One Track Mind: Nick Cave - Into My Arms (1997)

Nick Cave is a brilliant songwriter. Admittedly much of his material is a bit dark for my tastes but the first time I heard Into My Arms it moved my soul.  A person's religious beliefs are very personal and I dare say that no two people hold the exact same beliefs.  The song is a testament of love and respect of one another's beliefs and how love can bridge those differences.

The song is sung from the perspective of a non-believer addressing his love who is a believer.  The song says, I may not believe in God, but if I did I'd ask him to protect you, to watch over you, and to guide you to me.  The non-believer after going through a litany of things he doesn't believe in says he does believe in love and that his belief in love should be enough to bridge the differences in belief between he and his love.

Stripped down to just Cave on vocals and piano the song grows even more starkly personal and moving with Cave's deeply emotive vocal delivery and subtle understated piano playing.  Both lyrically and musically the song is a touching and at times haunting baring of a soul.  The vulnerability goes far beyond moving and is easily one of the most emotionally wrenching songs ever recorded.

The song works on both a deeply personal level and on a grander all-encompassing level.  We may have our differences but don't most of us at least believe in love?  Isn't that belief something to build on, to get past that which divides us?

"But I believe in love
And I know that you do too
And I believe we can choose our path
And we can walk down, me and you"

One Track Mind: Steve Lukather - Hate Everything About U (1997)

In 1997 Steve Lukather released his most raw and personal album to date, Luke.  After his then recent divorce Luke was an emotional blood-letting of sorts.  Hate Everything About U is perhaps the most heart-wrenching of the songs on the album.

Employing the same songwriting tool that 10cc did on their hit I'm Not In Love--  repetition.  Lukather's repeated claims of hate instead reveal a heartbroken love.  Lukather rattles off a litany of reasons for his "hate" that expose his love, regret, and broken heart.

At the time I first heard this song in 1998, I was still nursing the wounds of a broken heart suffered a few months before this song was a sucker punch to my heart.  While the whole album resonated with me Hate Everything About U and Always Be There For Me (but that's another review for another time) hit a particular nerve.  And while I've long since moved on I still look back on both of those songs fondly as they helped me get through a bit of a rough patch

Forgotten Music Thursday: Hunters & Collectors - Juggernaut (1998)

Several Australian bands tried to crack the U.S. market. Only a small handful (INXS, Midnight Oil, Little River Band, AC/DC, Crowded House, and the Bee Gees kinda sorta) were successful in that endeavour.

Much to our detriment, one of the groups whose attempt to crack the US market was met with little or no success was Hunters & Collectors-- a gritty pub rock band with a horn section.

Early on Hunters & Collectors were driven largely by their rhythm section-- John Archer on bass and Doug Falconer on drums and the gritty vocals of Mark Seymour. As the years progressed the bands music grew increasingly more accessible, the horn section became a stronger component of the band's sound and Mark Seymour really came into his own not just as a vocalist but also as a singer.

In 1998 the band decided they'd broken all the new ground they could. They entered the studio for one final studio album-- Juggernaut and a farewell tour (Juggernaut - Say Goodbye 1998).

While not as commercially succecssful as 1993's Cut or 1994's Demon Flower-- Juggernaut is easily Hunters & Collectors most accessible album. While their earlier material certainly had an audience, many found it to be a little TOO adventurous and at times a bit too pretentious in its adventurousness.

While this album lacks any real stand-out tracks it also lacks "filler" material. It's a consistent and strong and respectable album from start to finish.

There's something imminently enjoyable about hearing the horns "dancing" with Seymour's smooth vocals on True Believers, the infectious groove of Higher Plane, and the classic H&C sound of When You Fall which recalls the stylings of much of the "Hunnas" earlier material.

If you're looking for something a little bit different, an exit just far enough the main highways of music to be both enjoyable and accessible... This final farewell from a band that decided to burn out rather than fade away is well worth a few spins on your CD player.

Forgotten Music Thursday: John Barry - Themependium (2007)

With a career spanning over 5 decades, John Barry has made a name for himself as one of the most in demand film score composers-- perhaps only second to John Williams. 

Included in this exceptional box set are not only Barry's more well known works for the Bond films (including the signature theme) but also material from his Oscar winning scores for Born Free, Out of Africa, The Lion In Winter, & Dances With Wolves. 

The set is rounded out by a handful of some of Barry's lesser known works including TV themes and material from his scores for Raise the Titanic (easily the best part of this Golden Razzie winner of a bomb), Somewhere In Time (the hauntingly beautiful theme that yanks on the heartstrings and some might argue is more memorable than the film) not to mention material from Day of the Locusts, Body Heat, Frances, Peggy Sue Got Married and many more.  For fans of film scores this is a must have as Barry's  scores were so brilliant they at times were even superior to the films he was scoring (Raise the Titanic and Frances are cases in point).

While it could be argued that much of the material on this box set is well known (the Bond themes in particular) much of it is not.  And pulled from the context of the movies and shows the music is taken from, much of the "forgotten" and even some of the more well known gems are what stand out the most as they are strong enough to stand on their own even without the films they are from as a frame of reference. 

There's a distinct and haunting beauty to much of Barry's work.  Considering the length, scope, and breadth of Barry's career a single CD collection would not do him justice.  This box set is an excellent place to start delving into Barry's extensive body of work and could conceivably inspire the listener to delve deeper into some of the full scores that are merely hinted at in this set.

Related Links
John Barry (wikipedia)
John Barry - The Man With the Midas Touch

Forgotten Music Thursday: Jimmy Barnes - s/t (1985 - US) )For the Working Class Man (1985 - Australia)

The combination of 14 Australian Top 40 albums for Cold Chisel and 13 charting solo albums, including nine No. 1s, gives Jimmy Barnes the highest number of hit albums of any Australian artist.  Yet in the United States, Barnes is virtually unknown.

In 1985 Jimmy Barnes, took another stab at the US market, this time as a solo artist.  His band, Cold Chisel had, at best, a lukewarm reception when they'd attempted to crack the American market a few years earlier.

Unfortunately, largely due to poor timing, Barnes was met with a similar lack of enthusiasm on his solo attempt.  While he was arguably far more talented than Bryan Adams, his music was far too similar to that of the Canadian rocker who had beat him to the punch for people to take much notice.

