Exchange Westlands UEA Academy Apollo Guildhall Academy Afan Lido
LYNYRD SKYNYRD
Birmingham Cardiff London Manchester Glasgow
LG Arena CIA Hammersmith Apollo Apollo Clyde Auditorium
May 7 May 9 May 10 Feb 15 Feb 17 Feb 18 Feb 19 Feb 21 Feb 22 Feb 23 Feb 25 Feb 26 Feb 28 Mar 1 Mar 4 Mar 5 Mar 6 Mar 8 Mar 9
Birmingham London
LG Arena Wembley Arena
MASTODON
Wolverhampton Bristol Glasgow Manchester Newcastle Nottingham London
Wulfrun Hall Academy Barrowland Academy Academy Rock City Camden Roundhouse
AND ALBERTA CROSS
London Manchester Dublin Glasgow Birmingham
METALLICA
Belfast
O2 Arena Apollo O2 Arena SE&CC Academy
Mar 6 Mar 7 Mar 9 Mar 11 Mar 12
Odyssey Arena
May 11
LARRY MILLER BAND
MACHINE HEAD, HATEBREED AND MORE Pavilions Centre Brixton Academy Academy Academy Academy Academy Apollo Olympia George’s Market
Feb 16 Feb 17 Feb 18 Feb 21 Feb 22 Feb 23 Feb 25 Feb 26 Feb 28 Mar 1
MARDUK AND ANAAL NATHRAKH
London Birmingham Reading Cardiff Dublin Belfast Glasgow Leeds Leicester Manchester
Camden Underworld Asylum Sub 89 Venue Whelan’s Limelight Classic Grand Rio’s Retribution Metro Live
Jan 28 Jan 29 Jan 30 Jan 31 Feb 2 Feb 3 Feb 4 Feb 5 Feb 6 Feb 7
BERNIE MARSDEN
PLAYS RORY GALLAGHER
London Leicester
MARSEILLE
Rochdale Wigan Leeds Newcastle
Putney Half Moon The Musician Transport Club Maximes The Well Trillians
Jan 29 Jan 30 Feb 26 Feb 27
Robin 2
THE MOODY BLUES
Brighton Plymouth Cardiff Birmingham Sheffield Manchester Newcastle Liverpool Nottingham Ipswich Oxford Bristol Bournemouth London
Centre Pavilions St David’s Hall LG Arena City Hall Apollo City Hall Philharmonic Royal Concert Hall Regent New Theatre Hippodrome BIC O2 Arena
MUNICIPAL WASTE
Birmingham Glasgow Leeds London
MUSE
Manchester London
NAZARETH
Feb 5 Feb 6
Feb 16 Feb 17 Feb 19 Feb 20 Feb 21 Feb 23 Feb 24
DAVE MATTHEWS BAND
Bilston Plymouth Newport London Birmingham Leeds Glasgow Newcastle Manchester Dublin Belfast
May 11 May 13
Skegness Bradford Galashiels Bilston Letchworth Crewe Barnsley Liverpool Leicester
Feb 25 Sep 7 Sep 8 Sep 10 Sep 11 Sep 12 Sep 14 Sep 15 Sep 16 Sep 18 Sep 19 Sep 20 Sep 22 Sep 23 Sep 24
Academy King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut Cockpit King’s Cross Scala
Jan 31 Feb 1 Feb 2 Feb 4
Lancashire Cricket Ground Wembley Stadium
Sep 4 Sep 11
Butlins Gasworks Volunteer Halls Robin 2 Plinston Hall M Club Birtwell Venue Academy The Musician
Jan 31 Feb 1 Feb 2 Feb 4 Feb 5 Feb 6 Feb 7 Feb 9 Feb 11
Oxford Bournemouth Derby Liverpool Coventry Sheffield Middlesbrough Glenrothes Wick Inverness Aberdeen Edinburgh Stirling Montrose Bradford Blackburn Hanley Reading Loughborough Cambridge Lincoln Cardiff St Albans
Academy Academy Assembly Rooms Academy Kasbah Academy Empire Rothes Hall Assembly Rooms Ironworks Music Hall Picture House Albert Hall Town Hall St George’s Hall King George’s Hall Victoria Hall Hexagon University Corn Exchange Engine Shed Coal Exchange Arena
Aug 13-15 Feb 2 Feb 3 Feb 5 Feb 6 Feb 7 Feb 9 Feb 10 Feb 11 Feb 13 Feb 14 Feb 15 Feb 17 Feb 19 Feb 20 Feb 22 Feb 23 Feb 24 Feb 26 Feb 27 Feb 28 Mar 2 Mar 3 Mar 4
OCEANSIZE – RESCHEDULED DATES
Liverpool Dundee Aberdeen Glasgow Manchester London Cardiff Nottingham
OPETH
London
OVERKILL
Wolverhampton London
PAVEMENT
Dublin Glasgow London Minehead
Masque Fat Sam’s Tunnels King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut Academy 3 Charing Cross Heaven Barfly Seven Royal Albert Hall
Apr 5
Wulfrun Hall Islington Academy
Feb 24 Feb 25
Tripod Barrowland Brixton Academy All Tomorrow’s Parties
THE PRODIGY
Doncaster Bridlington Blackpool Plymouth Southend-on-Sea Bournemouth Milton Keynes
Dome Spa Empress Ballroom Pavilion Cliffs Pavilion BIC Bowl
RAMMSTEIN
Manchester Birmingham London
MEN Arena LG Arena Wembley Arena
RATT – RESCHEDULED DATES
Wolverhampton London
CHRIS REA
Birmingham Liverpool Brighton London Nottingham Newcastle Harrogate Oxford Portsmouth Plymouth Bristol
Jan 28 Jan 29 Jan 30 Jan 31 Feb 2 Feb 3 Feb 4 Feb 5
Wulfrun Hall Islington Academy
Symphony Hall Philharmonic Hall Centre Hammersmith Apollo Royal Concert Hall City Hall International New Theatre Guildhall Pavilion Colston Hall
May 4 May 5 May 10-13 May 15 Jan 21 Jan 22 Jan 23 Jan 25 Jan 26 Jan 27 Jul 24 Feb 2 Feb 3 Feb 4 Jun 17 Jul 8 Mar 9 Mar 11 Mar 13 Mar 14 Mar 15 Mar 17 Mar 19 Mar 21 Mar 22 Mar 24 Mar 25
TOUR DATES Cardiff Manchester Sheffield Aberdeen Edinburgh Glasgow Dublin Belfast
