“Trippin’ On A Hole In A Paper Heart”, Stone Temple Pilots Tiny Music… Songs From The Vatican Gift Shop

I’ve always been a big fan of STP, this song certainly being one of my favorites in their catalog.  These guys were unfairly lumped in with grunge early in their career as their debut Core certainly had some similarities to the triumvirate of  AIC/Pearl Jam/Nirvana; however, as the band grew other influences came into play.  “Trippin'” is a rollicking good time, less chunky of riff, more open Zep-like chords, and one poppin’ bass groove from Robert DeLeo.  Scott Weiland also in fine form mixing smooth clean vocal and throaty rasp towards the chorus.

“Invisible”, Dio Holy Diver

Man was this one hot album when it came out-  Dio fresh from his Sabbath sacking, stealing away VInnie Appice for the drum stool, recruiting former Rainbow mate Jimmy Bain, and snapping up one hot guitarist in Vivian Campbell.  “Invisible” kicks off softly with phased guitar and some pretty singing from RJD before turning all stomp n’ crunch the rest of the way.  Appice with his always solid groove and Bain and Campbell pretty much locked in together with the riff (Viv throwing in cool squealies here and there).  As always Ronnie brings his all to the table, forecasting the doom just around the corner (LOOKOUT!).

“N.O.D.” Down Down III: Over The Under 

Swingin’ the chain like the mighty Sabbath comes Down, side project of some heavy metal stalwarts (Anselmo, Keenan, Windstein, et al) that make a different sludge outside of their regular day jobs.  Obviously Sab influenced but I can hear a little bit of Cathedral in here too (well duh, THEY are Sab influenced too).  Phil’s roar is a little hoarse, sounding as if this was the last cut belted out after a long day in the studio (“I fight… I will fight”) although you get some mighty belts in spots too.  But Phil is always more than just the roar, he’s got some cool low range moments too.

“Long Distance Runaround” Yes Highlights – The Very Best Of Yes

I can name that tune in one note!  Hard to describe a tune that’s been so omnipresent on classic rock radio and one that a great number of people have heard, but if you’ve not heard it here goes….  first off, go out and buy Fragile so you can hear the awesomely cool segue into “The Fish”.  Sit back, hit play, and soak in the cool guitar\keyboard run and counter bassline with fellow tricky drum pattern.  But don’t let it lose you!  Thirty or so seconds in comes the vocal and another different time signature for about two minutes, then switcheroo, you’re back at the intro again.  Now play it over and over and over again until those musical melodies and vocal melodies sink in.  Trust me, you’ll come to like it 🙂

“Dirty Hands and Empty Pockets/Already Gone” Corrosion Of Conformity In The Arms Of God

First things first…  Nawlin’s drum stud Stanton Moore gets his John Bonham on, filling in for Reed Mullin on this release and providing an odd bit o’ groove to the festivities.  Secondly, this song is a two-parter: intro is a bit funky and slinky with great lowdown Mike Dean vocal and a bit of Sabbath stomp, but halfway through things are amped up into a punk metal groove, this time led by Pepper Keenan vocal.  Man… does anyone else think that Pepper Keenan and Load era James Hetfield sound similar?  That midrange is definitely there, as is ending each line with “ah” (“we’re gonna give it to ’em till they bleed-ah”).  Not that there’s anything wrong with that, ha ha.

“In The Room” Sammy Hagar Three Lock Box

I’ve always dug the Red Rocker from his solo years through VH and back solo.  “In The Room” is a fairly simple tune, maybe a little more experimentally spooky and heavier on the keys than his usual stuff and definitely a more lower range vocal from Sam than the norm.  A bit new wave-y too, considering the time period that this came out (late 1982)-  think BOC mixed with The Cars and you get the picture.

“Praise Of Death” Slayer Hell Awaits

I remember the first time I listened to a Slayer album… my bro or I (can’t remember who) bought Hell Awaits on album, took it home, threw on the headphones, and came away scared shitless after listening to intro cut “Hell Awaits”.  It wasn’t until South Of Heaven that I started to really like Slayer even though I was deep into thrash via Metallica, Anthrax, Megadeth, etc.  Looking back I totally missed out, ha ha!  At any rate, “Praise Of Death” is typical early Slayer, fast of riff, clattery of drums, and fairly poor production.  The ferocity in this song is there but they take it down a notch towards the end but kick it back up after some whammy bar histrionics.  Quite a few cool changes throughout this cut with a great lead trade off midway through.