Luckily for Barnes the album was a smash hit that went multi-platinum outside the United States and even yielded 1998, 2003, and 25th anniversary (2010) re-releases in Australia.  Working Class Man (penned by Journey keyboardist and the album's co-producer, Jonathan Cain) was even used in the American film Gung-Ho (featuring actor Michael Keaton).  The title song was so popular in Australia that the film was re-titled Working Class Man for its Australian release.   

Incidentally Cain thought so highly of Barnes that he approached him about possibly replacing Steve Perry in Journey.  An offer which Barnes thankfully politely declined.

The album features some solid blues tinged rockers that have aged far better than much of the material from the eighties.  While the track order was changed substantially for the re-releases the album is equally enjoyable whether the songs are listened to in the American track order:

1. No Second Prize (Barnes)
2. I'd Die To Be With You Tonight (Sandford)
3. Working Class Man (Cain)
4. Promise Me You'll Call (Barnes)
5. Boys Cry Out For War (Barnes)
6. Paradise (Barnes)
7. Without Your Love (Arnott, Barnes)
8. American Heartbeat (Cain)
9. Thick Skinned (Arnott, Barnes)
10. Ride The Night Away (Jordan, Little Steven)
11. Daylight (Barnes)

Or with the Australian track order:

1. I'd Die To Be With You Tonight (Sandford)
2. Ride The Night Away (Jordan, Little Steven)
3. American Heartbeat (Cain)
4. Working Class Man (Cain)
5. Without Your Love (Arnott, Barnes)
6. No Second Prize (Barnes)
7. Vision (Barnes) (Bonus track not on original release)
8. Promise Me You'll Call (Barnes)
9. Boys Cry Out For War (Barnes)
10. Daylight (Barnes)
11. Thick Skinned (Arnott, Barnes)
12. Paradise (Barnes)

Admittedly the first time I heard Jimmy Barnes voice (his duet with fellow Aussie vocalist, John Farnham, When Something Is Wrong With My Baby)  I was not a fan.  His rasp grated on my nerves.  Unbeknownst to me at the time, Barnes voice had snuck under my skin and started to fester.  Over time a voice that I once found grating I've grown to absolutely love. 

While some might argue that Barnes is best enjoyed within the confines of Cold Chisel, I'd counter that his solo material challenges that argument quite convincingly.  While his solo material is not necessarily superior to his material with Cold Chisel it is certainly on the same level of quality.  If Barnes voice doesn't grab you at first, give it time.  He has a swagger to him that demands to be noticed and inevitably enjoyed.

There's an easy enjoyability to this album from start to finish.  The album is augmented by guest contributions including late 70s/early 80s pop chanteuse Kim Carnes, the aforementioned Jonathan Cain, and the highly respected Aussie vocalist Renee Geyer.

In hindsight I can understand why, within the context of the mid-eighties, this album failed to generate a stir in America.  However, at the same time, I'd argue this album has aged far better than many of the albums that were far more popular at the time of its release.  It lacks the oversynthesized keyboard saturation that was so prevelant on other releases from that era that was so welcome at the time but now makes those releases sound so dated.  The tracks written and produced by Jonathan Cain even show him exhibiting far more restraint with Barnes than he exhibited in Journey.  (**** out of 5)

Related Links & Media
Working Class Man video (Australian)

Working Class Man video (American)

I'd Die To Be With You Tonight video

Ride The Night Away video 

Boys Cry Out For War video

No Second Prize video

Daylight video

Jimmy Barnes (official site)
Jimmy Barnes (wikipedia)

Tamara Champlin - You Won't Get to Heaven Alive (1995)

A career session vocalist and songwriter, Tamara Champlin, has only released one solo album-- You Won't Get to Heaven Alive.  For years her voice has graced her husband, Bill Champlin's, solo albums. 

Why Tamara was never a bigger star remains a mystery.  She can sing like no one's business, not to mention she's very attractive-- oh wait the mainstream music industry only cares about one of those two things-- and it's not her actual singing talent they'd look at, unfortunately.

At the same time, listening to Tamara's one (and thus far only) solo album however it could be argued her lack of mainstream success could be due to timing.  As good as the material on her solo album is that even at the time of its release it sounded three to five years too late.  Had this album been released in the late eighties or early nineties it likely would have been met with considerably more fanfare.

So let's pretend this album was actually released in the late eighties or early nineties and look at it through that prism instead...

Tamara tackles an impressive variety of styles with tremendous pop sensibility.  There are horns on a few of tracks: Backstreets of Paradise, Rock and Roll Tragedy, and Crawl - the horn charts have an attitude, a swagger to them that sets them apart from many of the horn charts featuring other rock and pop songs of the era.  Roll the Bones features some great harmonica playing by Chicago drummer, Tris Imboden, showing his talents aren't limited to his drum kit. 

Lyrically, Tamara tackles several themes and issues.  Purple Black and Blonde is a not at all subtle stab at domestic violence: "Miss Misery regrets she'll be unable to attend, The fall she took last evening left a nearly fatal end, Her husband talks in circles, He insists she was alone, But the neighgors say the house is like a military zone." 

All of the material also shows hints of the blues that seems to suggest Bonnie Raitt.  Whether it's the aforementioned harmonica on  Roll the Bones, Tamara's vocals on Stone Cold and Only Love an undercurrent of the blues ripples under the surface of the entire album. 

The only real drawback to the album is it's dated sound-- largely due to the guitar parts that sound like trademark eighties guitar solos.  The material is, for the most part, quite strong, re-visiting the material with a more contemporary eye for arrangement might spell greater success.  (*** out of 5)

Related Links
Tamara Champlin (facebook)
Tamara Champlin (myspace music site)

Forgotten Music Thursday: The Cruel Sea - The Honeymoon is Over (1993)

When I was a senior in high school I received a sampler cassette from Polygram Records featuring recently released and up and coming material from their stable of artists/musicians.  Much of the material fell flat with me.  Only two songs really impressed me.  One of which by a band I'd never heard of, The Cruel Sea.  Their single,  The Honeymoon Is Over, instantly caught my attention.

Fast forward a few years to about 1997 or 1998.  I was scanning the shelves of the Sandusky library and stumbled upon this CD, The Honeymoon Is Over by the Cruel Sea. I immediately signed out the CD and furthered my familiarity of this band beyond just the title track.