St David’s Hall Apollo City Hall Music Hall Festival Theatre Clyde Auditorium Olympia Waterfront
Mar 26 Mar 28 Mar 29 Mar 31 Apr 1 Apr 2 Apr 4 Apr 5
THE REASONING
Poole York Bristol London Bilston Bury Glasgow Leicester Cambridge
DAN REED
London
REEF
Glasgow Norwich Birmingham Bristol London Manchester
RICH KIDS
London
Mr Kyp’s Fibbers Fleece & Firkin Islington Bar Academy Robin 2 The Met Cathouse Y Club Junction
Apr 21 Apr 22 Apr 23 Apr 24 Apr 25 Apr 29 Apr 30 May 2 May 13
Highbury Union Chapel
Mar 5
ABC UEA Academy Academy Shepherd’s Bush Empire Academy
Apr 17 Apr 18 Apr 20 Apr 21 Apr 23 Apr 24
Islington Academy
Jan 7
HENRY ROLLINS
Dublin Glasgow Leicester London Salford Leamington Spa Norwich Bournemouth Liverpool Newcastle Leeds Wolverhampton
Vicar Street Academy De Montfort Hall Royal Festival Hall The Lowry Assembly Hall UEA Opera House Academy Academy Academy Wulfrun Hall
Jan 12 Jan 13 Jan 14 Jan 15 Jan 16 Jan 17 Jan 18 Jan 19 Jan 20 Jan 21 Jan 22 Jan 23
TODD RUNDGREN
London
Hammersmith Apollo
Feb 6
ST VITUS AND ORANGE GOBLIN
London
Islington Academy
Feb 3
MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP
London
SKINDRED
Portsmouth Derby Colchester Woking Prestatyn Preston Edinburgh York Birmingham Newport
Shepherd’s Bush Empire
Jun 2
Wedgewood Rooms The Royal Arts Centre The Quake Club Hammerfest 53 Degrees Studio 24 The Duchess Academy 2 TJs
Mar 9 Mar 10 Mar 11 Mar 12 Mar 13 Mar 15 Mar 16 Mar 17 Mar 18 Mar 19
SLAYER AND THE HAUNTED – RESCHEDULED DATES
Manchester London Nottingham
Academy Kentish Town Forum Rock City
Mar 7 Mar 8/9 Apr 2
RECO MME
NDS
SLAYER
Wolverhampton Bristol
U.D.O.
One of the original ‘big four’ of thrash metal, and still as uncompromising as ever. Listen in March/April.
Glasgow Leeds Birmingham
Academy Kentish Town Forum Rock City Barrowland Academy Academy
JEFF SCOTT SOTO
London
Camden Underworld
STACKRIDGE
Sheffield Birkenhead Stamford Wavendon Bury Liverpool Bilston
Boardwalk Pacific Road Arts Centre Arts Centre The Stables The Met Crosby Civic Hall Robin 2
STATUS QUO AND MORE
Guilfest
Guildford
STEEL PANTHER
Newcastle London Sheffield
Academy Brixton Academy O2 Arena
STEREOPHONICS
Newcastle Glasgow Nottingham Birmingham Manchester Sheffield London London
Arena SE&CC Arena NIA MEN Arena Arena O2 Arena Wembley Arena
STRANGLERS
Glasgow Dunfermline Aberdeen
Academy Alhambra Forum
Mar 23 Mar 24
MARTIN TURNER’S WISHBONE ASH
Chislehurst London Skegness Cardiff Bristol York Southampton Sutton Worcester Derby Bilston Sheffield Liverpool Stratford-on-Avon Ryde (IOW) Leicester Newcastle
Manchester London Nottingham
Wulfrun Hall Academy
Mar 7 Mar 8/9 Apr 2
Glasgow Leeds Birmingham
Apr 3 Apr 4 Apr 5
Nottingham Liverpool Sheffield Bristol Brighton Leeds Newcastle Birmingham Southampton Oxford Cambridge London Manchester
Jan 20 Jan 23 Jan 29 Jan 30 Feb 12 Feb 19 Feb 20 Apr 15 Jul 16-18 Mar 18 Mar 19 Mar 20 Mar 1 Mar 3 Mar 5 Mar 6 Mar 7 Mar 9 Mar 10 Mar 11 Feb 26 Feb 27 Feb 28
Barrowland Academy Academy Rock City Academy Academy Academy Dome Academy Academy Academy Guildhall Academy Corn Exchange Hammersmith Apollo Academy
Apr 3 Apr 4 Apr 5 Mar 3 Mar 5 Mar 6 Mar 8 Mar 9 Mar 11 Mar 12 Mar 13 Mar 14 Mar 17 Mar 18 Mar 19 Mar 20
STRATOVARIUS AND MYSTIC PROPHECY
London
STRYPER
London
Highbury Garage
Jan 10
Islington Academy
Jan 24
MICK TAYLOR, NAZARETH, THE YARDBIRDS AND MORE
Rock & Blues Weekend
Skegness Butlins Jan 29-31
TRIVIUM AND CHIMAIRA
Cardiff Nottingham Hanley Leeds Newcastle Inverness Glasgow Manchester Norwich Portsmouth London Oxford Folkestone
University Rock City Victoria Hall Metropolitan University Academy Ironworks Barrowland Academy UEA Pyramid Centre Camden Koko Academy Leas Cliff Hall
Mar 5 Mar 6 Mar 7 Mar 8 Mar 10 Mar 11 Mar 12 Mar 13 Mar 14 Mar 16 Mar 17/18 Mar 20 Mar 22
London Nottingham Leeds
Beaverwood Club Oxford Street 100 Club Rock & Blues Festival The Globe Metropolis Fibbers The Brook Boom Boom Club Huntingdon Hall Flowerpot Robin 2 Boardwalk Baby Blue Cox’s Yard Medina Theatre Y Theatre The Cluny Highbury Garage Rock City Rio’s
JOHN WAITE
Carlisle Bilston London
Brickyard Robin 2 Camden Underworld
PAUL WELLER
London
WINGER
Bristol Portsmouth Manchester Dudley Belfast Glasgow Newcastle Leeds Sheffield London
Royal Albert Hall
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LIVE! New York Dolls’ David Johansen: weatherbeaten but unbowed.
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‘Songs abo ut beer can hardly fail in this setting .’