“PCH” ZZ Top Antenna

As much as I love ZZ Top, I get a little bummed how their post-Eliminator work sounds like it could fit on that album or Afterburner compared to their early career.  “PCH” suffers a bit from this as it digs up a decent enough groove but sounds a little too mechanical\too produced when the drums kick in.  Starts off with a promising Billy Gibbons solo piece before kicking off and going into a bit of “Sharp Dressed Man” land through the verse.  That said, this does have a groovy little pre-chorus and chorus but the verses sound like something that was on one of their hits.  But hey, don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater yet-  the Rev Billy G has some fine, fine guitar work throughout this one.

“Hot Love” Twisted Sister Love Is For Suckers

Man, I’ve always liked this song.  Not quite typical of the Twisted ones but it’s damn hooky and Dee Snider has a great vocal on it.  Rumor has it that this album was supposed to be a Dee Snider solo album but ended up being a TS release due to record company pressure, which also likely explains Dee and his wife being featured prominently in the video.  A far, far cry from “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “I Wanna Rock” and their earlier stuff but considering the times (1987) it fit perfectly into the hair metal that was rampant on MTV.

“Watch The Fortune Wheel” Morgoth Feel Sorry For The Fanatic

Not sure what the deal is with this release, but talk about a way to divide your fanbase.  I only have this CD based on liking a couple of songs on the Century Media Identity samplers and I really like it.  “Watch The Fortune Wheel” is an oddball on the CD anyway, settling into a funky, slow, atmospheric groove akin to something like Killing Joke.  Lots of echo on the guitar, clattery drum bashing, and low, low vocal makes this a decent cut and providing a nice contrast with some of the more heavier numbers on the rest of the disc.  If you want death metal Morgoth, this song is far removed from that.

Some good cuts here, but gotta go with Dio and “Invisible” for this week’s winner.

People like lists, so I’m adding an additional fifteen bands.  No special order…

1. Red Dragon Cartel
2. Priestess
3. Mars Volta
4. Airbourne
5. Maggie Koerner
6. Rose Hill Drive
7. Black Star Riders
8. Mutemath
9. Jet
10. Them Crooked Vultures
11. Chickenfoot
12. Kylesa
13. The Earth Laid Bare
14. Sasquatch
15. Goatwhore

“Another Tricky Day”, The Who Face Dances

A great latter day track driven by an awesomely cool punchy and sliding bass line from John Entwistle alongside the occasional power chord blast from Pete Townshend, Tricky Day shows the band quite strong post Keith Moon’s untimely death.  Moonie’s replacement Kenney Jones is bedrock solid, laying down the backbeat for the band and plenty of room for Roger Daltrey and Townshend to weave in and out with some great vocal interplay.  Throw in some color from keys and some acoustic into the mix and you’ve got a tune that shows that there was still life in The Who post personal tragedy.

“Disillusion Town”, The Knack Normal As The Next Guy

Ahhh, the curse of the one hit wonder and that hit being the lead song on your first record.  But alas!  The Knack always had a “knack” for a good tune, Disillusion Town offering up a great blast of Beatle-y\Byrds-y pop with a nice psychedelic guitar solo to boot.  Melody for miles, great singing from the always fantastic Doug Fieger, and as always on Knack cuts some of the coolest drumming on the planet for this kind of 60’s influenced pop rock-  a little bit of Ringo, a little bit of Keith Moon, and just a touch of 60s session great Bobby Graham to make you shake and shimmy.

“I Will Possess Your Heart”, Death Cab For Cutie Narrow Stairs

First time I heard this song I got sucked immediately into the bass groove, and that was actually the single version.  In some ways this is almost two songs in one, with the first four minutes a bunch of trippy goodness led by a groovy bass and drum pattern with some ambient guitar awash in reverb and spaciness topped with a repetitive piano hook.  Halfway through Ben Gibbard’s vocal brings it down to a small hush and then the groove picks back up and takes you home.  Lyrically a bit on the stalkeresque side but certainly paints the picture for you.  VIdeo is the album version in its eight minute glory.