But first a little background.  The Cruel Sea started out as an instrumental group performing in a Sydney pub so small their guitarists would have to move around to afford the pool players the space to take their shots. 

Handling the lighting for many of their shows was Beasts of Bourbon vocalist, Tex Perkins who took a liking to many of their instrumental arrangements.  Perkins approached guitarist/band founder, Dan Rumour about putting lyrics to some of their instrumentals.

Initially, due to scheduling obligations with the Beasts of Bourbon, Perkins was only able to perform with the Cruel Sea ocassionally.  In 1993, when the Beasts were on hiatus, Perkins was able to devote more of his time to the Cruel Sea and finally became a full member of the band.

Perkins timing was fortuitous, in 1993 the Cruel Sea released their Australian smash hit album, The Honeymoon Is Over.  Which is the only of their albums to receive much notice in the United States. 

The Honeymoon Is Over mixes instrumental roots rock with tracks featuring the gravelly voiced Tex Perkins.  The instrumental and vocal tracks are equally enjoyable making this album an excellent soundtrack for summer parties and grillin' out on the barbie.

The album opens with the fun and somewhat whimsical Orleans Stomp which suggests hints of instrumental sixties surf music.

The title track is the ultimate in break-up songs with lyrics like: I'm gonna send you back to wherever the hell it was you came/then I'm gonna get this tattoo changed to another girl's name.  The groove is infectious and of all the songs on the album it's easily the most radio friendly.

Delivery Man features a killer groove and a smooth but raspy vocal by Tex Perkins.

But all of the songs are thoroughly enjoyable with an easy-going, laidback vibe.  While they would find continued success in their native Australia with Three Legged Dog, Over Easy, Where There's Smoke, and finally capping off their brilliant career was the 2CD live set We Don't Work We Play Music this album marked the beginning and end of their impact on the US market.

While The Honeymoon Is Over was not The Cruel Sea's debut album it is easily one of their most accessible albums and I'd venture the best place to start if you want to explore The Cruel Sea and get to better know their catalog.

Related Links
The Honeymoon Is Over live

The Cruel Sea (allmusic)
The Cruel Sea (wikipedia)
Dan Rumour & The Drift
Tex Perkins

Between a Heart and a Rock Place by Pat Benatar

Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, the Donnas, Fergie... the list goes on and on.  But their careers likely would have been considerably rockier and likely even a bit less successful had women like Pat Benatar not paved the way for them.


Most of us know her hits Heartbreaker, Hit Me With Your Best Shot, Love is a Battlefield, Invincible, and We Belong to name but a few.  But there's so much more to her story than her hits and the path not only to her success but once she attained it was far more difficult than most realize.


Even if you're not a big fan of Ms. Benatar's music, and admittedly prior to being approached for this review my familiarity with her work was largely limited to her hits, Between a Heart and a Rock Place is a thoroughly enjoyable read.


Pat gives a very candid snapshot of the music industry of the late seventies and throughout the eighties-- its superficiality, its obsession with image, and the many double standards applied to female musicians that weren't necessarily applied to male musicians-- at least not to the same extent.


The stories that are told of record label executives and the peek behind the curtain to see the Wizard that Ms. Benatar provides throughout her book shows the considerably less glamorous and far less savory side of the music industry;  How they tried to tell her how to look, how to dress, discouraged her relationship with her guitarist and later husband Neil "Spyder" Giraldo, and even attempted to hide her pregnancy for her first daughter and make her feel ashamed of it; all of it would make for quite an incredible novel but what makes it even more chilling-- it's all true!


Without giving too much away-- this book is a must read for any fan of music, anyone curious about how the recording industry works, and certainly for any aspiring musicians whether or not you happen to be fans of Pat Benatar as a musician.  The insights provided give a glimpse of how much popular music has evolved from the late seventies to the present and it's all through the eyes of one of the most successful female rockers in the history of rock and roll!


Related Links & Media
Promo video for the book's release:

Pat Benatar(official site)
Pat Benatar (wikipedia)

Collective Soul - s/t (1995)

I'm not sure whether or not it's a glitch in my musical wiring but unlike many of my peers, grunge music never really spoke to me. I tried to get into it, I really did. But I just never connected with the likes of Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, or any of the other bands that were spawned by the influence of those bands.

I just didn't see what white suburban kids had to be so pissed off about. Our standard of living was generally comfortable we weren't mired in an ever escalating police action half a world away, there was no draft.

So, between 1992 and 1995 I stuck my head in the sand and tried to pretend that musically the 90s didn't exist.

As a freshman in college my roommate had Collective Soul's s/t sophomore release. He'd play it from time to time and bloody hell, wouldn't you know it, I had a reason to remove my head from the sand. I had reason to acknowledge the music of the 90s.

From start to finish this album is (pardon my French) fucking brilliant. While there are other albums that I enjoyed bits and pieces of in this era. This one grabbed me by the cojones and my heart and mind followed eagerly. It took the best aspects of classic rock and hit the fast forward button to the nineties to give a then modern spin to a classic sound and Collective Soul pulled it off in spades.

Whether it's Smashing Young Man, December, Where the River Flows, The World I Know, or the perpetually catchy Gel this album has a little something for everyone. And if you were to only ever purchase one album per decade, I'd argue that this would be a serious contender for THE album to purchase for the nineties.

And while Collective Soul has released a few other decent albums since this one, none of them have quite matched up to the musical brilliance of their sophomore release. All of the pieces just fell into place in just the right way-- like throwing a jigsaw puzzle into the air and having it land with all of the pieces fitting together as it landed. Lightning in a bottle is usually only captured once in a musical career. This is Collective Soul's lightning. Uncork it and intoxicate yourself already!

Related Links
Collective Soul (wikipedia)
Collective Soul (Allmusic)
Collective Soul (official site)
Collective Soul (wikipedia)

Boston - Walk On (1994)

"But there's no Brad Delp!"

It's one of the biggest gripes I've heard about this album, and I heard it repeatedly. If it's any consolation Delp did rejoin the band for the subsequent tour to promote the album.

That being said, Delp or no Delp this is a thoroughly enjoyable album. While Fran Cosmo's voice isn't quite as distinct as Delp's he does have the range Delp had in his prime and he is equal to the task of the material on the album.

