Steely Dan, “Here At The Western World”, Showbiz Kids:  The Steely Dan Story

Ol’ Don and Walter bless us with another enigmatic lyric on this cut recorded during the Royal Scam sessions.  Are we at a brothel?  Skinny girls, red doors, rappin’ with canes, hiding from madmen… don’t bother figuring it out, just enjoy another smooth jazz/rock fusion hybrid Dan cut with its tasty hooks, sweet backup vocals, and excellent piano and lead guitar work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkIFE2sLmkM

Sacred Reich, “The American Way”, The American Way

My intro to the mighty Sacred Reich.  What separates these Arizona thrashers from their counterparts was more of a “real world” approach to the lyrics, “The American Way” offering cutting commentary on the state of the US in the Reagan/Bush years.  On top of that is one fairly simple but absolutely pummeling riff with a killer breakdown come chorus time, so much so that if you’re not headbanging or foot tapping at some point there’s no help for you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOg4bDlZyAA

Metallica, “Master Of Puppets”, Master Of Puppets

To steal a line from the old TV show “Name That Tune”-  I can name that song in one note!  My all time favorite Metallica song and one of my all time favorite thrash songs ever.  What’s funny is that it took me a while to actually get Metallica but when I did there was no stopping the love for thrash metal.  The reckless pace of this song, the commanding bark of Hetfield, frighteningly cool lyric, and that choppy riff.  And oh yeah, that awesomely cool breakdown halfway through.  You want to introduce someone to thrash?  You can’t go wrong with this one.

Stone Temple Pilots, “Crackerman”, Core

It’s funny, listening to this song years later I sure can’t pick up where people said these guys were jumping on the grunge bandwagon.  Definitely not Pearl Jam, Nirvana, or Soundgarden but I can catch a hint of Alice In Chains in the riff and distorted vocal delivery.  Nevertheless, this song absolutely rocks nonstop right from the first snare crack.  The swagger of Weiland and rock solid playing from the DeLeo brothers certainly lead the charge on this cut from Core.  

AC/DC, “Let’s Make It”, The Razor’s Edge

I have a hard time knocking songs from my favorite bands but “Let’s Make It” certainly would be near the bottom of my favorite AC/DC cuts.  A too simple (even by AC/DC standards) riff, fairly flat chorus, and silly lyrics are redeemed by a pre-solo change up and brief solo spot that is really the only change of pace in an otherwise unmemorable song.  Shame as the intro riff is a bit promising too.  Razor’s Edge  is the first album where I noticed a major change in Brian’s voice, which was quite the shock at the time.  But it’s AC/DC!

Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Saturday Night Special”, One For The Road

One of my fave Skynyrd cuts and outstanding lyric that is more anti-gun than you would think (“why don’t we dump ’em people, to the bottom of the sea”).  Slippery guitar work from Rossington/Collins/Gaines with a memorable riff and an off kilter time signature, but nothing quite beats the story telling of Mr. Ronnie Van Zant.  Such a killer combination of lyric, rhythm, and pacing makes this song top notch.

The Yardbirds, “I’m A Man”, Beckology

A hopped up cover of the Bo Diddley classic with guitar wizardry courtesy of the one and only Jeff Beck (dig the switch to “rave-up” mode when Beck hits the distortion around the 1:30 mark).  The whole band is on fire here,  Jim McCarty kickin’ it on drums and Keith Relf’s vocal and harmonica rounded off by Paul Samwell-Smith’s propulsive bass runs (Chris Dreja’s guitar likely on here too).  Man, to see these guys in the day would have been totally cool.

The Mars Volta, “Copernicus”, Octahedron

A much more laid back and stark Mars Volta here but a thing of sheer beauty.  Spacey melody with excellent harmony vocals and tranquil guitar kick us off, taking us to faraway places as we dreamily float away into parts unknown.  Extra subtle touches  midway through offers a change up but nothing that kicks us too far off course.  Subtle electronic beats, haunting keys, and mellow piano on the fadeout rounds things out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne9UBdCY4gg

Cheap Trick, “Love Comes”, Standing On The Edge

First off, I love Cheap Trick.  LOVE Cheap Trick.  Huge fan over the years, but this is not one of my favorite songs from their catalog.  That said, this probably would be much, much better as an acoustic number without the extra production touches (weak keys and gated snare cracks, AUUUGH).  A pretty melody burdened by an 80’s sound.  Best part of this song is definitely Robin Zander, that dude can sing anything.  Check out his solo acoustic versions of this song on YouTube, much better!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3tB98D5odE

Public Enemy, “She Watch Channel Zero”, It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back

Even though I’m not a huge rap fan, I have massive respect for artists like Public Enemy.  Sure, there is a lot of sampling in rap (SLAAAAAYYYYERRRR!!!) but Chuck D’s delivery and lyrical content oftentimes make you stand up and pay attention.  No raps about “bitches” and “hos” here, just straight on music with a message with the always colorful commentary from Flavor Flav.

Wow, great shuffle week here.  The Mars Volta disc is a fairly recent pickup that I’ve been listening to quite a bit and “Copernicus” is one of my favorite cuts on it, but who can deny old school Metallica.  MASTER!  MASTER!  “Master of Puppets” is the pick of the week