“Savage World”, Primal Rock Rebellion Awoken Broken

Due to my love of Iron Maiden, I will always pick up any side projects that the fellas do, this one headed up by ace guitarist Adrian “H” Smith alongside one totally unique vocalist in Mikee Goodman.  Other than the heavy guitar, this is pretty far away from H’s day job as it’s quite a bit more modern and moodier across the board.  Vocally this IS NOT for everyone as Goodman has his own dramatic style.  He does express quite a bit of range throughout, mixing in cartoony yelping with some actual singing here and there.  H is a little more free to roam here and there and get a little bit noisier than usual, which is cool to hear.

“Sandy Beaches”, Delbert McClinton Live From Austin

Not my normal cup of tea as this is a bit too smooth and “yacht rock” for me (blame the horns), but hey, Delbert is reliable as ever and can certainly sell a song.  It’s pretty far removed from the bluesy R&B that he’s more famous for, sounding more like a hit soft rock song from the 70s.  If you want to slow dance with the one you love, this is certainly up your alley.  A little trivia note for you-  Delbert has been doing a yearly floating music festival for 20+ years named “Sandy Beaches Cruise” and I guarantee he’ll play this one every year!

“Don’t Go”, Ugly Kid Joe America’s Least Wanted

Rock fans likely remember “I Hate Everything About You”, but may not have been familiar with the talent in this funk metal rockin’ outfit, which is a damn shame as grunge came along and totally killed everything that smelled remotely hairy.  “Don’t Go” is a groovy bit of funkiness with suitably crunchy guitar and great vocal from Whitfield Crane, feeling vaguely southern rock come chorus time.  Probably the best part of these guys was their sense of humor, which doesn’t really come through in this song but an overall sense of good time fun does.

“Electric Twilight”, Vicious Rumors Vicious Rumors

I think all heavy 80s bands had cool, atmospheric guitar pieces either as individual segues between songs or actual song introductions, used either to show off the guitarist’s chops or to offer up a little bit of light and shade to balance out the heaviness.  Vicious Rumors has always featured strong guitarists and was the launching pad for one Vinnie Moore, but this time the guitar work is handled by Geoff Thorpe and Mark McGee, getting a bit ethereal and flashing some Led Zeppelin with touches of mandolin and acoustic with the electric.  Only about two minutes but a bit of fresh air on the CD.

“Everybody’s Got A Mountain To Climb”, Allman Brothers Where It All Begins

A Dickey Betts composition and one that sounds a bit Little Feat-esque, but with that unmistakable stellar slide work between Betts and Warren Haynes.  Unfortunately this would be Dickey’s last go round with the ABB and he pulls off a fantastic vocal here, sounding a touch like Gregg Allman here and there with the Betts twang.  Lyrically a bit of a feel good song too as we all have our own mountains to climb in life.  Did I mention the slide work?  Yeah I did, but I got to mention it again as Betts and Haynes always gelled so well together.

“Promised Land”, Reverend Play God

Former lead throat of Metal Church David Wayne sticks with what he does best, grabbing some hot players (ironically from replacement Mike Howe’s old band) and busting out material very close to his old band-  not quite thrash metal and something a little more heavier than something like Judas Priest.  In “Promised Land”, Wayne swings back and forth between menacing shriek and smooth croon.  Toss in a little bit of groove towards the end before coming full circle to the heavy stomp as Reverend Dave belts it out in fine fashion.

“Hi Fi Mama”, ZZ Top Deguello

Ahh, that lil’ ol’ band from Tejas with a short and snappy number from probably my fave album of theirs Deguello.  To me pre-Eliminator is their best stuff and it’s always a treat to hear Dusty Hill on vocals, who sings as if there’s no tomorrow.  Sure, he can get a little carried away at times but he’s got such a convincing growl that that stuff just washes away.  Throw in some horns (totally different from the Delbert horns mentioned earlier) and some of the coolest licks ever from Rev Billy G and you’ll be dancing your ass off in no time.  Have mercy!

Some awfully tough choices for best song of the week but I’ve gotta to with ZZ and “Hi Fi Mama”.  The Who and Death Cab come in #2 and #3 for the week.