And in all fairness to Mr. Cosmo he and Delp both took turns singing lead on former Boston guitarist Barry Goudreau's 1980 solo album.

Given the strength of the material on Walk On, that I'd argue is possibly the best material Boston had recorded since Don't Look Back or possibly even their debut (if I were being particularly generous). Tight soaring vocal harmonies-- Check, trademark tight Tom Scholz "guitarmonies"-- Check, superior musicianship-- Check. I'd argue the timing of Walk On and the long delay (8 years) between albums likely contributed far more to its relative lack of success (compared to Boston's other albums. When you couple in that this album was released in the era of grunge, this album was far too polished to compete with the much rawer production that was coming from the likes of Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, and Pearl Jam around that time.

The album starts with a bang on I Need Your Love and keeps up the pace on Surrender to Me before the 12+ minute Walk On medley begins. Perhaps my lone complaint about this album was that Walk On was broken up into 4 tracks on the CD. None of the 4 tracks can stand on their own given the flow of the medley, I'd rather Scholz had made Walk On a single 12+ minute track. He still could have listed the different parts on the CD sleeve or in the liner notes. On some CD players the transition from track to track is rather seamless, but on others there can be a slight "hiccup" between each track that is somewhat jarring in an otherwise thoroughly enjoyable piece.

Following Walk On is the unoffensive but comparatively weak, What's Your Name. In all fairness, even being the weakest song on the album, What's Your Name remains thoroughly enjoyable.

Magdalene, is a re-working of a song by Hybrid Ice, a band that found regional success in the early eighties in their native Pennsylvania. Having heard both Hybrid Ice's original version and Boston's version I've got to say that Scholz took a good song and made it great. The Hybrid Ice version is enjoyable enough, Scholz kept the choruses but changed the verses substantially and the harmony vocals by David Sikes and Tommy Funderburk are so tight they give me chills. To this day Magdalene remains my favorite song on this album. It just sounds as if everything fell into place. I'd even go so far as to say Magdalene blows their hit Amanda out of the water.

The album closes with the upbeat We Can Make It. It's an upbeat song about working together to change the world, it's the hints of a message that has crept increasingly more into Tom Scholz's lyrics in the years since.

If you've generally ignored this album due to the absence of Brad Delp, you're doing yourself a tremendous disservice. This album is superior, in every way, to 1986's Third Stage and is easily one of Boston's strongest albums-- Delp or no Delp.

Related Links
Walk On (wikipedia)
Walk On (AllMusicGuide)
Boston (official site)
Boston (wikipedia)
Tom Scholz (wikipedia)
Fran Cosmo (wikipedia)
Gary Pihl (wikipedia)
Tommy Funderburk (wikipedia)

Mighty Mighty Bosstones - Don't Know How to Party (1993)

Straddling the line between punk and ska, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones had a hard driving sound with a healthy dose of brass.

Part of the appeal was Dickie Barrett. He couldn't and can't really sing. That is to say he hits the notes but his voice is not one that anyone would describe as pleasant... any other voice wouldn't quite fit in the Bosstones. Barrett's vocals are as much a trademark of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones sound as their horns are.

After cutting their teeth on a couple of indie-releases, Devil's Night Out (1990) and More Noise and Other Disturbances (1992) the Mighty Mighty Bosstones finally found themselves signed to a major label (Polygram) and while Don't Know How to Party grew their audience and started to get them noticed it wasn't necessarily a breakout hit.

But at the same time the Bosstones were at the forefront of the brass-laden ska and new swing resurgences of the late nineties. The nice thing about the Mighty Mighty Bosstones-- their songs are fun party fare. They never take themselves too seriously. These are the theme songs emenating from fraternity houses of the mid-90s. There's a happy-go-lucky vibe to the music that captures the mood of the mid-90s... An anti-grunge if you will (the Bosstones often performed in loud plaid suits-- not exactly the uniform of the Nirvana generation).

That being said there's a screeching anger on some songs that would not have sounded out of place on a Nirvana or Pearl Jam album. But that anger is often tempered by following angry songs like A Man Without with lighter party fare like the infectious Holy Smoke.

Admittedly the Mighty Mighty Bosstones aren't for everyone, but if you're going to check them out, Don't Know How to Party is the best place to start. It's easily one of, if not THE strongest album the Bosstones ever released from the frenetic Our Only Weapon to the live staple from that era of the band Seven Thirty-Seven/Shoe Glue

Related Links
Mighty Mighty Bosstones (official site)
Mighty Mighty Bosstones (wikipedia)
Dicky Barrett (wikipedia)
Nate Albert (wikipedia)
Joe Gittleman (wikipedia)
Joe Sirois (wikipedia)
Tim "Johnny Vegas" Burton (wikipedia)
Dennis Brockenborough (wikipedia)

Steve Hackett - Darktown (1999)

One of the common complaints of progressive rock is that it's all technique and no feeling or emotion. The ever versatile Steve Hackett took that stereotype head-on and flushed it down the toilet with his 1999 release, Darktown.

The album starts going full speed ahead out of the gate with the instrumental Omega Metallicus a heavily distorted musical onslaught, heavy on the bass, heavy on the distortion and totally in your face from the first note to the last before shifting to the darkly ambient title track.

Darktown is a largely Vincent Price-esque spoken word piece on the backdrop of heavily distorted Robert Fripp-esque guitar flourishes. Indeed if Price had still been alive when Hackett had recorded Darktown his voice would have been a perfect fit. That being said, Hackett does an admirable approximation of Vincent Price in his vocal delivery.

While the whole album is incredibly strong, something that I've come to notice from most of Hackett's solo material incidentally-- the consistency of quality. I don't believe Hackett has ever recorded a song that could be described as "filler." His material varies in quality from very good to excellent. There is no mediocrity.

The other standout track is The Golden Age of Steel, in it Hackett tells a tale of a young boy during WWII who seamlessly switches sides in the ongoing war in order to survive and profit. In the excellent liner notes Hackett describes the song as an example of "opportunism at its worst." Hackett's voice while not great is certainly passable and does work for the material he is performing. His vocal style is reminiscent of Pink Floyd's David Gilmour. That being said Hackett's strength is certainly much more with his guitar than his voice. And it's for his guitar that this album is well worth listening to.