REVIEWS
Hard Rock Hell III Pontin’s Holiday Park, Prestatyn
From Viking hats to three-day hangovers, HRH left lucky attendees used, abused and loving it. Dom Lawson, Geoff Barton and Scott Rowley survived to tell the tale. Just. THURSDAY
The Vikings are out in force at Hard Rock Hell’s opening night piss-up. Plastic helmets are toppled and crude wooden weaponry is thrust ceiling-ward, as Attica Rage’s trad-metal anthems bludgeon newly beery party-goers into cheerful submission. They may lack finesse, but the Scots’ infectious enthusiasm sweeps across the hall like a grin-shaped tsunami. Sometimes when there’s mischief to be made, you need to bring in the experts. GMT are old but dextrous hands, and their thumping blues-metal racket could hardly be more apposite in this lager-sodden environment. There’s something about a tough and destructive three-piece that never fails to hit the spot, and songs like Evil Twin seem custom-designed to conjure some virile, hedonistic voodoo. All that’s left is to wonder what must be going on behind John McCoy’s shades as he looks across a room full of grown men and women dressed like extras from a lowbudget historical epic. A vision of hell, indeed.
Ratt in the cellar: Stephen Pearcy. Blowin’ in the wind: Dan and Sally of Hanging Doll.
FRIDAY
Girlschool’s Jackie Chambers with her ‘Steel Panther’ guitar.
ALL PHOTOGRAPHY: KEVIN NIXON/FUTURE NETWORK
Webmaster: Black Spiders’ Ozzy Lister.
Arthemis have travelled over from their native Italy with the primary purpose of winning over a mildly hungover Hard Rock Hell crowd. They do it with ease, motoring through half an hour of slick and fiery powercum-thrash metal and charming all and sundry with big smiles and bigger riffs. Gung-ho Geordies Remedy acquit themselves well. Delightfully-named gal singer Jenn Cherene is a soulful belter, but as the set progresses the band’s bluesy material – although undeniably powerful – begins to sound somewhat one-dimensional. We really enjoyed South Wales’ Dead Against The Rest. Imagine the Sex Pistols playing Iron Maiden covers, with a lead singer – the strangely monikered Shtaq – who looks like Meat Loaf, and twirls the mic like David Lee Roth. Fair dues! Hanging Doll have the best wind machines in the house – even during soundcheck. Plus the Birmingham-based orchestral goth metallers are so loud, they make the sleeves of your jacket ripple. The dramatic, sprawling Iniquity is a standout… it’s just a shame that a lot of the subtleties are lost in the deafening sonics. But it’s certainly refreshing to hear frontgal Sally Holliday’s thick Brummie accent; a welcome change from the ethereal proclamations of the likes of Tarja Turunen. Songs about beer can hardly fail at Hard Rock Hell, and Korpiklaani sing about little else, their spiralling, accordion-laced folk metal lunacy a perfect fit with the general air of drunken abandon. The hardest-working band in Glasgow, Logan prove themselves as one of the best warm-up acts in the country, able to win over any crowd. Tonight a cleverly pitched cover of War Pigs seals the deal. Nae bother. If Gun don’t court the audience so openly – a deft cover of The Police’s So Lonely shows where their head is at – they’re even more successful, tearing up expectations with a mix of infectious new songs (Let Your Hair Down) and old classics like Better Days. They’re one of the few bands here who could trouble the charts again. Delain might have connections with Within Temptation (they were founded by Martijn Westerholt, brother of WT’s Robert
Westerholt) but thankfully they’re nowhere near as overblown or pompous. Charlotte Wessels proves to be an engaging frontwoman and their take on symphonic metal has an agreeable cutting edge. Recommended. Hard Rock Hell comes alive with a dynamite – but oh so short – 30-minute set from fast-rising Swedish femme metallers Hysterica. There’s a surprise line-up change, with Jessica (no surname) replacing the near-legendary RockZilla on guitar, but no one notices the join. This is a masterclass in barking-mad, bark-it-out-loud metal… with wardrobe malfunctions and everything! Girls Made Of Heavy Metal? It couldn’t have been any better if they’d been made of steak and chips. Ratt are one of Friday’s best bands. Frontman Stephen Pearcy, with his dinky black studded gloves, sunken cheekbones and curiously flat hair, looks effortlessly cool as the veteran LA combo rattle through their hits – You’re In Love, Round And Round et al. And suddenly it got us thinking… could Pearcy be a credible candidate for the next Aerosmith singer? On this display – you betcha! Shit, his name’s even Steve. It must be fate. Black Spiders steadily increase the size of their audience as they go along, drawing punters into the second stage arena using only the mesmerising power of laudably enormous riffs and lashings of melodic muscle. One of those bands that could easily end up supporting bigger names for the rest of their career if they’re not careful, this lot have critical approval and fan-recruiting momentum in the bag, so all that they need is a debut album that takes people’s heads off; something they clearly have no trouble doing in the flesh, as the monstrous roar of approval that greets every song would seem to confirm. This weekend, the Spiders’ web is virtually irresistible. If you want a festival-friendly, greatest hits set, Terrorvision are perfect because they never really bothered to write anything that wasn’t a three-and-a-halfminute single. Tonight they pebbledash the crowd with sing-along sputum, jauntily thundering their way through Oblivion, Discotheque Wreck, Perseverance and all the rest, with their utter disregard for coolness or artistic relevance propelling them joyfully along, just as it ever was. Huge, burly metal fans bellow their approval, giddy on hook punch and melody pie, and the band themselves look absolutely delighted to be on such splendid form. Eight years after their original split, Terrorvision are as fresh as an eight-legged daisy and it’s a wonder that they haven’t already made this a permanent arrangement once more. Or maybe they have. It’s always good to see a band in a headlining slot on musical merit rather than commercial clout, and Monster Magnet have always known how to deliver the goods, even in tricky circumstances. After his recent brush with the cosmic cheeseburger, Dave Wyndorf appears to be beginning to shrink back down to something approaching normal size for the snakehipped, acid-fuelled sex ape we hope and expect him to be, and he sounds as thrillingly goofy and lascivious as ever on Powertrip and Space Lord. It might be asking a bit much for his band to conquer the world a second time, but there are still few bands so capable of taking rock into orbit, as they ebb, contract and smother like the ultimate space-rock electric blanket. CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 109
LIVE! ‘A blisterin g display makes W.A .S.P. the band of the festival.’
Hysterica-l reaction: bass-player SatAnica.
The cat’s whiskers: Tigertailz’ Jay Pepper.
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Hooligan tendencies: Paul Gautry of The Glitterati.
REVIEWS SATURDAY
Geoff Tate of Queensrÿche: where were the hits?
Marya Roxx: the she-wolf cometh.
Dave Wyndorf of Monster Magnet: cosmic cheeseburgers ahoy. Lyttle big man: Rogue Male’s Jim.
