Ahhhh, gaze upon that garish pink cover…  dig the new wave-y graphics and colors…  fancy that bow tie on Ray Davies…  flip the album over and drool over Dave Davies’ Les Paul Artisan guitar…  now, throw this record on your turntable (or CD in your player, or cue up the MP3s) and seriously DIG IN to some seriously great versions of early Kinks’ classics and some from their newest studio album Low Budget.  This was certainly not your father’s or older uncle’s Kinks…  this was a different beast altogether.

I grew up with a lot of musician friends and this was an album that I found in a collection of a drummer who had good taste and vouched for the goodness within, so I knew going in that this would be a great record once I finally purchased it.  I’d already heard “Lola”, “You Really Got Me”, and “All Day And All Of The Night” on the local rock radio stations and totally dug the vibe and energy of these versions but wasn’t sure I wanted to drop money on a double album.  But fear not…  once I did and gave it a good listen it didn’t leave the turntable for weeks.  These were The Kinks as arena rockers; no pretense, no nonsense, and no bullshit.  These guys were out to show the young punks how “the original punks” could outrock and outplay them with better written songs overall.

One For The Road was released in 1980, certainly an interesting timeframe for music.  Disco was in a tailspin, punk was starting to peter out overseas in favor of skinny ties and a more fashionable approach, and a new wave of heavy metal was making inroads in England.  At the time, The Kinks had been making a comeback of sorts in the States with their late 70’s albums that featured more guitar driven rock cuts than some of their early to mid-70s concept albums.  Lead singer and main man Ray Davies seemed to be in a different mindset, foregoing some of the musical theater vibe of the concept albums for more rock songs which won favor from fans in the States at the time.  All this must have appealed wholeheartedly to brother Dave Davies as he adds plenty of punch to these live versions.

Side one kicks off with a teasing bit of “You Really Got Me” before jumping full swing into newer cuts “The Hard Way” and Stones rip “Catch Me Now I’m Falling”, both featuring the younger Davies front and center with some solid riffing.  The next one-two punch feature a couple of classics:  the simple yet strong “Where Have All The Good Times Gone” and a fantastic version of “Lola” featuring Ray Davies teasing the crowd and enticing their participation throughout the chorus.  It’s obvious that Ray and the boys are now comfortable in full blown showmanship role as they hit on all cylinders.

The great thing about this disc is the great job the band does blending older classics with their newer fare as well as how their mellower cuts fare along with the rockers.  Songs like “Misfits”, “Stop Your Sobbing”, and especially “Celluloid Heroes” are absolute gems here, offering up a different energy level and in the case of “Heroes”, some great interplay between guitar and keyboards during the intro before laying back into the groove and allowing Ray to bless us with a beautiful, picturesque vocal about old Hollywood.  An absolutely underrated Kinks Klassic.

The Kinks were touring Low Budget at the time and amped up the live versions, in some cases making the songs much, much better than those on that album.  “Attitude” is a solid rocker, a funky Skynyrd-esque intro riff before going more full on punk; title cut “Low Budget” is another forgotten winner, Ray playing the lead vocal to the hilt behind a nasty riff from brother Dave, and a superbly kick ass version of “(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman” that is miles better than the discofied version found on the studio album, once again featuring Dave Davies on formidable lead guitar.

Did I say “formidable lead guitar”?  Hell yeah I did.  This live album is Dave’s chance to shine and to step out of his older brother’s shadow for a bit.  For one his guitar tone here is fat and nasty, wringing all sorts of notes out of his Les Paul as he powers through many a classic rock riff.  “All Day And All Of The Night”?  Punk before there ever was such a thing.  Listen to the version here as Dave pushes the tempo and builds the excitement level.  “Victoria” and “David Watts”, two other early classics, are given a new energy here due to not only being great songs but also due to the band pushing a punkier tempo.  And let’s not forget Dave’s slashing chord work during a rousing take of “20th Century Man”, a much more intense version compared to the almost countryesque original.

