Quelle heure et-il?
#080. Racer X – Getting Heavier (2002)
Racer X - Getting Heavier
If you’re anything like me – and I know I am – then you first became aware of Paul Gilbert‘s pyrotechnic (such a cliché to use that word in this context, but when it comes to Pablo it really is appropriate) guitar playing during the Mr. Big era, circa 1990 or so. At the time, reaching into his back catalogue and dipping into the older Racer X albums was a bit of a painful experience, to be honest. Dude – so not cool. But in 1998 they got back together and stuck their tongues properly into their cheeks, releasing the awesome Technical Difficulties in 1999, followed by the if anything more amazing Superheroes in 2000. But I’m featuring Getting Heavier here, purely because I personally like it more, and hey! It’s still MY chart! Fab tracks like “Go-GG-Go”, “Lucifer’s Hammer”, “Dr. X” and the track which named my podcast “Bucket of Rocks” are not only shredmungous, but will also put a smile on your face. Get thee behind me, po-faced widdlers!
TOP TRACK: #6 “Heaven in ’74″.
#079. Andy Timmons – That Was Then, This Is Now (2002)
Andy Timmons - That Was Then, This Is Now
Andy Timmons was, in slightly more denim-and-hairspray days, the guitarist for early ’90s poodle metal poseurs Danger Danger, who at the time I loved (and who kept on going even after Andy left and the record companies gave up and the fans got old and the genre had a heart attack and everyone stopped caring… srsly, they’re still at it!) and who put out one of the absolute albums of my youth, Screw It! (exclamation mark as part of given title, not my hyperbole). This is an instrumental guitar rock album that stands alongside anything Satriani or Vai ever put out, and beats many of them hands down for sheer listenability. One thing that sticks out to the ears of a guitarist is Andy’s awesome proficiency at the homage – there are several on this album (“Beautiful, Strange” to Joe Satriani, “I Remember Stevie” to SRV, “Electric Gypsy” to Hendrix, even a vocal tribute to George Harrison in “Slips Away”) and while each one is recognisably “in the style of”, they still all sound like Andy underneath. Beezer.
TOP TRACK: #1 “Super 70s”.
#078. Goldie Lookin’ Chain – Greatest Hits (2004) [spotify]*
Goldie Lookin' Chain - Greatest Hits
A lot of people will have become aware of Welsh rappers Goldie Lookin Chain when this – their first major label release – came out in 2004 along with the accompanying first single “Half Man Half Machine”, though I was lucky enough to have been introduced to them a year or two previously thanks to a colleague, Mr Matt Firth, who had been to uni in Newport and was well versed in the ways of the safe clarts from the ‘Port. The first major release being called Greatest Hits is reference to the fact that it’s largely a compilation of tracks from their previous 6 independently produced albums, and while it was great fun at the time, it was perhaps obvious that mainstream success for the Chain would be shortlived, being largely a novelty act to all but the devoted hardcore fans (similarly to labelmates The Darkness, actually). Anyway, while I personally find most of the Chain’s output hilarious (provided I’m in the right mood), the earlier stuff can be pretty hit and miss, so this is probably the best way to get your Chain on if you haven’t already. On the other hand, if you knows it, and you’re safe as fuck, get ‘em all, clart. It’s the only way you’ll find such gems as “Ice T”, “The Alchemist”, “Delivery Driver” and “Taxi (Enter the Dragon)”. Innit.
Tidy.
TOP TRACK: #6 “Soap Bar”.
*Spotify lists this album under its US release title, Straight Outta Newport.
#077. Hardcore Superstar - Hardcore Superstar (2005) [spotify]
Hardcore Superstar - Hardcore Superstar
I discovered these guys from Gothenburg, Sweden (what do they put in the water over there? Oh wait, it’s probably vodka, isn’t it…) in about 2003 or so, and while their earlier albums were definitely energetic, they were a bit patchy and inconsistent. They took a year or so break after the third one (my least favourite, titled No Regrets) and came back suitably refreshed in 2005 with this eponymous slab of granite-hard rock that put them right back on the map. There’s some amazing rock music coming out of Sweden in the last 10 years, and these guys are awesome. Do not miss.
TOP TRACK: #5 “We Don’t Celebrate Sundays”.
#076. Hypnotic Brass Ensemble - Hypnotic Brass Ensemble (2009) [spotify]
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble - Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
Some time in the Autumn I was flicking channels and settled on a Glasto highlights show. Often easy watching, sometimes really enjoyable, definitely more pleasant than mudbathing for 3 days. Anyway, in between the interminable interchangeable indie outfits, the coverage cut to a backstage paddock in which 6 or 7 guys with horns and such were knocking out some fabulous tunes. They turned out to be the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, and this is their self-titled major label debut album, and it’s bloody wonderful. Splendid street-jazz from Chicago, this always puts a grin on my dial.