Incidentally this was one of the first solo albums of Hackett's I ever purchased. The cover art jumped out at me. There was something so dark but at the same time so beautiful about it and I wanted to hear the music that would inspire a photo of a tombstone as its cover artwork. I was not then, nor have I ever been disappointed with that decision.

Unfortunately, this album is now out of print in the United States. If you are able to find it at a decent price either as a new import or used I highly recommend it. If you think you know Hackett from his work in Genesis in the seventies prepare to be surprised. Prepare to be taken on an ambient and haunting musical journey. In the end, you'll be glad you did.

Related Links
Steve Hackett (official site)
Steve Hackett (wikipedia)

John Wetton - Battle Lines (1995)

Coming from a strong progressive rock pedigree in the seventies with his stints as lead singer/bassist in King Crimson, touring with Roxy Music, briefly with Uriah Heep, and the short lived prog-rock supergroup UK (with Allan Holdsworth, Eddy Jobson, Bill Bruford, and later as a trio with Terry Bozzio replacing Bill Bruford and Allen Holdsworth departing not to be replaced).

In the eighties Wetton shifted his focus slightly to what could best be described as prog-pop or possibly "Arena-Prog" with the early eighties MTV arena rock supergroup juggernaut, Asia.

With 1995's Battle Lines Wetton shifted even further into the pop realm with his brief foray into the realm of adult contemporary music in an attempt to attract some new listeners and perhaps make himself a bit more accessible.

While not as adventurous or as interesting as Wetton's more progressive material, Battle Lines is certainly more accessible. The material is still uminstakably John Wetton but it lacks a bit of the adventurousness of his earlier career.

As a prog-pop album, Battle Lines, is a bit of a disappointment. As an adult-contemporary album, on the other hand, Battle Lines, is thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish. The only "throwaway" or "filler" track to be found is Jane which would not have sounded out of place in the eighties-- somewhat troubling consideirng that Battle Lines was released well into the nineties.

Other than the lone hiccup, Wetton's voice is thoroughly enjoyable as always. While he may not be the best singer, what he lacks in vocal quality he far more than makes up for in the overall passion of his vocal delivery. His vocals particularly stand out on the title track, Battle Lines, and on the utterly heart-wrenching, tear-jerking Hold Me Now.

There are far too numerous songs about unrequited love to even begin to count, but what sets Hold Me Now apart from the rest of the sizable pack is not just Wetton's impassioned delivery but also the subject matter. This isn't a song of romantic love, but of love between a child and his mother. The pain in Wetton's voice is downright palpable as he implores;

Mama, just hold me now
You don't have to be pretend
Smash the chains and throw them to the floor
Hold me now and let me believe that a kiss is the way it should be
'cause it means the world to me

Hold Me Now makes Battle Lines well worth the purchase price on its own, let alone the rest of material on the album.

With subsequent releases Wetton would start to return to his more progressive roots much to the delight of his fans. But this album shouldn't be dismissed out of hand. Taken in the right context this album is as thoroughly enjoyable as anything else Wetton has ever recorded. And some credit must be given for Wetton to at least try his hand at a genre he was not known for performing.

Related Links
John Wetton Interview (1994)

John Wetton & Steve Hackett (ex-Genesis) performing Battle Lines

John Wetton (official site)
John Wetton (wikipedia)
Voice Mail / Battle Lines (wikipedia)

Toto - Live @ Montreux 5/7/1991

By 1991 Toto had more than proven themselves. They'd had a string of hits in the eighties and a mantle full of Grammy Awards collected for Toto IV and Rosanna at the 1983 Grammy Awards.

They also had soldiered through a revolving door of lead singers-- Bobby Kimball, Fergie Frederiksen, Joseph Williams, and Jean-Michel Byron (the last of which the band and most fans try to forget).

But you take the good with the bad and after the sour taste that Byron had left them with, Toto decided to soldier on with guitarist Steve Lukather handling the lion's share of lead vocals.

The 1991 Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland was the first glimpse Toto gave of their then upcoming album, Kingdom of Desire.

What the band didn't know, and couldn't have known at the time was that this would end up being one of Jeff Porcaro's final concerts with the band before his untimely passing in August 1992. As such this bootleg is arguably the highest quality and one of the only bootlegs available featuring Porcaro playing material from his final album with the band.

Toto's set starts out with the fiery On the Run (which, incidentally, didn't make it onto Kingdom of Desire) an uptempo rocker, and easily one of the heaviest and hardest rocking songs that Toto had ever recorded. It would not have sounded out of place on Kingdom of Desire which ended up being, arguably, Toto's heaviest, hardest, and rawest album. (On the Run did inevitably make it onto Toto's 1997 twentieth anniversary rarities collection, XX.)

The band also plays Kingdom of Desire and the intensely grooving instrumental Jake to the Bone from Jeff Porcaro's final album.

In addition to the new material the band also dips into their back catalog with the Lukather penned and sung ballad I'll Be Over You, the smash hits-- Africa, Rosanna, and Hold the Line. In the absence of a regular tenor vocalist on Rosanna and Hold the Line Toto taps background singers (Fred White and Jenny Douglas respectively) to handle the tenor vocals. At times the background singers are equal to the task but for the most part their vocals fall thin compared to Bobby Kimball's vocals on the originals.

A couple of covers round out Toto's set, the Hendrix cover Red House that lets Steve Lukather cut his teeth a bit more on guitar and the seemingly out of place throwaway Ike & Tina Turner cover, I Wanna Take You Higher featuring Toto's female back-up singers (Jenny Douglas & Jackie McGhee) singing lead. While this cover might not have sounded out of place at a Toto concert in the late seventies, given the rest of the songs in this early nineties set, it sounds woefully out of place and sticks out like a sore thumb.

That being said, this bootleg is definitely worth adding to any collection largely on the strength of On the Run, Jake to the Bone, Kingdom of Desire, and the Hendrix cover Red House. And for any Toto fan, this is a must given its significance as the first time any material from Kingdom of Desire was performed live (and by Jeff Porcaro to boot!).