But the song of all songs here is a truly monstrous version of “You Really Got Me”, ol’ Dave proving to everyone that HE was an original guitar hero and featuring a brief but wickedly nasty intro solo before going headlong into THAT riff.  To me, this is my favorite version of this cut as it provides a ton of sonic wallop throughout:  the guitar tone is disgustingly filthy (and I mean that in a good way), the pace is brisk and grabs your attention immediately, Ray sings as his life depends on it, and Dave adds a fine solo to top things off.  Just two years earlier, Van Halen had grabbed America’s attention with their debut disc which featured their take on this song with its own intro solo.  On this live version, The Kinks successfully wrestle back what is theirs with this muscular, take no prisoners version.

Did the band feel threatened by the new guard?  I don’t think so, but I do think that they were certainly honored that acts such as The Jam, The Sex Pistols, and Van Halen were either covering their tunes or giving The Kinks high praise.  The period 1977 through 1983 was a bit of a comeback for the band as they gained new fans based on some great cuts and energetic live shows.  One For The Road is a great live album from this period and features a hot, energized band belting out some long standing klassic Kinks kuts as only they could do.  Long live The Kinks!

I’d say around 1982/1983 my musical tastes were starting to get a bit heavier and I was gravitating to artists and bands that were a little more underground than those found at the top of the charts.  Judas Priest had recently put out Screaming For Vengeance and “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin'” was THE tune at the time-  a simple but cool riff, great lead break from Glenn Tipton, and awesome vocal from The Metal God himself, Rob Halford.  The album itself became a favorite and I was on the hunt to learn more about Priest.  Interestingly enough, this time it was the radio that actually turned me on to a cut from this album.  But more on that shortly.

Unleashed In The East (or Unleashed In The Studio, depending on who you want to believe), released in 1970 in front of a rabid Japanese crowd, is a bit of a turning point for the band:  from intro album Rocka Rolla up through Hell Bent For Leather (or Killing Machine outside of the US), Priest progressed mightily from more of a bluesy hard rock hybrid to something with more of a metallic bite.  Each album shows the band experimenting with different textures, often sounding like Queen in spots on their earlier material mixed with touches of Sabbath, Hendrix, and more harder edge Deep Purple.  Following this live album, Priest would release the iconic British Steel and become more of a household name, but that’s a tale for another time.

The original LP (which I actually had on cassette) for Unleashed features nine stellar cuts, with four more headbangers being added to the 2001 reissue on CD.  I first became familiar with this album via the two covers-  a fabulous, rocking cover of folkie Joan Baez’ “Diamonds and Rust”, sung passionately by Halford over heavy Tipton/Downing riff; and Fleetwood Mac’s(!) “The Green Manalishi (With The Two Pronged Crown)”, this time ol’ Rob singing like a madman- one minute all sinister bite, another minute all high pitch wail.  Granted, the riff was fairly close to the original but a bit chunkier and more menacing to go with the Halloweenie lyrical content (is it about drugs or is it about money?  Ask Peter Green).  Dig the great dual lead from Tipton and Downing here too.

Outside of the covers you’ve got some great Priest written cuts here-  “Sinner” is pretty much a KK Downing set piece,  a guitar wankfest in the Hendrix mode via its whammy bar workout and screaming feedback;  intro pounder “Exciter” is almost a bit of early speed/thrash metal featuring some vocal shredding from Halford; sinister “The Ripper” with its great guitar riffery and Halford in thespian mode; and kicking one/two punch of “Genocide” and “Tyrant” that close out the disc with molten metal.  Oh yeah, did I not mention Les Binks?  The dude was likely Priest’s best drummer-  just listen to his double bass work on “Genocide” and “Exciter” and how he pushes each song along, staying slightly ahead of the beat to propel these songs along at a mighty pace.  The guy could lay back too, especially come something like “Green Manalishi” where he forms a solid pocket.  An underrated drummer for sure.

