“Opinionate!” Hades If At First You Don’t Succeed

A good dose of 80’s metal here, not quite thrash but more of a pseudo-technical slash power metal.  Alan Tecchio has some serious range here, reminiscent of a cross between Fates Warning’s Ray Alder and leather lunged Rob Halford, and the guitars are suitably doomy at the intro before things get nice and riffy with some tricky drumwork.  I loved this type of metal back in the day as it wasn’t straight 4/4 but took risks here and there and had plenty of riffs and time changes that kept my attention throughout.

“Whiskey On The Rocks” AC/DC Ballbreaker

I could write for days on the importance of AC/DC to my listening experience as a young lad.  If they put out a new album I’m buying it!  “Whiskey” is a decent little song; nicely riffed, gruffly sung by Brian, and a cool return to the drum stool for Phil Rudd.  Guitar tones on this are really interesting though as you can totally pick out differences during the verse compared to the chorus (and I’m not talking about the six note noodle at the intro either).  Drier in one channel (I’m guessing Malcom) and meatier in the other (obviously Angus), and probably double tracked as well.

“Lady Love” Robin Trower Bridge Of Sighs

Man…  this is a really cool song-  other cuts on this album were the bigger hits but there is so much smoothness all throughout “Lady Love” that it’s a crime it didn’t get as much high praise.  Robin Trower’s watery tone and lead work is exceptional as always but Jim Dewar’s vocal is the icing on the cake, a bit of a smoother Joe Cocker.  Sublime rhythm work here too, solid bassline from Dewar and great drums and percussion from Reg Isidore (who has a fever for the cowbell).  But yeah… Trower…  smooth as silk riff and some tasty fills up front and deep in the mix.

“Whisper In Your Soul” Gov’t Mule Shout!

Warren Haynes should be a household name.  The guy has had such a great career either as a sideman (David Allen Coe, Allman Brothers, Dickey Betts), as a guest player (Grateful Dead), as a solo player, or with his main gig in Gov’t Mule.  “Whisper” is a dose of awesomeness that we’ve come to expect from that band-  this song is a builder with lots of space for Matt Abts to pound tribal, Jorgen Carlsson to groove the bass, Danny Louis to add organ color, and brother Warren to belt it out and add some sweet guitar soul.  Kind of a bluesy/R&B/psychedelic/Beatley mix here (I think?)

“Guns For Hire” AC/DC Plug Me In Bonus CD

By all that is holy this is a GREAT FRIGGIN’ LIVE VERSION of a forgotten gem from the criminally underrated Flick Of The Switch album and before Brian Johnson’s voice went south shortly thereafter (although he’s kinda sorta magically somewhat had a serious comeback the past couple of albums).  I love Bon Scott AC/DC but the POWER of the band in the early Brian years is a phenomenon all its own.  Angus provides that intro swagger as only he can, firing up the crowd before the rest of the band comes bashing in and Brian knocks it out of the park.

“Emerald” Skyclad Prince Of The Poverty Line

I’ve gone on and on about my love for Thin Lizzy and “Emerald” may actually be my favorite song from the great Irish band (or at least top three).  This version is pretty darn close in vibe and spirit, although Martin Walkyier’s fiesty bellow is far removed from Lynott plus you’ve got some swinging fiddle which magically weaves in and out among the lead lines extremely well.  Major points for choosing a Lizzy song to cover and foist ye a draft on high for doing it very well (although that vocal may be an acquired taste for some).

“Allons-Y (1)” Pink Floyd The Endless River

For those not in the know, The Endless River is the final Pink Floyd album (or so sez David Gilmour).  The album is made up of leftovers from The Division Bell sessions and was pieced together pretty much as a tribute to their late keyboardist Rick Wright.  “Allons-Y (1)” is a very brief cut full of that classic Gilmour guitar, reminiscent of something like “Run Like Hell” in tempo.  You get snippets of Wright’s keyboard washes woven in with the riffs, but it’s that buttery Strat guitar tone of Gilmour’s that is the ultimate winner here.

“Dirty Dream” Thunder Robert Johnson’s Tombstone

Oh, what coulda shoulda been…  Thunder is a great little band from Britain that came out at the tail end of hair metal before grunge obliterated anything and everything remotely of that headspace.  “Dirty Dream” is reminiscent of that era but leans more towards early Whitesnake or UFO with a touch of Bad Company with its swinging riff, risque lyric, and the dulcet tones of one Danny Bowes.  These guys were always popular in their home country but couldn’t get a whiff of anything here, although Pamela Anderson did appear in one of their first videos (your trivia of the day!)

“Top Of The Pops” Smithereens Blow Up

The Smithereens have always been an underrated band and deserve way more credit than what they get.  “Top Of The Pops” is a little more simplified in formula than most of their classics with its meat and potatoes riff and fairly sing song-y vocal.  Funny I say that as it’s very reminiscent of something their heroes The Kinks or The Who may have put out in their early years, a dash of “I Can’t Explain” or “All Day And All Of The Night” mixed with The Dave Clark Five.  Throws in some extra trickery with the piano lick and female vocal at the the end just to make sure you ain’t snoozin’.

“John The Fisherman” Primus Fizzle Fry

Let’s get this off my chest first… PRIMUS SUCKS!  OK, that little inside joke out of the way, “John The Fisherman” is a fine, fine dose of prime wackiness from Les Claypool and his fellow oddballs.  These guys have always been totally unique in their approach but they’ve got some serious chops across the board-  bass playing is from another planet, guitar work is skronkingly good, and drum work is ridiculously groovy and heavy at the same time.  Throw on top of that a vocal that’s nasally nerdy but is incredibly fitting with the fantastic ditties Les writes.

Damn…  one helluva list here and hard to pick out a favorite but I’ve got a three way tie this time around as all three fit different moods:  “John The Fisherman” if I’m in a playfully goofy mood, “Guns For Hire” if I want to seriously headbang with my fist in the air, and “Lady Love” if I want some fairly laid back goodness.  Chase that with “Dirty Dream” and it’s a solid four in a row.