clivemurray.com

I’m actually playing a gig! Last year the first line-up of Thunderhead played exactly one (1) gigs, and promptly exploded.

This year we are back with a new line-up (in actual fact it’s the line-up that used to be Panik Attakk), and this coming Saturday we will play as many gigs in one day as we did all last year. Yes! One!

We’re opening for Hastings stalwarts of old, The Lost Boys, at Phoenix Arts Centre in Hastings. We’re first on of three bands, and we’ll be kicking off around 8:30pm.

Should you be in the area and wish to come along, get advance tickets here and find the venue here.

It has literally been a long time since I rock and rolled, and I for one intend to have a fucking blast.

Get on it,
–c.

So there you have it, 31 albums that I like. Who cares? Dunno really, but if we spent our time asking that question, people wouldn’t have blogs. Anyway, on the offchance that any of those albums sound interesting and you’d like to give them a listen, here are all the Spotify links I can find for them. Not all of them are online at the time of writing though.

I hope it was of some use or interest to some.

1. Blue In The Face – DoubleDrive
2. Tonight The Stars Revolt! – Powerman 5000
3. Confessions – Dweezil Zappa
4. Chickenfoot – Chickenfoot
5. The Resistance – Muse
6. Awake – Dream Theater
7. Wheatus – Wheatus
8. Beyond The Common Ground – Jan Cyrka
9. Whatever Gets You Off – The Last Vegas
10. A Twist In The Myth – Blind Guardian
11. Empire – Queensrÿche
12. Hardcore Superstar – Hardcore Superstar
13. Runnin’ Wild – Airbourne
14. Hi-Fi Serious – A
15. Americal Pearl – American Pearl
16. Sound Of White Noise – Anthrax
17. Skyforger – Amorphis
18. Rest In Sleaze – Crashdïet
19. Infinity – Devin Townsend
20. You Made Me – Josh Todd
21. Inhuman Rampage – DragonForce
22. Youthanasia – Megadeth
23. Making Enemies Is Good – Backyard Babies
24. Karkelo – Korpiklaani
25. Waking The Dead – LA Guns
26. Saigon Kick – Saigon Kick
27. Native Tongue – Poison
28. Thickskin – Skid Row
29. The Return Of The Great Gildersleeves – Danger Danger
30. Slam – Dan Reed Network
31. Ragnarok – Týr

Thanks for playing.

–c.

And to bring Rocktober to a fitting close, please welcome…

Ragnarok – Týr (2006)

Týr - Ragnarok

Yep, we’re ending with more Folk Metal – specifically Viking Metal. Out of all my recent discoveries in this genre and those around it, these guys from the Faroe Islands are still my favourites. Equal parts riffing, shredding, and tale-telling all with what are known in death metal circles as “clean” vocals (i.e. no cookie monster growling), these guys can easily prog it up alongside Dream Theater but without the annoying existential navel-gazing that DT seem to go in for these days. These guys are awesome musicians, and  Terji Skibenæs  (or Terry Skibbens, as some call him) in particular can fucking wail, which always helps. As with many of the bands I’m discovering, Týr like to sing in their native language but they don’t do so exclusivley – and even when they do sing in Farese, Danish or Icelandic, it feels like you’re sitting round a fire being told tales of derring-do upon which great nations were built. In fact a lot of the time you are, since Týr draw from Norse mythology a lot, hence the term Viking Metal. I love all Týr’s albums, and I deliberated for a while over which one to include here. I finally settled on Ragnarok (one of only two they have released NOT to feature the splendid song “Hail To The Hammer”) firstly because it’s 16 tracks long (18 if you get the digipak version, but I hate digipaks), secondly because it features more lyrics in English than 2008’s Land, and lastly because it feels to me like a more cohesive journey of an album than 2009’s By The Light Of The Northern Star. It’s excellent throughout – pour a flagon of ale and crank it up loud.

Standout tracks: Brother’s Bane, The Ride To Hel, The Hammer Of Thor
You’ll like this if you like: Turisas, Iron Maiden, Dream Theater

Finally caught up! Epic win!

Slam – Dan Reed Network (1989)

Dan Reed Network - Slam

Dan Reed Network were one of those bands who on paper should have been much much bigger than they were, but as was so often the case, the record company didn’t give them the support they deserved. If anything the 1991 followup The Heat is perhaps a more cohesive album but this was the one that opened the door for funky rock as far as I was concerned way back when. Produced by Nile Rodgers, and as slick as you would expect, this is a fantastic collection of funk-rock tunes all strung together with Dan’s silky voice and Brion James’ highly melodic lead playing that does sound a little dated now, but certainly for me, can’t be beaten in terms of epic nostalgia. Cracking.