But alas the piece de resistance here is “Victim Of Changes” with that great dual guitar intro and that infamous first line from Halford:  “Whiskey woman don’t you know that you are driving me insaaaaaaane, OWWWW”.  “Victim” was actually written with original Priest vocalist Al Atkins but Halford makes this cut his own and still nails it in concert to this day.  I love the way this cut builds and breaks down, all menacing stomp early with lurching guitar riffs and fab Halford screams until midway through with a bit of a breakdown before some great lead guitar work from Tipton/Downing.  Then things get all trippy and psychedelic, a bit of a bluesy spot for Halford to actually do a bit of fine singing during the buildup before letting it rip with a hellacious “VICTIM OF CHAAAAAAANNGESSSSSS” and more great guitar work kicks back in Halford hits a few dog whistle notes to close things out.

I’ve not really touched on the four additional cuts added to the reissue but they pack their own punch as well.  “Rock Forever”, “Delivering The Goods”, and “Hell Bent For Leather” all from their latest LP at the time are prime rockers, a bit tighter and more direct in scope and closer to the straight ahead songwriting that will eventually be displayed on next album British Steel.  “Hell Bent” eventually would be an encore for years to come, featuring Halford revving up the Harley to get the crowd fired up.  Things end the disc with the rifftastic “Starbreaker”, including a bit of a snappy Les Binks’ solo to round out the song before it comes to a crashing conclusion.

As much as I dug Priest back in the day my tastes would eventually lean to more heavier fare.  That said, there are still those magic moments in their catalog that may come up on shuffle that cause me to smile, headbang away, and break out the air guitar/air drums.  As for trying to sing along to this stuff?  Aw, hell no…  this is PRIME Rob Halford, Unleashed In The East being a high water mark in the man’s career.  As for the rest of the band, this disc certainly captures the band in full flight with not a weak link in sight.  But once again I wonder…  whatever happened to Les Binks?

Oh man, that cover….  An attention getter ain’t it?  Kinda like how I reacted to the KISS Alive II album when I saw it, I took one look at this at my young, impressionable age and thought, “WHAAAAAAAT????”  I think I was by the record section in Woolworths or some department store and right there, in the very front of the A’s, was this album.  I don’t even think I’d heard ANYTHING by AC/DC at the time but this sure caught my eye.  Flash forward a few more years-  Back In Black is all over the radio and ‘DC are the hot band at the moment.  I loved them from the get go, quickly soaking up everything about the band and learning all about the Bon Scott years courtesy of my cousin David.

Looking back on those days, AC/DC was my segue between listening to Top 40 radio and AOR.  I would hear “You Shook Me All Night Long” constantly on that Top 40 station but on any of the AOR stations you could hear just about any AC/DC, which encouraged my listening even more.  Sure, Back In Black got a lot of play but now I was hearing stuff like Highway To Hell and High Voltage and a host of others.  And not just AC/DC I was digging; suddenly I’m hearing awesome new bands, new tunes, new sounds altogether, which opened the floodgates for a musically rewarding experience.  But I digress…

Back to the live album…  If You Want Blood is a loud, ugly, dirty, and abrasive record and I mean all of those things in a good way.  Recorded live in front of a crazy group of punters in Glasgow, Scotland, this album kicks off with what sounds like the hum of an amplifier before a loud roar announces the arrival of lead guitarist Angus Young, who whips the crowd into a frenzy as he kicks into introductory cut “Riff Raff”.  As the band comes in and gradually builds onto the riff you can sense the excitement in the air.  And once the song really takes off it’s like a dogfight; you can feel the crowd jockeying for position, one giant mass of sweaty bodies roaring as one as the band eventually hammers away at each song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9UlqMgytoE

And songs, hoo boy, there are some great ones on here.  However, the one I listen to the most on this album is an absolutely incendiary “Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be”, driven by an absolutely awesome vocal performance by Bon Scott, all grit and determination as he roars through 4+ minutes of greatness.  Musically, the riff is fairly simple but it is loud, dirty, and stomping with its introductory crashing and sustained chords before tightening it up throughout the verses as Bon weaves a fine rock and roll tale about a wrong doing woman (as only he could).  Did I say something about “tight”?  Rhythmically these guys deliver and this live cut is a great example of the solid backbone between Malcolm Young, Cliff Williams, and Phil Rudd.  Hell, this is probably one of my all time favorite live cuts from ANYONE, it is that good.