Pig Irön enjoy a surprisingly strong attendance for a performance that starts at the (relatively) ungodly hour of 12 noon. The band sound intense and plodding, in a good way, with some blistering vocals from Johnny Ogle – and some great harmonica playing from him, too. The brooding, Southern rock-flavoured Lord, Kill The Pain makes a fine ending to a fine set. Watching Dumpy’s Rusty Nuts is like being in London’s old Marquee club on a wet Tuesday night 25 years ago – it’s all meandering guitar solos from the decrepit-looking Dumpster, and a set packed full of witless mutilations of old rock’n’roll standards. To follow, Paul Gautry, lead singer of The Glitterati, looks like the son of Gary Holton – and there are certainly some hooligan, Heavy Metal Kids-style elements to the band’s trash/ punk approach… if you concentrate really hard. But as the set goes on each song – be it new release Fight! Fight! Fight! or Overnight Superstar – begins to sound like The Knack on steroids. Marseille’s set is hampered (as it always has been) by a lack of quality material. Be it an oldie like Rock You Tonight or a new ’un like Are You Ready, the band’s songs are trite and average at best. It’s also discomfiting to see them portray themselves as NWOBHM legends, because that’s a claim without foundation. Girlschool overcome some early problems with Enid Williams’ bass to deliver an excellent performance. Highlights include a rollicking version of Take It All Away – a song introduced by guitarist Kim McAuliffe as “the first song we recorded all those years ago… but we still remember it – I hope.” Today’s is an ageless display, with Enid in particular looking hot in her uniform of leather or rubber (or possibly both). At the end of Race With The Devil a grubby-looking pair of men’s underpants is thrown on stage [You can’t take that Dom Lawson anywhere - Ed]. Tom Jones, eat your heart out. Our only criticism? Given Girlschool’s gritty, down-to-earth approach, Jackie Chambers’ gleaming Flying V-style guitar looks a bit out of place. Still, she could always sell it to Steel Panther. Skipping nimbly around any technical obstacles, Tigertailz are indecently entertaining today. Well-drilled and far heavier than they sounded 20 years ago, they end with a scalp-lifting version of Ace Of Spades and go down an absolute storm. For fans looking for some hard rock (as opposed to heavy metal) at Hard Rock Hell, Quireboys are a godsend. No pointy headstocks, no lyrics about castles, demons or wizards – just an hour of uproarious (Frankie Miller-fronting-The-Faces-covering-Slade) rock’n’roll that makes this writer realise that even we on CR don’t take ’em seriously enough. Elixir turn out to be the surprise NWOBHM package of Hard Rock Hell. They have a fearsome twin-guitar attack – take a bow, Phil Denton and ‘Storming’ Norman Gordon – a blond giant of a frontman in Paul Taylor, and a soaring anthem in the form of Midnight Messiah. Why have they never been able to capture this livewire spirit in the recording studio? More NWOBHM genius comes forth in the shape of Witchfynde, with the amazing Montalo on guitar. A mirthsome moment occurs when Luther Beltz (the best-named rock singer… ever) proclaims: “Mr Lars Ulrich said to me, when you get to Prestatyn you must play my favourite Witchfynde song.” Which they do. ’Twas Leaving Nadir, of course – one of the great undiscovered NWOBHM classics. Marya Roxx is a dead spit for Lauren Harris, who is due to perform later on in the day. On closer inspection, however, the Estonia-born, California-based singer proves to be a fearsome, claws-out she-wolf – making Ms Harris
look like a fluffy pussycat. Plus we get to hear a storming song called 21?! “Get your whips out,” Marya urges at one point. Yeah… but only if you put the handcuffs away, dear. Otherwise things could get decidedly dangerous. With plenty of bands proving that reunions don’t have to be tired and cynical affairs, the not exactly legendary Hammerhead could have triumphed here, but instead they barely manage to plod their way through an amiable but thrill-starved set of NWOBHM meat’n’potatoes, their collective mojo visibly and audibly malnourished. A few loyal fans generously punch the air in support, but it’s hard to fathom what younger, less misty-eyed punters must be thinking. Angel Witch spearhead a third NWOBHM triumph, with the enduring Kevin Heybourne guiding his troops through classic after classic. Naturally, the set climaxes with the rousing crowd-participation chant of: “You’re an Angel Witch, you’re an Angel Witch.” We would’ve been stunned if it hadn’t! And who was that guy on bass? Will Palmer, manager of Cathedral, that’s who. Or as a Cathedral-member-who-shall-remain nameless whispered to us: “Will? Yeah, his mum is in EastEnders.” Rogue Male make a credible if somewhat shambolic return. Frontman Jim Lyttle (now bald rather than bequiffed) is still angry… albeit in the manner of a belligerent neighbour who doesn’t like you parking your car across his drive. Old chestnuts like Take No Shit and Rough Tough (Pretty Too) might’ve been strung out for all they were worth, but newie Dangerzone gives the set a boost and Crazy Motorcycle – their most recognisable song – is a decent enough climax. W.A.S.P., by popular consensus, are the band of the festival. Blackie Lawless, buzzsaw bracelets and all, has still got it – in spades – and rolls back the years with a blistering display. Wild Child, I Wanna Be Somebody, The Real Me… what a relief it is to hear these old stingers delivered with power, passion and, yes, credibility. Blackie – who these days resembles the Bride Of Chucky dressed up like Alice Cooper – is in total control, even urging the audience to “SHHHHH!” at one stage. You could hear a studded codpiece drop. After a succession of slam-bang standards, The Idol (from 1992’s The Crimson Idol) and Take Me Up (from 2007’s Dominator) provide a relatively mellow change of pace. But before long the razzle-dazzle frenzy begins all over again, and the set ramps up to a close with Blind In Texas. While many of his peers may be creaking into retirement, Blackie shows he can still deliver. Queensrÿche’s headlining set looks destined to pass into rock festival folklore, but for all the wrong reasons. Kicking off with three tracks from American Soldier and making everyone wait for a full half an hour before playing anything from Empire would have been a gamble worth taking if this was their own show, but this is a festival crowd and the lack of hits swiftly takes its toll as the room begins to empty. Given how W.A.S.P. ripped the place apart with hits galore moments earlier, it seems ludicrous that the Seattle veterans can’t even bring themselves to play anything from Operation: Mindcrime. We do get Silent Lucidity and Empire, but for all Geoff Tate’s smug cajoling and bizarrely flamboyant stage moves, few people here seem bothered. Shame. There are no such concerns with New York Dolls, who are not just the loudest band of the weekend but also one of the most relentlessly entertaining. Having skilfully established this new line-up with two excellent studio albums, the death-cheating veterans have little to prove and could easily have trotted out the obvious hits with lazy contempt, but there is real vitality and verve popping and fizzing from the PA speakers as classics like Trash and Pills swap spit with newer, similarly priapic material. David Johansen still looks like a shrink-wrapped Mick Jagger and his voice remains a thing of weatherbeaten wonder, as Sylvain Sylvain’s six-string street poetry rebounds around the auditorium. If rock‘n’roll is about feeling good, the New York Dolls are very much fit for purpose, and Hard Rock Hell is reaping the benefits of some good goddamn therapy.