Related Links
Kingdom of Desire (wikipedia)
Toto (official site)
Jeff Porcaro (wikipedia)
Steve Lukather (official site)
Steve Lukather (wikipedia)
David Paich (wikipedia)
Mike Porcaro (wikipedia)

One Track Mind: Dream Theater - Surrounded (song review)

One of my favorite Dream Theater songs is Surrounded. It's off their 2nd album, Images & Words, which is considered by many to be one of their best.

Surrounded
by: Dream Theater (from Images & Words)

Morning comes too early and nighttime falls too late
And sometimes all I want to do is wait
The shadow I've been hiding in has fled from me today

I know it's easier to walk away than look it in the eye
But I will raise a shelter to the sky
And here beneath this star tonight I'll lie
She will slowly yeild the light as I awaken from the longest night

Dreams are shaking
Set sirens waking up tired eyes
With the light the memories all rush into his head

By a candle stands a mirror
Of his heart and soul she dances
She was dancing through the night above his bed

And walking to the window he throws the shutters out against the wall
And from an ivory tower hears her call
"Let light surround you"

It's been a long, long time
He's had a while to think it over
In the end he only sees the change
Light to dark
Dark to light
Light to dark
Dark to light

Heaven must be more than this
When angels waken with a kiss
Sacred hearts won't take the pain
But mine will never be the same

He stands before the window
His shadow slowly fading from the wall
And from an ivory tower he hears her call
"Let the light surround you"

Once lost but I was found
When I heard the stained glass shatter all around me
I sent the spirits tumbling down the hill
But I will hold this one on high above me still
She whispers words to clear my mind
I once could see but now at last I'm blind

I know it's easier to walk away than look it in the eye
But I have given all I could take
And now I've only habits left to break
Tonight I'll still be lying here
Surrounded in all the light

I believe it's the overall vibe of spiritual renewal that permeates the song that hits me like a sucker punch to the soul. Lyrically speaking, it's one of the best songs Dream Theater has ever released. And musically, it's probably one of their most accessible songs. I believe the lyrics were written by keyboardist Kevin Moore who left the band after their 3rd album (Awake) to take his music in a different direction. While their current keyboardist (and Julliard alum) Jordan Rudess has filled the hole on keyboards. I don't think the band has ever fully recovered from the loss of Moore as a songwriter. Of all the members of the band, Moore was arguably the best lyricist.

Surrounded is also one of the most upbeat songs in Dream Theater's catalog. Over the past 9 to 10 years much of their material has trended more towards the metal end of the spectrum. Surrounded however is quite accessible to non-metal listeners.

And normally I'm not a big fan of the operatically trained James LaBrie's vocals, but I find his voice suits this song quite well. He shows uncharacteristic restraint when needed and lets loose on those parts of the song that need that little extra oomph.

It's not a wonder that even eight studio albums and seventeen years later this remains one of my favorite Dream Theater songs.

Shadow Gallery - Tyranny (1998)

I first stumbled upon Shadow Gallery when I saw them mentioned on a Dream Theater message board. Their songs Destination Unknown from their Legacy album and I Believe from their concept album Tyranny came highly recommended.

Upon first listen-- WOW! Honestly these guys blew me away. I could hear elements of Alice Cooper, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Dream Theater, and even some hints of Queen with their elaborate church choir-esque harmony vocals not to mention the Yngwie Malmsteen meets Brian May guitar stylings of Brendt Allman and Gary Wehrkamp.

Tyranny is a concept album that starts to tell the story about the military industrial complex. The story continues on 2005's Room V. But this is really the album that made fans sit up and take notice.

Where Dream Theater is easily more technically proficient, there's something arguably more organic about Shadow Gallery's style. The way the vocals dance around the elaborate instrumentals. The way their heavy metal guitar work dances around the tight vocal harmonies really sets Shadow Gallery apart.

Unlike some of their contemporaries, Shadow Gallery is strictly a studio band. Since their inception in the early 90s they have been strictly a studio band which is likely the predominant reason why they aren't as well known as some of their contemporaries like Queensryche, Fates Warning, or Dream Theater. It's a shame as those who haven't yet experienced their unique sound are truly missing out.

There are some truly transcendent moments on Tyranny. The vocal harmonies that come in at about 5 minutes into the song on I Believe NEVER, and I do mean NEVER fail to give me chills. Mike Baker's vocals were in top form from start to finish. I Believe is easily the most upbeat song on the album as it expresses that no matter what there's always a hope for positive change. There's even a mention of Jesus's prophecy of a better world that lifts the spirits of the main character sung by Michael Baker. Dream Theater's James LaBrie steps in for guest vocals as he sings the part of the main character's father. It's a brief snippet early in the song but LaBrie's vocals are unmistakable.

What makes the album work is that it's not a full-on heavy metal onslaught. There's a serious amount of musical diversity including neo-classical influences as well as the trademark metal stylings that one would expect. Some songs waltz back and forth between melodic soft rock to driving crunchy metal.

If you're not familiar with Shadow Gallery and want to give them a try this is an excellent album to start with as it shows the true breadth of their musicianship much moreso than their first 2 albums (their self-titled debut and Carved in Stone).

On a sad post-script, lead vocalist Mike Baker, died of a heart attack on October 29, 2008.

Related Links
Shadow Gallery (official website)
Shadow Gallery (wikipedia)
Tyranny (official website, includes samples of all songs)
Tyranny (wikipedia)
Brendt Allman (wikipedia)
Gary Wehrkamp (wikipedia)
Mike Baker (wikipedia)

Joseph Williams - I Am Alive (1996)

After his rather unceremonious departure from Toto following The Seventh One tour (1987/88), singer Joseph Williams seemingly dropped off the radar.

As a result, his 2nd solo album was aptly titled with the proclamation I Am Alive!

The album opens with Perfectly Clear, a song that seems to scream summer:

The man on TV says it's just another day
With all its picture postcard smiles
The sun is shining and the clouds are blown away
The perfect weather for denial

From start to finish the song is upbeat fun and catchy. It captures summer so well you can practically smell the barbecues, mosquito repellent, and sun-tan lotion. The optimism of the song is infectious and it puts the listener in an excellent mood. A fantastic way to open the album!

Next is Heroes, a bit slower tempo but just as melodic and enjoyable. In addition to Williams exceptional lead vocals Bill Champlin and Jason Scheff of Chicago provide exceptional background vocals along with Joseph's wife, Amye.