Other strong cuts on this disc are blistering versions of “Whole Lotta Rosie” and “Problem Child” and a manic take on “Let There Be Rock”, all non stop chugging riff as it rumbles along like a freight train out of control until conductor Angus blesses us with some filthy lead guitar.  But likely the most infamous song on this live patter is a truly raunchy version of “The Jack” with a totally different set of lyrics about…  well…  AHEM…  it’s not about a card game, if that’s what you’re thinking!  No, Bon regales us with a tale of a sexual encounter and its rather unfortunate outcome (ha ha) over a bluesy stomp courtesy of the band, including full crowd participation from the rowdy Scots as well.

It’s a damn shame that Bon Scott’s senseless death less than two years after this recording ended such a promising career that was reaching even greater heights.  His performance on this album is testament to his strengths in front of a live audience as he sings with great gusto, engages the crowd, and seemingly has more fun than you or I can imagine.  As for the rest of the band- amped up, on fire, fully energized…  I mean, what more can you say?  And then I think…  can you just imagine if this was a double LP and it added “Live Wire”?  “Sin City”?  “TNT”, “Down Payment Blues”?  (Insert favorite pre-Highway To Hell song here)?

R.I.P. Ronald Belford “Bon” Scott (1946-1980)

When I was around ten or eleven years old, KISS was IT.  I distinctly remember a day at school where seemingly everyone brought in KISS Alive II for one of our holiday parties, where the teachers would let us bring in our favorite music to play while we generally goof around in class eating too many snacks and drinking waaay too much punch.  I took one look at the cover and couldn’t understand what the hubbub was about.  Who are these guys and what’s with the makeup?  Why is this guy bleeding at the mouth?  This looks stupid.  Well, little did I know at the time how much KISS would change my life.

I would say it was the summer of ’77 when I actually first listened to a KISS album.  Remember, at the time there was a lot of disco going on and we mostly listened to Top 40 radio to catch the hits of the day.  My brother and I had pretty much listened to whatever our parents listened to-  we didn’t have an older brother with the cool record collection and we hadn’t quite caught on to what our cousins were listening to (that was coming and soon enough) but fortunately I got to be close pals with one of the guys on my baseball team who did have an older brother and knew all about KISS.  And on those days where me and my brother and a few others would spend the night, we’d spin records into the wee hours and get caught up in the excitement of what would become my favorite, KISS Alive.

“YOU WANTED THE BEST AND YOU GOT IT!  THE HOTTEST BAND IN THE LAND…  KISS!”

With that intro, Alive kicks off with the one-two punch of “Deuce” and “Strutter”, two of KISS’ best and long standing concert favorites, the former with its stuttering riff and menacing Gene Simmons vocal (with Paul Stanley’s awesomely cool “DO IT”) and the latter one of the Starchild’s finer moments, all chest beating bravado topped off by a typically awesome lead break from “Space” Ace Frehley.  I remember being utterly fascinated by the whole thing, reading everything in the liner notes (each band member’s notes gave you an idea of their personality) and staring at the live shot on the cover while soaking in the bombast coming from the speakers.  This was certainly a far cry from what my parents were listening to.

Rumor has it that this album has been doctored in many ways-  if so, big whoop.  Most of the live discs in the day have been touched up here and there, maybe with vocal redos or fixing a bum note on some songs.  But hey, there is tons of solid playing here from all four members but more importantly the song selection is pretty top notch.  Besides the aforementioned cuts, other KISS Klassics like “Firehouse”, “Hotter Than Hell”, “Black Diamond”, and the definitive and most well known version of “Rock And Roll All Night” show KISS at the top of their game in front of a roaring crowd whipped into a frenzy by Stanley, who has some of the most epic stage raps around (if you don’t believe me, go to YouTube and search for “Paul Stanley Stage Banter” and enjoy!).