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LIVE! Slash and Friends
Slash and Perry Farrell get into Rolling Stones mode; a fired-up Ozzy (inset) goes Crazy…
Los Angeles Avalon Ballroom More than just a stars’ karaoke.
ROSS HALFIN
“Between them these guys have fucked all the girls in Hollywood”, the astute compere announces as Slash and the first of his cast of fabulous miscreants shuffle onto the stage to rapturous applause. Powered by Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker, Slash – unusually without the signature cigarette dangling from his bottom lip – opens proceedings with Immigrant Song featuring ferocious vocals from Frankie Perez, who then charged through Space Truckin’, Jailbreak and Whole Lotta Love with confidence and aplomb. Then come the guests: Wolfmother’s Andrew Stockdale unveiled By The Sword, a song from Slash’s new album, which has ‘classic’ embedded in its DNA; Chester Bennington storms through a bombastic version of Paradise City that has an ecstatic Steven Adler grinning from ear to ear behind his drum kit; Perry Farrell slithers sinuously through the hypnotic trance of Sympathy For The Devil; a typically snarling Billy Idol’s top lip almost leaves his face during a pornographic rendition of Iggy Pop’s Down On The Street. It’s a night full of highlights, but top kudos must go to Ozzy who, looking trim and dapper, brings his own brand of insanity to the evening during Crazy Train by greeting the Hollywood cognoscenti in the balcony with a raucous “Come on, you fuckers!” followed by a chucked bucket of water. You really had to be there. Peter Makowski
Yes
London Hammersmith Apollo
Motörhead/The Damned/ Girlschool
Deep Purple
London Hammersmith Apollo
The jury returns a verdict of… maybe.
Newcastle City Hall
So, can Benoit David, Yes’s new singer, really replace Jon Anderson? That’s the question on everyone’s mind as the Firebird Suite intro gives way to, it has to be said, lame renditions of Siberian Khatru and I’ve Seen All Good People. Two-and-a-half hours later, the answer to the David question is still up in the air. In a set stuffed with crowd pleasers, there are times – Heart Of The Sunrise, Roundabout – when the new lineup gel impressively; there are others – Astral Traveller, Yours Is No Disgrace – where it comes across as all too forced and static. The low point is the lacklustre Owner Of A Lonely Heart, delivered with an embarrassing insouciance. It’s here that David shows he could easily become a camp version of his predecessor. The highlight comes on two songs from the underrated Drama album, Tempus Fugit and Machine Messiah both bristling with welcome purpose and focus. If Steve Howe and Chris Squire – now de facto leaders of Yes – can build a set around David’s strengths, and give Oliver Wakeman’s keyboards a more prominent role, then the current incarnation of the band have a shot at a genuine future. Otherwise they’re doomed to become a nostalgic parody.
Value three-pack with an iron fist. It’s tough being third on the bill and having just half an hour to play with, but Girlschool work as hard as any headliner, even though their ‘hits’ are delivered to just an incoming trickle of punters. At the end of their set the deserved applause has those just arriving wondering: “What have we missed?” Damned keyboardist Monty Oxymoron clearly missed the wardrobe rehearsal, looking like a dead ringer for former EastEnders nerd Nigel or the Tap’s Viv Savage. And Captain Sensible’s stroppy teen-style Cock-er-nee persona is decades past its sell-by, but he and equally well-preserved frontman Dave Vanian’s well-paced set more than compensates. Suitably warmed-up, the Geordie audience are well ready for Motörhead, who first punch out Iron Fist before cherry-picking from across the years, including a superb I Got Mine, Motörizer highlights like The Thousand Names Of God, plus, naturally, Bomber, a coruscating Killed By Death and a pulsating Overkill. ‘You’re a fucking great crowd, Newcastle,” Lemmy announces. “I’d play for you any time.” And this crowd would doubtless be there any time he chooses to.
Re-formed, reactivated and revitalised 70s rock bands can look a bit ridiculous: 60s-year-olds in bandanas or those 80s unstructured linen suits or unflattering tight jeans. Deep Purple stop looking in any way daft just as soon as they kick off a punchy Highway Star. Ian Gillan, at 64, has a lot to carry: can he scream the way he used to? Does he still have the ability to look good in black velvet loon pants? Well, the screaming ability isn’t really put to the test, since tonight Purple don’t play Child In Time. On the ‘fashion’ front, Gillan looks okay, but then he isn’t dressing like he’s in his 20s. With nothing new to promote, the set is something of a ‘greatest hits’ and odds and sods collection. The big surprise is the outing for the jazzy Maybe I’m A Leo. Guitarist Steve Morse is the equal of Blackmore or Bolin, and gets the chance to show off during a lengthy Wring That Neck, perhaps making up for a shortage of songs in the set from albums made during his tenure. Still, along with anything else they might play, we’re all here to hear Smoke On The Water. And it’s till the greatest riff in the history of the universe.
Malcolm Dome
Paul Ging
Tommy Udo
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More than just that riff.
REVIEWS ‘Kiss give it plenty of f lash, ba ng and even extra wallop.’
Kiss: the frenzy, fun and revelry of a WWA tournament.
Kiss
Los Angeles Staples Center In terms of bangs for your buck, nobody does it better.
ROSS HALFIN
“If you’ve come here to see a band that’s going to solve global warming, then you’re in the wrong damn place!” One could say that, with that, Paul Stanley is stating the bloody obvious, especially when you consider that Kiss’s stage production probably uses enough wattage to power a small country. With family jewels and friends watching the show from the mixing desk platform, the band give it plenty of flash, bang and even extra wallop in their adopted home town and, impressively, succeed in drawing a genuinely enthusiastic response from a usually blasé LA crowd. This Kiss Alive 35 tour seems to have been on the road for an eternity and is by now a finely tuned machine featuring all their classics – Deuce, Hotter Than Hell, Cold Gin, Black Diamond etc – along with pizazz and pyrotechnics that create an atmosphere akin to the frenzy, fun and revelry of a WWA tournament. With a new, more minimalist, hi-tech stage set featuring banks of video screens that make watching a U2 show seem like an evening staring through a Curry’s shop window, and the introduction of more new material, including two future anthems – Beautiful Delilah and Say Yeah – from the new album, this tantalising taster of the forthcoming European Sonic Boom tour culminates with ‘the longest encore ever’ featuring a surreal but highly effective Marcel Marceau moment during Detroit Rock City. Peter Makowski
Parlor Mob
Alice Cooper/ManRaze
The Answer
You want good tunes? They’ve got ’em.