TOP TRACK: #4 “Ballicki Bone”.
#075. L.A. Guns – Waking the Dead (2002)
L.A. Guns - Waking the Dead
L.A. Guns have become a joke as far as I can tell these days. In fact, they’ve become two jokes, since there are now two warring factions – or rather two bands touring under the same name; one with the original singer Phil Lewis, and one with the original guitarist, Tracii Guns. This all came about when Guns left to form Brides of Destruction with Nikki Sixx (more on them in a moment), and so the rest of the band replaced him with the dubiously monickered Stacey Blades, leaving Guns deeply in the shit when Sixx quit the Brides (Sixx is one of the best songwriters in hard rock history. Tracii Guns is… um… well he can play a riff or two…), prompting Guns to say “Um, fine, well fuck you then I’ll start my OWN band called L.A. Guns!” Should you need more info on that, wikipedia can hook you up as always. This, however, was the last album to feature Guns on guitar, and despite what I just said about Tracii, the songs on this one are bloody good. A damn sight better than the *shite* followup Tales From the Strip, which was of course the first to feature his replacement, so I guess Tracii must be doing something right. (Just make sure you skip the second Brides album… it’s awful…)
Whatever. Forget all that crap, and listen to Waking the Dead. It’s great.
TOP TRACK: #9 “Lost in the City of Angels”.
#074. Muse – The Resistance (2009) [spotify]
Muse - The Resistance
I loves me some Muse, yessir! Oh yes. So effusive was I upon plugging this CD into my computer that I was temporarily dubbed a “dribbling Muse fanboy”, and rightly so. However, unlike their previous albums, this deepest of loves turned out to be mere infatuation, and the reason for this is that I only love the first half of the album. There, I said it. The first three tracks are just awesome, the fourth and fifth are also great, then it starts to go a little wobbly for me. Of course, the final three tracks form a symphony in their own right, something which not many bands would attempt in this day and age, and Bellamy & Co. should be applauded for their audacity if nothing else. Other criticisms levelled at the trio from Devon range from “I can’t stand his voice” to “That just sounds like Queen/Radiohead/the Doctor Who theme”. Balls. Muse are in the driving seat of British rock (maybe Radiohead are in the passenger seat, fiddling with the air-con) and if they wear their influences on their sleeves, who cares? They also fucking *own* live.
Final word: an album of two halves, Terry. Not their best work, but still better than a lot of current bands by a mile or six.
TOP TRACK: #3 “Undisclosed Desires”.
#073. Turisas – The Varangian Way (2007) [spotify]
Turisas - The Varangian Way
Recently described by a folk metal novice friend of mine as “utterly stupendous”, I would heartily recommend this as a “gateway” album if you have any interest in trying out the genre at all. Uncompromising, epic, harsh, and above all concept, The Varangian Way is Viking/Battle metal at its very best (with slight Pirate tendencies). Go on, whack this on, and tell me that by the time you get to “Miklagard Overture” you don’t want to go on a river tour of Scandinavia and northern Europe. Possibly wearing armour.
Go on. I dare you.
TOP TRACK: #1 “To Holmgard and Beyond”. (Yes, really.)
#072. Brides Of Destruction – Here Come the Brides (2003)
Brides Of Destruction - Here Come the Brides
So, yeah. As mentioned earlier, here we have one of the best songwriters in rock, Mötley Crüe‘s Nikki Sixx, along with famed guitarist from L.A. Guns, Tracii Guns, together to form a new band and kick out some jams. I recall getting this album just after it came out, and it almost welded itself into my CD player. 9 hard and fast songs that get in, get the job done, and are zipping themselves up and halfway down the fire escape before you know what happened. Trust me though – just lay back and enjoy it. It’s good for you. This is one of the best straight-up rock CDs in my not-inconsiderable vault.
But as previously mentioned, avoid – repeat, AVOID – the followup album Runaway Brides. Few things have disappointed me more. Think how you felt when you walked out of The Phantom Menace for the first time. Yes, that bad.
TOP TRACK: #2 “I Don’t Care”.
#071. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon Soundtrack (2002) [spotify]
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon Soundtrack
Just beautiful. I not review, you listen.
TOP TRACK: All of it.
Mmmm, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble. Thanks for the recommendation. Torrented, liked, bought direct from the label instead of with the Amazon discount. These people deserve my money.
Glad to be of service, Mr Evil. They’re a fab group and more people should hear them.
–c.