Out of the four sides of this album I probably played sides one and four the most, the latter side including the underrated “Rock Bottom”, classic Frehley riffster “Cold Gin”, the supreme “Rock And Roll All Night”, and Chuck Berry-esque “Let Me Go Rock And Roll”.  Listening to these two sides made me and many other budding guitarists immediate fans of lead guitarist Ace Frehley-  definitely not a flashy or noodly player but one with a fairly compact and to the point style, all bends and wide vibrato, that stood out from some of his peers at the time.  Ace was always the coolest in the band anyway and some of his best moments were to come on Alive II (which I almost chose over this album).  His style is sorely missed in the KISS of today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP3OhieZimg

So who am I forgetting?  Oh yeah…  the one and only Peter Criss, he being the “Catman”, R&B belter and balladeer (hey, he’d eventually sing possibly their biggest hit in softie “Beth”), and at the time a very fine drummer.  Just check out his awesome, rolling solo in “100,000 Years” to get an idea what the man could do behind the kit.  The song itself kicks off with a punchy rumble from Simmons on the bass followed by a swinging Ace riff and Stanley’s he-man vocal.  Peter swings massively throughout and about three minutes in he’s left to solo to his own devices, gradually speeding up his playing and bashing away like a man with eight arms.  Just when you think the Catman is all worn out from that massive performance, he provides an awesomely raspy vocal to a titanic version of “Black Diamond”.  Way too cool for a young kid and ultimately making him my second favorite Kisser.

Oddly enough, I’ve not listened to much KISS over the past 35 years or so but this album and Alive II were in constant rotation over a two to three year period that I’ve got it ingrained in my memory.  Unfortunately, KISS lost its luster for me once Criss and Frehley left, although Simmons and Stanley would continue to have some good moments here and there.  But back in 1977 and 1978 KISS were hard to knock off the top of the rock mountain and Alive is a testament to why.

For the life of me, I’m not sure of the first time that I heard Saxon.  I’m sure I’d read about them in Hit Parader or Circus magazine, but I can’t recall a specific moment where I’d actually heard a song by them.  I think the first song I’d actually heard was “Just Let Me Rock” from their Crusader LP back in 1984 but I’m not positive.  At any rate, once I heard something from them I definitely had to pick up an album.  I believe Crusader was the first purchase and sometime thereafter I grabbed their first live platter, The Eagle Has Landed.

A lot of you reading this are probably thinking…  WHO????  Yeah, Saxon certainly had ZERO radio play and they definitely were not MTV darlings, although you could catch a video here or there in the wee morning hours on MTV (take a look at pics of these guys, they certainly weren’t turning ladies’ heads).  But in order to find the good shit out there you had to look and seek out recommendations from fellow hard rock/heavy metal heads, and early Saxon was prime material.  And don’t just take my word for it; none other than NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) fan and Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich can vouch for the greatness that is Saxon.

The Eagle Has Landed was cut live and released around 1981/1982 and features ten early Saxon classics in front of a rabid European crowd.  The disc roars out of the gate with a manic version of “Motorcycle Man” and doesn’t let up, all “heads down and let ‘er rip” heavy metal fury that’s somewhat of a cross between AC/DC, Motorhead, and maybe a touch of heavier Status Quo or Slade.  Lead singer Biff Byford, although not of classic singing voice, is a great frontman and gives 110% throughout this disc, belting everything out in fine fervor and whipping the crowd into a frenzy.  The guitar tag team of Paul Quinn and Graham Oliver are a solid if not flashy duo, playing for the song and avoiding guitar wankery and histrionics but with ballsy tones and fine riffery.  And bassman Steve Dawson provides simple but thumping basslines likely done with fist shaking fury (supposedly Steve was a model for Harry Shearer’s character in the classic This Is Spinal Tap!).