Standout tracks: Tiger In A Dress, Rainbow Child, Slam
You’ll like this if you like: Bon Jovi, Prince, Gun

Nearly there…

The Return Of The Great Gildersleeves – Danger Danger (2000)

Danger Danger - The Return Of The Great Gildersleeves

I had no idea that Danger Danger even kept going after the frankly wonderful Screw It! from 1991, but it turns out they did. They parted ways with singer Ted Poley and guitarist Andy Timmons, and the two original founding members Bruno Ravel and Steve West recruited a new singer and got on with writing new material. They released Dawn in 1995, Four The Hard Way in 1998 and The Return Of The Great Gildersleeves in 2000. In actual fact, they had recorded a 3rd album with the original lineup for release in 1993 entitled Cockroach, when for reasons unknown to me, they fired singer Ted Poley, who then took legal action to stop that album being released.This in fact was when they hired new singer Paul Laine, who re-recorded the vocals only to have the record company shelve the record. Cockroach eventually saw the light of day in 2001 when after talking to the record company, they released it as a double album – one with Poley singing, one with Laine. That’s some pretty wacked out shit right there. Anyway, The Return Of The Great Gildersleeves is an absolutely splendid rock album, and just what you’d want to hear from Danger Danger, including guest guitar solos from Andy Timmons here and there.

Standout tracks: When She’s Good She’s Good, Grind, Dead Drunk & Wasted
You’ll like this if you like: Enuff Z’Nuff, Poison, Mötley Crüe

Oi oi!

Thickskin – Skid Row (2003)

Skid Row - Thickskin

The shock upon hearing that Skid Row were back together was immediately eclipsed by the further shock that Seb Bach had been replaced… who could even begin to fill those shoes? Well, like the idea of it or not, the reality was pretty fucking astounding in that new boy Johnny Solinger was in fact nothing short of an awesome singer. Still, for the die-hard fans and backwards-facing critics, the absence of St. Sebastian was enough to ruin any chance this album ever had of getting off the ground, and that’s a huge shame because it’s fucking good. To those for whom it really still is 1991, go listen to Slave To The Grind, and while you’re there, say Hi from me to John Major, George Bush Snr., the first Gulf War, Jeffrey Dahmer, Superbowl XXV and Chesney Hawkes. The rest of us can accept change, a world where a black man can be president of the USA, and where someone other than Sebastian Bach can sound awesome in Skid Row. This is a cracking album – the only thing I’d change would be to drop the unnecessary punking-up of “I Remember You” into “I Remember You Two”. Didn’t need that – but the rest of it rules.

Standout tracks: Born A Beggar, Ghost, Down From Underground
You’ll like this if you like: Buckcherry, A, Mötley Crüe

Move over C.C…

Native Tongue – Poison (1993)

Poison - Native Tongue

When I was 17 I was in a glam rock band, hanging out with other glam rock bands, spending all my time listening to glam rock bands. One of the biggest at the time was of course Poison, but they had one huge problem – their guitarist sucked balls. And so, in a move of cosmic jizz proportions, they junked him and got Richie Kotzen – one of the most awesome and able players on the planet – and made this album.  And Jesu Jumping Christos, does it rock. Richie was allegedly (this is the story I heard at the time, I don’t know for sure) binned from the band for indulging in extra-curricular wossname with a band member’s wife, so they only recorded the one album with him, and that still burns because this record is *so* good it hurts. If you wrote off Poison as a no-frills no-thrills gimmicky party band, you obviously never heard this album. Get on it.

Standout tracks: Stand, Blind Faith, 7 Days Over You
You’ll like this if you like: Mr. Big, Cinderella, Skid Row

Can haz memory lane?

Saigon Kick – Saigon Kick (1991)

Saigon Kick - Saigon Kick

This was the first CD I ever owned. It was 1991 and either for my birthday or Christmas I was given a new stereo, one with a CD player, so I promptly headed into town to buy something to play on it, and this was what I came home with, and it’s a fantastic rock record. Saigon Kick were one of those bands that almost did huge things around this time – they were opening for Extreme and releasing great albums – the followup The Lizard is awesome too, though after that they did tail off a bit – but somehow the planets never quite aligned. Jason Bieler’s guitar playing is so tasteful that at the time I rated the solo in “Come Take Me Now” as my favourite guitar solo ever. I’d take it down a few notches now (hey, I was 17, and I rated one of my own solos second best despite hardly being able to play) but it’s still a spine-tingler. This is a corker from start to finish – punkish in places, humourous on occasion (how many other rock records feature a kazoo solo in a ballad?), and bloody good throughout.

Standout tracks: What Do You Do, Come Take Me Now, Colors
You’ll like this if you like: Extreme, Skid Row, Guns N Roses