Alice plays it tight but plays it safe.
The final solution.
It’s a rare band that receives trance-like attention and bellowing cheers like these, but then Parlor Mob tug at this sweaty crowd’s marionette strings like no common breed. With a packed-out Shinedown gig just up the road, stalwart rockers the Mob have still stuffed the Barfly with generations of revellers. And with good reason: these diminutive New Jersey hellraisers simply shit good tunes. Of course, if you know that then you’ve already put your money on this year’s breathtakingly hook-laden And You Were A Crow. But on stage Parlor Mob are an even bigger proposition. From singer Mark Melicia’s Geddy Lee-pitched howl, to skewering riffs that, played live, are stretched to their trippy limits, this is an hypnotic affair that, even slightly hamstrung by some equipment failure that curtails Melicia’s desire to extend the encore, is never less than sterling. From the caterwauling heft of Hard Times to and the radio-friendly magnetism of Everything You Were Breathing For, the only thing this set lacks is the showstopping balladry of the breathtaking My Favourite Heart To Break, a jewel in And You Were A Crow’s crown. But at least it’s something to look forward to the next time Parlor Mob bring their talents over here.
Despite featuring a real live Sex Pistol (drummer Paul Cook) and a Leppard (guitarist/frontman Phil Collen) in their line-up, ManRaze (completed by ex-Girl bassist Simon Laffy) struggle to make an impression this evening, a fast-filling Apollo merely tolerating the trio’s presence instead of appreciating it. For headliner Cooper this tour represented a chance to freshen up a set-list that has stagnated of late. Let’s face it, if you can’t shake things up a little to celebrate a concept album about a serial killer named Spider who leaves his victims cocooned in a silk web, chances are you never will. Particularly when 2008’s Along Came A Spider was so well-received. However, with just one song – Vengeance Is Mine, delivered from atop a high podium – added to the routine, Cooper instead favours the hits. Nobody complains, mind. Far from it, in fact. What we get tonight is a fast-moving, thrill-a-minute ride. Backed by a super-tight bunch of young bucks, Cooper is garrotted, decapitated, reincarnated and impaled on a 10-foot hypodermic needle. Alice’s presence remains as magnetic as ever, but time alone will tell if he missed an opportunity here.
So what have The Answer learned during their summer tour supporting AC/DC? Probably that their brand of rock is up there with the giants. Opening with Tonight, frontman Cormac Neeson breezes through a first-rate performance with the assuredness of a man who can taste lasting success for his band. He constantly talks to the audience, spinning tales and waxing lyrical about the summer memories that inspired Cryin’ Out, or warning of the darker moments in the ominously atmospheric highlight Why Do You Change Your Mind. The sinister atmosphere is then broken immediately by the ironically more upbeat Evil Man. But it’s not just Neeson, distracting though his curtain of flowing hair is, who demands attention. Always an issue for what is essentially a three-piece with a singer, guitarist Paul Mahon switches impressively from riffs to solos with aplomb. Firm favourite Under The Sky, from the band’s first album, concludes the main set, before a stomping Belfast blues-off along the lines of Preachin’ closes the show amid roars of appreciation from a packed house, surely dispelling any lurking demons.
Alexander Milas
Dave Ling
Louise Perkins
London Camden Barfly
LondonHammersmith Apollo
Bristol O2 Academy
CLASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM 113
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14 WOLVERHAMPTON LITTLE CIVIC 0870 320 7000
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for VIP tickets call: 020 7603 6033 / markbutler.co.uk The new album ‘Scratch My Back’ out 14/02/10 • www.petergabriel.com A Kilimanjaro presentation KILIMANJARO LIVE BY ARRANGEMENT WITH K2 AGENCY PRESENTS
Burton C Bell - Dino Cazares - Byron Stroud - Gene Hoglan
PLUS GUESTS
Rescheduled Dates – Original Tickets Remain Valid
Sunday 07 March
MANCHESTER ACADEMY 0161 832 1111
Monday 08 & Tuesday 09 March
LONDON HMV FORUM 0844 847 2405
Friday 02 April
NOTTINGHAM ROCK CITY 0871 3100 000
Saturday 03 April
GLASGOW BARROWLAND 0871 230 7131
FEBRUARY 16 MANCHESTER ACADEMY 2 17 WOLVERHAMPTON WULFRUN HALL 18 GLASGOW GARAGE 19 LONDON CAMDEN ELECTRIC BALLROOM
Sunday 04 April
0161 832 1111 0870 320 7000 0844 477 1000 0871 230 5595
LEEDS O 2 ACADEMY 0844 477 2000 Monday 05 April
BIRMINGHAM O 2 ACADEMY 0844 477 2000
TICKETS ALSO AVAILABLE FROM WWW.KILILIVE.COM WWW.SEETICKETS.COM / 0871 230 5595 AND USUAL OUTLETS
TICKETS ALSO AVAILABLE FROM 0871 230 5595 KILILIVE.COM / SEETICKETS.COM / SONISPHEREFESTIVALS.COM
A KILIMANJARO, DF AND WCH PRESENTATION BY ARRANGEMENT WITH THE AGENCY GROUP
THE NEW ALBUM “WORLD PAINTED BLOOD” OUT NOW WWW.SLAYER.NET
THE ALBUM ‘MECHANIZE’ OUT FEBRUARY 5TH ON OXIDIZER / AFM RECORDS
T I C K E T S AVA I L A B L E AT K I L I L I V E . C O M
Line-Up subject to change • subject to licencE
Tickets also available from: ticketmaster.co.uk / 0844 847 2342 • ticketline.co.uk / 0844 888 9991 • stargreen.com / 0207 734 8932 • gigantic.com Accessibility booking line: 0115 959 7959 • Rock Royalty VIP hotline: 020 7399 7077
For tickets, special offers PLUS information on camping, travel and everything else go to:
KNEBWORTH: FRIDAY 30TH JULY - SUNDAY 1ST AUGUST 2010
April 2010 17. Glasgow O2 ABC
PLUS GUESTS
08444 999 990
18. Norwich UEA 01603 508 050
20. Birmingham O2 Academy
0844 477 2000
21. Bristol O2 Academy
0844 477 2000
23. London O2 Shepherds Bush Empire 0844 477 2000
24. Manchester Academy