Ahhh, but saving the best player for last 🙂  Nigel Glockler had just recently replaced former sticksman Pete Gill, who had to leave the band due to a hand injury, and makes his Saxon recording debut with this album.  Glockler is the engine on this album, his playing totally in the pocket and forming the foundation that allows the rest of the band to kick these songs into high gear.  The dude swings with muscular might, throwing in the occasional cool drum fills throughout the song to add that extra bit of flair.  Check out the speedy “20,000 Feet”, the rock of “Wheels Of Steel”, or how he pushes the rhythm through the classic  “(747) Strangers In The Night”.  Great stuff indeed.

I hadn’t listened to this disc in a while and thought I’d throw it on to compile this review and I must say it still holds up very well.  Saxon is still around and musically is a bit of a different animal, but this disc captures the band in their rawer early days and they put on quite the spirited performance.  There is not a duff track to be found here, so if you like meat and potatoes riff rock this will suit you well.  You can’t tell me your head won’t be banging or your feet a tappin’ when you hear “Wheels Of Steel”!

Ahh, the good old days of the live album…  sure, some of them weren’t really “live” and have been touched up in spots but there is still a lot of greatness on those discs.  Live discs were a staple of rock artists from the 70s and 80s and even with some newer artists up through today.  Unfortunately, live material is a bit of a dying breed and I miss hearing cuts that were transformed and taken to another level in front of a live crowd.  Over the next few posts I will be reviewing my favorite live albums of all time, some of these being very well known and others less so, but influential to me nonetheless.

10.  Blue Oyster Cult, Extraterrestrial Live

BOC has released a number of live albums over the years and this one will always be my favorite.  In 1982 I was a full on music addict and had been transfixed by “the big three” from the Cult, namely “Don’t Fear The Reaper”, “Godzilla”, and “Burnin’ For You”.  At the time I didn’t own any material but due to the wonders of the Columbia House music club (you remember…  thirteen LPs or tapes for ONLY one dollar!) I was able to track down the BOC record which, at the time, had all three cuts on it.  I didn’t really care that the album was live as I’d caught a couple of band shows on the “King Biscuit Power Hour” (I’m getting all nostalgic here) and had taped one of them and listened to it religiously.  But this was an actual album and I could throw on the headphones and check out the liner notes and learn something about one of my newest favorite bands.

So after four to six weeks of waiting, the album finally arrived.  As you can see, the cover had a bit of mystique to it…  alien spaceship arrives with two dobermans accompanied by the band’s road cases, and on the back of the album the band is featured as part of the artwork.  I ripped off the shrinkwrap, threw the disc on the turntable, and was treated to some of the finest rock of the time.  Extraterrestrial Live kicks off with the one two punch of “Dominance and Submission” and “Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll”, two songs which were new to me but I dug immediately.  Also high on the list of new favorites to be were the brisk pace of “The Red And The Black” and the magnetic “Joan Crawford”, plus the sci fi tale “Veteran Of The Psychic Wars”.  But those were nothing compared to the two songs that I played endlessly from this disc:  the venerable “Godzilla” and a truly transcendent version of “Don’t Fear The Reaper” that closes side four of the album.

“Godzilla”…  hoo boy…  that intro from lead singer Eric Bloom really sets the tone here.  Yes, back in the day BOC had a giant mechanical Godzilla as part of their shows and his “arrival” plays a key at the beginning of this cut.  And from there, you know the rest!  This is a great live version and even includes a solo from then drummer Rick Downey, complete with “Asteroid” and space ship sound effects midway through the song, adding extra oomph to an already over the top version.

“Don’t Fear The Reaper” here is an example of a live version of a song that moves to another level.  The song here is played a little bit faster than the studio version, which elevates the excitement to a certain level, and the band background vocals and playing is spot on (Joe Bouchard’s bass is great here).  But where this really takes off is the last two and a half minutes of the song as Buck Dharma’s stinging leads (this guy is SERIOUSLY underrated as a player) really push the element and this song builds and builds to an awesome crescendo until the final crashing chords.  This song and this version is hands down why this is my favorite BOC live album and why it earns a spot in my top ten.