On track 3 Joe shifts gears with a cover of Paul Davis's Cool Night a song that speaks to chilly fall nights with amber leaves and cups of cocoa. Bill Champlin provides exceptional and very noticeable background vocals and Jason Scheff colors the song with his exceptional bass chops. And as much as I love Davis's original, I've come to love Williams' version just as much-- if not more.

The title track, I Am Alive, was built around by a drum loop recorded by Williams' former bandmate by Jeff Porcaro before his untimely death in 1992. So even 4 years after his passing, Jeff Porcaro was able to get a drum credit from beyond the grave. It gives the song a little extra something special as it also features some background vocals from Toto's original lead vocalist, Bobby Kimball.

The album is rounded out by a handful of other excellent songs. Babylon is a catchy mid-tempo song. The lyrics aren't great but Williams' vocal delivery elevates the mediocre lyrics and makes them enjoyable. Unarm Your Heart again features Bill Champlin providing very exceptional background vocals in counterpoint to Williams'. The vocal chemistry shared between Williams' and Champlin is perhaps second only to the vocal chemistry Champlin shared with his own former bandmate, Peter Cetera on Chicago 16 & 17. On top of that the vocals are uplifting and positive:

If only you wouldn't turn away
We could make a start
I'll keep you safe
If you'll unarm your heart

One of the best songs on the album is Out of Harm's Way:

I don't care if it blows in my face
I'm still gonna love you with no loss of grace
And I don't care if I'm really afraid
Faith will surround us
And keep our love
Out of harm's way

The song is a celebration of new love. Those over the top highs of happiness you feel for that special someone when you first start falling in love with him/her. The melody is catchy and thoroughly enjoyable.

The original version of the album closes with I'd Rather Dance By Myself which borrows a page from the John Hughes film Some Kind of Wonderful. There's a scene where Amanda Jones (played excellently by a young Leah Thompson) says, "I'd rather be alone for the right reasons than with someone for the wrong reasons." I'd Rather Dance By Myself is the same idea-- you don't need someone else in your life to define who you are.

A later release of the album includes 2 bonus tracks Never Let You Go and Afterlife. Never Let You Go has a similar vibe to Out of Harm's Way and I Believe in You whereas Afterlife is an instrumental piece that offers a bit of a demonstration of the television scoring that Williams' had started to do at that point in his career (in the late 90s Joseph Williams wrote and performed the scores for CBS's Early Edition and LA Doctors and the WB's Roswell).

Unfortunately, this exceptional album is now and has long been out of print. It likely didn't help at the time of the release that the album had/has a late eighties vibe to it, making it sound dated even at its original release in 1996. However, the material is excellent and enjoyable despite sounding dated.

If you liked Chicago 16-19, Toto Fahrenheit & The Seventh One chances are you'll love I Am Alive.

Related Links:
Joseph Williams (wikipedia)
Joseph Williams (Totoweb.org)
Other Joseph Williams related reviews/interviews

Aussie/Kiwi Classic Rock

As a follow-up to my post on British Classic Rock, I felt it fitting to delve into some of the better music to come from our friends from the South Pacific.

AC/DC: Many will argue that Led Zeppelin were the fathers or creators of heavy metal-- a label that not even Robert Plant himself agrees with. With that in mind, it can just as easily be argued that AC/DC were the fathers of metal. There's a certain energy and attitude about the. Even if some really have trouble calling what Bon Scott or later Brian Johnson were doing "singing," one thing that certainly can't be argued is Angus Young's talents on the guitar.

Bee Gees/Andy Gibb: While these guys were born in England, they were raised in Australia and it was there that they first made a name for themselves. Whether it's their early days as a tight R&B/Blue Eyed Soul trio with tight vocal harmonies or when they were at the pinnacle of their success as Disco Kings in the late seventies thanks to a little film called Saturday Night Fever. While younger brother, Andy opted not to turn the trio into a quartet his music was cut from the cloth as that of his older brothers. Unfortunately, due to his teen pin-up status he's never really been taken seriously despite having an exceptional voice and a respectable catalog in his own right.

Cold Chisel: The definitive Aussie pub rock band of the late seventies and early eighties. While they attempted to make a splash with the US music scene, they went largely ignored by the American public-- which inspired their Aussie hit, You Got Nothin' I Want. Songs like Khe Sanh, Flame Trees, When the War is Over and Breakfast at Sweethearts remain fan favorites today. Cold Chisel also spawned vocalist Jimmy Barnes whose solo career eventually eclipsed the success of the very band that spawned him. However, arguably one of his best vocal performances remains All I Wanna Do from Cold Chisel's 2003 Ringside tour.

Crowded House: After the Finn brothers pulled the plug on their initial musical endeavour, Split Enz (see below), Neil Finn embarked on a new musical endeavor, Crowded House. A huge concert draw in New Zealand and Australia the band split up in 1997, and re-formed in 2007 after a 10 year hiatus and the death of their original drummer, Paul Hester, to release their first new studio album in over ten years, Time On Earth. Crowded House is best known for their mega-hit Don't Dream It's Over.

The Cruel Sea: Other than a minor US hit, The Honeymoon Is Over, in the early 90s these guys aren't generally known outside their native Australia. Initially these guys started out as an instrumental unit inspired by the surf music of the 60s. They later added Beasts of Bourbon vocalist, Tex Perkins, to give their music a bit of extra dimension. Perkins' deep vocals helped propel the band to much greater success than they'd ever had as instrumentalists.

Hunters & Collectors: Named after a song by Can, Hunters & Collectors made a name for themselves in the Aussie pub rock scene of the eighties and nineties. With a tight rhythm section that served as not just a backbone but also a focal point of many of their songs, a horn section that gave their songs an extra chutzpah, and the vocals of Mark Seymour. Touring with Midnight Oil in the early 90s, saw the one and only US album release, Fate. Unfortunately, the suits in the States had no idea how to market them. And much like Cold Chisel before them, they went largely unnoticed. In 1998, they entered the studio for what would be their final album, Juggernaut. Their hit, Throw Your Arms Around Me remains a karaoke staple in Aussie bars to this day.

INXS: Next to AC/DC, INXS is likely the most well known Aussie musical export. Vocalist Michael Hutchence had a stage presence reminiscent of the late Jim Morrison that was truly a sight to be seen. Unfortunately, the band lost a lot of credibility when they replaced Hutchence with Canadian, J.D. Fortune, on a reality tv show-- despite releasing one solid album with Fortune on the mic (Switch).