MARCH 2010 SAT 13 NORWICH UEA SUN 14 MANCHESTER ACADEMY MON 15 EDINBURGH HMV PICTURE HOUSE TUE 16 NEWCASTLE O2 ACADEMY THU 18 BOURNEMOUTH O2 ACADEMY FRI 19 BIRMINGHAM O2 ACADEMY SAT 20 NOTTINGHAM ROCK CITY BUY ONLINE AT LIVENATION.CO.UK
CREDIT CARDS TEL:0844 576 5483 (24HRS)
01618321111
WWW.HEARTAGRAM.COM
Buy online at Livenation.co.uk / ticketweb.com Credit Cards tel: 0844 576 5483 (24hrs)
www.reefband.com
01603 508 050 0161 832 1111 0844 847 1740 0844 477 2000 0844 477 2000 0844 477 2000 08713 100 000
A LIVE NATION AND TRIPLE G PRESENTATION BY ARRANGEMENT WITH E.G.O
A Live Nation & DF Concerts presentation by arrangement with Helter Skelter
“Evolution XX: An Opeth Anthology”
A LIVE NATION PRESENTATION INASSOCIATIONWITH THEAGENCY GROUP
plus specialguests
thursday 4 march 2010
birmingham lgarena 0844 338 8000
Monday 5th April
saturday 6 march 2010
Lon onddon Roy oyaal Albert Hall 0844 477 2000
buy onlineat livenation.co.uk
www.lynyrdskynYRd.com the newalbum ‘god & guns’ out now on Loud & Proud/Roadrunner
www.omerch.com
0845 146 1460
17 18 21 22
GLASGOW O2 ACADEMY
08444 999 990
NEWPORT CENTRE
25
NEWCASTLE O2 ACADEMY
LONDON O2 BRIXTON ACADEMY
26
MANCHESTER APOLLO
01633 662 666
0844 477 2000
BIRMINGHAM O2 ACADEMY
0844 477 2000
LEEDS O2 ACADEMY 0844 477 2000
0844 477 2000
0161 832 1111
BUY ONLINE AT LIVENATION.CO.UK
CREDIT CARDS TEL: 0844 576 5483 (24HRS) MACHINE HEAD ‘THE BLACKENING’ ALBUM AVAILABLE NOW ON ROADRUNNER RECORDS
WWW.MACHINEHEAD1.COM
tuesday 9 march 2010
credit cardstel:0844 576 5483 (24hrs)
LIVE NATION, METROPOLIS AND DF CONCERTS DEFIANTLY ANNOUNCE
A LIVE NATION & DF CONCERTS PRESENTATION BY ARRANGEMENT WITH HELTER SKELTER
23
029 2022 4488
monday 8 march 2010
08444 999 990
www.opeth.com
FEBRUARY 16 PLYMOUTH PAVILIONS
cardiff internationalarena
london hmv manchester glasgow hammersmithapollo apollo clydeauditorium 0844 844 4748 08444 777 677
Buy online at livenation.co.uk / Credit Card Tel: 0844 576 5483 (24hrs) A Live nation presentation by arrangement with The Agency & Northern Music Co
friday 5 march 2010
29 30
PORTSMOUTH GUILDHALL BRISTOL COLSTON HALL
01 02 03 05 06 07 08 10 11
LONDON HMV HAMMERSMITH APOLLO LIVERPOOL O2 ACADEMY MANCHESTER APOLLO EDINBURGH PICTURE HOUSE GLASGOW O2 ACADEMY LEEDS O2 ACADEMY NEWCASTLE O2 ACADEMY WOLVERHAMPTON CIVIC HALL NOTTINGHAM ROCK CITY
APRIL 2010
0239 282 4355 0117 922 3686 0844 844 4748 0844 477 2000 0844 477 7677 0844 847 1660 0844 477 2000 0844 477 2000 0844 477 2000 0870 320 7000 0871 310 0000
* ALL ORIGINAL TICKETS REMAIN VALID BUY ONLINE AT LIVENATION.CO.UK / CC TEL: 0844 576 5483 (24HRS)
NEW ALBUM ‘NO GUTS, NO GLORY’ RELEASED FEBRUARY 22 ON ROADRUNNER RECORDS BY ARRANGEMENT WITH HELTER SKELTER
BUY TICKETS AT LIVENATION.CO.UK
PLUS FULL SUPPORTING LINE-UP TO BE CONFIRMED
HYDE PARK, LONDON FRIDAY 25TH JUNE
Buy online at www.hardrockcalling.co.uk Credit Cards Tel:0844 847 2502 (24hrs) Buy VIP Experiences and Hospitality online at www.LiveNationExperience.co.uk or call 0207 009 3484 www.pearljam.com
www.livenation.co.uk
A Live Nation presentation
(subject to licence)
Academy Events present Academy Events by arrangement with X-ray present
ROD MORGENSTEIN | KIP WINGER | REB BEACH | JOHN ROTH
March / April 2010 Tour Monday 22nd March Bristol O2 Academy2 0844 477 2000
Tuesday 23rd March
Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
023 9286 3911
Wednesday 24th March
Manchester Academy 3 0161 832 1111
Friday 26th March
Dudley JB's 01384 253 597
Saturday 27th March
Belfast Spring & Airbrake 003531 456 9569
Sunday 28th March
Glasgow Cathouse 0871 230 7131
Tuesday 30th March Newcastle O2 Academy2 0844 477 2000
Wednesday 31st March
Leeds Rio's 0871 231 0821
Friday 2nd April
Sheffield Corporation 0114 276 0262
Saturday 3rd April
plus guests
Nottingham Rock City 0871 310 0000
Sunday 4th April
London Islington O2 Academy
Sun Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
0844 477 2000
www.wingertheband.com • www.myspace.com/wingertheband
17 19 20 21 22 23 24
JANUARY 2010 NEWCASTLE O2 ACADEMY2 MARGATE WEST COAST BAR MANCHESTER MOHO LIVE STOKE SUGARMILL BIRMINGHAM O2 ACADEMY2 LONDON UNDERWORLD POOLE CHORDS
0844 477 2000 07967 028 844 0844 888 9991 01782 206 000 0844 477 2000 08700 600 100 0844 477 1000
Tickets also available at: www.ticketweb.co.uk
Tickets also available online at: www.ticketweb.co.uk
An Academy Events presentation ACADEMY EVENTS IN ASSOCIATION WITH XRAY TOURING PRESENT
Academy Events & The Gig Cartel in association with The Agency Group present
PLUS VERY SPECIAL GUESTS FEBRUARY 2010 Thu Fri Sat Mon Tue Wed Fri Sat Sun
18 19 20 22 23 24 26 27 28
plus DIAMOND
LEEDS O2 ACADEMY BIRMINGHAM O2 ACADEMY LONDON O2 SHEPHERDS BUSH EMPIRE OXFORD O2 ACADEMY BOURNEMOUTH O2 ACADEMY BRISTOL O2 ACADEMY MANCHESTER ACADEMY 2 NEWCASTLE O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW O2 ABC
0844 0844 0844 0844 0844 0844 0161 0844 0844
HEAD
477 477 477 477 477 477 832 477 477
2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 1111 2000 2000
ALSO AVAILABALE ONLINE: WWW.TICKETWEB.CO.UK
THE NEW ALBUM ‘LAST LOOK AT EDEN’ OUT NOW • EUROPETHEBAND.COM
LIVE IN CONCERT
RESCHEDULED DATE - ORIGINAL TICKETS VALID
THURSDAY 08 JULY
LONDON ISLINGTON O2 ACADEMY
0844 477 2000 WWW.TICKETWEB.CO.UK Academy Events present
MICHAEL SCHENKER
FEATURING ALL ORIGINAL MEMBERS
Sunday 24th January 2010
London O2 Academy Islington 0844 477 2000
Tickets also available online:
ticketweb.co.uk / ticketmaster.co.uk ACADEMY EVENTS PRESENT
WEDNESDAY 02 JUNE
London O2 Shepherds Bush Empire 0844 477 2000 ticketweb.co.uk
www.michaelschenkerhimself.com
www.academy-events .co.uk
/
www.myspace.com/academyevents
ALL ORIGINAL BAND MEMBERS BACK TOGETHER FOR ONE MORE TIME
FRIDAY 23RD JULY
O2 ACADEMY BIRMINGHAM
0844 477 2000 WWW.TICKETWEB.CO.UK
Heavy Load Heavy questions for heavy rockers
Why Sammy Hagar thinks he’s a better protest singer than Bob Dylan.