Oh yeah, “Burnin’ For You”?  I didn’t quite care for this live version nor any I’ve heard.  Its mastery is the studio version.  But hey, you can’t win ’em all!

Yeah, yeah…  so I’ve got ten opinions here that, depending on who you are, may offend, may make you laugh, may make you shake your head in shame, may make you nod your head in agreement, or may cause an argument.  So without further ado…

10. Alice In Chains and Soundgarden are MUCH better than Nirvana and Pearl Jam

 9.  Black Sabbath with Ronnie James Dio was better than Black Sabbath with Ozzy Osbourne

 8.  Right now, I’d rather have Sammy Hagar in Van Halen (I see what you did there :-))

 7.   I’m a McCartney kinda guy instead of a Lennon kinda guy

 6.   Modern rock radio (or whatever you want to call it) sucks

 5.   Funk music NEEDS to make a comeback

 4.   The music industry itself (NOT GRUNGE) killed hair metal

 3.   There will NEVER be as dymanic or dangerous a live band as THE WHO from 1968-1973

 2.   Metallica’s Black Album is overrated

 1.   “Country rap” is the worst music EVER

Take a look at that picture.  Recognize any familiar faces?  For those rock fans of the past 25 or so years should recognize the dude on the far right, and some of you may recognize the guy second from the right from the grunge era.  But if not, those two are Duff McKagan (far right), ex-bassist of Guns N Roses, and Barrett Martin, drummer from Screaming Trees.  In 2012 these guys teamed up with two other Seattle-ites in guitarist/vocalist Jeff Angell and keyboardist Benjamin Anderson to form Walking Papers and released an outstanding eleven song disc filled with atmospheric, bluesy rock.  Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready adds to the A list level of players here but dropping in some lead guitar work on a couple of cuts.

It is rare these days that I like every cut on an album, but Walking Papers is chock full of goodness throughout.  Each song has its own vibe and spirit, all being fairly unique and bringing something totally new to the table.  For example, intro cut “Already Dead” feels a bit like a late night chill tune led by a simple yet haunting guitar figure and slight jazz shuffle on the drums over which vocalist Angell produces a fantastic, laid back vocal.  Next cut “The Whole World’s Watching” amps things up considerably with a blues fervor, guitars loud and crunchy, solid drumwork, and raspy, soulful vocal.

Other strong rock cuts on this disc include “Two Tickets”, propelled by Martin’s drumwork and a semi-sludgy riff over which Angell paints a lyrical picture via an awesome lower range vocal; “Red Envelopes”, which kicks things up a little more with a shuffling rock riff topped off with brief horn blasts; and “You’re Secret’s Safe With Me” and its haunting, psychedelic grooves and cool bell like tones courtesy of Martin’s vibraphone.

However, where this disc really shines are the non-rockers-  take “The Butcher”, a keyboard only tune with hints of Martin’s vibes that features a great lyric from Angell about an escaped convict eventually meeting his fate.  Or the marimbas, trumpet, and echoed guitar that highlight the awesome “A Place Like This”, a bit of a ghost tale likely set in a saloon in Mexico.  Last but not least, “Leave Me In The Dark” hints at Joshua Tree era U2 with its ringing guitars and gradually escalating tempo.

Although the band as a whole is fantastic, the stars of the show on this disc are Angell and Martin.  Angell does a great job selling each cut, vocally keeping things to a lower range rasp and not overcooking anything when he stretches into higher territory.  As a guitarist he does great job as well, offering up solid Les Paul tones whether they be heavier riffs or softer finger picked patterns.  As for Martin…  sheesh, this guy is a monster-  one minute kicking out a percolating shuffle, next minute a stomping Zep backbeat, followed by more tribal patterns.  And those vibes and marimbas REALLY add a lot to the songs where they are featured.  A seriously underrated talent.

Rumor has it that Walking Papers is working on another disc but in the meantime, track this one down and enjoy!