Little River Band: Essentially these guys were the Aussie version of the Eagles. While arguably not as strong instrumentalists as their American counterparts, they more than made up for it with the rock solid super tight vocal harmonies of Glenn Shorrock, Graham Goble, and Beeb Birtles. Despite an ever shifting line-up that even saw the departure and return of lead vocalist Glenn Shorrock at one point, the core of Birtles, Goble, and Shorrock created some of the tightest vocal harmonies in pop/rock history. Even the three albums released with vocalist John Farnham in the early 80s had some exceptionally strong material. While Farnham's voice may have been better/stronger than Shorrock's it lacked the chemistry Shorrock's voice gave the band.

Men At Work: These days these guys are more fodder for eighties trivia games but in their day they put out some rather catchy and solid songs including Who Can It Be Now, Down Under, Be Good Johnny, and my personal favorite Overkill. Even many of the deeper album cuts by these guys were quite catchy.

Midnight Oil: With lyrics that were often largely political in nature, it's likely no surprise that lead vocalist Peter Garrett left the band to pursue a career in politics. But any band that can score an international hit from a song about Aboriginal land rights deserves some serious kudos.

Split Enz: Across "the ditch" from Australia in nearby New Zealand the brothers Finn (Tim & Neil) put together a string of New Wave hits (some of which caught on in the US and some which did not) including Six Months in a Leaky Boat, History Never Repeats, Bold as Brass, I Hope I Never, and perhaps their biggest hit I Got You.

Jimmy Barnes: After Cold Chisel split up Jimmy Barnes embarked on a largely successful solo career which spawned a string of solo hits including Working Class Man, Driving Wheels, and Ride the Night Away. Barnes is not just a vocalist but an Aussie icon!

John Farnham: Farnham made a respectable career and name for himself in Australia but remained merely a star until after his short stint as Little River Band's lead vocalist. In 1986 his Whispering Jack album became an Aussie staple and propelled Farnham to superstardom largely on the success of its hit single, You're the Voice but also scored hits with covers of Cold Chisel's When the War Is Over (originally covered when he was still in Little River Band) and The Beatles Help, not to mention his collaborations with Jimmy Barnes and Aussie boy band Human Nature.

Wendy Matthews: Born in Canada, Wendy Mathews saw little success in her native North America. Then as fate would have it the then recently ousted LRB lead vocalist, Glenn Shorrock, invited her to sing back-up on his 1983 Australian tour. In Australia she found the success that had eluded her half a world away. Starting out as an in-demand session vocalist in 1990 Matthews recorded her solo debut, Emigre. Wendy is best known for The Day You Went Away.

Top 20 Musical Guilty Pleasures

The guys over at Rock Revival challenged their readers to list their Top 20 "Guilty Pleasures." I decided to bite:

1. Milli Vanilli - Girl You Know It's True (lip synced or not it was a catchy song)
2. The Archies - Jingle Jangle (so what if it's by a "fake band" based off a cheesy comic book, the song is infectiously catchy)
3. Air Supply - Making Love Out of Nothing At All (their music is largely cavity inducing, but this song is anthemic)
4. Jim Steinman (his songs have been performed by Air Supply, Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, and heck even Barbra Streisand. All of his songs are rather bombastic and over-the-top and I love just about every one of them)
5. Queen - Fat Bottomed Girls (Queen really isn't a "guilty" pleasure, but Fat Bottomed Girls is a far cry from Bohemian Rhapsody or Under Pressure)
6. Chicago Hot Streets - Chicago is one of the top-selling American bands, liking them isn't really a guilty pleasure. But this album with some serious disco influences from the late 70s is certainly not the pinnacle of the band's creative energies... But I still can't get enough of songs like Alive Again and No Tell Lover.
7. Dream Theater - When Dream and Day Unite - Their debut album with former lead singer Charlie Domenici. Many find Domenici to be a bit "unlistenable" but I quite enjoy his vocals.
8. Syd Barrett - Syd's material tempered by his bandmates in Pink Floyd was strange enough. Without the rest of Pink Floyd to tame his eccentricities you get songs like Birdie Hop that are truly bizarre.
9. Def Leppard - I've continued listening to these guys long after many others have stopped. And I don't just mean their classics, I listen to their new stuff too.
10. Survivor - Eye of the Tiger, Burning Heart, The Search Is Over... I can't get enough of these blokes.
11. REO Speedwagon - do I really have to explain?
12. Matthew Wilder - Break My Stride - A one hit wonder and I'm still listening 25 years later.
13. Joey Scarbury - Believe It Or Not a TV theme song that was far more popular than the show it was the theme to (The Greatest American Hero), over 25 years later and I still dig it.
14. Toto - I don't really feel guilty about loving this band, they're solid musicians and play some great music. They just are generally forgotten here in their home country.
15. John Farnham-era Little River Band - While I prefer John Farnham solo over his time with LRB and I prefer LRB with Glenn Shorrock over LRB with John Farnham I do still enjoy this brief anomaly in LRB's history.
16. Fergie Frederiksen - This guy is almost a musical footnote and not much else. He was the lead singer for a band called LeRoux for 1 album (So Fired Up, they scored a minor hit with the song Carrie's Gone), replacing their original lead singer-- Jeff Pollard... only to leave LeRoux to join Toto for one album. He has a tweeter-frying stratospheric tenor voice and tremendous range.
17. Peter Cetera - Chicago's former frontman. Most of what he sings is saccharine love drivel but man his voice... His voice is so distinct and really sets him apart from other singers. I'm not crazy about what he chooses to sing but I still love the way he sings it!
18. Michael Jackson - Thriller (Michael is bat guano crazy, but in his day he sure knew how to craft one killer pop album... there's not a bad song on this album!)
19. Saturday Night Fever soundtrack - I was still in diapers when this movie and soundtrack came out but with 5 older siblings it's indelibly stamped in my memory
20. England Dan & John Ford Coley - These guys really made some great cheezy schmaltz in the tradition of bands like Firefall but there was/is something quite catchy about songs like Nights Are Forever Without You and I'd Really Love To See You Tonight that I can't help but like.