I
Interview: Paul Elliott
f Sammy Hagar looks younger than his 61 years – a good 20 years younger, in fact – it’s hardly surprising. This all-American hero, one of rock’s all-time great vocalists, enjoys the kind of life that most can only dream of: two years ago he sold 80 per cent of his Cabo Wabo tequila business for $80 million and today he fronts rock supergroup Chickenfoot alongside Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, ex-Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony and guitar legend Joe Satriani. Do you have a philosophy you live by? Yeah. It sounds a little pretentious, but I went on a quest when I was thrown out of Van Halen in ’95. I had to figure out what I wanted to do. I moved to Hawaii first and then to Mexico. I built a place there – the Cabo Wabo Cantina – and it’s really enhanced my lifestyle.
asked by the cops to do a public service message to stop ’em, and I said, “Fuck you! Change it, man!” Eventually they did. Standing Hampton is your finest double entendre – what’s your favourite by someone else? Hmmm, maybe Led Zeppelin, In Through The Out Door. There’s so many silly rock clichés that we’ve all used. Like a song I wrote, Dick In The Dirt [from 1984’s VOA], it’s so stupid it’s really clever – not just anybody can get that many clichés in one song! What do you and David Lee Roth agree on about Van Halen? That Eddie’s a fucking nut! Dave won’t agree about it now because he’s trying to buddy up with Eddie, but as soon as he’s thrown out again he’ll be back with me going, “That fucking guy is out of his fucking mind!” Dave is a real character, one of those true rock stars. He’s as nutty as Eddie, but he’s consistent – consistently an asshole!
Do you believe in a higher power? Oh yeah, I think you have to. You got to have a little fear in you. Maybe there is a God that’s gonna punish me at the end of this fucking road! I hate trying to define religion or belief in God, but I would have to say that it is in everything. It’s the ‘I Am’ consciousness: acknowledging the God in you. It sounds like the biggest ego trip you’ve ever heard in your life, but you feel that God is in you and working through you. Where do you stand politically? On your recent solo album Cosmic Universal Fashion you collaborated with Iraqi musician Steven Lost, yet in the 80s you called yourself the Voice Of America. Oh fuck, I’m a long way from there. In the 80s everyone thought I was so conformist and right-wing but I thought I was so radical. I was actually willing to stand up and say, “We’re Americans and we’re a good country!” In my head, that was as radical as the hippies protesting against the war. Now I don’t believe in war.
Hagar: “Eddie Van Halen is a fucking nut!”
“Sex is the best feeling. Coming. But I can only get a couple out in one sitting these days…”
What can Sammy Hagar do that nobody else can? Start his own tequila company and sing at the same time! What will be your epitaph? I would like to be remembered as someone who made people feel good and brought love and joy into this world.
What is the meaning of life? What I found in life is that once you’ve acquired all those things you were after as a young boy – being rich and famous, having all the girls and the cars and the houses – you don’t really know what you want anymore. You really have to dig down. You either turn to drugs and become a maniac, or you start looking for what really makes you happy. It can be the simplest thing: growing tomatoes, walking on a beach, whatever. You find the things that make you happy, and you stop doing the things that make you miserable. It’s that simple. That’s as profound as I can be.
ross halfin
Your 1984 hit I Can’t Drive 55 was a protest song that actually worked – the speed limit in the US was changed. Does that make you a better protest singer than Bob Dylan? Ha ha ha! Not a better lyricist, but a better protest singer! Bob, I read his book and he was just moaning and groaning about how he didn’t want to be the fucking guru. But my song wasn’t a pre-meditated thing. I was driving to Lake Placid at 2am and a cop pulled me over and said, “We give tickets around here for going 62 miles an hour.” I thought, I can’t drive 55, man – oh, that’s good! When that song was a big hit, fans were spraying the speed limit signs. I was 130 classicrockmagazine.com
What is the best feeling in the world? Sex, absolutely. Coming. But I can only get a couple out in one sitting nowadays. And the next best feeling – honestly, I really do mean it – is the feeling of unconditional love. My little girl, she’s eight now, but when I saw her being born I was at an age where I was no longer just thinking about myself. You hold that baby, cut the umbilical cord, and you go, “I will do anything for this child”. When you release all selfishness, that’s a pretty special feeling, an interesting high. You’re so happy, you cry.
Prog art special issue featuring exclusively commissioned magazine cover artwork by Marillion sleeve free artist Mark Wilkinson.
On Sale 27th Jan.
15 track cd!
In 1971 Tony Iommi took rock from E to C-sharp and invented the sound of heavy metal. His de-tuned SG injected every Sabbath riff with a darker more penetrating intensity, inspiring generations to pursue the perfect tone.
